Chapter Text
Early morning glare seeped through the small gaps in Brans blinds, suddenly reminding him that the day was dawning and the warm comfort of his bed couldn't hold him for much longer. It was truly strange how mattresses felt much more comfortable when you actually needed to wake up. He stared up at the ceiling and sighed. He'd never forgotten that day in the field, how could he? Now, those two Middle Schoolers were in the midst of their Senior year of High School, time really had gone way too fast. Both of them had switched each others personalities: Bran was now the one acting reckless and unbothered even when there was serious consequences involved, whereas it was Will who was quiet and careful, usually responsible for keeping Brans behaviour in check even when he didn't want to. They do say that things will always change with time, the only thing staying the same in this case was that they were bound to be together forever, as if there was some form of invisible string tied around their pinky fingers reminding them that, no matter what, they would always have each other to come back to.
The wallowing in exhaustion and staring at the ceiling still didn't change the fact that Bran was going to be late if he didn't move soon and he most definitely couldn't take another lecture from his mother when she received a call from the school due to tardiness; the last few hundred times were enough. He sighed deeply, pulling himself up from the mattress until he was sitting fully upright, his eyes now fixed on the closed blind ahead of him, minimal light peeping through the cracks since it was early winter and the mornings were slowly getting darker and darker with each passing day.
After many seconds of aimless staring, he made movement again, this time slipping out from under the sheets and standing on the cold wood of the floor, much colder than usual given the weather that had been plaguing the town for a few weeks now. With that came another sigh, he hated the feeling of heavy clothes suffocating his body, even if they prevented him from practically freezing to death. He was also way too attached to his brown racer jacket to wear anything but that, not caring how much Will would tease him for having a comfort item of clothing. Although, he could easily poke fun back for that damn bracelet he would always wear every single day, he probably even slept with it lightly dangling from his wrist. There was no denying it, It was an adorable bracelet and suited Will rather well, which was probably why Bran decided not to use it as a counter argument.
A few aimless blinks at his closet, he finally gave in, pulling out a fairly thick grey sweater, but still thin enough to accommodate his jacket, he wasn't letting the cold distract him from daily tradition. He also couldn’t seem to part with the ripped denim jeans that Will had gotten him a while back, swearing that he’d grown into them and, finally, he had. Everything seemed so dull as he looked in the mirror, staring blankly at his reflection that seemed to bear more sorrow than usual, as if somewhere deep in his soul he knew something was about to go terribly wrong and possibly mess up absolutely everything that was set out for him.
Alas, he knew it was silly and irrational to think that way so he abandoned the cold stare that was staring back at him and walked out of the room, standing almost motionless at the top of the stairs, as if he were waiting for some sort of monster to pass. He always seemed to do the same every morning, stare down at the bottom of the stairs in fear, in fear of his mother mostly even though there wasn’t anything about her to fear, most of the time anyway. It was a stupid thing to do so he followed the routine, shaking away the random, irrational fear before slowly walking down, tiptoeing almost. There really was nothing to be afraid of, so why did he always get filled with the feeling of impending doom. The routine must be followed. Walking into the kitchen in silence, the only gesture he received from his mother was an insincere smile which he returned the same. His father wasn’t there, he never was in the morning, for one reason or another that Bran tried not to think too much about.
The food in front of him looked strangely distorted, like it appeared larger in his eyes than it actually was. He stared down at it, motionless, for a while, still overwhelmed by unidentified emotions scattered through his brain. There was also the burning feeling of stares, but when he looked up, his mother was by the counter with her back to him. Of course, this made him rather uneasy, but he had no choice but to look back down at the food, occasionally taking small bites but mostly moving it around the plate.
