Chapter Text
1990, a great “magical year”, called that by Wilson “Wil” West though it was a strange thought. One even his closest best friend since childhood couldn’t figure out. Brando “Bran” De Backer.
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“They call me Bran the Man” said Bran followed by a chuckle after nailing a rainbow with his batted old soccer ball and passing it to Wil, though Wil didn’t exactly receive it. They were in Wil’s own backyard during the mid to late afternoon in Texas heat, Wil himself was sitting on an old quilt a couple feet away from Bran; playing with the bright green grass. Bran although, was being… Bran, no exact way to describe his personality other than chaos with loads of unpredictability.
“Nobody calls you that Bran!” Shouted Wil while he picked up the ball(pausing his “trimming” of the grass), held it in his grasp, and tossed it to Bran. Bran swiftly caught it in his hands. He was very athletic, with dirty blond hair and brown eyes. His outfit was paired with ripped blue Levi’s, stained from years of tear, and a sleeveless grayish green shirt with a dark blue flannel thrown over.
Wil, however, was wearing a red shirt and charcoal black jeans, his black curls spilling over his head, dark brown eyes still visible. Feet laid out, only his white socks on, looking up at Bran as he practiced basic drills.
“Coach Randal says to practice at any free moments to make the team” said Bran, steadily breathing
“He doesn’t actually mean that” said Wil as he rolled his eyes, “you will get on the team either way sporto, it’s just natural that you will with your physique”
“Just what are you hinting at?” Bran paused for a second, glaring at Wil.
“It means that you should stop worrying and relax you weirdo. You’ve definitely been practicing soccer to make varsity for half of the summer and now we start senior year tomorrow”
“Okay then” Bran replied—abandoning his soccer ball and approaching Wil on the quilt—“I’ll take a small break”
“We could head down to Freezies?” Bran suggested, “if you’re in the mood for ice cream”
“Hmm well we should actually go to the creek across town” Wil said with a sly slime
“I’m fine with that” Bran said, sitting cross legged angled to the side in front of Wil
They both paused for half a minute***
“As long as you can catch up to me poindexter” Bran said, he stood up abruptly, ruffled Wils hair, and ran towards his bike at the top of Wils driveway in the front by circling around the left side
Bran had left it there when he biked over from his house.
Wil paused for a second, then he ran after Bran.
Wils bike was in his garage in the front connected to his house.
Wil grabbed his bike, that same bike that held on since his dad left it when he left.
“Bran!” He shouted while running into a sit on his bike. “I swear if you don’t pause I’m gonna murder you!”
Bran finally did pause after a good thirty seconds, already two blocks away. Wil caught up, “I keep being reminded how fast you are” he said, keeping his hands rested on the handle bars and straightening his back.
“A great athlete must be fast Wil” said Bran
“Well of course I know that but you really need to just kill it slightly on speed” said Wilson.
“Mmm alright, let me adjust my flannel first”
He peeled it off as Wilson joked about how it was probably drenched with sweat. Bran tied it around his waist, shooting soft slimes at Wil from laughing along.
They continued passing by houses and buildings. Lockhart was also hot in August but the wind made up for it when biking.
“Bran haven’t you missed the fresh air?” Said Wil
“I’ve missed the wind, God it feels way better now” Bran said.
They continued yapping of more casual things until the topic switched to school
“We’re seniors now!” Bran said
“Oh yes we are-“ Wil said with a nod and smile- “it’s been a wild ride at Lockhart High” he continued, lifting his chin up with a feeling of pride mixed with nostalgia.
“I know that face” Bran said
Wil looked over his right shoulder, a confused look on his face now
“Don’t be so sappy” Bran said, “last year of the hell hole” he continued while smiling and looking at Wil, careful not to fall or loose control.
Wil laughed along, smiling wide.
Wilson and Brando never exactly enjoyed how boring Lockhart could be. Wilson dog walked for some houses. Brando worked at Freezies, only for the ice cream and the air conditioning.
Wil was able to recognize a few houses from dog walking. Even pointed some of them out.
“Oh look there Bran! That’s the nice old lady Petunia who has a Yorkie. And there’s Mr. Smiths house with a Pitbull. It even seems like Mrs. George left her Spaniel out in her backyard” Wil said joyfully
The spaniel, Charles, somehow leaped over the fence after Wilson and Brando looked over for one second to continue biking. Charles ran right up to them, making Wil stop in his tracks.
