Orenda talked a lot during the brief ten seconds that it took to actually reach Willow, mostly about how her bakery's business was doing, since it was something that she really cared about. Apparently there'd been a sudden spike in costumer-ism or something the past week at the Castellano's because they'd come out with a new flavour for a pastry, and Mrs. Castellano was beyond ecstatic. Egan and I commented every once in a while, and then Orenda started talking about how it was strange that we drove a car to Willow from my house, despite me living literally five minutes away.

"It was Egan's birthday today, so now he can legally drive," I answered her for both of us.

"Oh really? You're sixteen?" She questioned, and Egan didn't respond. I figured he probably just nodded.

"I believe that life really gets better after you turn sixteen," Orenda said, her arm brushing up against mine. "You know, the entire world sort of makes more sense slowly and you become an adult and it loses all its sense and then you die."

"Morbid," I muttered.

I swung my white cane around, whacking the occasional tall grass clumps around me. I was thankful for the minimalism the tall grass had decided to go with, because last time I was surrounded by that stuff I almost died. It made me sort of wonder if I had an allergy to tall grass, despite me being immune to almost everything the world had to offer. Other than poison, of course. A cool wind swept past me and I shivered, pulling my hoodie up to my ears. It smelled like laundry detergent so I lowered before Orenda or Egan could start judging me. Usually winter never ended where I lived, until it was summer and the entire town melted.

Egan started asking me about Willow and why he never really knew about 'it' (even though Orenda and I have always called Willow a 'she' because it seemed appropriate to do so, not that trees have genders). Which, in my defense, was so that this conversation would never happen. It just wasn't very comfortably easy to say, "well, I was a very sad child, who could only seek happiness in a tree." So, I ignored him politely and we sat against Willow, as I absentmindedly pulled grass out of the ground. A few birds chirped close to us and I heard a squirrel scampering on top of Willow's branches.

"So? How're the tree saving people holding up?" Orenda asked suddenly, her voice hopeful.

Egan and I stalled for a while, talking about things like how the tree-saving people seemed vaguely similar to an obnoxious group in Outlast Corruption called the Conberals. It was a political thing I never really understood (much like the tree savers, or whatever).

"I'm not an idiot, guys. Yes or no or possibly?" Orenda demanded.

Which resulted in the following conversation (minus all the other stalling):

Egan: "Um."

Me: "Um."

Orenda: "No?"

Me: "Yeah."

Orenda: "Oh."

Egan: "My mom just doesn't have that authority."

Orenda: "Thank her for me?"

Me and Egan: "Of course."

Even though I tried to make a joke or two to raise her spirits or something it still hurt me a whole lot to hear the sadness in her voice at the thought of Willow being gone. I didn't know what to do about it. I could feel her moving a little closer to me because her pinky overlapped mine for a brief second before she pulled away, and I could feel that she was right beside me. Egan was jabbing his elbow into my arm.

"Look, Orenda, I promise I won't let Willow be cut down. Right Egan? Um, right? We won't, you know, like, let it." I rambled on to her as she scoffed disgustedly.

"Finn, that's sweet, but-"

Egan cut her off. "No really, when Finn says this stuff he means it."

He seemed to always know what to say at the right moment, unlike me. Egan was undeniably smooth and I just agreed with him.

"Okay then. We'll do it together. Willow can't be cut down," she said. It sounded like she was saying this to make herself feel better, which makes sense. I thought Egan wouldn't really give a crap about all this save-Willow-the-tree-named-after-what-she-literally-is stuff but he sure created the impression that he did.

"Yeah, no worries," I said. This time it was 100 percent for myself.

We were quiet for a while, until Orenda started coughed quietly beside me, her shoulder hitting mine repeatedly.

"You know, this situation really reminds me of Outlast Corruption. Fish, you remember the story mode?" Egan asked.

"Yeah, it's the only mode we play with," I answered.

"Remember when the zombies had an outbreak from the containment centre? God, that was freaky. But what a rush!" He laughed (hiccuply) and I laughed too. Orenda didn't sound too impressed, based on the fact that she groaned painfully.

"OH! I know what you mean!" I exclaimed. "And then didn't they try to raid our supplies?"

"Yeah, man!"

