Work Text:
Mateo
8:41 p.m.
I wake up feeling invincible. I don't check the time because I don't want anything to shatter my survivor's spirit. I look beside me where Rufus is still fast asleep. He looks so calm while sleeping. I lean forward and lightly kiss his forehead. For a second, I think about getting up. I'm thirsty and could go for a cup of tea. But the stove is broken. If it wasn't 12 am yet that would be a risk. After all, I'm still tired and I like my bed. Especially with Rufus in it. I grab his hands, holding them in mine. And once again, I'm fast asleep.
Rufus
8:47
I open my eyes and immediately see Mateo's face. He's asleep with the same look as on the bus. Except this time, he isn't having a nightmare. He's sleeping peacefully. I'm glad that he isn't dead. I'm glad that I'm not either. It's still dark out. I don't know what time it is. If it's not 12, we shouldn't get up. I grab my phone and turn it on to check the time. It isn't 12. Far from it, actually. At least three more hours. Three more hours to live. Three more hours with Mateo.
I want to go back to sleep. It seems much safer that way. I'm still going to stay awake. As long as I can. I'll stay in bed and watch Mateo. Make sure he doesn't die. He promised not to die before me and you can bet that I won't let him break that promise. If he wakes up, I won't let him leave the bed either. It's our island of safety. We're here together. To stay alive. We won't die. As Mateo said, that's not our story.
Mateo
11:30 pm
Rufus is watching me. I haven't opened my eyes but I can feel his. I wonder how long he's been watching me. Not when I woke up before, however long ago that was. I feel him run his hands through my hair. I instinctively smile.
"Mateo, are you awake," Rufus asks. I nod and open my eyes. I can't see his face clearly, it's just a blur, and it's dark.
"What time is it," I ask. Rufus pulls up his phone. The screen lights up his face. Then it goes dark again. He sighs.
"Eleven thirty." Rufus places an arm over his face. "Shit. This is nerve-racking."
"Don't worry about it, Roof," I grab his hand, "Thirty minutes and we'll be fine." I don't think that. I just don't want Rufus to be upset. During the next thirty minutes, anything could happen. A fire, an earthquake, a stray bullet, or that gang from the club could find out where we are. If we leave, the chances of dying are even greater.
"Can I take a picture? Of us. I want it to be my last post."
"It won't be your last."
"It might and I want it to be. So can I?"
"Sure. Just give me my glasses first."
Rufus shakes his head. "No," he says. "Just us. Right here. Right now. All-natural and pretty."
I smile. "Alright." I get closer to Rufus, wrapping my arms around his torso. He holds up his phone. Despite not being able to see, I smile. The flash almost blinds me when he takes the photo but I try to make sure I don't squint.
Rufus pulls the phone closer to his face. I don't see his reaction but he doesn't ask for a retake. I can hear the sound of him typing.
"Let me see," I say reaching for the phone. Rufus pulls it away. "No way, dude," he answers. The phone screen goes black.
"So, I'm never going to see my last photo?"
"I thought it wasn't going to be our last photo," Rufus answers. I go quiet. I've exposed my anxiety. I pull Rufus closer.
"I hope it's not."
Rufus
11:35 pm
I captioned my photo with Mateo "Spending my final moments with the guy I love, Mateo Torrez. #LastFriend" I know that he wanted to see the photo but I won't let him. He won't like it, I can tell. And I don't want him to see the rest of the posts I made today. Especially not the photo of him sleeping. He might think I'm a creep. When I die, that's not how I want him to remember me.
"Let's go back to sleep," Mateo finally says. The moonlight shines on his face, letting me know that his eyes are already closed. "If we die, we can die in our sleep. We can die together too."
"It'll be hard to fall asleep again," I say. "You've been asleep for hours."
"Have you been watching me sleep the entire time?" I stay quiet. Then Mateo laughs. I feel him kiss my cheek. "I'm sure that you were just making sure I didn't die. You should sleep now."
I sigh. "I guess I should," I say. Now the room is silent. All I can hear is our breathing and a few cars driving down the street.
I don't know what time it is anymore. I'm just anxious. Mateo has given me his anxiety at this point. Sharing is caring, I guess. I hope Mateo cares about me. I care about him. Hell, I care about him a lot. I didn't know I could get attached to someone so quickly. 24 hours. It hasn't even been 24 hours since we met. Yet, I love him so much. I guess fate is real. Fate and soulmates. I think Mateo is my soulmate. I used to think it was Aimee. But when Mateo kissed me it was different than any time I kissed Aimee or anyone else I've ever been with. It was better and I couldn't wait to kiss him again. I was waiting for a kiss all night. I was so happy to retrieve it.
I close my eyes and I'm asleep.
11:59 pm
I am awoken by Mateo shaking me furiously. "What is it," I groan. I look up and notice he has his glasses on. He looks as if he was crying but he's smiling.
