Count to Three

Missing

"What? You don't like me getting you all dirty?"

"Jaxon, get off of me, I'm not even joking."

At this point, we were both laughing too hard to hold us up. We fell onto the ground, lying next to each other. After a few minutes of settling down, I just stared at the clouds in the sky.

The mood was relaxing; just two friends hanging out. I felt guilty for it, but I sometimes wondered what it would be like to be his girlfriend. We could hold hands all of the time, kiss whenever we wanted, hold each other if one of us was sad - it would be fantastic. But we couldn't, for we were friends. Friends. Eternally stuck in the friendzone, but it was alright. At least I had someone.

I could feel his gaze on my face, but I ignored it. I tried to, at least, I could feel goosebumps prickling at my neck.

"Camilla?"

I turned me head to face him. I was momentarily frozen in place - he was a lot closer than I had originally thought.

"Hmm?"

"Can I tell you something?" The skin between his eyebrows was pinched and his features were tense. I could only imagine what he wanted to say.

"Anything," I assured him.

"Well, I feel like you've told me a lot about your past. It's not fair that I've kept so much from you. If you'll listen, I'll tell you about me."

I nodded, telling him to continue. He looked back up at the sky and put his hands behind his head. After a few silent seconds, he began to speak.

"I don't have a dad, either. Or a mom, for that matter. My parents are serving oversees, one in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. I live with my grandma and my little brother." He paused for a moment, taking deep breathes. "My mom though," he ran a hand down his face. "She's been MIA since last January. There was this bombing," he clamped his hands in his hair. "They never found her body."

I took his hand out of his hair, squeezing it comfortingly in my grip. He smiled in thanks and continued. "My brother, Thomas, he doesn't know. He would be absolutely devastated if anything happened to her. My grandma is living in denial, some sort of false hope that she'll turn up. She thinks she's still alive. I can't bring myself to tell them that she's gone and she's not coming back. I mean, it's been almost two damn years, you'd think we'd gain some closure by now."

I pulled him into a hug. We were just two people, awkwardly in each other's embrace, lying in the middle of a muddy soccer field. It wasn't awkward though, it was quite therapeutic. For we were only people. Both equally broken, both equally alone, both equally needing each other's company.

We stayed in the same spot until it began to rain. Jaxon pulled me up and walked me down the road, never letting go of my hand. We walked and walked, only stopping when we came to the McDonald's at the end of the road.

"Do you want something?"

"No thanks."

"Why not?"

I hate when people asked that question. "Because I'm not hungry." And I wasn't.

He stared at me, searching my eyes to see if I was lying. But I wasn't.

"How about Chinese food then? McDonald's is kind of disgusting; I personally like Asian cuisine better."

He wasn't going to stop suggesting foods until I gave in. Ugh, stubborn boy. "Fine."

A smile stretched along his face and he pulled me to the restaurant next to McDonald's. I had to use every ounce of self-control in my body not to plug my nose - the grease smell coming from the building was downright nausiating.

When we got a table, he pulled out the seat for me. "For the lovely lady." I'll admit, the cheeky grin on his face was enough to send my heart into overdrive. It was the feeling of drinking way too much caffeine, making your heart palpitate.

"Thank you, kind sir."

"Anytime. Now, what are you thinking of getting to eat?"

I skimmed the menu, my eyes immediately finding the chicken section. I hadn't eaten any other meat besides chicken for years - I don't know why, it was just a weird quality I obtained.

"Chicken with cashews sounds good. What about you?"

"Beef with broccoli. I have the same thing every time I come here, so I don't even have to look at the menu," he gestured down to the closed menu in front of him.

After we ordered and got our drinks, Jaxon stared at me. "Is there something on my face?"

"Yeah." Oh. That's awkward. I wiped my hands down my face, trying to wipe it off. "Is it gone?"

"No," he smiled.

"Ugh." I continued to wipe my face, but I still couldn't get it off.

"Where is it?"

"Your nose."

"Can you get it off?"

He chucked and leaned over the table, coming closer and closer. My breathing came to an unhealthy hault, I hoped my brain was getting enough oxygen to function. We stared into each other's eyes, undoubtedly having a moment.

He broke me out of my daze when he slightly flicked my nose. "Got it," he said, clearing his throat.

"Hey, was there actually anything on my face? Or did you just want to physically abuse me by flicking me?" I fake pouted, sticking my bottom lip out.

"Don't make that face."

"Why not?"

"Because you look too damn cute, so stop it," he smirked.

If I thought my lack of breathing before was unhealthy, then this was worse. I literally began choking on my own saliva, my face turning an unruly shade of red.

"Oh God, are you alright?"

I raised my thumb up in his direction, trying to convey the message that I was okay. I eventually stopped coughing, drinking plenty of water to clear my scratchy throat.

"You all good?" He chuckled.

"Yeah, now I am."

They brought us out fortune cookies when we finished dinner. Jaxon opened his up and smiled, while I followed suit.

"What does yours say?" I asked.

"It says, 'Your luck is about to change.' What about yours?"

I looked down and mine and smiled. "The love of your life is closer than you think."

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I really do apologize for any errors in this chapter, I sort of rushed through it. I hope you enjoyed it though:)