h?ppy

dist?nce

Amidst the gentle glow of the flittering city lights below, complimented by the soft sound of car wheels on dark cement road, short pale legs sat criss-crossed on fluffy cherry pink sheets, still. High up above the city, a pair of dark eyes the color of a fresh cuppa hot cocoa stared out beyond the glass windowpane into the far horizon, observing the dancing colors that played around the edges of the sun. Hints of red, purple, orange, yellow, and pink— The colors were all different, and yet they seemed to match with each other in their own, beautiful way. Some colors can dance, but they aren't the same together. They never are.

A sigh escapes the lips of a young girl as she continues to gaze longingly out into the world. She reaches out, pushing back the glass of her window and continuing to reach, as if hoping to grab something if she reached out far enough. The corners of her lips then curl up a little, in an almost sad way. Taking a long drag of breath, her hand drops down into her lap as she exhales the air she trapped in her lungs for that moment.

"Maybe someday," she mutters under her breath, her words clinging to an unspoken hope.

She flopped over onto her side with a pomf, rolling over in the mass of bedsheets and pillows to find her phone which she quickly switched on. Her expression lit up when she noticed a familiar user had sent her a message only but a few minutes ago. 'Rin' in all caps was at the top of her notifications, popping out at her and taunting her to tap it, so she swiftly swiped her finger over the screen to unlock her phone and message him back.

">Hey Rin-! I was just thinking about you actually, wutcha up toooo?"

An almost instant reply.

">Eh? Me? How come lol"

She paused, thinking for a moment about the answer.

">I was looking at the sunset and you just came to mind. It's funny to be so far away yet we still see the same sunset-! Do you think we'll meet some day?"

">Hells yeah-! I hope so, it would be lit hanging out with you in person, at least once in my life— You're really fun to be around, Charlotte-!"

She smiled brightly, it always felt nice when he called her by her name instead of the nickname she would usually go by. Then a small smirk played on her lips, the sudden urge to mess with him taking over.

">Bring cabbage—"

">Nani the fuck are you talking about??"

">UmmmmMMMM 🅱️ring ca🅱️🅱️age— 👀"

He began typing, then stopped, then started typing again, supposedly searching for the best response to... Whatever this was. The girl chuckled a little at this, watching him struggle for a moment with his reply.

">W o t"

Charlotte let out a snort of amusement, clearly enjoying Rin's confusion. They always messed around like this, it was silly and stupid but always fun.

">R u cabbagephobic? Wow racist-"

">No u"

">No U"

">NO U"

">Okay both, both is good— Which means no cabbages... But I can bring you a hug at least-! :D"

She let out a laugh at his dorky nature, muffling it in a cushiony white pillow as she tried to visualize Rin laughing along with her. His voice a pleasant giggle, echoing inside her head. It was a nice laugh, one she could never forget. The way his face scrunched up as his lips spread across his face to form the most genuine smile she had ever seen in her life. They always made her so happy, because they meant that he was happy too.

Then another message came. A frown began forming on her on expression.

">She's back at home-! I heard the keys in the door, so..."

The pit of her stomach churned, a sense of fear and worry coming over her.

">Oh... Will you be alright?"

">Hm? Ah, yeah-! There's no need to worry about me~ ^^"

There wasn't much else she could do besides sigh and hope that he would manage alright with the current situation at hand, and it felt like pure torture.

">Okay... Just... Take care, alright?"

">Yeye-! See you later, Charliiiieeee—"

Guh, that old nickname again, one she didn't exactly like but that she couldn't help but smile a little bit at now.

">See you, Rin~"

His profile bubble then faded to gray, indicating that he was offline. Charlotte lifted a single finger to trace over his profile picture on her screen, the corners of her lips bending downwards once more.

A tapping began to persist at her window as the rain came down to pitter patter against everything it touched. She tilted her head to look up, and soon it began to pour. Reaching a hand up, the combed her slender fingers through locks of minty green-dyed strands, twirling the hairs around her pinky. She sighed yet again, her brow furrowing in thought.

She couldn't get the image of the blue and purple mark on his heart out of her mind, mixed in with hints of bleeding red. It reminded her of the sunset she saw before she spoke to Rin. The sunset was gorgeous, but this... It was anything but beautiful.

Now the night loomed over, blanketing a dark galaxy blue sheet over the sky, and sprinkling it with the night stars which twinkled so brightly. He could probably see this too, and Charlotte couldn't but help wonder if he was admiring them at the same exact moment as she. Laying back, she reached over and turned on a night light. It flickered to life and began to rotate at a slow pace, and like some sort of magic, her ceiling became the night sky.

She reached up toward it, watching as the stars passed between her fingers, and Charlotte had the sinking realization that she may never lay under the real stars with Rin. However, she still clung onto that hope as she pointed up towards her ceiling at what she imagined would be their favorite star. She balled her hand into a fist, capturing it in her palm, and closed her eyes, whispering.

"Maybe someday."