Fourteen childhood friends, Wayne, Rake, Roy, Fin, Van, Rocky, Jack, Luna, Rane, Dina, Yan, Hena, Nina, and Bella were reminiscing their childhood memories back when they were still in elementary school in their old "Kingdom of the world".

"Do you guys remember the time when we were just elementary kids?" Rake said as he laid his head on the back of his chair while he looked out the window. It was still warm for April but it was getting colder outside, making him glad that they didn't have to wear a jacket anymore. He turned around when he heard a quiet "yeah" coming from all of his childhood friends on both of his sides. Their desks were facing each other so they could talk without disturbing others. "You know what I mean," Rake continued with a smile, not looking at anyone. "When our moms would let us stay up late playing video games."

They all laughed.

"Remember how we'd get caught by our mom and dad every single night?" Dina asked as she giggled. She had her hands clasped behind her head and legs crossed like Rake.

Rake's eyes widened. "Oh my gosh! The look on Dad's face when he found us in here!" He started laughing too, feeling good about recalling those times. Everyone chuckled at how ridiculous his father looked and made the two youngest laugh harder than before. "And then, when he tried to tell us that we were gonna get in trouble, and Mom and Dad would start yelling at us to go upstairs because it was time to sleep." He grinned wider, imagining himself being dragged into his parent's bedroom, where a stern-looking woman told him to go to bed. His friends couldn't help but join in his laughter, remembering how much of a handful they were back in elementary school.

"That sounds like the best time ever," Luna said. "I think I can still see you in your little pajamas trying to fight us off with a wooden spoon."

"Yeah! You wouldn't shut up about how cool it was how strong you were!" Roy exclaimed. All of them burst into laughter again, feeling happier than they did back in fifth grade. They remembered the days when the fourteen of them were inseparable. Back then, they had everything together. They even called themselves the "Fourteen Warlords", since none of them had any other group of friends besides the ones they already had. Being in middle school though gave them a bit more freedom to be whoever they wanted.

"It wasn't always like this," Wayne spoke up after calming down a bit.

"What do you mean?" Dina said curiously.

Wayne shrugged. "Just... It used to be hard when we weren't allowed to hang out during recess or play outside. Sometimes, if we tried to, we'd end up going home crying." He smiled. "But now we're all friends. We don't need to worry about anything."

Dina smiled back at him, happy that he managed to smile despite being older now. She knew how sad it must have been back then for him. "Don't you miss it? Being friends?" she asked, genuinely curious. It was nice to be able to be closer to the other people in the class, especially after years of being apart.

Wayne shook his head no. "Nope! That was way more fun back then. But I'm fine being alone," he replied.

The others looked at him, surprised. Even though Wayne was younger than the rest of them, he always seemed confident, never seeming phased. Now, however, there was something different about his attitude. It almost sounded like he was saying he hated being around people, especially his closest friend. Dina thought it might be because he had no one to confide in about his feelings.

She glanced over at Wayne and felt bad for him. He was definitely a nice person, which is why he always tried to be nicer to her when they played hide and seek in first grade. He never liked to hurt anyone's feelings, but sometimes things just got to him, and that was the reason he always hid during their game. And she knew deep down that he regretted being alone. Maybe having someone to turn to was a relief for him.

"Hey, buddy. You can spill it out," she said quietly, giving Wayne her own small smile.

Wayne's left eye shed a tear after hearing those words. "I... I guess I miss some stuff too..."

"Like what?" Dina questioned further. She knew that he needs to open his true feeling.

He answered stammering. "Well... L-like the time I-I used to be afraid of h-heights because I f-fell off a tree once. Or when I cried myself to sleep when my parents yelled at me because I was too loud. And the time I used to have nightmares for months because I was scared of monsters under my bed."

The place went silence for a moment.

"A-and t-the time w-when you s-stayed at my house for the first time when I was still traumatized by the outside world, when I was sick," he gulped, his eyes were red and watery. "W-when my m-m-m-m-mom died..."

"YOU ALL ALWAYS!! ALWAYS BE THERE BY MY SIDE!!!"

All of his friends laughed with tears and joy, overjoyed by their friend's honesty. Van, Rocky, and Dina went to hug their dear friend Wayne with tears in their eyes.

"Wayne, you are such a dork!" Dina chortled. She hugged him tight and held back her tears.

"We missed you, bro," Van whispered softly, wiping away her tears.

Rocky added. "No more secrets."

Roy nodded in agreement.

Jack smiled. "I love you, bro."

Fin nodded. "I know you will."

Wayne smiled. "Thanks, guys."

"Anytime," Dina said.

Wayne then looked at everyone, catching his breath from the emotional roller coaster he went through. "So... What are we doing today?"

Roy looked at the time and saw that they still had fifteen minutes until the bell rang. "Let's do a team thing!" Roy suggested. "Then, we can do something else afterwards!"

Everyone agreed and gathered together in the main room where everyone was.

"Alright! Who's ready to win?!" Van shouted excitedly.

"Ready!" Rake yelled.

"Hell yeah!" Rocky cheered.

"I'll kick your asses!" Fin added as well.

"Don't forget us girls!" shouted Yan.

"Bring it on, guys!" Bella said, smiling confidently.

"This will be fun," said Rane.

