Thousand Paper Cuts

Three : the last memory of summer

Mark :

He became what he in now few months ago. The day when life happened. When dreams failed, with broken heartbeats. When the laughter just became a distant voice.

Everyone in the world has someone, and what will we do if that person is taken away?
Well, we'll be left with an improbable pain that cannot be put in words.

"I'll never leave you....we'll become bloody famous together, and date hot girls", Lucas used to promise those lies, that Mark thought were true at that time.

It was once again deep night, and he was lying at the corner, abandoned like some Wonka Bar. He just couldn't sleep, because of the horrific nightmares. Because of the memories, that felt like home once.

He could still perfectly portray the first day when they both had met, back in grade four. It all started in the summer, when Mark was sitting under the shade of an oak tree, and Lucas was just seated five feet apart. The sun was flaring up in the azureness of the soft sky, while Mark was trying to understand his precalc.
Lucas was listening to songs loud enough, and Mark couldn't resist, as they were songs of his favourite band.
So slowly, and then all at once, he started singing,
"Don't you know/ I just love you so? / so Die in my arms / and let me know."
Lucas took off his headphones, and replied,
"You like Stardust?"
"Yes, I had known them all my life", Mark had replied, and that was the moment they became best of freinds who would give up everything for you.

And he did give up, everything in this world---

So years passed by, and with each changing season, their bond grew, like an evergreen tree. They would climb up the mountains, or have summertime swims in Mark's backyard. They would tell eachother every smallest detail, and argue about everything stupid and weird.
They had even built a little wooden home near a river, that was miles from the main city, where they would meet everyday after school, to discuss the whole universe and it's secrets.

Once on some mountain top in west Virginia, Lucas had asked,
"What do you wanna become, when you grow up?"
Mark had closed his eyes and replied,
"A photographer. I want to capture, like...the whole true world!"
Lucas had smiled starkly, and replied,
"And I wanna be an architect. God, creativity is the true essence of life. I even think we both may team up in the future. We'll become bloody famous."
In that moment, under the pink fallen sky, Mark had asked,
"Promise me we'll stay the bestest of friends even in the worst times. Forever."
While gathering all the truth in the world, Lucas had said,
"I promise."

And now he wondered sometimes promises fade away like the last memory of summer.

So their friendship got stronger like roots of a tree with each passing day. High school kicked in, yet their friendship didn't stop like a flowing river. But who knew that river was going ahead to some waterfall?
One day, one pathetic unbearable day of High school, Lucas got trapped with human consciousness and it's inevitability.
It was just a stupid prank, that was connected with series of consequences. They both were just casually talking about Stardust's new album, when Megan, who was some senior, walked up and said to Lucas,
"How dare you try to abuse me last night at Charlie's party?", and she also said some other obscene stuff that Lucas hadn't ever done or could do.
Not just that, her whole self-absorbed group started spreading false rumours like fire in the forest. Things like that became hot gossip of every single student, and Lucas tried to hide everyday from people. Soon everyone in the class started hated him. Maybe because Lucas was pretty much perfect, and people tried to let him down. They used to say,