Caleb opened the front door and stormed to his car. He was beyond angry. He was feeling too much. He dropped into his seat and slammed his fist against the steering wheel. He needed to talk to someone, he needed to let the anger out but he couldn't. Caleb turned his car on and whipped out of the driveway without looking behind him. Someone honked but he didn't care. He just slammed the gear into drive and sped towards his house.

He made it home in record time but faltered when he pulled into the driveway. There were a couple of cars already there. Ruth must have invited some friends over. He wasn't in the mood to deal with more people so he turned his car around. He was back on the road, driving away when Dyson jumped out in front of his car. Caleb slammed on his brakes and let out a few choice curses.

"Get out of my way, Dyson," Caleb said through his rolled-down window.

"No." Dyson stood his ground. He had been just as surprised to find Caleb at Adrian's but he had held it together. He had simply taken Beth's keys and chased after Caleb. Dyson would have just let him go, but he couldn't. He had seen the wild look in Caleb's eyes. He was losing it. He had finally snapped and Dyson couldn't let him do whatever he was going to do if left alone.

"Get out of the fucking way!" Caleb revved his engine but Dyson stayed put.

"Let me in." Dyson finally said.

"I'll hit you." Caleb inched forward.

"Fuck this." Dyson sprinted forward and reached inside so quickly that Caleb couldn't react before Dyson already had his keys in his hand, and his car was off.

"Give me my keys," Caleb demanded.

"Scoot over." Dyson could be just as stubborn if not more and they both knew it. After what felt like a lifetime but was probably closer to a minute the staring contest ended and Caleb grumpily stepped over the middle console and got in the passenger side.

Dyson was inwardly relieved until Caleb got out of his car and slammed the door. Before Dyson could react Caleb was running. Dyson could have run after him but he didn't need to. He knew exactly where Caleb was running to, as well as what he was running form.

"Don't worry. I'll move your car out of the road." Dyson muttered as he got into the car. It felt so strange, like when you found a once forgotten pair of jeans that still fit but didn't match who you were anymore. He put the key in the ignition and started to drive.

Dyson thought about what he was going to say while he drove to the tree. After the five-minute drive, he felt no more prepared than he had over the past four months. He considered just driving home, but the conversation was long overdue. He waited a few minutes then finally got out when he saw Caleb in the distance.

"Don't run." He said as he approached the tree where Caleb was sitting, breathing hard.

"Leave."

"No."

Dyson waited for Caleb to say something more, but he stayed silent. He didn't step any closer, worried that Caleb would bolt again, but he breathed loudly so Caleb couldn't act like he wasn't there. Eventually, Caleb stood up and turned towards Dyson somehow without looking at him.

"About that night," Dyson said and saw Caleb flinch at his words.

"I didn't tell anyone," Caleb whispered so quietly that Dyson was sure that he didn't mean to say it out loud.

"I know." Dyson frowned. He had to force himself to not run to Caleb. All he wanted to do was to hold him. He was wanted to push the darkness away, but first, they had to delve into it. You can't find the stars until the sun sets and only with the light of the stars can your mind open up to the possibility of something more.

"And you did," Caleb stated with venom dripping from his words.

"Only what I had to."

Caleb tensed as he looked into Dyson's sad eyes.

"I'm so sorry that I didn't deal with it correctly. I should have-" Dyson stepped closer to Caleb. He felt a cramp in his heart as he saw Caleb absently run a finger over his arm.

"Stop." Caleb's voice cracked, full of emotion. "Please, just let it go. Let me go."

Dyson stopped worrying about how Caleb would react to him; instead, he listened to both of their hearts and took his hand. "You've given up enough for the both of us. You are my best friend and instead of doing what I should have, I let you down. You'll never know how sorry I am. I have never regretted anything so much. Please, just let me help you. I know it's far later than you deserve, but I'm sick of this bullshit. Before any of this, we were at the very least friends. So, please let me be that for you again."

Dyson and Caleb stayed there under their shoes that danced from the wind that whispered through the tree. Neither of them said anything as they listened to the music of the meadow surrounding them. And then, Caleb sank into Dyson's chest. He didn't let go of Dyson's hand but he didn't necessarily hold it. Their hands merely ended up being held between them as Caleb breathed in the scent that he had missed. Dyson always smelled of spray paint and mint toothpaste and to Caleb that was home.

"Do you remember when we first met?" Dyson asked quietly.

"Jaden was being a dick," Caleb whispered back as he pulled away and laid down on the grass. He stretched out on his back and closed his eyes remembering the day and its aftermath.

"Caleb, you're grounded. Go to your room." Caleb's mom pointed at the stairs and he wanted to argue, but he knew it was pointless. Instead, he nodded his head and walked up the stairs to his room. Once the front door closed Caleb waited for his mom to come to his room.

"Caleb?" She asked and knocked.

"Come in." He said. He was sitting on his desk chair spinning, so he stopped and looked at the door.

"Caleb, what happened? I know you wouldn't have hit that boy without a good reason." She said and ruffled his hair. She always said he was much too old to just be nine years old, but when she ruffled his hair like that he felt his age.

