"Best Friends"

Misunderstanding

"What's up?"

The door swung open in front of Dark to reveal Xilef, his gaze growing cold when he saw Dark standing in front of him.

"Who is it?" Anti called out from somewhere deeper in the house.

"No one!" Xilef yelled back, his words hurting Dark more than the ball he had taken to the face.

"Wait, Dark?" Anti yelled back, spying the dark haired boy last Xilef.

Dark turned and ran as fast as his little legs could carry him, tears blurring his vision as he raced through his neighborhood without glancing back.

"DARK WAIT!" Anti screamed after Dark with eyes shining with concern, starting to move past Xilef.

"Forget-"

"NO!" Anti cut off Xilef, eyes widening in shock when he realized that he had just shouted at one of his best friends.

"Me or him, you choose." Xilef growled, folding his arms across his chest.

"Why do I have to choose, can't we all be friends?" Anti asked hopefully, hating to lose either friend.

"Choose." Xilef repeated coldly.

Anti glances away in the direction Dark has gone before looking back at Xilef, knowing who he should've chosen long ago.

"I'm sorry."

With that, Anti bolted after Dark without further hesitation, unsure of where he would go.

He frantically scoured the school even though it had been out for hours, the evening light providing slim rays of sunlight to help him in his search.

"Dark, I'm sorry! Please come back!" Anti pleaded as he looked for his friend, leaving the school with no idea of where else to look.

"Think Anti, he's new to the area, there can't be many other places to look." Anti reasoned to himself aloud, running to Dark's house next just in case.

Anti bounded up the steps to Dark's front door and knocked in the door, waiting impatiently for an answer.

"Hello?" Dark's father answered, surprised to find Anti standing in front of him.

"Have you seen Dark?" Anti spoke in a rush, running a hand through his hair as he tried to look past Dark's dad.

"He isn't here. Last time I saw him, he was going to your house." He replied with a frown.

"If he comes back here, tell him I'm so sorry for everything and I want to fix things between us." Anti told him before running off once again, an idea of where Dark could be coming to mind.

Even though the run was long and tiring, he made his way to Brighton Pier, the only other place he could think of since it was well known.

He did his best to ignore the odd stares he received from those he darted past, his heart pounding in his ears and adrenaline pushing him in despite the fire burning in his legs and lungs.

"Dark...have to...find....Dark." Anti panted under his breath, forcing himself onwards as Dark's hurt expression flashed in his eyes every time he closed his eyes.

Anti stumbled and fell to his knees outside the locked entrance to the pier, his breathing ragged as he bowed his head, his body shaking with exhaustion.

"C'mon...I....can't...give up." Anti whispered encouragingly to himself, managing to push himself up off of the ground with shaky arms.

He looked up at the large gates with determination glinting in his eyes as he started his climb, doing his best to ignore the fear threatening to overtake him.

He let out a yelp of surprise when his foot slipped, accidentally looking down at the unforgiving pavement beneath him before he quickly regained his footing.

Anti tore his gaze away and finished scrambling up, spotting Dark sitting at the end of the pier.

Anti hastily climbed down before using his last reserve of energy to run towards Dark, his legs threatening to give out as he forced himself onwards.

"Dark!" Anti called out as he got closer, breathing heavily as he skidded to a stop next to his friend.

Dark looked away from the horizon at Anti, his eyes shining with tears and tear tracks on his cheeks glinting in the dying light.

"W-What do yo-you want?" Dark hiccuped, his legs swinging back and forth over the end of the pier as he refused to look at Anti.

"I just wanted to find you, I-"

"Just g-go away! E-everything wa-was easier back h-home when I ha-had no friends!" Dark snapped, cutting off Anti.

"Dark, Xilef told me that I had to choose between him and you." Anti spoke up quietly.

"Yo-you chose h-him didn't you?" Dark sniffed bitterly, swallowing hard.

"Obviously, that's why I'm here instead of with him." Anti replied, voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Yo-you p-picked me?" Dark hiccuped in disbelief, finally looking Anti in the eyes.

"Of course Darkidoo, I was stupid to ever let him push me away from you." Anti assured him, unsure of where the nickname came from.

"D-Darkidoo?" Dark repeated with a soft laugh.

"Yeah, that's your nickname!" Anti decided.

"I l-like it." Dark smiled, wiping away his remaining tears with the back of his hand.

"Thanks." Anti grinned back, staring out at the sunset with him and wishing that the moment would never end.

"Oh w-wait, Ma-Mark!" Dark remembered, jumping to his feet.

"Who?" Anti interjected with a confused frown.

"My c-cousin, he's sup-supposed to be coming over!" Dark explained as he ran towards the gates, Anti running with him.

"How...are you....so...fit?" Anti wheezed as they paused at the gates.

"Mark a-and I u-used to run ar-around a lot w-when I lived in L-LA near him." Dark admitted as he began scaling the gate, Anti following suite.

A police car was waiting for them, Dark's Dad pacing around anxiously until he spotted the two boys.

"Dark!" Damien exclaimed in relief, scooping Dark up in his arms and hugging him tight.

"Don't ever do that to me again, you scared me so much." He whispered, pressing a kiss to Dark's forehead.

"S-sorry Dad." Dark apologized meekly.

"Thank you Anti for looking for him." Damien told the other boy as he sat Dark back down on the ground.

"Glad I could help Mr. Iplier." Anti beamed proudly.

"Call me Damien." He corrected him with a smile of his own.

"Why are t-the police h-here?" Dark spoke up.

"They got word that there were intruders here and saw both of your faces on the cameras." Damien answered.

"S-sorry." Dark apologized again.

"It's fine, I'm just glad you're okay. Now come on, we need to get back home so Mark doesn't freak out more." Damien sighed, ushering the children into the police car.

The officers took Anti home first, their parents relieved to see him since they hadn't known where he had ran off to after Xilef had abruptly left.

"Bye!" Anti yelled to Dark as he was taken home, both boys glad to be best friends once again.