The Heart Of Friendship

Part 17

Alec

Afterschool and after going home to drop my back off and telling my mom where I was heading, I went to Daniel's house so we can figure out how to fight back against the bullies and practice for the dance we were going to audition with for the talent show auditions on Monday. I took my bike so I could get there faster.

I was almost at his house, passing the candy store when I saw Reggie. He was getting on his bike when he spotted me. He stared at me with a frown instead of the constant anger stares he gives me every time and it made me feel bad that I had ended our friendship.

He got on his bike and drove away, completely dismissing me. I hadn't realised I had stopped on my on my bike so I started driving again heading to Daniel's place. I hated the way I ended my friendship with my former friends. They immediately got that I didn't want to be their friends anymore that day when I sat with Daniel but did they really understand why I chose not to be their friends anymore?

I pressed the buzzer on Daniel's house which was on the side of the huge gate. The guards let me in after realizing who I was and I had rode by bike to the porch of his front door. I put the bike down and climbed the stairs to the door. I pressed the doorbell and after about three impatient rings, he opened the door. It took him like three minutes to get there.

"Sorry." He was panting "I'm the only one in the house and I was down in the lab."

He apologised, giving a reason to why he took a long time to open the door.

"You have a lab?" I gaped at him and he nodded "And you tell me this now?"

"You never asked." He shrugged as if saying it wasn't his fault

"Yeah because I totally was supposed to know that I had to ask." I said sarcastically.

"Just come in and I'll take you to it." He rolled his eyes opening the door wider for me to come in and shutting it behind me once I was in.

He walked past the staircase to upstairs and I followed behind me. We were in the hallway and it took us some time to get to the end of it.

"This is a pretty long hallway." I said to him.

Daniel was silent, not uttering a single word which was strange for him. He opened the door when we got to the end of the hallway. I knew it was the door to the basement because it was pretty dark inside.

"Your lab's in your basement?" I asked him and he nodded his head for a reply, opening the door wider for me to enter. He got in after me and closed the door. There was a staircase leading down were I assumed the lab was. He stepped in front of me to lead the way.

"Daniel hold on." I said stopping him right when he was about to step down. "Are you okay?" He had this frown on his and he wasn't his usual talkative self.

"Yah, it's nothing. I'm fine." He replied but I didn't buy it.

"I may not be a genius like you, but I'm not an idiot. Are you going to tell me what's wrong?"

He sighed, realising that he was bound to tell me and running his hand through his hair.

"I feel bad that you're messed up in this whole bullying thing now. Because of me, you're also getting bullied." His eyes were glimmering and his voice was cracking. "I don't blame anyone for not wanting to befriend me because of what comes with it. Just like you said, no one wants to get bullied."

"Daniel." Now it was turn to sigh "We're seriously back to this? You being insecure?" I've never actually had to comfort someone, even more a friend so this was a weird position I was being put in to. "You have it all wrong." I shook my head slightly "Don't you realise the positive impact this has had me?" He looked confused and for once I wondered where his genius brain has went. "I realised that the friends I had had bad qualities that were just not me. I got real friendship from someone who didn't downgrade other people because they were rich or smart or for any other reason. I got friendship for someone who loves dance, is good at sports and likes outdoor games like swimming and bike riding just like me. Sure the bullying sucks, but I wouldn't give this friendship up for anything."