together - septiplier

one

"Oi! Move it!" A small, green-haired Irishman blinked his bright blue eyes as a short, elderly little woman pushed past him in the supermarket.

The Irishman good-naturedly tipped his cap to her. "Top 'o da morning to ya, Mrs. Murphy."

The old woman bustled past him, but the green-haired lad caught the slightest hint of a smile on her weathered yet kindly face. Irish people didn't actually talk like that nowadays, so it was a running gag between the two neighbors — the two often came across each other in the small Irish town of Athlone and the young Irishman enjoyed making her laugh.

Jack chuckled softly to himself before quickly turning back around to the shelf full of unhealthy potato chips. His blue eyes scanned the row momentarily before he settled on a shiny blue bag of the potato junk food, grabbing it and striding towards the cashier. He wanted to get home as soon as possible.

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Once he had paid and left the little local supermarket, Jack shouldered his small backpack and pulled out his slim smartphone, a silver colored little thing that felt like one of his only connections to the outside world.

You see, besides the fact that he lived halfway across the world from all of his friends, he lived in the small town of Athlone. It felt like he was literally in the middle of nowhere — but he couldn't bring himself to move away from the place he had lived the majority of his life, just like that.

Enveloped in a gray cloud of his own dissatisfaction, Jack slipped his phone into his pocket without turning it on before beginning the short walk back to his apartment.

As he walked, Jack called out greetings to those he was familiar with — almost everyone in the town — instinctively. They all smiled and returned the greetings, and the young man was happy to see the joy he brought them. But he was still unhappy on the inside. Why?

Usually he didn't give much thought to the fact that he lived so far away. But recently it had really been bringing him down. Things like texting, Skype, and his YouTube channel (go sub to Jacksepticeye #spon) really helped him forget his isolation, but they didn't replace the comforting touch of a pat on the back, or the warmth of a hug from a real person. A certain someone came to mind. His brows furrowed slightly, but Jack continued walking.