"Hey…if I can forever be by your side, would you continue to find a reason to enjoy life?", a young girl with crimson, long flowy hair timidly asked the raven-haired boy next to her.
With the both of them staring off into the vast, expansive night sky on a branch of a willow tree, the moment of peace was suddenly interrupted by this question.
"Of course…why are you asking this suddenly?," the boy remarked, confused by such a sudden question, dark-brown eyes meeting emerald-green eyes.
"Are you suddenly going to fly that massive rocket ship that we saw this morning on TV to the moon and leave me behind or something?"
She lets off a small giggle at his foolhardy response to her question.
"As if…you know that I am not rich enough to even ride in one, much less travel to see one in person. Although, it is still nice to be able to dream," she sighed.
The young boy looked at her, perplexed and captivated by her fiery red mane and emerald green eyes. Absorbed in the moment, he quickly turned the other way, hiding a rushing blush creeping on his face. Unfortunately, he turned too late, and the girl let off a small smirk seeing his flustered state.
"You know, you are starting to look as red as my hair," she teased, poking him in the back as a means to annoy and embarrass him even more.
"It's just the heat…," the boy murmered.
"Sure…but isn't it winter right now? Not sure what type of heat you are talking about or maybe you got a heater in your coat? Not going to share? Meanie…and here I am, a maiden that is freezing out in this cold, harsh weather, being rejected by her long-time childhood friend!", she exclaimed in mock exasperation, putting both hands to her heart.
"Stop teasing me…and what do you mean by maiden? I don't think someone like you deserves to be called that after seeing you roll in horse turd this morning! Brute is more like it," huffed the boy, giving a defiant smug look towards the young girl who is starting to look like she is about to blow a casket.
"Oh look, now who is the red one, my dear redheaded friend! Your face is matching your hair as well! Maybe if we somehow get your eyes to be red, you may pass as the first ever real-life demon, scarier than any live-action fantasy series…"
Smack
"Ow! What was that for!", the boy exclaimed, rubbing his shoulder where the girl unceremoniously slapped him.
"That was because you pushed me off the horse! It is not like I intentionally decided that I would looooove~ to roll in horse crap! What type of gentleman pushes a maiden like myself off!"
Huffing, she then crossed her arms and defiantly turned her whole body away from the boy, admonishing him.
Scooting closer, the boy wrapped his right arm around her shoulders, feeling somewhat guilty about the incident.
"C'mon, I apologized, plus it was payback for when you decided it was funny to push me into the pond…there were scary marine life in there!"
"You do realize that the pond in question only had carps, right?", she retorted back, "But fine, I guess we are now even. At least you didn't smell rancid for the whole day."
She relaxed her posture, leaning into the warm embrace of the boy. A comfortable silence then ensued, both teens basking in the presence of one another, looking towards the stars throughout the night sky, with the crickets chirping through the night.
"You didn't answer my question from earlier," the boy asked, breaking the mellow silence.
"What question?"
"You know…about why you suddenly asked me about enjoying my life if you were by my side," he frowned, still perplexed about her reasoning for such a deep rooted question.
"Oh, you know…I just wanted to make sure…I just don't want to be a hinderance towards your happiness," she shyly answered, turning her head away to hide her expression.
Getting irritated, he turned her to face him by the chin.
"Lena Langley, I would be ecstatic if you do not leave my side! So please rest-assured, you are never a burden to me! So please, stay by my side!", the boy confidently stated without a hint of hesitation, eyes filled with devotion.
Smiling, the crimson-haired girl, Lena, tightly embraced the boy.
"Then I will stay with you, until the end and beyond it. We will realize our dreams of flying a rocket together, Leo Murphy, you and I," Lena muffled, her face pressed against Leo's chest.
"I promise you that," Leo smiled, tightening his hold around his dearest friend.
And thus, with dreams laid bare and promises being made, the two friends embraced, under the cold and tranquil night sky. With friendship solidfying and the formation of something that the duo are yet to be aware of.