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His eyes opened to a pitch black room, the rain outside common in the London nights, the clouds seemed to stretch on forever, leaving a cold, stinging scent.
He remembered the parking lot. The day Ted left.
“Well, I’ll see you when I see you,” Trent said, taking off his glasses, staring at the ground.
“When you do,” Ted started. “Can you remember,” He chuckled, he stopped himself from finishing.
“What?”
“How much I care about you.”
Then they kissed.
It’s a boring line. But that’s what Trent remembered. They talked. Then they kissed. It’s a short way to describe the absolute world ending effect it gave to Trent’s brain. The tears rolling down his face as he pulled away, shoving Ted back. The fireworks in his heart that quickly fell into ashen remains. He kissed him, right before he left.
The selfish jerk.
“Then why are you leaving?!” He stumbled back from Ted, and he screamed so hard the words scraped against the back of his throat.
Ted sighed. He closed the space between them, and cupped Trent’s face and kissed his cheek. Trent turned away, “Because I have to.”
“You won’t…?” The words remained unsaid.
“I won’t forget this,” Ted smiled.
“Why did you only come here to leave?”
“Why do we wash our clothes when we’ll only wear them again?”
“It’s unhygienic not to.”
“Because we’re alive. We wear our clothes, and we go places, just to leave them.”
Trent chuckled. He started to sob, the laugh catching on his tears. “Don’t forget me, don’t forget to text, write, whatever.”
“I won’t, Trent.”
“And..”
“And?”
“Please don’t go!” Trent couldn’t help it, his knees buckled and he fell onto the hard concrete, sobbing uncontrollably. Ted knelt down in front of him. “I love you, Ted.”
“I know,” He stroked Trent’s hair. “I love you, too.”
“Goodbye, Ted.”
“See you later, alligator.”
Trent laughed, “After a while, crocodile.”
And that was it. Trent pushed it away. He wrapped himself up in his blankets and tried to forget. It was hard. All he could do was remember what it felt like. The soft kiss, on his lips, his cheek.
It felt so far away, now.
His phone rang. He snatched it and answered immediately.
“Hello?”
“Hi, we’ve reached out to contact you about your car’s extended warranty,” Just as Trent was about to hang up, he paused. That voice…
“Ted?”
“Right as rain, Shirley MacLaine.”
“I was—“
“I was just thinking about you,” Ted hummed.
“Yeah, me too.”
“You know what would be crazy?”
“Besides vanishing for several months with only minuscule gif sending to let me know you’re still alive?”
“This,” Ted hung up.
“You mother!—“
There was a knock at the door.
“No fucking way,” Trent started to cry as he jumped out of bed and ran to the door.
“Well…” Ted chuckled. “It’s later now, alligator.”
Trent held Ted tightly, savoring his body. “Been quite the while, crocodile.”