Chapter Text
You and Facty have been friends since childhood, your parents being neighbors and good friends. You guys have always lived right next to each other, have always gone to the same school, and are always in each other’s presence. You really couldn’t imagine being away from them.
However, graduation was right around the corner. Facty was always a top student, and even has been selected as valedictorian. You, on the other hand, were just trying to get by. It’s not like you weren’t smart, but your interests were not in your studies. You wanted to take some time after high school to take a break and focus on other things, and they wanted to get into an Ivy League.
The school they’re looking at is practically across the country from you, and you both have been trying to avoid that fact… With this knowledge, there’s been a rising tension between the two of you. Facty has been too stressed about their valedictorian speech to pay you any mind. In reality they’re really just trying to busy themselves. They don’t want to think about how they’ll stop seeing you as often as they used to, and you guys will be apart for the first time since you were kids.
You think Facty is avoiding you because of your decision to not immediately go to college. All they talk about is getting into a good school and how it’s good for your career, but the thought of it made you feel uneasy. You’re scared that they now think lesser of you, hence the distance forming between you two.
…
It’s the night after graduation. Facty’s speech had gone well, and of course you were nothing but happy for them despite the current strain on your friendship. It felt great to be able to walk the stage, flip your tassel, and finally be done with it all. You hastily turned off all your alarms, deleted all your reminders, and deleted the school’s app off your phone.
It was freeing.
Both your parents and Facty’s parents had decided to host a little cookout in your backyard. Of course, both families crowded the yard and filled it with the sound of laughter, the smell of food, music, and other lively activities. You filter through the crowd, thanking the congratulations you recieve from both families, but you’re really just looking for Facty. You know they get easily overwhelmed by crowds, and after their speech you just know their family is all over them right now.
Through a small clearing of people, you see them getting praised by various members of both families. As happy as you were for them, you couldn’t help but feel a bit jealous. Even since they were kids, Facty was always getting praised for their academic abilities. However, now wasn’t the time to get jealous. You were trying to pull them away from the crowd as you could see the visible discomfort on their face from all the attention.
“Excuse me but I’m just going to borrow Facty for a second!” You grab their arm and pull them inside your house, not giving anybody time to react. One of your parents is setting things up in the kitchen to bring outside, so you quietly pull Facty upstairs to your room, closing the door and turning to them. “Are you okay?”
“Um, yeah.” They rub their arm nervously, avoiding eye contact. “Thanks for getting me out of there.”
“Yeah, of course. Anything for a friend.”
…
The silence starts to get awkward.
“Did you try the food?” You say, sitting on your bed. You’re trying to make things less palpable.
“I did. It was good. You know I love your mom’s cooking.” They ease up, taking the spot next to you. You smile at that.
“Yeah…”
The air is a bit more comfortable, and you two start to talk again. It’s the first time you guys have actually had a conversation in a few weeks, which you’re now realizing is a really long time.
It’s short lived, however, as you say something that strikes a nerve.
“Say, Facty… Why have you been avoiding me?” You joke, “I feel like we haven’t had our usual heart to heart in a while.”
“Me? Avoid you? I’m not avoiding you. What makes you think that?” They start talking faster, something they do when they’re nervous.
“You’ve totally been avoiding me. You haven’t answered any of the TikToks I sent you, or any of my texts.”
“I’ve been busy.” They start avoiding eye contact again.
“I get it. With your whole speech and stuff.” You bite your cheek. The room fills with silence again.
.
“Are you mad at me..?” You finally manage to say, your voice wavering.
“Mad at you? Why would I be mad?” Their voice softens, turning to look at you.
“I feel like there’s something you’re not letting on. You always manage to make time for me even when you’re busy. Why is this different..?”
.
They bite their lip. They don’t want to answer, focusing on a loose piece of string attached to their shirt.
“It’s because of me isn’t it? I knew it.”
Facty looks up at you, a little alarmed. You don’t seem to notice.
“Look, I know that I’m not some big nerd like you are who gets straight A’s and is a part of every single club, but I still try. You’re not any better than me!” You snap defensively, standing up.
“Woah, woah, calm down, _____!”
