The day came and went as our new school year started, and apparently me and Claire were once again in the same class, as fate would have it. The days passed us by fairly peacefully and the weekend had come before we even knew it.

"Say, do you wanna go cycling tomorrow?" I come out and ask as me and Claire walk home after school.

"Ah, tomorrow's Saturday, right?" Claire voiced as she tapped her chin.

"Yep." I replied popping the p.

"Ahhh, unfortunately I can't go cycling this weekend... I'll be heading to Chicago tomorrow and I won't be back until Sunday evening." The girl voiced apologetically.

"Chicago? What for?" I ask furrowing my eyebrows. To be frank, Claire had rarely left my side, even for vacation. It was safe to say we were together almost every day, since the day I can remember. Even after I lost my parents, she was there for me, and she even pulled me out of my depression.

"Ahh just some random things..." She replied shrugging it off and we left it at that.

...

Come Saturday I was completely alone in my house, given that my Aunt and July weren't living with me 24/7. They pretty much came to eat every meal in my house, but apart from that they were living in an apartment on a flat not too far from here. I seriously have no clue as to why we won't move in together but if you ask me, I wouldn't want to leave my parents' house and just move in with my aunt. Plus Claire lives just next door so we can chat through our own rooms, which in my opinion is extremely convenient. Actually now that I think about it, that's one more reason why I feel like she's just an arm's reach away all the time. Whatever happens I can always call on her and she'll be right over, which of course goes both ways.

I spent most of my Saturday just lazing about, playing games and the day went by uneventfully.

....

As Sunday came around, I decided not to waste my youth inside my house just because my childhood friend was away so I decided to go on a small cycling excursion on my own.

"Good morning!" I greeted my aunt and cousin as I woke up bright and early.

"Good morning!" Both of them replied as they turned around to the sound of my voice.

"You're up early, are you going cycling?" My aunt asked as she put three omelets on three respective plates.

"Yeah, but I'm alone today since Claire isn't here..." I reply as I sit at the table eagerly waiting for breakfast to arrive. "Oh that reminds me, wanna come with me, July?" I ask while helping her mother arrange the plates on the table.

"Uhm, sorry but I'm not good at cycling and I don't have an off-road bicycle like yours..." She voices shyly while playing with her food. I decide not to pester her any further as I go all out eating my delicious meal.

...

As soon as I'm done eating I hop on my bike and decide to pass by the number one tourist attraction of North Valley: the beautiful and spacious park with the cherry blossom trees that spread out as far as the eye can see. While I drive my bike on the paved road surrounded by the green grass I catch a glimpse of a familiar face.

"Hey Andrew!" I call out as he turns around with that same carefree smile he always wears.

"Hey Desmond." He replies with his soft voice and senile eyes. He was a lean and slightly tall man with long and messy blonde hair. 

"What are you doing here? What about your job?" I ask him looking genuinely concerned.

"Oh yeah, the job. I got fired." Andrew voices in his usual carefree tone.

"What? Why? When?" I instantly bombard him with questions.

"Just now. I took a 1 hour break when I was supposed to be back in 5 minutes. Hehe." He chuckled lightly as I face-palmed hard enough to almost regret it.

"Come on, Andrew. You know you need that job, right?" I reply almost at my wit's end.

"Hehe... do you want a donut?" He asks with the same smile dodging the subject completely, all the while taking a donut off of a plastic bag in his hands.

"...No, but thanks, anyway. I have to get going, so I'll catch you later, okay?" I announce as I kick the pedals of my bike and drive forward. Andrew only nods in response as he takes a bite out of the already half-eaten donut.

I'm pretty sure that for by-passers our little chat by the side of the road would seem completely weird, considering a mere 13 year old was all buddy-buddy with a grown man in his mid-20s. But Andrew was just that type of guy. He is kind, optimistic and carefree, almost too carefree actually. But that doesn't help his situation much since he's completely penniless...

As I ride around the park I decide to go up the hill for some real cycling.

...

"Haah... Haah... Made it!" I voice all by my lonesome as I stop my bicycle and get down by the side of the road. I lay down my bike and find myself sitting on the bright green grass. "Now... lunch!" I voice yet again as I unwrap a sandwich that I had bought from the convenience store.

As I take a bite out of it I reflexively let out a mixed sigh. For once, I was enjoying myself even while being alone, but at the same time, I felt as if something was missing. And I knew just what that little something was.

Claire...

I think to myself as I finish my meal and lie on the grass beneath me. "It's just a weekend, come on Daniel... just a weekend..." I mutter as I gaze at the clear blue sky hanging over my head.

...

"Mhm... What?" I mutter underneath my breath as the sun's rays make me blink a dozen times before I can properly see where I am.

"Don't tell me I fell asleep..." I voice as I get up and look around. I must have been out for quite some time, as the sky had turned orange and the sun was kissing the horizon just in front of me. For a moment, I was captivated by the scenery, but only for a moment. That is because something not from this world appeared right next to the setting sun.