His excuses of being full were beginning to run thin and he wasn't sure how much longer he would be able to trick his mother. After all, she really wasn't all that gullible and most likely was able to see right through his lies. He didn't even know why he hated eating breakfast, he was always hungry when he woke up, like most people are, and there wasn't really anything to put him off of eating. He just didn't. Sometimes, he wondered whether his mother thought he had some sort of disorder, but then again, she was so religiously brainwashed that, to her, mental illnesses didn't exist. The mentally ill were possessed, retaliators of society. Retaliation is sin.
Everything felt strange all of a sudden, he had no choice but to quickly nod at his mother to signify that he was leaving before grabbing the bag that had been set out by the stairs and almost running out of the front door. Somehow, he expected to see Will waiting for him at the end of the driveway, even after being told countless times to just wait at the end of the road, anywhere that hid him from being spotted by Bran's mother.
Eventually, the figure of the boy slowly came into focus, standing on the side of the road and just staring down at the pavement like some sort of undead zombie waiting to pounce on its next victim. There was something about the boy that attracted unwanted pity, the way he stayed quiet most of the time and sometimes just seemed to look like a mere pet for his companion, never really wanting to participate in his reckless activities. Nonetheless, Bran would rather die than be apart from the boy, in a platonic, friendly way of course, Both of them got rather defensive whenever someone even dared to suggest that their friendship was a little "too close", often making pokey comments that they had probably made out a few times behind closed doors. Will was never the one to say anything, he always let Bran handle it, and maybe that made their honest truth look like a lie.
"Mornin'." Bran yawned out the words as he approached the other boy, both smiling awkwardly at each other as they became fully aware of each other's presence and looked one another in the eye. There was a wave of unusual silence for a few moments, the two of them simply staring at each other until their smiles became less awkward and more genuine, a look of amusement on their faces as they attempted to hold back laughter. A serious moment between them was rather if not extremely rare and this proved that more than anything. Before they knew its it, they were standing face to face on the side of the road and chuckling at seemingly nothing whilst the rest of the neighbourhood around them remained in total silence.
"Morning, I finally did as I was told. I didn't stand at the end of your driveway." Will said withe a gentle smile, his chuckles having finally subsided. Bran truly loved to see that signature smile of his, the one that everyone around them knew all too well. The one that didn't disguise any of his true emotions. That was what Bran truly wanted to see, so he just stared in silence again, allowing himself to take in the sight. It was still rather early, so the sunrise hit at just the right angle and made the boy in front of him look as if he were glowing a mix of bright oranges and pinks. It brought him back to that day in middle school, when they were standing on the side of road just as they were now, the only difference being that it was a mid evening sunset causing the sunset and making the atmosphere so beautifully picturesque. It made him want to run away, but not out of fear, rather out of excitement, an adrenaline rush that coursed through his veins and never ended. Alas, he knew that such a situation was but a fantasy that he would never be able to experience in his lifetime, at least not whilst he was bound in the way he was now.
"So you did..." He finally responded, smiling back with just a tad more intensity than the other boy. "Come on, let's go. I cannot get another tardy make on my attendance card, I'm on thin ice with my mother as it is." Even though he tried to made it a comedic comment, he couldn't help but let the tiniest bit of fear and truth slip past the thin barriers in his words.
"She's still on your back? I thought you'd improved, or have you just said that so that I won't start nagging you?" His jokey comment seemed to give off the effect that he hadn't noticed the hints of fear in Brans words, or that was what Bran wanted to think, but he knew that the sarcastic tone was merely a mask and his façade wasn't as hard to see through as he would've like it to be. Nonetheless, he kept up the conversation, relieved that the unusual, uneasy feeling from earlier had finally subsided and he felt as if he was able to breathe and exist freely in his own body. He knew that the freedom wouldn't last for long, though. It never did. He knew that he would plummet back into the same state of impending doom, over exaggerating his normal mannerisms to take attention away from how his mind was telling him all kinds of things: "Nobody is real. They're all robots." "You'll be left alone in the end, you know that." The second was the most common out of all his intrusive thoughts. Maybe that was why he clung to Will so protectively. There was never any real way to control the thoughts, all he did was let them consume him until he was left an overwhelmed mess on the floor for someone else to deal with.