“Bran stop real quick” Wil said.
“This is Charles-“ gasp* “-awww, he is such a cutie” Wil kept talking while petting him
Bran definitely observed Charles’ ears and fur, a beautiful mix of gingerbread brown and white.
Soon after Wil led Charles back to Mrs. George’s house, explained what happened. Wil and Bran got to kept biking.
They got about twenty feet away before they heard loud barking.
They turned around to see Charles… again.
The boys once again paused for the dog.
“You’re a quite cute little buddy but you can’t come with us” said Brando while leaning over
“Why can’t he?” Wil glared over
“Well like… uhhh”
“Seems like Charles is coming with us Bran” said Wil with a grin on his face
Charles was good at keeping up with Wil and Bran while they were biking, he floated around them like a shadow. Wil and Bran themselves were goofying around. Doing tricks, at one point Wil lifted his legs up like he was doing a split as Bran watched. They both laughed along, flying jokes at each other again and again.
Their conversations and jokes kept going on and on and on so smoothly that they didn’t realize they were just two turns away from the lake.
“Oh shit we didn’t even plan anything to do” said Wil
“You and your ‘plans’, just wing it Wil” replied Bran
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The creek was a humble place, a nice small area, it had a clear path up to the water with a big tree right next to it, the water also had different trees on the other side of it, there was one tree that perfectly sat above the water where Wil and Bran used to jump off, and a hill with green grass up to the right.
Charles had since left Wil and Bran who were now pulling their bikes up to the big tree and set them down.
Brans first instinct after getting off his bike was to roll his jeans up to his knees and pull his black boots and socks off
Wils was to just to crouch down at the bank and look for any frogs
The bike ride took a total of about an hour, the sun was still up, the heat didn’t change compared to earlier in the afternoon.
“Ahhh this feels SO nice” said Brando, slipping his feet into the bank of the creek. “Have you found any frogs yet?” He said, looking over at Wil.
Wil was about a meter away from Bran, still on the bank just not being Bran. Although Bran expected and was right about Wil trying to catch frogs; “Wil have you caught any frogs yet?”
“Uhhh no luck yet but I remember coming over here earlier this summer and seeing some pregnant frogs so there must be some babies somewhere” Wil answered while scanning his eyes everywhere.
“Wanna take a dip?” Said Bran as he reached his legs back up and pulling his shirt off over his face.
“Probably not…” said Wil
“Okay whatever you say Wilson but I’m hopping in”. Bran casually pulled his jeans down too. Tossing them and his shirt to the side next to bike.
Brando did as he said and jumped in, the creek was only waist level deep and Wilson and Brando were both close to six feet. Wilson continued to carefully watch over the bank for frogs.
It would always be a rookie mistake to fall in the creek, yet it seemed like Wilson was acting as one…
Gasp* “there!” Wil said, pointing, leaning and reaching over at a small baby frog on a random floating leaf.
He fell in.
Brando laughed hard from the water.
Wilson surfaced back up after half a second under.
“That was not funny!” He said
“Yes it is and you know that” Brando chocked out within bursts of laughter.
“Hahaha yeah whatever you say” Wil replied as he climbed back over the bank which he fell from.
“Well at this point you should just come back in” said Bran
“Well now I will just let me take my shirt and jeans off” replied Will
“Ahhh finally, it’s so boring to be in here alone”
Wil pulled his now wet and dark red shirt off and laid it on the green hill to dry under the sun. Same with his pants which also darkened because of the water. His black Converse Chuck Taylor’s were harder to get off but he managed. He finally pulled his “white” now gray socks off and placed them right next to his clothes.
With just his boxers on he shouted:“Cannonball!”
And ran from the hill into the water.
The two boys splashed around with harmless joking. “I’m gonna get you back for splashing me” said Wil, “you started it!” Replied Bran, followed by tons of laughter.
“Hey watch this” said Bran as he slipped out of the water and did a front flip into the water.
“Cool Bran but I bet I could do better” Wil joked even though he had zero skill
“Okay you do you Wil” replied Bran
Too far into the joke, Wilson leaped out and took a couple steps back from the bank. He planned to run into a front flip.
