Nothing Stays the Same

03/14/2023

***Disclaimer: This story was inspired by a prompt provided by Reedsy.com. Prompt is provided below. Visit their site https://blog.reedsy.com/creative-writing-prompts/ to learn more.***

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Prompt: Write a story where someone says, “Everything is changing.”

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It was the greatest summer of my life. High school was in the rear view and we had three months of freedom and bliss in our small town before we went our separate ways to go to college in the fall. Nothing could be better. Bree and Stan were my best friends, and we spent that entire summer together. From joy rides in Stan’s new car to day-long pool parties at Bree’s house, we were forever high on summertime and having the time of our lives.

—

It was another ordinary summer morning when I sent a message in the group chat: 

Me: Hey! R we still on 4 2nite?

Bree: Totally! Just let me know what time you guys want to come over!

Stan: For sure. I’ll let you know when I’m back from the gym

Me: Sweet! See u guys 2nite!

—

I showed up to Bree’s house early out of boredom from waiting for the evening hangout. I also knew that my best friend’s house was pretty much my second home and that I was welcome anytime. I was surprised I didn’t have my own house key, seeing as I was practically Bree’s sister. 

“Hey, kid,” Bree greeted me at the door the same way she had been greeting me our whole lives. “Come on in.”

I stepped into the familiar entryway. As I rounded the corner to the living room, I guessed that I’d find Bree’s dad lounging on the couch watching TV like he always was. 

“Hey dad, how’s it going?” 

Bree’s dad looked up and smiled. “Oh hey Marie,” he said in a familiar and friendly tone. “Doin’ good, and you?”

“Not bad,” I replied as I followed Bree down the hall to her room.

There was an array of shimmering strands of plastic beads that hung in the doorway to Bree’s room. The prismatic colors shimmered and bounced off the strands as I stepped through the portal to my best friend’s sanctuary, the beads clacking lightly as I pushed them aside. This was the place where we had countless sleepovers growing up, and in all those ten or so years that we had known each other, the layout of the room never changed: dresser to the left, bed to the right, a floor to ceiling window on the middle wall. Countless horse figurines lined the dresser and even more pictures - drawings, a calendar and lots of posters - filled the white walls with equine decor. 

“So what are we doing tonight?” I asked Bree as I came in and plopped down on the foot of her bed. 

She sat on the floor, pulling her knees to her chest and leaning back against the bed as she looked up and said, “No clue,” as she shrugged and flashed a lopsided smile. “What do you wanna do?” She asked. We usually went back and forth like this for a while before just deciding to sit and talk for hours.

Our phones lit up at the same time. It was the group chat, and there was only one person it could be:

Stan: Hey, I’m back from the gym, Bree’s place or Marie’s?

Me: Bree’s place! I’m already here :D Hurry up! We’re bored LOL

Stan: Sweet, see u guys in a few!

Bree: C u soon!

—

Scraping up every last piece of spare change we could find in Bree’s house, we dumped it all on the floor of Bree’s room and counted it. There was just enough money in quarters for us to get milkshakes from Sonic. Stan drove of course; he loved any excuse to drive his new car, a sporty two door Nissan. We would always ride with the sunroof open and the windows down, music blaring as we flew through our small town without a care in the world. Bree and I yell-sang our favorite songs while Stan drove along, smiling at how ridiculous we sounded and tapping his thumb on the steering wheel to the beat of the music. When we got to Sonic, we placed our order and sat at one of the picnic tables outside while we waited. 

“So Stan, can you lift an entire building yet? How’s the gym been treating you?” I joked as I flexed my noodle arms. 

“Ha, ha,” Stan enunciated the words dryly as he took a sip of his shake. “It’s going pretty great. Plus it’s nice to hang out with the guys.”

“What, are we girls not enough for you?” I pretended to be wounded by his words, gripping my chest like he shot me in the heart. He laughed. It wasn’t a normal day if we weren’t giving each other a hard time; it’s just what we always did. 

“Well I for one do not enjoy the gym,” Bree wrinkled her nose as she said it. We laughed and talked for a while longer before we went back to Bree’s house for a movie night.

