It's Not Three Inches With You

Chapter 13

Max

The moment lasted longer than it should have, the both of us staring into each other's eyes.

Neither of us said another word, the waves lapping the shore that spread endlessly out in front of us.

The whole world felt impossibly large; as if El and I were the only two people left, sitting right here on this bench that once, a long time ago, I had sat.

Back then, I was happy. Now happiness was something hard to find. It hid in glimpses of memories and times that were not the present.

To find it, I had to travel into my past, because the truth is, you never realize what your happiest memory is, or sometimes, even when you are happy until it is that, nothing more than a memory.

Until the people that feature so prominently in your memories, in the times that you are truly happy, are gone.

Or have changed.

Changed so much that it feels as if they are gone.

And I suppose in some ways they are.

They're no longer the same person you used to know. Maybe they used to smile and laugh and shoot sarcastic remarks with a mischievous grin on their face.

Then one day, something happens.

Somebody dies, or something awful happens or sometimes...sometimes that person just grows up.

It seems like such a small gesture, only taking seconds to occur, but the truth is, something as short as a second can change a life.

But sometimes the change is something beautiful, the gesture of almost dreamlike quality.

Maybe it's a kiss, or a night spent with somebody you have loved for so long.

Maybe it's a word, or a sentence even.

Or maybe, maybe its simply having somebody next to you.

Maybe that, is true happiness.

And perhaps one day, I would find that.

The second that changed my life.

I squeezed her hands tighter, watching with the desperate need to wipe away the transparent tears that fell down her cheeks.

It was perfect.

So, so perfect.

Slowly, El sat up, wiping away her tears and looked at me, sadness and another emotion that I couldn't quite place set behind her liquidy dark eyes.

Then, she tightened her grip on my hand and pulled me back through the blur of colour and sound that was the boardwalk.

We didn't run, but we didn't walk either. It was a comfortable, dare I say...romantic pace.

Then we began to run.

The wind whipped my hair in front of my face so that I couldn't see, but I didn't care.

Sounds and colours flashed past me and I laughed.

I laughed.

And so did El.

Together, we raced through the streets that I had once lived in, the same streets that I had walked almost every day for the first twelve years of my life.

Stumbling up to my doorstep, we tripped over each other, laughing hysterically.

"Max," El choked out through fits of laughter.

"Keys."

I fished through the plastic bag that was drooped over my wrist.

"Uh, El." I laughed and she laughed too.

"What?"

"I don't have the keys."

The two of us burst out in hysterics, for no apparent reason.

Footsteps approached the door and my father opened it.

"Girls?" he asked and we laughed harder.

"What the hell is so funny?" he asked, confused as he opened the door for us to enter.

"Thanks." El panted and I giggled harder, hanging onto her arm so that I wouldn't fall over from all the laughing.

My father just shook his head, smiling as we traipsed upstairs to my room.

(A/N: So, I said I would post again and here I am :) Honestly I have so much unpublished work, its crazy lmao- Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I know it was short but oh well :) Stay safe and totally tubular and I'll see you in the next one xx)