Sebastian was proud of his best friend.

He really was. Going to a prestigious university on the North Coast was a big deal. Even Demetrius, in the heights of his snobbish disposition, had to concede that it was an enviable goal to achieve. Hell, the teen believed that managing to leave Pelican Town was a feat in itself, and he was so glad that she was doing it.

That being said, a heaviness takes over his shrivelled heart. Yoda above, he did not want to let go of her. Estella Flourish, the girl living at the farm down the road, had been a constant in his life since he himself arrived at the Valley, when he was just a kid on the arms of a single, unemployed mother. She somehow managed to steadfastly put up with his shit no matter how much he messed up.

Now, she was leaving, off to bigger and better things, and he was stuck here on a dark basement without sunlight and ventilation for the whole summer. Also, he reminded himself, it was rather common for people to leave and never come back to such a backwater.

"You are pouting." Estella said matter-of-factly, not taking her eyes off of the wide blue sky over their little piece of the world.

It was a beautiful day and the girl found herself lying in the grass on the fields off Mountain Road, staring up at the sky and watching the clouds pass by. It was so peaceful and made she wish she was not set to go out on a plane bound north soon. She knew her peace and quiet, that seemingly intimate relation with nature itself, would soon fade away, and so it was time to soak on it.

That is how Sebastian found her when he made his way to her house that morning. He had not even bothered asking what the hell she was doing and instead just laid down next to her.

"You're not even looking at me." Sebastian shot back. "How the hell do you know I'm pouting?"

The girl finally looked at him, a small and pleased smile on her face. It reminded him he would soon rarely see it again, and so his pout increases further.

"I grew up with you, Sebastian. I'm about as in tune with her emotions as I am with my own." She returned her attention to the clouds. "I'm not thrilled to be leaving either, you know. I can't even remember the last time I've been further than Calico Desert, let alone all the way to the North Coast."

Then don't leave, Sebastian found himself thinking, but that was selfish of him and he knows it. This was the chance of a lifetime. He had no right to ask her to give it up for something as insignificant as him.

"It's going to be awesome, Estella." He elected to say, instead. "The North Coast is amazing and full of new and exciting things to discover. You are going to fit in so well there."

Sebastian forced himself to smile at her. The minute his eyes locked on her appearance; he knew it was a mistake. His heart clenched at the thought of her going anywhere without him.

Feeling his eyes on her, Estella turned onto her side to look at him. "How is it going to be awesome if I'm leaving you behind?"

Tears pricked her eyes and she blinked them away. Crying was the last thing she wanted to do right now.

Sebastian sat up, placing his hands on the sides of her arms.

"Hey, don't cry. We still have the whole summer together, and it's not like you're not going to come back for holidays." His words did little to comfort her and he could tell. They were not exactly comforting him either. "Estella, you're my best friend, and I only want the best for you. Don't do something you'll regret just because of me. I'm not worth it."

The farmer's granddaughter sat up as well, his words causing a surge of anger to course through her veins. "You are not worth it? Excuse me, Sebastian, but you are worth so much! How could you even say something like that about yourself?"

Sebastian just shrugged and laid back down, turning his attention back to the blue sky. He could feel her eyes burning a hole into the side of his face, but he refused to look at her. If he did, maybe she would see how much of a failure he had actually become, and he could not bear to know that she also sees him for as low as he is. A sad, lonely loser whose only friends were an emo girl who was just as sad and angry as he is, a poor boy trying to conciliate being a teen and the head of his fatherless household and a childhood friend who he was in love with but would never feel the same way. The realization hurt more than getting hit over the head with a plate.

"Sebastian…" She whispered under her breath, trying to have his attention softly.

Estella grew worried when he did not acknowledge her, but she kept talking despite not getting a reaction, because he needed to hear what she had to say.

"You are worth so much more for me than you could ever know." The girl said, quietly but earnestly. "You are worth more than what Demetrius believes, and you are worth so much more than what those bullies at school could ever fathom."

Sebastian's eyes shone with unshed tears as he finally looked at Estella. "How do you always know what's I'm thinking?"

She smiled down lovingly at him.

"Because you are my best friend and I love you. The fact that I am going away for now is not going to change that. You will always be my favourite person, no matter what." She leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. "Now, stop being sad, okay? I want your head completely empty while we cloud-watch. Yoba knows you'll never do that if I don't force you to admire the beauty around us."

Sebastian smiled as Estella kissed his cheek amicably and plopped down next to him, her attention immediately going to the sky. She had a big smile on her face as she pointed out clouds and told him outlandish stories about their shapes. Seeing her happy was enough to make him happy.

Even though it was not the love confession of his dreams, it was still special to him.