All I Want (vulquinn)

The Quiet/DKLA

June 2nd, 1995 7:38 p.m.

Sal sat in the quiet of his dorm room at his desk. His head was propped up by his two hands repeatedly raking through his hair as he skims through his notes and textbooks. His eyes trace through the words in front of him, but no matter how many times he reads it and how carefully he reads it, each time it seemed to make less and less sense to him. His frustration was building and it only got worse every time he looked up to the calendar that hung on his wall with only a single marking on it: 'FINAL EXAM' written over certain days in red marker with the subject added below it.

His eyes felt as though they were being dragged down by the sheer weight of stress he was going through and his head felt like it could pop off of his shoulders. The scent of a half eaten and cold cup noodle bowl filled the room. Sal couldn't be bothered to eat, he knew it would further upset his stomach that felt like it was in knots.

"Why did I choose this of all things? I hate this." He said as he rubbed his hands over his face, wiping the beading sweat off of his upper lip and forehead. He cursed himself for going for a degree in finance. He figured money was something everyone had to work with, he thought it would be helpful. Turns out the only thing it has done for him so far is drive him to the brink of insanity. The tip of his pencil remains unmoved on top of the paper of his notebook and he stares at it hoping that it would cause it to move and do what he needed it to. The pencil falls out of his hand and he closes his notebook. "Fuck this I need a break."

As he looks at his cluttered desk, he sees a crumpled piece of paper peeking up from underneath his notebook. He knows what it is and feels his heart flutter as his fingertips reach for it. He opens up the ball of paper to reveal the name he had burned in his memory and the number of the voice he so desired to hear echo in his eardrums again.

~

March 23rd, 1995 4:27 p.m.

Sal sat across the table from Joe and Murr, a joyous reunion between friends after not seeing each other for almost half a year now it seemed. Sal was happy to see them, but knew things could be happier if the empty seat next to him was filled. The two others at the table could see that Sal was transfixed on the missing member of their team and couldn't ignore it or tip toe around the issue.

"Okay Sal, what's going on with you and Q? This seems to be an ongoing thing with you guys ever since graduation." Murr finally speaks up after looking to Joe and raising a brow. Sal's attention is quickly back to his friends. What can he even say to them? He doesn't want to out Q to them, but how can he explain anything without doing so. You can't tell a half assed story and expect them to see the full picture of the scenario.

"It's... complicated. I know but I also don't know at the same time." His voice trails off as his tone becomes quieter. He doesn't say anything else and stares at the cup of water in front of him.

"...Well? So what's going on then? One moment you two are attached at the hip, and the next you're avoiding each other like the plague. That doesn't just happen for no reason." Joe was right and Sal knew it. His eyes shift around the table and the room felt sweltering hot as the pit of anxiety began to consume him. There was no point in lying to the guys, so Sal bit the bullet and the confessions began to roll.

"You cannot EVER repeat any of this. Got it?" Sal looks around to see if any listening ears were around. He recognized none of the faces, but he was still paranoid that somehow it would all cycle back to Q and ruin their whatever remains of their 'friendship.' Both Joe and Murr look to each other, shrug, and lean in close for Sal to dish out whatever junk he had trapped and sealed away inside.

"So that night of graduation, Q and I got a little tipsy and I may have confessed some feelings and we..." He felt his face flush red as he recalled some of the details of that night. His lips pursed together but he knew he couldn't stop what he started, "got intimate with each other." Murr's jaw dropped onto the table and Joe's eyes managed to somehow bulge more than they usually did.