The Forest of Reflection

Stillness

Alex was driving around like usual, listening to soft music while he forgot the world existed. There was only the road, the rumble of the engine, and the music. He usually found himself driving around Tim and Brian's house, although he couldn't tell why. Maybe the dark windows just unsettled him, even though it's night and they are most likely sleeping. Alex decided to shift his train of thought into one for the movie. Since Brian was basically an essential part of the film, there would be a bit of a complication on trying to find out what to do until they got better. Maybe they could try to look over the footage already collected? Wait, no. That's a horrible idea. What was he thinking? Seth held the footage and he would need to ask for it. It's basically 3 am, he can't do that right now. He decided this was a problem for future Alex, not present Alex. The rumble of the car engine and the music were a distraction from something else, something Alex didn't acknowledge. He may not have been conscious about it, but the throbbing guilt in the pit of his stomach knew. It knew the tapes were in the back of his car.

Alex woke up, and after checking his phone he realized it was Saturday. There wasn't any class today. Alex wanted to get up but there was something holding him back. Or, in better words, something holding him down. Alex felt heavy. He didn't know how to deal with it. So he just stayed there. He didn't fight it. He didn't fight the growing pit of guilt in his stomach. Even though he didn't know why he felt that way. Maybe he just felt bad for Tim and Brian. Or maybe it was the fact that he hadn't thought about Jay at all. He actually forgot about him. He forgot about him when he hadn't shown up to class. He was so absorbed with Tim and Brian that he hadn't even thought to acknowledge Jay. Alex wanted to reach out. But the weight on his body wouldn't let him.
Time seemed to slow and speed up at the same time, each minute feeling like a decade and a second. It wasn't long until there was a knock on Alex's door, but he couldn't get up to answer.

"ALEX? ARE YOU HOME? IT'S ME, TIM. I SEE YOUR CAR- I'M GONNA COME IN."

There was a soft click coming from outside the room, followed by the taps of shoes. Alex confided in his friends, so he told them where the spare key was. Alex left it under a pot, slightly buried in dirt. Alex's thoughts were interrupted again when Tim softly knocked on Alex's door.

"Can I come in?"

"Mhm."

The doorknob slowly turned, and Tim stepped in. Alex relaxed, letting go a lot of tension he didn't know he was holding. He did enjoy hanging out with all of his friends, and Alex would be lying if he didn't find comfort in his friends. Working together with them was far from stressful, it was more of a relief from stress, despite how important the film was for school itself. Everyone involved grew pretty close together and hung out sometimes when there was time. They knew eachother, and Tim knew Alex. Tim knew that Alex needed company. Tim knew Alex was not up for conversation. Tim took a seat on the floor, close to Alex. Even in silence, Tim knew Alex appreciated him. Just for this moment, everything would stay still, everything was calm, everything was okay.

Hey, Author here. I apologize for the big delay on such a short chapter. I'll try a bit harder to write, just having a bit of trouble since I'm kind of winging it. Stay safe everyone! :)