"Come on, Laurance!" Garroth whines, grabbing onto Laurance's arm, trying to pull him up and off of the couch. "Garroth, it's too hot to go to the woods and . . . do what again?" Laurance asks, as if Garroth hasn't told him several times now. "Pick wild flowers," Garroth says, still trying to drag him.
Laurance huffs, yanks away from Garroth, and crosses his arms over his chest. "Yeah, that." Garroth sighs, turning to go upstairs and get ready in his own room. "Fine," he calls from upstairs, changing out of his pajama pants and sleep shirt to something appropriate for the weather - khaki shorts and a light blue button up do the trick.
"I'll just go without you!" He says, hoping Laurance might change his mind. It's quiet for a minute before Laurance is dashing upstairs to change into some black shorts and a green shirt. Garroth chuckles. "Changed your mind?" He asks, teasing the other. Laurance rolls his eyes as he puts on his tennis shoes and ties them up. Garroth is looking for his own, so he misses it.
"I just don't want you to get lost out there," Laurance says, trying to make an excuse. "What if I never see you again because you forgot how to get back home?" Garroth, of course, doesn't buy that at all and laughs. "Yeah, okay. Sure." He finally finds his own sneakers, putting them on and lacing them up as quick as he can.
"You ready?" Garroth smiles. Laurance sighs, following behind Garroth as they walk down the stairs. He can't help but smile too. "Ready as I'll ever be." He mutters, watching Garroth open the door. "That's all I need." He hums and starts making his way down the street. Laurance closes the door behind them, making sure to lock it and then put the key in his pocket.
Walking down the sidewalk of the street, they pass a few houses - most of them belong to their friends. Laurance is quick to point out that nobody's outside, probably due to the blazing heat of the summer weather. Garroth only laughs. "Well, they don't know what they're missing." Laurance mumbles something about how they have the right idea to stay indoors, but walks beside Garroth anyway, trying to keep up.
Eventually, Laurance takes Garroth's hand, despite the fact that he's already sweating, and starts humming some song he doesn't know the words to. They pass the school and then the park, and then they finally arrive to a place they used to hang out when they were teenagers.
The woods were always fun to play in, letting them relive their childhoods by playing hide and seek or simon says or some other game. It also gave them a place to be alone when the rest of the world was too much. They used to meet in the woods all the time - sometimes even in the middle of the night - just to talk about anything and everything.
"Isn't it great, Laurance? Doesn't it just bring back memories?" Garroth takes a deep breath, a smile on his face as he stands at the edge, where the grass looks unkept and only slightly darker with the shade of the trees. Laurance wants to take a picture of him, appreciating the way Garroth looks - the sun hitting his blonde hair just right, his blue eyes gleaming with joy, the pearly white teeth his smile reveals.
Laurance decides that the image too perfect to have on camera, and that he would rather live in the moment with Garroth. Garroth doesn't notice Laurance staring. He's too busy reminiscing. "What're you thinking about?" Laurance asks, lightly nudging him, which makes Garroth gasp in surprise and then blink a few times. He takes a second to come back to reality and process.
"Nothing," he says after an extra second. "I'm just glad we made it this far." Laurance hums, thinking. "Yeah, me too." He stands there, Garroth's hand in his own, and he really is glad to have gotten this far, especially with Garroth by his side. It's silent now, a gust of warm wind blowing a light breeze. It's still too hot, Laurance wants to say but doesn't. He keeps quiet for a little longer. Finally, Garroth starts walking, bringing Laurance along with him.