The walk was mainly quiet and calm, only small and insignificant conversation was exchanged between the two of them, neither actually paying full attention to anything that was being said, not that it mattered anyway. They had gotten so far into their friendship that there was rarely anything worth discussing. Eventually other students came into view, the world around them became louder and, before they knew it, the school building was not too far in front of them. Bran shut his eyes for a moment and sighed, giving himself a few more peaceful moments before quickly transitioning into his familiar, extroverted self that everyone around him was used to. Will noticed this, rolling his eyes and immediately becoming disconnected with the world again. To be truthful, this was something he deeply hated about Bran.
"I'll see you later..." He muttered, wanting to get away before it got too crowded and too overwhelming. Over time, he had realised that being friends with Bran meant that the obsession he had with wanting to be friends with anyone and everyone meant hat a lot of his own boundaries were overstepped by a mile and all he could do was stand back and watch as his best friends seemed to be getting further and further away from him. The so called "never ending string" that was tied to keep them together no matter how far apart they were in distance was beginning to strain, splitting more and more with every day that came and went. Although, Bran never seemed to notice the ear growing distance, always too absorbed in the separate life he had created for himself. Will never complained, only wanting what was best for his friend, only wanting for him to finally be happy after all the years of being afraid to step out of the shadows. Despite the obvious crumbling of their friendship, Will stayed silent, acting as oblivious as Bran was.
The hallways were crowded and his locker was hidden by the large masses of students, it made him wonder if the other boy had said anything in response to him suddenly leaving with no excuse. He probably didn't, he most likely immediately got absorbed into a deeper and more interesting conversation with someone else. It made Will somewhat jealous, angry that he had even tried to think about it when his goal was to just get to class and leave the painful thoughts of the early morning behind him.
He reached his locker eventually, leaning forward and placing his forehead against the cool metal of the door. The busyness of the halls worked in his favour now as no one would notice his stance of distress that he was attempting to hide. Alas, he couldn't stay that way forever, class time was approaching and he didn't want to ruin his perfect attendance that had almost been spoiled by Brans tardiness a few too many times for his liking. Unlike the other boys', Wills mother was much more strict and cared almost too much about her son being this perfect human that never stood out of line. He knew that Brans mother was harsh on him, always forcing religious ideologies into his head, but he sometimes wondered if he ever paid any mind to what was happening on the other side of the street. Not that it mattered, anyway, Will always tried to keep that aspect of his life even more private than everything else.
Despite the constant train of intrusive thoughts, he turned on his heel away from his locker and made his way to class, head hanging low even if that meant bumping into a few people, he already had his fast paced apologies all memorised and rehearsed for him to use whenever necessary. Unfortunately for him, his moments of being alone with his thoughts were soon often as he felt an arm wrap around his shoulder, making him timidly turn his head, expecting to see someone that he would rather not have to deal with this early in the morning. Luckily, it was just Bran.
"I know you said 'see you later', yes I did hear you, but everyone else is bunking first period. So I thought I'd just walk with you, we have the same class, don't we?" There it was. The overly exaggerated happiness. Although, he was pretty much like this all the time so you couldn't really call it a façade of any sorts, or it least that was what Will had been led to believe. His wide smile was almost blinding and all Will did was roll his eyes and smile back, never admitting how endearing the others' personality actually was. He didn't respond for a while, just kept walking since they did in fact have the same class and were therefore walking the exact same way, the crowds slowly getting quieter and quieter aside from the students who had truly given up on caring about education at this point. Soon enough, Bran realised how long he'd been making physical contact with the other boy, then slowly slipped his arm off of his shoulder and muttering a soft 'sorry'.
