Realistic or Modern Redo [closed]

[DaydreamingBookworm9]

Buttoning up his dark purple shirt, Christopher Hutchkins looked at the clock that hung on the light blue wall of his apartment’s bedroom. His getting ready had been taking longer than he’d accounted for. He rushed out of his room and scurried towards the bathroom he shared with his roommate, Spencer, only to find that said guy was occupying it.

“Are you gonna take long in there?” Chris asked, knocking on the door a couple times. No answer. He knocked again. “Spencer?” Still nothing. “I know you’re in there!” And then, just as he was about to open the door to find out for himself why the hell Spencer wouldn’t answer, he heard the characteristic sound of throwing up. Goodness.

Upon deciding to open the door, the man found his roommate hugging the toilet bowl and emptying the contents of his stomach in it. “Spencer… did you get wasted again?” He queried, carefully approaching the other man and pulling his long blonde locks away from his face, taking a look at him.

Spencer gave Chris a lazy look and grinned hazily. “Well, my girlfriend invited me to stay the night and I couldn’t possibly say no. Let’s just say that we emptied some bottles-“ he managed to croak before turning at the toilet again. Chris sighed. This was anything but uncommon for his roommate. Spencer was a chill guy, who minded his own business and spent most of his time away from their apartment. He was a student too, a year younger than Chris and studied Economics. Sometimes Christopher wondered how a guy who was hungover basically every other day managed to do so well in his exams. But that was something worth pondering for another time. He tied up Spencer’s hair back with a hair tie he found next to the sink. “There’s some leftover pizza in the fridge” he said as he grabbed the comb he’d needed from a shelf.

“Thanks man, you’re doing god’s work” was the reply he received from the still doubled-over Spencer.

Christopher worked part-time at an Italian restaurant just outside of campus and often brought food back home with him. He personally wasn’t a fan of the pizzas but he knew all too well that it was one of Spencer’s favourite post-hangover meals. He chuckled absentmindedly, thinking of Spencer lounging on the couch and shoving pizza on his mouth while watching TV.

Combing his hair back, he grabbed his casual black blazer-like coat, shoved his keys, phone and wallet on the pockets of his dark straight jeans and entered his room once again to pickup a bottle of alcohol he was bringing to the party. It had been a while since he had been to one, having become a rather solitary creature since entering university. But this one was being thrown by one of his first friends he made here, Ashton. She was a stubborn but surprisingly open and kind girl in Chris’s year, and they usually sat close to one another in maths. Occasionally, they even went on study dates together.

Before exiting the apartment, Christopher looked at himself in the mirror one last time. Letting out a sigh, he unbuttoned the top button of his shirt and ran his hands through his hair to make it look less flat and stuck on his head. You’re going to a party, not a school presentation he reminded himself, annoyed and shut the door behind him.

 

[.sheep.wolf.]

It was getting later in the day when he received a text. It read: Bring alcohol, I know u and Hattie have sum. A smile reached his lips, as he put his phone in the back pocket of his pants. Making sure that he hadn't forgot anything, Jackie grabbed his keychain and put it in a front pocket, along with his wallet.

Opening the door, he was immediately met with loud music. Someone was playing the records again. Loud. Really loud. He felt bad for the people in the apartments around, but hey, it was good music. Walking into the living room of the slightly-always-messy apartment, it was decorated how you would assume it would be. There were posters on the wall, half-drawn curtains and an 80s look to the whole thing. The previous tenants had the worst taste in everything, they had decided.

Jackie zipped up the fly to his bleached, ripped jeans and threw his converse onto the floor. They had writing all over the outer sole. "Hey! I'll be back in a few hours or so!" He shouted over the music to his roommate, Hattie. She was nice, and the two of them had been friends since highschool when he moved. Since they went to the same college, they shared an apartment. Practically siblings, and yet unsurprisingly disliked by his family. But what did Jackie care? She nodded back at him, as she sat on the couch with a mirror between her thighs, pinning up messy space buns.

