The Summer We Found Us

1. Tobias

1

Tobias

“Come on, Tobias! We’re going to be late!” Elijah laughed as he ran ahead of me. I struggled to keep up, but the weight of his books mixed with mine was holding me back. I wasn’t quite sure why I was always stuck carrying his books, but I guessed that’s the way it had always been, and there was no point in changing it now.

“I’m coming, I’m coming!” I laughed, placing my hands underneath my backpack. The bag felt dangerously close to bottoming out, which would’ve been the worst. If I broke this one, my dad would definitely freak, so I tried to be careful, adjusting the straps to create some slack.

Tonight was Burger Night at Elijah's house, and I loved Burger Night because Elijah’s dad always made his homemade special burger sauce to go on top. One day, I’d make my own and put it on everything.

I watched Elijah's brown hair blow in the wind as he turned the corner. He always left it so shaggy—it was a wonder he could see anything at all with it constantly in his face. As we got closer to his house, I swore I could already smell the BBQ. It was a warm summer night, and I just knew Mr. Thorne would be out back, grilling up a storm.

I spent most weekends at Elijah’s house. Since we met in the first grade, he had always been attached to my hip and vice versa. Everyone liked to call us twins even though we didn’t look alike. With my blonde hair and blue eyes, I was more the light to his dark.

Maybe people thought we were twins just because we were always together. He was the “yin to my yang,” or whatever they call it. He was my other half.

We finally reached his front gate, and he quickly shoved it open before slamming it close behind him and cutting me off.

“Hey!” I shouted.

“If I beat you, maybe dad will give me your burger.” He winked at me before dashing off and up his walkway.

I shook my head and laughed, quickly unlocking the gate myself and following him inside.

“Is that my boys I hear?” Elijah’s dad called out to us.

“Yeah, dad, we’re home,” Elijah yelled back, kicking off his shoes in the hallway and walking inside.

I shook my head since I knew how much his dad didn’t like when he left his shoes everywhere. Bending down, I straightened up his shoes by the edge of the hallway and did the same to my own. After all, I didn’t want him to get in trouble. Even though, if we’re being honest, his dad never really got “mad.” Not like my dad. But still, I wouldn’t want his dad to be disappointed.

“Hey, kids. How was school?” Mr. Thorne asked. He was standing on the house's back deck in his famous black “The GrillFather” apron with a spatula in his hand.

I watched the hot patties sizzle on the BBQ and instinctively licked my lips. I’d barely eaten all day, so I was starving. It felt like my stomach was eating itself. Dad didn’t pack my lunch again since I forgot to make my bed the day before. I had to stop doing that. Going most of the day without eating was the worst. The days were so long, and all I managed to grab was a granola bar from the office after I told them I had forgotten my lunch at home again.

“Here, have a quick bite.” Elijah’s dad said, breaking me out of the thoughts in my head. He tossed a hot fry into my mouth and I caught it instantly.

“Nice catch.” He winked. The fry was hot on my tongue, but the food in my stomach felt so satisfying.

“—and then, Mrs. Tuna Breath said I misunderstood the assignment and had to rewrite the whole thing. She’s the worst.” Elijah huffed, sitting on one of the patio chairs. He leaned back and propped his feet up on a chair in front of him.

I laughed, shaking my head. “You wrote about the epidermis of a cell.”

“Yeah, so? That’s what the assignment was.” He shrugged.

“You wrote it about the epidermis of a plant cell. We were studying human anatomy.” I couldn’t help but throw my head back and laugh even harder. This kid was ridiculous. “You didn’t even read the assignment fully before handing it in.” I shoved his feet off the seat and sat down myself. He rolled his eyes and plopped his feet back onto my lap.

“Well, did you tell Mrs. Tuna Breath that you misunderstood the assignment?” Mr. Thorne shook his head and flipped over one of the burger patties. I hoped that one was mine since it looked like he was adding extra cheese on the top. He knew how much I loved a cheesy burger.

“Yeah, yeah. She’s going to let me rewrite it and hand it in on Monday.” Elijah waved him off.