Will couldn't think of anything else to say in response so he just smiled awkwardly and continued to walk, not really bothered by the silence. On the other hand, Bran was very much bothered by it, he somehow felt as if he had done or said something wrong. Alas, the two couldn't help but flock to miscommunication as a form of hiding their emotions, much like a concerningly large amount of people did. This was only pulling the string harder, straining it further. Deep down they both knew that, if they didn't do anything to fix it, they would merely be two strangers who happened to know each and every little detail about one another, but were both too frightened to admit it in fear that acceptance would only make things worse.
"Wilson, Brando! Hurry up, or you'll be late to class. You, Brando, already have a few too many tardy notes on your attendance record." A familiar. booming voice could be heard echoing through the almost empty halls. Sure enough, their Math professor, Mr Birling, was standing just a few feet metres in front of them with his arms folded and a rather stern expression painted across his face. Bran rolled his eyes at the extra comment whilst Will stayed as before, a blank expression on his face as he continued to walk towards the classroom door, not wanting to have to deal with the argument that was most likely about to unfold. That was another thing about Bran, he always had to question any form of authority that wasn't his mother, it was almost as if he had some sort of superiority complex.
Surprisingly though, he didn’t get far before Bran was by his side again, after having seemingly decided against arguing for some unknown reason. This made Will puzzled but he thought it would be better if he didn’t question it, instead just continuing on into the classroom, still being followed by his companion.
“Great…” Bran sighed upon seeing that the only two seats left were directly at the front of the room, the complete opposite of where they usually preferred to sit. Will was more bothered by this, though, being closer to the front meant that he was more likely to have all attention directly on him, especially since the two were the last ones in the room and how everyone had probably heard them being yelled at to hurry up. He knew that Bran wouldn’t be bothered by such silly things, so I kept quiet as per usual, not voicing how all the eyes that were now fixated upon him made him feel. He wouldn’t understand, he never did.
“Guess we’ll just have to sit at the front.” Will muttered, hesitantly taking a seat and motioning the other boy to do the same. As much as he tried to, he couldn’t shake the feeling of the stares. It was all too obvious with how the piercing gazes felt like needles constantly stabbing his skin.
”Alright now that we’re all here, let’s begin.” The sound of the professors voice felt condescending and was most definitely targeted to the two boys, which made Bran visibly roll his eyes, luckily just as the professor had turned his back. After that, the words spoken by everyone in the room just sounded like a buzz, background noise for the thoughts that were once again plaguing Wills mind. Although, being in class surrounded by students and a motive for distraction somewhat numbed the degrading feeling that was usually paired with these thoughts, making it at least somewhat easier to focus on what was going on in the present.
Before they knew it, a loud ringing sounded from the halls, echoing into each and every crevice of the classroom, causing everybody to start gathering their stuff, the room suddenly filling with loud chatter and conversation, nobody caring whether or not the professor would end up scolding them for 'leaving them before they had been formally dismissed'. Then again, most teachers were like that, acting as if they had even more authority than rules set in place by an even higher figure of power.
"Let's go, I at least want to get a decent seat in the study area. You have a free period, don't you?" Bran said, breaking the silence between the two, even though the air around them was anything but silent at the moment. Nonetheless, Will agreed, nodding his head since he really didn't have anything of much importance to add to the conversation, allowing the other to lead the way out of the classroom and into the once again busy halls, following behind him like some sort of pathetic, obedient dog following the orders of its master. Maybe that had been their relationship dynamic all along; one leads whilst the other follows without asking any questions are attempting to take back any sort of control that was never theirs in the first place. Either way, Will was happy with how they had turned out, he was surprisingly content with being ordered around like this, as long as it was Bran giving the orders there was no issue. In a way, he liked it, but not in the way that could be taken its him being a weirdo. Perhaps he was just that that emotionally attached to his friend that he would let him do whatever he wanted to him without any repercussions.