She was going somewhere after him, but she would undoubtedly be back later than he. The man looked in the full-length mirror they had leaning against the wall near the front door, running a hand through his shaggy bangs. Truthfully, he'd probably be out all night. He was going to a party which his friend Ashton had thrown. She was a good friend of his; they met in class. She was stubborn, but fun to hang out with.

He had even managed to get Ashton to go to a concert with him. He loved going to those. Concerts, parties, ear piercing music, people enjoying the same thing as you, freedom of expression without a worry. It was the best feeling to him. Of course some alone time was good, but this was his favorite part of it all. It was a wonder Jackie could keep his grades up. Not because he doesn't show up or gets blackout drunk, for other reasons. He wasn't the greatest at focusing, and wasn't known for studying at all.

He was wearing black converse with bleach-painted designs on them, curtesy of Hattie, ripped jeans that were bleached, a Metallica band shirt that was a little tight fitting, and he had thrown a large, dark grey, jean jacket on that had a few sewn-on patches. Snatching up a bottle of alcohol, per Ashton's request, he opened the door and walked out. Closing the door, the music was slightly muffled.

He got a weird look from a neighbor; he just smiled and waved. Figuring he'd just walk, since it wasn't very far, he set off on his journey. He had left a little early, so he'd be there a little before the party started.

 

[DaydreamingBookworm9]

After exiting his apartment, Christopher pressed the button to call the squeaking and creaking 20 year-old elevator. His apartment was on the last floor of a six-story building so taking the stairs wasn’t really an option given that the hallway lights were broken and the entire building was sunken in darkness. Nearly the whole building had filed complaints to the landlord but he couldn’t care less. He didn’t really care what his tenants did whatsoever for that matter, as long as they paid the rent on time. This wasn’t really that bad, seeing that since he allowed renovations, excluding building and demolishing walls, Christopher and Spencer had taken the creative liberty of entirely changing their apartment when they moved in. They painted the walls, changed the tiles in the bathroom and the kitchen and installed shelves and other decorative pieces. Fortunately, they had similar taste when it came to interior design so they had agreed to give their common space an industrial vibe. However, apart from not caring about what you do, mister John also didn’t care if you had a problem.

When he opened the door of the lift, he was greeted by a smiling grey-haired old lady in her late sixties, his Scottish neighbor, miss Elizabeth whom everyone called Lizzie.

“Christopher! You’re looking very smart tonight” she greeted him, grinning from ear to ear as she inspected his demeanor.

“Thank you Lizzie, how are you today?”

“Nothing special dear, just returning from my cousin’s house. What are you up to, all dressed up?”

Christopher rubbed the back of his head and smiled sheepishly. “A party”

Lizzie’s eyebrows shot up giving him a knowing look as she eyed the bottle of gin he was holding. “Have fun then” she said and exited the elevator, Chris holding open the door for her. “Thanks” he said and entered the lift, letting out a sigh as the door closed. He liked Lizzie, she was such a nice lady and made the lemon pie but at times he could swear the woman was some kind of psychic, when she looked at him he felt like he was being scrutinized from head to toe.

As the elevator halted to a stop he creeped out of the building and unlocked his car, parked just down the road. He got in, turned on the engine and drove away.

****​

Christopher approached the building where the party was being held. He could already hear some music playing and supposed that he wasn’t the first to arrive. As he rang the doorbell, he tapped his phone twice to check the time. Surprisingly, he had somehow arrived earlier than he thought he would.

 

[.sheep.wolf.]

By the time Jackie arrived, the sun was beginning to descend dragging a few wispy clouds along with it. He knocked on the door, and a shorter, rounder face appeared to greet him. Ashton. She was shorter, reaching about 5'8. Dressed casually, she snorted, "Did you bring a bottle?" He grinned, holding up the bottle. Reading the label, she nodded approvingly.

