Summer Milestone

Homecoming

Chapter 1

~JOSH~

After a whole year without physically seeing each other, I, at last, reunite with my best friend, Zack Clifton, at the airport where he arrives about a week after our high school graduation. I go by myself to pick him up and the first thing we do when we see each other is slam our hands together for our special little handshake and pull into a brotherly hug.

"Long time no see, bro!" he says with a smile that reveals that he finally got his braces off.

"Yeah, no shit, it's been a year! And I see that you don't have your braces anymore!" I point out, noticing how much better he looks without them, not to mention how white his teeth are.

"Nah man, I got those off around Christmas. I also got this sick tattoo on my back, I'll show you later."

"Oh yeah, I remember that time in ninth grade when we talked about getting matching tats when were old enough... and now we are, man!"

"Yeah! We should definitely do that while I'm here this summer. I only got one tat so there's plenty of room for more."

"Haha, definitely. I haven't gotten one yet. My mom's probably gonna flip shit when I do get one... but hey, I'm 18 I can do what I want," I say, foreseeing the argument I'm for sure gonna have with my parents when they see my future tattoo.

"That sucks. But y'know, you can always just put it on your penis so then she'll never see it... hopefully."

I laugh, thinking to myself how much I've missed this son of a gun and all of his stupid jokes. "That would hurt like hell!"

"No doubt. Yeah, my mom doesn't even know I got it."

"What is it of?"

"Bald eagle. Well the head of one, at least."

"Bald eagle was always your favorite animal. I'm not surprised."

He chuckles. "So what's new with you, Josh?"

"Nothing really. I mean, I already told you I got into Pepperdine. You said you got in too, right?"

"Yeah..." Suddenly his smile starts to fade, but I brush it off as he quickly changes the subject. "All our old friends still around?"

"Most of 'em."

"You still talk to them?"

"Not really. Everyone kinda went their own separate ways," I say pessimistically.

"Well... the ones that are still around... we should all get together and throw a little party at the beach, how's that sound?"

"Sounds fuckin' awesome!"

We arrive at my house and my parents greet him as expected with big hugs as if he were theirs.

We eat dinner together as cheesy as it sounds and they ask him a bunch of questions like, "How was your flight?" or "Do you like it over there in New Jersey?" And other shit like that. However, the one question that actually pulls my attention is, "So what are your plans for the fall?"

To which he nervously responds, "Undecided," as if he has more to tell but instead decides to keep quiet.

"Thought we agreed we were going to the same school in the fall?" I speak my mind, trying to get to the bottom of why he's so reluctant to say what he's thinking.

"I'm just not sure about it yet, that's all," he says awkwardly as he stares down at his dinner.

Sensing the awkwardness, my dad changes the subject. "So uh... Zack, have you gotten yourself a girlfriend over in New Jersey?"

Knowing Zack, he'd normally say yes, but, to my surprise, this time he says no. "Haha, no sir. Not this time." Should've known, I guess. He would've told me about it just to brag. He always does that and I find it to be a bit annoying, really.

After that painfully awkward dinner with my parents, Zack and I head up to my room for him to get unpacked and establish the sleeping arrangements. Normally, he would sleep on the couch in my room but I have my suspicions that he secretly hates it.

"If you don't like sleeping on the couch, you can take my bed. I don't mind the couch so it's alright with me if you want to switch."

"No, it's cool."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, thanks though."

We fall into silence for a minute until I finally bring up the topic that's been bothering me since dinner. "So what was all that 'undecided' shit about?"

"I didn't want to tell you so soon, but..."

"Just tell me."

"I don't think I'm going to Pepperdine in the fall..."

"Why not? That was our dream college. We've always talked about going there."

"I know, but... I just feel like I don't really wanna go to college anymore..."

"What? Why?"

"... I wanna, y'know... join the military."

"Wow, really? I had no idea you were interested in that. Since when?" For some reason, my heart kinda hurts at the thought of him going into the military. Of him being a soldier and going off into battle. I can't even imagine the horrors of that.

"This past year I've just been thinking about it. I haven't decided yet so I might just end up taking a gap year to figure out what I really wanna do."

"Well, if it is what you want to do, then I say go for it. I support your decision. I'll miss you like fucking hell... but... you do you." It's hard agreeing with that but I don't want to hold him back from living his life. What kind of friend would I be if I were to do that?

"Thanks, man," he smiles and rubs my shoulder.

"But does this mean... if you go... we won't see each other again?" I ask with a hint of pessimism.

"Of course we will, dude. Bros for life, you know that."

"But you live on the other side of the country."

"We'll figure something out. But come on, we have this whole summer together. Let's not waste it worrying about the future."

"You're right," I say and we fist-bump, agreeing to live in the now and not dwell over the future, fearing the inevitable, because it's not here yet. A lot can change between now and then and I don't want to think about it.

That night when we're watching a bit of TV and flipping through the channels we come upon something we both have an undeniable pleasure for. Furious 7 is a movie we both love and it's honestly our favorite movie in the whole franchise. But what we love about it the most is the ending. "See You Again" is the song that plays through the last few minutes before the credits roll and we both equally love that song so much that we can't help but sing along to it. " 'It's been a long day without you, my friend. And I'll tell you all about it when I see you again..." I start off.

And he continues, "We've come a long way from where we began. Oh, I'll tell you all about it when I see you again..."

"... When I see you AGAIN'!" We always sing the last part in unison. Of course, we're nowhere near as good as Charlie Puth when it comes to singing that part of the song but fuck it, I'd sing with this dude even if we were the shittiest singers on the planet!