(Chapter 2) Treehouse Therapy

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The autumn air chilled me slightly, yet didn't deter me from the calming spot in the treehouse. During Gerard and my's time of close to ten years of hanging out in the humble place, we never figured out why or how many years the thing had been around for. The wear on it by was immense; The roof holey with a build-up of pine needles and leaves falling through, mildew infecting the walls, you couldn't even move an inch without the floorboards creaking. Nevertheless, it was the best place on earth at times, especially the one I had found myself in just after leaving school. 

 My eyes were closed, head rested against the wall while trying to clear my mind. After a couple of minutes of this, I could swear I heard the crunching of leaves below, nearing with every moment. It must be an animal or something, I thought, ignoring it. 

Though the noise only grew louder, eventually ceasing and being replaced by the recognizable sound of the decaying ladder being mounted and climbed. The person let out a huff before calling, "Y/n?"

I finally opened my eyes to see the only other person to know of that place, Gerard. My mouth curved into a half-smile before patting the spot next to me. "Whatcha doin' here, Gee?" I asked as he scooted over. 

"I could ask you the same," he remarked. "I didn't think you still liked this place, I guess I was wrong." He stated which I raised a slightly offended brow to. 

"Why wouldn't I? This place is nostalgic, I could stay here forever. You didn't answer my question." I responded.

"Well, I needed somewhere quiet and this was the first place that popped into my head to go." He explained.

"Copycat," I replied childishly, giving his shoulder a playful slap. "We seemed to have the same idea," I said with an amused giggle. 

There was a brief lull in the conversation as he settled into his place next to me, seemingly admiring the scenery through the little window. It was the beginning of autumn and summer leaves had started to turn over to their comforting array of reds and oranges that I loved so. Fall was the best time to visit the treehouse as it wasn't too hot and the forest was beautiful then. He let out a slightly longer exhale, "That was one eventful lunch period huh?" He said fiddling with a thread on his ripped skinnies. 

"Indeed," I stated shortly with aggravation at the memory. 

"I don't know what got into her today," He seemed in thought. 

I tried not to let off my slight annoyance at the fact he was so oblivious to her constant pursuit of pestering and teasing me until I'm at my limit.  I had reached my limit and finally gave her a well-deserved cussing out which was liberating. I finally felt I had some high ground on her, empowered. 

When he said this, my mind brought all the times she tripped me, called me a loser and a waste, every time she flaunted her wealth just to make me insecure, every countless rumor she spread to my mind. "Oh here comes the klutz, she can't even walk without dropping her books" was said even though other people were the ones that made me lose balance in the first place. "You don't wanna be friends with her, she doesn't shower," Real mature of high schoolers. "She's so dirt poor her jeans all have holes in 'em," or my personal favorite, "She's so desperate for attention, that's why she dresses like that and hangs out with those guys. They don't even like her." That's not even counting all the unwavering number of insults and even slurs she called me. I tried to show I was emotionless about the whole thing, but on the inside, it hurt.

"She's always been ugly to me. Always picking on me when you're out of the room. Sometimes right in front of you," I said casually, taking on an indifferent tone. He seemed surprised, looking up from his focus on the jean thread and making eye contact. 

"Really?" His eyes turned serious.

"Mhm," I confirmed. "I don't really want to get into the nitty-gritty of all the shit she's pulled on me, but just assume she was less of the angel you know and more of the spawn of Satan himself." I summed, messing with my fingers as not wanting to look into his grave gaze.

He absorbed what I said for a few seconds, nodding his head to the intake of this significant information that he had been unheeding. "I'll talk to her," He declared with motivation to get to the bottom of this quarrel. 

"Thank you, Gee," I said, still avoiding his gaze. 

"Hey what's wrong? Is there something still bothering you?" He asked, grasping my chin and making me look at him. 

"No," I said plainly.

"Don't lie to me." After so many years, he could detect whenever something was up with me as I could with him. Regardless of if I wanted to talk, he would make me spill whatever was on my mind which usually made me feel better even if I didn't want to in the first place. 

"Fine then," I crossed my arms before continuing. "I feel excluded from the group recently. I feel like I'm out of place in my own friend group, and she heightened these feelings today which wasn't appreciated." 

"Why's that, Dear?" The serious tone dissipated from his voice and was replaced with tender concern. 

"I- hmm this is going to sound so stupid and unimportant," I stated before he motioned for me to continue without the fear of judgment. "I just feel like I've been sidelined and disconnected since you all got girlfriends and stuff. See, it's stupid right?" I said with a laugh at myself. 

"No, not at all. Those are perfectly fine emotions to have and I understand where you're coming from," He reassured. "I can see how you could feel that way. I would be the exact same if I were in your shoes and this new aspect has been added to the already difficult experience to navigate. I'm sorry if you've felt othered or anything. Just remember I'd chose you, my friend, I've known practically forever, then Courtney or someone like her. I don't want you to feel like you're replaced or some shit, I'm sorry." He finished before hugging me close, resting his head on top of mine. We stayed there for a second in each other's arms, me trying to process what was going on before coming to the satisfaction that I was heard and cared about. 

"Thank you for listening to me, I feel better now," I smiled as we sat back in our spots next to each other. 

"No problem, anything for you." He looked down at his watch, being slightly alarmed. "We should head back, it's getting about time for dinner," he said as he stood up, offering me a hand. 

We climbed down the ladder, being aware of any excessive squeaking or possible sounds of the thing breaking. We walked the short distance out of the forest and emerged back on the road. The sun had started to go down as it was signaling that the day was turning over to evening. We walked westbound into the beautiful sunset, soon arriving home. We stepped onto our respective porches, calling a 'goodbye for now' to the other and entering our homes. A smile crept onto my face even after the sour day. Gerard could make any day brighter just by being around him.


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