TXT - the distance between us

2 - solace

suddenly standing up, soobin tightened his apron. "you must be hungry," he said as he walked to the back. "i wont be long."
jene watched as he walked away, she also saw the pile of dishes in the sink and a list of receipts and ingredients scattered everywhere. she felt an immense amount of gratitude for soobin's acceptance of her despite the underlying feelings of uncertainty and guilt that washed over her. as she waited, jene looked around the diner with curiosity, taking in the unfamiliarity around her. the worn out booths, the retro jukebox, the sweet but slight bitter scent of coffee lingering in the air- it's sweetness comforting her from the chaos outside.
distracting her from her daydreams, jenes attention was directed back on soobin as she saw him cautiously walking to the table, balancing with him a plate and two drinks. he then placed the plate which had a sandwich and fries on it in front of the girl as well as a strawberry milkshake for her to drink. "thanks soobin but i don't really have any cash on me." sighed jene. "it's on the house." he smiled at her to which she thanked him again.

soobin glanced outside the window as the girl started to eat the food which he had given her.
"so...what are you up to now?" he asked quietly as he still stared at the empty streets outside. The glass cold against her skin, jene took a long sip before speaking. "i've been around- i dont know... just surviving." soobin nodded as he frowned slightly. "what about you?" she asked him the same question. soobin sighed before answering "well i've been working at the diner for a bit now. going to college too. kinda stuck trying to figure life out at the moment- but im trying." he shrugged before briefly glancing over at the girl. "speaking of that, i noticed that you havent been to college in a while. everything okay?" jene put down her sandwich after hearing soobins question. despite the silence, she didn't respond to him straight away, instead opting to hum a simple tune as she thought about how she'd reply to soobin. "in all honesty soobin, i left home. i didn't know what i was meant to do... i saved up all my money and have been living in a motels so i figured that school was the least of my worries." soobin nodded with slightly pouty lips in empathy and understanding of jenes experience. "i know what you mean," he started. "i was so lost after we graduated. i decided to take a gap year to figure out what i wanted to do but my parents- they..." the boy let out a sigh. "they kicked me out for being 'a waste of space'." in hearing this, jene's mouth opened slightly: she'd tried to respond yet nothing came out. she'd found herself looking down at soobin's hands which were restless as they fiddled with eachother, picking at the callouses on his cold skin. "i'm sorry i had no idea..." jene expressed as she furrowed her eyebrows to which soobin shook his head assuring that everything was fine. "but you have somewhere to stay now though right?" she asked with concern as she leaned in a little closer to the tall boy. at her evident concern, soobin couldnt help but smile as the corners of his mouth slightly curled up. "yeah i saved enough money to rent a small room. my friend and i are staying there." he affirmed with a firm nod. after a short but comfortable silence, soobin followed up with a question regarding jene's experiences "are you not close with your family either?". jene shook her head swiftly as she took another sip of her strawberry milkshake. "no close friends then?" he asked curiously to which jene shook her head again. "yeah it's a little lonely. nothing i'm not used to though." she answered as she stared at the fries on her plate which were turning cold. soobin smiled a little as he met the girls eyes, "i'm happy we reconnected though," jene smiled at this. "let's be lonely together." despite the melancholy surrounding the situation, the pair still smiled at the idea, finding solace in the concept of sharing each others pain. as the clock continued to tick, the air around them grew warm like a warm blanket offering the security which society and family had failed to ensure.

authors note: thankyou for reading! please vote and i always appreciate comments :D