Snatching it from him, her foot opened the door to allow him in.

He was one of the first there, eyes sweeping the area. There was an area for drinks and food, you served yourself, spread out across a table or two. Ashton was there currently, setting down the bottle amongst a few others. Speakers for music, some activities, and more. Before he could say anything, a few more walked in. He smiled and waved at them, close friends of Ashton. He'd met them a few times, friendly types.

More people began filtering into the area slowly, as the night began. Ashton had greeted most of them, at one point taking a little longer. He wasn't too concerned. She smiled, looking up at the man at the door, "You came! And you brought alcohol, sweet." She had left the door open for him, taking the bottle. Jackie was talking with a few others about music, they looked on the alternative side. Friends of friends most likely.

- - -

The music had already started playing, since the beginning in fact, not loud at first; slowly the volume picked up with each song. As the area filled up with the last people, the sun had begun to set. He hadn't picked up a drink yet, but a few had already began passing some around. Seating filling up, he stood. There were groups forming and deforming like liquid as people made new friends and a few lovers. Words were shouted to be heard over the music and other shouts.

Moving bodies, making movement around the room harder, in beat with the music. College students, no one under 21 allowed in. Luckily, it was a Saturday.

 

[DaydreamingBookworm9]

“Hey Ashton” Christopher cheerfully greeted the shorter girl whose face was just visible from the small crack the door opened. Upon recognizing him though she flew open the door and dazzled him with a wide grin. “You came! And you brought alcohol, sweet” she said, her eyes scanning the bottle he was holding and her grin widening a tad more. “Yeah I figured it would do me some good to go to a party for once” he sighed, handing her the gin and entering the apartment as she explained she had left in the middle of a conversation she was having and would catch up with him later.

When he closed the door behind him and looked around the room, he would be lying to himself if he didn’t admit he was rather intimidated. The small living room was rather crowded already. Noticing the heat radiating off all the moving bodies he took of his coat and hung it on a nearby hanger. Great. Now all I have to do is figure out how not to just awkwardly stand here he thought to himself and tried searching for any familiar face. His gaze fell on a group of shagged heads, all of them looking like they had just returned from a rock concert. He liked those kind of people. They kind of reminded him of his high-school self, the rebellious troublemaker whose path every teacher and most students knew to steer away from. And while he personally had abandoned that kind of style years ago, he still believed that people who dressed alternatively, not conforming to any kind of standards had the sort of open-mindedness Christopher was fond of.

However, Deciding that trying to meet someone from the group, or meeting someone new in general seemed like an unnecessarily hard challenge, he continued wandering around the room until his eyes caught sight of one of his classmates that he sometimes went out with. He greeted and chatted with him for some time but soon enough, with more people coming in, the conversation grew awkward as they ran out of conversation topics. Christopher thought it was time to excuse himself and trying to look busy, he approached a table that was stocked with about twenty different bottles of alcohol, some of them already being half-finished. He poured himself a cup of whiskey. It wasn’t uncommon for people to be flabbergasted at how tough Chris’s stomach was. His alcohol tolerance was significantly higher than that of an average person in their twenties. Perhaps it was the fact that he’d started drinking at the age of 16 and slowly became immune to the effects of alcohol. He took a sip, feeling the burn slither down his throat, warming him even more.

 

[.sheep.wolf.]

As the heat of the room began to rise from the writhing bodies, Jackie had moved his jacket to his waist, never really trusting the hangers at parties. The group he was talking with had split off, rather nonchalantly. Avoiding bumping into too many people, he began to work his way over to the drink table. Earning a few flirtatious smirks or weird looks, he smiled either way. In highschool, either one would make him red hot with embarrassment. Now, he enjoyed both. It was always interesting to see how certain people would react to his appearance. He hasn't fit the norm in a long time, to his parents' dismay.