— 

The next day after I woke up - after noon as always - I sent a text to Bree and Stan:

Me: What time does the swim par-tay start? 😎 🌴 🌊

Bree: You guys can head over whenever, I’m about 2 hop in the pool now! 😎 🥵 ☀️

Stan: Sounds good!

—

We wasted entire days in Bree’s backyard all summer long, frying in the sun as we lounged in the pool. 

“Man, I could stay like this forever,” I sighed lazily as I slowly ran my hand through the water. 

“I’m way ahead of ya, buddy,” Bree agreed as she floated by. 

I raised my head to look at Stan. He looked thoughtful as he lounged on his pool float and stared up at the clouds in silence. 

“You alive over there?” I jabbed as I floated by and splashed water on him. Stan instinctively shielded his face, laughing as the water hit him and he splashed water back at me. 

“Yeah I’m alive. Sorry I was just thinking. We really need to do something before the summer is over, like one last hoo-rah together,” Stan declared as we continued to drift lazily about the pool.

“You mean like we’ve done all summer already?” Bree said sarcastically as she pointed out that all three of us had been hanging out every day since the summer started. 

“Well, when you put it that way,” Stan laughed, shrugging as he said, “I don’t know, I guess I just mean one last epic hangout, maybe at my place. We can order pizza and watch movies, go on one last drive around town, just hang out and party one last time.”

“Yeah we really know how to throw some pretty wild ragers,” I made a funny face as I made a dorky “raise the roof” gesture. Stan cracked a big smile, his gaze lingering just a moment too long, which made me pause for a fleeting moment. I must have imagined it. I decided it was nothing as we swam the day away and made plans to have one more epic bash, just the three of us like it had always been.

—

I texted Stan a couple days later: 

Me: Hey! Mom made enchiladas and we have extra, want me to bring you some? I know you’ve been wanting to try them for forever!

Stan: Awesome! Yeah sounds great, just stop by anytime!

—

I pulled up to his house an hour later, Reynold’s wrapped leftovers in hand as I knocked on the glass door and let myself in. I spent so much time here that I considered it another home. I was really going to miss spending time in this house. 

“Hey, hon,” I heard the sweet familiar voice of Stan’s mom drifting through the house. 

“Hey, Ms. S,” I called as I made my way down the hall to Stan’s room, already knowing where he’d be, dropping the enchiladas off in the kitchen as I went.  

Stan’s door was open and he was sitting at his computer, clicking away at some game I’d probably never heard of. I noticed he looked more tan, probably from all the days in the sun over the last three months at Bree’s. His gray tee shirt made his earth green eyes shine as he turned to look up at me, pulling his headphones off one ear as he said, “Oh hey. Sorry. Let me wrap up this match and I’ll log off. Come in and make yourself at home.”

I came in and sat on the bed by the open window, taking in the sounds of birds and the soft, late evening summer breeze. I looked around me at Stan’s small room, taking in every detail. Another thing in my life that had never changed since I had come to know it. Bree, Stan and I crammed into this tiny room so many nights over the end of the school year and over the summer to hang out and waste time watching hilarious Vine and YouTube videos until late into the morning. We would laugh and carry on for hours, never leaving before midnight. The first wave of sadness washed over me as I realized the summer was practically over now. 

I didn’t have time to get lost in my newfound reverie for long before  Stan’s voice brought me back to reality. 

“Hmm?” I mumbled as I looked at Stan. 

“I said I’m ready to try those enchiladas.” Stan rubbed his hands together like a greedy fly, smiling while he quirked his eyebrows up and down a few times. I couldn’t help but laugh; he was always making me laugh without trying. 

“Well then, there’s no time to lose!” I exclaimed excitedly. I jumped up and followed Stan into the kitchen.  

While he warmed up the food, Stan leaned back against the counter as I leaned back on the counter across from him. The kitchen was small, and despite the fact we stood on opposite sides, we were still standing fairly close together. As we stood there in mutual silence and the microwave hummed, I realized that I never really took note of how tall Stan was before now. He had started to shape up after going to the gym all summer and he even started wearing sleeveless tees as well, one of which he was wearing currently. I didn’t realize I was staring off, particularly in the direction of his toned and tanned arms. 

“You okay?” Stan asked, raising an eyebrow quizzically, a confused smile on his face.