“She sounds pretty nice to me, Eli.” Mr. Thorne went to go and toss me another fry when Elijah intercepted and caught it himself.

"Hey! Why does he get all the side fries?" he complained, popping one into his mouth. "Ouch. Hot—" He opened his mouth, trying to blow the heat out.

"When you start listening and doing the right homework, you'll get side fries," Mr. Thorne said, pointing at Elijah with the spatula.

“Yeah, Elijah.” I mocked. “Do better.”

Elijah exaggerated his eye-roll and sat up in his chair. “You two always gang up on me, you know that?”

“It’s out of love.” I laughed, standing up. Walking back into the house, I stepped into the kitchen to grab the condiments from the fridge.

Returning back to the deck, I placed the condiments on the table beside the dishes so we could all eat our burgers outside.

“So listen, I’ve got to head to work tonight at the restaurant—”

“What!? No, you promised us you’d stay home to play Nazi Zombies with us. ‘All night,’ you said. YOU said that,” Elijah whined.

“Yeah, I know. But Bill called in sick tonight, and we really need a manager on the floor or else the restaurant goes under, and when the restaurant goes under, who—”

“Who’s going to pay for my video games?” Elijah and I both finished his sentence. He’d used this excuse on us a few times, and I had to admit I was disappointed, too. The best nights were when the three of us got to make a blanket fort in the living room, play video games, and eat junk food all night.

Mr. Thorne helped manage a super popular local pizza shop. It was a small spot, but apparently it was in the works to grow even bigger. He made the best pizzas, and people had been driving across the state to eat there. It was so cool!

“That’s right. You guys get it.” Mr. Thorne set our patties on the burger buns we now had set up on our plates. I smiled big when I saw the extra cheesy burger land on my plate.

“So, Rebecca will be by in an hour and will stay with you guys until I get home," he continued.

My stomach dropped. A babysitter?

“A babysitter? Dad, come on. We’re thirteen, not three.” Elijah groaned. He read my mind.

“We don’t need a babysitter,” I agreed, shaking my head.

“Seriously? Last time I walked in on you two playing Fear Factor in the kitchen at 2 in the morning.” Elijah’s dad scoffed.

We both laughed, remembering that night. It was a blast, but we suffered from upset stomachs for the rest of the day. Mustard, maple syrup, and chopped onions don't mix.

Mr. Thorne stared at us and sighed, clearly thinking it over.

“Okay, fine. I’ll call her off tonight, but please, please be good. Don’t make me regret this.”

Mr. Thorne picked up his burger, shoving it into his mouth.

***

“Behind you! Behind you!” I yelled, shooting down a zombie in front of me.

“Got him! Where are you!?” Elijah yelled out.

“I’m above you, on the roof,” I laughed.

“Don’t come down; there’s a million zombies down here!”

“Oh no, I already jumped—”

“Noooo!” Elijah groaned. That was it. Within thirty seconds, we were ambushed and lost the round.

“Damn, they got us. Why’d you jump?” Elijah sighed, resting his back on the edge of the couch.

“You were alone.” I shrugged, resting my back beside him.

We were sitting on the floor in our usual living room setup, with only the big screen lighting up the room.

Elijah's house was a little smaller than mine (okay, a lot smaller), but I’d always felt way more at home here.

Putting down my controller, I reached across his lap to grab the bag of our nacho chips that we’d been sharing all night.

“What time is your dad supposed to get home?” I asked before stuffing a handful of chips in my mouth.

“Any time now, I think. I don’t think he’ll be too impressed that we’re still awake. It’s almost two again.” Elijah laughed, dunking his hand in the bag.

“Hey, get your own.” I laughed, shoving him away from me.

“These are mine, you idiot.” He laughed back, pushing his back into my chest and tearing the bag away from my hands.

We tussled for a few minutes, laughing and shoving each other. It quickly turned into a game of ‘Who can hold onto the chip bag the longest?’ He always knew how to make me laugh until my stomach hurt.

