-Max-

I completely lost track of time while hanging out with Sky at the coffee shop. We spent a few hours reading through the papers Mr. Jones had given us, making plans on how we were going to do the project. Well, I let Sky make most of the decision since I had no idea how we were going to follow a couple of owls, but I had still fun talking with him, nonetheless.

But the project itself... I wasn't sure what I had gotten myself into, but I had to admit, I'd never had a school project quite like this one. When Mr. Jones brought it up for the first time, I had thought it would be an easy way for me to earn my grade, but now... I wasn't so sure about it.

Talking about it with Sky was all fun and games since his enthusiasm was really contagious, but after I had walked him to the bus stop and made sure he got on it in one piece, I was starting to have my doubts.

And not just doubts. For one, camping. That was going to be quite... something. I still wasn't sure if I liked the idea of staying the night outside. Sky had promised there weren't any bears or wolfs around, but how could he be so sure about that? Also, even if it was safe to go camping, there were no toilets or showers or beds in the forest.

Usually, I wasn't such a whiny bitch, and I always tried everything at least once before forming an opinion, but this time I wasn't sure if I could do it.

I leaned my head back in my seat with a sigh, staring outside the bus. Forests were so out of my comfort zone...

Sky seemed to have the exact opposite opinion on the matter. He certainly was a weird kid, but not in a bad way. I had never met anyone who could get so enthusiastic over something, and I was glad he forgot to be shy when he started talking about nature. When I found out he was going to be my partner, I honestly thought it wasn't going to work out. I mean, he'd barely even looked at me at first, and getting him to talk had seemed like too much to ask.

Thankfully, that wasn't the case. I now knew how to get him out of his shell. The guy clearly, obviously loved nature. Even thinking about him talking about it brought a smile to my face. His excitement really was contagious. Breath of fresh air.

Different.

I didn't know much about animals, so in a way it was a jackpot for me to have him as my partner. Getting a high score from the project was another step towards my dream. A dream I'd busted my ass off for.

I peered at an old, tall building the bus passed by, trying to memorize all the details with one glance.

To become an architect...

I had the feeling Mr. Jones had deliberately partnered me with Sky. The two of us were so different. I didn't really care much about nature; I was more of a city person, but he seemed like the kind of guy who could live in an ascetic hut somewhere in the middle of prairie or in the deepest parts of a forbidden jungle. I couldn't even remember the last time I'd been in a forest.

But I also had the feeling Sky was now with me because he was so shy and quiet. It wouldn't have been the first time my teachers had encouraged me to help out new students. Most of the teachers were great people, and they must've noticed Sky having trouble making friends.

I had definitely noticed it. He didn't seem to have any friends at school, and I'd heard he just moved across the country, so I didn't believe he had any friends in the entire city. He always seemed sad and lonely when I saw him, and I knew some of the others had tried to start picking on him. I'd seen people laughing at him when he was picking up trash at the schoolyard the other day.

My stop came into view, so I got ready to get out. Once outside, I started walking through the darkening street, still thinking about Sky and our project.

I was happy to have him as my partner, and help him around at school if he needed it, but the project itself was making me concerned. I needed perfect grades, and since the project affected it, I was getting worried.

Sleeping in the forest wasn't even my biggest concern. The more I thought about it, the stronger I felt that choosing owls as our subject wasn't such a great idea after all. As a subject it did sound cool, but how the hell were we going to study them? Even if we did find them, how were we supposed to see them in the middle of the night?

I had so many doubts, but by the time I reached my front door, I had decided to trust Sky on this. He was the nature guy, not me, and if he knew what he was doing, we could end up with one hell of a project. One that could even earn me some extra credit.

*****

When I woke up at six the next morning, I was still really tired. Since I had spent so much time with Sky after practice, I had to stay up late to finish all my schoolwork. I couldn't afford to half-ass anything, so it had been way past midnight when I finally went to bed.

After I turned off my alarm clock, I rolled on my back and stared at the ceiling. I really should've gone to bed earlier... Some of the homework I did last night wasn't due until the day after tomorrow, so I could've done them later. But I was afraid that if I started postponing them regularly, it would become a slippery slope that ended with me not doing them at all.

And my dreams would be ruined for good...

I turned my attention to one of my framed posters on the wall. Taj Mahal. I loved the way the sunset colored the white, gorgeous building in that picture. I loved everything about it. The tall towers and the smooth surfaces... Even the long pool leading up to the entrance.

Slowly, I turned to look at the other posters. Burj Khalifa. Chrysler Building. Petronas Towers. The Gherkin. Sagrada Família. Louvre. The Pantheon... The list went on. There was not an inch of free space on my walls anymore. It was all covered in dozens of pictures of the most beautiful buildings I had ever seen. Some of them didn't even exist anymore.

That was my dream, and I suddenly didn't regret my decision to stay up late.

I had always loved to create, and I loved all the human-made structures. I loved everything about both old and new buildings, and I wished that someday I'd be able to make something just as amazing as the creations in my posters. Or better yet, something that combined the delicate beauty of the old ones and the modern harshness of the new ones.

That was why Sky and I were so different. To me, nature was only an interesting detail next to the buildings. Like a tree or a batch of grass or something. I did believe keeping our earth clean was the way to go, and animals were fun to watch, especially when they did something silly, but I didn't understand why it was such a big deal to Sky. But I did understand his love.

