It's gonna kill me. I gotta call him.

No, I can't. What If I wake him up? It's real late and I'm supposed to be asleep. But I can't, damn just get out of my head.

Every atom of me missed him. I like him so stupidly much this is killing Me.

I gotta call him man, I need to hear his voice.

I grabbed my phone from under my pillow as I called him, waiting for him to answer.

"Hello?" He said. He didn't sound as if he had just woken up. So hopefully that meant I hadn't just woken him up.

"Hey Beej, I didn't wake you up did I?"

"No, I was already up. Why aren't you asleep?"

"Well..." I said taking in a deep breath. C'mon, he tells you all the time when he's missed you. You can tell him. Friends miss friends. If I tell him I've missed him- he won't get any ideas. "I miss you."

"You do?" He said surprised.

"Mhm, a lot."

"I missed you too."

I felt myself smile like an absolute idiot.

"But that's not a good enough reason. Now, why aren't you asleep?" He asked.

"Well, I guess I was having a silent debate with myself whether to call you up or not. And a part of me was like: no don't do that. That's silly. But then the other part of me reminded my other part how much it missed you. And then we agreed on calling you, and now I'm finding myself rambling on to you."

"You're meaning you tell me, you were losing sleep... because of me?"

"Yes sir."

"Don't do that, you idiot."

"Why?" I smiled. "You'll always be my favourite reason to lose sleep."

"Ah damn," he laughed. I knew he was smiling. I knew it. "Can I see you tomorrow?"

"If I can escape."

"You act like you're in prison." He laughed.

"I basically am."

"Okay Payton, well. If you do escape-" he laughed. "-can I take you somewhere tomorrow?"

"Hmm," I said. "Depends where."

"It's a surprise."

"Billie," I whined. "Just tell me,"

"No, so can I?"

I sighed loudly. "I guess."

"Don't act like you don't want to see me tomorrow, you even said you missed me."

"Alright alright, no need to get cocky Armstrong." I joked.

"You call me by my second name a whole lot." He said.

"Is that a problem?"

"No no! Not at all, I kinda like it."

"Course you do," I laughed.

"Now go to sleep, okay?"

"I can't! I swear I have insomnia or something!"

"Yeah me too pal, now go to sleep."

"Billie!" I whined again. "Don't end the call, please. I wanna talk to you longer."

"Nope, you need sleep."

"Why do you care about my sleep so much?"

"Because I care about you: therefore I care about things like your health, mental state, needs and sleep."

"Well," I smiled bashfully. "I can't argue with that."

"All I can say is: when you fall asleep tonight. Just remember that we lay under the same stars."

"Okay Billie," I smiled. "I guess I'll go to sleep."

"Goodnight Payton."

"Goodnight Billie."

The call ended. As I sighed and put my phone down as I closed my eyes.

I smiled.

We were under the same sky at least.

~

I waited for Billie outside of his house on the street near the end of his garden like he told me to. Once he came outside he smiled at me as he began walking down the garden to me.

I wanted to just, run up to him. And give him a hug. A really really long one.

But my brain had convinced me not to. He finally reached me as he smiled. "Sleep well?" He asked.

"I guess." I shrugged. "So where you taking me?"

"Well... I was thinking about taking you to this little spot." He told me as he got into his car. I got into as we carried on the conversation.

"What sort of spot? Like a spot you go to with Tre and mike?" I asked.

"No," he said shaking his head as he started the car. "Actually, mike and Tre don't know about this spot." He said as we began to drive.

"They don't?" I asked surprised.

"No,"

He drove, it must have only been about a five to ten-minute drive until he parked the car. We got out as he put his hand out for me to take, which I did. Did all friends hold hands?

We began to walk on this field, and then he took me down a stone path. We walked across a little bridge and then we reached a little river.

It was empty. No one was here. There was just a river peacefully flowing beside the willow trees and spring grass. And few flowers that were able to sprout out and grow and not be disturbed by anyone.

"Wow," I said as we walked closer to the river. We sat down on the grass next to it. "This place is so beautiful," I said looking over at him.

"You like it?"

"Yeah, it's so peaceful," I said looking over at the river. It was clear blue water as I saw a few fish swim past in the direction the water flowed.

"I thought you'd like it." He said also looking at the river.

It was perfect, although we were silent. The sky was sunny, the sound of water gently splashing was around us, we were sat under the shade of a willow tree.

"So how come you brought me here?" I asked him. I didn't speak loud, because I didn't need to. The atmosphere was quiet.

"I thought we could just come here and talk," he shrugged. "Like our little spot."

"Okay, what do you wanna talk about?" I asked him. He shrugged his shoulders.

"What do you think of Addison?" He asked me. Referring to mike's Addison.

