Chapter Text
Prologue
June. 26, 2019
The six friends fought their way out the entrances of their school into freedom. Summer Vacation of 2019 began!
John patted Andre soothingly on the back, "Easy lang, kuya! Relax for a bit."
Andre raised his eyebrow, "Not in that accent, I'm not."
He adjusted his glasses and glanced at the green grass in front of the school.
"We all promised to console you till then," Juliana hugged Andre reassuringly. "We should totally hang out this summer, guys."
Tagu nodded in approval, "I'm down. I'm happy we all started talking again."
With one last group hug, the six departed each other's arms. They waved each other good-bye and went their separate ways. Marjorie and, Andre entered Lance's car. The three of them remained silent until;
"Try making most of the summer, okay?" Lance told Andre as he reversed the car out of the parking space.
Andre sadly nodded, sticking his earbuds inside his ear.
Marjorie patted his back comfortingly, "You'll get over her eventually. Now, relax! You just finished the easiest final of your life!"
Despite himself, Andre smirked, "Photography isn't exactly Rocket Science. It's harder to actually fail that class than trying to pass it."
The car escaped the traffic and began to cruise down the highway. Lance yawned at a stoplight then turned back to the two friends at the back.
"Hey, guys," Lance said with a smile. "You wanna get back on Skype? You know like old times?"
Andre and Marjorie laughed hysterically.
The boy spoke first, "You think I haven't tried bringing that back? Julianna and Tagu aren't exactly open to the idea."
Marjorie sighed deeply, "Yeah, I think it's a dead dream at this point."
Lance chuckled as he drove, "Don't worry, guys. I have my way with people, always."
"Don't make it weird, Cuz," Andre rolled down the window, his hair flowing back with the wind.
Lance's smile could be seen in the rear-view mirror, "I'm not. Just know, that by next month, we'll all be on Skype again."
Marjorie remained silent, leaning her head back into the seat. Andre tapped her shoulder.
"What is it?" She asked.
"Thanks for being there for me when shit went down," Andre stared at Marjorie apologetically. "Just, all of you, thanks for being there."
Marjorie smiled sweetly at him, rubbing his shoulder comfortingly.
"You'll be over it by next month," Lance reassured Andre, who just stared out the window. "At least now, you can look at ass again."
Andre snorted, and couldn't help but smile, "Just promise me we won't ever talk about it unless we have too."
Lance parked his car against the sidewalk facing Andre's home. He let out a breath.
"Whatever you want, bro," Lance unlocked the doors and with one last wave, Andre shut the door.
Now, only Marjorie and Lance remained.
"You think he'll be okay?" Marjorie asked, leaning in her chair.
Lance's face fell, and with a sigh, he said, "It'll take time, but now that the seven of us reignited our old friendships, we can support him right? And each other. Like before."
Marjorie smiled at that idea, "We never really seperated, you know? Just toom a break."
Turning around, Lance handed Marjorie a piece of candy. Marjorie unwrapped the candy happily then dropped it inside her mouth.
"Yeah, you could say that," Lance agreed as he parked his car next to Marjorie's house. "JUST CONVINCE THEM TO SKYPE, PLEASE."
Marjorie jumped back, startled by his sudden outburst, "Okay, okay! You're pushy.
The two began to laugh for a little bit, and Marjorie eventually left the car. Lance rolled his window down and rose a water bottle up in the air.
"To a good summer!"
Marjorie cocked her head to the side and smiled slightly, "To a good summer!"
The girl disappeared inside her house, and Lance drove off into the horizon.
PART ONE
Chapter 1:
Andre's POV
"Where could they have gone?" I tap my foot onto the carpet, staring intently at the blue background of the Skype logo.
I was in a long Skype call with my friends, Julianna, Tagu, John, Lance, Miguel, Marjorie, and an old friend, Nick. Skype was outdated as hell, but we always used it for nostalgia's sake.
"John and Tagu were here 10 minutes ago. I'm pretty sure we even heard them speak," Julianna says, scratching her head.
It turns out; they were both on the phone with old relatives, y'know the ones they haven't talked too for a long time. We all have to go through that at some point, and it always ends up being awkward. Aside from myself, of course. My family and I are pretty tight.
"I'm back," John appears, sitting down in his chair. "That went abysmal."
"Tell me about it," Tagu butts in. "What did you guys talk about while we're gone?"
"We wondered where you went, but Andre confirmed for us," Marjorie replies, smiling.
"How are you, by the way?" Lance asks me.
"Doing great; why?" Sadly, I was only telling half the truth. I was great at the moment, yes. Overall, I felt miserable, every day was a battle that needed to be won, but I would always fall short.
"Just wondering."
"Remember what we promised, guys, please," I plead with a tiny crack in my voice.
