Milo is seen walking into Biology, clearly not in the greatest mood. He walks over to his desk without saying a word to any of his classmates, takes out his books, and leans his head on his arm against the desk. Gwen watches as he does, sensing that something is wrong.
Gwen: *softly* Hey, Milo.
Milo: *looks up* Hey.
Gwen: Are you okay?
Milo sighs, as he leans on the back of his chair.
Milo: It’s been a rough week.
Gwen: *sympathetic* You want to talk about it?
Milo: I’m thankful that you let me vent, but you’re probably tired of me venting about the same issues over and over again.
The teacher walks into the class and lets the class know that the lecture will begin shortly. The two teens turn their heads back to face each other.
Gwen: *whispers* I don’t mind, if that’s what you’re worried about. This is what friends do for each other.
Milo looks at Gwen; the word “friend” rings in his ear. He hasn’t really thought much about Gwen being one of his friends. He smiles hearing Gwen say it though. She notices him smiling.
Gwen: What?
Milo: Are you busy today after school?
Gwen: *shakes her head* Fridays are my days off from my extracurricular activities. Why?
Milo: *teases* I mean, what else do friends do after school on a Friday afternoon? *waits a moment* Hang out.
Gwen rolled her eyes and laughed. Milo smiled in return.
Gwen: I would love to hang out after school. *light bulb goes off* Oh! We can hang out in the treehouse!
Milo: *confused* The treehouse? Is that some sort of exclusive club or something?
Gwen: *laughs* No, it’s literally just a treehouse. Meet me after school today near the bus stop going towards uptown.
Milo smiles at Gwen, appreciating her support. The teacher quiets the class down and begins the biology lesson for the day.
…
Milo and Gwen are walking in a suburban neighborhood; completely different than his own. He looks around the houses, noticing just how big they are. Milo is taken back by the nice area he and Gwen are walking in.
Shortly after, the teens stop at a house in the middle of the street. A huge tree sits in the front yard; Milo notices the white treehouse within the tree. He finally puts two-and-two together.
Milo: Oh, you literally meant a treehouse!
Gwen laughs as she starts walking towards the ladder attached to the tree trunk. Milo watches her climb up before pushing open a panel to enter. She pops her head out for the opening, looking down at Milo who is still standing on the ground.
Gwen: Come!
Milo nervously starts climbing the ladder, not knowing what to expect once he gets to the top. Shortly after, Milo crawls in from the panel and sits on the floor of the treehouse. He observes the things that live in the treehouse: a tiny bookshelf with magazines and books, some pillows against the corner of the treehouse, and some Christmas lights that wrap around the ceiling. He takes everything in awe.
Milo: *looks around* This is so dope.
Milo looks at the books on the bookshelf; he notices the title of one of the books.
Milo: To Kill A Mockingbird. We’re reading this in our English class.
Gwen: *nods* It’s one of my favorites. I keep most of my favorite books up here to reread.
Milo: Reread? You mean you already finished it?
Gwen: I read it in middle school in my ELA honors class. That same year, I asked my mom if she could buy me the book for my own collection for my 13th birthday.
Milo is shocked to have learned that Gwen already read the book the rest of their grade was currently reading in school. Gwen pulls out other books from her shelf; some in which are thicker than any book Milo has read before.
Milo: Where do you even find the time to read all these books with your busy schedule?
Gwen: I don’t really read in my free time anymore, but I used to read a lot when I was in and out of treatments at the hospital.
Milo looks up at Gwen, knowing exactly what she was talking about.
Gwen: I didn’t do much of my extracurricular activities in the beginning, and I wasn’t in school that much because of the treatments and constant appointments. I read books in my free time; in a way, it sometimes felt better to live in the world of these different characters than my own, especially on the days where I felt the weakest.
Milo listens as Gwen continues to speak, taking in her story that he appreciates her telling him about. Trusting him with.
Milo: Was the treehouse always here?
Gwen: My dad built it when I was in elementary school, but I was too afraid of heights for the first year. Eventually, it started to fall apart and my parents were thinking about taking it down completely, but after I came home from the hospital after my first treatment, he rebuilt it for me. That summer, it became my favorite place to read, and then later practice violin in.
Milo: I bet this was a popular hangout spot for you and your fiends when it was first built—
Gwen: I never had anyone else up here before. *looks at Milo* You’re the first.
Milo looks at Gwen, taking back by the revelation. She smiles at him before putting her books back on the shelf. Milo watches her do so.
Milo: My dad wouldn’t ever done something like this for me. He never had anyone else interest in knowing the things I was passionate about.
Gwen turns her head to look at Milo.
Gwen: Surely he had to, otherwise you wouldn’t be in such a prestigious program like Waverly’s.
Milo: My dad was never nice to me. He always acted like everything I liked or did was wrong in his eyes. Anything that went against his own wishes meant going against him.
Gwen stays silent, not knowing what to say next. Milo sighs.
Milo: I always felt like something was wrong with me too. Like, why wouldn’t my own dad sacrifice some of his duties to come and support my activities? At least my mom tries to make them, even though her and my dad are business partners and work in the same company. They aren’t around a lot of the time, which means I’m usually the oddball out in Pep’s family.
Gwen: You stay with them when your parents are away?
Milo nods.
Milo: Yesterday, Pep threw the fact about my dad to my face in front of band practice after disagreeing with her about something she was doing. I guess it just made me feel shitty afterwards knowing my own best friend would stoop so low and throw it in my face; that my dad couldn’t care less about me.
As Milo sighs and takes a deep breath, Gwen places her hand on top of his for reassurance.
Gwen: I’m sorry that you went through that. It’s not cool for her to expose your story like that after trusting her with it. But even if you are hurt by her words or it’s now making you think worse of yourself, remember that you are not the horrible things people tell you out of anger.
Milo: But what if it is true? What if the things you judge yourself for are the same things someone says out loud about you?
Gwen: It’s not true. Now, I don’t know why things were said to you or what kind of things you tell yourself, but I can tell you that you are not those horrible things. You are extremely talented and passionate. You are smart about things that most of us are not smart about. You are driven to do bigger and better things, all while still trying to figure yourself out. Most importantly, you are trustworthy, caring, and a great friend.
Gwen looks at Milo before continuing.
Gwen: I… never really had a friend like you before.
Milo: *smiles* Same here.
The two teens look at each other intently, sharing a connection. They slowly leaned into each other and gently kiss each other for on the lips. The kiss only breaks up once a woman’s voice is heard calling out Gwen’s name.
Gwen: Fuck—
Milo is taken back but the sequence of events; first kissing Gwen, hearing Gwen cuss for the first time, and then Gwen forcefully pushing his head and body down toward the floor of the treehouse, hiding him from the woman outside.
Gwen: *pokes head out of window* Yes, mom?
Gwen’s mom: Dinner will be ready in about 10 minutes; it’s time to come in for the day and wash up.
Gwen: Coming!
Gwen’s mom walks back into the house; Gwen lets out a sigh of relief and helps Milo get up from the ground.
Gwen: *turns red* I… am so sorry about that, I didn’t mean to crush you like that!
Milo started laughing, which made Gwen started laughing along too; easing the shock of what just happened between them not too long ago.
Letters From Liz. 