The next day, as Miles relaxes at the playground swings, he hears a familiar voice call out to him, one that still gives him butterflies. "Hey, bro!", Chelsea says, hugging him from behind, making him blush at the sudden contact. "Ch.. Chelsea..?!", Miles says, stunned, and Chelsea asks "What's up with you lately? It feels like we haven't hung out in forever..". Miles looks away, slightly muttering "Why would you hang out with a kid like me..?", to which she asks "Huh?", and Miles says "Nevermind. It's nothing.". Chelsea shrugs and sits on the swing next to him, typing away on her phone. "She's probably texting her boyfriend.", Miles thinks to himself, as he takes out his own phone, to text Naya.
"Yup. That's what our hang outs looked like for that whole year. Just a bunch of tension I didn't know how to fix. Until.."
Age: 14
As Miles leaves his room, his father says "Morning, son. I see you're still wearing that, huh? Is this gonna be your new look?", noting the necklace Miles is wearing on his neck. "Oh, uh.. I'm just.. trying something new..", Miles says, as he sits at the dinner table with Richard and his wife. "Good morning, Miles..", his wife timidly says, and Miles replies "Morning, Mary..", with a feint smile on his face. Suddenly, he gets a notification on his phone, prompting his to stand up, saying "Oop! I'm late! I gotta go, guys. Bye, Dad, Bye Mom-!", but realizes what he said, quickly rushing out the door as Mary hides her smile.
"Kinda sad seeing how fast Dad moved on from Mom. Didn't even wait two years before bringing a new wife. But, I mean.. Mary was always a sweetheart, super considerate. I have a feeling that Lil slip up made her day.."
As Miles walks to the bus stop, he passes the playground, as it has turned into a park by a construction crew. "I'm gonna miss that little playground..", Miles says, as he pulls out his phone, texting Shane "I'm on my way, dude.. Is Naya gonna be there?", to which Shane replies "Duh. I'm bringing my girl, too..". Miles blushes, texting back "She's not my girl, dude! We're just friends, for now.", and Shane snarkly replies "For now, huh?".
When Miles arrives at the mall, he finds Shane sitting with one of the school's most popular girls, a 15 year old girl, named Anny. Easily recognizable by her blonde hair with tips dyed pink and how she always has a lollipop in her mouth. "Hey guys. Naya here yet?", Miles asks, and Anny sarcastically says "No, your girlfriend isn't here yet..". Shane says "She said she'd be a little late. Let's just go to the movies for now.", and they all go the movie theater in the mall. As Shane and Anny are in line for popcorn, Miles checks his phone and sees a text from Naya saying "Meet me at the fountain. Alone.".
"I'll admit it. That text from Naya kinda gave me butterflies in my stomach.."
As Miles leaves Shane and Anny at the theater to head to the mall fountain, thinks to himself "Huh. I wonder why she wants to meet all the way here..", as he navigates the bustling mall. As Miles arrives at the mall fountain, he looks around for Naya but suddenly bumps into a familiar figure, a older boy from the same school as him. "Oh, my bad, little dude..", the older boy says, but Miles says "Nah, it's cool..", but stops when he thinks to himself "Wait.. I've seen this guy before, at school..". But, just then, he hears Chelsea's voice say "Come on, Axel. We gotta..", but she stops when she sees Miles. "Chels..?", he asks as she and Axel hold hands, but before he could respond, Miles feels a tap on his shoulder. He looks back to see Naya, who greets him warmly with a kiss on his cheek, saying "Hey, Miles! Ready to go to the...", but she stops, noticing the tension between them, holding Miles hand.
Miles finally breaks the silence, asking "Hey, Chels. Is this your boyfriend? Congrats, really..", trying to sound happy for her, but she interrupts, stuttering "Wait! Miles.. we're not.. I mean..", which confuses Axel, who says "Alright, come on, babe. I think we should just go..", but Chelsea continues, asking "Miles, who is this..?", and Naya says "I'm just his friend, okay? Relax..", glaring at Chelsea, and holding Miles' arm. Miles, standing there, confused, thinks to himself "Wh.. what..? What's wrong with her..? She was clearly on a date with this guy, so.. why does she sound so.. sad..?", but eventually holds Naya's hand back, saying coldly "We'll get outta your way..", as he and Naya turn to leave.
