Andrew and Vivien

It was a busy day at Liverpool, I thought as I watched the city do its daily routine from up a hill, a few kilometers away from the city borders. You'd have to go up a rugged terrain to put into images in your head what the beautiful city is like from an elevated area.

The place was quiet, peaceful. Exactly what I wanted. I could hear crickets in the grass beneath me, leaves falling everywhere, and my hair blowing wildly made me smile at how cool the wind is from up here. And overall, I just wanted to stay here. Stay hidden from all the craziness that has been given to us by the people who clearly have nothing else to do in their lives. I fervently wanted it to all go away. All the mishaps, the drama, all the lustful desires, the uneven attention, gone! I want it gone. I want the world to be a happy place. I want to be happy.

And after a long time of thinking what could've been, he arrived. He wore a plain v-neck shirt and some black skinny jeans that was obviously laid out for him by his mom. As he came and ran up to me, he was panting heavily. His hair was wet and now his shirt was, too. No rain had poured down today.

"Been surfing?" were the first words I uttered to him today. In response, he nodded tentatively. "Don't ride those waves too much," I whispered so softly but loud enough for him to hear. My face stayed impassive the whole time, so he wouldn't suspect that I do care for his safety. "They're just unusually huge waves, that's all," he responded the same way I did, apathetically.

I snorted and smirked at the same time at him. "With sharks." This time, he grinned widely, but didn't show his teeth. Smiled that dimpled smile that warmed everybody's hearts when we were kids. "Sharks don't harm you unless you want them to." He was too proud to even think what those waves could do to him. "They're not simply just big waves, Andrew! They're god damn Mavericks! Huge, tremendous waves! You could get hurt if you aren't a professional," my pitch turned up a bit higher, as if I was accusing him. I could feel my forehead crease in stress."That's why I'm training," he reasoned out softly. His response was so gentle, that it was as if he was a little boy trying to explain his side of the story to his parents if ever he'd gotten into trouble. I rolled my eyes. "Training for what? Your inevitable death?"

He shrugged. I turned away and faced the city again. I could hear his footsteps slowly walk towards me. I was under the heat of the sun while he was still under the protection of a huge tree that blocked him from the light. As he took a few more steps closer, I saw his shadow appear just behind mine on the gravel. "This is my passion, Vie. If I don't succeed, then I sure as hell will die trying." I swiftly turned around but failed to do it gracefully, instead I bumped into him, forgetting he was just behind me. "Okay, fine. But if you die, I won't be attending your funeral." He shook his head, his light brown hair almost shined in the sunlight. "Stop lying to yourself," he said and then chuckled. I rolled my eyes yet again at him. "I'm not kidding. I wouldn't want to be looking down at my best friend's death bed!" He somehow took it as a joke when I was being serious. He pretended to wipe tears from his eyes and embraced me all of a sudden. "See?! You do love me! You called me your best friend and don't want to see me get hurt."

I pulled away from his embrace and raised an eyebrow at him. "Get hurt? As in permanent pain! I don't need to see you hurt by then because you'd already be dead!" And even though I meant it, we somehow started to laugh as if our conversation right now was just some kind of joke. But it wasn't. It wasn't to me anyways.

I truly did care for his safety. He is a year younger than I am and growing up, I was always the one who looked after him while our parents were off to work. His mom trusted him to me while we were kids and it almost seemed like he was a brother of my own. His older brother was always a pain in the ass and always bullied Andrew. I was only a year younger than he was, so I was able to defend the little boy. I always held Andrew close to my heart and that is why I never want him to join any activities that could cause him pain, let alone death.

"What do you say, let's have a reconnaissance mission?" He smiled and stretched out his hand. I grinned back, put my hand on his, and said, "Same old, same old."