As he finally reached the table, there were a few others there already. The bottles were slowly emptying, he realized why she had said bring alcohol. He poured a small cup of gin. His tolerance to alcohol wasn't immensely strong, and he didn't plan on drinking much tonight. He knew the feeling of a hangover all too well. Taking a sip from the cup, he glanced to the people to his left. They already looked like they would have bad hangovers. A rowdy bunch being shooed away from the drinks by Ashton and another person. Turning, he glimpsed at the man on his right. He looked.. familiar. As if a whisper of a memory had brushed by him, long forgotten. He swore he knew those eyes. Who was he?

Before Jackie could try to answer, he was forced to shift away from the lost memory as a few others came up to the table. Figuring it was just another person who looked like another, he allowed himself to be swept up and away into the crowd like a tide, holding his drink close with a good-natured grin as to not spill it. The night would continue to drag on. Unrelenting, that face would drift in his mind every time a conversation ended and he half-drifted half-danced smoothly into another. It was as if a ghost was knocking on a window, mumbling to be let in, wishing to be rediscovered by him. Another sip.

 

[DaydreamingBookworm9]

Chris just stood right there at the table with the drinks for a couple moments, zoning out and just focusing on the taste of the whiskey. It had been a while since he’d drank. He might have a high tolerance but he definitely wasn’t a fan of the stuff.

He felt somebody push against his side, forcing him to move a little and snapping him back to reality. He took another sip and tried not to be in the way as he suddenly felt an intense stare on him. He discreetly looked to his left only for his eyes to be met with one of the people with the shaggy haircuts he had taken note of before. He didn’t let himself look too closely or for too long, not wanting to risk unwanted attention or accidentally stare even though the other guy was very obviously doing that. Why the hell is he staring at me like that?.Soon enough however, the black-haired male got carried away by the crowd. Christopher dared another glimpse at him as he exited his field of vision. Their eyes met for a millisecond and it was at that moment that Chris realized that he knew the person from somewhere. He just couldn’t tell where from. Shrugging it off, he told himself it was just another person from university, like almost everybody here. But something about the cut of his face, the glow in his eyes, there was something that made Christopher swear this wasn’t just a face he’d come across in some hallway. But then, he’d only properly looked at him for less than a second so perhaps he was imagining the familiarity. And now he was gone anyway. Looking for him in such a cramped place was not something Christopher thought possible.

Taking his mind off the stranger, Chris smiled at Ashton who was now just approaching him. “So, what have you been up to?” She curiously queried as she filled a cup she’d been holding. This was clearly neither her first nor second cup of alcohol this night. “Woah, slow down there Ashton” he said, turning the neck of the bottle upwards to prevent the cup from overflowing at the girl’s unstable hands. She chuckled and put down the bottle. “Not much really” Christopher replied to her question and they started chatting back and forth, both of their cups refilling. They told each other what had been happening in their lives recently, seeing that they hadn’t met in quite a while and even though they had to practically shout to be heard over the music they both enjoyed themselves while it lasted. Sadly, another friend of Ashton’, probably a very close one came and pulled her towards another group of people. Ashton shrugged apologetically and promised to text him to hangout in the upcoming week. “Sure, don’t worry about it” Christopher waved as Ashton’s face disappeared between the crowd of people.

Letting out a sigh, Christopher decided to move towards a quiet-looking corner of the room, away from the speakers and the utter chaos. He pushed his way around to his destination and pulled out his phone, deciding to check for any messages or missed calls.

 

[.sheep.wolf.]

Jackie went with the ebb and flow of the crowd, slowly forgetting about the familiar stranger. As the night went on, a few people left. These were the responsible ones that didn't have much to drink, and wouldn't stick around for the wild night ahead. Somehow, he had found himself back at the drink table with a few others happily chattering with him. Drink in hand, he used the other to grab his phone and check the time. Hattie had messaged him. Figuring it was important, he began to edge his way around the crowd to the empty space in the corner, which was much quieter.