"Say, Will, do you ever wish you could just run away and start another life? Or wonder what life would be like if we had never crossed paths, if we were completely separated for all of eternity." The mildly philosophical question stunned Will for a few moments, he had never thought of something so trivial and consequential. Overall, his answer was no, he had never thought of being apart from Bran, and all honesty, he didn't want to think of it. As for the other question, it had posed his mind quite a concerningly high amount of times.
"I guess so, depends on the way you look at it. Starting a new life would be cool and all, but I don't think I'd be able to imagine a life where we- where everything was so much different to the lives we're living now, I'm too accustomed to this." He didn't answer the second question, he didn't know how he'd be able to without spilling too much of his true feelings, the feelings that had to stay hidden. There was a long silence that followed, neither of them knowing what else to say. What were they supposed to say? They had already unanimously agreed that the question was far too trivial and weird to think about. Although, Bran was quite a bit more curious than Will, but still respecting boundaries and when not to push things the boy clearly didn't want to talk about. So he kept the thoughts in his head until they reached the study area, which was luckily not as busy as they had anticipated it to be, and there was plenty of free spaces for the two of them to sit together.
Without any words, they manoeuvred themselves to a table in the far corner, spreading their things out and making themselves comfy. There was another silence, though not quite as long as before, where Bran just stared off into the abyss for a while whilst Will used the free time for what it was actually for. Although, his supposedly calm and interrupted time to himself was cut short by Bran doing something stupid as per usual.
He held his pinky finger up for a while, just staring at it before letting his eyes through the air, as if he was following something, but there was nothing there. Will tried not to get distracted by it, place the palm of his hand on his forehead and keeping his eyes fixed on he notes in front of him. Alas, Bran was being way too pushy, now reaching forward to take ahold of the other boys hand, staring blankly at the pinky finger, then back at his own, eyes darting between the two for what felt like an eternity before breaking the silence and laughing quietly so that only they could hear, like it was some sort of intimate moment that nobody else was allowed to see. For a while, Will felt bothered by it, his attempt of studying having being distracted by the stupid antics of his friend. However, after some time had passed, he felt somewhat captivated by the moment; the tips of their pink fingers were touching ever so slightly and both of them were just staring at them, mesmerised by seemingly nothing.
"Do you see it, Will?" Bran asked, finally breaking the silence and smiling strangely as he spoke. The boy in question looked up into his eyes, still not being able to fully comprehend what was going on. For a moment, he could've sworn they were floating, a golden string tied around each of their pinky fingers where they had been looking, an invisible entity somehow connecting their bodies to each other.
"Yeah. What...is it?" His voice was quite a bit louder than usual, its familiar softness completely lost in the air, as if this liminal space had completely transformed his character into something even he didn't't know. It was like they were strangers to even their own minds. Everything felt so unusual in this space, like they were somewhere other than earth, hidden away from the public eye deep inside the fantasies that they had formed inside their minds. It was so strangely peaceful, much unlike their usual lives that they had so desperately tried to escape from. Both of them smiled at this, laughing ever so slightly. The feeling was so blissful. Even though deep down they knew that it was their imaginations conjuring up some sort of fantasy, they still managed to appreciate it. It was almost as if their childhood memories were poking through the seams of their adolescence, trying so hard to show them that there was so much more to life than just wallowing in fatalistic ideologies.
"I don't know, but it's beautiful." Bran finally responded, but the silence wasn't awkward nor painful, more like it was necessary, allowing them to truly appreciate their surroundings for once. Will eventually looked away from their pinky fingers and into the eyes of the other boy. Although his gaze wasn't met in the same way, it was preferable to have the other knowing that he was looking at him. This lasted for a surprisingly long amount of time; Bran grinning widely whilst staring at their pinky fingers whilst Wills eyes became fixed on his expression. In all honesty, this was the least stressful and awkward encounter they'd had all day.
