There was no one on the face of the planet who could possibly be able to reign in the pure excitement that was racing through my veins as I made my way down the busy Los Angeles street. It was a bright and sunshiny day and the heat was beating down on me as I approached my destination. It was literally the perfect day.

I was finally about to meet my best friend in the whole world for the first time in person. We had met online last year when we were both fifteen. I had just started to make regular webcasts on a video chat site and after the first few weeks he’d sent me a really delightful message telling me that he thought I was hilarious doing the random drabble and jokes that I came up with. From then on we chatted constantly, watched each other’s live web shows and videos that we posted on our blogs, and called and texted each other on our phones.

It was safe to say that we really had become the closest of friends over the last year. The only thing missing was that we hadn’t ever met in real life. That was mostly due to the fact that I lived halfway around the world from him.

I’d been born and raised on Thesens Island in Knysna, Western Cape. The island is on the Southern coast of South Africa and it had been my home for the last sixteen years of my life. It was very local and quite a comfortable place to live. I could speak Afrikaans but mostly we just spoke English. Now, I was thankful that I was bilingual because we had just moved to Los Angeles where practically the only language I needed to use was English. I had also learned a bit of French from my school. Needless to say, knowing other languages was quite handy.

Being in America was as much of a culture shock as it was fascinating. I’d actually never been to America in my lifetime and now I was living in one of the most famous cities. One of the differences I noticed right away was that I blended in a lot more. In Knysna, I was considered a minority for being caucasian, but in America it was different and the feeling was sort of odd. Although not in a bad way, it was simply a new kind of experience.

The reason we moved to Los Angeles in the first place was because my dad had gotten a job offer. He was a surgeon in Knysna and he was pretty damn good at it, too. My mom sold real estate so it was pretty easy for her to find a job opening in this big city. My younger brother and I were both very enthused about the idea of moving to a new country--for me it was perfect because my best friend happened to live where we were moving--and our parents already had their jobs set up so it was a no-brainer that we were going to make the move.

I scanned the sidewalk of people as I kept walking. Everything was just so different here. The people were definitely one of the biggest changes. The way they dressed--so crazy and over the top in their fashion sense--was remarkable. It would certainly take some getting used to. I finally turned around a street corner and spotted the coffee shop I had looked up on an internet map. I paused outside the door for a moment and looked up at the sign.

This was it, the place where my favorite person worked. He had no idea I was here. In fact, I wanted to surprise him so badly that I had even neglected to inform him that my family had already moved. For all he knew, I still lived in South Africa.

After taking in a deep breath I finally pushed the door to the shop open. I was instantly hit with the strong scent of coffee beans. The smell was phenomenal and I suddenly craved something iced with caramel in it. But that would have to wait. I saw him right away. He had his back to the counter, making somebody’s coffee of choice as I approached.

The excitement got to me and I decided to tease him a bit. I wolf-whistled and right before he turned around to see who had made the sound, I said, “Hey sexy.”

The look on Nialler’s face when his eyes zeroed in on me was priceless. Shock and happiness and confusion were all mixed up like they had just gone through a blender on puree. “Oh my God,” he said excruciatingly slow. All I could do was grin at him as widely as my face would allow before it becoming painful. “Caspar?”

I nodded. “Of course. What am I a ghost?”

He smiled happily and quickly handed the freshly made coffee to the customer standing next to me. The guy walked away looking less than enthused by my interruption but both Nialler and I ignored him. In seconds, Nialler had darted around the counter and drew me into a very tight, bone-crushing hug. I chuckled as we swayed back and forth and turned in numerous dizzying circles.

After a good couple of minutes, Nialler pulled back and held me at arms length away from him. He studied my face as I did the same to him. It was so surreal being able to actually see him and touch him in person after only seeing each other over a lagging internet connection and hearing each other’s voices over telephone satellites for the last year. I was really kind of surprised that he was a few inches taller than me. He must have been just an inch or so shy of six feet.

“What are you doing here?” Nialler asked in awe. His curly brown hair bounced across his forehead as he shook his head. It was almost comical the way his hazel eyes shone with confusion as if he couldn’t believe I was really there.

I chuckled once more. “I live here, duh.”

It was Nialler’s turn to laugh this time as he looked down at me. “Well I knew you were moving here with your family, but you never told me it already happened. When did you get here?”

“About a week ago.”

Nialler gasped. He smacked me on the shoulder and I laughed at his reaction. God, he was the best friend ever. “You never told me, you jerk!”

I smiled. “I wanted to surprise you.”

“You lied to me, mister,” he said. He was trying to pout and glare at me, but I knew it wasn’t real because his eyes were smiling too brightly, betraying the act. “I’ve been asking you nearly everyday for the last month when you’d be here and you kept saying you didn’t know. Now I find out you have lived here for a week without telling me. That’s so mean!”

I flicked him on the nose and just hugged him again. “Yeah, yeah. But wasn’t it a wonderful surprise?” Nialler grumbled. I released him from the hug and looked at his grouchy expression. “Come on, you can’t deny it.”

Nialler huffed. “Oh, fine. But only because I’m so happy you’re finally here.” Nialler grabbed my wrist and pulled me over to a table that was right next to where he made the drinks. “Sit here. I have to get back to work but we can keep talking.”

“Alright. Since you’re on duty, make me something cold with caramel in it, sir.”

I playfully winked at him. Nialler winked back and we both laughed. Neither of us were gay or bisexual, but we were both affectionate people and we loved to tease and mess with each other. That was only one of the many reasons why we got along so well. We had so much in common when it came to our humor, fashion sense, and video games. We couldn’t have asked for anything more fitting.

Nialler walked back behind the counter and pulled out a cup for my coffee. I watched him with delight as he put all the ingredients in the blender and mixed it up. I just couldn’t get over how amazing it was to finally see him. Nialler was the funniest and best friend anyone could ever ask for.

Living in a new country was going to be a heck of a lot easier since I already have someone here. It was also very perfect that when I started school on Monday, I’d be attending his private preparatory school. That was actually a lot more than a coincidence. When I’d first been informed by my parents where in America we’d be going, I told them that Nialler lived in the same city. They had been more than supportive when it came to finding a house in the perfect neighborhood that would set me up so my brother and I could go to the same high school as Nialler.

My life was basically complete now. A new country, a fresh start, my best friend, and the most delicious coffee I could imagine all in one. I was so looking forward to the next few years.