Upon feeling a tap on his shoulder, he noticed an acquaintance smiling at him. Sally--No, Sarah? "How's it going?" She practically shouted to ask him. He turned, taking a sip, "Goin good! What's up with you?" He replied, voice loud yet easy. They talked a bit, her swaying a little like she's had a bit too much to drink. He'd laugh, and then back to the crowd she went, practically enveloped before they said goodbye. Carefully, he moved to the quiet corner. Unbothered and not noticing anyone else there, he leaned against a wall and balanced his drink and phone. Bright, white light illuminated his eyes and face, almost looking like a wild animal with his russet eyes glowing.

Mumbling words to himself, the man shuffled his feet, adjusting his position and taking a sip. Hattie wasn't going to return tomorrow either, she'd be staying at a friends. Home alone didn't bother him at all, he was quite used to it. Of course there were also two smaller kids with him in the alone house, but they were quiet as mice. His head shifted up, hand moving through his sweaty bangs. The heat was coming off of every body now. Jackie thought about pulling his hair back, until every thought crashed in it's tracks like trains colliding. His eyes had swept the room slowly, as if to locate the exit just in case, until they had swept over the mystery man.

His eyes had only lingered a second, as if to register the face once more. He checked the time again. It was nearing 11pm. Damn, time flew fast. Putting his phone away, he took another sip, and rifled through his memory. He couldn't quite place the face, having met so many more people than the last time he had kept an important memory from the past. The dark-haired man couldn't place it, but he just knew it wasn't from recent. Otherwise he would have known right away, and had already struck up conversation. He was friendlier than most, willing to talk to anyone, but there were some habits he just couldn't shake.

 

[DaydreamingBookworm9]

His face immediately lit up with the blue light of his device as he unlocked his phone. Christopher cast his eyes heavenwards, cringing as he noted that he had five missed calls from his mom, all of them being in the span of two hours. He loved his mom, he really did, but since she and his dad had divorced, about a year and a half ago, she would often get lonely, especially when her friends were busy too and she would want to talk to Chris. Which, there was honestly nothing wrong with, apart from the fact that if he didn’t pick up the phone she just repeatedly tried to reach him using both calls and messages. He checked his messages app to also find, unsurprisingly, six unread messages from his mom.


[Hi Chrissy, are you busy?]

[I tried calling you but you didn’t respond]

[Can you call me back when you have time? I have missed you ]

[Oh and how was your logistics exam? I am sure you did great but I would love it if you told to me about it]

[Also I wanted to ask you to check whether we swapped our blue scarves when you visited me last week? I know they look very similar but I think I’ve got yours, mine doesn’t have that kind of seam]

[I miss you baby]


Chris couldn’t help but smile at himself as he started tapping away on his phone, reassuring his mom that he was okay and that he would call her later because he was out. The moment he pressed the send button for his last message, the one saying that he was going to check to see if it was indeed his mother’s scarf, he felt he was being looked at, again. As Christopher took his eyes off his phone he noticed that the uncannily familiar person from before was standing very close to him, also on his phone. The mysterious stranger dropped his gaze quickly though this time, making Chris question whether any interest he’d had for Christopher before had vanished. While it shouldn’t have, that kind of bothered him.

The man stopped looking at the shaggy-haired male and pretended to be engrossed in his phone. But he couldn’t shake off the feeling that he knew the stranger from somewhere and the fact that he couldn’t remember where drove him crazy. After some minutes and upon figuring that the other person had no intention of making any move to talk to Chris, he decided to take the matter on his own hands and attempt to interact with the other.

Letting out a heavy sigh and sliding his phone back to his back pocket he walked up to the stranger, footsteps certain but actually feeling kind of nervous internally.

“Hey, I can’t shake off the feeling that I know you from somewhere. Have we met before?” He asked cooly.

 

[.sheep.wolf.]

