"Let me see" he said as he came to stand beside me. He looked into my collection of hairpieces for a while and handed one to me.
"Try this " he said as he gave me a blue and white butterfly hairpiece.
"Thank you Annie, you're the best" I said and gave him a kiss on his cheek, he flushed immediately. I ran to the mirror to put it in my hair.
" You look very ...erm" Annie stuttered and scratched his head as he joined me in front of the mirror.
"Ugly?" I asked sadly.
"No no n-" he protested awkwardly.
"Then what do you mean? Should I change?" I asked as my eyes began to water.
"Zee.....Zeezee no, you don't have to change.You look very pretty" he said, scratching his jet black hair.
"Really?" I asked him, astonished.
"Y-yes" he confirmed, making me smile. Within seconds his mood also changed.
"Let's go before we're late." He said and pulled me out of my room.
School was fun. Shine Bright as my school is called is a very big school. It is very prestigious and the facilities are the best. The school was filled with new faces and old faces today.
Annie was in all my classes so naturally we sat together near the windows. We spent the whole day together.
Apart from Annie, I wasn't really that close to anyone in school because Annie used to chase anybody who wanted to befriend me when we kids. But he still have other friends apart from me which wasn't fair. Whenever I'd ask him about it, he'll give me the excuse that he's only protecting me just as he promised. More like over protection if you ask me.
When we were five, one day we were playing in the attic and I saw a bunch of coiled wires on the floor. My naive mind mistook it for snakes. I tripped and fell in my haste to get away from the supposed snakes. I'd scratched my knee in the process and it hurt a lot.
I started crying, Annie tried calming me but I wouldn't stop crying. It was my father who came and attended to my wound before I could stop crying.
"Annibale, I told you to take care of her. I told you that she was your responsibility. You were supposed to be her superhero when I'm not around." My father questioned him.
Five year old Annibale became ashamed and couldn't reply my Dad.
Before the incident, he had found a sports car in one of the packed boxes and was looking at it. When I asked him if I could also hold it, he said no. So I left to also find something cool to make him jealous when I stumbled upon those coiled wires.
My Dad carried me to my room while Annie trailed behind us, shamefaced. My father laid me on my bed, kissed my forehead and told me to rest.
Annie climbed and sat beside me on the bed.
"Zeezee, I'm sorry" he said with pouted lips.
"I'll forgive you only on one condition" I told him.
"What?"
"You'll have to allow me to play with your car"
"I promise" he said with a smile.
"Pinky promise?" I put out my little finger.
"Pinky promise". He said and hoojed his little finger with mine.
He tried laying beside me when his leg brushed my knee making me wince.
"Zeezee, I'm from now on I'll be a proper superhero and protect you like superman protects Lois" he promised me with a serious face.
"Really?"I asked him.
"Yes"he nodded.
I hugged him and pulled him down to sleep beside making sure for him not to touch my knee. We soon fell asleep, hugging each other.
Although Annie was my only friend, I didn't care that much. He was all I needed.
After school, we decided to go to the beach since we might not get the chance again, now that school has reopened. We removed our clothes leaving our undergarments so that they wouldn't get wet.
We swam for ours and only retreated to the shade when the sun went down. We went to lie down in the sand, under one of the coconut trees.
The place was secluded and very peaceful. The only sound we could hear apart from the waves crushing onto the beach was our breaths and the chirping of some birds on the coconut trees.
I laid down with my eyes closed while Annie with his childishness played with my hair.
Suddenly, Annie tapped me to look at something on one of the coconut trees. It was two birds, and they seemed to be getting cosy on the tree.
I turned to look at Annie who was already looking at me with a smile on his face, making me smile also.
"Love is nice, don't you think so?" I asked him.
"Yeah" he said, dazed.
"Hmm, I can't wait to have my first kiss. Do you think it will be like they say in movies and the stories we read?" I asked him again.
"Can't tell. We won't know until we try it. Mom told me it's a feeling. Everybody describes it differently so I don't know" he answered.
"Then how will we know? You don't have a girlfriend neither do I have a boyfriend" I pouted.
"We can try "he suggested.
"As in us?"
"Yeah"
"Do you think we should?"
"Well, no one will know apart from us."
"You won't tell anyone?"
"I swear, I won't tell anybody" he promised me.
"Okay....."
He climbed on top of me and straddled my waist.He looked into my eyes,
"We won't do anything if you don't want to." I blushed.
"No, I--i want to"
We both closed our eyes and leaned in. Our lips touched and my stomach tingled. My cheeks flushed and goosebumps formed on my skin. Annie's lips on mine were soft and smooth.
Our lips moved in sync and I felt warm inside. He bit on my bottom lip making me moan. I flushed in embarrassment.