Nitin Reddy had always loved his best friend Reed's basement. It was the domain of the fourteen year old. An ugly couch banished from the living room. A shitty TV atop too many game consoles. Posters of cars and babes. Action figures from a more innocent time collecting dust. Old take-out and crumpled bags of chips littering a Cheeto dusted coffee table.

From its time as a play room where Nitin and Reed would wage war with their toys to the gross hole it had become, it was Nitin's home away from home. Nitin immigrated from Delhi to Beachwood in the third grade where he found himself the weird new kid with the accent. His teacher, Mr. Layefski assigned him to share a colouring station with Reed. They both started drawing dragons. It was kismet and they became besties right off the hop. They liked all the same stuff and found the weirdest stuff funny. Time spooled on and now they were on the precipice of a new horizon. High school.

High school scared Nitin. From what he had surmised from film and television guys like him don't have the best time. He knew Reed wouldn't have a problem. Everyone loved Reed thanks to his easy going nature. He was a sweet surfer guy who loved nerdy stuff. He had exceptional good features thanks to his mother, a world famous lingerie model, and he had abs in fourth grade thanks his professional athlete father. Nitin on the other hand was built like a plum. He believed he was still two years away from being handsome, and held faith that the kernels of his soon to be good looks just hadn't come together, making him a temporary awkward work in progress.

The afternoon before Christophe's party Reed and Nitin had been playing The Binding of Isaac for an hour, their only conversation consisted of a few grunts of disapproval when hellish creatures had taken a digital life. Nitin was not living up to his demon slaying reputation and was playing like a noob. He had other things on his mind and those things were about to surface and change the course Reed and his life forever. As the basement had propelled from a playroom into pre-teen squalor, Nitin was soon to propel them from grade schoolers to men. Or so he hoped.

"Are you trying to die!?" Reed elbowed Nitin from his reveries.

Nitin didn't attempt to regain focus. Instead he dropped his controller in his lap and sighed.

"What are you doing!?" Reed screamed, mashing buttons.

There was no putting it off any longer. Now was the time, "We need to talk."

"After-"

Nitin stood and blocked the TV. Reed edged from side to side, trying find a clear view to the screen before his character met a gruesome death, "Move your butt!"

"My butt demands attention."

Reed threw his controller into the air and let it fall to the carpet with a soft thud, "Are you happy?! Golgotha devoured us!" Reed scanned his best friend. He recognized that look, "This better not be about the babysitter."

But it was always about the babysitter. Best friends know these things. They also know when business means business. So, Reed put their disastrous game-over aside and laid it all out, "Nit, she was your babysitter like three years ago. She doesn't know who you are. And she was your babysitter!"

"She is more than just some babysitter. She is a goddess. She's Yoda, but so pretty."

"That's ridiculous."

"It isn't and I'll show you why."

To make his case, Nitin motioned to a scotch taped movie poster on the wall as exhibit-A, "You wouldn't know Re-Animator if it wasn't for me and I wouldn't know it if it wasn't for her. She taught me everything. She showed me how to get into the storm drains."

"And you got impetigo."

"She taught me scars are memories. She's the greatest human being to have ever existed and I've decided I'm going to tell her how I feel."

Reed's mouth hung open as he tried to pinpoint at what moment his best friend lost his mind,"She is a grown ass woman, Nitin, and you are... this."

A glint of magic danced in Nitin's eyes as he began to pace the length of the basement, "Maybe on any other night I'd say, 'Sure Reed, you're right.' But tonight's not any other night."

"Yes it is. It's Saturday."

"No. It's not. Tonight is the syzygy."

"What's the syzygy?"

"It's when the planets align."

Reed grabbed a box of stale fruit loops from the coffee table and munched them as if they were theatre popcorn,"Go on, Professor."

"As of this moment we're in high school."

"Technically we're not in high school until September."

"Yeah, but we're not in grade school. We graduated. So we're technically high schoolers."

"Pretty sure there isn't any technicality anywhere in this."

"On Monday is Beachwood Academy's convocation and she becomes a college woman. But tonight. Tonight's the only moment when were both in high school at the same time. Our time, like the planets, are aligned just for tonight. For the briefest moment."

Reed dropped his box of fruit loops and stood, crunching the spilled O's under his NAOT's, "Holy Shit! The syzygy!"

Nitin ignored the sarcasm and Reed ignored the crushed cereal in the carpet, "I'm going to Christophe's party and I'm going to read her this!" Nitin slid a blue envelope from his backpack, "It's my love letter. I put it all out there, Reed, and I need you to come with me."

"You need me to come with you to deliver a love letter to your babysitter?"

"For emotional support and back-up. Yes."

Reed plopped back into the couch, trying to veer his friend away from this ill conceived idea, "Do you really want to start your high school career in a public cringe disaster?"

"If it means being honest about my feelings then yes."

"I kind of promised Becca you'd bring those beers you stole from your dad to the ravine tonight."

"Screw Becca!" Nitin shouted.

"She's your friend!" Said Reed, shocked.

"You're right, I take it back, but this is more important than Becca. Reed, this is the most important thing I will ever do."

"I care about your future and it's a terrible idea. As your friend I can't let you do this."

Nitin resorted to his nuclear option, "You leave me no choice," He reached deep into his pocket and pulled out a pumpkin-kitty hybrid beanie baby, "I'm playing the HAVETO."

He tossed the beanie baby over the coffee table and Reed caught it with one hand. Reed squeezed, feeling the beanie-guts move around inside, "I hate the HAVETO."

"Well, now you have the HAVETO and I'm sure I'll hate what ever I have to."

Reed knew Nitin had him dead to rights. There are somethings in best-friendships that cannot be broken without shattering the bond and for Reed and Nitin that was the HAVETO. It had started as a joke at a sleepover in sixth grade. They found this beanie baby and agreed that who ever had it in their possession could make a request that the other could not refuse. And the only payment was that the other would have the HAVETO to use however they chose. At first this meant you'd HAVETO eat spoonful of ghost pepper hot sauce or run across the street naked at 2AM. But it evolved over time and became massive favours that could not be denied. Nitin was in the possession of the HAVETO because Reed made Nitin HAVETO ask Rebecca if he liked him. Which he did. And the answer was yes. And they were still sort of making out sometimes.

Reed exhaled, disappointed, but resigned to the surely doomed quest, "How do we even get into that party? We're not friends with any high schoolers."

Reed caught that glint of that mischievous magic that flashed over Nitin again and he knew exactly what he was after.

"No! Nitin no! My brother is not my friend!"

But Nitin was already halfway up the stairs.

++++++

Well, you've made it to chapter 6 and I really appreciate it. I can't wait to keep this story going. Expect more Killer for the next few weeks. I'd really love your votes and comments. I'm dying to hear what you think, your theories, and your ideas!

Keep reading and I'll writing. 

Josh