“You’re such a nutcase.” I winced. I had a cramp in my side from laughing so hard. What was wrong with us?

“You’re such a loser.” He shoved his elbow into my side just hard enough to make it hurt. I groaned, toppling over as he smirked down at me and snatched the chip bag. He won, fair and square.

I lay there for a moment, trying to catch my breath. When I glanced up, he was watching the start-up screen on the TV, looking completely satisfied with himself.

“You love me, though,” I muttered quietly.

“I…” He started, and I held my breath, waiting for the rest of his sentence.

“What?” I asked.

He set the chip bag aside and turned toward me completely, his knees knocking against mine. “Do you think we’re going to stay friends forever? Like…next year we’re off to high school and…do you think—”

“Elijah,” I sat up. I placed my hands on his shoulders and looked him straight in his big brown eyes. “You’re my best friend in the whole world. No… you’re my brother. Nothing could ever come between us. You get that, right?” I squeezed his shoulders. I needed him to understand.

Life without Elijah would be… I didn't even want to think about it.

He looked into my eyes. “Yeah…I think so…” He shrugged, looking down.

My eyebrows furrowed. I couldn’t believe he was questioning this.

“Elijah,” I said, shaking his shoulders back and forth, which made him chuckle. “I need you to understand. I never, ever want to lose you, okay?” I grinned.

“Okay, okay.” He smiled, rolling his eyes.

“Your stupid ass is stuck with me for life. You get that? You promise?” I teased, shaking him more. He was swinging his head dramatically back and forth at this point, making us laugh harder.

“Yes! I get it. I promise.” He chuckled. He swung his head back up to look at me and sighed. Resting his head on my hand that was on his shoulder, he looked up at me. He was obviously tired, too. It was late, and we had a long day at school.

I watched as he stared back at me. Our smiles slowly faded away as something more serious washed over us.

I leaned in closer to rest my forehead on his. For some reason, being this close to him felt important. We always played around, and it was never a big deal when we touched each other, but this was a little different.

I needed him to know how much I cared about him being in my life. I wasn’t sure why, but the feeling was overpowering.

“Don’t ever leave me, too, okay?” I whispered. His warm breath mingled with mine.

“Okay,” he whispered back. My heart was beating incredibly fast, and I was unsure why. Judging by his choppy breath, I could tell he was nervous, too.

“Promise?” I lifted my head to look back at his eyes. I watched as his eyes slowly dropped down to my lips. I couldn’t help but swallow harshly. Were we about to—

I wasn’t sure who moved in first. All I knew was that in an instant, we both leaned in and quickly pressed our lips against each other. Immediately, I could feel the heat radiate through my whole body. I felt like my skin was on fire. I’d kissed girls in school, but nothing had been like this. I’d never felt such soft lips before. And why did he smell so good? This was wild!

He moved his lips slowly, locking them perfectly with mine. I could taste him, and it was amazing. I didn’t want it to end. Why was he so good at this? Would he be okay if we did this all the time? Because I think I’d really like that.

Wait, why was this happening?

Did everyone do this with their best friends?

What was he thinking right now?

I suddenly pulled back to look at his face. I needed to know how he felt about this. His eyes looked panicked and shocked.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but the front door was unlocked before any words came out. We quickly shifted apart to create some safe distance between us.

“Don’t tell me you boys are still awake,” Mr. Thorne said, walking into the living room and dropping his keys on the coffee table. I could hear in his voice that he wasn’t upset, which was good. We both looked up at him, trying to catch our breath. “You guys okay?” He asked, looking between the two of us. We must’ve looked out of sorts.

“Yeah! Just…a scary match,” Elijah rushed to answer.

“Well, scoot over. I’ve got one game in me until it’s lights out for all of us. I’m exhausted.” Mr. Thorne dropped his jacket on the loveseat across the room, sat on the ground, and scooted between Elijah and me.

I was unsure what had happened, but I knew I’d kissed my best friend for the first time.

My best friend, who was also a boy. Who was so close to me that he was like my brother. And the weirdest part was that I didn’t hate it—not even a little bit, not even at all…