The dawn of a new day. The birds awoke and began to sing to the sunrise as it peaked over the tree tips. Each tip set a fire with a spectrum of colors. Gabriel walked out of the door and spotted Jordan sipping on his morning cup of joy.

"Why do you call it a cup of joy?" He questioned as he stretched his arms and yawned.
"Cause without I would be crappy; like you." He teased as he pushed him lightly.

The uproar last night woke part of the neighborhood. After they realized no one was hurt, everyone just went back to bed.

"Yo you alright man?" Jordan asked and sipped.
"Yeah...Hey i'll be back in a bit."

Have you ever had a dream where everything was all good? Where you were hanging out with a friend you haven't seen or talked to in a little bit? It seemed the world was at peace. Everyone was happy. You could spin around in circles; you could talk to a random stranger as though you've been friends since you were little in the sandbox; You smiled and it was real...Real...It was all fake. The smiles twisted and everyone stared. Each and every eye started to grow bigger and bloodshot as the heads blew up like a balloon. The world seemed to shrink and people from everywhere was just staring at you...

He shook his head. Gabriel didn't remember much of the 30 minute walk, but he just thought. Thought about his dream. Thought about last night. Thought about her.

'Maybe i shouldn't say goodbye. It's not like i mean much. Yeah i'm her friend; that's why she disappears when i need her the most. It's going to be the hardest goodbye since the Friend's cast had to leave.' He stopped and chuckled at his thoughts. His obsession with the show Friends' always seemed to pop in once in a while.

He was surrounded by the giant pines that towered and protected his side of the tracks from the direct heat of the morning sun. Looking to his left; he seen her house. Right there across the street. All he had to do was knock on the door and swallow down his adam's apple and pride. He didn't even have to think about his choice...


...She yawned and sat up from the couch. Walking into the kitchen in her pajama pants with penguins and her shirt from last night. Her hair a complete mess as though she just got back from a rock concert. She spent half the night thinking of her choice she made; but when she realized he didn't follow her home. Well it was just a Romance movie night with her favorite Superman flavored ice cream. She noticed the container of the ice cream in the trash. Her mom had to work; she figured that her mom just picked it up and went about her business. She poured a cup of coffee and turned around to go the the counter to add sugar and creamer. That's when she saw him. Gabriel was across the street in the woods. The blinders were partly opened; enough so you can see out but no one see in. She watched frozen as he turned around and walked further into the woods without a second glance back.

She quickly set the glass on the counter and rushed out her door, almost falling down the concrete steps as she flew over them. She stopped at the edge of the road as a pickup truck slammed his breaks. He waved her across with a glare and she booked it.

Each step slammed another memory into his head. The dances. His idiot friends laughing at the lunch table as they goofed around. The moments when he wished he was alone. The moments when he wished he had someone. The bonfires. BAM. BAM. One right after another. He looked up. He was there.

She slowed down to a quick walk and she scanned the woods for any trace of moment. She knew he was there. She didn't know if he knew she was there. She wanted to figure out what he was doing, she wanted to tell him.

The single willow tree. If you sat under it in the morning until noon, the sun gleamed like flaming rubies as they shot through the pines and through the leaves of the willow. It was perfect to him. He didn't know how many people knew about the tree; but if you lived in the same place as he did for so long, you explored. Whenever he was troubled or hurt, he would come here.

"Well I guess this is it hu? After all these years, I still got you." He leaned against the tree and slide down it. Pulling out a knife. After Jordan fell asleep, took the knife from him. He figured he could just tell him... Well he couldn't tell him anything after this. Flipping the knife open he ran his fingers across the side of the blade...

She was breathing fast; she had not a clue where she was. She didn't care. She had to tell him, to talk to him. He looked so depressed; his face was pale as a dragon's eye after it died. The bright diamond glow that filled the dragon with life; now taken away and left with just a empty, soulless corpse. She panicked and it only got worse with each passing second.

"What you doin out here?" He jumped and quickly dropped the knife beside him in the pine needles that littered the floor. Gabriel turned to look and see who said it.
'Is it her? Did she see me?' the questioned buzzed through and they were met with answers.

She was just average looking. She stood about 5'5'' with brunette hair that cascaded down to her stomach. Her face was just average. The only thing that set her apart from a doll showing what a normal girl is suppose to look like and what she was; is that she wore complete dark cloths. Her shirt was a plain black and her cargo pants was deep black. She almost could be a ninja. Her eyes. Gabriel forgot about the knife as he looked at her eyes. They were so innocent. A soft shade of hazel that brought out the horizon lines in her eyes.

"Just thinking." He answered after a few moments. She sat next to him and pulled out a water bottle from her pocket.

"So you know about this spot also or you just found it?" She asked as she took a big gulp and than wiped her lips.
"Known about it. What's your name?"
"People call me Rose. First name is Autumn though. Yours?"
Gabriel. People call me....Gabriel." they both chuckled lightly and than a silence.

"So i seen the knife." She said right before another drink.
"You see that single ray of light right there?" She pointed just left of where he was into the leafs.
"Well life is kinda like that; pushing past and through all the obstacles just to reach a point where you can't go no where."

She stood up and picked the one leaf that was blocking the light. It shown through right into his left eye and he moved his head a little.
"All it needs is a little help; no matter who helps. Never give up. Cause who knows, it could turn into a sun on earth and give those fake tanned people a reason to complain." She giggled as she threw the leaf at him. He laughed and she sat down again. They kept talking and laughing...

There he is. She could see a leg through the leaves as she rounded around a big trunk. She walked closer and even slower, trying to think of what she is going to say. Or even how to say it. As she bite her bottom lip; she seen a second person. It was a girl! She quickly knelt down and back to the trunk and watched. The girl threw something at Gabriel and than she heard them both laugh.

"What? What's going on? Last night...Was it just a....When did.." She spoke each word louder than the last but yet not to loud. She stared at them. She thought about what happened last night. What was she suppose to do?

Gabriel forgot about the knife until she asked for it. He turned to his side to grab it and saw something move behind a big tree not farther than 15 feet away.
"Hey you drink coffee? I know this best thing to put in it to make it taste like heaven. Wanna try it?" He turned back to her and than looked to the tree again and whatever moved was gone...What should he do? Was it her?