Dearan quickly drifted off to sleep as the conversation wound down, he woke up as the car stopped. They were just at a stop sign, but he could tell they were in a very small town. There was a small stand that stood on the right of the highway in a small parking lot that sold tye-dye dresses and Dearan decided he was going to love this town. Dearan counted 3 roads in the town, and from everywhere they drove, he could see the ocean.

“Oh, you’re awake,” Stephan said, somehow he always sounded happy. “You woke up at the perfect time, we just got into town.”

Stephan had a goofy smile on his face and Dearan was trying very hard not to giggle at it. The smaller boy rolled down his window and took a deep breath of the salty wind that was coming off the water. This time he couldn’t help but laugh.

“You know, today is the most I’ve heard you laugh more today compared to all of our other high school years combined.”

“I don’t even know why I am so happy!”

Stephan chuckled at that as he turned right on the last road in town. “It is nice to see you like this.”

“You mean you prefer happy me over me that yells at someone I barely know?”

“Dude. Don’t think I’m holding that against you, you had bad experiences with our classmates and you had no reason to assume I was different.”

“Still. I am sorry Stephan.”

“Forget it, also… we are here!” Stephan said as he pulled into a driveway. Dearan was confused by the house to say the least, it was a weird mixture of glass and a black painted material that Dearan didn’t know the name of. It was sort of a triangle and sort of a normal house.

Once Dearan processed the house he looked at the surroundings, it had knee high light yellow grass, blowing in the wind. Stephan put a hand on Dearan’s shoulder and smirked, “It looks weird, I know, but it will help us study?”

Dearan snapped out from his trance and went back to the car to grab things from the trunk. He walked over to the house and shifted from the balls of his feet to his toes, then back again. Stephan stood beside him, also weighed down with his own bags.

Dearan waited for a few more moments before he summoned enough courage to ask, “You going to unlock the house S man?”

Stephan looked at Dearan horrified, “Please, never call me that. Although yes, I am just too stupid to remember things.”

Dearan wanted to tell Stephan that he wasn’t stupid, that he was smart and funny and wonderful, but Dearan couldn’t, now that he wasn’t tired or distracted he remembered to be quiet.

Stephan whipped out his key chain and put one of his keys into the door. He then tried the next… then the next… then the last one.

“Don’t tell me…” Dearan said, fear in his voice.

“Okay, I won’t. I’ll just let you stand there confused as to why I am not letting you in.”

Stephan crunched up his face, disappointed in himself. “I’m really sorry Dearan.”