“No! I’m not gonna calm down. You’ve been hiding this from me! I know what you think about me not going to college, but that doesn’t make me any lesser than you! And… and….” Tears well up in your eyes, and the lump in your throat gets harder to swallow. It’s hard to talk through your tears. “and… you’re gonna go to college without me and leave me here. Or forget about me while you go off to make achievements that I’ll probably never get to do myself…”
Facty’s eyes widen at these words. They stand up, pulling you into a hug. You sob into their shoulder, the stress of it all finally hitting you.
“You know I don’t think that, _____. If I’m being honest, I think I’ve just been pushing you away because I’ve been too scared to face the fact that I’m leaving you. This is hard for both of us, and I should’ve tried harder to communicate with you about it.” They rub your back, and you squeeze them tighter in return.
“It’s okay.” You pull away, trying to look at them through your glossy eyes. “I think… I’m just really gonna miss you…” You bite your cheek again, trying hard not to cry even more.
“I’m gonna miss you too, _____.”
.
“And for the record, you’re very talented. I see how hard you try and the way you light up when you talk about your hobbies. I admire that about you, and I fully believe that you’ll go off to achieve great things while I’m gone too.”
…
A few months have passed, and summer is almost over. You’ve been helping Facty pack over the past few days, and each day only gets harder. You’re basically almost done, only needing to pack a few more miscellaneous items and load everything into the car. This means today is the last day you’ll be seeing Facty. Before that, of course, you guys take a quick snack break.
“This is kinda surreal.” You say, sitting on the kitchen counter and eating a bag of chips.
“Just a bit.” Facty leans on the island, eating trail mix. You glance at the snack in their hand.
“I still don’t know how you like that stuff.” You snicker.
“It’s good!”
“No it’s not.” You pause, recalling something. Facty notices how lost in thought you look. They always found it kind of endearing. Feeling their cheeks heat up, they quickly look away before you can catch them staring. “I remember that time you spilled it all over my carpet, and you were genuinely so upset about it I walked with you to the corner store just to get you some more.”
“You’re never going to let me live that down, are you?” They smile, remembering the moment themselves.
“No way!” You laugh, but it fades. “Is there a corner store by your uni?”
“I don’t think so. But I’m sure there’s tons of other places that I can walk to! New opportunities!” They say it dramatically in an attempt to make you feel better again, which works. A comfortable silence falls between them. You slide off the counter, finishing the bag of chips you were eating and heading to the garbage to throw it out.
“You ready to load everything up?”
“Ready as I’ll ever be!”
…
You help Facty load the last box into the car. You stare at it while Facty closes their trunk.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” They cup your face, tilting it up to face them. They immediately realize that what they did was way too bold and they start to freak out, pulling their hand away quickly as if they were burned. “I mean— I’m sorry! I should’ve asked you first! Did I grab you too hard? Oh jeez, I’m really sorry.”
“Gosh, Facty, relax. It’s fine.” Yet you can still feel your face heating up from the touch, your cheek tingling where their hand was. “You’re so jumpy.”
“Sorry.”
.
You pull them into a tight hug. “Pleasedon’tgoFactycollegeisn’teventhatimportant.” You feel yourself tearing up again, squeezing them tighter.
“_____… I’m gonna pop if you hug me any longer..!” But they still hug back. They sigh in relief once your grip on them loosens, grabbing you by the shoulders. “I need you to stop stressing. I’m one video call, text message, Tiktok, or even fact away. Okay?” You nod. They check their phone, seeing that they should be going. “I think you know what this means.” They fight the tears stinging at their own eyes too.
“Yeah, I do…”
You both hug one last time.
“I love you, Facty.” It slips out before you can do anything about it. “As a friend of course!! Because that would be weird, right? Hahahaha…” You laugh nervously, but it seems to go right over Facty’s head.
“I love you too.. As a friend.” They wink playfully, trying to ignore the tears now streaming down their face.
You both pull away to stare at each other’s tear stained faces.
“Please drive safe! Don’t do anything rash, or anything I wouldn’t do! And don’t hook up with random college students!” You call out to them as they start to make their way into the drivers seat. Facty gives you a cheesy smile and a thumbs up. You can’t help but stand at their window, exchanging your last few goodbyes and waving as they drive off. You sob, watching their car turn the corner and fade out of your sight.
At least they come back for the holidays? Just 4 more months…