"She seems nice." I shrugged. "What do you think?"

"I've got a feeling that her and mike won't last." He said to me. "I didn't actually tell mike this. But I've heard about her before, and I think she cheated on someone at one point. I don't know," he shrugged again. "I just wouldn't bet on it."

"You think she'll cheat on mike?" I asked him.

"I hope not," he said. "I don't wanna say that I wouldn't put it past her.... but-"

"-But you wouldn't put it past her?" I asked. He laughed and nodded.

"Exactly that." He smiled. I smiled back.

"I mean if she does cheat on mike. Then I'll always hunt her down." I joked. "But I really hope she doesn't. Mike doesn't deserve that."

"Yeah, he's been cheated on before y'know? I don't want it to happen to him again."

"He has?"

"Yeah."

"Fuck, that sucks. It really hurts when you're cheated on, I don't know how people can cheat on others."

He looked at me for a second. "Have you ever been cheated on?"

I nodded slowly.

"You have?"

"Yeah..."

"Who by?"

"Do y'know Jack Hitches?" I asked him.

"Hey, I do!! I beat that guy up once!" He said pointing to me.

"You did!?"

"Yeah!"

"Why?"

"He tried snatching my cigarette off of me, I think we were arguing and he went to grab my cigarette."

"So you freaked out and beat him up?"

"Exactly that."

I laughed slightly and looked back at the river. "I mean, it wouldn't be the first time he's been beaten up."

"It's not?"

"No, when Addison, as in my sister Addison, found out he cheated on me. She wasn't very happy either."

"Did she beat him up?"

"Well she was gonna, but she let him go. But then time passed and she grabbed the chance."

"She sounds cool," Billie said.

I smiled. "She was."

We shared silence. And it was beautiful. The both of us gazed at the river in front. I couldn't express how peaceful this place made me feel.

"So what's this place to you?" I asked him.

"I don't know. I guess it's just a place to come to when I feel low. Like my happy place, I guess."

"Happy place?" I asked confused.

"Yeah, y'know, a place that makes you forget all your troubles and makes you feel... happy. Don't you have one of those?"

A happy place? Did I have a happy place? Somewhere that made me forget my problems... I guess I had moments where I felt myself forgetting how shit life was.

Moments like: the arcade, on the field with Mike, Tre, Billie, the beach, right now. But those are all different places.

And that's when it clicked.

The only thing those places have in common isn't where they are. But who they're with. And that was him. He made me forget my problems. He made me forget how shit the world is. He made me happier when I was with him. It didn't matter where I was. As long as he was there. I was okay.

He's my happy place.

"Can, people be happy places?" I asked him.

"Yeah, I guess they can." He said. "Why? Who's your happy place?"

"I-I think it's you." I stuttered. "You're my happy place."

"Me?" He asked surprised. He looked happy to hear that, but really surprised. Like he didn't actually know how happy he makes me.

"Yeah," I smiled. "You make me feel happier, and make me forget every single shitty thing ever. So I guess that makes you my happy place." I said nervously.

"Can I admit something?"

"Course you can."

"I know I'm not supposed to know you at all. But I wish I knew you sooner. Since I met you I've not actually come to this place since. I use to come to it all the time. I guess that makes you my happy place too."

One of the greatest feelings. Is hearing someone say, 'I wish I knew you sooner' and seeing in their eyes they mean it. looking at his, the honesty and happiness in them. He did. He did mean that.

"I'm really thankful I found you, Billie, I know I don't tell you this. But you make things seem so much more enjoyable." I told him.

"You mean that?"

"Yeah, I've never had someone who's stuck around like you. And you're not even supposed to. Every single person who has seemed interesting I've been banned from seeing. I would tell them that and they, knowing who my mom is, would say okay and leave. Not wanting to piss her off. But not you, or Tre and mike. You guys are the only ones who stuck with me."

He smiled lightly and shook his head at me, "I won't leave you. And if there ever comes a time when you leave me for a new state. Just know I won't ever forget you. And I would spend every day since you left missing you, and I would do everything In my power to come to visit you too."

"You promise?" I asked him.

"I swear."

And it began to get darker, but I didn't mind. I thought the way the moon began to reflect on the river water was quite lovely actually. And we talked under the stars. Under the willow tree which long branches swayed from side to side every time a cold air breeze blew past it.

It was him and I. And the silence underneath the stars that understood my heartbeat was racing. He said nothing, he spoke nothing, he told me nothing. And I believed everything. In that moment of pure bliss when he smiled. I had realised: I had not just found a friend. I had found so much more. I had found my happy place, I had found my reason to carry on, I had found myself, I had found life, I had found happiness, I had found a home. I had found a home in a person who's heart I just could not have. And I found all this, from finding him.