Pinky promise?

I am currently sitting in one of my lessons. Paige is sitting beside me. I was originally planning to go to the observatory with my grandpa, but he sadly couldn't come. Because of this, I needed a replacement.

Luckily, the perfect replacement, who loved astronomy, was sitting beside me.

"Paige, do you want to go to the observatory?" I asked my best friend Paige.

"How did you get these tickets?" Paige asked, her eyes glowing. Astronomy was one of her favorite hobbies.

"My grandpa rented an observatory but can't make it. Because of this, I have a free ticket. I thought you would be the best person to look at the stars with," I answered her honestly.

"What's your answer?" I asked, already knowing what she would say.

"Of course, I'll go," Paige said without hesitation.

"But who will drive us?" Paige asked. I knew her parents wouldn't be able to drive us as they were still busy with their divorce.

"No worries, my dad will drive us to the observatory. He'll go shopping while we're there. After we're finished, he'll come to pick us up," I said, trying to ease her worries.

Seeing her relieved face, I knew it worked.

I was relieved too. Paige had been having a hard time recently because of her parents' divorce. I didn't know what would happen to her without me. I was her only friend.

"When will you pick me up?" Paige asked.

"After school tomorrow," I said, a little embarrassed. I had actually forgotten to mention the date. If Paige hadn't reminded me, she wouldn't have known when.

Despite my embarrassment, I tried to act cool.

After that conversation, my mom picked me up.

When I got home, I immediately told Dad the news.

"Dad, can you pick up a friend of mine tomorrow too?" I asked.

"Of course," Dad agreed.

The rest of the day, I mostly researched some new computer technologies that had come out a few days ago.

When it was bedtime, I soon started to fall asleep.

The next day began like any other day. School was becoming more interesting as we delved into deeper subjects.

When my classes were finished, I waited in front of Paige's classroom.

"Hi, Paige. Are you ready?" I asked excitedly as she walked out of the classroom.

"Of course," Paige said, equally excited.

We walked to the place where my dad told me he would park.

"This is my dad, Paige," I introduced her.

After that, my dad drove us to the observatory and dropped us off.

The observatory was pretty small, but the advantage was that we had the whole place to ourselves.

"I'm excited," I confessed to Paige.

"Me too," Paige replied.

We walked into the observatory together.

We were stunned by the various items in the observatory.

But we mainly focused on the main telescope, the Meade 14-inch LX200GPS-SMT Telescope.

We didn't wait long before we started looking through the telescope.

The most beautiful star configuration we saw was the Pleiades. It was no surprise, as it was currently the best time to see this configuration.

While we were looking at the stars, something suddenly happened.

"Gabe?" Paige asked, beginning to cry.

"What's wrong, Paige?" I asked immediately, concerned.

"Nothing. It's just—"

"Will you leave me?" Paige asked, crying even more.

I knew it was probably because of her parents. They were not good parents. I was lucky to have the Dunphys, who adopted me.

"I will never leave you," I replied firmly to Paige.

"Really?" she asked, seeking confirmation.

"Really," I assured her.

"Pinky promise?" Paige was still not satisfied and wanted more reassurance.

"Pinky promise," I said, and we made a pinky promise.

"Thank you, Gabe," Paige said and hugged me.

"We're friends. Friends do that," I said with a smile. I would do almost anything for my friends.

"Thank you," Paige repeated, still hugging me.

I knew she was probably a little traumatized by her parents' divorce. She even seemed to think that it was her fault. I had mostly dispelled that thought before, but it seemed it never completely went away.

After that, we went back to watching the stars together.

The atmosphere was very harmonious.

When it started to get dark, it was time for us to leave.

"I enjoyed the day. Thank you, Gabe," Paige thanked me for the third time that day.

"No problem. Your presence made the day even more enjoyable," I told her truthfully with a smile.

Paige started to smile, and we walked to the parking lot.

"How did you two scientists enjoy watching the stars?" Dad asked us.

"We loved it," we both said simultaneously.

After that, Dad dropped Paige off at the university.

I accompanied her to her dorm.

"Goodbye, Paige. If there are any problems, tell me. I will be there for you," I told her sincerely.

"Thank you, Gabi," Paige thanked me again while hugging me.

After that, I left.

Paige thanked me many times today. It seemed that she really enjoyed the day. I was happy.

Afterward, Dad drove me home.

When we arrived home, I could already smell Mom's cooking.

I couldn't wait any longer and immediately went to the bathroom to wash my hands.

After that, I ran to the dining table and started to hungrily devour the food.

Today was mentally pretty exhausting.