The shaggy-haired male had just turned off his phone, when a voice spoke up next to him. Sliding it into his own back pocket, he shifted to lean on his shoulder to get a good look at the stranger. It was the guy from before! He smiled casually, the charm he had developed working it's way into his voice without meaning to, "Oh I'm sure I would have remembered that face if we had. But I can't seem to get rid of that feeling either."

He glanced the stranger up and down before looking off into the crowd. It seemed to be pressing up against the wall, shifting like liquid. As if there was an invisible wall keeping them separate from the two.

"What's your name? I'm Jackson, but you can call me Jackie." His voice casual, keeping it just loud enough to hear over the shouts of the crowd and the overbearing music. Jackie used to never shorten his name. He glanced back at the stranger, lingering on his eyes as if to try and remember. He didn't feel nervous, rather calm but curious. The man was used to interacting with strangers, but none who interested him like this. The feeling was nagging him as well, but he'd long since known to not just walk up to complete, assumed, strangers and ask if they've met before. He called it common sense, but others would call it a learned lesson.

By now, he had learned many lessons. Social skills never used to come easy, but now he found it was all too simple to converse with others. He liked meeting new people, finding most intriguing. Yet if you looked back at him, you would only find him hiding behind his only good friend. Unfortunately he had been snatched away from him, having to fend for himself in a place he never wanted to be.

 

[DaydreamingBookworm9]

Christopher felt rather relieved when the stranger let him know that that feeling was mutual, despite not remembering having met him before. At least Chris now knew the reason why his stare had lingered on him for so long before. But, now he wasn’t sure what approach to use. Should he try to make small talk with the person and get to know him? He looked interesting. But again, Christopher wasn’t the most social person and he hadn’t come to this party to meet new people. But you never know, perhaps the man in front of him could grow to be a great friend and-

Jackson. Christopher’s world crushed. No. It could not be Jackson. It could not be his best friend, the other half of him he’d lost due to his own bullshit, the Jackson he had grown up with, the loss of whom had changed him completely, the Jackson he had missed, the Jackson he had spent days crying over when he had realized it was his fault for losing. No. There was no way he just coincidentally met him at a party in his last year of university after so many years.

And yet…and yet it was him. Christopher now understood what that face had reminded him of, surprised he hadn’t recognized him immediately. But he had changed so much. The haircut, the clothes, the aura of Jackson were all completely different than what Chris remembered. Memories flashed at the back of his mind, his 16 year-old self laughing as he dragged an unsure Jackie with him, skipping a class, the smell of fire as he lit up the fireworks, the panic that had risen up in him as he realized a tree had caught on fire, the screaming of students, the running, Jackson embracing Chris for the last time after letting him know of his family’s decision. It was all too much.

After a couple moments, when the initial utter shock of recognition faded ever so slightly to allow Christopher to think about anything else, he realized he had to respond to Jackie. The heat of the room suddenly felt like it was drowning him. He could not fathom this meeting. How on earth had they managed to be present at the same party after all those years? Unless they had been going to the same university for that long. But if they did how was it that they had never fell upon each other or heard of each other’s name or just be somehow hinted that the other was right there? The universe was playing some kind of sadistic game on Christopher.

“Jackson. It-It’s me. Christopher” Taking a deep breath and trying and failing to school his features into something resembling calmness, he replied, his voice coming out hoarse. He still couldn’t believe it was his best friend that was standing right there, right in front of him. He wanted to throw himself in his hug, apologize for what he had done, for all the years they had lost because of his paralyzingly idiotic idea. But something in him couldn‘t. He didn’t know if Jackson felt the same way, if he wanted to have anything to do with Christopher. For all he could know, he might have grown to hate him over these years they were apart. A new fear crawled its way up to Chris’ mind, leaving him ultimately vulnerable to what Jackie would respond with.[/I][/I][/I]

 

[.sheep.wolf.]

