Secrets in the creek were always shared at the same place, along a trail that wasn't often traveled but everyone knew how to walk along with it. The path into the brush leads to a path of stones to hop along to avoid the creek's water. It was a familiar obstacle they navigated with ease. Ahead was their destination, a cave beneath the base of a large tree with moss covering the entrance. After a whisper and the price of some soda, they would get an evening of expressing their frustration of life in the creek, whether it be annoyances they faced with their friends, things they bore witness too, amazing finds they could not tell about to anyone else, or other issues plaguing their everyday life.

"I have a secret," Marie whispered into the brush-covered entrance. A small splash could be heard, followed by the brush being pulled aside to reveal The Secret Kid. No one knew what his actual name was, but, for Marie, that wasn't important. Just seeing him filled her with a sense of relief.

"Marie, this is your fourth visit this week. Come in, come in. I've never had someone be so punctual with their visits before, normally they just drop in whenever," he said, waving her in while keeping the brush held aside with his other hand.

"Oh, well... You know..." Marie replied with a small chuckle, stepping in and heading toward the familiar floating seat provided. She carefully leaped onto it from the land, slowly rearranging herself to face the table and where he would sit and she placed the soda down on it for him to enjoy at his leisure.

"I don't know, but I'll get to that later Marie," he replied, walking over to take his own seat, and taking the bottle to admire. Unlike other kids who brought him only partially drank soda, Marie had begun bringing him full bottles. He admired it for a moment, running his hand along its neck before looking back at her, electing a bit of a jerk in Marie who looked away. "Still feels a bit cold, did you cool it before bringing it here?"

"Kind of... I forgot it at home and my dad put it in the fridge for me. It'd be warm by now if I had remembered it," Marie explained, averting her gaze for now as she seemed quite off. He noticed for certain but chose not to address it.

"Well I must say, this is such a kind treat. It was a very hot day today, even in this tree, and I needed something just like this," he said as he slowly unscrewed the cap of the soda bottle, taking a moment to appreciate the slight fizz as he shook the bottle slightly and sniffed it for a moment. He looked at Marie with a relaxed smile and said, "So... talk to me. What's been bugging you today?"

"Oh... uh... It is well... It's..." Marie began still averting her gaze, a bead of sweat forming and rolling down the side of her face as she tried to think about something to complain about. She needed something... anything really so it was not weird. As she thought on it, she glanced at the Secret Kid, who was patiently waiting, leg crossed over the other with both hands clasped onto his knee. He seemed to be quite patient, and it made Marie start to turn back toward him unconsciously while her mind found a possible tangent to begin with.

"It's Melissa, again..." She said, taking in a sharp breath before exhaling, "I really like her, she was one of my first friends when I started at my school. I can't be saying such bad things about her."

"I think we established these past few meetings that your feelings on her are valid, don't feel bad about saying what you need to say. I'm here to take away the judgment and the guilt from kids holding feelings like this, so say what you need to say, Marie," he replied, reaching out to take the soda bottle to enjoy a sip.

"All right..." Marie began as she rested her hands on the table, keeping them flat and moving back a bit to grip the edge of it, an idle action she did many times before. "Melissa was my best friend in school, we were assigned on a biology project together and she wanted to do it on horses. She did incredibly well on it, and I was really surprised by how energetic she was. I was younger then and I did not really see what would come. It seemed like we would be best friends forever."

The Secret Kid wiped the cola on his mouth using the back of his hand, setting the bottle down once more as he added, "But of course, things don't always seem so clear when you're young."

"Yeah... When we went to the creek, Melissa would love to romp around in the meadows there and pretend she was a horse, and I would sometimes join in to pretend to be one too. But I noticed fast how... intense she could get. She would always want to focus on something about horses, always talked about them and she just went tone-deaf when it came to anything, I was interested in."

"It sounds like she had a one-track mind going on, obsessions can always happen to kids like us and they often aren't pretty."

"I don't think Melissa is a bad person, you got to understand that. She is just misunderstood. But then I got suspended because of her. It was during a special birthday in class and we were given Jell-O to eat because some kids were allergic or something like that, and some kid told Melissa where Jell-O came from. I did not even participate in the fight. I just pulled her off the kid, but schools don't allow anyone to be involved in anything like that."

"I always hated schools that do that, it's unfair to kids who end up being bullied. When will the adults learn?"

"I know right? I had to spend an entire month grounded thanks to her. I was only suspended for one week, but I was not allowed to go out. I have stuck alone at home every day after school, while she got to go out into the creek to romp around in the meadow. It was... lonely. I hated it, being stuck at home alone was the worst."

"Some people need others around to make the day more bearable, I can relate to your feelings, trust me, Marie."

"When I was no longer grounded, I found out Melissa made some new friends. Maney and Mackenzie were nice but after a while... doing horses all the time got super boring, and I wanted to do something else. I was glad Melissa had some new friends, but I wanted to try going solo."

"I remember the exact day you did that; it wasn't what you thought it would be now was it?"