"And then after that-"

Egan cut in, sounding extremely excited, "The Conberals ditched us and turned against us. Man, and then you did this cool trick with our remotes where you just blindly - I say this respectfully - pressed buttons all around? And then about a gazillion people-"

I cut in this time, "They all rounded up and well, died, but still it was so sick 'cause they created, like, a sort of barrier around-"

"Around our supplies and we only lost about 27 percent of it so it was a huge win!"

"Some people died though," I added.

"And we did lose the pretty girl soldier," Egan added.

Orenda just laughed and stood up, then proceeded to pull both Egan and I to a standing position.

"Boys," she muttered jokingly. "But, Egan, are you suggesting a protest?"

"Honestly? Maybe. If this tree means so much to you."

"Her name is Willow," Orenda said forcefully.

"Sorry."

"It's okay. I've got to go. Can you give me a ride?" Orenda asked Egan and we started walking to the car.

We didn't really talk about the protest seriously, because it all seemed a little too rebellious and teenagery, in all honesty. Yet I couldn't help but want to do it desperately so that I could prove that I can. Just for that purpose. It seems really selfish but to be able to save a tree would be making something of myself, which I hadn't really done before. And maybe that could be the thing I could do in the future, instead of being a jerkface.

Orenda opened the front car door for me, but I gladly declined and just decided to sit at the back beside her. I climbed inside whilst folding up my white cane; Egan and I shut the car door in unison. He started the car. I made sure my seatbelt was extra secure.

"Maybe we could do a protest," I heard Orenda say to herself. I knew that she didn't want me to hear it, but nevertheless I did, and it make my heart skip about three beats. The thing was, could we save Willow? Or would it be a waste of time? Or would Willow think it's a waste of time? And could Willow even think? Questions circled my head like they were sitting upon a spinny chair at a boring workplace, and my head started hurting eventually. I think it was partially all the sharp (unnecessary) turns that Egan was making.

"Can you roll down the windows? I'm gonna puke!" Orenda screamed.

"Yuck, I don't think my mom will like the Orenda May Castellano's guts in her car," Egan said in a monotone. He rolled down his window and I did the same for mine.

"That's gross," I commented, as I straightened my glasses.

"If you're going to be my friend, you better like me on the outside and on the inside!" Orenda chortled. She was feeling a lot better, obviously.

No matter what I did, I couldn't stop thinking about Willow being cut down, and proving that she couldn't be for Orenda. I was only one person. I wanted Orenda to think that I would do anything for her, but all that was really happening was her doing nice things for me. Giving me painting supplies to dot the sidewalks, telling me how I'm great, etc. The least I could do was save Willow and the memory of her unborn sister. But how could I show her the world if I was a nobody that lived in the middle of nowhere?

The window rolled down extremely slowly, but despite that I could imagine the warm breeze that was brushing onto my face. And, as if the wind was carrying some sort of secret I only could hear at that moment, it occurred to me that yes, I live in the middle of nowhere.

And yes, like Marybeth had sassily pointed out, some people don't have futures. I had paused momentarily in my life on the topic of my future but the moment I stepped into St. Hemling (which actually did not feel like just that morning - most likely because Egan's driving had made my life flash before my eyes [fun fact, it was all black] about a hundred times) I knew that the question they were going to ask was "what would you like to make of your future?" And I knew I was going to be scared as heck and worry about it until, maybe, my future was already over and I was dust.

During the limited time I had waiting for the window to roll down, I came to a number of conclusions. My neighbours suck (except for Egan) because they hated Egan for his culture and his mother's appearance as a Japanese woman, and they hated me because I didn't hate Egan and I couldn't judge him based on his appearance that scared them so much. My house is cramped and smells of unwashed dishes which I haven't cleaned (and possibly never will). I had never been out of the country and I have never been even remotely close to anything more harmful that a tow truck with a drunk farmer located inside. I went to a school for different kids because I was (gasp) different. My childhood tree was going to be cut down, and I care a whole lot because I've walked these streets so many times that I know every single curve and every single drop.

And I started wondering, that after a decade, would it be that the question which lingers around us won't matter or need to be answered? Because through all those things, I'll always be Finnegan Annson and no matter what neither Orenda May nor Egan Gray will ever become someone that they're not already.

