Page 57 of Septembers

He nodded, because he knew that was what she wanted to see, and then parted ways with exaggerated air-kisses.

She was right, of course. And yet, he couldn’t help but read the texts over and over, just to see if he’d been supportive enough, excited enough, normal enough.

He sat on the subway and took out his phone as the train gently rocked him side to side.

when is your flight

do you need a ride

I can borrow mom’s car

Dae?

Dae

Don’t be angry.

no promises

Theo remembered the way the dots on his phone came and went for a full minute, his stomach getting harder and harder each time.

Dae WHAT

They offered me a job.

I’ll be doing Korean subtitles for English media.

Theo had felt like he’d been hung upside down. He typed a message asking how long Dae would stay in Korea, then erased it.

thats amazing

congrats

thats the perfect job

*missed video call*

Sorry!

headed to work

chat later?

Of course.

It had been a few days, and they still hadn’t talked. Dae hadn’t messaged again, and Theo hadn’t been able to muster the kind of enthusiasm a call like that required. A good friend would be happy for him, not gut-wrenchingly disappointed.

People dodged past as he slowly walked home from the subway. The weekend market was in full swing, so most people carried tote bags filled with an array of fresh vegetables, knick-knacks, or homemade treats. He would miss this neighbourhood, painted with memories and graffiti, with its familiar faces and smells; both pleasant and…not. It wasn’t like he was moving to a different country, but the permanence of this one last move was finally hitting him.

No more summers. No more calling this building his home. No more of his aunt joking that she’d turn his bedroom into an exercise room. Now she really could.

No one was home when he got there, so he went straight to the future exercise room to pack. Jordan’s words kept echoing through his head and he had to reluctantly admit that she was right. Not everything was about him (even if it should be).

So he sat on the floor, leaning against his bed, and pulled up Dae’s contact. It had a picture Theo had taken in their first year, the day Caleb finished the knitted sweater. Dae had put it on and was trying not to show how happy he was, resulting in his not-smile. No dimples. Just his lips turned up and pressed tight.

Theo did the math, figuring out it would be around eleven at night there, then took a deep breath and hit the video call button. It was time to put on a happy goddamn smile and be the happiest friend who ever happied.

Dae answered, the dim lighting of his small apartment throwing him in shadow like some kind of gorgeous, gothic antihero. His eyebrows pinched in concern, and he squinted at the camera. The internet in Theo’s room was shitty, so he stayed that way until his face pixelated and then shifted back to real-time. “Why do you look like that?”