More Than Just Friends

Chapter 1

Quick Author's Note: 
The song I linked with this chapter is so nostalgic for me. It makes me cry every time. I would recommend listening to this song while reading this chapter. Only if you feel like it!

# # # #

Meet me at the tree house.

That was what he told me earlier today. I was here for almost twenty minutes, and still no sign of him.

Jake and his family were finally moving away. He wanted to meet up tonight because this was going to be our last night hanging out at the tree house. He also mentioned something about a gift he wanted to hand me before their flight tomorrow.

My legs dangle on the edge of the wooden platform, it was my usual spot at the corner of the tree house. A wave of instant regret hit me when a cold breeze brushed past my arm. I curse myself for rushing here a bit too early and completely abandoning my hoodie in my room.

The slow creak of a wooden gate echoed from below, followed by footsteps along the grass. Soft grunting noises grew closer than a bundle of chocolate brown locks popped up at the top of the ladder. I chuckled when I saw Jake scowling as he pulled himself up.

"Is this your idea of a sendoff to your best friend? I am struggling here," he grumbled.

I stifled my laughter. "I'm not the one who set the meet-up place at the tree house."

He sat right next to me, our arms brushing against each other. He was so warm. His warmth felt nice. He must've noticed the temperature of my skin.

"Sorry, Jake," I mumbled.

Our eyes met and when he held my gaze. Feeling a bit shy out of nowhere, I averted my gaze towards the back of our house. Another breeze whipped my hair, and it made me shiver. I rubbed my hands against my arms to get warm. I heard him unzip his hoodie and then draped it over my shoulder.

"Wear this," he murmured. A rush of warmth bloomed on my cheeks. At least that was making me feel a bit warm. I immediately slipped into his hoodie. Ah, much better. He sat right next to me, this time a little closer than usual. I looked at him and smiled.

"Thanks," I replied. He smiled back at me and then pulled something from his pocket. It was a small red box.

"I wanted to give you this," he said as he handed it to me. "For your birthday," he added. I peeked inside and saw something shiny inside. There was a set of necklaces inside, both had tags that had something engraved in them. What captured my attention the most were the charms on both. It was a teddy bear and candy pack charms.

"Is that supposed to be Mr. Skittles and a pack of Skittles?" I asked.

"You got the reference. That's a good sign."

"It was a significant childhood memory, alright. How can I forget?" I smiled.

"Too much? I had to get my mom to help me find these charms, so if you're wondering how I got them..."

"No, this is actually really cool." I scanned the small tag with the engraving on it. It was his nickname and initials. "Very cute, I might add." I grinned. His eyes softened as he enveloped me in a warm hug.

He then took the necklace with his name and put it on me. It gleamed as it rested against my chest.

I looked at him with a puzzled expression as he wore the necklace which had an engraving of my name on it. "Isn't it supposed to be the other way around?" I asked. I saw him getting flustered as he looked away, ruffling his hair like something got caught in it.

"Well, you did say that you wanted something to make you remember me. So, I had this idea of leaving you with my necklace, you know, just in case you forget my name." He scoffed, but I can see the sadness in his eyes.

I felt a tiny pinch in my chest. I chuckled softly, but at the same time felt tears run down my cheek.

He held my hand and gently squeezed it for reassurance.

"Please don't cry."

"I will never see you again." His hand tightened around mine when he spoke.

"I won't be gone forever, you know." he pouted. I pulled my hand away to wipe tears away with the sleeve of his hoodie.

"I'll miss you." I sobbed. He wrapped his arm behind me, pulling me close now. My head rested on his chest, my hand gripping his shirt. It reminded me of when we were younger. Jake would pull me close every time something was wrong or when I got scared of something. It made my heart ache a little more.

"You'll be the very first person that I will visit when I come back," he stated.

"You would?"

He chuckled. "Of course, silly."

"I'll wait for you then." I sighed and rested my head against his shoulder. "I'll miss you a lot, and you haven't even left yet. The tree house won't be the same without you here."

"I'll be missing you a lot too. I'm sure the tree house will be fine without me. I'd miss hiding away in here with you, though." He mumbled, "I wish we didn't have to leave. Sadly, can't change my folks' minds about this."

We sighed in unison.

"Promise me one thing at least."

He gently rubbed my arm when he spoke. "What is it?"

"Can I be the only one who will keep Jake's official best friend title?" I requested.

He announced in a funny, formal tone. "I shall entitle it to you and yours only, just as long as I also get to keep Ronnie's official bf title as well."

"You got yourself a deal, mister."

# # #

Authors Note:

For the love of god, I originally wrote this story when I was 12 and continued to develop the story through different stages of my teen years. Imagine how crazy the edits I had to do to make this book LESS cringy. I will warn you that I tried to shift the story, but it is definitely an amalgamation of a cheesy teen fiction/young adult romance. Forgive me for making it sound vague. Hopefully, by the time the story has been fleshed out. It will not be as bad as it used to be. 

This was a recap of their last meeting that I consider adding eventually for my prequel book Just Friends. If I even remember to finish that book! 

OG Readers will know how I literally put titles for each chapter that kind of gave away the content of the chapter. I removed them as of 2023 for the sake of formality and no spoilers. 

Story time: I dated someone back in 2016 and when we officially got together. He wanted an accessory we can both wear when we were together. Instead of getting matching bracelets or rings, he got us both some dog tags instead. I flashed back to this story (which originally had dog tags instead of necklaces with charms) and realized how it was so similar to what I wrote, but he never knew that I wrote a story like this. I shared it to him, and he laughed when he finds it coincidental too. He's my ex now, and we're not in good terms. That's it.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoy reading!