"Chelsea and I hung out all the time after that, and I found out that she was three whole years older than me. I thought she was so cool and she was my first friend. After Mallory, I mean."
Age 10
That morning, Miles gets up from bed, excitedly jumping out of bed. "Meeting your buddy again today?", Mallory asks, still in bed, and facing away from Miles' direction. "Uh.. yeah. We're going to the mall today.", Miles says, but his tone gets more hesitant as he adds "You can hang with us, you know..", but Mallory, stays silent for a few moments before saying "Nah. I'm good.". Miles, sighs and says "Yeah, well.. whatever." As he leaves the room.
Hours later, Miles excitedly rushes out of the house and heads to the playground, waiting for Chelsea, but suddenly she covers his eyes, saying "Guess who?". Miles giggles, saying "Gee, I wonder..", and they high-five each other. "We going to the mall again, right?", Miles asks, but Chelsea hesitantly says "Well.. about that..", to Miles' curiosity. "What's the matter?", Miles asks, noting the look of nervousness on her face "Chels..?", he adds. Suddenly, Chelsea playfully punches his arm, saying "Nothing, bozo! Now come on! Let's race to the bus stop!", Miles chuckles and follows her.
"Whenever we'd hang out together, I noticed these small moments of nervousness in her. Look, I was curious and all, but.. I was just glad to be with her."
That afternoon, Miles and Chelsea walk to Miles' home from the bus stop together. "Hey, wait.. why don't I walk you home for a change..?", Miles asks, but Chelsea says "Oh.. uh.. I don't uh..", but she looks away and says "You.. don't gotta do that. Besides, I like it better here.". Miles stops, lost in thought from what she said, asking "You.. don't like it at your place..?", and Chelsea says "Just.. drop it, okay? Please..", as she turns to leave, silently muttering "Bye.". Miles stands there, a look of worry on his face as he clenches his fist, wanting to reach out to her.
Later that week, after school, Miles and Chelsea hang out by the swings, Chelsea swinging as high as she can, while Miles swings slower, watching her accelerate. "Hey, Chels?" Miles says, prompting Chelsea to slow down, and playfully ask "Yeah? Wanna see who can swing the highest?". Miles says "Nah, I.. uh.. remember you said that.. your birthday is September 19th, right?", to which Chelsea fully stops swinging, watching as Miles gets off his swing, and pulls out a small box out of his backpack and timidly give it to her. "Happy.. uh.. early Birthday. You're turning thirteen today, right?", Miles says, looking away, shyly.
Chelsea's eyes light up, as she hops off her swing, slowly walking up to Miles as her hands hover above the small box, trembling slightly, before finally grasping it. "It's.. kinda lackluster, but.. I just wanted to pay you back..", Miles says, but is interrupted by a tight hug from Chelsea, who says softly "Thank you..", her voice shaking Miles to his core, as he hugs her back, saying "No prob.", a soft blush forming on his face.
Chelsea eventually breaks the hug, bashfully chuckling and saying "Okay, uh.. let's see what you got me, huh?", as she opens the gift. As she rips the wrapping paper and opens the box, she sees that it contains a small fox plushie, with reddish fur resembling her own hair. "Hehe, looks just like you, huh?", Miles jokingly says, to which Chelsea playfully punches his arm, looking away from him bashfully, muttering "Shut up..". Suddenly, a alarm pulls up to the playground, it's horn honking loudly but the driver never leaving the car. Chelsea suddenly hides the plushie in her bag and walks towards the car, saying to Miles "I gotta go.. See you later?", to which Miles says "Uh.. yeah. Later..", his gaze still locked on the car's driver seat as Chelsea enters the car's back sear, her face darkening as the door closes and they drive off.
As Miles walks home, he feels a weight on his mind. A mix of worry and something softer, more vulnerable. That night, Miles lays on his bed, facing the ceiling, lost in thought. "Why can't I stop thinking about.. her..?", he asks himself, but suddenly, Mallory, from the bed beside his, sarcastically says "Thinking about your girlfriend?". Miles jumps up, taken off guard and says "N..No..! She's not.. I mean..", but hides under his blanket in embarrassment when he notices the smirk on Mallory's face.
"I didn't get a wink of sleep that night. Too lost in thought to relax, whether they might have been from worry, or affection, they were all about her."
The next day, Miles gets up, showers and dresses up for school, rushing out of the house, saying to his parents "I'll be back after school, bye!" on the way out. On the way, he clutches his bag, still plagued by thoughts of Chelsea, saying to himself "Stop thinking about her, dammit!", trying to focus on other things. Suddenly, Miles feels a poke on the back of his head, he looks back to see a black haired boy holding a soccer ball, asking "What's up, Miles?". Miles smiles softly, saying "Oh, hey Shane..", as they walk to school together. "Something on your mind? You usually know when I'm gonna sneak attack you, hehe..", Shane says, but Miles replies "Nah, just.. school stuff..". Shane shrugs, but a subtle curiosity lingers in his mind.
As they enter their fourth grade class, Miles says to himself "Okay, come on.. focus on the exams, Miles!", but glances towards the higher grade classes, seeing a familiar figure with long, red hair in the seventh grade class.