Lost Voices

The Best Friend Cliché: Twelve and Thirteen

One of the most well known clichés is when two best friends fall in love with each other.

Of course there would be complications, but in the end they would always end up together. After everything that they've been through they would realize that they've loved each other all this time. It would always be a happy ending for them both. I mean, who else would be perfect for you than the one person who knows and loves you best?

I always thought that we were a part of this cliché.

..........................

I met Grey when I was twelve and he was thirteen. Together with my stepdad, we went to my cousins' resort house one summer. And Grey was there with his family.

I sneaked out one night and walked through the wide garden. There was this huge maze in the middle and my sense of curiosity and adventure got the better of me. After wandering inside, I suddenly got lost.

It was so dark and so cold. I got so scared and I didn't know what to do. I sat down and cried, begging for my stepdad to take me home. I guess someone knew I was there because I suddenly heard footsteps walking towards me.

"Hey, brat! Why you crying?"

I stopped sobbing and wiped the snot from my nose. I looked up and saw a figure looming over me. It was too dark for me to be able to see his face, but I still knew that I was looking at a boy. I wiped the remaining tears from my eyes and felt embarrassed to have been caught in that state.

"Are you lost?"

"Y-yes." I croaked out.

He took my hand and led me out of the maze and used the flashlight from his phone to guide us.

"Do you have to go back now?" He asked.

"No, not really."

"I want to show you something."

I hesitated at first, knowing that I shouldn't trust a boy I just met. But I eventually said yes.

He pulled me to follow him and we turned back towards the garden. At first I thought that he was going to take me back into the maze again, but he suddenly turned left towards a blanket of trees. It wasn't wide enough to be considered as a forest, but it was to a twelve year old.

When we walked past the trees, I could hear chattering up ahead. I realized that he was leading me towards the lake. When I looked up, bright stars illuminated the sky. But then I saw that they were moving and realized that they weren't stars.

They were lanterns.

My mouth gaped at the sight of people gathering around the lake and lighting up lanterns. A huge smile quickly formed on my face. The boy tapped my shoulder and when I turned to look at him, he was holding an unlit lantern in his hands.

"Here."

I took the lantern from him and he fumbled for something in his pocket. He took out a lighter and the yellow light bathed his face. He smiled as he lit the lantern, showing off straight, white teeth. His grey eyes glowed intensely and I was instantly mesmerized by them.

That was the moment I realized that it was the the first time I actually got to clearly see his face. I blushed when he looked up at me. A dimple appeared on his right cheek as he smiled at me. And the first thought that popped in my head was that he was really, really cute with his silvery grey eyes and killer smile.

"Let go."

I blinked at him and shook my head, quickly returning back to earth. I stared at the lantern in my hands and walked closer to the lake. I raised the lantern and on the count of three I let go. I watched as it rose up higher to the sky. When I looked back at him, he was staring up, a huge smile on his face with his hands in his pockets.