CRAVE // A. K. AU ✓

1

I stepped up onto the porch of my old friend, Otto's, house. He was throwing me a "Welcome Home" party, and I was feeling a little reluctant to come. Loud music was oozing from the cracks of his door and windows. 

Six years ago, I had moved to Georgia to attend the college of my dreams, pursuing a Doctorate's degree in Psychology. Six years later, I came home to Houston with a Master's degree to visit friends and family. I wasn't planning on staying here. I was only going to stay for the summer and then head back to Georgia to achieve my goal of receiving a PhD.

I stopped at the door and gently hit my knuckles against the old wood. I doubted anybody could hear it over the blaring music, but to my surprise, the door opened with a quickness to reveal an excited Otto.

"Rayne!" he exclaimed and immediately enveloped me into a hug. I stood there awkwardly for a moment, but not wanting to seem rude, I quickly returned the gesture.

"Otto!" I reciprocated his enthusiasm. "Man, it's so weird to see you not through a screen."

We pulled away and stared at each other for a brief second, until Otto said something. "Well, come in, Guest of Honor!" He said as he gestured for me to enter his home. And so I did.

When I entered, a welcoming wave of cool, air-conditioned air washed over me. It was much more appreciated than the sweltering, late afternoon heat of the outside. I glanced about the room, looking for familiar faces. There were about fifty people here, and I knew less than half.

My ex, Elliot, for example, was standing next to the mini bar chatting it up with some chick I had went to high school with. I could never remember her name, for she never played a significant part in my life. She was quite unremarkable. 

Otto gently grabbed my arm and led me about the whole house, introducing and re-introducing me to people that I had apparently went to high school with.

I spent most of my time trying to fit in with everyone, but I just felt out of place. I felt truly at home in Georgia. But perhaps that was because I had spent six years of my life there and that was what I had grown accustomed to. After an hour, I felt drained. I didn't want to socialize anymore that night. So, while everyone's attention was on a game of beer pong, I slipped away onto the porch.

The sweltering heat of the afternoon was gone, and was replaced with the warm evening. A cool breeze accompanied it. I went and sat on the old porch swing, and it creaked under my weight. As I sat there silently listening to music, I watched the cars go by as it slowly got darker and darker. The street lights came on. Music was still playing inside the house, and no one had come to find me, so it seemed as if no one noticed I was gone. That was fine by me. I didn't want to be noticed! I was just about to skip to the next song, when someone finally stepped out onto the porch. 

He looked oddly familiar, but I hadn't noticed him while I was inside. His hair was a neon green, and it almost seemed as if it glowed in the dark. Our eyes met for a moment, and then he quickly looked away and took a seat next to me. I figured he wanted to talk, so I took an earbud out.

"Hi." I said, not taking my eyes off his brightly colored hair. What can I say? It was shocking to the eyes, and I could only imagine what it would look like in the sun.

"'Sup, Rayne." The man said and  heaved a sigh.

My eyes darted to his in surprise. I knew that voice anywhere. "Awsten?"

The corners of his lips curved upward into a smile as he turned his head to face me. "That's my name. Don't wear it out."

I chuckled once. Same old Awsten... Well, not completely the same. A few things had obviously changed, such as the color of his hair and the pitch of his voice. When I had last saw him, his hair was light brown, and a lot more "early 2000s emo", and his voice was not fully matured. Now his hair was a blinding, neon green and his voice was noticeably lower. Look at my boy, all grown up!