Five Times~ Pearce Joza

Chapter 8

As usual, it was three o'clock in the morning and Pearce and I were having our almost nightly hangout. The only thing was, today was our last 'Ritual Buddies' hangout. Yes, I renamed our late night hangout 'Ritual Buddies' hangout. I think it sounds nice. But that's besides the point. In about seven hours Pearce's mom would be here, and he would leave. "You know," He started to say but then paused for a moment. Oh great, here it comes. He's going to say he actually hates me and never wants to see my face again. "Being here was pretty fun," Or maybe he wasn't going to say he hates me. Man, overthinking sucks. "Even though most of the time I was hiding in your closet, messing up my sleep schedule, and living off of pop tarts and leftover spaghetti, I really did enjoy being here. I mean, I got to experience what it was like being summoned like a horror movie character. But for future reference don't summon me again." He stated with a laugh. That laugh. The laugh I'd grown attached to over these past two weeks. The laugh I wasn't ready to let go of.

"I make no promises," I responded, my voice slightly shaking. I rested my head on his shoulder and sighed. "Y'know, I'm gonna miss this," I muttered. "I'm going to miss you." I said this part a bit louder than the last. Why? I'm not too sure myself actually. Part of me wanted to keep that to myself. I mean, yes, I was going to miss him but, no, I did not want to sound desperate and selfish. "Ever since you got here I've just felt this sort of... safety and comfort that I haven't felt in a while," At this point I was just spilling out everything. "And honestly I'm not sure if I'm ready to let that go. To let this go," I sighed and shifted my position. "To let you go." Why the hell was I even still talking? I'm not even sure I know the answer to that myself.

"I'm going to miss you too." Pearce admitted. Or at least I think he did. Did I even hear that right? I sat up straight and looked at him. "What?" Maybe my ears were just playing tricks on me. Maybe I just had selective hearing and heard what I wanted to. "I said I'm going to miss you too." Pearce repeated and pulled me into a comforting hug. It might've just been my sleepiness taking over but he almost sounded... sad? "I wish we could stay like this forever. I don't ever want this to end." I mumbled, giving in to the hug. "Me either. I promise we'll talk everyday after I go." His voice sounded distant and I already knew what that meant: I was about to fall asleep. I tried my best to stay awake but it wasn't working. I already knew that once I fell asleep this moment would be over and I'd be saying goodbye.