"You know, I'm glad you're in the US. It's a lot easier to catch you up now."
"Yeah, I guess. I'm just really tired every day, you know? Florida's hot as fuck, how the hell do you guys live through this?"
"... Well, I'm inside all day, so there's that?"
Two guys, several miles apart from each other, gazed upon their screens with the faintest of smiles in their eyes. Though both were known to be not particularly emotional, when talking to each other they allowed themselves to relax a bit. The younger man watched as the other one stretched, the webcam too short to fit all of his arms as he lifted them up. "Lucky you then, Sho, getting all that AC while I die of heatstroke over here."
The younger one shrugged. "Eh, but at least you're having fun, right, Seb?"
"I guess, but-" The older man looked away from the screen for a moment. Sho could barely make out the words "early" and "lines" from the other side before Seb called out, "Just a minute!" Seb turned back to the screen and sighed. "Sorry, Mum's telling me to go to bed. Gotta get up at seven to catch the shuttle. I'll text you, though."
"It's fine, I get it. Night, then."
"Alright, night."
Sho ended the call and closed Skype, as was his habit after using the program. He honestly hadn't expected to become so close to Seb. True, they had been friends on 'Charms for several years now, but recently they'd been talking to each other more. It had started out as simple queries about random stuff, but soon they expanded to other forms of contact. They exchanged Skypes, though Sho already had several people added on his that he didn't talk to as much. Eventually, they moved on to Facebook, though Seb claimed that he wouldn't add anyone he hadn't met in real life. A few days ago, they finally exchanged numbers, and that, along with calls, became their main form of contact with each other.
Florida, huh... Sho flopped onto his bed and blankly stared at the ceiling. He knew Seb was only here for about a week or so before he would have to go back to the UK. Though it seemed to be a family trip, he vaguely wondered if he could maybe go over there for a quick visit. Plane tickets were expensive, though, and he couldn't drive to save his life (plus, roads terrified him). Sho groaned and turned over frustratedly.
Why did it even matter so much? So Seb was in the US, big deal. Many 'Charmsians lived in the US, and he'd never bothered to visit any of them. Why was Seb so different, then? Was it just because he wasn't from the US? That didn't seem right; Katie had visited the US a few times in the past as well, and he never cared enough to see her then, either. Seb was just another friend, another person not worth his effort to get out of the house and-
"I think I need to sleep," Sho muttered to nobody in particular as he turned over to his side. He closed his eyes, though he could almost see the same questions he was asking earlier swimming around in his mind. No, stop, go away. Seriously, I'm not going to be able to work tomorrow like this, he thought. After several more minutes of tossing around restlessly, Sho finally gave up and got up, walking over to his computer again. Just once, just this once, and it'll be done.
***
Seb got off the carousel with a giant grin on his face. Turning over to the cow he got off, he pat her head a few times with a tender look. "Thanks for the ride, Bessie. I won't forget it anytime soon," he murmured, making the adults around him look at him funny. Technically, he was an adult, but fuck that. You can't be an adult in Dr. Seuss Land. It was just impossible to.
Looking around, he vaguely wondered where his parents went. After a few seconds, though, he shrugged and walked away from the area. If they wouldn't wait for him to finish a ride, he might as well just go enjoy himself, then. Honestly, though, he couldn't think of a way to make his day any better after riding around in B-
"Seb! I finally found you!"
The man stopped in his tracks, not really believing his ears. No, there had to be someone else in the area named Seb. It was a large park, anyways, so it wouldn't be completely out of the question. However, that voice sounded strangely familiar... Seb shrugged it off for a second, but the figure streaming towards him told him he shouldn't completely ignore the call. As the figure drew closer, he could begin seeing bits and pieces of its face. The figure was definitely male, with brown hair and brilliant blue eyes, and the closer he got to Seb, the more Seb was sure that it was-
"Sho, what the fuck are you doing here?!"
Sho didn't stop running until he was couple of feet away, having to bend over and catch his breath from sprinting this whole time. After almost a minute of panting, he finally managed to gasp out, "Hey," before straightening up. "I managed to catch a bus here, or two. Took longer than I expected, but I made it I guess?"
Seb couldn't believe it. Did Sho just spend over $200 just to get on a couple of buses to Florida, not to mention buy tickets into the parks, just to see him? Was he crazy? "Sho, you realize how ridiculous that story sounds, right?"
Rolling his eyes, Sho responded, "Would you rather say I invented portals and that's how I got here?"
"Hey, if you did, man, congrats to you. Just be sure to tell Stel so he can use it already."
The two stared each other down, not really believing they were finally seeing each other for the first time. Shuffling his feet a bit, Sho finally broke the silence and said, "Well, if there's anywhere you still want to go... the sun's burning me up, so can we go inside already?"
Right, Sho was basically a vampire after having spent almost years indoors, with only the occasional outing. Why was he here, then, in Florida? Was he trying to get a sunburn? Shaking his head, Seb responded, "Well, we can go grab lunch I guess. I can't seem to find my parents so we can hang out a bit?"
"Cool. Anywhere you want to go?"
Seb shrugged. "How about the first place we see?"
Sho grinned back in response, and Seb vaguely wondered if this was the first time he'd seen the younger man smile. "Sounds good to me. Let's go!"
