"Everything is so temporary," he muttered, gazing into the endless night sky.
A cool breeze rolls by and I shiver, turning to my side and looking at him. He seemed so distant and in thought. I felt warm, although it was probably in the low fifties. "What do you mean?" I ask.
"Exactly that," he says, not looking away from the sky above him. "Everything is temporary. Nothing is forever. All that you have ever known comes and goes. Even I'll come and go, ya know?"
"Yeah," I respond, gently taking his hand into mine. I lace my fingers into his and feel the warmth of his skin. "I see what you mean."
I paused and looked back into the night sky. My parents would have been worried if they were home, but they had both gone out for a date night. I snuck away from the house and met up with Henry to go on a late night adventure. Since I had known him, we had always gone on small adventures, regardless of distance and time of day. We were laying in a patch of grass behind the houses tonight, away from the street lights. It was a perfectly clear night and the stars were beautiful.
Letting out a light sigh, I continued with what I was saying. "It's kind of bittersweet, though."
"Oh?" Henry prompted.
"It is," I continued. "Temporary sadness is fine, because then you can be happy later, but temporary happiness is sucky because it never lasts..."
My voice trailed as I began to go to much darker thoughts. It was getting late and my anxiety was settling. I was thinking about what had just been said. If everything truly was temporary, then maybe his love for me was also temporary, and I didn't want to image a scenario where he didn't love me. I had always loved him, and our relationship had gone through so much before he was finally ready to be in an official relationship with me. I was constantly worried that he would change his mind.
I felt a light pressure on my hand and looked down. Henry was squeezing my hand gently. Turning my attention to his face, I saw that his eyes were closed. "Whatever you're thinking," he spoke, "Stop."
I stared at him for another moment, then relaxed some. He was right. I was just compulsively worrying about things that didn't matter at the time. "Henry, I love you,"
He smiled and nodded. "I love you, too. Forever," He was getting tired. I ignored my conscious, which reminded me that he had just said forever didn't exist.
"And always," I giggled, looking back into the sky.
A shooting star zipped by. When I was younger, I used to make so many wished. Whether it be 11:11 or a meteor passing by, I would wish. Now, seeing another meteor cross the sky, I had nothing to wish for. My life wasn't ideal by any means, I was just satisfied in the way things were at the moment.
Henry's grip softened. I glanced at him and saw his mouth slightly ajar, eyes closed, facing me. I studied the face that had become so familiar to me the past few years. This was the face that has been there for me since we became friends. He was one of the very few people who had stayed with me through troubling times. I have been told before that I was someone who was hard to love, however looking at his resting face, I was so thankful that he had managed to put up with me for so long. His face was my home. I had invested so much into him, and he has invested so much into me. My family used to think I was just being ignorant when I would cry over him. At times, I would believe them. I had spent countless tears over him, however watching him as he slept made it all worth it.
Ten minutes or so passed in silence. I studied the stars and kept hold of his hand. I was zoning in and out, allowing the environment to calm me down. I was probably falling asleep, but was then pulled towards the love of my life. My eyes shot open and I flinched. The movement was so unexpected because I had thought that Henry was still asleep. His lips met mine and he kissed me softly, still clearly tired.
"You're my everything," he whispered against my lips. I kissed him again, feeling a surge of pure emotion that was only possible when I was around him. I felt warm from head to toe, and although the wind was picking up again, I didn't notice the cool air whisking around us.
He drew his lips from mine, and even though I leaned in to kiss him more, he instead kissed my cheek. "Don't get carried away," he chuckled.
I was thankful for the night, for I was blushing and didn't want him to notice. He cupped his hands on my face, and once again chuckled. "It's like a furnace,"
"Shut up," I joked, using sarcasm to try and hide the fact that I was blushing even more. "Why can't we get carried away?" I asked, getting back to his previous statement.
Instead of responding, he just sat up, looking into my eyes. His gaze made me feel so many different, indescribable ways. I frowned slightly. As one of his hands fell from my face, the other cupped my chin. He tilted my head to where I was forced to make eye contact. His eyes softened and he stood up, hand falling slowly from my face.
"Let's go home, okay?" he asked, offering his hand.
I took it and he helped me up. I couldn't help but to smile as we walked back towards the houses, where we would have to go back to sleep. I realized that this moment was over, and Henry's statement about everything being temporary was true. We had such a beautiful night on the grass, yet it was already just a memory.
I moved closer to him, interlocking my arm in his as we left the comfort of a world that was just us, feeling the bittersweet feeling of temporality washing over me.
