anytime soon|original [COMING SOON]

Prologue: Anytime Soon

It was often said that there were no better friends than the ones you had when you were twelve, and personally, Alex had to agree.

They would always remember the time spent with the friends that were once so dear to them. That still are so dear to them.

They remembered the school days spent completing homework late into the night; pyjama clad limbs pressed together and different answers being passed around in sleepy whispers.

They remembered the nights spent crying over bullies; how everyone would crowd around, comforting touches and murmurs being given without expectations of anything in return.

The school days weren't the most memorable, though. It was the summers that really brought a smile to Alex's face.

They still remembered how the heat felt as they peddled, biking over gravelly roads, how they all laughed so loudly, sweating, knees bloody and elbows scraped and surrounded by genuine happiness. Alex ached to have it all back.

And they would soon, they reassured themself, glancing at the date on the calendar pinned to their kitchen wall.

The date read Thursday, 21 June, 2017, underlined several times with a thick black pen.

Alex flicked at their fringe, shifting in the old, creaky chair they'd painstakingly dragged into the kitchen to the wonky wooden table just for this occasion.

Heart hammering painfully in their chest, they glanced at the clock (2:47pm) before looking down at the phone on the table, the numbers dusty and stiff with disuse.

If the others didn't keep their promise - their oath - then all that Alex remembered would only ever be memories.

They'd never be more than things to grasp at with the tips of their fingers and glance over, forever unable to properly grab and clutch to their chest, to delve into the details. And Alex didn't know if they would survive that. If they would survive with only glimpses of the joy they once had and shared.

They took a shaky breath, getting as comfortable as possible in the old creaky chair.

Anytime soon, Alex reminded themself. Anytime soon.