The Formalities of Friendship

Chapter 2: Soyee

.・゜゜・And that was the moment. The moment I recognized.・゜゜・．
.・゜゜・We aren’t friends anymore. We are just two people who talk sometimes.・゜゜・．
.・゜゜・Nothing more, nothing less.・゜゜・．

It’s hard to imagine that friendships end every day.

Stupid, little fights ruin years of memories.

Distance causes seemingly unbreakable bonds to fade.

Sometimes people change with age, realizing that they weren’t meant to be together.

Then there are those friendships that just slowly crumble without either person even realizing it.

Nobody really stops to think about it though.

Because no one wants to think about it.

I’ve lived through moments like this many times in my life.

And I’ve learned to quickly get over them.

If someone gives up on you, you give up on them.

But Sally.

I glanced at the red haired girl sitting on the park bench next to me.

The sunlight surrounding us outlined her, illuminating her pale features with it’s warm glow.

Sally was different.

I never wanted to have to give up on her.

I moved to rest my hand atop of hers, mine completely encompassing her smaller one.

Sally.

“Sally...”

She turned to face me, giving me a perfect view of that bright smile of hers.

I watched it fade though as she noticed my creased brow.

But still she stayed quiet.

She wanted me to speak first.

I wish that she could just understand what I wanted to say without me having to actually say it.

My grip on her hand tightened.

Maybe if I squeezed hard enough, she would get my message.

Instead she pulled her hand away, replacing it gently on top of mine.

This was why I didn’t want to have to give up on her.

Her kind touch gave a spur of encouragement.

“Sally,” I began again, “I don’t want to lose you.”

Her smile returned, this time softer.

Sadder.

“Lose me to what, Soyee?”

I in a shaky breath.

There were so many things.

Time.

Distance.

Work.

Someone else.

Because I was scared of losing her to everything.

My voice came out as a cracked whisper.

I suddenly felt helpless.

“I’m not sure, Sally.”

She chuckled.

It was quiet.

My ears turned pink upon hearing the delicate sound.

This was serious.

I was serious.

God, was I serious.

So why was she laughing?

“Sojin ah. If you’re not sure, then there’s nothing to worry about.”

“But we’re getting older, Xiening,” she raised an eyebrow, “And people change with age.”

“Soyee…”

I felt my eyes begin to sting.

“What if we change? What if we change and we stop being friends?”

 She shifted in her seat, turning to press both of her palms against my cheeks.

She forced me to meet her eyes, and as much as I wanted to look away, I couldn’t.

“We’ve been adults for a long time now, and we’ve been friends for even longer. All of our ridiculous changes have already happened. We are who we are…And we love who we are.”

Sally paused, taking in a sharp breath.

My chest felt tight.

I couldn’t help but inhale shakily as well.

Then she continued.

“So if the universe wanted us to stop being friends, it would have happened by now.”

With that, she turned back to look out upon the park in front of us.

And we returned to silence.

To Sally it was the same warm, comfortable silence that we were used to.

To me it was a frigid, tense silence that I never wanted to have to deal with.

Never.

But I had already said what I had to say.

And she the same.

Nothing else would change.

I turned to face the same direction as her, gazing out at a flock of birds taking flight.

Except maybe us.

I bit my lip, the same dreadful thoughts from the beginning of our day overtaking my mind yet again.

I just wished that growing up didn’t mean growing apart.

.・゜゜・・゜゜・．

So there’s chapter two. I hope you all like it. I’m still kind of trying to adjust to this new style of writing.
Also, I promise that these chapters are going to include all of the girls at some point, and not just my ships lol I love all nine of them.
Lastly, I’m kind of excited for the next chapter. I hope that you are going to enjoy reading it as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it.