Someone To Lean On

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THE WHOLE NEIGHBOURHOOD IS ALMOST quiet nowadays. Almost, since there are still the sounds of cars passing and some children yelling somewhere. It is the new normal, after all. The first few days was a bit uncomfortable and unnerving as it is not something the whole neighbourhood was used to, and with a disease such as COVID-19 causing a pandemic? That didn't make the whole situation any better.

     I, for one, am not panicking over all this events happening within the start of 2020—I sure as hell do not want to, especially when I have enough people to panic about them. Of course, my idiotic brother and my just-as-idiotic grandfather are panicking over this. That is why I have enough reasons to stay calm even through this whole ordeal. I have to keep them grounded somehow, and keep an eye so that they wouldn't make a hastily bad decision right then and there. Although that is my (unofficial) role in the house, it doesn't necessarily mean that I am calm at all times. Sometimes, I need some support so I can be calm whenever fratello or nonno are worrying about this stupid situation the literal whole world is in.

     "Hi Lovi!" a voice from my phone chirped as the ringing sound has come to stop after only a few rings.

     "Che. Bastard, what took you so long?" I took a place in my bed, as I was standing by the window earlier to see if I can pinpoint where the hell are the faint screamings coming from. It kinda concerns me, but I shrugged it off as nothing but a spoiled brat being robbed by his stuff or something.

     The man on the call, Antonio, only chuckled, "Sorry, I was in the shower, see?"

     His hair is still damp, and he isn't wearing a shirt at all. His upper body is dripping with water, presumably from the shower, and he patted them dry as fast as possible. Oh, wait, something's missing...

     "What the fuck!" I cried—well, not literally. "Put some fucking shirt on, you moron!"

     "¡Ay! So that's what's missing!"

     'You didn't even fucking noticed?!' I thought as I turned away from him. Thankfully, he quickly rummaged through his closet and put on a shirt before going back to the call.

     "Gracias for pointing that out, Lovi!"

     "Yeah, yeah. Just don't forget next time. Dio, I can't believe you would've forgotten that." I sighed before facing him again. "Then again, it's not that hard to believe, I guess."

     "Aw, Lovi. What's that supposed to mean?" he smiled, although I know he knows damn well what that meant. That damn bastard. "Anyway, you called! How are you, my little tomato?"

     "I thought I told you to stop calling me that! I'm not little nor am I a tomato!" I waved my hand in the air, in an attempt to threaten him. He didn't back down even a tiny bit. If only I could reach him through the phone and just strangle him, then my life wouldn't be as irritating as this. But that meant I won't ever get to see him again. So, I mentally shook my head and lowered my hand, and instead sunk down a little further in my bed.

     "Everything's just starting to get harder, you know? It's just frustrating—all of this! I thought it would be over in like, I dunno, a month?" Antonio shrugged. "Something like that, but no, it had to be longer! This is ridiculous; this whole fucking thing, I tell you. And if my social skills were terrible before, I'm sure as hell that after all of this, I would lack them now! Stupid disease."

     "Now, now. I'm sure it'll be over soon. Maybe the doctors in some other country has already found the cure, but still needs to make sure it is safe for humans to consume, sí? For now, let's just try and follow the precautionary measures the health authority has advised us, so we'll be safe and healthy when we meet again! You would like that, wouldn't you?" I nodded and his smile grew a bit wider at that. "See! And I do, too."

     I sighed. I am pretty sure that with this quarantine, things will get a little different than what things are used to be. Even I can be a little different than I was back in January. Maybe it's a positive different, or maybe it's a negative different; but either way, we're still different now than before. I'm not sure whether this will affect my relationship with others greatly, or it will not at all. What I'm afraid of greatly is that maybe—after all of this—some relationships I've had with some people will fall out much like a few have from before, all just because everyone have changed a little or greatly. And with my lowering social skills, I don't think that is an unlikely chance at all.

     "—vino, hey, listen to me, amor." My attention was brought back the the curly haired man on the phone, smiling gently with a knowing look on his face. Crap, he really does know me too well. "I wouldn't leave you, okay? Even after this, I highly doubt anyone would. So don't you worry you little heart, sí? And even if they do, I'm still here. Always."

     "Stupid Antonio." I muttered, but I'm just relieved and happy all together. "I know that, and same here. I... I guess I just miss you. Maybe a little."

     Antonio pouted, "Only a little?"

     "Yeah," his pout became even more prominent. An amused smirk made its way onto my features. "Only a little."

     "Lovi, that's unfair! And here I am, missing you so, so, so, so much! I just wanna hug you and kiss you and hug you again and..." I tuned out the rest as I watched him ramble on how much he misses me and all that shit, and a longing feeling ever-so slightly grew in my chest.

     "Antonio?" I interrupted his ramblings and he paused, looking at me which tells me that he's listening. "For the record, I do miss you. A lot more than you think."

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oh wOW i haven't updated this in sOOOO LONG! it's been almost 2 years, if i'm not mistaken? aha, i've missed writing with spamano as my characters, and with them, i've grown a lot in terms of writing ever since my first fanfic! wow, this is all so nostalgic :,)

anyways, stay safe everyone! remember to wash your hands and follow your health authorities' advisories. let us all overcome this pandemic together!