"It's almost twelve," he says. "It's almost twelve." He laughs. "One more minute and we might live."
"What?" I could have died from shock or my heart accelerating. "Are you shitting me?"
Mateo shakes his head. He holds up my phone in my face. The time marks 11:59. Wow. What a great way to make me more anxious and more hopeful at the same time.
"Well, lay down," I almost yell. "You might fall out a window or something." He gets down and puts his head next to mine. Holy shit, he has an amazing smile.
"We're going to live," Mateo whispers. "We're going to live, Rufus! As long as we stay in our sanctuary. We're going to live."
He's wrong. I can feel it. There's no way a freak accident won't happen. We've already been part of a shooting and an explosion. Anything else could happen. I grab Mateo's hand and squeeze tight. "Are you sure," I ask.
Mateo takes a deep breath. "I'm sure," he says. "As long as we stay here, I'm positive."
I close my eyes. If something does happen, especially to Mateo, I don't want to see it. In my head, I can hear the clock ticking. The clock that's counting down to our doom.
Soon enough, I hear Mateo shift in the bed. He gets closer and whispers in my ear, "We made it. We made it!"
I open my eyes. Mateo shows me my phone. The time is 12:00. I sit up and turn on the light. Next to me, Mateo begins to cry. I open my arms and he jumps into them. He cries onto my shoulder then pulls back. And once again, we kiss. This time, we're able to savor the kiss. We don't have a time limit.
That's when our phones ring. The infamous ring of Death-Cast. Mateo pulls back and looks at his phone. I look at mine beside me. "Should we answer," Mateo asks.
I pick up my phone. "I think we should," I say. I slide it to answer and Mateo reaches for his phone.
"Oh," a voice says over the phone. It's the voice of a man but not the same one who called me a day ago. "I didn't expect or you to answer. Rufus Emeterio?"
I clear my throat. Mateo has just answered his phone and is standing on the other side of the room. "Yes," I say. "I'm Rufus."
"Oh, my. That's- hm. Excuse me for a moment while I put you on hold." I hear a click on the other end of the line. A song starts playing, All We Have Is Now by The Flaming Lips. I recognize it because my mom and dad used to listen to it years after it came out. Across the room, I hear the same song playing from Mateo's phone.
"Did they put you on hold too," I ask.
"Yeah," Mateo drops his arm to his side. "What do you think they want?"
"What do you think? We're alive. That isn't supposed to happen."
Mateo nods. "You're right," he says. "But the woman talking to me sounded surprised that I answered. Was it the same for you?"
"Yeah. It was."
Mateo sighs. "So, do you think we actually did it," he asks. "Cheat death, I mean. There's a great chance that our time was just expanded. Have you ever seen any of the Final Destination movies?"
I shake my head. "Nah. I don't watch a lot of movies. Could you tell me more?"
"Gladly, but not now. I'm scared that it'll make my anxiety go through the roof." He brings his hand up to his face. "This is so weird."
"It is, but you gotta be grateful. We lived. We lived together. Now there are so many things that you can do and things you don't have to worry about."
"Yeah, there are. So many things that we can do."
I smile. "Yeah. Things that we can do. Together."
I'm still holding my phone up to my ear. A click and then, "Rufus, you still there?"
"Yeah, I am."
"Well, uh, this is new. It seems that you and one other person have lived through their End Day."
"Mateo."
"What?"
"Mateo Torrez, right? He lived?"
There was the clicking of computer keys. "Yes," the man responds. "Mateo Torrez did live today. Do you know him?"
"Yes. He's my Last Friend."
"Is he with you now?"
"Yeah. I'm in his room."
Mateo looks over at me. Are you talking about me? he mouths. I nod.
"Oh. That makes it easier for me. Put the phone on speaker will ya?"
I gesture for Mateo to come over. He walks over and sits on the bed next to me. I put the phone on speaker, turning up the volume as loud as I can. Mateo's phone beeps, signaling that the person he was talking to had hung up.
"It seems that you two have lived," the man says. "Which is odd. We've never had this happen before, at least not while I've been working here. Because of this, we don't know if there's much we can do. However, I do have one question: Would you like this information to be released to the general public?"
I look over at Mateo. I lower the phone and cover the speaker. "Do you," I ask.
He immediately shakes his head. "No," he says. "No way. I don't need that pressure put on me."
I nod. "Okay," I say. Then I go back to my phone. "No. But you could tell Decker services, right? So if we ever need to go back we don't get called thieves or anything."
"Yes, we can do that. It will not be reported to the news or the police. That's all we need. Stay safe and avoid danger. We're glad that you stayed."
Then he hung up. I take a deep breath. "Damn. That was one hell of a day."
Mateo nods. "Yeah, it was. But definitely worth it. I mean, I met you."
"Yeah. That's great."
"Can I use your phone? I need to call Lidia. She never taught me how to unblock a number."