“Hey,” I began as I remembered something from earlier, “where’d you see that dog versus goose fight?”

Simon tilts his head. “Eh? Oh, yes!” He has sort of a short attention span, huh? If I don’t fill the space for about a minute, he kinda tunes out, and then he comes back to real life when I talk to him again. That’s okay. If there’s anything I’ve learned, there’s definitely more going on in his head than one might think. He squints and starts to scan the area from where we stand. “I think it was about…” He stops at where I think he must have seen the fight, but then he tilts his head forward as if trying to get a closer look at something. I wait for him to confirm the spotting, but then he gasps.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, going to his side so I can try to find what he’s looking at. He’s wringing his hands together, and now I'm starting to worry. I have to squint like he just did, but it looks like…

What the hell…? A body- a man, I think- face down. Strewn all around him are… wires. Wires… No, some kind of… Worms? Are they worms?

“I’m gonna go look,” I say to Simon over my shoulder.

“I-I ought to go with you-”

“No.” I turn around to stop him from walking along. “I’ve got it.”

“But Ever-”

“I’ll be right back, just… stay here. Please.” I turn back around, swallowing hard. I walk closer to the body- the man- and I’m already thinking in my head on how I should be careful not to step on the worms(?). Maybe it’s best to just not get close enough to step on them. Is it because he’s decaying? Do worms feed on dead flesh? There aren’t any flies. There isn’t a smell. I’m sure he’s just…

Come on, Ever. Face down in a pile of worms? He’s not alright. The worms are about three or so feet all around him in radius. I think briefly about calling out to him, but I know he can’t possibly be lucid enough to wake up just from me shouting at him from here. At least I can get a better look at the tendrils entangled with the grass now. When I was walking toward it, it sort of looked like they were moving slightly, but I think it’s just the way the light from the sky made them glossy, and the light would shift with each movement I made. I don’t know, light is weird. Actually, looking at them closer now… I think they were moving, just not in any particular direction. Oh, god. I’m gonna be sick. They’re pulsating. I swear to god they are. Starting from the center and moving outward, they all beat in a slow rhythm. It’s subtle, but it’s enough to make me nauseous. I can feel the tendons in my neck tensing. I don’t like this. I really don’t like this. I can’t stop looking at it. I have to, though, but I can’t make up my mind if I want to investigate any more than this. Better not. I take a few steps back and–

“Please…” I gasp and whip around and to see that I’ve bumped into a sick-looking woman, her eyes bloodshot and sunken in almost. “Please tell her… I would forgive her-” She wretches. She’s folded herself forward, and I can’t help but watch every muscle from her waist up contract and convulse as she wretches. Nothing comes up, that is, until the heaving finally comes to a sudden stop. I can’t feel my fingers. I’m really convinced there’s static in my chest.

It’s not a scream, but a bellowing that comes from her, and something finally comes out. Tendrils… More of them. I’m startled when something cold takes my wrist; it’s just Simon. We run as fast as we can out of the park. I don’t know about him, but for my own sake, I just have to try to keep my head down to avoid looking at anything else. I can’t stomach it. I let him lead me away from the awfulness of it all until we reach a street a good distance away, right next to a bus stop. Trying to catch our breaths, I don’t realize that I’m still clinging to Simon’s hand until I look down. I pull away, and I’m not sure why, maybe it’s just habit to see how far you’ve run from point A, but I look back in the direction of the park. Immediately, I feel Simon’s hand against my jaw and he redirects my face toward himself.

“Don’t,” he says just above a whisper over his panting. “It’s not good. Don’t look.”

I just nod, still gasping for air as he hesitantly pulls his hand back.

“I’m sorry, Ever, I really wish you didn’t have to see that… I really was having a great time.”

I shake my head. “No, it’s not your fault.” I look at the bus stop. I’ve got it. “Let’s just go somewhere else and try again, yeah?”

Simon’s nervous look melts just slightly before giving way to a small smile.

I want this to be over. What even just happened? I’m sure that shit was related to the mess LA’s been in, but how? Rhea and I should move. No. It’ll get better soon, right? Will it? We can’t move, she’s right where she needs to be for her career. We can’t move. Does it end? Will we know when it ends? Why is everyone so sad? So sad and empty that they just can’t keep living? What has to happen to someone to make them do that? Will I ever feel like that? How do I know if I’ll ever reach that point? When do people ever know they’ve reached their limit? How do I make sure that never happens at all? How do I—

“Ever?”