“Uh, yeah I’m fine,” I replied slowly, wondering what had gotten into me. I felt like I was blushing ever so faintly. I never acted this way around Stan; but then again it wasn’t always just the two of us. Trying to save face and brush off my strange feelings, I said, “I think it’s all just hitting me, ya know? Summer’s over and we’re about to go out into the world for the first time. Everything’s changing. I’m just not ready for it to be over yet.” I looked down at my scuffed up sneakers, unable to meet Stan’s gaze. 

“Yeah, I get it, it’s going to be weird leaving this place. It’s been an amazing summer. I don’t want it to end either. And…I don’t know, there’s just some things in particular that I don’t want to change. I’m not ready to leave my house, to leave my friends,” Stan hesitated, pausing to look into my eyes with an intensity I’d never seen before. “I’m not ready to leave –” 

The ding of the microwave interrupted whatever Stan was going to say next. His eyes lingered on mine, just a moment too long, and this time I felt it. Whatever it was. With a nervous laugh, Stan turned around to retrieve the enchiladas from the microwave. 

Taking the opportunity to change the subject, Stan clapped his hands together and declared, “I for one, cannot wait another second to try the world famous enchiladas of legend.” 

When he took his first bite, I laughed at his died-and-gone-to-heaven look.

“Oh, my God,” Stan said with a mouthful of food, “This is amazing.”

“Glad you love it,” I replied, watching him have a new epiphany with each bite. When he was finished, we stood in the kitchen, fingers tapping on the countertops, eyes averted from one another. What was this? 

“Well, I should probably get going,” I stammered as I grabbed my right elbow with my left hand awkwardly. 

“Right, uh, yeah,” Stan managed to say before we made our way to the front door. “Well, thanks again for the enchiladas. Tell your mom they were incredible.” Stan smiled down at me. I realized how close we were as he held the glass door open and stood to the side. I blinked, shaking my head as I rambled, head down with cheeks the color of crimson. 

“Uh, yeah, I’ll let her know for sure,” I sputtered as I hastened out the door to the street where my car was parked. I heard him call after me and I turned around, grateful in that moment for the darkness that concealed my flustered face. 

“I’ll see you and Bree Friday then,” he yelled, waving as he closed the glass door. I smiled and waved, not sure how well he could see me. I jumped in the car and put the key in the ignition. My nerve endings were on fire. This was definitely uncharted territory. As I drove away down the street, Stan watched from the door until I drove out of sight. I stopped at the stop sign at the end of the road and texted Bree:

Me: Hey can u talk?? 

Bree: Yeah what’s up? Everything ok???

Me: I think so??? Do u mind if I stop by for a bit?

—

I pulled into the driveway and ran to Bree’s front door. I was about to knock when I heard her call, “Over here,” from the trampoline out front. I joined her, flouncing onto my back so I could stare up at the starry sky. The summer nights were like no other out here. I was going to miss this too, along with having a best friend right down the road to talk to when I needed her. 

“Sooo, what’s up? You seemed a little frantic in your texts,” Bree observed, flouncing onto her back next to me. I filled her in on what started as subtle stolen stares, and what had now unknowingly grown into a racing heart, sweaty palm, blushing and blubbering situation between me and Stan. The thing that shocked me most was that Bree didn’t look surprised in the slightest to hear any of this. 

“Honestly? I can’t believe you’re just now figuring this out,” Bree laughed as she turned to look at me. “I see the way he looks at you. I mean it’s no secret you two have been flirting and ogling each other all summer.” 

“Oh my god, ogling?? No we have not!” I exclaimed as I punched her in the arm and laughed. “I mean, I didn’t realize I was…and that he was. Not until now anyway.”

I pondered for a long while. Bree and I were both silent, contemplative; the only sound was the chorus of crickets and frogs in the warm country night. 

“All I know is,” Bree said matter of factly, raising her hands to the sky, “We don’t have much time left, and if you don’t say something sooner rather than later then you’ll never know. I fully support whatever you choose. But you must have known that for him, it’s always been you. I mean everybody else could see it.”

As I lay there in this newfound realization of what these strange feelings were, I suddenly felt a pang of fear.

“Everything’s changing,” I said to the stars as I realized just how fleeting time was. 