"I didn't know what was up with Chelsea in that moment, but now, I know.. that she was finally breaking.."
As Miles and Naya walk back to the theater, Naya says "That was.. Chelsea, right? She didn't seem..", but Miles finishes "Like herself? Yeah.". Naya continues "She just seemed so.. toxic, like she doesn't wanna see you happy.", Miles' eyes widen as he thinks back to the previous interaction, and he says "You're.. probably right..". As they enter the theater and meet Shane and Anny inside, Miles and Naya sit next to each other, and try to clear their minds and enjoy the movie, but Chelsea's words still linger on Miles' mind.
That night, Shane and Anny say goodbye while Miles and Naya say their goodbye, with Naya timidly saying "Oh, uh.. about me kissing your cheek back there, I'm sorry..", as she blushes softly, but Miles, smiling softly, holds her fidgeting hands, and asks "Can you do it again..?", which makes her blush even more, as she leans in closer and kisses him on the cheek again, and eventually, her lips meet his for a soft kiss. They both look back at each other after the kiss, both of them blushing intensely, and they giggle, saying goodbye to each other. "Uh.. hehe, bye, Miles..", Naya nervously says, as Miles responds "Oh, uh.. Yup! Bye, Naya..!", as they go their separate ways. As Miles and Shane walk home together, Shane high fives him and asks "How'd your first kiss feel, lover boy?", with a smirk on his face, to which Miles says "My chest.. is so tight, right now..", as he tries to hide the smile plastered on his face.
As they split up at the bus station, Miles passes the new park, and sits on the new benches, as he tries to calm his pounding heart, thinking "Holy crap! That felt so...!", but stops when he hears Chelsea's voice from behind him, saying "Hey, you.", which jolts Miles up. "Chels..? What are you doing here?", to which she says "Chilling. What about you, without your girlfriend or whatever?", and Miles smile falls as he says "Yeah, well.. where's your boyfriend?". Chelsea finally turns to look at him, revealing that she's holding a can of beer, clearly drunk. "Whoa! Chels, what are you doing!? You can't..!", Miles worriedly says, trying to take the can from her, and she leans closer to his face, saying "Why are you acting so worried about me, huh?", the smell of alcohol filling Miles' senses as he tries to lean back, but she holds him close. "What do you mean 'acting'? Of course I'm worried..!", Miles snaps back at her. Chelsea empties the can in her mouth and throws it away, saying "That's what dad says, too. But they all want something in return..". Miles' face turns from confusion to worry as he tries to help her up, saying "Even.. that boy you were with? Did something happen?", but Chelsea says "He's not my boyfriend. Hell, I can't even keep anyone around me long enough to feel anything for them anymore..". She looks at him with tearful eyes, saying "Now, you're leaving me, too..", but Miles says "Chels.. Don't be ridiculous.. I'm not going anywhere..".
But, just then she pulls him in for a deep kiss, her tongue swirling in Miles' mouth and the taste of alcohol lingering on his tongue. Miles, through his intense blush, finally pushes her away, and she tugs his sleeve, saying "No matter how shitty my life gets, will you always be there for me? No matter how many times i get a bad grade, or when dad kicks me out of the house, I'll always have you, right?". Miles just stands there, too stunned to speak, before looking away, saying "You should get home before it gets too dark..", and pulling himself away from her and walking back home.
As Miles arrives home, he rushes up to his room, ignoring his father and Mary, and shutting the door behind him. He curls up in his bed, looking at his bedroom window, the window Chelsea would always climb through, and hides under his blanket, thinking to himself "Please... please tell me.. that was a dream..". He looks at his nightstand, where his phone lays, and takes it to make a call.