The wind was blasting on my face now, and it was neither warm nor soft. I could feel Orenda's window being rolled down as well, because beside me a harsh gust of wind was flinging my hair around and she was laughing her head off.

"Finn! Stick your hand out the window! It feels so nice!" She screamed over the roar of the wind, and so I did, and it did feel nice. Kind of felt like touching wind, which it was, actually.

And then I felt Orenda's hand on my hand, which, strangely, didn't feel foreign.

"What're you doing?" I asked in the least attractive way possible, because that's how I roll.

She gripped my hand tighter, until our fingers were intertwined, and gave my hand a gentle squeeze. My heart leapt.

"Thanks Finn. You're the least terrible person I know." She whispered quietly, so quiet I could hardly hear her voice against the wind. Her whisper was carried out the window and I didn't quite have enough time to catch it.

"Why? If anything I'm the most terrible person you know."

"No. You're the one who let me hang out with you two today, and it means a lot, since I really don't have many friends who would do that except for you. A most-terrible-person is anything but you, and that's what makes you someone to look up to."

"Me? A role model?"

"Heck yeah. And a person like that can sure make a future for themselves."

I flinched at the sound of the word 'future'. The smell of St. Hemling flooded me and I thought about what Mr. Roberto had said - again. "Oh?" was all that I could choke out.

"Yeah, it's true."

"Thanks Orenda."

She just chuckled lightly.

After a few seconds, Egan snickered. "You guys better not start making out back there."

"No we-EGAN! CURB!" Orenda shrieked just as the car swerved to the right and my head crashed against my arm.

"YOU COULDN'T HAVE TOLD ME EARLIER?" He shouted.

"YOU'RE THE ACTUAL DRIVER!"

I laughed.

"Hey, what's up with all the paint on the sidewalk back there?" Egan addressed.

"Silly kids," Orenda said. I smiled.

The car screeched as it rounded a turn (or a cliff... I couldn't tell with Egan.)

"Oh my - it's a freaking STOP SIGN! YOU STOP AT A STOP SIGN IT HAS THE WORD STOP ON IT!" Orenda screeched at Egan and he just laughed, as he apparently didn't stop at yet another stop sign. We laughed hysterically because of all the screaming Orenda and Egan had exchanged, and finally we had reached my driveway.

As I said goodbye to them both and was greeted by my mom, who quickly hollered a greeting to Egan, I felt really really good. I had never really felt invincible but at that moment I'm pretty sure I was the most confident and slightly arrogant boy in the country. And it was entirely because I had come to another conclusion: Orenda thinks I'm the least terrible person she knows.

And if that doesn't make me want to get started on my future, I don't know what will.

-----/////-----

A/N

HELLO *cue adele music*

MY EXCUSE IS BINGEWATCHING FRIENDS AND WRITERS BLOCK AND CHRISTMAS AND FAMILY GATHERINGS AND HOMEWORK AND HAWAII OK I'M SORRY *cue jb music*

I feel like this is going to be another long author's note because goodness gracious I MISSED YOU GUYS! :)

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays or just a great time these past few days! What was your favourite gift you received, or favourite gift that you gave? I love giving stuff and seeing people smile when they get it :)

Anyway, festive stuff aside, how was this chapter? I know it was a bit boring but hopefully once stuff starts going it'll be more enjoyable to read. I would love to hear your thoughts on it! And if you did like this chapter, then maybe give it a vote (the lil star)! it would make my day about a trillion times better :)

Fun fact, Suburbia by Troye Sivan was a huge inspiration. It's a great song and I guarantee nostalgia and tears!!

Question:

So far, who's your favourite character(s)? Or just a character that you relate to, love, or want to be friends with? It can be any character I have introduced so far, even if it's the dude Finn bumped in on the street or something hahaha.

I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH AND HOPEFULLY I'LL UPDATE SOON. IF I DON'T, HAPPY NEW YEAR AND 2016 AND ALL THAT YOU'RE AMAZING AND I HOPE YOU HAVE A GREAT LIFE <3

(also, I recently saw I hit 7K. Which is almost unbelievable. 3K left until I reach the big 10! Yellow couldn't have made it this far without all you readers *hugs*)