*Laurance's POV*
~The Next School Year~

"Hey, Garroth!" I ran up to one of my closest friends, as we began our walk to school.

"Oh, hey Laurance," Garroth slightly smiled, kicking a stone.

He's been getting more cheery as the months go on. It's nice. I like seeing others happy. It...makes me feel more confident in myself, and others around me.

"Can you believe that we're already Sophomores?" I dreamily sighed. The years are going by extremely fast. I don't know whether that's a good or bad thing...

"It's kind of hard to believe," Garroth's smile grew, as he bent down suddenly.

I stopped, turning to face what he was looking at. Garroth was brushing his fingers against the grass, his forefinger grazing against a flower. It was a beautiful daisy, the only one to have bloomed yet, in the compendium of daisies beforehand. Garroth looked up at me, biting his lip.

"What's the matter?" I questioned, kneeling down beside him.

"Hm? Oh...it's nothing... It's just... I would love to pick a daisy- f-for my mom, o-of course! B-But...I don't want t-to take this little guy away from their family," Garroth brushed his finger gently against the white petals. "So, I was just admiring it's beauty, before I had to say goodbye."

He's so strange...in an oddly adorable way... That's normal for a straight guy to say about his good friend, right?

"Hey, Garroth, after school...there's this place I want to take you to," I smiled, recalling this certain place.

"Oh?"

"Yeah... After school we can go," I grabbed hold of Garroth's wrist, helping him stand up. "But first, we have to go to our classes, and be good noodles, alright?"

~~~

I dashed up a large hill, taking a quick second to catch my breath. I put my hands on my hips, pacing a few steps. I sighed, my impatience growing.

"Hurry up, slowpoke!" I called, looking down the hill. Garroth was breathing heavily, slowly walking up the hill.

"I'm...coming...Laurance..," he said in-between breaths. He made it to the top, sitting down instantly.

"We aren't there yet, Garroth!"

"But...we've been walking for so long."

"We just got here five minutes ago."

"Five minutes...of pure...torture."

I face-palmed, chuckling. I sat beside Garroth, who had laid back onto the grass. I joined him, looking up at the sky.

"Why did you take me here, Laurance?" Garroth asked, turning to face me. His blonde hair fell into his eyes, making me slightly laugh.

"Because I wanted to show you something my sister and I found years ago, when we came here to Phoenix Drop one time." I turned to face Garroth, whose cheeks were pink.

Why is he blushing?

"Oh? And what is that?"

"Well, if you would continue walking, I could show you."

Garroth rolled his eyes, standing up. I did the same. I grabbed his wrist, leading him down the hill. His eyes were filled with wonder, as he saw all the patches of flowers in the field. I smiled to myself, pulling him past them.

We eventually made it to a forest-like area. I kept hold on Garroth's wrist, walking with him into it.

"Are we almost there?"

I turned to look at Garroth. He looked like a little kid- despite being 15. His blue eyes sparkled, still fascinated by how beautiful everything was.

"Almost. Can you keep walking for a bit longer?"

Garroth nodded, laughing. I continued leading him, until we made it to our destination.

There was a clearing in the forest, with a small pond in the dead center of it. Different variations of flowers were sprawled around. It was so beautiful.

"Wow..," Garroth muttered, taking in the scenery.

I let go of his wrist, gesturing him to follow me. I brought him over to the pond, sitting down. Garroth sat beside me. He was smiling brightly, brushing his hand against the water.

"It's awesome, right?"

Garroth nodded, dipping his fingers into the pond. "It's beautiful."

"Yeah...it would be the perfect place to take someone on a date to," I looked at Garroth, whose face had turned dark red. He looked away from me, clearing his throat.

Did I say something wrong?

"O-oh..?" Garroth bit his lip, still not looking at me.

"Yeah. When I found this place, that was one of my first thoughts. That one day, I will take a nice girl here on a date. I will, give her a flower. We'll stare out at the pond. Maybe we'll dance. Then, we could stay until dark, and kiss with the moonlight reflecting off the pond."

Garroth sighed, pulling his knees close to his chest. "I-I'm sure that...s-she'll...love that, Laurance. You're quite the romantic."

"Speaking of romance," Garroth looked up at me, his face still red, "got any special girls on your mind?"

He bit his lip once more, hesitantly shaking his head. "N-nope. No...girl...h-has caught my e-eye..."

"Well, how 'bout any guys?" I light-heartedly joked. Garroth turned away from me, putting his head in his hands.

"I-I...uh...um..."

"Bro, I'm just messing with you."

I put my hand on Garroth's shoulder, calming him down. He looked at me, his blush returning.

"Y-you'll be my f-friend no matter what, r-right Laurance?" Garroth asked, out-of-the-blue. I nodded, not giving it a second thought.

"Of course."

"T-thank you..."

"Anytime, bud," I chuckled, patting his shoulder. "You're the best friend a guy could ask for!"

"B-Best friend?" Garroth stared at me, wide-eyed. "W-Would you consider u-us...best f-friends..?"

"Would you?" I turned the question back on him, inching a bit closer to him.

"M-Maybe...b-but, would y-you, though?"

"Yes," I instantly nodded, wrapping my arm around his shoulder. "Can we be officially considered best friends, now?"

"U-uh..," Garroth stared out at the pond for a moment, tapping a finger against his leg. "Y-You know what? Y-Yeah! Yeah! W-We can b-be best friends!"

"Best friends forever!"

"Y-Yeah!"

~~~