Knights Were Known For Healing

 It was nine at night and all I could do was stand there and wait for her. The chilled wind hit my left side and shivered me to my core. I wasn't all too prepared for this nightly encounter but on such short notice; I cleaned up well. I didn't think my entire attire would basically ignite the fires of passion in her but maybe a guy with a tattered blue hoodie and some pajama bottoms made her weak in the knees. What seemed like forever, only lasted a few more minutes before the seemingly worn out door slowly opened. From what I could see, it was dark and there was a faint crackling noise from an old tv in the background. I always knew she was kind of eccentric but this was something else. I set my gaze a tad bit lower to see a mess of blonde choppy hair and its owner. "Hey, Rach, why'd you call me so late?" My cheeks enflamed as her gaze met mine. She didn't answer me and I could see why. Her mascara was a mess and her eyes were all puffy. I didn't think I'd see her in this state when I came over.

"Hey," her voice dejected and a bit raspy from, I guess, her hours of crying. "Hey..." I answered back. Rachel's eyes slowly looked me up and down as her lips slowly turned into a smile but she tried not to laugh. I raised an eyebrow at her and laughed softly. "What's so funny, huh?" She suddenly regained her composure as she swung the door a bit more. My gaze quickly shifted over to now the exposed room. As I said before, it was dark but I could tell that she hasn't cleaned up in at least a week. She had clothes strewn all across the floor and plates and cup noodles stacked in little piles in certain areas around the room. I could see a small section of her kitchen from here and the sink was already piled to the brim. This all felt like a dream to me since her apartment wasn't always like this. There was a distinct stench in the entire apartment but I couldn't pinpoint it anyways. "Hey, are you listening?" Rachel's voice snapped me back to reality. "What?" She rolled her eyes and huffed as she turned around and stormed back into her dark apartment. I knew this was my cue to enter in and follow after her. I stepped in like I did many times before ever since we met.

I could feel the air shift as I stepped in. The feeling of depression and sadness was lingering in the air. I shut the door behind me and locked it. From her living room, I heard the sound of springs being compressed by something heavy. I sighed as I knew sooner or later that I'd have to address the elephant in the room. Trying my hardest, I navigated my way around the pigsty of an apartment she lived in. "Rach, why haven't you cleaned up?" All I got was silence from her which wasn't much of a shocker. "Rach, come on talk to me please." As I neared the living room, I could faintly hear the sound of Friends playing. "Rach?" I softly called as I peered in. She was scrunched up in a ball with a blanket wrapped around her. I went over and sat beside her without a word. We just spent hours in silence as we just binge watched endless episodes of Friends.

Somehow between episodes, I got under the covers and we were wrapped within each other. It honestly felt like a normal Friday night for us. Although that changed ever since she started dating this guy named Brad. (Okay, I forgot his name but he was such a douchebag that I couldn't take the time to remember his name. I only tolerated him because Racheal wanted me to.) I suggested that we watch a movie after the last episode and she silently complied. The silence was comforting on many levels but it also created this awkward tension in the air for me. I would never admit it to her but how long has it been? We met at the beginning of senior year in high school and now we're in our junior year in college. So much has changed since then and it's kind of hard to pinpoint exactly when I started to develop a crush on her. In the time I've known her, she's been with several guys and it's really cliché on how the guy best friend hears all the problems. I silently chuckled to myself as I looked over at her. Even by the light of the tv, she looked beautiful. I don't know what's with me but her blonde hair was amazing in every single type of lighting there ever was.