War (Cashton)

four.

"Do you miss him?" Calum asked as he and Luke walked down the street. The two were heading to spend the early afternoon sat in a diner downtown where they once spent all their time in with Michael during high school. 

Calum had been in a mood all morning. What triggered it, he didn't know, but he suspected it was from allowing himself to overthink the thought of his best friend stuck overseas. The thought of Michael being gone and not knowing how he's doing had been eating away at Calum for days. Calum felt guilty as he walked down the street with Luke, both free as a bird to do as they pleased. 

"Michael? Yeah, it feels weird not having him around," Luke sighed back. "I hate not hearing from him, makes me worried."

Calum didn't bother responding to Luke, not wanting to let his already bad mood stoop any lower. Leaning his head back to face the sky, Calum soaked in the feeling of the warm sun hitting his skin and forcing himself to feel grateful for being able to enjoy the feeling. Calum took a moment to wonder about where Michael was, if he was feeling the same sun or if he was suffering in any way. 

"Do you think he'll come back," it was Luke asking the question this time, his voice small and timid like a child. Calum turned his head to see Luke biting his lip and furrowing his eyebrows. 

"I hope so, I think so. He's the toughest of the three of us," Calum replied, trying to convince the both of them that the words were true. 

Too many families around the city and town had lost someone, it was painful to see. The thought of the possibility of losing Michael, that their best friend wouldn't return home, was horrible. It was enough to make Calum's heart skip a painful beat. 

"As soon as he's back, we'll come here, like we used to," Calum firmly told Luke as they walked up the steps and into the old diner. It was mostly black and white, with some checkered floors and red tables. The booths and tables almost full of other teenagers and university students stuffing their faces with fries and milkshakes. The music from the jukebox filling the large space.

As distaste for the war happening overseas, some posters and fliers had begun to appear on the diner walls and in the diner windows. Each was either promoting a public gathering in protest of the war, or candlelight vigils to honour the men who wouldn't have the opportunity to return to their families. It felt as though each week the list of men, many of whom were neighbours, classmates and family friends, increased 10 fold. 

Luke and Calum walked to the corner of the room, to the booths where the two windows lining the walls of the front room met. It was the spot Luke, Michael and Calum always sat, the three boys had messily carved their initials  into the windowsill some years prior. Calum and Luke fell into another silence, something they had spent a lot of time in lately. For weeks the two boys hadn't been able to have any real conversations. But, that didn't stop them spending almost every free moment together. 

"Oh my god, that's him," Luke suddenly spoke, bringing Calm's attention away from the specials menu in front of him. 

"Who?" Calum asked, looking around to spot who Luke was talking about but he couldn't spot anybody out of the ordinary. 

"Irwin, the homo boy," Luke muttered out, glaring at someone across the diner. 

Calum turned around to see who Luke was talking about, but still not being able to tell who it was. 

"Hey, that boy's in my Law course," Calum muttered, spotting a familiar mop of golden curls across the room serving something at the sandwich bar. 

"Which one?" Luke brought his gaze back to Calum as he, too, turned back to face the table. 

"The curly haired guy serving at the bar, sits next to me everyday but never utters a word," Calum replied, nodding his head to where he had seen the familiar boy.