(...)

Awakening

October 10th 2002, Toronto, Canada

Today was Chris' birthday. He was now 18. I was too. It has been exactly 9 years that we met... Ah! The day we met. I still remember;

-"Do you live nearby?" said the cute boy with big brown eyes.

The new girl replied:

-"I just moved here two weeks ago with my parents, I live a few blocks away", her hands were playing with the strings of the swing.

I was shy back then. He changed me, in some way, but I was still myself. A better version of myself.

I was heading to his house with a homemade Black Forest cake, his favorite. Since he lived close to me, I didn't bother calling before I went to his place.

Chris lived in a beautiful cottage-like house on Denver road. I automatically recognized the blue Camry parked in front of the garage entrance and his older brother washing the car.
Julius waved at me as I passed by him and the front door automatically opened.

- "My dear Rachel! What a beautiful surprise to see you. Come in, come in. Wow, what a cake you brought us here!" Chris' aunt welcomed me warmly, as always.

I always enjoyed entering the Highland house. Illuminated by the sunlight crossing the multiple windows, it was very welcoming. In the entrance stood a wooden shelf to put your shoes, since they carpeted most of the house.

I went in and saw my best friend standing there in his classy suit which he only took out of his closet occasionally. He looked amazing, with a stunning smile plastered across his face.

I loved him. Not in a i-want-to-marry-you-and-have-a-family-together way. Well... I wasn't sure. What I was sure about was that I wanted to know him for the rest of my life.

He invited me into his room. I knew it like the back of my hand. In one corner, this big wooden bed with a beautiful bookshelf on the wall, so that he could grab a book when he's laying in his bed. A desk full of papers and pencils and useless stuff on the right and an aquarium on a table next to it. We bought it together.

It seems like we did everything together since the day we met.

-"So I thought maybe for my birthday we could get away, like out of town you know. I bring some food and we'll have your cake. I have someplace I want to show you."

He was rushing his words. Like he wanted to get out as quickly as possible. Well, no wonder, who wants to spend their birthday watching TV at home. Not that his family was boring, but they weren't the kind of people to go on trips and do activities. they enjoyed being at home and it seemed to make Chris disappointed since he always wanted to get away and discover the world. Now that he was 18, he could drive, drink, do basically everything by himself.

-" Take me anywhere you want, today is your day." I simply replied.

I liked him and his surprises. He was always, well pretty much always enthusiastic and vibrant. I only saw him cry once, when he was 14. I didn't ask too much about it but I knew it had to do with his father. I don't know much about him either. He never lived with them anyways.

Once we were in his car, he turned the volume up as indie rock was heard through his old car speaker. We started singing along Ed Sheeran until the song was over. Chris pulled over in a small space between the shopping center parking and the back of what looked like an abandoned condominium. He brought me along, pulling on my arm.

-" Okay so this is the more... Illegal part. You climb that ladder here, theres an open window very easy to access and you wait for me there. Don't go further, I want to be with you for it, I'll be right there." he said with a smile full of hidden meaning.

Even though I was unsure, I knew he wouldn't make me do something for nothing.Everything with Chris meant something. As I entered the building, I realized I was in some sort of old apartment. Even though the door across the room was tempting, I resisted the urge to go in and explore. Maybe something dangerous was there, and Chris wanted to be with me.

A good ten minutes later, Chris appeared and his head popped through the window.

-" Hey sweetie, I could use some help here" he winked, bringing his hands up to the window so I could see the dollar store bag. Well, okay. I went to take the bag, but he hanged it on the ladder and gave me his hand instead. "Nuh-Huh. You won't see what's in that bag before I show you around a little."

I dragged him inside and we stumbled together in the small dark room. I fell on something that looked like a couch and accidentally brought him with me. His hands were on my waist and our faces, inches apart and I could now feel his minty breath on my cheek. We stared at each other and I felt strange. I knew he felt it too. It had never been uncomfortable between us before...

-"Uh... Sorry about that. So, are you going to show me around?" I said, getting up quickly and changing the mood completely.

He got up and went to take the bag still outside, nodding and smirking.

-"Close your eyes" he said.

-" Hey! Let me remind you who's birthday it is! You don't have to do this Chris I'm the one who should bring you places and OH RIGHT! Your gift!" I quickly removed the small wrapped package from my pocket. " It's not much but... Happy birthday Chris."

His eyes lit up as he removed the wrapping paper and saw what it was. I had made a cute collage of our childhood funny pictures, and if you opened it, there was a CD with exactly 79 songs. All songs that we either listened together, or discovered together, or songs that meant something to us, all listed at the back of the case.

-"Wow R... I don't know what to say... It's perfect. Just perfect." he seemed honestly happy, not even happy, glad. Our eyes locked as I smiled.

He took a step towards me and whispered in my ear softly;

-" Will you dance with me, Rachel Monica Vanderbilt?" he looked so serious it made me giggle, as I nodded in amusement. He put the CD in a radio that just happened to be there, in the small room, and skipped songs until the 23rd, the one we heard when we were 15. It was an acoustic soft melody that we happened to hear while passing by a fancy restaurant, and Chris loved it so much that he went inside and asked the waitress for the name of the song. This escapade resulted in a forty-five minute search through the restaurant's playlist, to finally find the song. He slipped a twenty dollar bill in the hand of the nice waitress who helped us find the song that Chris defined as "crucial to his life", and we ended eating in the worst fast-food because we did not have enough money left to buy the chinese takeout we were planning on eating this day.

-"What are you thinking about?" Chris asked while he approached and placed his hands on my waist in a very gentleman way, as I put my arms around his neck, and as we danced to the soft melody.

-"I thought about the day we heard the song. How amazingly ridiculous it was" I said, laughing.

-"Well, as ridiculous as it might seem to you, dear Rachel, the struggle was a 100% worth it. The song still gives me chills when I hear it. Only rare music has that effect on me, you must know that."

And after these words, we both stopped talking, just enjoying the music and the comfort we found in each other's arms. I swear, in this moment, I felt whole. I didn't need anything else but his presence.

In that moment, I fell in love with my childhood friend, probably the only true friend I had ever had. The thought of it scared me, but I had to wake up. I loved him. Drunk on that sudden feeling, I took his beautiful face between my hands and looked him in the eyes. I felt the urge to kiss him, feel his lips on mine, his warm body close to mine, his hands holding me close. I think he felt it too, because when I gave him a quick, uncertain kiss, he responded by grabbing my waist and kissing me back, deepening the kiss. It felt so good. He was so good at this.