"What are you two doing? You look stupid." Another familiar voice came from not too far beside them, footsteps accompanying it and drawing closer to the boys. Immediately upon hearing it, Bran looked towards the source of the sound, his hand coming back down to rest on the table whilst Will was stuck with his pinky in the air. Upon seeing this, he reluctantly followed, his hand coming down to the table, but not turning to look towards the person who was approaching them, a person that Will, to be completely honest, couldn't stand. The absolute embodiment of what some may call a "pick-me girl", Rhiannon: her overly exaggerated high voice, the way she tried to push herself into situations where she didn't need to be, complaining about the "drama" that came with being in friend groups with girls, hating any girl that came close to her "precious boys". Then, probably the most infuriating, the way she was constantly draped over Bran and acting like they were a couple. As a result of this, she had some sort of irrational, deep rooted hatred for Wills mere existence.
"Nothing, nothing. We're just both really bored." Bran said, a genuine and honest smile on his face. The way that he was able to lie so easily made Will sort of disappointed; he was no stranger to this kind of behaviour coming from the boy, but he couldn't help but feel slightly betrayed by it. It was as if he was a completely different person when it wasn't just the two of them, pandering to the thoughts and feeling of everyone else. Although, Will wasn't exactly innocent of this either. He too had recently formed a habit of forming different masks to wear depending on who he was around; in all honesty, he couldn't even remember the last time he showed someone his true self, and he was more than happy to keep it that way for as long as he needed to do so.
"Sure...anyway! Brando, me and the guys were thinking of cutting our next class and going to the mall since we all have free periods now, come with us." Will felt a pang of pain in his heart, a seemingly unidentifiable emotion that he didn't even want to try and discover. It had always been like this, people acting like he wasn't even there, like he was a ghost. Who knows, maybe he was. Bran on the other hand felt conflicted by the situation, he was desperate to maintain the solid social figure he had built, but he also didn't want to disappoint and leave behind his best friend, even if he knew that the other would act as if he didn't mind at all. For a while, he just stared, mouth gaping and sitting in silence, not knowing what to do and where to go. He knew well that Will wouldn't want to join them, mostly since he wasn't at all acquainted with the group, and this fact would probably overwhelm him. Eventually, Bran leaned back in his chair and sighed before stretching his arms and standing. This led to Rhiannon displaying an expression and briefly looking to Will with smugness before realising that he wasn't paying attention and looked back at Bran.
"I guess I can, one more absent on my record wouldn't hurt." He said, his attention momentarily on the girl in front of him before looking back down at the other boy with a slight hint of guilt in his eyes. "Sorry...we'll hang out next time, I promise." The same pang of pain hit Wills heart and he just smiled awkwardly and nodded in response before watching his friend getting practically dragged away by Rhiannon. Now, he was truly left alone with just his thoughts and emotions that he wasn't quite able to understand, describe, or identify. Alas, he wasn't able to do anything else but sit and take it, letting the unfamiliar emotions hit him all at once.
"It wasn't even a 'hang out'." He mumbled quietly to himself, staring at the door that had long been closed before turning to gaze across the now empty study area. This was the worst feeling of all, the emptiness of having being seemingly abandoned by the person he trusted the most; the person he trusted to stay by his side no matter the situation or consequence. Yet, here he was, alone and abandoned. In shame, he picked up his books and crammed them clumsily into his bag before exiting the area, letting the door slam loudly behind him. Somehow, the halls felt loud, they felt strangely small and cramped, despite there being nobody there, everything was overwhelming and all he could do was leave it be. He tucked his hands into his sleeves and pressed them against his ears to drown out the nonexistent noise, setting his eyes on the double doors that led to the outside of the building. He needed to get out, he needed to escape from this feeling of over exaggerated suffocation.
Upon pushing open the door and exiting the building, he paused suddenly. Where exactly was he supposed to go? He had just stormed out of the building and was now left to figure out everything for himself. For a moment, he felt lost, until images of that particular day in the field flashed through his mind. The place wasn't exactly far from the school and he didn't have any plans on coming back for the rest of the day, not that anyone would notice he left in the first place.