Simon. I don’t know why, but I gasp for air. Simon is still on my left, and we’re still on the bus. I’m still trying to breathe, but it’s hard for some reason. My limbs feel like they’ve been held up like dams, and hearing a voice outside of my head released them. They’ve gone from still water to rushing and fluid again. The static’s cleared. I’m here.

“Ever, are you okay?” Simon speaks again. I’ve caught my breath now, and I feel bad because once I’ve turned my head, I’m met with the most concerned bug eyes I’ve seen in a while. It’s as if Simon’s eyelids were pulling themselves back just so he could look at me more. I didn’t mean to worry him.

“I… uhm…” But I can’t find the words to assure him I’m okay. Maybe that means I’m really not.

“Hey, I’m right here, ‘kay? All of that was pretty nasty, I know. Let’s talk and think about something else, eh?” He sounds sort of like a shade of wisteria. I was never able to name a specific color for his voice till now. That always really bothered me: everyone’s voice has a color to it, but Simon’s has a tendency to shift and warp and it’s just… weird. No, he doesn’t sound different every time he talks, but his voice is just…

Well, I guess it doesn’t matter how it is the other times. Right now, it’s really, really soothing, and I can feel myself coming back to Earth by the second. I just nod before he speaks up again.

“What’s Long Beach like?” he asks.

“I’m not too sure,” I admit. “I was born there, but then we moved to…” I’ve gotta pause to think. “I wanna say Culver City, but I can’t remember. I was super young. But I visited its beach- Long Beach, I mean- last year with my sister. It was nice.” I can’t help but realize that I’m talking a little slower than usual. My lips feel too numb.

Simon nods, looking up at the ceiling of the bus. I noticed that he’s slightly kicking his legs, and I probably would have laughed if I wasn’t trying to recover from… yeah.

“Do you ever miss home?” I ask. He asked me about where I’m from, so I guess it makes sense to go down that route, but Simon just tilts his head as if he missed what I’d said, or maybe we have different ideas of what ‘home’ is. “Uh, like, England?”

“Oh! Ah, well,” he leans back and looks out the window, “nowt to miss about it.” I’ve been guessing that ‘nowt’ means ‘nothing.’ “It’s pretty there, that’s all.”

“Really? What part are you from?”

“Erm, just…” He seems a little hesitant, and now I feel bad for prodding.

“Sorry, you don’t have to—”

“No, no, it’s alright. Just some small town up north.” I don’t really know what that means, except that it probably means ‘not London.’  I’m not really sure why I asked since I don’t know about many places in England like, at all. Poor guy. He’s obviously got some baggage he left back there on purpose. I can’t make him unpack it here. “Besides, I’ve never really felt… ‘home.’ Y’know?”

I’m weirdly embarrassed to say that I don’t. It’s sort of awkward when someone has this idea of you and they think you’ll agree to this specific experience they’ve had because even though they don’t know your full story, they’re sure you’ve had a shared experience with them. I totally get what he means, but I just haven’t really felt that myself. For the most part, I know I’m home because my sister is there, and that’s all it takes for me to call someplace home. Er, that, and having a room and stuff, but I think that’s a given. There have been very few times where I felt like I ‘wasn’t supposed to’ be somewhere, and I feel guilty for that alone. Meanwhile, I’m starting to think Simon’s felt like that for most of, if not all, of his life. Still, I really don’t want to make him feel alone right now.

“Of course.” I can already feel my heart rate rising; I’m a really terrible liar. No matter how small it is, I always get pretty antsy. Simon stares at me for a moment… a long moment. I’m almost a little uncomfortable, but it’s probably just because I feel bad about lying, and the moment isn’t really as long as it feels like it is right now. After what feels like forever, Simon just smiles.

“I knew you’d understand.”

Must be that British sarcasm again.

I’m usually a little fidgety on bus rides if I don’t bring something to do or a Walkman, but we almost missed the stop because we were so caught up in talking about what horror creatures and villains would beat each other in a fight. We decided the dream-hopping guy with the hand would totally win, but then Simon made a point about vampires who strictly sleep during the day maybe being immune. We weren’t sure if the dream-hopper would come out during the day, so we decided it was a stalemate. Anyway, we’re walking up a hill so we can get to my favorite spot ever; right on Golden Cove beach.

“Where have you brought us?” Simon doesn’t sound too excited. “I don’t much fancy the beach; it’s right sandy…” I kind of figured a guy like him couldn’t handle dirt or anything like that much.

“Oh, don’t worry,” I reassure him. “There won’t be much sand over here.”