"...Again..." I managed to say in between shaky breaths. But this time, it didn't just go away. Actually, it stared right back at me, almost like acknowledging my existence. That had never happened before. I hastily grabbed my bike without letting it escape my sight. The monster, almost as if it had reacted to my movements, started moving closer, but soon those movements turned into a sprint of sorts. I wasted no time getting on my bike as I pedaled down the road I had just come from. My heart hammered against my chest like there was no tomorrow and I felt the bike's handles getting wet from the sweat of my palms. I was being chased... But, what was chasing me? And, why? All those questions swirled inside my head as I kept on going down the gray asphalt road. I turned around to see that the monster was keeping up with my pace, and there was no sign of it leaving me alone. As I turned my head back around I noticed there was a big turn to the left coming up and I pressed the brakes lightly just so I could make it without losing too much speed. But to my horror, I wasn't losing speed at all. In a state of panic I pressed the brakes yet again, this time with greater might, but the wheels kept on turning furiously.

"Ahhhhhhh!!!" I let out a scream as I collided with the road bars and flew off the cliff uncontrollably.

...

"Aghh... my head..." I uttered while I slowly opened my eyelids. I brought a hand to my aching forehead as I looked around through the dark of the night. "I'm.... alive?" I question my very being here before noticing that someone is standing before me. More like lying, instead of standing actually. There's a girl in front of me, probably in her early 20s just centimeters away from my feet, and I can barely make out some sort of liquid on the ground. "Hello? Are you awake?" I voice as I fumble through my pockets and find that my phone is still working, albeit a broken screen, which is the least of my worries at the moment. I quickly tap on the flashlight icon as I shine a light towards the lying young woman. But soon, my worst fear come alive.

"She's dead...." I utter as I look at the lifeless expression on her face, and the massive red stain on her shirt. It appears that the liquid I saw and felt on the ground was her blood.

  It doesn't look like she died from the fall... she was most likley murdered. 

My pants were already dyed in crimson. "Who did this...? Are they still around?" Those where the questions that I found myself asking in a state of panic.

No... I need to do something...

I thought in an attempt to stop myself from panicking. In between shaky and uncontrolled breaths I dialed 911 through my miraculously working phone, but my throbbing head didn't help in keeping me conscious.

...

"Dez!" July rushed over as soon as I came out of the hospital and threw her arms over my neck.

"Hey..." I voice as I pat her back reassuringly and glance over her back. It appears alongside my aunt, Claire was also here waiting for me, both of them wearing worried expressions.

"Sorry for the trouble." I genuinely spoke while addressing my aunt who shook her head immediately.

"As long as you're fine, there's nothing for you to apologize for." She replied in a reassuring and relieved tone as her lips curled up in a small smile.

"How is your head?" Claire finally spoke as she ran a hand through the bandage around my forehead.

"I-I'm good nothing to worry about!" I quickly turn my head as I feel my cheeks heat up.

"Thank god..." Was all my childhood friend uttered as she looked at my flushed expression and smiled at me. 

...

Apparently, the police had already explained everything to my aunt and the girls and I filled in the remaining gaps in between each event, but the police weren't really interested in my "I was being chased by a monster" story so they just told me to be careful while cycling. Luckily, they found the girl's body as well and were already investigating the scene. They only asked me a couple of questions regarding her, but they soon realized I played no part in anything that had happened to her. On the down side though, although my bike was found, it was left in an irreparable shape, which actually made me feel really bad, since it wasn't even mine to begin with. Of course, Claire's father said it was no big deal and he's just happy I'm okay but a bitter taste still lingered in my mouth.

...

"So what did you want to talk about?" I ask right off the bat, as I look at Claire who's leaning forward from her own open window. Apparently, she had something important to tell me and said we should talk about it through our windows before each of us departed for their own house.

"Wasting no time, I see!" She teases me with a fake a gasp, as I shoot her an unamused glare.

"Look, I know it's not a good time to tell you this..." Claire speaks as her voice trails off and she makes a pause.

"...But I'm moving to Chicago. The reason why we were away this weekend was because we were looking at potential houses." She explains while looking me straight in the eye.

For a moment I freeze. My mind is filled with some many things to tell her right now, but the words just catch on my throat. An "Oh..." is all I can muster as Claire tries to smile at me.

"Is this permanent?" I finally ask, as I feel like rainy clouds are hanging over my head and mine alone.

"Yeah, I think so. It's related to dad's work so I can't really do anything..." Claire voices before sighing deeply.

"Claire, I don't know what to say..." I speak as my chest starts feeling tight. "When are you leaving?" I continue.

"Next Monday..." She utters and I feel my heart completely fall to the floor this time.

"I'm sorry, Desmond, but I'll make sure we have a lot of fun this weekend!" She raises her voice and I notice a slight breakage in it. "It's not like it's the end of the world, right?"

...

After cutting our conversation short, we both shut our respective windows and I fall to my bed with a blank expression on my face. I never thought something like this would happen. I mean, her house was a rental, but the thought of Claire leaving town for good never crossed my mind. I always thought that we would always be together. I always thought that we'd go cycling and shopping and that we'd continue doing everything together. I never ever thought of how my life would be without her, but now that I know she's leaving, I can't help but feel hopeless. My childhood friend, the girl that was always and was always supposed to be by my side, is leaving.

That night, I cried myself to sleep. That night I realized that the childhood friend I had for all those years wasn't gonna stay with me forever. That night... I realized that I was in love with that same childhood friend, all along...