Lao and Felipe stood together behind a huge tree trunk, its leaves withered with age. Her hands held the small box that she'd planted in the time capsule behind her back, and she averted her eyes to the ground, seemingly more interested in the grass than the boy across from her. Felipe had grown a lot. He was nearly a foot and a half taller than her, lean, and his face had matured. He still had the same goofy grin when he smiled, but there was an air of seriousness to him that rounded everything out. He was leaning against the tree trunk, tapping on his box. Her heart skipped a beat and Lao was starting to regret agreeing to go with him, just the two of them, to open these boxes that they'd planned as a pair when they were younger. She was already lucky enough that she ran into him at this reunion. It would be asking for too much if they could be friends again. Felipe probably wouldn't want to hang out with someone as non-gifted as her anyways.

Unsurprisingly, it was Felipe who broke the silence. Lao had never been the talkative one back in elementary school, it was always him who acted as the poster figure of their plans. "So, are we going to open these boxes or not?"

She flinched at the sharpness of his words, "Of course!" Lao brought her box in front of her chest and held it softly. Felipe playfully flicked her in the forehead.

"Come on, Lao, are you scared of me now?"

"No! Nothing like that!" She protested, daring to glance in his dark eyes that were filled with curiosity, "It's just that...well," she dropped her eyes back to the ground and squeezed the box. "I don't go out much anymore and well...I'm not the most socially adept human being." The sound of Felipe's merry laughter curved her lips into a small smile.

"Come 'ere," Felipe sat criss-crossed on the ground and patted to a spot next to him, "I haven't been out much either, so don't worry about it. My mom and Mia always scream at me to leave my room but it goes in one ear and out the next." He shrugged sheepishly, "I guess maybe I should've listened to them once in awhile."

Lao shyly sat herself next to her childhood friend. It was almost as if he didn't change at all. He was confident, funny, and always seemed to have the words to make her feel right at home. Though it did surprise her that he didn't leave his room much. "You don't run anymore?" She asked. Felipe had always loved to race when they were younger. They hosted class racing tournaments together, though Felipe always ended up winning. In the end, the class banned him from participating because they claimed he rigged the competition, being one of the hosts and all.

Felipe looked startled by her question. "I guess I grew out of it," he finally answered. He opened his box, "I never really had a big reason of why I just stopped." Following his cue, Lao opened her own box. She coughed at the dust that flew outwards, following the lid.

Inside the box was sand, a worn-out paper with the words 'passport to base', a manual book of some sort, some medals, and an old diary. Lao picked up the manual and flipped to the first page. "Dear future me," she read out loud, scrunching her eyes to make out the scribbles of her former handwriting, "just in case you forgot everything, here are the rules of this box."

To her side, Felipe let out a gleeful laugh and held a paper up next to her manual. Their fingers brushed and Lao swallowed her heart. "Hi me," he read, "Lao knows so ask her."

The dark haired girl smirked at her friend, "Past you was such an underachiever."

"Nah, you were just an overachiever." They stared at each other, but Lao broke it by looking back at the manual.

"Felipe and I promised to put boxes in the time capsule along with our other items. This is because we're a team and we need something to show our alliance under the House of Willows! So, we made a promise to put boxes together and open them together. If Felipe isn't here, he's a liar and I will never forgive future him for hurting future me's feelings."

Lao faltered at the last few sentences. She used to be so confident as a child. Stubborn, head-strong. Where had that gone? Why couldn't she talk to others without meeting their eyes? Why couldn't she carry herself with pride? Maybe her confidence had come with ignorance back then. When she was younger, she didn't realize the feelings that she'd hurt with her head stuck up in the air. When she was younger, she didn't realize the efforts she wasted by not focusing on her studies. When she was younger, she was too dumb to realize that she wasn't special, and nothing that she did would ever impact the world. Lao was an idiot not to see that she wasn't a bright, kind young girl that everyone claimed she was. Her mother had told her that personally.

"Anyways, since Felipe probably slacked off, this means YOU have the rules!"

Lao looked over her shoulder, surprised to see Phelipe's face right there, continuing to read where she left off, "And since YOU read the rules, you get to make him carry out the deal first, OK? So, yeah, we put base stuff in the boxes, but also one other very important thing...our diaries! You get to read his first, then he can read yours!" His eyes widened after reading those lines, "Gosh, I don't even know what can be in this thing, please save me the embarrassment."

The dark haired girl turned to him, a bit embarrassed at the proximity of their faces, "A promise is a promise." He stared back at her, putting down his slip of paper and picking up his diary.

"Only if you can catch me," he smirked and ran off.

"Felipe!" Lao shrieked. She bolted after him and tripped over a tree root. She cursed her clumsiness and tumbled over a hill, in which Felipe leaped over to try and catch her. They both tried to no avail to stop the fall, for themselves or the other, but ended up in fits of laughter side-by-side.

"I forgot that falling can be fun," Lao noted to herself, but Felipe joined in on it.

"You looked horrified when you tripped."

"Messing up hurts."

"Not when someone's there to break your fall."

"If that someone is you, that's only a cause for more pain," Lao sat up and grinned down at Felipe. For a moment, for just a small moment, he had helped her forget about her mother's expectations. For just a mere moment, she was able to feel the air from under these weights of expectations. Have fun for the sake of it and laugh with someone because she enjoyed their company. For a moment, she was able to forgive her misgivings and just smile.

"Geez," He playfully shoved her, "That's the thanks I get for trying to rescue you?"

Lao hugged her knees to her chest and closed her eyes, giving herself up to the moment. "I missed you," she breathed softly, with no intention of Felipe hearing it, but no intention of stopping him from either. It was something she'd always wanted to say, something she'd been feeling since the day he went to a different middle school with a promise to see her again. She heard him shuffle besides her-he may have heard it-and sit up.

"Here, we can read my diary first."

She opened her eyes to see him place the old book in her hands. But before they could even open it, a shadow cast over their heads. "Hey! This is a class reunion, not a place where lovebirds can make their nest." It was Markus.