"It doesn't matter. I shouldn't have done it." Caleb said and gave her a serious look. What he really meant was that he shouldn't have gotten caught.

"Please tell me." She took a seat on the edge of his bed.

"Mason was being an ass."

"Caleb," His mom scolded and raised an eyebrow at him. Then she motioned for him to continue.

"Well, he was bullying this new boy. He's always like that, you know? Like, he says sh-crap to me all the time and pushes me around but I don't care. It was different with this other kid. Mason was being a total a-meanie to him. He even ripped the boy's notebook in half and it was full of these great drawings. People were starting to laugh at him. That's not okay. It's never okay." Caleb shook his head angrily.

"Oh, Caleb, you are a very good friend." His mom touched his chin and lifted his face so he'd look at her. "Never lose that part of you, but please refrain from beating up the principal's son in front of him." She smiled.

"Next time, I'll drag him into the bathroom real quick."

"That's my boy." She kissed his head and got up. "You do understand that you're still grounded, right?"

"Yeah, it's fair, but can I still go to Dyson's house today? He invited me over as a thank you for helping him out. He just moved in next door." Caleb gave his mom his sweetest smile.

"Just be home before 7:00." She winked.

"Thanks, Mom."

"I'm proud of you son." She left his room and he grabbed his backpack. Less than a minute later he ran, tripped down the stairs, and bolted for the door.

"Caleb, don't forget! Before 7:00!" His mom called out from the open kitchen window.

"I'll be back at 6:30!" Caleb waved and tripped over a bush. "Shit!"

"Language!" His mom called out with laughter in her voice.

"Sorry!" Caleb untangled himself from the prickly bush and jogged to where he and Dyson were meeting. He saw the turquoise backpack from a block away and smiled.

"Caleb," Dyson smiled.

"Dyson." Caleb smiled back.

"Do you want to go to the arcade?" Dyson asked.

"I have a better idea." Caleb looked around stepped closer. He cupped his hand around Dyson's ear and lowered his voice. "I have a secret hideout."

"Really? Cool!" Dyson said excitedly.

"Shh," Caleb touched his finger against Dyson's lip and looked around again. "It's a complete secret, not a single soul knows about it except me."

"But, you're telling me?" Dyson was shocked.

"I know that we're going to be friends forever. And what's the point of having a secret hideout if you're alone?" Caleb wiggled his eyebrows and motioned for Dyson to follow him.

He started running to the old mines and Dyson followed close behind. When they got to the fence Dyson simply climbed over without a single glance at all of the keep-out signs.

"How did you do that so fast?" Caleb asked him from the other side.

"I like climbing." Dyson shrugged.

"Well, I don't." Caleb went down on his stomach and army-crawled under the fence.

"But look, you got dirt all over you." Dyson brushed at the dirt on Caleb's chest.

"It's better than falling off the fence. It happened the first couple of times and let me tell you, it did not feel great." Caleb blushed.

"Did you try not falling?" Dyson teased and Caleb shook his head.

"Jerk." Caleb laughed and picked up his backpack that he had thrown over the fence.

It only took another ten minutes to get to the small cave on the side of the actual mine, but when they got there the boys were acting like lifelong friends.

"I miss that cave," Dyson said as he laid down next to Caleb.

"I can't remember the last time I thought about that place." Caleb smiled, remembering the many adventures they had there.

"I think about it all the time."

"What do you think life would be like if we could go back there?" Caleb asked with a sorrowful sigh.

"You know we can't go back," Dyson said more to himself than Caleb. He had been trying that whole time to go back to who they were before that night so many months ago, but at that very moment, it hit him. There was no going back. There were only memories and the possibility of a future.

Caleb ignored his response. "I think it would be everything we ever hoped for."

"I think we could still have that." Dyson turned over on his side to look at his green-eyed angel.

"No. I play enough games to know when it's time to admit defeat." Caleb played with his shirtsleeve.

"Do you want to know what I miss the most about that cave?"

"That you could graffiti without getting caught?"

"Well yes." Dyson chuckled then touched one of the pink spikes on his head. "But, really I miss the boy who was willing to beat up the principal's son in front of him and the entire school just to help one person. I miss the boy who fearlessly ran across a rickety bridge to a cave inside a closed-off mine. I miss," Dyson made eye contact with Caleb, "the real you."

Caleb got a sad look in his eyes and Dyson knew that they were finished talking, for now. "I miss him too."

"When you're ready to find him, let me know." Dyson stood up.

"We both know he died that night." Caleb didn't move.

"No, it may seem that way to you, but I know he didn't. He's here." Dyson touched Caleb's chest with a finger, pointing to his heart. "He may be broken, scared, and lost, but he doesn't have to be gone forever. He'll be back one day, and for that reason, I will never give up on you."

"Do you ever regret it, you know, what happened before?" Caleb asked after he heard Dyson start to walk away.

"Never."

Caleb wasn't sure if he had imagined the response or if it had really been said.