seasons. : a fireafy fic

chapter ten

The sunset painted the sky in an array of stunning purple and pink hues. The setting sun reflected off the tips of the large, gray clouds, outlining each of them with a thread-thin golden glow.

Firey looked at the leaves on the muddy ground, frowning as he kicked through them with his high tops like a toddler.

He knew autumn was here. That meant it was getting colder. He wasn't ready for the season to change again. The nights he went out to tag would be freezing cold soon. He lamented not savoring his time spent in the warm nights of the summer.

He frowned and pulled a can of spray paint out of his black bag. He shook it twice, and started to spray the word "BURN" onto a nearby wall, adorning the letter "B" with some devil horns.

"You seem grumpy," Coiny's voice sounded from behind him.

"Hey," Firey said, greeting his friend. He sprayed more finishing touches onto his design.

"Hey," Coiny greeted back. He pulled back his red beanie, allowing some copper shaded bangs to fall into his face. "Put away the spray paint. I'm here to hang out, not break laws."

"Sorry," Firey mumbled, apologetic. He honestly didn't plan to tag at that moment. The urge just washed over him quite suddenly. The desire to spray paint graffiti always overwhelmed him when his mood went down.

"Don't apologize to me," Coiny chastised. "Apologize to the world."

Firey rolled his eyes, shoved his spray can back into his bag, looked up at the sky, and shouted, "I'm sorry, World!"

Coiny exhaled sharply, bemused by Firey's antics.

Firey looked at him and shrugged.

"Seriously though," Coiny continued. "What's got you down?"

Firey sighed and looked at his bag of spray cans. "I'm not actually in a bad mood. I'm happy, I think."

"Happy?" Coiny looked at Firey like he was losing it. "Then why the hell were you vandalizing a wall?"

Firey crossed his arms, looking away from Coiny's disapproving stare and deciding to train his eyes on his friend's black oxford shoes. "The weather, man. You know it gets to me. It reminds me that the seasons are changing, and that I'm fucking aging."

"Ah," Realization spread through Coiny's face. "You think you haven't accomplished much?"

Firey frowned and gave his friend a curt nod, now looking at his own shoes.

"You're still in college," Coiny exclaimed, almost laughing. "You have your whole life ahead of you still! Yeah, we're stuck here now, but soon we'll get the jobs, we'll get the houses, and we'll get the wives. Don't be down about the future man, it's such a buzzkill."

The answer left Firey feeling a bit offended.

Not really.

Firey mentally adjusted his vocabulary.

The answer left Firey feeling a bit...incomplete. Firey always felt Coiny didn't understand his deeper frustrations. He tried his best, but they were two different people, after all.

"Thanks for the talk, man." Firey decided he wanted to take the conversation in a different direction. He really didn't want to talk about aging right now.

Coiny scoffed and said nothing, instead opting to look at his phone.

"By the way," Firey started. He only now just realized he never told Coiny about Leafy. "I'm hanging out with a girl tomorrow."

Coiny dropped his phone.

"What?" The shock in his voice was evident. "You're talking to a girl? You're getting a social life again?"