His head turned, heart leaping into his throat. A gagging feeling rose, as his breath caught in his throat, head reeling. Was it really him? He was mad he didn't immediately recognize the person he called his best friend, the person he had been the closest to during a period in his life where he needed someone. His own face would not comply, "Christopher?" He managed out with a huff of excitement mixed with anxiety and relief. "I- After all this time just- Wow" Words were not forming, he felt like it would get stuck in his throat. He didn't dare take his eyes off of the figure in front of him, half scared that he would disappear. It's been too long, that he knew.

He was.. different. They both were. He took into account that Chris looked more put together, as if something had changed in a minute way that would change him entirely. But those eyes were the same. He always loved the color of his best friend's eyes, preferring it over his own a thousand times over. He could feel himself get slightly panicky, slightly antsy. Suddenly the room felt a little less comfortable than it did, as if he suddenly was aware. But he was aware of the heat of the room.

Jackie could still remember memories of being dragged along, happily apart of something. And then that day where it was pushed too far. The panic that was that week left him feeling empty and alone. That final embrace, the car drive. That car drive was the longest thing he'd ever felt, time just barely etching by. This was definitely not how he thought he'd meet him again. After all of the wondering about if he'd ever see Christopher again. Opening his mouth, he immediately closed it not wanting to ramble, just elated to finally have seen him again.

Had they been going to the same university for all this time? All those times in the halls where they could've met, all of those moments where he felt utterly lost he was right there? A feeling of anger at himself couldn't help but rise with the whirlwind of other emotions. Jackie was not prepared to face this, but here he was. At this now-suffocating party. Finally managing out a few words, his hand went to the back of his neck to swipe away stray hairs. "Do you- uh- Want to take this conversation outside? Where we could hear maybe?" His voice was nervous, matched with giddy excitement with finally seeing him again.

 

[DaydreamingBookworm9]

Once Jackson actually realized who Chris was, the blue eyed man felt a hint of relief faintly attempt to take the place of the nervousness churning in his gut. Although Jackie seemed just as surprised and uncomfortable as him, which ,in a weird way, was somehow comforting, he also seemed happy to see him. Like, genuinely excited. He didn’t look like he hated Christopher. Or at least that’s what the latter wanted to believe, but as he looked at him for longer he was almost certain Jackson was glad to see him. Christopher finally allowed himself to feel less insecure but a smile wouldn’t form on his face. He was still too shocked and confused to let himself slip into the current of his excitement. Perhaps it was all too good to be true. But he would find out soon, he supposed.

"Christopher?I- After all this time just- Wow" Jackson finally seemed to be able to get some words out.

“I know. It really is…something” he responded in the same energy, enthusiastically nervous and letting out a small huff that looked like a chuckle. His eyes still trained on his best friend. He couldn’t rip them off him, couldn’t really stop scrutinizing all the changes that had happened. For a moment, he wondered whether he was dreaming. Probably not, but even if he was he didn’t want to wake up.

"Do you- uh- Want to take this conversation outside? Where we could hear maybe?" Jackson’s voice was heard after a few moments. Christopher nodded. “Yeah, please.” He replied, not caring to add the fact that the fresh air would probably refresh the uneasiness swirling within him. His eyes scanned the room, searching for the balcony door. He had been to Ashton’s apartment once or twice before but the dim lighting and the moving bodies didn’t exactly assist his efforts to recall the layout of the house. His eyes soon caught sight of what seemed to be glass? Yeah, the person hiding it from view stepped aside, finally revealing the door leading outside. He looked back at Jackson, gesturing at him to follow through the crowd.

Unconsciously holding his breath and trying not to shove people out of his way as they stuck on him like sardines from the lack of space, Chris managed to make his way to the door. He stuck his face on it, trying to see past the reflection of the strobe lights to check whether anybody else was outside. Not a soul. Everyone was at the heart of the party. Christopher looked back to see whether his best friend had followed. His best friend….was he still his best friend though? They absolutely once were, but that was nearly a decade ago. Could he still call Jackie his best friend? He tried to shove down these kind of thoughts.

