• For The First Time • (GxG)

Ch. 27: Tears Dry On Their Own

Omniscient

In Birmingham, Alabama, one member of the group was amidst her family while in the cozy setting of her childhood home's living room.

A Christmas tree resided in the corner, family photos hung on the wall, her untouched bedroom upstairs, and her car that she'd left was outside in the long driveway of her hometown suburban home. Smiling, while doing her best to distract herself from the results that were keeping her up almost every night, she played with her baby niece as her mother baked pastries in the two-story home's spacious modern kitchen. The house was filled with an aroma she never wanted to forget, and that California could never even come close in comparison.

In Miami, Florida, two members of the group were enjoying each other's company in the nostalgic setting of their old favorite spot during their last year of high school.

The basement den of Isaiah's house. Not his childhood home, for his contact moving around Florida from city to city as a kid caused him to never really have one. Although this one, this one was by far his favorite, making him glad that it was also his last. Due to all the memories made and all the unforgettable times had. But especially due to the girl sitting next to him, her presence providing him comfort the way it always had as they watched old movies and enjoyed the largest bucket of snacks that they could find and smuggle.

In Queens, New York, a now college kid that used to be his community's basketball star exited the subway with his little brother at his side.

Their guards were up as they always had to be in a state like New York as they made headed to their favorite pizza place, the one that never failed to make their day better as kids and was seen as a nostalgic historical monument to them now. Away from the distance of their father, even while he would be in the same room as them, the two laughed and joked as if no time had passed. Although the facial hair coming onto his brother's face and the matured structure forming on his own told this group member that time was indeed flying by.

In Nashville, Tennessee, another member was out at lunch with her mother and older sister, the countryside surrounding them and their small yet busy hometown.

Being back home appeared to be going better than expected, too. Her sister had yet to pass spiteful judgement onto her for choosing a different path in life, and her mother had yet to comment on her appearance or relationship status or more open-mindset, in comparison to her family's. They had yet to team up on her or belittle her or disapprove of every little thing she told them. And it all left her thinking- as she enjoyed her food and laughed with them instead of arguing for once- that maybe this time will be different...

In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the hometown friends of one member were teasing her about all that had happened since she'd been gone for school.

For the most part, it was because of the fact that she now had a girlfriend, who used to be her best friend, and especially because they knew about her vow to never date a girl again after the trauma of the last one. Sitting in a chain restaurant, with four to a table including her, they each caught up and debriefed one by one, for they were once ever so close and the distance hadn't done much to change it. Having been a social butterfly of sorts in high school, this member had friends from all over, and from every type of clique it seemed. Given that they all met in the unfair confinement of a theater project their sophomore year, it explained why one of them was a nerd through and through, one was a diva, and another was a musical geek, the other herself having a mixture of interests all combined into one.

And at last, in San Francisco, California, the last group member of the scattered seven was checking herself in the passenger seat mirror of her girlfriend's car, given that they were arriving at the girl's childhood home.