Aaron T. x Aaron Z. - One-shots

Hello

3rd person POV:

a little context-the day after graduation they were suppose to ride to college together. But instead T left, saying goodbye to everyone except Z.

-

"Hey, you've reached Aaron T, leave a message or I'm not calling you back!" the voice recording sounded happy, from a time so many years ago and T had never gotten around to change it.

Z doesn't know if he's glad or not, that voice he hears is so light, only burdened in that way that makes on laugh in the face of pain, instead of with the exhaustion that is all Z's fault.

"Hello, it's me, I was wondering..." Z isn't sure why he keeps doing this, "wondering if after all these years you'd like to meet to go over... everything." He knows he's started this way before but he carries on, like a compulsion, the unhealthy coping mechanism he knows this is. "They say that time's suppose to heal, yeah," he lets out a laugh, the tired words scratching at his throat, "I can't say I've done much healing."

...

"Hello." he says, the words more to the empty space around him than to the phone pressed at his ear, "can you hear me? I'm still in California dreaming about who we used to be. Back when we were younger and free of all this." He swallows a shallow shaky breath with the weight of all that this is on his chest, "I've forgotten how it felt before the world fell at our feet. There's such a difference between us," Z looks out towards where he used to hear the phone ring when he called, "and a million miles."

The phone beeps, and he hangs up and already hits the button to call again.

...

"Hey, you've reached Aaron T, leave a message or I'm not calling you back!"

"Hello, from the other side..." the other side of what he shakes his head, "I must've called a thousand times, to tell you i'm sorry, for everything that i've done, but when I call you never seem to be home." The lie sticks in his tongue, his own heartbeat a lie making him cringe and feel bile in his throat but he's almost done.... almost done.

...

"Hey, you've reached Aaron T, leave a message or I'm not calling you back!"

"Hey man, I'm outside your room..." it burns up, the sense of false relief that has him doing this again and again. "At least I can say that I've tried, to tell you I'm sorry for breaking," Us. "But it doesn't matter, it clearly doesn't tear you apart anymore, not now that you've left," he must be happier now, he must. "Or else you would have come back."

beep

The Mailb-

click

...

"Hey, you've reached Aaron T, leave a message or I'm not calling you back!"

"Hello, how are you? It's so typical of me to talk about myself, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I never listened to you... I hope that you're well. Did you ever make it to a town where nothing ever happens?"

It's no secret, the both of us are running out of time.

"So, Hello from the other side, I must've called a thousand times, to tell you I'm sorry, for everything that I've done, but when I call you never seem to be home."

...

The clouds moving to cover the moon, at a cresent tonight waning, weakening.
"Hello," Z voice echos, something outside of himself, "At least I can say that i've tried," hollow and reverberating, "To tell you I'm sorry, for breaking your heart. But it don't matter, it clearly doesn't tear you apart anymore."

beep

"We're sorry, but the voicemail box for -Aaron T- is full, please try again later."

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have a good day!