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There was just something about anticipation that'd always make the lead-up to something feel so much longer, and yet also felt too soon. The bus felt strangely empty now, with it having been completely packed when Berdly had first stepped on. The silence did nothing to help the sinking feeling in his stomach, and the button mashing sounds and occasional beeps just pierced through his brain. He put the console down, quickly taking off his glasses to wipe them as he let out a sigh. He was bored out of his mind, but the headache just wasn't worth it. It was still a long way there, as was apparent to him from looking out the window next to him. He had remembered coming to the field they were passing with Kris, Noelle, and Susie during summer one year. Thinking back to the sheer amount of bug bites he got was horrendous, but it wasn't exactly as if it was a bad memory. It was, however, weird to think back to. As much as he would have never admitted to it those years ago, they were close, and yet in the past few years they've barely spoken. Well, he at least frequently called Noelle, but he barely spoke to Kris and Susie now. From what he had heard, Noelle and Susie visited each other very frequently, and as pleasant as it sounded he just never found himself having that much time to justify the traveling there and back from where he was attending college.
The most surprising thing to him out of all of that was that he hadn't kept in contact with Kris. They exchanged a couple of messages back and forth every few months but nothing else. He supposed Kris had just never been much of a talker anyway, almost finding a sense of comfort in that moment, thinking maybe they hadn't changed too much in all that time. As hard as it was, change was a part of life, that much was clear from how they had drifted apart despite having a…close-ish relationship. The best way either of them could describe it would be to just not describe it.
Just from thinking the time seemed to fly, the newly gone anxious feeling returning in an instant as the bus came to a halt. He tried to grasp his surroundings as he stepped out, hoping that maybe they weren't here yet and he'd have a moment to prepare. That hope was quickly shattered by a single tap on his small tap on his shoulder. Turning around, he froze in awe. Was this Kris? No way it could be, but it had to be. They had changed a bit, but not enough for them to be unrecognizable. Even after all these years they were still sporting that signature green sweater, except now they had outgrown it and just had it tied around their waist as an accessory. They hadn't changed a lot, but the way they did felt a lot more drastic than it probably was. With slightly longer hair now, tied back into a short ponytail, making their face a lot more visible than it was with how they used to style it, and making the concerned looks he was receiving from them very apparent.
He cleared his throat, trying to brush off the awkwardness. "It's nice to see you, Kris… I…like your hair." He found himself struggling for words. It wasn't as if he found it hard to talk to people, or even Kris, but he had never been good at talking to them on a more genuine level. It would be all fine and well by him to go back to that little 'rivalry' they had back in the day, but he couldn't even begin to try to piece together how Kris would feel after all this time of being apart. He shuffled his feet for a few seconds, before trying to break the silence again.
"So, what are the plans for the day? I didn't really look into anything around here."
They shrugged. "You still play video games?"
"Oh, Kris. Of course I do." He lightly nudged them, feeling a sense of relief for some reason. Maybe things weren't going to be that different after all. "How have things been for you lately? Do you still talk to Susie and Noelle?"
They nodded in response, with Berdly now finding himself totally out of conversational topics just from that. He took a moment to look around as they walked. The street was quiet, save for a few people walking and the occasional car going by. There was a park across the street, and from a glance it generally seemed busier than where they were now. He almost didn't notice Kris stopping to look at something in a store window as he looked around, stepping back to stand next to them.
Once he also looked in, he wasn't particularly intrigued by anything on display, but he was staring at their reflections in the window. They were standing right next to each other, and yet in some trick of the imagination it looked as if they were far apart. Sure enough, when he blinked they were standing next to each other normally.
After a moment realization hit him. "Where are we headed?" He felt a bit silly asking after they had been walking for a bit, being too preoccupied thinking about other things the entire time.
"To my dorm so you can drop your things off. Then you can decide where you want to go."
"I didn't really look into things around here…"
They shrugged. "That's fine. I might know some places you'd be interested in."
He turned to face them again after that, raising an eyebrow. He began to wonder if maybe they had actually planned for this in advance, feeling a bit embarrassed of not having done much preparation, aside from many hours of stressing out about the meeting. Something about the idea of that was reassuring though. Things were different, but somehow they felt comfortably familiar at the same time. Generally when they had plans in advance it was Kris that made them. Even Berdly coming to visit now had been their idea. That unexplainable warm feeling he used to get around Kris years ago truly hadn't gone anywhere. He felt like he was remembering so much that he hadn't thought about in years. How cool he used to think Kris was, and how he simultaneously became more friendly and competitive with them in order to attempt to emulate that for himself. He wondered if Kris ever noticed the shift in their relationship at all. Their weird, messy relationship, that Berdly had never been able to and wasn't sure if he would ever be able to explain. It's hard to explain things you don't fully understand yourself.