Nick furrows his brow, "Promised what?"
"Don't worry about it, Bub," I smile and quickly change the topic. "So, junior year? How was that for everyone?"
We all talked about how grade 11 was utterly stressful and at the same time, carefree. The remainder of school at the start of summer vacation always left a sour taste in our mouths, as it did every year. The topic shifted fortunately when Tagu told us she wanted to hang out.
"We should all go out to eat somewhere," Tagu clicks enthusiastically.
"But where, though?" John questions as he yawns, "I'm pretty hungry right now, though. It doesn't seem like a bad idea."
"Does fast food count? Or are we going to restaurants that don't cost a lot?" I ask as I stretch my arms tiredly.
I haven't been out in a while, too; it wasn't a bad idea to go out and eat with friends.
"You guys should try Seoul," Nick suggests, "It's Korean BBQ if it wasn't obvious enough. It's delicious there and, honestly, not that expensive."
"Liar," Miguel calls. "I hear it's very expensive there."
"We'll all pitch in twenty, don't get riled up," I sigh. "Who has twenty here?"
"For you?" Julianna straightens in her chair.
"No, like, in general, who has a twenty they can use to pitch in?"
Everyone put their hands up, "It's settled then."
Nick already fit right into our group. It was like a missing puzzle piece, but I had the feeling there were more pieces out there to make us, us. God knows how big our group can grow.
Everyone nods in agreement, and the conversation dragged on for a few moments.
"So, are we going to try Seoul? I've heard about it too from others," Miguel implies as he looks into his webcam.
Marjorie nods, "I've been there with my family, maybe, once or twice. I can tell you guys what's good and the stuff I haven't tried yet."
"Sweet! I'll get ready. I can give you guys all a ride," Lance pauses, and we all wait in anticipation.
"...but one of you guys may have to squeeze in the back of the car. Sorry about that. Again," Lance smiles as we all groan in disappointment.
All of us hung out at the beginning of summer, already. Though Lance was hesitant at first, we were lucky he gave us rides home when the days got too hot. All of us had our licenses; however, we all didn't have cars. I was planning to get my sweet ride next month.
John grimaces and brings a palm to his face, "Me first? Again? I haven't even showered yet!"
"I'll come over to your house, Jolo. Don't worry, my friend," I convulse into laughter. "I'll come after you shower, of course."
Julianna beams with excitement and says, "Well, everyone, let's get ready!"
"Nick, where do you live? I can give you a ride, too," Lance proposes.
"No need. I live by Riverlanding, so it's walking distance from my house. Where do you guys live?"
"In Hampton Village," everyone says in unison, then following it up with a fit of laughter.
I could never get tired of this. We were a family, though it wasn't always like this. During the school year, we were all distant from each other. We all had our established friend groups, and by we, I meant everyone else. Marjorie, Julianna, Miguel, and Tagu were Frenchies at our school, so they would always be with the other Frenchies, occasionally hanging out with different people.
John and I hung out with the typical group of guys that sat at that one table. I wasn't fond of them, and I kept my distance most of the time. Lance and Nick were at different schools, except Lance moved back to Bethlehem, maybe during the middle of the semester. Nick went to the School attached to ours, Tommy Douglas, the neighbouring/rival school.
I was the 'Wanderer' before we all came back into each other's lives. By wanderer, I meant I would hop from tables during lunchtime or the break. I did have someone, a girlfriend, if you must, but that didn't last. It's hard to think about, but I'm learning to move on, or at least that's what I'm telling myself is happening.
It was hard to find somebody else to trust, as our school had a reputation of having many fake people. I did have a few people to trust, though: Nathan, being one of them. He's essentially my right-hand man, and I owe him a lot for teaching me more than anyone has. He's been pretty busy; lately, I hope to see him again.
I also had this server on Discord. No, it wasn't those packed servers with a hundred people in it. It was the right amount. Meaning, we all got to know each other without having fifty other people bombard other chat rooms with messages, including ours. I love them. The only downside is, they're from different countries and states/provinces. Still, love them.
Anyway, by the time it was May, our old Skype Group reunited. I always wished for that to happen at the tail end of almost giving up; they supported me when my life hit an all-time low. That caused our family to be whole again; we're still trying to get used to Skyping again. As I said, it was outdated. Regardless, we made most of what we had and reignited our old friendships.
Nick knocked loudly on his desk, breaking me out of my own thoughts.
"Goddamnit, it's hot as fuck outside," Nick shakes his head in disappointment. "I'll speed walk there, guys. Hope you all don't keep me waiting."
"We'll try not to, man. John and I haven't seen you in a year anyway, why would we keep you waiting," I smiled, getting up from my desk. "This hangout will be a reunion, too," I added as I skimmed through the closet.
"See you guys, then!"