21 Questions | Matt Sturniolo

24.

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★★★★★

The atmosphere wasn't as light-hearted as the previous day as everyone was dreading what was to come: parting ways for an unknown period of time. Like yesterday, Lily had woken up a bit earlier than the others as she wanted to cook one last breakfast for the triplets. She had decided to make brownies with smiley faces she'd drawn on it with white chocolate chips in order to raise her friends' mood. It seemed to work as Nick, the first to join her in the kitchen, let out a chuckle at the sight of such a cute breakfast. Lily internally celebrated her success and offered an early treat to the oldest triplet, the same way she'd done for Matt with the pancakes. The blonde quickly accepted it and immediately complimented the girl for how soft the brownies were and how they melted in the mouth. He asked her if it was fine to get the recipe as he knew his mum might like them as much as he did.

"Well, certainly good sir!" Lily smiled as she took out her cooking notebook so that Nick could take a picture of the recipe. "Keep me updated if she ever makes it, I'd love to know what she thinks."

"Of course", Nick nodded after giving Lily her notebook back.

Soon enough, everyone was awake and they were all eating together. Lily had made a ton of brownies as she wanted her friends to have enough for the ride to the airport and even for the plane journey if they wanted to. Although the idea was sweet, they were all suddenly reminded of the goodbyes they'd have to say to each other later today. To not miss a moment between the five of them, the group had decided to head early to Tampa – where the closest airport flying to Boston was – so that they'd be able to have lunch together. They all preferred to eat there rather than stay in the girls' house as it would lead to less pressure when it'd be time for the triplets to go.

~~~

When they arrived in Tampa after an hour of driving, the weather was nice enough that the five friends could have lunch outside. It was around one in the afternoon so they still had two hours before Nick, Matt and Chris were supposed to go through security. Having all been there before, they chose a café that they knew was nicely placed in the city, not too far from the airport but in a nice neighbourhood. Sensing that lunch was close to being spent in silence due to them all dreading the separation, Alex and Nick telepathically took the matter in their hands as they kept talking to lighten up the atmosphere. Like Lily's strategy earlier in the morning, it worked as everyone's mind was forgetting – for the time of lunch – that everything was temporary and fleeting, as all good things come to an end.

~~~

This was it, the moment that had absolutely not been awaited. Although Nick, Matt and Chris were happy to go home to their family and friends, they had spent such a great couple of days with the girls and having no idea when they'd see them again left a bittersweet feeling of uncertainty in the air. The plane's departure was nearing and it was definitely time for the triplets to leave Alex and Lily. Silently agreeing, Chris and Nick were the first to say goodbye to the two girls with a hug and a promise of meeting again before they told Matt that they'd go check in their suitcase so he could take his time before joining them. Understanding what they wanted to achieve, Alex then quickly bid Matt farewell and told Lily that she'd wait for her outside.
Matt and Lily were now alone, standing face to face in the airport. The scene was worthy of a rom-com as they were simply looking at each other without speaking. Lily eventually decided to break the silence as she knew that staying with Matt for too long would soon lead to her crying. Lily was often a very emotional person but she didn't want Matt to see this part of her yet.

"So, hmm... this is goodbye..."

"Yeah," Matt awkwardly replied as he was fidgeting with the straps of his backpack. "They all said it already but this is only 'see you soon', not a definite goodbye."

"True", Lily agreed. "If this was an actual 'adieu' I don't know if I'd even be capable of being there."

"One day maybe," Matt admitted. "But it's not happening today, this is only temporary."

"Who knows how long temporary can be? Even though this one was so short..."

"It's not like we'll cut ties," Matt reassured. He didn't know whether to put a hand on Lily's shoulder so his hand was now awkwardly by his side. "We'll keep texting and even call. We'll play Fortnite again and you can tell me all about those Pokemon of yours that I'll probably never catch. I'll tell you about life on the West Coast and you'll tell me about your customers. It'll be the same as before, but with the bonus of now also being friends in real life."

While he had been rambling, Matt didn't notice how Lily was now looking at the ground. One look at him and she'd immediately sob – her eyes were already watering and it was becoming hard to breathe – so she just settled on stepping over the imaginary line that was between them and hugged Matt. Surprised at the girl's action but hugging her back nonetheless, Matt was about to ask Lily if she was fine when he sensed her tightening her arms around him. He knew she was crying, or close to do so, and decided against saying anything – their actions would speak for the both of them. They stayed like that for a couple of minutes: Lily not moving an inch while Matt was occasionally rubbing her back with one of his hands as a sign of comfort. Unaware of the looks they had been getting – people thought they were a cute couple and felt sad for them that they were leaving each other, Matt and Lily eventually separated. Lily was the first to actually step back because she knew she couldn't bear to stay too close to Matt. As she saw the time on the huge clock of the airport, she sighed and put her hands in her pockets. It was their final moment and they couldn't delay it anymore.

"Goodbye Matt, until we see each other again." Lily was smiling, but Matt could tell it was fake as it wasn't as soft and pure as her usual one.

"Goodbye Lily, it's only a matter of time until it happens." Matt wasn't even able to fake a smile like the girl facing him, but his eyes said enough that nothing more was needed.

Hesitantly turning back at the same time, Matt and Lily each went towards opposite directions. Not daring to look back, they kept walking until they weren't even in the same room anymore – which wouldn't happen for quite some time.

"It's stupid, isn't it?" Lily whispered as she was now standing next to Alex. "Crying for a guy like that."

"It's not, I assure you." Alex took her best friend in her arms and this was the breaking point for Lily for she started sobbing on Alex's shoulder.

"I do feel stupid though..." Lily mumbled. Stupid for you.

★★★★★

Thank you for reading. Votes and comments are always appreciated if you like this story :)
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The story is co written w little_grapejuice