"Listen to me, dad, you are awake, you are not sleeping." Julian said seriously, though he was keeping his laughter inside.
"What if I say I don't believe you, kid?" Cameron crossed his arms. At that point, Julian sounded more like an adult, to be honest.
"Ouchie," he hissed when Joseph pinched him in the arm, "Okay okay, I believe you! Just don't do that again."
"So, what are we gonna do with this guy?" Erica pointed at him.
"I don't know, we've either got to save the world today, or he'll sleep on the couch." Rosa answered.
"Ju-ju-jules is-is-is sleeping o-o-on the co-cou-couch." Jessica pointed out.
"Oh right," the youngest sister nodded.
"I know what you're thinking, no, we can't leave him outside." Joseph shook his head.
"Awh, how many strangers are you going to let inside our house anyway?" Erica asked.
"First of all, Jessie let Julian in, second of all, this guy's not a stranger to me." Joseph closed his eyes and rubbed his nose bridge with his fingers to make his brain finally do the braining.
"We-we-we-well he-he is to us," Jessica said.
Joseph sighed. This was way too much, once again. I think I wrote that sentence or a variety of it about a thousand times already and will write it a thousand more.
"However, I think we should talk about something serious... outside." Cameron leant on the arm of the couch.
"Sure we do, but leave it for later." Joseph shushed him.
"What's more important than this, now?" he whined.
"The question on where you're going to sleep." the other smirked.
"And where my dad going to sleep?" Julian placed his hands on his hips and asked.
"On the floor, in a sleeping bag, on the living room floor." Joseph mimicked Julian by placing his hands on his hips too.
"Meh, couldn't you find an even worse solution?" Cameron exclaimed and crossed his arms.
"Where do you want to sleep then? In my bed?" Joseph threw his arms into the air.
"Noooo, of course not, why would I ever get in bed with a guy?" he blurted out sarcastically and gave Joseph a funny wink.
"That's why you're sleeping on the floor."the other one grinned.
"I can feel these two know each other like their own shoes." Rosa whispered to Erica.
"I heard everything!" he laughed.
Joseph went into his room after some time. And then he remembered. Sarah didn't call him yet. While the others were doing whatever they were doing in other rooms, he was locked up in here, behind closed curtains, thinking.
What could they possibly do to save his dearest friends? What could they possibly do to save themselves? He didn't want to lose his kids to the system. He didn't want his clever Rosa to do paperwork. He didn't want his extremely talented Erica to end up typing senseless stuff on the computer. He didn't want Jessica to sit there and suffer and quietly spit slurs at her coworkers. He didn't want to lose his job in the nasty jazz bar.
He didn't want Julian to lose his father, he didn't want to lose Julian's father in the first place. Not again, not now.
"Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit." Joseph could only repeat while running his hands through his hair as a relief of stress.
"They lived for that little restaurant of theirs..." hot tears of pure grief and fury were forming in his eyes. He didn't want to think about anything right now.
"I'm wondering how you never got to drugs with that mind of yours," Sarah laughed lightheartedly.
"I dunno, it's just, I've still got hope that my mind will lose itself without any help."
"You hope for that? Nah, you're way too responsible to let this happen to you."
"Yeah, I guess," Joseph answered and shrugged.
"I mean, you've literally got a hot mess going on in there, it's like your mind is going mad but you're not." she spread her arms around her to show how meaningful her words are.
"I don't think I'll ever go crazy, to be honest. I'll have a kid to raise pretty soon."
"Ah, that Jessie girl. I'm sure she is a pretty good reason to live though."
Drugs. Oh, how Joseph wanted to have some at times. He doesn't even smoke or drink to relieve the stress. It's just moral princips, that's all.
"My eyes are wide open, can't get no sleep..." he muttered and took a deep breath. "Thirty-six hours, rolling in pain,"
"Praying to someone, free me again!" he sung a bit louder, begging for someone to hear him, but not singing loud enough for someone to actually hear him.
"It'll be like 8 o'clock soon, and I'm just laying here for hours and hours and hours..."
"Hours and hours! Just laying here, useless bastard! I don't even have the guts to try and protect my own children! I would probably give up and go if they came. Just like..."
"And so, what does it matter if you're not that brave? Being brave is not about being fearless anyway," Sean laughed to himself.
