After class, me and Rafael are heading home, when suddenly, he smiles excitedly and looks towards me.

“Noah! I have an awesome idea!”

I look at him surprised and curious while he grabs my hand and leads me towards the forest.

“I just looked at the weather and it’s perfect for stargazing!”

“B-but why are we going in the forest?” I ask confused as he laughs.

“To have a better view of the stars, silly, there is less light interference there!”

“B-but it’s all so sudden, what about our…” I say scared.

“We can just send our parents a text, and weren’t you the one to say embrace change and unexpected events?” Rafael says as we enter the forest.

“Yes, but…”

“But?”

We stop and he looks at me.

“I didn’t prepare for this. And what if…” I say, starting to spiral into anxiety.

“Noah, you know you can’t plan everything.” Raf says with a kind tone while looking into my eyes.

He smiles calmly and adds:

“I told you I would help you would help you with your fears. So, will you let me?”

“But what if people judge us for being in the middle of the forest at nine pm? They’ll think we’re crazy! And I… I don’t…”

I blush and look away.

“It doesn’t matter if they judge us or not, what matters is that we are happy and being ourselves. If we’re not who we truly are then are we really ourselves? Even the weird and crazy stuff like going into a forest all of a sudden to stargaze or singing in the rain. If no one is hurt by being ourselves, why should we not be who we truly are?”

I look at Raf surprised.

“I never thought of it that way…” I say and look into his blue eyes.

“Noah, you are an amazing person, you should never be ashamed of who you are! You always care about the people around you and treat everyone with kindness. Be proud of that!”

His blue eyes are like the sky and his warm hands feel like fresh bread. And his smile is so genuine and gentle. I feel happy. I feel so happy! I tear up a bit

“That… That was beautiful! Thank you!” I say and hug him.

He hugs me back.

“Hey, it’s the truth. This is why I lov… Am so happy you are my friend!” Raf says and blushes a bit.

“Your face is red, Raf, is everything alright?” I ask concerned.

“Yes! I’m ok, come on, let’s see those stars!” Raf says and while laughing, drags me towards the clearing with the boat.

We joke a bit and tease each other until we get there. The view is incredible. The stars glow in the beautiful dark sky. Fireflies are floating over the river’s water like lanterns and colourful flowers are dancing in the wind. The distant mountains are standing like towers and the little snow there is on them is shimmering slightly from the moonlight.

“Wow! It’s beautiful! How could I have lived here for so long and never seen this?!”

Raf places his hand on my shoulders while we watch the stars. We stay like that for a while, till he moves slightly. I look at him curious while he rummages through his bag. He brings out a small lantern and his guitar. I narrow my eyes and say:

“You planned this, didn’t you? It wasn’t an in-the-moment decision at all! And how did you fit that guitar in a bag?”

He just smiles smugly and beckons me to sit with him next to the light from the lantern.

“Ok, I might have planned it.” he says amused.

I fold my hands annoyed.

“But don’t you like it?”

I think for a second and unfold my hands.

“Darn it, you’re right!” I say and he laughs.

I start laughing too.

“And you did make me do something unexpected, so well done mister psychology guy!”

“Actually, Noah, there was something I wanted to ask about that…”

“What is it?”

“I know that a good way to beat your fears is to know where they come from. I’ve seen that you are a naturally curious and spontaneous person, so this fear isn’t from your personality or something like that.”

“Are you analysing me based on my personality type?” I ask amused.

“N-no! Ok, maybe just a little.” Raf answers embarrassed.

I chuckle and breathe in heavily.

“Ok, I wouldn’t say I was the most spontaneous person, but I wasn’t so afraid of change before. Actually, I used to love change! Any new device or new idea was so interesting and exciting! I would try anything new out of curiosity and I would wear a new crazy outfit every day.” I say and smile nostalgically.

“Then what happened?” Raf asks and my expression sours.

“I was an outcast. I was considered strange because I had niche interests like stargazing and I didn’t know stuff like popular music or sports stars. So because of that, easily, easily, people became colder and started to distance themselves in order to not be thought of as weird as well. After that, I started high school, so I had a fresh start, but I was so afraid of being thought of as weird again that I was the one to stay cold and distant this time. The pandemic didn’t help either. I’ll be honest, I truthfully only know you and Selena. She’s a whole lot more outgoing and is friends with everyone, especially Andrew… But… I’m not. I guess I’m afraid that if I’ll return to who I was I would be abandoned.”

Raf just grabs me and hugs me tightly.

“I would never abandon! And I’ll always be there for you, no matter what! Remember that! Those people were just stupid, you should have never felt like that! And I can tell you this, the whole class we’re in likes you, even if you're quiet and talk to them rarely, they appreciate your kindness just like I do!”

I tear up and start crying.

“Thank you!” I say and we hug for a while.

“Can you promise me you won’t allow your fear to control you anymore? No more fear of what people say, no more fear of something bad happening, no more fear of being abandoned? You can’t live like that.”

“I’ll try.” I say and he smiles.

“Hey, what do you say if we play a song together? Let’s cheer up the mood!” Rafael says.

“Oh, what should I sing?” I ask happily.

“Something from the heart!” Raf answers while tuning his guitar.

“I’m not sure how to start…” I admit embarrassed. “Hey! We could do a duet!” I say.

“How are we going to know what each one of us wants to say?” Raf asks.

“We’ll see! No plan! Let’s just have fun!” I say with a goofy smile.

Raf smiles as well and starts playing on the guitar, creating a melody as he goes. The song fills me up with a warm and fuzzy feeling and it sounds like an adventure of instruments. We look at each other and smile happily. I laugh at a funny face Raf makes to seem dramatic. Finally, he takes a deep breath and starts singing with an angelic and deep voice.

“Here where the mushrooms glow! Where the moonlight shimmers. Is where I’m free! So I dance! A dance of dreams!”

His melody sounds so beautiful it feels me up with happiness and hope while I start singing as well:

“How magical and wonderful it is! When no fear can’t reach you! When the whole world is new and fun!”

“The stars glow so bright!”

“And it all feels so right!” I sing and we smile happily looking into each other’s eyes.

“So I dance!”

“Without a care!”

“Free as I can be!”

“Hope and joy surround me! Not a bone of fear is around me!”

“As I dance the dance of dreams!” We sing together.

Rafael strums his guitar faster and starts a small and energetic instrumental while I clap my hands. He closes his eyes with a dramatic expression. I laugh happily and he yells excited!

“Now?”

“Now!” I answer happily and start singing again. “The hope and light I see!”

“It all feels so free!”

“Just like you and me!”

“You and me!” Rafael sings on a higher note.

“And the forest sings!”

“As we dance!”

“The dance of dreams!”

“Oooh! The adventures we could have!”

“So let us sing!”

“A song from the heart!”

“And let’s dance!”

“Dance!”

“Never give up!”

“Never!”

“As we dance!”

“The dance of dreams!” We finish the song together.

“That was so much fun!” I say happily and hug his arm.

“I know, right?” Rafael says excitedly and shakes me while laughing. “How should we name the song?”

“What about… Dancing the Dance of Dreams!”

“Oooo! I like it!” Raf says.

We both smile and look at the moon above as a small meteor shower begins.

“No way!” I say. “We can’t be this lucky!” I say in awe.

“It seems we are!” Rafael says happily and hugs me tightly

“You planned everything, didn’t you?” I ask amused.

“Maybe!” Raf answers and winks at me.

We laugh and admire the gorgeous view.