Miss you, not.

epilogue

remnants of the past

"Hey."

"Oh, hey."

"I thought you went to school for, y'know, the prom that is happening, like tonight?" Brett took a seat next to Eddy.

"Yeah uh, remember I told you I'd ask Cindy to go with me?" Eddy had been confident then. Perhaps too confident. He didn't think Brett would come over to check up on him so now he had to embarrassingly admit to his best friend that he didn't have a date to the prom and had given up entirely on participating in the event.

"Yes, and judging by how you're here, eating a tub of ice cream alone in the backyard, listening to Listz's Forgotten Romance, I'm guessing it didn't go well?"

"Nope." Eddy replied in a mock enthusiastic voice, easing his disappointment with sarcasm.

"Ah, well. It's her loss." Brett said, as a matter of factly. Then again, there was a slight sense of relief in the small of his heart at the news of her refusal.

"Aw, thanks buddy." Eddy crooned as he played with the melting Ben and Jerry's in his hand. He was a little touched at his effort to make him feel better.

Brett knew how excited Eddy was for the dance. How he had been crushing on Cindy since the start of the school year. The sighs he made as she passed by the hallway. The painfully obvious stares. He had seen it all. Eddy's crushes tend to come and go. They were fleeting but Cindy looked like she was responding to the signs he was giving, alas she chose some jock over him. Orchestra kids were thought to be nerds so they weren't that popular. Popularity was overrated anyway. High school just sucked in general.

Eddy was such a sweet and likeable boy. Anyone rejecting him would be a fool, Brett thought.

Brett wasn't a people person so he never really joined these type of events. But Eddy lived for these things. It was too sad to see him looking all dejected like this. He was listening to Listz unironically for God's sake.

He reached for Eddy's phone and changed the music, from the dreary piano piece to something more romantic.

Brett stood up and cleared his throat. He did a little curtsy and held out his hand. "Would you do the honours of sharing this dance with me, m'lord?"

Eddy chuckled at his impersonation of an exaggerated British accent. He took the extended hand, and let himself be pulled right into Brett's arms. "Gladly."

They swayed to the music, not caring about their mismatched steps, or the lack of elegance in the settings. The moon peeked through the clouds and shone dimly. It was only them and the stars above. It was perfect.

The music gradually picked up its tempo and they spun around, giggling like children, letting themselves go wild. As the music ends dramatically, they fell down onto the grass, laughing as they catch their breath.

"That was worlds better than dancing to some ears deafening EDM in a packed school gym."

"The pleasure is all mine." Brett looked over and winked.

For a moment, they laid in silence, enjoying each other's company.

"Thanks." Eddy said quietly.

"What for?"

"Well, for just being yourself."

"What are you talking about, weirdo." Brett laughed. Eddy could trace his smile underneath the moonlight and the streetlights. Brett looked dazzling somehow. His heart throbbed in ways he never felt before. The butterflies he felt when he saw his crushes couldn't even compare to the intensity of this sensation.

Oh, that was when I—