querencia ✧ diego lainez

dos

i celebrated quietly.

eventually, the game ended and i went back up to my room. i set my phone down and grabbed one of the many romance books that i had compiled over the last year from my shelf. i grabbed my headphones and placed them over my head.

i flipped to the first page, immersing myself into whatever was happening. i liked to completely envision myself as being apart of the story.

hours had gone by and i didn't even realize it until my mom began to yell my name from downstairs.

i checked the time on my phone.

"6 pm.. you're kidding." i whispered to myself, already halfway down the stairs. it was a miracle that i hadn't broken a bone already.

i stepped down onto the cold tile and heard my mom conversing with somebody in the kitchen.

"mom, who are you talking t—...." i paused in shock, my eyes widening and my mouth even opened into an O shape.

there he was, Diego Lainez.

it had to be some sick joke, right? maybe i was thinking too much about the game earlier to the point that my eyes were playing tricks on me now. i rubbed them and looked back up. he was still there.

minutes had gone by and i was still standing in the same position with the same expression, except my mouth was closed now.

i just couldn't wrap my head around it. after all these years, diego was finally back. after years of just seeing him through a screen... he was here. in front of me.

i didn't even notice the look that my mom was giving me.

"y/n.. no seas grosera. ven a saludarlo." my mom said in a harsh tone, earning a smile from diego.

"i see nothing has changed," he let out a laugh, then he looked at me again.

i inched slowly towards him, still leaving a pretty good amount of distance between us.

"hey diego... it's been a while." i said in a shaky tone, still clearly surprised by what was happening.

"it has, hasn't it?" he replied back, taking a look around the kitchen that we were all in.

that same sparkle appeared in his eye, the one that i had seen so many years ago. his laugh still sounded the same. it didn't seem like he grew much either...

i laughed out loud to my own thought.

"let me in on the joke idiot, i want to know too." his voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

"it's nothing, really. i was just remembering something funny. do you want to sit down?" by this point, my mom had already returned back to cooking.

diego made his way to the living room, taking the spot besides mine.

"you seem awkward y/n. it's me, diego. your best friend of basically 100 years. you know, the one that you witnessed break his leg while trying out a new trick on the field in middle school?"

i laughed, all the hilarious memories that we had came rushing back to my head but the mood quickly changed the moment i began to speak.

"yeah diego, i know. it's just that it's been a while and i'm surprised that you decided to come back now after all these years. it's not that i didn't want you to come back or anything but-..." i stopped myself from going on whatever rant i was about to start.

"pues la verdad es que te extrañe mucho." i finished off my sentence a different way, realizing that diego didn't need to hear any of that other stuff.

"yo también, y/n. let me just say that practicing with a professional coach is way more different than practicing with a girl that has 0 experience on the field."

i rolled my eyes at his comment, attempting to come up with an insult for him but my mind was blank.

"mejor cállate diego. no has crecido desde la ultima vez que te vi."

diego faked his shocked expression, flicking the side of my head as he got up from the couch.

i could hear him helping my mom in the kitchen with the finishing touches for the tamales.

i was still in shock, i'm not going to lie. it felt strange seeing diego after all this time and it was even stranger realizing that he hadn't changed a bit, like i was expecting him to.

"it's so nice to have you back diego, i definitely missed having your help around the kitchen. la pinche y/n no le gusta ayudarme."

my mom's comment made me groan out loud, definitely not missing the part where diego would constantly kiss up to my mom just to make me mad.

"mami, i can hear you!" i said loudly, i only received diego's laugh as a response.

i headed up the stairs and entered my bedroom, leaving the door open just in case mom called my name.

minutes later, diego was leaning against the doorway while he inspected the inside of my room.

"the only thing that has changed in this house is your room. you like to read now?" he nodded towards the shelf that had perfectly lined up books on top of it.

"yeah, i started a while ago."

diego walked over to the shelf, picking out a random book and reading the back of it. then he proceeded to look at all of the book titles, making strange facial expressions.

"romance, really? switch it up a little. you ever tried to read a different genre?" diego placed the books back in their normal position.

"you really came into my room just to bother me?" i scoffed out loud and leaned against my pillow.

"it's what i do best. besides kicking a ball around..."

i laughed at his comment, patting the spot besides me.

diego walked into the room and took a seat next to me, making himself comfortable as if the room belonged to him, an annoying habit of his.

there was sort of a silence after that. but not an uncomfortable one. diego lived a busy life so i figured he didn't get much moments like these.

i sat there, staring at the wall. there was so much i wanted to say but also nothing at the same time.

eventually i heard my mom call our names which meant that dinner was ready.

we both made our way downstairs and helped my mom in whatever she needed us to help with.

the tamales were delicious, as always. we spent the whole time talking, but it was mostly my mom and diego catching up. he was definitely the favorite.. even if i was her daughter.

"y/n, we should hang out tomorrow. it's been a while since my schedule has been cleared. they opened up a new park around here, i heard. we could go and play like the old days."

i nodded in agreement, after all, i didn't have anything else to do. plus it would be nice to hang out with my best friend after years and my mom didn't seem to mind which meant she didn't have any errands for me to run tomorrow.

"it's a plan then. ill be back tomorrow by 12 pm. if you don't hurry up, ill leave without you." diego said goodbye to my mom, waving goodbye to me as well as he made his way out the door.

i went back upstairs to my room, processing what had happened today. it was definitely a lot... but i felt some strange sense of comfort knowing that my best friend was within reach now.