Life Escape

Chapter 3

As they made their way to the trail and started walking, Lovino noticed a sight limp in Antonio's step. "Hey, Antonio, do you want to take a break? I noticed that limp is pretty bad." He said.

"No, there's no need. It's just from an old broken leg that didn't heal properly." Antonio smiled widely after saying that. That's one of the things that amazed Lovino about Antonio. He always saw the bright side of life and was very optimistic. He always seemed to be able to smile. No matter what. But Lovino knew that Antonio hid many secrets behind that kind, happy smile.

"Alright," Lovino said, "I just didn't want to keep walking if you were in pain."

"You don't have to worry about me so much, Lovi," Antonio laughed, "I've learned to live with it. I've had it since I was ten." Antonio was sixteen, the same age as Lovino, but just a few months older. "You're so caring Lovi. It's nice to have a friend like you." Antonio said with a smile.

Lovino was a little annoyed and embarrassed at that comment and said, "Oh shut up, bastard. You're one to talk." Antonio wasn't even fazed by Lovino's language. He just laughed slightly at it. His laugh sounded like bells, loud and wonderful. Lovino couldn't help but laugh along. Antonio's happiness was contagious. It was like it attached to your soul and wouldn't let go. It always stayed there. Antonio was amazed at how light and cheery Lovino's laugh was. He was surprised at how quickly they had bonded. It seemed as if Antonio and Lovino had know each other for years.

After walking for a while, they decided to take a break. They stopped at a small bench on the side of the trail. It was a worn out looking bench. The paint worn away by weather and the years it had been there.

"It's nice to take a break," Antonio said, "My feet were killing me." He began looking through his bag for something.

"What are you looking for, Antonio?" Lovino asked.

"A special treat! Hopefully they're not squished." Antonio continued rummaging through his bag until he pulled out perfectly ripe tomatoes. "See? I told you it was special." He smiled at Lovino, who had a look of amazement on his face. "I'll let you pick."

Lovino took the smaller one and took a bite before saying, "It's been years since I've had a tomato. This is the best! Thanks, Tonio." He took another bite before realizing what he had said. He heard Antonio chuckling beside him. "Oh shut up, you jerk." Lovino glared at the Spaniard, who had a huge smile on his face. Lovino fought a smile, which made the sides of his mouth twitch. He hadn't been this happy for a while. He guessed it was just because they were away from the stress of school and family.

"This is nice, huh?" Antonio said, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

"Yeah, I guess it is." Lovino agreed. He had never had a friend like Antonio before. If it was anyone else, they would never be so nice to him. And Lovino wouldn't be very nice either. Antonio was a rare kind of person. Lovino wanted to make sure to be nicer to him so he wouldn't change. "Why have you been so nice to me, Antonio?" He asked, surprised by the sentence as it slipped past his lips. He didn't know why he still doubted Antonio's kindness.

"Well, I just felt that we were meant to be friends. And besides, I'm always nice to people." Antonio's smile faded slightly, remembering what had happened the day before. He needed to control himself more. Or else someone might get hurt even worse than Mathias had.

Lovino was surprised at that confession. He never thought anyone would feel as if they were meant to know him. Without even thinking he said, "What d you mean by, "Meant to be friends,"  is this some sort of scheme to make me feel safe and then destroy me like everyone else?" He noticed that he had raised his voice slightly, and felt guilty about the thing he had said. "I-I'm sorry, Tonio. I didn't mean it. I just let my anger get the best of me." He looked at the ground, fearing the look he might see on Antonio's face. He covered his mouth with his scarf, avoiding speaking anymore.

Antonio didn't question the suspicion. He understood why Lovino was asking such things. "I just felt it was fate that we stated talking in class, and that I helped you yesterday. I felt that I was meant to come along with you today." He said, looking over at Lovino with hope in his eyes.

There was a long silence before Lovino said anything. "I agree." He said, not looking up from the ground. "It was some sort of fate that all of this happened. And I'm glad it did." Lovino finally looked up, a wide smile on his face. Seeing Lovino smile made Antonio very happy.

"You really do? I thought it was kind of ridiculous, but it makes some sense." Antonio said, smiling widely back at Lovino. "So, I guess it really was." Antonio looked at the ground, now lost in thought. Lovino was amazed that someone as air-headed and silly as Antonio could get so caught up in the thoughts in their head.

Lovino realized that he was staring at Antonio and quickly looked away. "Let's get moving," He said, snapping Antonio out of his thoughts, "Before the sun sets. We need to find somewhere to stay. Motels and Inns are too expensive, so we'll have to set up some sort of camp somewhere."

"Okay." Antonio said, "Let's go." They packed up and prepared to look for a place to set up camp.