"Then what's it about? The heroes from the comics we all read were all brave and they weren't afraid of anything,"
"Hihi, they were not brave, silly, they were just fearless. Being brave is, again, not about being fearless, it's about having the guts to face your fears."
"And what am I?"
"You're not fearless,"
"I'm not brave."
"Right, you're not as brave as well, Sarah, though I'd say she's fearless, or just crazy, but it doesn't make you any less of a kind and helpful person."
"Me? Kind? Please," Joseph laughed out loud, sarcastically.
He's got to cook dinner. What can they all have for dinner, though? Frozen pizza? Is there enough for everyone?
An almost silent knock on the door woke him up. How late was it? The door opened slowly, quietly.
"Who is this? What's going on?"
"It's me," Cameron's whisper flew into the dark room.
"What do you want?" Joseph was not even annoyed, suprisingly, just confused.
"It's now or never, get up," he reached out his pale hand, that somehow stood out in the all black void. Joseph sighed and took it and he was pulled out of the sticky void in an instant.
"Where are we going?" he asked. Maybe he knew already, but desparately needed to say something.
"I don't know, outside? It's late, so they won't get us." Cameron shrugged.
They quietly made their way down the stairs and into the dark night. It was a cold, cloudy night, almost no yellow lights working, no people, no rubbish bins, that could catch them. They were the only two people left in this world, the only ones, that were still free, still alive and not just existing for no one's sake. And they were walking beside each other, only their calm breathing and footsteps could be heard.
"I'm sorry," Cameron whispered, but Joseph heard, because it was quiet.
"For what?" he looked up.
"For leaving you without hearing you out."
"But you returned, and you're not mad anymore, and that's what matters,"
"Well, we were angsty teens anyway, weren't we?" Cameron's eyes started watering, again.
"When you told me you didn't need me anymore, y'know, my heart almost stopped," Joseph saw him crying.
"I wasn't thinking, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Josie,"
"Wait, I'm not angry, it's alright," tears didn't matter anymore, it started raining. Almost as if the whole universe resonated with their moods so much its long kept sorrow burst out, too.
"I fucked up,"
"Stop it, shh, you did, but it doesn't matter now, we all mess up sometimes,"
"Is that a river here?" Cameron sniffled as he drew his gaze to a bunch of slowly, but wildly at the sane time, streaming water.
"Yeah, it's a really wide river, isn't it? Would take a lot of time to cross it," Joseph chuckled.
"It looks so beautiful when it's raining," they had to speak a little louder now, that the rain was growing louder and stronger, the universe was crying more and more, so were they.
"You haven't even changed that much," after a while of silence, Cameron spoke once again.
"It's just that I'm older, more tired and more messed up,"
"You look as beautiful to me as you did before,"
"You're as charming as you always were,"
"Oh, are you hitting on me now?"
"You were the only person in my life I was ever in love with, of course I am,"
"Ah, I wish this night could last forever," Cameron turned to look at Joseph, who was still staring at the beautiful river.
"But it won't last forever," he seemed a little down. His eyes were now staring at the mix up of rocks, sand and cigarrette butts.
Cameron lightly touched Joseph's shoulder and he immediatelly shot his head up to meet his eyes.
"You're too beautiful to make me see you sad right now, Josie, no wonder I could never forget you. Your looks and your big heart." who knows, if it's just the rain that made them say such honest things, from head, heart and soul, or was it also the fact that it's the last time they'll ever spent time in peace?
Cameron gently grabbed Joseph's arm and pulled him in to kiss him on the lips. They were both really wet from the rain, but that just made them even closer. The fact that they're both covered in the same water, crying the same tears of joy and sorrow. When they pulled away to make their gazes meet once again, Joseph sobbed. He just started crying and crying and crying, holding onto the soaked fabric of Cameron's shirt.
"I want this night to last even if just a little longer," he shook his head and whispered.
"It's like we're eighteen again,"
"You won't leave me again, won't you?"
"Not a chance, you ain't getting rid of me this time,"
They laughed a little and Joseph closed his eyes again. He felt comfortable here. It was cold, but his heart was warm and pounding. Cameron lifted his chin and kissed him again.
This must be one of the most romantic scenes I've written so far. They missed each other so much, and now, it's perfect. Love at the end of the world. And beyond.
"With our love with our love,"
"We can save the world..."