 

[.sheep.wolf.]

He let out a breath, looking for the balcony too. He hadn't been to Ashton's house for a while now, and was equally confused. Eyes snapping to where Chris had begun to walk, he quickly followed behind. Slipping through the crowd with relative ease, he wouldn't allow himself to become separated, after the many parties he'd gone to it got easier to traverse the crowds. At one point he almost slammed into a tipsy girl, but Jackie managed to keep balance well enough. His head felt like it was spinning, thoughts scrambling to gather themselves again. As the person he once called his best friend stopped to check if there was anyone at the balcony, he whipped around to look at the crowd as a few people tried to pass by him.

His head turned back as the blue-eyed boy looked back, and he caught the other's eyes. Relief couldn't help but well up seeing those eyes again.

He maneuvered around the other boy, and didn't bother to check if anyone was out there. Opening the door, he walked out after the other. The cool air flowed past him like a wave, flowing the heat of the room off of him. The moon was rising, dragging the stars along. A slight breeze brushed past them, playing with their hair and clothes. A sigh escaped him as he leaned on the railing. Running a hand through his shaggy bangs, he studied the other for a moment. Was he sure this wasn't a dream? "So.. What have I missed?" He smiled, a hesitant smile that looked a little strange on him. Not the confident, easy smile that came naturally. Jackie was nervous, after not seeing the boy for several years.

His own nervous thoughts bubbled up. What if their relationship would be completely different? Could he even consider him a best friend anymore? Hattie was a good friend, practically family. But Chris had been different. He would have followed Chris to the ends of the Earth and to the pits of hell. It was strange to know he'd still do that. They had been inseparable. Had been. As much as he wanted to stomp down those questions, he couldn't help but worry if they could ever go back to how it was.

 

[DaydreamingBookworm9]

Jackson had indeed followed him and they both exited the packed room, into the balcony. Christopher inhaled a much needed breath of fresh air though the knot in his throat remained. He looked at Jackson once again.

“So.. What have I missed?" The guy asked.

Chris couldn’t help but let a laugh break out of him. He laughed in disbelief as he looked towards the sky and then brought his elbows down at the railing non-too-gently, taking his head in his hands and feverishly running his fingers through his hair, trying to collect his thoughts. He still couldn’t believe this was real. Jackson had just asked him what he had missed.Finally, after a couple moments Christopher stood straight again, only leaning at the railing with the side of his body as he looked at Jackie.

“A whole fucking lot” He said in a that-much-is-obvious way. “And I guess the same goes for me.” He added, looking Jackson up and down making it obvious that he had been flabbergasted by the change in his…everything. Well, Chris himself had changed a lot too. Not just personality-wise, he wasn’t the same prankster who walked around brimming with confidence and believing there would never be consequences for his actions, but also his personal style. Back in high-school, he also dressed differently but not like current Jackie. He had basically lived in dark colored hoodies or t-shirts and baggy jeans and his hair had once reached a point where it almost touched his shoulders. Occasionally he would wear a baseball cap or a beanie and sometimes even a chain necklace. But now, most of that was gone. Well, he still wore hoodies and jeans but he always looked for more classy pieces. As a teen he would just throw on something boringly monochromatic or whatever had one of his favorite bands, something anarchistic or some kind of aesthetically appealing print on it. And he had cut his hair short, always keeping it in that tidy length. Jackie however, seemed to have changed in the exactly opposite way.

The ocean-eyed man let out a sigh. Both of them had definitely missed so much of each other. He wondered how much time it would take them to catch up. If they decided to get back in touch, that was. Christopher did want to, very badly. He had tried to forget how much had been missing Jackson but now it was all coming back to him. He seriously hoped the Raven-haired guy felt the same way.

“So um, how have you been, Jackie?” He queried smiling slightly.