CHASE ME | DISCON.

P R O L O G U E

I watched, ecstatic, as Dad placed a small pastry in front of me. A small candle was planted in the middle, its little flame flickering as if it were alive. In my excitement, I turned to Poe, who sat next to me with a smile that could light up any room.

"Go on, Andi, blow it out!" Dad nagged, a playfulness to his tone. He sat down across from me, flashing his own smile. I moved to take a deep breath, but a gentle hand on my shoulder caught me short.

"No no," Mr. Dameron's tender voice reminded me, "you have to make a wish first." He took his own seat next to Dad, a look of satisfaction crossing his features.

"Yeah," Poe agreed, "that's the third rule of birthdays." He motioned to the candle, it's eager flame still dancing on the wick. I closed my eyes real tight, focusing on the one thing I wished for the most: I hope me and Poe will always be friends...

I hoped for a lot of things, but Poe was the one I hoped for the most. He was always by my side, accompanying me on all sorts of adventures, teaching me to fly, playing games... my paradise was to spend eternity with him, our daring crusades never ending. And even if the logical side of me told me it couldn't happen, I kept on dreaming.

As I let out a breath of air, I saw the flame on the candle dance it's last few steps. The fire fluttered, extinguishing itself until there was nothing left but smoke. Cheers erupted around me as strong hands lifted me into the air, spinning me as if I were flying. I giggled as Dad exclaimed, "My little girl is finally nine!"

He set me back down on the ground, where Poe was already waiting for me. He simply handed me a card, grinning with pride. I looked down at the paper, where Poe and I had been depicted in some sort of stick figure form and the words "happy birthday Andi" were scrawled in huge letters. I loved it. I gave him the biggest hug I could, whispering sincerely, "Thank you, Poe."

"And we get to do it all again tomorrow, don't we, Kes?" Dad said, clapping his friend on the shoulder. I smiled, thinking of the same thing. Poe's birthday was the day after mine, and I already had his own card planned for him.

"That's right," Mr. Dameron beamed, "officially eleven, as of tomorrow." 

As the two slowly made their way outside, Poe immediately asked, "So? What did you wish for?"

"It's supposed to be a secret, stupid!" I teased.

"Come on," he tried once more, playfully hitting my arm, "it won't hurt."

I hit him back, even though I didn't exactly want to pick a fight. It was my birthday, for Force sakes, maybe I wanted a break from the wrestling matches. "But what if it doesn't come true?"

"Tell me! I want to know."

I looked out the window before admitting thoughtfully, "I wished that we could always be friends, and that we would always see each other, even when we were all grown up. You're my bestest friend in the galaxy, Poe, I don't want to lose you!"

"Geez, Andi!" Poe exclaimed, "You didn't have to wish for that at all," he took my hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze, "that was already going to happen."

I squeezed back, hoping what he said was true. If it was written in the stars that we would always be friends, I believed him. I could always believe in someone like him. "Promise?"

"Promise."