"This is TRULY going to be so fun!" Nina said happily, hugging Rane with anticipation.

"Let's kick these losers' asses!" Dina and Hena shouted in unison, causing everyone to laugh again.

After the girls were done cheering, they proceeded to play with the boys until sunset. They played their favorite game of all time, "The War of the Warlords". Each team has to defeat the others by throwing balloons of water into each other's faces. The winner is declared as soon as the teams finish playing and whichever team wins gets one point. When everyone was finally tired enough, they decided to lie down on the ground looking at the night sky. They had to admit that the night sky was beautiful when the full moon shone brightly and shined upon the playground. It was the most peaceful time of the day.

"Hey, Hena, what do you think about that? I think it's pretty like Halley!" said Fin as he pointed at a shooting star on the horizon. He was sitting on top of the slide, leaning against the railing with his arms folded across his chest.

"I love the fact that you guys actually enjoy this kind of things," Hena responded, turning around to look at Fin who was resting his head on his shoulder. She smiled lovingly at him.

"Of course! How else are we supposed to be happy when we live in a city?" Fin said, rolling his eyes.

Hena laughed. "Okay, okay. Whatever floats your boat." Fin smiled back and closed his eyes, enjoying the soft breeze blowing through his blond hair. They stayed silent, just letting the wind run through them and the soft music coming from their phones drift into the air and create a soothing sound.

The fourteen of them had always enjoyed hanging out with each other in the past. During that time, they all had something different between them. For example, Nina loved playing sports. Bella loved baking cakes while Rake enjoyed making sculptures. Yan and Dina shared some similarities when it came to speech and consulting. Luna liked to read books, not to mention she likes reading science fiction stories, while Rane and Hena loved drawing and creating art. Roy liked baseball and had made friends with some of the baseball players during his first year here. The only problem was that the only thing Roy could really draw was baseball bats and balloons. And he was terrible at both. Fin liked writing stories and was often compared to the popular kids of the district due to his creative writing prowess and artistic talent. Van liked photography and liked to capture the beauty in the world in whatever form or image he took. Rocky liked playing with cats and dogs, although he preferred dogs. Wayne liked to bake and make desserts and liked painting his nails and decorating himself whenever possible, which was usually in the form of paint or spray paint. And lastly, Jack liked to go swimming and swim in the ocean, even though his family didn't allow him to. Of all their friends, none of them really did much of anything else except play and get along with each other. It was very rare to see them without each other since their lives are divided into grades and extracurriculars. And of course, they were all extremely close, almost like family.

And that is exactly what they are right now.

Suddenly, Fin felt himself becoming overwhelmed by a warmth that filled his chest. Tears sprung from his eyes as his heart swelled in happiness. He wrapped his arms around Hena's waist, burying his face into her side. He heard Hena let out a quiet gasp, clearly shocked by the sudden action, but quickly relaxed and rested her hand gently on Fin's back.

Rane chuckled. "Is everything alright, Fin?" she asked curiously.

"I love you guys," he muttered.

Hena couldn't help but smile slightly. Her lips curled upwards as she ran her fingers through his hair lovingly, stroking his soft locks gently as he continued to cry silently, tears falling from his blue eyes. Fin's emotions weren't unusual. Most people could tell that he was a strong kid who wasn't afraid to express his emotions; however, this situation was probably quite different from any other boy. He had never been allowed to openly display his emotions before. But this time, this was different. This time, they were all there to support him. They wanted to be able to share their joy with Fin, especially when he needed it the most.

"We love you too," Hena replied quietly. "We'll always be here."

Fin sniffled before opening up his eyes slowly, revealing two big bright stars inside them. His gaze shifted towards his friends Dina, Wayne, Rake, Roy, Fin, Van, Rocky, Jack, Luna, Rane, Yan, Hena, Nina, and Bella. After a while, they went calm again. All of them lay on the ground in an embrace, staring at the stars above them, sharing a few moments of silence.

"What kind of future is in front of us?" asked Bella

Everyone thought for a minute, contemplating on how to answer their question. Eventually, a small smile formed on everyone's lips and a giggle escaped each of their lips. They were smiling.

"Well, we will make our own."

"And maybe... a lot of happy ones," Fin said, smiling widely.

Everyone chuckled and smiled warmly.

"Yeah. And maybe a lot of happy ones," Harley and Ivy both added.

They all continued talking for another ten minutes until the sun rose above the sky and began its slow descent in the darkening sky. The light started to hit the grass below the playground and the sun slowly disappeared behind the clouds.

"It's getting late," Fin said, yawning.

"Yeah, it is," Dina agreed.

"We should probably go home," Bella said.

"Yeah, we should," Fin agreed.

"But we're gonna hang out again tomorrow, right?" Fin asked.

"At the same place?" asked Luna.

"Yeah, but in different clothes!" Fin said cheekily.

"That's fair," everyone chuckled.

"See you later then, dudes," Rake said.

The others nodded in reply and waved goodbye to them. With that, the fourteen teens headed towards their respective homes, bidding goodbye once more to the friends that meant so much to them. The friends whom they would die for if need be.

An elderly man dressed in a black and white suit. He was carrying his cat in front of his face, licking its minge. "So today is friendship garbage's day, eh?"

The End