“Okay here it goes,” he said
“1…2…3…” and Wilson started the run
Wil really did try to do a front flip but chickened out and did another cannon ball.
“Wil…” said Bran once Wil surfaced back up
“Uhhh yeah I chickened out” said Wil- “D-don’t you dare -“ Wil tried saying pointing his finger at Bran but Bran continued
“Bawk bawk bawk” he said
“Oh that’s it Brando” said Wilson as he leaped to tackle Bran
Bran dogged Wil but Wil was still able to grab Brans arm, they pushed each other playfully laughing with every move. Wil pulled Brans arm closer just to let go and splash water at him. Bran got some pay back two seconds later, grabbing Wil from behind and lifting him up to spin him around and flop him back in the water continuing to splash him.
After some friendly rough housing, Wil said he would take a break to lay on the hill, he laid down on the left of his clothes.
Bran later joined, “good” thought Wil since he was bored of just watching
They both started up simple conversation of school and clubs.
“I think I might join pottery club” said Wilson with his hands on the back of his head leaning over to Brando on his left, “I mean I love to paint but it’d be nice to do something else for senior year”
“Oh yeah I agree” said Brando, “I’m not sure if I’d join any clubs this year, although I’m definitely staying with soccer. And I’ll probably join swim team for my mom”
“Well I might just watch your meets” said Wil, jokingly punching Brando on his right arm to the side of him
“Okay well I don’t know if you’d like the people who are on the team though” said Brando in the middle of a laugh
“Like who?”
“Aaron, Teddy, Reed, Benjamin, Evan, Brigit I-I mean basically people who are the most annoying”
“Bran then why are you even friends with them?”
“I’m not exactly friends with them, I’m more forced to be friends with them since we’re in a big friend group for sports”
“Oh so you just form a cult within high school sports?”
“Sadly”
“Okay then who are the tolerable people who you have a genuine friendship with? I haven’t asked you that question in a while”
“Oh yeah you haven’t, we need to morph our friend groups together. You only hear about them through me”
“I’m down, but answer the question”
“Okay okay, ummm well let’s see-“ while counting on fingers* “Emily, Sarah, Jeff, Sebastian, Joshua, Ryan, Eric, Connor, Cole, and that’s it really. Other people I’m friends with but these guys are pretty close to me”
“Okay nice I have had some of them in my classes and I know like two of them, anyways do you know my group of friends?”
“I believe not”
“Okay well it’s Luka, Charlie, Alan, Nicole, Alexis, Anna, and Cam”
“That’s a good group but you forgot one person”
“Who”
“Me, you dummie”
“Well in that case you forgot me too”
“Okay okay I’ll drop it”
They both laugh***
Their conversation runs smoothly, going from topic to topic, joking at every other sentence. The sun was casually setting slowly before they could even imagine.
“It’s getting kind of late, the sun looks like it’s about to set, we should head back now.“
“Alright, oh just pass me my clothes”
Bran reached over and points at his clothes*
“Yeah here you go” says Wil as he gives them to Bran
“Thanks” says Bran with a slight smile
Wilson responded with a “mmm” standing up and pulling his damp shirt and jeans on, even almost slipping on the hill so he moved to the flat ground. He pulled his shoes and socks on, they squished with every move. They weren’t even completely dry, none of his clothes were and Wil had to ring them out. He took longer than Brando who was ready in close to thirty seconds.
The two grabbed up their bikes again to finish the trip home. Creating small talk through every turn back to the west side of Lockhart. They sun was just starting to set, creating a nice scenery
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Through their bike ride the sun had come down to tree level, time passing at a good even pace
“You need to come over more often Brando, like how it used to be” said Wil as they were already at Lockhart High, a hour of biking had got them there and they were not far from each others houses now
“You gotta let yourself live, you can have priorities but you also need to leave some time to have fun” Wil continued, smiling at Bran along with a glare
“Mmm I guess so, hopefully the work load this year won’t be as bad and I can still plan outings with friends” Bran replied
“M’Kay just not like a giant party or something, thinking of those already makes my chest tighten”
Their conversation paused.
It was a nice moment.
