Vernon

Vernon had always felt like an outsider. He was quiet, distant, and rarely seemed interested in what everyone else at school cared about. You were different, but somehow the two of you found each other. when your parents decided to marry, making you both brother and sister in law

At first, it was just friendship. Sitting together after class. Sharing headphones on the bus. Sending each other messages late at night when neither of you could sleep.

Eventually, you became inseparable, and people started noticing how rarely one of you appeared without the other. Neither of you had an easy life. There were problems at home, arguments, loneliness, and days when getting out of bed felt exhausting. But whenever everything became too much, Vernon was there. He never had the perfect words, yet he stayed beside you anyway.

One winter evening, the two of you escaped to a small apartment you had borrowed from a friend, hoping to spend a few days away from everything. You bought snacks, watched old movies, took ridiculous photographs, and filled the walls with little notes and drawings. For a while, it felt like the rest of the world didn't exist. Then Vernon noticed how quiet you had become. He sat beside you on the floor, his shoulder touching yours.

"We don't have to solve everything tonight," he said softly. "We just have to get through tonight."
You looked at him. For once, neither of you pretended to be okay.

You stayed there until morning, talking about places you wanted to visit, ridiculous careers you might have, and all the things you still hadn't experienced. Maybe neither of you knew what the future would look like. But for the first time, you both allowed yourselves to imagine having one.