A/N: My first story. It's an angst/romance/friendship thing.
WARNING! CONTAINS YAOI! DON'T LIKE, DON'T READ!
A few chapters will have a poem in them, each stanza at a part that fits it best. ALL poems are written by me SPECIFICALLY for this story. Do NOT steal MY poems.
HTF and all related characters-ALL characters in here- belong to Mondo Media
Plot and the one year=ten HTF years belong to me. So enjoy, hopefully.
Years have gone by without a single word from you...
I could not help but wonder if what you said was true
And, my love, I'm sorry to say-so sorry- but tonight
Our single star, our single star is not lit, is not bright
He had waited for years for him to return, but no, he hadn't even heard from his dear friend. Could his friend possibly have lied to him, even if only to spare his feelings? Surely not!
But maybe... just maybe... he did...
He had never asked for him to return his love, he had simply told him the truth. They had been best friends, but he himself had fallen for the older boy...
He had never asked to be gay.
None of his friends resented him for it- they had known before he himself had known, and yet...
He had left to go find something he refused to tell anyone about...
He had left them there, and now everything was going wrong.
Fifty years in his own town and no one had aged a bit... and only five in the world outside.
So many years without you have left my soul restless
And I can still remember with one look I was breathless
Now and again I find myself wishing, finding myself about to cry
And I think, how I think that it was all just a trick, a lie
Toothy awoke the next day. He stood up and stretched. He jumped up and went over to the calendar. It was the first day of a new year... the fiftieth year without the one he loved.
Toothy wondered to himself whether the others knew or not that the time outside of the Happy Tree Forest went slower than their own time. One year out there equaled ten in Happy Tree Forest and Town.
Fifty years... how time was so cruel, Toothy didn't know. It had been fifty years and no one inside the forest or town had grown even a day older.
But Splendid, Toothy thought to himself suddenly, has grown up five years now. He sighed. If Splendid hadn't returned by now, Toothy believed he never would.
Toothy sat down at his table and poured himself some cereal. He ate quickly and then went outside.
He met up with his friends in the park.
"Heya, Cuddles!"
How things were before you left, everything was perfect
But now you're gone, and living isn't even worth it
But I know, no matter how I try, how I try...
I will love no one else, I will always cry
"Hey, Toothy," Cuddles greeted. The smile he gave him was forced and shallow. No one could ever really smile for real anymore.
Forty-five years ago- four and a half Splendid's time- Happy Tree Town was taken over by the Tiger Army. Flippy was a permanent prisoner, and Flaky was in a mental asylum now. She had loved Flippy dearly and could not accept she would never see him again in her eternal life.
Giggles held Cuddles' paw, afraid all the time now.
For the first time in their lives, the Happy Tree Friends were ruled over by a king and had to pay taxes- very high taxes.
Their 'king' was the Tiger General.
Do you realize what you have done, how everything is wrong
And that you have been gone, been missing, for far too long
And now, everything is sad, I see myself from another place
And I wonder, I wonder to myself; is this my true face?
Toothy sat in the treehouse, hiding from the police. They were searching for him, and he didn't even know why.
Actually, he did know. The Tiger General was angry and searching for prisoners to torture or execute, and he was perfect for it. It was no secret he was homosexual- definitely no secret- and the Tiger General didn't really like that.
Toothy knew the General wished that he would just die permanently, but that was impossible as long as they were in Happy Tree Forest, and the Tiger General didn't dare risk leaving the boundary.
This horrible pain, this emptiness you made me feel
I can't help but wonder, am I or am I not real
And yet I still believe you will come back...
A belief I slightly wished my heart would lack
Toothy heard a noise and quickly hid under a beanbag chair. He was terrified, utterly petrified.
The treehouse door flew open and a tiger soldier peeked in and looked around.
Everything around me feels dangerous now
Everybody is a stranger, I don't know how
I can go on living like this, living behind my fears
And now there's only room for sadness and tears
Toothy listened to the door to slam closed. He tried his best not to shiver. Her heard voices from below him.... right below him. He peeked out from under the beanbag and saw that the treehouse was deserted... but they could return at any second...
He decided to stay under there all night. He'd rather sufficate than be tortured to death.
And I lie, I lie, I lie and lie...
No matter what, I always cry...
And I just need to say...
I love you still today
"I love you still..."
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A/N: Kinda sad, yes... Will Splendid come back? Well, I sure as hell hope so! Next chapter coming soon. Sorry chapter is so chort, I'll try to make them longer next time.