Our Lovely Little Triangle

Peanut Butter and Jelly

Three in the morning.

It isn't a normal time for a person to wake up, but for Liz it had recently become part of her daily schedule. She slowly got out of the warm bed and looked out of the window. Thick grey clouds covered the moon, leaving streetlamps as the only source of light. She started to tremble slightly at the thought of having little to no light and started to rethink today's walk. Shaking her head to rid herself of any hesitation, she grabbed the umbrella and quietly closed the door so she didn’t wake Basil.

Rain had started to fall down in small droplets that all went pitter-patter as they hit the sidewalk. Liz unfolded the umbrella and started walking towards the town square. She had always loved the square. It had a warm and inviting feeling, just like a nice bakery had. But right now it was cold and dreary with an atmosphere like a graveyard. She tottered on the cobblestone and sat on a damp bench.

The square was usually empty at this time of day, at least that’s what Liz thought. Across the way she saw a man, probably around her age, curled up in a ball on a bench with his face buried in his arms. She looked around. There was no car, and the inn was far away, so she had no idea how he could have gotten there, or more importantly why. Quickly and quietly she got up and walked over to the man.

“You’ll catch a cold if you stay out in the rain like that,” she said sweetly to the stranger, protecting him from the rain with her umbrella. He tilted his head up so they were no longer buried in his arms. He stared at her with big, curious brown eyes that were behind huge glasses.  

“Liz? What are you doing out here?” he asked, surprised.

“Louis? I think I should be asking you the same thing!”

He set his chin on his arms and looked away. “It’s complicated,” he mumbled.

She smiled down at him sympathetically, “Well why aren’t you at the inn?”

“It’s full."

Liz sat down next to him. "So you don't have anywhere to stay?"

He shook his head.

"Do you want to stay with me?" She offered.

He stayed silent for a little, as if he was thinking, but finally he beamed at her, "Can I?"

"Of course!" She giggled. "Now let's get out of the rain. You're already soaked!"

He grinned and got up. They walked to Liz's house together under the umbrella.

"Everything has changed ever since eighth grade." He whispered, looking at all of the buildings.

"For better or for worse?" She asked as she stared at the newly built sanatorium.

He thought for a moment. "Better."

They stayed quiet after that, but it wasn't an awkward kind of quiet. It was actually soothing in Liz's opinion. She thought of the times back in sixth grade when she and Louis would do this exact same thing. Well, it wasn't the exact same thing since they never went on a walk at three o'clock in the morning, but they always loved to stroll through the village together. However, that all changed during summer vacation after eighth grade.

Louis' dad got a job in the big city just about two towns over and they had to move the day after the fireworks festival. Louis had always loved the fireworks festival. He and Liz sat together every year at the beach on the same rock that was right next to the shore. It was probably the best spot anyone could ever ask for. They would talk before the show started, but whenever the fireworks began to boom in the sky, he quickly grew quiet and watched in amazement as he turned all his focus onto the fireworks and nothing else. Louis would always have that goofy smile of his plastered on his face afterwards, but this year was different.

After the first few fireworks left as quickly as they came, Liz heard him whisper something. She turned her head and saw tears running out of his eyes and dripping into the ocean but he was still watching the fireworks light up the sky. This was the first time she ever saw him cry.

"Louis," she whispered and he looked at her. The tears started to fall faster now and she pulled her friend into an embrace.

The next day was probably the gloomiest day of her life. Liz's family helped Louis' family put their stuff in the trunk of their car. After everything was packed and ready to go, it was time for the dreaded goodbyes.

"Will I ever see you again?" Liz asked, staring at the ground so Louis wouldn't see the tears that were starting to blur her vision.

"I hope so," he began, sounding like he wanted to say a lot more. Instead he just pulled her into a hug and pat her head as she let the tears fall onto his chest. They stayed like this for what seemed like forever. At least, Liz wished they could stay like this forever. But she knew that was impossible.

"Louis," his mom called from the car. "It's time to go!"

He let go of Liz and they stared at each other. His eyes were full of pain, something that was very unusual for him. He gave a small wave and turned to go, but before he could even take a step, she grabbed a hold of his wrist.

"Wait," she began and got something out of her pocket. “Give me your hand.”

Louis did what he was told and she placed something in his palm and closed his fingers around it. Whatever it was, it felt warm and metallic. He opened his hand and he saw a thin silver chain with a charm attached that looked like a piece of bread covered in peanut butter.

Liz showed him that she was wearing hers; a piece of bread that was covered in jelly. “I couldn’t really find one that wasn’t very girly.” She smiled, and for once that week he smiled too.

“Don’t worry,” he pulled her into a final hug. “I love it.”

Liz snapped back to reality as they started walking onto her muddy lawn. She wrapped her fingers around the piece of jelly-covered bread that was hanging around her neck and smiled. 

Peanut butter and jelly go perfectly together...

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Author's note:

Well that chapter seemed too serious. And bleh, I hate writing introductions. :P

But don't worry, I don't think it's gonna continue to be this serious in later chapters, hence the humor category... ;)