reunion

dawn of silence

You held your phone tightly in your hand, the other tugging at your hair and you walked through the airport. Around twenty minutes before you had arrived there, Emile had messaged you saying that his plane had finally landed.

You scanned the crowd for your dark-haired friend. Everything seemed too bright for your comfort, so you picked up the pace, taking a deep breath. You bit your lip, ignoring the shaking of the hand holding your phone. You found a bench across from a small shop-- Motley's, you think, although you can't tell at the moment, your eyes locking onto the ground around you. Sitting on the bench, you draw your knees close to your chest, and you force yourself to take another breath and unlock your phone, steadying your hands using your knees.

Your free hand clutches onto your hoodie sleeve, tightening at every 'sudden' increase of noise from the many adults and children walking past you from almost every side. Your vision blurred slightly and you blinked, cursing quietly to yourself. Not now.  Your fingers tapped on the tiny letters-- you don't know why you texted Tim first. Maybe it was because his name was the first you saw in your contacts, maybe not. But you sure as hell hoped he was around, because you don't want to deal with the sudden flash of hotness that spread through your entire body with each footstep, and each tiny little ding and brush of clothing that happened. You didn't know how much time has been passing-- it felt blurry, and you were trying to focus on breathing the best you could.

Your breath hitched when a hand laid on your shoulder and you looked up, a sense of relief filling you when you saw Tim. Tim's eyebrows were furrowed in concern as he looked at you. You let go of your phone, ignoring it as it fell to the floor with a small thud and you wrapped your arms around him tightly, burying your face in his shoulder. He stiffened for a moment at the sudden hug, but soon after gently held you. He moved you and him to a comfortable sitting position on the bench, rubbing your back gently. He didn't speak, and you didn't ask him to.

He gently spoke after a few moments, once the loud chatter had settled down to a better level.
"Deep breaths, alright? Breathe in for four seconds, okay? Then breathe out for seven." He ran his fingers through your hair, trying to have you focus on him.
"Focus on my voice, Jon. Breathe back in four eight seconds and repeat. You can do it buddy."
You tried to focus on his voice, your hands clutching onto his shirt tightly. You try to follow his instructions.

He smiled gently at you, encouraging you to continue. So you did.

"You're doing great! Keep it up. Just focus on me-- don't focus on anything else, alright?"

You gave a small nod, not letting go of him as you continued following what you were told to do. Your hands were shaking, but your heat flashes were gone and everything felt clearer than it had before. You blinked as everything around you suddenly became muffled and low murmurs. You look up, surprise flickering in your eyes as you see Emile there. He gives you a small smile, him sitting by your side and placing his hand on your other shoulder.

Headphones, you realized. Those were what made everything quieter and more bearable. You look up at Tim. He pats your head gently.

(You feel a sense of deja vu— didn't this happen before? When there was a field trip and you got separated from Tim and Emile because of the crowd.)

Emile takes your hand, gently pulling you up as he grabbed his suitcase. He looked at Tim, and softly said "Let's get out of here."

You and Tim nod, and the three of you make your way through the crowd. You tighten your grip on Emile's hand and he glances back at you, squeezing yours as a reminder that he's Right There.

You let out a sigh of relief when everything quieted, the only sounds being the faint wind and the muffled sound of cars pulling out of the parking lots and driving away. You pull the headphones down to rest around your neck, the feeling of the pressure given by the part that goes over your ears against your neck and shoulder comforting.

(You think that the cafe can wait for now— just being with Tim and Emile is good enough.)