The Chronicles of Life. (Complete)

You can have her.

Nathan and Siya had always been friends but were never really close. They'd usually hang out because the group was hanging out or because Connor had invited them somewhere. But other than that, you would never find them together.

They'd met through the boy back in middle school and even though they were always around each other, one would hardly catch them having a conversation.

It wasn't that they didn't like each other or anything of sort. They just didn't have much in common. They were different people who were into different things.

But when Nathan had proposed to his longtime girlfriend, he'd started hanging out with the other boy as he was married and he wanted to start surrounding himself with him. He'd once read about how married people needed to stick together and so he befriended him.

They got close, closer than they'd ever been. They did dinners and outings with their significant others. Nathan even ended up making him his best man at his wedding.

They'd created so big of a bond that even when Siya got separated, they'd still hung out. Nathan didn't like what the boy had done but he didn't judge him. He'd instead supported him during the difficult time he'd been facing.

They'd then stopped talking for a while when Nathan wasn't speaking to any of them. He'd been beyond heartbroken that his friends had hid something like that from him. They knew Dineo was like a sister to him and them saying they'd done it for him didn't make sense at all. When he'd heard the girl had come out of the coma, he'd slowly started forgiving them.

He wasn't yet at a point he'd started hanging out with them, but he'd responded to their texts and calls. Although he'd eventually started hanging out with Siya again after a while

So the two boys had been at a golf course that whole day just shooting balls into wholes, like they'd used to do once a month.

Being married meant that they weren't always available to go out and they'd both understood that. That was why they'd designated a day every month, where they would play some ball and catch up on life. 

Even though Siya wasn't quite married anymore, he'd still understood that. He'd been there for his friend whenever he needed marital advice. And Nathan was always there for him whenever he needed dating advice. He knew the other boy wasn't seeing anyone but what he hadn't expected to hear was,

"I kissed Dineo", from the boy as they'd continued on playing gold.

Nathan still struggled with his feelings in relation to the girl. He hadn't seen her and if he was being honest, he wasn't sure if he wanted to. His sudden feelings were confusing him to say the least and he was afraid he'd do something he'd regret if he saw her. 

But as he stood looking at his friend go for his turn at shooting, he couldn't help but, "Weren't you not into her like that?" He'd asked rhetorically. He knew the boy never liked the girl despite her clear feelings for him. Nathan had been the one who'd even offered the girl a shoulder to cry on, on more than one occasion. 

"Yea well she's getting hot now", the other boy responded simply after taking his shot. Nathan felt himself getting mad at his response. He could remember the things the girl had been through because of his rejection. She wasn't just a play thing, she was an incredible woman who deserved more than what life had given her. Sadly she was never really lucky when it came to love. He'd felt responsible because he'd told her she was ugly and no one would ever love her.

He wanted more than anything to take that back. The girl's beauty rivaled all and any.

"Dude, she's been through a lot", he'd then told the boy hoping he'll forget whatever it is he was planning to do with the girl but, "I know but I'm not gonna do what the asshole did to her", he'd responded now feeling the hostility from the other boy. He didn't get it as he'd thought Nathan didn't care about Dineo anymore. He hadn't bothered to see the girl since she'd gotten out of the coma so what did he care?

"All I'm saying is, she's doing great right now. Don't mess that up for her", Nathan now said clearly angering the boy because. "How do you even know how she's doing? You haven't even seen her. Why are you acting like you care all of a sudden? Aren't you the same person who used to go around telling everyone you're done with her?"

It was true. After their little bar encounter, Nathan was done with the girl. He'd used to tell everyone how she thought she was all that but really she was nothing. He'd said all types of bad things about the girl to almost everyone he'd met. 

"Unless... you don't like her do you?" Siya had now asked after seeing the boy's mind racing. It would make sense why he'd been avoiding her. He'd been at the hospital everyday when the girl was still there, he'd tracked down the boy who hurt her and put him in the hospital where he soon lost his life. And now all of a sudden he didn't want to see her?

"You do. you fucking like her", Siya now said with a chuckle, but an irritated one.

"It's complicated", Nathan responded. It was.

"What's complicated? You either do or you don't", Siya challenged.

"Was all the hospital visits the eyeopener? Was it the reason you wanted her all to yourself and didn't let us visit?"

"Watch it!"

"Were you mad at all of us because that would've been a perfect excuse to not get married?" Siya continued to say ignoring the anger in his friend's eyes. 

"You're mad because you can't be with her now." He finally finished. But not because he was done. He finished because he felt his face collide with the other boy's fist. He barely let time pass before he too threw a fist back to him.

The two boys then wrestled for a bit before they stopped to just lay on the green grass and stared at the clouds. They knew they'd looked stupid after their little episode. Luckily no one was around to witness their fight.

"So what now?" Siya asked as they continued to stare at nothing. "I don't know." Nathan replied simply. He knew that there was nothing he could do. He was a married man. He'd married the girl who'd always been there for him. He loved her but if he was being honest, he wasn't INLOVE with her. His heart seemed to now want someone else. But he knew there was nothing he could do at that point. He needed to think about more than just himself so,

"You can have her, man", he'd then said to his friend. He'd hated how that sounded like she was some trophy to be won but he knew his friend understood him. What he wasn't expecting was the words that came out of his mouth after,

"I had my chance", he'd started. "You're right man, she deserves better. Better than I could ever be. You've been there for her even when you didn't need to be. If anyone deserves her it's you".

The two boys still laid flat on their backs at the golf course. Nathan felt his heart tighten at the boy's words. He'd always told himself he was being there for the girl because Vickie would've expected that of him. But looking back, it was more than just that. The reason he didn't like her so much when they were young was partly because he really found her attractive and he'd been confused by those feelings. When Vickie died he'd told himself he needed to be there for her just like his sister was. He'd left no room for anything else.

So Nathan looked at his friend to say, "Thank you", before getting up to go do what his heart wanted.