Everything about the scenery surrounding him as he ventured far away from campus and towards the vast lands of infinite fields was beautiful, memories of when the two boys were younger seemed to flash by in hallucinations. Although, Will didn't feel any sorrow or loss at the visions, rather he felt grateful, smiling at seemingly nothing as it passed by. There was often times in which he wanted to go back. Everything was arguably harder back then, with neither of them having the capacity to hide anything, only being able to accept the consequences of their actions, but it was still so beautiful, living carefree and against all social rules. He could see, feel, and hear everything from that day so vividly it was almost as if he had suddenly turned back the clock, returning back to that time and being able to relive the moments, something that he wished he could replay for the rest of eternity and let it light the dead sparks of his brain that had long been extinguished by the burdening sorrows of reality. Alas, there was nothing he could do now. The events of his life leading up to this point and those that were yet to occur had already been predetermined by a deity in the sky, he would have to relinquish his soul and freedom even have a chance of changing it now.
The grass seemed duller now, the trees almost dead. Every single tree apart from that one, the one that he had fell out of all those years ago. It was bittersweet thinking about that day now, thinking about all of the strange feelings he had countered, the ones he had ignored, and the ones he had kept in mind. There was one, however, that, no matter how long he tried to push it away, would always manage to somehow find its way back. Although, he was still trying to figure out what exactly that emotion was.
He approached that very same tree, realising there how much he had grown, he was so much bigger and was able to reach higher than he could before. Everything about the moment felt surreal. So much so that, before he knew it, he was back retracing his steps, his feet hooking onto each part of the bark that he somehow remembered he had climbed before. Eventually, he found himself standing in that very same spot, now able to see so far into the distance, the horizon a distant blur. It was there that he noticed how beautiful the small town was, spanning out for only a few miles before transforming into far stretching fields that were equally as beautiful. Although, being so high up was making him slightly light headed, his feet stumbling and losing grip from the bumpy wood of the tree.
Soon enough, the exact same events, only slightly different since he was on his own this time, occurred. He began to fall back, his feet having completely lost grip now. It felt so unreal though, his gaze pointed up towards the clouds, no thoughts circulating his brain.
This feeling lasted for a short while until he felt himself collide with the grass below, and he was suddenly transported into reality again, all the thoughts rushing through his mind and the nerves in his body beginning to work again. He took a deep breath of air and busted stared at the clouds, body sprawled out on the grass, not caring who are what was able to see him, not that anybody would come to find him, if they noticed his absence from school in the first place. Although, he felt alone, and unlike usual times, he didn’t want to be alone, he wanted someone with him, someone to ease the strange pain he was holding onto. He wanted Bran.
As strange as it was for him to actually admit that fact, his love for his best friend was able to transcend all parallel universes, making sure that, no matter what, they would find each other, be that as other forms of human beings, or mere electric impulses travelling far to find their master. In the end, they would inevitably have no master, only existing to combine their energy and destroy everything that existed in each and every galaxy.
After a while, he chuckled, that singular chuckle soon descending into manic laughter, its sound echoing through the field. Maybe he was starting to truly lose it, but that was neither here nor there in the moment, he couldn’t shake the feeling of wanting to have Bran next to him, so they could lay and watch the clouds pass, trying to make different objects out of the scattered shapes. Alas, they he other boy was gone, most likely laughing as well, but not in the depressed manic way, he would be laughing with pure joy, genuinely enjoying and finding happiness in the people who chose to surround himself with.
Soon the laughter ceased and he was left with nobody but himself and the silence of the field, occasional dog barks ripping through the peace. After a short while of continued staring, he let his eyes flutter close, hoping that, if he fell asleep, he would wake up to find that he didn’t even exist in the first place and nothing he had experienced had ever happened, maybe he was living trapped in the body of a person that wasn’t ever his own. Maybe he could find a way out.