And that was why I was willing to give him and our project a chance.

I got showered and dressed before I headed downstairs, where my mom was already reading her newspaper in the kitchen. She gave me a bright smile, but then noticed the dark circles around my eyes, and frowned.

"I was going to say good morning, but I'm not sure if you even went to bed," she told me, placing a plate full of pancakes in front of me. "You did sleep, yes?"

"I did," I said with a yawn. "Though I could've slept a few hours longer."

"I do believe that," she said. "You should take it easy sometimes, you know? I still can't believe I have to say this, but I think you should hang out with your friends more often. You need to have fun, too, not study all the time."

It was a kind of inside joke we had. She always bragged to her friends how she needed to tell me to put down my schoolbooks once in a while and live like a regular teenager. Though now she was just worried. She didn't quite understand that in order to get to where I wanted, I had to be at the top of my class, maybe even better. I didn't want to take any chances.

I was going to become an architect, and I wasn't going to let anything ruin that for me, especially myself. I guess I was slightly obsessed about it, but it was my biggest dream. Always had and always would be.

"Well, if it makes you feel better, I'm going shopping with my new friend," I told her.

"Oh? I thought you had football practice today after school," she said.

"I do, but Sky's going to meet me afterward so we can go get camping stuff for me," I explained.

Mom tilted her head and pursed her lips. "Are you sure it's safe to be camping in the woods?" she asked.

I was about to answer yes, but then my dad walked in, interrupting us.

"Don't be silly, Alice," he said cheerily. "I used to camp all the time when I was in the boy scouts."

"But there might be bears," Mom tried to object, but Dad just laughed lightly.

"Not in our forests. You worry too much," he said, and kissed Mom on the cheek. She was still looking concerned, but she gave him a smile, eventually.

"So, owls. That's an interesting project you guys have," Dad said, sitting down at the table. "It's not going to be easy though, but I'm sure you guys will make a damn good project."

"We will," I nodded, and tried to smile at him.

But it never was genuine.

I finished my breakfast soon after that and went to get ready for school. A few moments later, I was standing outside at the corner of our street, waiting for the bus. When it came, I climbed in and searched for my friends. They were the noisiest bunch of people on the bus, so it wasn't hard to spot them at the back.

Before I got to them, I saw Sky sitting all alone in the middle of the bus. He had his eyes turned out the window, and he didn't notice me when I stopped to a halt next to him. He was pressing his schoolbag against his chest like he was worried that he'd lose it.

"Hey, Sky," I said when the bus started moving.

He turned to glance at me with a timid look in his blue eyes.

"H-Hi," he muttered and looked down at his lap again.

So, we were back to being shy again... I held back a sigh, wondering if I should ask about the owls to make him talk, but my friends were getting impatient, and it was getting hard to stay on my feet while the bus was moving.

"Max! Hey Max! Get your ass over here!" I heard my friends cheerily calling for me. "You don't believe what Troy did yesterday!"

I waved at them and turned to look at Sky.

"I'll see you later," I told him and walked to my friends, trying to keep my balance.

I sat down and turned my attention to my friends. They started telling me about some silly prank Troy had pulled on one of the girls in our class, but I wasn't quite concentrating on the story.

I turned to look at Sky again. I felt bad for the guy, sitting all alone. He seemed like a great friend to have, so I assumed it was his shyness that was preventing him from making new friends. That was definitely something I could help him with.

"Max? Are you even listening?" Luke asked, tapping my arm to get my attention.

"Hm? Sorry, what did you say?" I looked at him, trying to push Sky out of my head for a moment.

"Never mind," Luke sighed. "So, you got the tree-hugger as your partner in biology. At least you're getting an A from the project, but it's too bad the kid is such a wuss."

I grit my teeth together. "He's a good guy," I spoke.

"Dude, seriously. You don't want to be seen with him," Luke said. "I mean, have you seen his clothes? And he stutters all the time. I bet he still pees himself in his sleep."

He was speaking loud enough for half of the bus to hear. Including Sky. Everyone around us was silent, except for Luke, who was chuckling at his own words.

"Uhm, we like Sky now," Troy whispered to Luke.

"What?" Luke snapped, and turned to look at Troy.

"Sky is my friend," I said. "You got a problem with that?"

Luke looked angry for a moment, but then he turned his gaze away. "No..."

"Good," I said, but I was still angry at him for what he said about Sky.

I didn't like being the popular guy in school. I wasn't anything special, but popularity did come with perks. I knew that by the end of the day, the entire school would know I was friends with Sky, and I was pretty sure there wouldn't be a single person who dared to pick on him again.

I hated bullying. I couldn't stand it, and they all knew that. I wasn't just going to stand by and watch Sky getting teased just because he was a little different. And being different was definitely not a bad thing. Especially in his case.

I peered at Sky again, thinking about our trip to the coffee house yesterday. Again, it brought a smile on my face, which I tried to hide from my friends. There was something refreshing about Sky. The guys around me were loud and, quite frankly, kind of obnoxious at times, so spending time with Sky had definitely been great.

I mean, who wouldn't like to be around a guy who was so sweet and kind and... and... genuine. Truly, a fresh breath of air. It was really easy to talk to him, too. Once I managed to get him to talk, that is. And the way he gushed about animals was kind of...

I snapped out of my thoughts, trying to focus on what my friends were saying.

But more than once, I found my eyes trailing back towards him.