Until We Meet Again

1.

I am woken up from my much needed nap by a buzzing next to my ear. I don't remember setting an alarm up before dozing off, but i still search for my phone who's apparently laying under my pillow.

Once it's in my hand, I open my eyes slightly to see a call from my friend Tao. I pick up and I am immediately met with an angry face.

Fuck, it was a FaceTime. And now there's no way I can lie to my friend about being on my way or–

"You're very late." Tao says with a sigh, he must've figured everything out just from my swollen eyes and messed up hair. And most probably from the pillows that sit so comfortably under my head.

"Charlie, for fuck's sake. Do you ever sleep at night?"

I can sense he's very much annoyed, but also trying not to go too hard on me. He knows what I go through on the daily and he probably feels bad enough.

I actually barely sleep at night.

"I fell asleep. I'm sorry." I say while rubbing my left eye. I check the time swiftly, and see that it's 7:03 PM. I do not even bother getting up because I know I would never make it in time to see the movie we were supposed to watch together.

"No shit?" he replies and gives me a look before pouting when he catches my reaction. He knows I didn't mean to, and he knows I would never miss our friends nights without telling him about it beforehand.

We used to have our weekly nights together over at some of our places, but my therapist suggested I try to go out a bit more. So we try to go to the cinema at least once a month.

"It's okay," he tells me. "it's just gonna be me and Elle." he says while rolling his eyes, and I see Elle's hand come in contact with his shoulder. "Ouch! You— Charlie, help I'm being beaten up by my girlfriend!"

I chuckle and shake my head, sitting up to try and wake myself up slightly more.

"So you're not coming, but you also can't complain about us spoiling the movie for you later." he tells me and I chuckle again, shaking my head.

"Don't worry, I won't."

Elle's face pops up on my screen and she waves at me. She looks so pretty with her braided hair, and her red lipstick. She always looks pretty.

It feels nice to see them together again. Him and Elle dated for two years before deciding to stop everything due to their university choices. They thought it would be smarter to break up before getting hurt at all.

Tao was a mess for weeks after that, so seeing him back with her just warms my heart. I knew they would be Endgame anyways.

"Hi Elle!" I say with a smile and she says it back. "Don't worry about the spoilers, you're allowed to spoil it for me since I ruined our movie night. Go have fun, I wasn't feeling like third wheeling anyway."

"Oh come on!" Tao says while rolling his eyes. "James could've come too!"

"James is out with his friends tonight. So, no." I tell him and catch a glance at myself on my screen, trying to fix my hair who has in fact gotten pretty long. I'll admit it, I do need a haircut. But work has been kicking my ass, and I honestly haven't been feeling great mentally speaking. Getting a haircut wasn't my first priority.

I should definitely cut it, though.

"Maybe we can meet him and his friends after the movie?" he tells me with a smile and wiggling of eyebrows. "Try and text him and keep us updated, okay?" he says and i nod.

My friends like James. Not as much as they liked Nick, but they do like him.

"Of course I'll ask him!" I tell him and blow kisses to my phone. "Have fun, lovebirds! I love you!" i say as Tao asks for two tickets to see 'the black phone'.