Tokyo Is Our Vegas // Brolby

十二

| | T W E L V E | |

「あなたが私を愛しているのなら、東京にここに置いてください。 「

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Neon lights. Crowded streets, mixes of American and foreign music blasting through club speakers. These things remind me of Tokyo. They remind me of you.

Cherry blossom flowers danced in the wind, sneakers riddled with dirt as we walked along the pathways of the park, hiking trails, wherever it was they wanted to drag us off to.

Soft kisses under the moonlight, your scent still lingering in my nostrils as we finally pulled away. The feeling of your lips still with me. A smile on your features.

Getting lost at night, wandering without of clue of where we should be going. Dreading the moment we found our way.

Barely glancing at one another on the way to the airport, being broken by well-kept promises. My lips still felt the ghost of yours, they craved your touch. I craved you.

Rejection on the first floor. Heartbreak on the second. I watched you leave again, no regret in your eyes.

Back to square one, where we started. Friends, always friends. We're not the same friends we left as, it's different now. You used me, but I never so much as thought of doing the same to you.

I hold Vegas too close to my heart.

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Colby slept nearly the entire plane ride, finally feeling enough at ease to let himself sink into his chair and sleep. He couldn't remember the last time he had gotten a decent slumber. It felt weird to go to a foreign country with nothing but whatever he had on him and had found in his car, a backpack that he had left in there the last time his friends had dragged him out somewhere to film something. He was sure people were worried about him back home, but he needed this.

Tokyo was the only thing capable of making him feel anything but completely and utterly empty.

Well, there was Brennen, too, but that wasn't going to happen. Not again.

He needed the comfort of neon lights and cherry blossoms and dancing bodies and losing himself in the heart and soul of Japan. He may not speak the language all that well, but it didn't matter, not really.

Although, it wouldn't feel like it did before. This time, there would be no one to give his hoodie to, no one to point out things to, to sleep with in the same bed, to get lost with, dance with-

Nothing would feel like it had felt before. Because this time there was no Brennen, no one for him to share his experience with.

Vegas was empty without him.

The airport was crowded and hot, bodies jostling him all over the place so much that he could barely walk in a straight line. He looked around at all the signs, thankful there were English translations so he could find the right exit.

Once outside, he looked around for somewhere with WiFi. A cafe, library, restaurant, anywhere that could get him a decent signal so he can see what's going on with the other side of the world. What they were saying about him, if they were worried or upset, if he had been replaced by someone more famous on the trending page. For all he knew, he could old news, people would be moving on without him. Upload schedules continue, lives continue, everything continues whether he's there or not.

A glare assault his eyes as he walks along a random sidewalk, and he squints at the sudden ray of light. Looking up to see what had caused it, he finds a beautiful scene of the sun poking through some trees that were in the distance. It reminded him of the first time he had been here, with his friends, with him.

"Colby! Look at the sun, isn't it nice?" The boy beside him pointed upwards, moving Colby's attention to the sun that shone between the branches of trees in the distance, covered in dark green leaves. The sight brought a smile to his face as he nodded in agreement. "Take a picture!" Brennen encouraged him, taking out his own phone to snap a picture as well. "When's the next time you're gonna be in Tokyo?"

He thought about how his phone was low on battery, and that he would need as much charge as possible in case they needed to find their way to the hotel or something. Maybe if he needed to translate something. "How about I take a picture next time I'm in Tokyo, and when I do we can see if I'm missing an opportunity here."

"Come on, its so pretty, you have to! Think of how many likes you'd get on instagram with a photo like that."

"I'm more of a twitter person myself, besides, I want you to have those likes." The others were trying to ask a local for directions a few feet up the street. "I'll get them next time. Promise."

Brennen tolled his eyes, reviewing the picture he took. "You better."

It was a stupid, insignificant memory, but for some reason it still resonated strongly with Colby. He subconsciously took out his phone, remembering how he had left his charger at home this time as he opened the camera up and snapped a photo. "Told you." He whispered as he reviewed the photo, remembering the promise he had made to Brennen.

Oddly enough, he did wonder how many likes he could get with a photo like this.