“But sometimes change can be good,” Bree said, giving me an encouraging nudge. “So now what? You gonna go home and sleep on it?” 

I sighed and sat up, sliding off the trampoline as I said, “Yeah, something like that. I’ll catch you later.”

“See you at Stan’s on Friday,” Bree called after me as I disappeared into the night.

—

I didn’t sleep on it. I couldn’t sleep at all. I had a message typed up on my phone, ready to send as I sat in my bed, heart pounding and hands shaking. I knew it was now or never. But what if everything changed? As I thought about what Bree said, I took a deep breath and hit send. 

Hey sry, I know it’s late, but I just had something 2 say. I mean I’m not rlly sure wat 2 say, but I just know that summer’s over & I’m sad & scared 2 lose everything & I just had 2 tell u that I’m rlly going 2 miss u. I don't know wat this feeling is exactly, but I know that it’s something I can't ignore & I just needed 2 tell u that. Anyway, I hope this didn’t make things weird. U r one of my best friends in the whole world. I can't lose you. I’ll c u Friday if we’re still on. 

I threw my phone across the bed, my hand immediately clasping over my mouth as I mumbled frantically, repeatedly, “Oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god.” What did I just do?? I thought I was going to have a heart attack when I heard my phone chime. It was a message from Stan. I gulped hard before I opened the message:

Hey, u didn’t make things weird at all. I’m so glad 2 hear from u, and 2 hear u say that. I tried 2 tell u when u were @ my house 2nite that I wasn’t ready 2 leave here, 2 leave u. I can’t even begin 2 comprehend how much I’m going 2 miss u. I haven’t felt this way about anyone. U r the highlight of my life thus far & I don’t want 2 lose that. Of course we’re still on. One thing I can promise u now is that u could never lose me, got it? End of story. I look forward 2 seeing u Friday. We can talk more then. 

A wave of relief washed over me as I read Stan’s text. As I turned out the light and settled under the covers, I stared at the ceiling for a long time. Was this the start of something new? My mind raced all through the night as I tried to make sense of my newfound feelings. 

—

I met Bree over at Stan’s house the following Friday and we had our last hoo-rah together. Stan and I didn’t really get time to talk since it was the three of us, but we stole glances and smiles when we could. The air around us had changed. Everything was in the open, and for the first time it all felt right. 

We watched Cloud Atlas while we hung out, and then Bree announced near the end of the movie that she had to leave. I told her I’d see her again before she left for school the following week. I was sitting on the bed, my back against the wall in my favorite spot by the window when Stan came over to sit by me. It was just us now. We watched the rest of the movie in mutual silence, our hands nearly touching between us. We didn’t talk but that was fine. 

As I was leaving, Stan gave me a hug and asked if I could come see him the next day. He was leaving tomorrow afternoon. Eagerly agreeing to come by first thing, I headed home for the night. I was at his door by nine the next morning. 

“Hey,” Stan beamed as he opened the door, “Come in.” He settled back into his blanket cocoon on the living room couch and invited me to join him. As we snuggled in and watched National Geographic, the electricity was tangible between us when he gently grabbed my hand. Everything unspoken hung in the air. But we were still content in the silence, Stan’s head on my shoulder, his hand in mine. We didn’t talk about us, or how we were going to do long distance. We just enjoyed the time we had left together, lost in the moment, in a time where nothing was going to change, where we didn’t leave our hometown or each other or ever grow up. 

Two o’ clock came around and it was time.

“I don’t want to go,” Stan said as we stood outside by his car. “I’ll just take you with me.” He put his head on my shoulder and I leaned in for a hug. He always did give a great bear hug. 

“Weren’t you supposed to leave at noon?” I laughed as I checked the time on my phone. “It’s a little past that now.”

“Oh who cares, I’ll get there when I get there. Orientation isn’t until tomorrow anyway,” Stan shrugged it off, but then he added, “But I guess I really should be going…” He trailed off as he pulled me close and kissed me, soft and sweet. I didn’t have time to prepare for it; just like that I was kissing my best friend goodbye. I melted in his arms that were wrapped gently around me, and time stood still as I realized that this wasn’t goodbye. At that moment, I knew that everything was going to change. 

THE END