Note: From this point onward, this story is in Evandra’s point of view unless declared otherwise. Writing in the first person is more fun than being an omniscient narrator.
Rushing into her room, she let out a cry of frustration and pounced upon the bed. Or rather…upon something..hard?
*OWWWWWWWWW. DRAY BABY, YOU’VE GOT TO STOP THAT. IT HURTS*
“AIDEN? Oh gosh, so sorry!” I yelled as she scrambled to get off of Aiden nice chiseled chest. “I didn’t see you here…wait…why are you here?”
“Nice to see you too Dray, nice to see you too”
“I don’t know what’s going on with our futures Aiden…I still can’t believe our parents are trying to force us to marry *as if it wasn’t going to happen on its own anyway…someday* and I can’t believe that they actually expect us to submit without a fight! Isn’t that crazy?”
“Wait until you hear my side of the story Dray…it’s actually quite amusing”
Ignoring the fact that this was NOT amusing, I followed Aiden out to my balcony, rolling my eyes as he swung himself over and snaked down the vines to the grounds below, silently timing him. Once he was on the ground, it was my turn, and I took a few steps back, leaping over just like he had and grabbing a hold of the thick vine that reached up. I knew my way up and down these vines blindfolded, and I was standing right next to him in just a few seconds. Brushing myself off, I yelled out “HA. BEAT YA!” and ran off.
He knew where I was going, so I wasn’t worried about that, threading my way through the trees in the back of the house, spilling into the unclaimed forest beyond. I ran ahead, letting the wind blow away my worries (pun absolutely intended, if that was indeed a pun) away, dissipating into the air behind me.
And then, I was there, at our childhood retreat. It was deep into the woods, right in the middle of Aiden and Evandra’s houses. It was a calming place really, a treehouse we both had built when we were younger, and then rebuilt (to be more sturdy) later on. We loved it there, the both of us. I remember there was a time when we both spent more time here than in our own houses. This place was our own Terebithia, but less dangerous. We didn’t have evils, just peace, solitude, and the chance to really think about what we wanted.
I climbed up into our house and cuddled up in the corner, surrounded by plush cushions and various Build-a-bears (but the story about that comes later) that we both had adopted. Not 30 seconds later, Aiden climbed in, sitting beside me. He sat down, cross-legged, and reached over, taking my shoulders and spinning me around so I would be facing him. This was natural, his touch on my skin. It felt normal, he was my best friend after all.
Looking me in the eye, he stared, and asked me softly, “Dray, are we friends?” and then, before I could answer, moved his finger to silence my lips. I let out my breath softly, not realizing I had been holding it in. “Answer me afterwards mkay? Think about it first…” and with that, he released his grip on my shoulders (wow, I hadn’t even realized that one of his hands was still there), leaving me to cuddle into the cushions, grabbing a few of them for himself. (Hey, the floor was hard!)
“Alright so, I was just sitting at home reading and…HEYY, don’t roll your eyes at me Dray. I can read sometimes too. Anyway, I was bored, and you didn’t reply to my texts. So this is your fault. But anyway, I I was just reading and my dad comes up and sits me down. And then he goes…”
*flashback to scene*
“Son. I need to tell you something. It’s very…very important,” Pierce Windsor said, heaving a sigh. I think we probably could have told you at a better time, but sadly, its now or never. You and Evandra are both reaching the age of 18, and while we do want you to continue your studies, we think it best if you two knew something about your futures. This was something we’d discussed as you both were babies actually, and after you both grew up and turned into the best of friends, it just fortified our hopes that-“
“…THAT YOU’LL LET US GO BACKPACKING ALL ACROSS EUROPE ALL BY OURSELVES? It’s either that or get married dad, and I’m hoping it’s not the getting married idea…Because I don’t even want to imagine how bad Dray’s freaking out right now,” Aiden said, masking his astonishment under the usual calm and collected manner with which he dealt with life.
“Well, yeah…we want you both to get married. You’ll both be attending the same college, provided she has no problems getting into College with you..” which is when he trailed off, smirking, knowing that it’d be quite the opposite. She’d have no trouble.
“Dad…brilliant idea really, but we’ll go over this later kay? Right now, I’m going to go and calm Dray down before she does something drastic…you know how she is,” yelling that last part out as he rushed out the door to Dray’s place. Or rather….to Dray’s room. He’d just wait for her there.
*end flashback*
“So yeah, that’s how it went down..” Aiden said. “Quite interesting really. So anyway, that’s so weird right? Do you know of a college that I could get into that you wouldn’t hate?”
I looked at him, knowing that he was waiting for reaction, knowing that he knew what I was going to do, and knowing that I was going to do it anyway.
So I opened my mouth and…
Controlled Derangement 