2013, Oak Park, Illinois
Their dads were college roommates who became best friends. They were so close that George Huang asked Martin Gastrell to be his best man when the former married Elizabeth Beckett, and George was Martin’s best man when the latter married Morgan Chevalier. It even reached a point when Martin’s son, Simon, was born, Martin didn’t hesitate to ask George to be his son’s godfather. It was the same with George when his son, Daniel, was born. Suffice it to say that the Gastrells and the Huangs were so close that no one were surprised when both boys became best friends since they were in diapers.
<br>Daniel was a scrawny kid growing up so Simon immediately took on the role of protector and did his best to shield the younger boy from bullies who threatened to make Daniel’s life miserable. Because of that, Daniel clung to Simon, and, in turn, Simon adored Daniel with all his heart.
The families shared a lot of happy times together, as well as sad ones. One particular sad moment was when Daniel’s mother passed away due to cancer when he was only eight years old.
Daniel seemed to change since then. He was very close to his mother, after all, and was not yet old enough to understand what happened to her. But he at least understood that she was gone and was never coming back.
Daniel started acting a little bit more like a grown-up since then. No eight-year-old should be forced to mature like that, but Daniel did, nonetheless. He also became quieter and more introverted. He spent more time alone, preferring to train in martial arts or paint on his own rather than play with the other kids in town – not that he had a lot of friends. Daniel shied away from everyone except his Dad and the Gastrells.
During that time, Simon became Daniel’s only solace; the one remaining light he could cling to as darkness threatened to swallow him whole.
So, imagine how devastated he was when he learned that something threatened to take that light away from him.
It was one of those rare, cool summer nights that usually happened just once within the duration of the season. Daniel was already in bed, and though his sleep was not yet deep enough, he still did not notice the soft whine that the hinges of his bedroom window made as they were pulled open by someone who had climbed up the rose trellis that was strategically placed outside his room.
“Qíjì…Qíjì…wake up. Wake up Qíjì. Please…please wake up…”
Daniel stirred and turned on his back. There were very few people in the entire world who called him by his Mandarin name outside of the Chinese employees at their restaurant so he knew it was Simon before he could even recognize the other boy’s voice.
Daniel forced himself into consciousness when the older boy called out to him, distress obvious in the tone of the boy who had now crawled into his bed. His sleepy, almond-shaped eyes met glistening emerald ones that were filled with tears. The image jarred him into full wakefulness and he immediately sat up in concern.
“Simon? What’s wrong? Why are you crying?” Daniel asked, cradling the older boy’s face in his hands.
“Qíjì, I don’t want to leave you…but I will! I will! And I hate Dad for doing this to us! I hate him!”
Daniel’s forehead creased in confusion at what he heard. “What? Why? I don’t understand…”
Simon looked up and stared into Daniel’s bright brown orbs, the hurt and fear that were evident in his eyes completely out of place from how he was used to seeing his friend.
“We’re moving to New York. Dad’s being sent there to be the boss of their New York office. I-I don’t want to go Qíjì! I don’t want to leave you alone!”
It was like his entire life suddenly imploded around him. He had just lost his mother less than a year ago to cancer – an illness he still could not fully understand – and now his best friend was leaving him as well. Daniel wanted to cry, but he felt numb all over.
“W-when?”
Simon sniffled and snuggled against Daniel, burying his face in the crook of Daniel’s neck. The latter wrapped his arms around his friend in a tight, comforting hug, though he wasn’t sure if he wanted to comfort the other boy or himself after hearing the news.
Daniel could see the deep, ugly frown marring Simon’s face and his heart ached at the sight. He placed a hand on Simon’s cheek and gave him a small smile. “When?” he prodded again.
Simon sighed as he closed his eyes slowly, tears falling from his eyes once again. “Ten days from now.”
Daniel’s eyes widened at the news and the tears started building up in them as well. He had barely two weeks to spend with Simon. Ten short days and then he will never see his best friend again. He pulled Simon flush against his, hugging him until they could both barely breath before tucking away the sadness that was bubbling up inside his chest, making sure he hid it well.
“Silly boy…why are you crying? It’s not like we’ll stop being friends when you move, right?” Daniel cooed as he gently stroked Simon’s back.
Though Simon was a little over a year older than Daniel, at that particular moment, Daniel couldn’t help but feel like Simon was the younger one instead of the other way around. All his energy drained out of him slowly as he pretended to be okay, like he wasn’t close to breaking in his friend’s arms. He didn’t dare, though – couldn’t dare – break. Simon was too torn up about the fact that he was leaving Daniel behind that he felt obliged to be the boy’s rock.
“Shhh…come on, you can sleep beside me tonight and then we’ll ask Uncle Martin and Auntie Morgan to let you sleep here until before you leave, okay Simon?” he whispered as he wriggled on the bed to find a position that would be comfortable for both of them. He waited for Simon to follow suit before humming his mother’s favorite song softly into his best friend’s ear to lull him to sleep and to mask the breaking of his heart.