"Yeah, I guess. I'm just really tired every day, you know? Florida's hot as fuck, how the hell do you guys live through this?"
"... Well, I'm inside all day, so there's that?"
Two guys, several miles apart from each other, gazed upon their screens with the faintest of smiles in their eyes. Though both were known to be not particularly emotional, when talking to each other they allowed themselves to relax a bit. The younger man watched as the other one stretched, the webcam too short to fit all of his arms as he lifted them up. "Lucky you then, Sho, getting all that AC while I die of heatstroke over here."
The younger one shrugged. "Eh, but at least you're having fun, right, Seb?"
"I guess, but-" The older man looked away from the screen for a moment. Sho could barely make out the words "early" and "lines" from the other side before Seb called out, "Just a minute!" Seb turned back to the screen and sighed. "Sorry, Mum's telling me to go to bed. Gotta get up at seven to catch the shuttle. I'll text you, though."
"It's fine, I get it. Night, then."
"Alright, night."
Sho ended the call and closed Skype, as was his habit after using the program. He honestly hadn't expected to become so close to Seb. True, they had been friends on 'Charms for several years now, but recently they'd been talking to each other more. It had started out as simple queries about random stuff, but soon they expanded to other forms of contact. They exchanged Skypes, though Sho already had several people added on his that he didn't talk to as much. Eventually, they moved on to Facebook, though Seb claimed that he wouldn't add anyone he hadn't met in real life. A few days ago, they finally exchanged numbers, and that, along with calls, became their main form of contact with each other.
Florida, huh... Sho flopped onto his bed and blankly stared at the ceiling. He knew Seb was only here for about a week or so before he would have to go back to the UK. Though it seemed to be a family trip, he vaguely wondered if he could maybe go over there for a quick visit. Plane tickets were expensive, though, and he couldn't drive to save his life (plus, roads terrified him). Sho groaned and turned over frustratedly.
Why did it even matter so much? So Seb was in the US, big deal. Many 'Charmsians lived in the US, and he'd never bothered to visit any of them. Why was Seb so different, then? Was it just because he wasn't from the US? That didn't seem right; Katie had visited the US a few times in the past as well, and he never cared enough to see her then, either. Seb was just another friend, another person not worth his effort to get out of the house and-
"I think I need to sleep," Sho muttered to nobody in particular as he turned over to his side. He closed his eyes, though he could almost see the same questions he was asking earlier swimming around in his mind. No, stop, go away. Seriously, I'm not going to be able to work tomorrow like this, he thought. After several more minutes of tossing around restlessly, Sho finally gave up and got up, walking over to his computer again. Just once, just this once, and it'll be done.
***
Seb got off the carousel with a giant grin on his face. Turning over to the cow he got off, he pat her head a few times with a tender look. "Thanks for the ride, Bessie. I won't forget it anytime soon," he murmured, making the adults around him look at him funny. Technically, he was an adult, but fuck that. You can't be an adult in Dr. Seuss Land. It was just impossible to.
Looking around, he vaguely wondered where his parents went. After a few seconds, though, he shrugged and walked away from the area. If they wouldn't wait for him to finish a ride, he might as well just go enjoy himself, then. Honestly, though, he couldn't think of a way to make his day any better after riding around in B-
"Seb! I finally found you!"
The man stopped in his tracks, not really believing his ears. No, there had to be someone else in the area named Seb. It was a large park, anyways, so it wouldn't be completely out of the question. However, that voice sounded strangely familiar... Seb shrugged it off for a second, but the figure streaming towards him told him he shouldn't completely ignore the call. As the figure drew closer, he could begin seeing bits and pieces of its face. The figure was definitely male, with brown hair and brilliant blue eyes, and the closer he got to Seb, the more Seb was sure that it was-
"Sho, what the fuck are you doing here?!"
Sho didn't stop running until he was couple of feet away, having to bend over and catch his breath from sprinting this whole time. After almost a minute of panting, he finally managed to gasp out, "Hey," before straightening up. "I managed to catch a bus here, or two. Took longer than I expected, but I made it I guess?"
Seb couldn't believe it. Did Sho just spend over $200 just to get on a couple of buses to Florida, not to mention buy tickets into the parks, just to see him? Was he crazy? "Sho, you realize how ridiculous that story sounds, right?"
Rolling his eyes, Sho responded, "Would you rather say I invented portals and that's how I got here?"
"Hey, if you did, man, congrats to you. Just be sure to tell Stel so he can use it already."
The two stared each other down, not really believing they were finally seeing each other for the first time. Shuffling his feet a bit, Sho finally broke the silence and said, "Well, if there's anywhere you still want to go... the sun's burning me up, so can we go inside already?"
Right, Sho was basically a vampire after having spent almost years indoors, with only the occasional outing. Why was he here, then, in Florida? Was he trying to get a sunburn? Shaking his head, Seb responded, "Well, we can go grab lunch I guess. I can't seem to find my parents so we can hang out a bit?"
"Cool. Anywhere you want to go?"
Seb shrugged. "How about the first place we see?"
Sho grinned back in response, and Seb vaguely wondered if this was the first time he'd seen the younger man smile. "Sounds good to me. Let's go!"