"Berdly." He shook his head in surprise from them suddenly speaking up. "You seem distracted."
"I'm just thinking about the past. I didn't think about it until I got here but I missed hanging out with you." He saw them form a slight smile from the corner of his eye.
"I missed you too."
They stood outside a door, with Berdly desperately taking a moment to catch his breath.
"You weren't kidding about all those stairs." He could've sworn for a second that he heard them laugh before they gently shoved past him to unlock the door. The room wasn't anything unexpected. It was relatively plain, with a couple of posters on the wall. Most of it was completely spotless, with a couple of things laying out and a drawer half open. It was very similar to how their room was back home, except with them having more space due to it not being a shared room. On the wall there was a corkboard with various things on it, mostly notes about various things for them to remember, but there were a few photos Berdly recognized. He was surprised to find that even some of the photos he wasn't in he remembered having been the one to take the photo. Things finally felt a lot more familiar.
"So, are we heading out now or do you wanna finally have that Mario Kart rematch after all these years?" They teased, leaning their arm on his shoulder.
"Are you sure you want that rematch? Since it's almost certain that I'm going to defeat you this time." He had donned the same smug smile he used to have almost 90% of the time in the past again. He made it sound like he had been practicing for this moment, and he had.
Kris took notice of how quickly he had gone from being seemingly awkward and quiet to bantering with them again how he had in the past. They understood the feeling though. It was just how things had worked out and they knew that, but they couldn't help but feel as though they could've done more to stay in contact over these years. They kept sneaking glances at him as they set up the game. Berdly hadn't changed at all. Sure, he was grown up now, but he still had the same sense of fashion, the same smile, and the same awkward demeanor around them. He hadn't changed much since they last saw him, but he had certainly changed a lot since they first met him. They were glad he agreed to come, he always seemed to be really busy with his studies nowadays, and so were they as well.
"Ready, Kris?"
Berdly stretched, looking across the room at the clock.
"Is it that time already?" He looked outside the window as well, it wasn't dark out but the sun was noticeably getting red to set at this time. "I know I'm going to be staying here for a few days but would you want to go out for dinner tonight? We have plenty of time to go out another day but I just-" He wasn't sure himself where exactly he was headed with this explanation without making it sound as though he was asking them out on a date, and a part of Kris wanted to jokingly ask if it was a date, but they also weren't sure they wanted the honest answer to that question. Not that they would've minded it being a date. After all, playing video games and then going out to get something to eat sounded a lot like what they would've assumed were dates with him back in school.
"You're going to have to lead the way though." He mumbled under his breath. "I don't actually know where any restaurants are around here, let alone the nearest ones."
They didn't mind leading the way. It was reminiscent of old times, of them basically being the leader of their group in the dark world. The streets were now busier, with most people heading home at this time. Kris reached for Berdly's hand, just to ensure that they wouldn't manage to lose him in the crowd. He lost his breath for a moment, surprised by the suddenness of the gesture.
"I never asked earlier...What are you up to these days, Berdly?" The distance between them felt massive, with Kris realizing in the moment of asking that they don't even know what he's studying. They though maybe he had mentioned it before and they had just forgotten, but they were almost certain that it had just never come up.
"Not much outside of college. I'm doing computer science." He coughed. "I guess my life is a bit boring now. No more sneaking out at midnight because someone called the group together for an 'emergency' that was really just wanting to hang out." The way he spoke about that time had a fond tone to it, despite him wording it as if it were an annoyance. It was at the time, but he still found himself enjoying every single second he spent with that group. He had always felt close with them, and like he could be open with them without actually being open about things. To an extent it just felt like they knew and understood. They still treated him with respect despite him self-admittedly being a bit of a jerk in the past.
They couldn't help but smile, knowing exactly what night he had been talking about. They probably could've guessed it'd be something along those lines that he was studying, it's just so like him, and he had brought it up in the past as a possible path, but he never said anything definite. Most of all they were happy to know that he's doing something he's genuinely passionate about.
"You know, everyone changed a lot but I've practically stayed the same over all these years."
"I don't think that's a bad thing." Kris stopped in place, maneuvering to be face-to-face in front of him. "You might not have changed recently, but you definitely changed a lot since we first met. And if it means anything I personally like you just the way you are."
Those were the words that struck something within him. He felt himself tearing up, not from sadness, but from what could almost be described as gratefulness. Grateful that he knew Kris, that he was here with them, standing in front of the same store window they had passed earlier, with the distance that had built up over the years seeming smaller.