Just enjoying the summer air, day before their last first day of high school.
On the final turn, darkness mostly covering the sky, they both paused to go their separate ways.
Bran got off his bike and walked it towards his driveway- “hey Bran!” Wilson shouted
Bran paused for a second and peered his head around.
“I’ll bring your soccer ball tomorrow morning when I meet you at the corner” Wil said
“Oh yeah thanks Wil” Bran replied, waving his left hand at Wil, he’d forgotten he even left it. Just enjoyed the creek with his best friend so much
Wil kept biking down the road also waving at Bran at best of his ability with only one hand on his bike.
A smile plastered his face, probably the last real one before he went back to the “hell hole” of Lockhart High
Being a senior was a weird feeling after spending so much time looking up to this moment. Wilson drifted his thoughts towards dinner.
With Wilson’s mom, Ms. West working two jobs, the duty of making dinner usually landed on him. On more lucky days, the diner Ms. West worked at allowed her to take some sandwiches home.
It was a very normal feeling for Wil.
Nothing strange or unusual
Just how it’d always been
Wilson dropped his bike off in his garage, leaving his wet shoes and socks on the cold concrete and went through the door at the back of the garage. Wilson turned on the stove and filled a pot with water to boil it.
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Wilson’s houses floor plan was simple for a Texas house. When you walked in through the front door the kitchen would be on the left hand side(oven, fridge, toaster, microwave, counters on one side and an island closer to the hallway), a blank wall on the right. Continuing forward would be the garage door and a closet leading up to the staircase on the right. The left going forward had a living room tucked in the corner with a table and chairs dead center. The bathroom hid behind the kitchen on the left. Wooden floors everywhere except for the bathrooms and the kitchen since they had tiles.
His house— filled with clutter, old gifts from deceased relatives, Wilson’s own artwork, memories burned into each nook— was just his, everything surrounding him felt like a forever place.
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Wilson moved swiftly through his kitchen, his feet passing over the cool tiles while instinct kicked in for the most natural thing. He’d also just decided to just stay in his wet clothes and not sit down anywhere so he wouldn’t have to clean the spot. The sun was past set, complete darkness surrounded his house and neighborhood.
As time passed, the water boiled, he added the Linguine, he even turned on an episode of Full House in the living room and watched from the kitchen. Once the pasta was done Wil strained it and served himself plain pasta, standing and watching Full House while eating and then made another bowl to set to the side for his mom.
Wilson made his way to his living room after finishing his pasta. Continuing the episode and watching from behind his gray couch.
Soon after Full House was done Wil went to his bedroom upstairs
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The upstairs of Wilson’s house had Ms. West’s bedroom right at the top of the stairs. Her bedroom was also equipped with a bathroom connected at the back. To the right, there was a balcony with a half wall overlooking the dinner table and living room. There was a small meter gap between Wils room and his mom’s room.
Wils room was in the back right corner, a bathroom also connected to it that was closer to the balcony. Another small gap between Wils bathroom and the balcony. The ceiling above the gap had space for a string which pulled down a ladder that you could climb to get to the attic.
Wils bedroom was messy, the door was on the left side with a window above his bed and a brown dresser with a mirror attached perpendicular to his bed. His sheets were a mix of different shades of blue. The window overlooked the metal awning for his front porch and part of the woods across his house.
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Wilson made his way upstairs, he started to brush his teeth first, mind heavy with thoughts of tomorrow:
“Will there be any annoying people in my class?”
“Are the teachers going to be nice?”
“Where should I sit at lunch?”
“What if Bran ditches me at school?”
“Did anyone start arguments with each other in the friend group?”
“Crap what do I start a conversation with?”
He tried to pause his thoughts but they kept racing, even when he went to take a shower.
Over and over they kept appearing— worse even
“What if the teachers hate me?”
“What if I have no classes with any of my friends?”
“What if…”
“I have to stop thinking” Wil thought
Boxers on while shirtless, his hair freshly washed and dried after his shower walking back to his garage to dry his clothes, even picking up his socks he left there to dry too.
Mind on overdrive, laying wide awake in his bed, the window slightly open, cool Texas air seeping in. Nothing seemed to help
With a slight bit of hesitation Wil picked up the home phone he had on his night stand…