Starkid One Shots

Sogblim- A Sign

Jeff woke up with a start, sitting up and looking around him. He couldn't take it, that nightmare was one of the worst he ever had. He fumbled for his phone in the darkness and picked it up.

3AM.

Jeff mindlessly stared at his phone, and ultimately decided to dial Rachael. He at least needed to make sure she was okay, that she was safe.

It was late, but he knew he had to check on her. It was unreal for him calling her his 'ex-wife'. They said they would keep in touch after they went their separate ways, but there wasn't a single call or text from each other.

And that was six months ago.

She picked up after a ring, and his lips curved up into a small smile.

"Hey."

"Hey," came her voice from her end of the call. Jeff could hear it in her voice that things weren't going great for her either, "How did you know I was awake?"

"Lucky guess?" Jeff fiddled with the corner of his sheets, "I missed you."

Rachael answered, "Missed you too."

He smiled, knowing she wasn't mad at him anymore. And they just sat there, enjoying the silence. It was nice to hear each other's voices, after six months of dodging each other in Starbucks whenever they were there and avoiding each other's work areas.

"How're things going for you?" Jeff finally spoke up.

He could hear the bedsheets shuffle from Rachael's end as she replied, "Just fine. And you?"

"Boring."

She let out a small chuckle, and he smiled even wider. That was the same laugh he fell in love with, and he hadn't heard it since they decided they needed to split.

"Define boring," she teased him.

Jeff playfully pulled a thinking face, "I'm at work all the time, and when I'm off, there's nothing to look forward to..."

"Me too."

Just talking with Rachael on the phone calmed Jeff down. He relaxed and found himself laughing for the first time in a long while. Why he gave up on their friendship, or why he gave up on them, he suddenly found it stupid.

"Wanna meet up sometime?" he blurted out, "I mean, just as friends..."

"Best friends?" he could hear a glimmer of hope in her voice.

"Best friends."

~~~

Jeff sat down in the corner of Starbucks, warming his hands with a hot latte. Knowing Rachael, he already got her a double chocolate chip frap with extra whipped cream and a chocolate muffin. She walked in, beautiful as ever, and sat down in front of Jeff.

"You remembered," she chuckled, broke off a piece of the muffin and popped it into her mouth.

Jeff laughed along and wanted to grab her hand from across the table, but he remembered what happened, and decided to keep his distance.

"So I need to catch up," he said and took a sip from his cup, "What's been happening with you?"

Rachael shrugged, "Same old, I go to work and get home, eat, watch Netflix and go to bed. I go out with the girls sometimes."

"That's nice..."

"So what about you? Any girls?"

Jeff tried to lighten the mood, "Oh no, we're not in that stage of our relationship where we can talk about each other's love lives."

"Oh come on," she giggled, "We're there."

He took a deep breath and looked down, "No girls, I'm not that shallow."

"It's been six months..."

"Well anyway, what about you? Hiding something from me?" he joked.

"Mmm let me think. No."

Jeff let out an obvious sigh of relief, a little too obvious. He went to Starbucks wanting to keep his distance, but with her, everything just felt so right.

"Wanna take a walk in the park? Like old times?" Rachael offered.

He grinned, and stood up, "Let's go."

They walked out of Starbucks and into the chilly October air. Rachael was drinking a frap, and of course, she was freezing, so she unknowingly slipped her hand into Jeff's, out of habit. He was taken aback for a second, before he relaxed and squeezed her hand.

Rachael retracted her hand back to herself almost immediately, "Sorry... I shouldn't have."

"It's fine. Friends can hold hands right?"

She forced an awkward smile, "Yeah, guess it's okay."

They strolled in the park like they did before everything crumbled apart, Jeff eventually took her hand again, and she didn't even flinch. He took her home after the little 'meet up', kissed the top of her head and left, giving her a warm smile. He mentally slapped himself after that, for him taking down the walls he put up around Rachael. But then he realized, the wall was down for a reason. With her, everything felt so in place once again.