“Over where?”

“We’ll get there!” A few minutes pass and neither of us say a word, but it isn’t as uncomfortable as you’d think it’d be. We’re probably just kind of tired; we’ve been talking for the past two hours or so anyway. I think that's the most I’d ever talked to anyone at a time, honestly. Usually the space between words is really off-putting and weird, but I officially don’t feel like I have to be entertaining 100% of the time, and something tells me Simon doesn’t mind that either. Besides, I usually hate catering to the person I’m hanging out with. Talking is exhausting, you know? It’s just a little longer before we take a left and make it up a hill, leading us to the edge of a cliff.

The night is… perfect. The smog here isn’t as bad down here as it is in the heart of LA, so you can actually see the sky. It’s only about 8 o’clock or so, so the sky fades from a deep purple to a pink and orange sliver that sits across the ocean. The water is breathing, glimmering with what little sunlight was still left. I actually think it’s reflecting more of the moon than the sun at this point. The few trees we see are swaying a little, but we can’t quite hear their palm leaves rustle over the sound of the waves far below us. The grass we stood on was a little patchy, but the earth felt soft to walk on. Coming here is like being able to visit a cherished memory whenever I want to. It’s always been the same, even if I’m in a different stage of my life. This spot knows everything about me and how to invite me. No matter what sadness, no matter what grudge, no matter what happiness, this place accepts me wholly into its atmosphere and comforts, soothes or celebrates. It’s always exactly what I need, and exactly where I want to be with, I guess, my new friend.

“I was… having a really difficult time when I first visited this spot. I was angry with my sister and myself for something that happened. A few things that happened, actually. My plan was… It was to jump real high and land real hard from here. But I didn’t. I guess some people might not say I was serious, then, but I feel like that’s a little…. Er, well, anyway, the sight was so pretty and I just thought it’d be such a shame to stop looking. I never stopped looking, and this place itself, I swear, told me to go back home to my sister… so, I did. I used to come out here a lot. Usually just on my own. I haven’t really had the opportunity to show anyone. I guess I’m scared they won’t find it as cool as…” I look over at Simon who just stares at the water; it’s clear he’s way intrigued. A small gust pushes his hair forward, obscuring his face for a moment, but when his eyes are in sight again, the light has seemed to pool around the bottoms of his eyes. I knew he was of a more sensitive kind, but I had no clue he would have loved this place nearly as much as I do. Honestly? I think it’s the only appropriate reaction to a sight like this.

“Ever…” I almost don’t hear him. His voice is so soft now, and it shakes. He slowly starts to turn his head toward me, but his eyes stay on the scenery before us. “Why…” He finally looks at me. “What made you want to bring someone like me out here?”

I’m not sure why I can’t put what I want to say into words. I have to try. “Not… not someone like you, Simon. Just… you. And it’s because…” I laugh. “I-I don’t know.”

“Of course you do.” Huh. He called my bluff. I start to feel my face heat up and I can’t help but look away.

“Sure. Well, if you know so much, then…” I finally work up the courage to look at him again. “Then I think you already know, right?”

Simon stares at me, suspended in disbelief before a smile starts to form while he looks away. “Sure… sure.”

“I trust you, Simon.”

“I know you do, Ever.”

The next time we speak again, we’re almost back at the stop where we were dropped off.

“I had a lot of fun,” I tell him.

“Me too. I think I’ll keep wandering around.”

I laugh. “But we’ve gotta go; it’s gonna be so late when we get back!”

“Oh, no, I’m serious.” What the-? Sure, I knew he wandered around a lot, but at this time…

“Huh? No way, dude. It’s so dark out, and it’s only gonna get darker. Plus, you saw that… thing from earlier. I can’t let you wander alone. It’d be totally criminal.”

“Oh, Ever, don’t fret. I spend plenty of time walking about at all times of the day and haven’t gotten into any trouble. And besides,” he puts a hand on my shoulder, “I’m good at hiding.” He flashes a smile- and his snaggletooth. I thought for a moment how weird he’d look without it. I can’t explain it, but it just makes sense that he has it. It… suits him? Whatever. I give the most helpless sigh ever.

“...Are you sure?”

He pulls his arm back. “Uh-huh!”

I hear the bus rolling on its way over and I look in its direction. “...Okay. I’m off tomorrow, but…stop by the shop Thursday morning, yeah?”

Simon’s confident smile breaks for a moment, but it comes right back once he comprehends what I’ve just said.

“Yeah.”