The Setting Sun

It was evening. The sun was setting on the quiet English town, a pinkish-orange hue settling over the identical suburban homes that ran the length of the street. Two boys walked down the sidewalk, one with light-colored, curly hair and the other with short, darker hair, both immensely tall and thin.

Chris- the curly-haired one with enough energy coursing through him to replace the sun- was a step ahead in his excitement to reach the park. Jonny didn't particularly dislike being outside as the only source of light around him began to fade, though it certainly made him uneasy. He felt much better with Chris walking right beside him.

“What time do you have to be home, Jonny?” Chris asked as he bounced from one foot to the other.

“Whenever. Preferably before the vampires come out,” he replied, casually looking over his shoulder.

“Oh, you don't want anyone sucking your blood,” Chris laughed, pulling off the best stereotypical Transylvanian accent he could. He turned around and proceeded to walk backwards, bringing his two index fingers to his mouth and sticking them out as fangs.

Jonny stared at Chris worriedly, a little absentminded as he was busy imagining what horrors could befall them if he stayed out too late. Vampires, definitely; then there was the possibility that there would be a full moon that night. Jonny shivered a little.

His feet carried him the rest of the way, even going so far as to bring him right to the swings, where Chris was already fervently pumping his legs. But they stopped there, and Jonny remained standing, blankly gazing into space, for several minutes.

Chris skidded to a halt, his feet dragging along the sand. As the swing slowed itself, Chris looked to Jonny with concern, his mouth slightly open.

“Jonny, are you OK?” he quietly asked. Jonny shook his head and brought himself back from his awful visions. Chris's eyebrows were drawn tightly together.

“Yeah, I'm fine,” he dully replied, walking around and hopping onto the swing next to Chris. He halfheartedly began to swing back and forth, though his feet never moved far from the ground. Chris had not yet returned to swinging, merely grabbing onto one of the chains with both hands and watching Jonny.

“You're really worried about vampires, aren't you?” Jonny turned his head. He quickly looked at Chris, then went back to staring at his feet. He kicked some of the sand. “There's nothing to worry about. They probably don't even exist. And if they do... well, I've watched a lot of Buffy over the years. I've got your back.”

“It's not vampires- well, not entirely,” Jonny said. Chris shut his mouth and leaned forward a little. “It's just that... I still can't get over what happened last summer- no, no it was two summers ago, wasn't it?”

Jonny looked up at Chris for the answer; the sadness in his shining green eyes broke Chris's heart just a bit. Slowly, Chris nodded his head.

“It was two summers ago, yeah,” he said in a husky voice. “I'm still really sorry, you know that.”

“I do know. And I don't blame you. It wasn't your fault at all.” Jonny turned away, took a deep breath. “I mean, my mum always told me to keep her on the leash, especially at night. I should have listened.”

“I swear, that car came out of nowhere.”

Chris's eyes widened as he too remembered that fateful night. Jonny shook his head, but said nothing; he would never have told Chris that his real problem didn't actually lie with the death of his dog. Sure, he loved that dog with all of his heart, but what had really frightened him was how close the car had come to hitting Chris as well.

“But Jonny, you can't let that get you down,” Chris said. He reached his hand out and placed it on Jonny's shoulder long enough to make Jonny look up at him. Chris inhaled and prepared to say something, but out of nowhere came the sound of girls' laughter in the distance.

Both boys turned. Approximately fifty feet away stood a gaggle of teenage girls. Chris sighed, loudly enough for Jonny to take notice.

“Don't you like that blond one?” he awkwardly asked, as he didn't feel like being under the spotlight anymore. Chris searched the group, his eyes finally landing upon the girl in the center, whose long blond hair flowed down to her hips.

“No,” Chris uncomfortably replied. He quickly looked down at his feet, his face growing redder by the second.

“Yes, you do,” Jonny said, standing up and walking in front of Chris. He held out his hand in spite of himself. “Come on.”

Chris lifted his head, but didn't move otherwise. “What?”

“You're going to talk to her.” Chris's eyes bugged and he swallowed hard.

“No,” he firmly replied. “I told you, I don't like her.”

“Yes, now come on!” Chris diligently shook his head and told Jonny once more that he did not like this girl. Jonny let his arm fall to his side, but not for long; moments later, he had lunged forward and, with both hands planted on Chris's sides, was trying to pull Chris up himself. “Stop being so afraid, Chris.”

“Jonny, I don't like her!” Chris shouted, struggling against Jonny, trying not to be too loud and let the group of girls overhear. Jonny shot him a look of disbelief, raising an eyebrow.

“Prove it.”

Chris moved, and suddenly the small gap of space between them was gone, his and Jonny's lips locked, but only for a few seconds, as Chris soon realized what he had done and pulled back. He watched Jonny with worried eyes and waited for some sort of response.

It took Jonny less time to lean forward again than it had for Chris to pull back. Chris draped his arms around Jonny's shoulders, and while their mouths were still tightly pressed together he stood up so that their positions were less awkward.

“OK,” Jonny wheezed, and Chris was just as breathless as he was. “OK, you don't like her.”

Chris gently pulled his arms to his side as he let go of Jonny. He took a tiny step back and just stared at Jonny for a while. Then he laughed shortly, and a grin spread itself wide across his face. He reached forward and grabbed Jonny's hand, lacing their fingers together.

“Come on, let's go. I'll walk you home before the vampires come out,” he cheerily said. Jonny laughed like it was a joke, but deep down he was seriously relieved that he wouldn't have to be outside for much longer. Buffy or not, he didn't really think that Chris could handle even one vampire by himself, and Jonny would have been far too panicked to give any aid.