Dopamine: which helps activate the brain's pleasure centres.
Adrenaline: which heightens senses.
Serotonin: which sends signals in your body.
Oxytocin: which increases relaxation and trust.
It started with oxytocin: although I was so young then that I wouldn't know that word and it's meaning if it kicked me up the arse. Science and chemicals seemed so far in the future to me that they were practically on a par with space bunnies and floating cars. It wasn't as if science was really important in our neighbourhood anyway; everybody was so dedicated to God that the level of butt-hurt whenever anyone mentioned evolution was enough to cause actual physical butt pain. Literal feelings of discomfort in the poop cave. It was like getting constantly fucked by Jesus.
We had our own little universe, Phil and I, away from all of the Sunday best and prayers before bed time. We were just nerdy little kids, darting around the local wilderness with floaty capes and plastic swords. Everything was a fantasy back then; we were knights slaying fire-breathing dragons, we were pirates burying our treasure, we were Flame Dan and The Amazing Phil, superheroes that could fix everything that went wrong. Unlimited powers, and unlimited juice boxes. The wonder years: we were unstoppable and inseparable, and we didn't know the meaning of the word 'change'.
One: Oxytocin
"Phil, quick! Up the ladder, they're co- phILLL-"
We both erupted into fits of hectic giggles as Phil tumbled into me, tripping over the last rung of the ladder and collapsing into the tree-house. Leaning past him, I pulled the trap-door shut with a little click.
Phil was still chuckling, his tongue poking out of the corner of his mouth and his eyes crinkling at the corners, his face repeating all of the steps I'd seen so many times before. I couldn't wipe the grin off of my face, barely even trying as I switched on the fairy lights and unzipped our sleeping bags.
"I'm so happy that your Dad let us sleep in the tree-house!" Phil said breathlessly, diving into his sleeping bag head first, his giggles muffled by the material and his bum wiggling in the air.
"I thought he'd say no for sure," I agreed, sliding into my own sleeping bag properly and zipping it up halfway. Phil peeked at me over the fabric he was clutching in his hand, still face first in his sleeping bag.
"Are you tired already? What about the killer Pandas?! They're still out there, you know..."
"I know," I sighed, "But we have the charm around the tree-house, remember? They'll burn if they come near!"
"That's right!" Phil remembered eagerly, laying down on his tummy and shuffling both his body and sleeping bag a little closer to me. He twisted around so that he was lying on his side, and pulled the quilt bit up over him to his shoulders. Then, he rested one hand between the pillow and his cheek, and used the other one to tug gently at my hair. Just a few seconds ago, he'd been hyper beyond control, and now his eyes were sleepy and droopy, and when he spoke it was softly.
"Hey, Dan?"
"Yeah?"
"What do you think will happen when we get big? Will we still be friends?"
I didn't want to think about getting bigger and older. I liked things the way they were now, just Phil and I living in our world, together forever.
"Yeah," I murmured, smiling directly into Phil's wide blue eyes, "I think we'll still be friends. I think, no matter what, we'll still be friends."
