Distance

Chapter 1

Have you ever had that rare feeling in the summer when everything is frozen in time and you know you'll never have another? That was what it was like for me, tonight. Nothing mattered for that one hour that felt like an eternity. It was just me, the starry night, and him. Of course, there was nothing exhilarating going on. The both of us were just lying in the grass, watching the stars. From the corner of my eye, I can see him staring at me but I don't want to look. When I do I know this moment will be gone and I'll never get it back. All it takes is my name leaving his lips, "Sydney?" and I turn to look at him. His eyes sparkle like the stars in the sky and I wonder if I'm dreaming. But I'm getting ahead of myself, let's go back to the beginning.

---

"Nolan. I swear to God, if you do not stop killing me I'm turning my PlayStation off and I'm not playing with you ever again." I state bluntly through the mic, getting aggravated at his murderous tendencies. His laugh immediately bursts my eardrums, causing my frustration to rise.

"Chill bro, it's just a joke," he replies, continuing his fits of laughter. Nolan and I have been best friend's since middle school and I couldn't be more thankful to have him in my life. We use to spend almost every waking moment together at our favorite diner, 321 Café. Except ever since Nolan moved to California for his Social Media Competition, this was how we communicated when given the chance- playing video games and talking to each other through headset mics. Recently he's been extremely busy with the work he's doing and even though it cut time off from us talking, I was happy for him. "Do you still have the notifications on for when I tweet, Sydney?"

"Dude of course I do! I was your first follower, I don't plan on slacking anytime soon bud," I proclaimed. I remember the day that he made his Twitter. We were sitting, you guessed it, at 321 Café one evening when I suggested he take all his funny content there. Since then, he's been gaining hundreds of followers practically every day.

KillSwitch has joined your party.

Who in the world was this and how did they even join our party? "What's up you guys?" the mysterious person questions. Usually, when situations like this arise, I freak out and go straight to my conspiracy mode mood. Since our sophomore year scandal with Heaven, Nolan and I have been eerie to trust random strangers on PlayStation. Except this time was somehow different. I was instantly attracted to the guy's voice who flooded our headsets.

"Ah, it's going as well as it can, don't you think Sydney?" Nolan replies, with a questioning tone. Did that mean he was friends with this guy or was wondering if I knew him? I figured he would text me at any moment, telling me to kick this guy from the party. Spoiler alert: he didn't.

"Well, it would be fantastic if you'd stop murdering me every five seconds but here we are," I huff, figuring this boy will leave any minute. Who would stay in a conversation where they don't seem to know either of the people?

"This is completely random and I'm not trying to hit on you or anything, but I really love your accent," he says. Accent? I was about 99.9% positive I did not have an accent even if I did live in Kentucky. I would DIE if I sounded like half the southern people in my county. Not because I hate the way it sounds, we're just known for being hicks and I always thought I was part of the few that does not sound that way. Apparently, your girl was wrong.

"There is no way I have an accent, but thanks anyways." I push back, still not accepting the fact that I spoke any other way then I envisioned.

"I swear you have an accent. It's really cool actually," he stated. "So, do you guys have Twitter or anything like that? I'm always up for making new friends."

Before I could even reply, Nolan had beat me to it. "Not to brag, but I'm actually racking a few million followers. Sydney, on the other hand, hardly ever gets on unless it's to keep up with my tweets." Nolan responded, leaving our GTA server. "Talking about Twitter, I gotta get off here and go study for one of my classes Syd. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

Nolan left the party.

"Alright, homie." I say, confused. We usually stay on talking for hours and Nolan NEVER studies. He's one of the smartest people I know, so this definielty was not adding up. "He's right though, I'm hardly ever on Twitter anymore."

"Well, you should start back and message me sometime. I'm Mason, by the way." he says, finally revealing his name. You're probably thinking, Sydney, bro, don't follow him. Do not even waste your time, this boy? He could be a pyscho murderer. Save yourself the trouble and block him right then and there. L O L.

"Go follow me and we'll start talking. My name on there is @nearlyrad." I burst out telling him. Way to go Sydney, you just gave a complete stranger your Twitter name.

"Alright, cool. I'll send a message your way soon Sydney. Talk to you later." Mason states, leaving the party.

KillSwitch has left the party.

With that, I turned my PlayStation off and grabbed my phone awaiting the follow request. This was completely out of the ordinary of my usual days. I usually went to work, read some books, wander around town, hang with my friends, or, of course, play video games with Nolan. The only differene between what I use to do and now was that I no longer worked at PizzaLand, yes PizzaLand, and that I gave some random person my account name. What would come out of this was beyond me.

I unlock my phone expecting to see a Twitter notification but instead see a text from my friend Landon. Ever since I quit my job, we had been hanging out whenever possible. This was mainly because college was going to start soon and our endless days of seeing eachother would come to an end.

Landon: Hey, we still on for hanging tomorrow evening??

Sydney: Nope, I decided I no longer enjoy your company and would rather spend my day alone, in bed. :p

Landon: Woww. Okay, that's fine. Guess you won't get to test out my new camera then...

Sydney: ... You're joking. Did it finally come in?!

Landon: It did, too bad you "no longer enjoy my company"

Sydney: Say no more, I'll meet you at Roasted around 2:00 p.m. tomorrow.

I laugh to myself and plug my phone on charge. Even if I never wanted to see Landon again, it wouldn't be possible. We'd been neighbors when we were both very young and spent every waking moment together. I guess some thing don't change, huh? I set my phone on the nightstand and turn my lamp off, laying in bed. As I stare at the ceiling, my eyes begin to close and I find myself asleep within minutes.