Age: 16
"Chelsea and I hadn't talked since that.. incident, but part of me just couldn't let her go. I knew she was hurting, too.."
As Miles walks downstairs to meet his father and stepmother, he sees them discussing something in private. "Uh.. hello..?", Miles asks, and they turn to him, nervous, with his father, Richard saying "Oh.. hey son..", and Mary saying "We, um.. have something to tell you..". Miles sits down, mentally preparing for the announcement, but his worries disappear when he sees the smiles on their faces, and Richard says "Son, you're gonna be a big brother..". Miles' eyes widen as he excitedly asks "Really?! That's awesome! I gotta tell Mallory about this..!", but is stopped by Mary, who suddenly hugs him, saying "Thank you, Miles. For accepting me as part of your family.. as part of your life.", and Miles hugs her back, as his father joins in the hug.
Later, as Miles walks out of the house, he says goodbye to his parents, making sure to call Mary 'Mom' before leaving.
Miles walks to the bus station, looking at the park on the way, and a chill goes up his spine as he remembers what happened a year ago. "I wonder where Chels..", he wonders, but stops himself. Instead, texting Naya as he rides the bus to her house. As he arrives at Naya's house, he waits before ringing the doorbell, mentally preparing himself to meet her parents, but he is startled by the door suddenly flying open. "Hey, weirdo. Need another minute to prep?", Naya sarcastically says, and Miles chuckles "Hehe, well.. I am super nervous..", as they kiss and enter the house together.
As Miles and Naya sit together on the couch, Miles nervously holds Naya's hand as her parents sit across from them. Suddenly, their parents' faces light up, with her mother excitedly saying "Oh, my baby girl is finally growing up! She's never brought home a boy before!", and her father walking over to Miles, extending his hand to him, saying "Naya has told me all about you, kid. Seems like she picked a good one.". Naya, embarrassed, says "O-Okay, we're going upstairs, before this gets anymore embarrassing..!", as she leads Miles up the stairs and into her bedroom.
"N.. Naya..?", Miles nervously mutters, as Naya shuts the door behind them. "Sorry, but that was getting a little..", Naya says, but Miles finishes "Awkward? Yeah.", chuckling slightly. Miles takes a look around Naya's room, taking in the boyish appearance of it. From the graffiti art on the ceiling, to the various band posters on her walls. "Whoa.. Not what I was expecting..", Miles says, in awe, and Naya snarkily replies "What, were you expecting the typical pink, girly room with dolls all over?". Miles laughs, and says "Hey, it's not like I've ever been in a girl's room before..", to which Naya asks "Really..?", with a slight blush on her cheeks. Miles, blushing, says "Well, yeah.", nervously tapping the nightstand. "What about.. your older friend..?", Naya asks, which catches Miles off guard, causing him to think back to their previous interaction in the park. "We.. uh, didn't really..", Miles stutters, but Naya steps closer, saying "Sorry. I shouldn't have brought her up.", and hugging him. "It's cool.", Miles says, but thoughts of Chelsea still plague his mind. Miles says, trying to divert the topic "Well, have you ever had been in a boy's room?", but Naya looks down, staying silent, before nervously saying "Hehe, nah.".
"Is Chelsea okay? What ended up happening after that night? These thoughts just kept swirling in my head, and the more I ignored them, the louder they got."
As Miles leaves Naya's house, saying goodbye to her parents, Naya timidly says "Welp, see you at school?", and suddenly, Miles kisses her on the cheek, saying "Totally.", before leaving with a smile plastered on his face. As he gets on the bus home, he passes by the park where he and Chelsea would always play, averting his gaze as the memories of Chelsea's breakdown resurface. He heart starts beating faster, he grasps his chest, breathing faster and faster, as he mutters to himself "No. Not again.", trying to calm down. However, he is jolted back to his senses by the sound of the bus stopping, as the driver shouts "Hey kid! I said here's your stop!". Miles frantically gets out of the bus, saying "Sorry, sir." as the bus leaves.
Miles calls Mallory, sitting on a bench to collect his thoughts. "Yo. How'd it go with Naya's folks?", Shane asks over the phone, but Miles says "I think it went well? But ..". Shane asks "But what?", and Miles continues "I think she's keeping something from me. Like maybe an ex she had, or something? I dunno.", tapping his foot on the ground. Shane sighs, saying "You've been together for a few months now, so it's not like she doesn't trust you, or anything. So maybe it's like a trauma thing.". Miles rubs his eyes, and tiredly says "You might be right.", and Shane says "Just give it time, okay?".
Later, that night, as Miles walks through the park, he finds himself thinking "Chelsea's birthday is coming up.. She's turning 19.", but shakes his head, saying "Dammit! Stop obsessing over her!". As he stumbles, he trips and falls onto the ground. "Argh! Shit!", Miles says, frustrated as he sees a crack in his phone screen. "Damn, maybe I can.. fix it.", he says, as he thinks of Chelsea once again. As tears stream from his eyes, landing onto the phone, he shouts "Why did you have to break, too!?, and throws his phone down, shattering it, and further stomping it into the ground. "I hate it.. I hate it!", Miles shouts, as he sniffles, muttering "I hate that I can't let go..".
"Chelsea really did break me. How I thought, how I lived, how I loved. It all changed.."
Suddenly, as Miles gets up from the ground, covered in dirt, he hears the sound of a car pull up, and a familiar female voice calling to him "Miles..?", Mallory asks.