Marie paused as she looked at the Secret Kid, she was surprised by that information but shook it off to recall the experience of being alone. She had no friends in the creek without Melissa and being alone was not something she enjoyed. Images flashed of her time alone in her house with nothing to do and no one to interact with. It was utter isolation and she hated it. It made her uncomfortable and anxious. She needed a person, any person to stick with her, and she still felt a bit sorry for Melissa. So, she chose to stick with her, a choice she regretted making since then.

"No. It wasn't... I-I do not like Melissa at all! She is- She is... She's not a particularly good friend to me!" Marie said, her voice raised as she let out the frustration she had felt for a long time. Every annoyance, every frustrating moment they had was let out in this loud vocal cry followed by a slam as she smacked the table with a closed fist.

"Yep, there it is," he replied catching the soda bottle before it fell off the table. He kept it held in his hands as he looked at it as he fiddled with the end of the wrapper around its center.

"She's super annoying, super clueless and I have to keep looking out for her all the time when she doesn't do the same for me! She is a bad friend! I know it isn't entirely her fault but..." She paused in her outburst as she looked downwards. She was feeling some guilt with what she had said, but she felt she needed to say it. "But... I need a friend too... I can't just be looking out for her all the time, can I?"

"I'm not here to pass judgment Marie, I'm just here to listen to whatever is bothering you. You've gotten the secret off your chest, now just one more step for the bottle to do the rest," he replied pushing the wrapper toward her, laid out flat like a piece of paper.

"Right..." Marie sighed as she pulled a pen out of her pocket and began writing on the paper, "Melissa is not an exceptionally good friend to me, she never seems to care about me. Just about horses... and I hate horses!" she added vocalizing what she wrote before sliding the paper back toward The Secret Kid.

He took the paper and rolled it up with practiced speed, popping it into the bottle and closing it with a quick twist on the cap. However, instead of rising up to go place it among the other bottles, he instead put it back on the table and began to pull out a folded-up piece of paper from his pocket. Marie was surprised when it slid across the table toward her, and she hesitantly picked it up. She paused before opening it and looked back at him quizzically.

"W-What's this?" she asked softly.

"You've been coming here every day ever since that auction incident when Eliza found one of my bottles, always venting and sharing everything wrong in your life. I must admit, I would have turned you away if you were not so... fascinating. I wanted to know more about you Marie and I think we have covered just about everything you are willing to share with even me. So, I think it's only fair I repay you with a secret of my own" He explained, his own calm demeanor slowly slipping as he looked a bit more embarrassed, rubbing the back of one of his hands with his thumb while keeping them clasped together as he avoided looking at her directly.

Marie opened up the folded piece of paper and read its contents, taking a moment to process it before saying, "Ben? Is... your name Ben?"

"It's the name I'm giving you Marie, that's more than I've shared with anyone else in the creek. I am not big on making a presence so if you could keep it between us..." He replied turning away to hide his blushing face.

Marie looked back down at the paper, rereading what it said and gave a soft smile. She then began tearing it up as small as she could, letting the pieces fall into the water below. Ben turned to look at this with alarm in his eyes and he seemed to pull back and brace against his chair for impact, however, instead, Marie leaned forward over the table smiling at him.

"Your secret's safe with me," she said.

"Thank you... I was worried there for a moment," Ben replied as he gave a breath of relief and relaxed. The sound of a horn could soon be heard in the distance signaling it was time for dinner once again and all the fun in the creek had to come to an end for the day. "You know, you never did share one secret with me, Marie," Ben added as he climbed up to go put away the bottle.

"Oh, I didn't?" Marie asked as she began to head to the entrance to leave, pausing behind the foliage while she waited for Ben to join her.

"No, you didn't, but don't worry I think I figured out what it was!" he called back from the nook where he kept every secret in the creek. Once he came back out, he was holding something behind his back and approached Marie. "And I think this is a great way to show I know about it."

He held out a white rose, well a white rose pen so the flower on top was fake, but it was of exceptional quality and it looked quite convincing. Marie blushed profusely at the gift and, with an unsteady hand, took it from Ben's before pocketing it in her hoodie. She smiled at him and held open the brush entrance for him as they left the tree together. She looked around at the creek once she was outside at the lovely sunset that was just starting with the sky turning a slight orange hue, and then looked back at Ben.

"I didn't expect you to know," Marie said quietly.

"I hear everything, my dear, I knew you weren't just coming to get everything off your chest. You wanted to see if I was listening. And trust me, Marie, I was hanging onto every. Last. Word," Ben replied.

"I-I don't know what to say... I am flattered and... I like how much you listen to me," Marie replied.

"I like a lot of things about you too Marie, how about this? I heard a secret that the Tea Timers will be hosting a movie night within their grove, how about we go to that together?" he asked.

"Like a date?"

"Whatever we call it, it'll be our little secret," Ben replied with a wink, and with that, they began to head home. Marie felt a special feeling of lightness as she went her own direction home, happier than she thought she could ever be. Ben, who had a similar lightness in his step, was also a bit worried about what she thought about that corny line he ended with. For a kid who did not like making a presence, he certainly made a bold statement back there. But it would probably work out in due time, and if it did not then it would be just another secret kept within the Creek.

The End