“Here we are,” Mike chimed, his hand still holding mine tightly as he walked me up to the front door of me and Phoebe’s house.

“Thanks again, Mike,” I smiled. He gave my hand a squeeze, and I outstretched my other one to open the front door.

“Er, wait, Faye,” Mike mumbled. I paused and raised an eyebrow at him expectantly. “Can I see you again?” he asked.

“Well that’s not very fair, Mike,” I crossed my arms over my chest, smirking at him. “If I can’t see you, you can’t see me!” I teased. He chuckled and poked my side.

“You’re so sassy. I’m serious, though.”

“I don’t see why not,” I smiled shyly, tucking a strand of fallen hair behind my ear.

“Great. I’ll have my people call your people, then.”

I grinned widely. “Sounds good,” I giggled.

I felt Mike’s breath on my face—a pleasant mix between cigarettes and the mint he probably used as an attempt to diffuse the smell—and his cool fingertips gently rested under my chin. Slowly, he moved my head to the left, as if to clearly show that he wasn’t intending on crossing any boundaries, and I felt his lips on my cheek. He left them there for several, sweet seconds, and I smiled softly. As my cheeks lifted in my smile, he pulled away. “Have a good night, Faye,” he murmured.

“You too,” I said.

“Hey, kiddo,” I heard the door swing open and Vic greet his brother—Mike groaned as Vic made his status as the older brother clear. I giggled. “Hey, Faye,” Vic said, patting my left shoulder.

“I’ll beat you up,” I heard Mike mutter, and we—Vic and I—chuckled.

“Faye, Phoebe’s asleep. Do you want one of us to walk you inside?” Vic asked. I smiled and shook my head.

“No thank you, I’m good. Thanks though,” I said. I knew I was already facing the door, so I wasn't going to have a problem on my own. At this point, I was very familiar with the house.

“Okay then. Bye, Faye,” Vic said, his voice a little wary. I grinned and gave them a thumbs up, just to show them that I really was okay—once I was in my own territory, I could take care of myself.

“Bye, Vic,” I waved. I heard Vic’s footsteps fade away, and I smiled again at Mike. “Bye Mike,” I dragged out the words. He chuckled and patted both of my shoulders.

“Bye Faye,” he said, his voice low and husky. I grinned one last time and reached out for the door. As soon as I heard Mike’s feet shuffle away, I walked into my house, smiling at myself.

“Faye!” I yelped in surprise when someone called my name.

“Phoebe, what the hell! Vic said you were asleep!” I put my hand over my chest; laughing as I recovered from the fright she gave me. “Lord,” I breathed.

“Sorry,” she giggled. “I was asleep, but I just woke up and heard you come in, and I got excited,” she said.

I laughed again and shook my head. “It’s okay, buddy.” I opened up my arms, and she collided into me almost instantly. I laughed again. “I’m guessing your night went well?” I asked, brushing back her hair. I felt her nod.

“Yeah,” she breathed. “I really like him, Faye. He’s a really great guy,” she said.

“I know,” I smiled. I pulled away from her and hooked my arm through hers, walking to my room.

“I’ll sleep in here tonight,” she declared.

“Tell me all about your night,” I smiled, falling back onto my bed. I bounced a little when she jumped onto the bed next to me, clinging to my side.

“It was just casual and laid back. We just watched movies together all night, which was really nice,” Phoebe explained. I could tell there was something else, though, so I waited. “He asked me to be his girlfriend today,” she whispered.

“Aw, that’s so sweet,” I smiled, patting her cheek. She giggled. “Are you happy?” I asked.

“I am,” she said. “I didn’t expect that we would actually meet people coming here, though,” she added thoughtfully. “I suppose I should have.”

“Yeah, neither did I. But it’s always been just you and me, even in North Carolina,” I said.

“That’s true. It’s kind of weird, though. I haven’t had a boyfriend in so long,” she sighed.

“It’ll be good for you, for the time being,” I smiled.

“The time being…” she repeated lowly to herself, her voice a little sad. I frowned, a pang of guilt stabbing through my chest; I didn’t mean to make her upset, reminding her that we couldn’t stay in San Diego forever. I never expected us to make friends, so I never prepared myself for forming relationships but then having to leave them behind when our time here in San Diego was up. “We don’t have to think about that right now,” she said at a normal volume. I could hear the worry in her voice, though, as if she didn’t really think that far into the future. Maybe that was a good thing, though—enjoy the time we had now, live in the present, worry about the future tomorrow.

“I feel bad, now,” I bit my lip.

“Don't,” she said sternly. “He knows our schedule is going to be wild. But remember they’re also in a touring band, and are going to tour basically all of next year, with small breaks in between. We’re both going to be all over the place, so it kind of works. Besides, we—”

“Wait, you told him why we are here?” I furrowed my eyebrows.

“It’s come up in conversation, yes,” she said easily.

“Phoebe,” I groaned, covering my face with my hands.

“What's wrong, Faye?” she asked, confusion laced in her tone.

“I don’t know, I guess I just didn’t want them to know,” I said, biting my lip. I didn’t really understand why I had a problem with it, though.

“Shit, I’m sorry, Faye. Why, though?”

“I didn’t want to get any one’s hopes up,” I murmured. Then I frowned, realizing that what I just said was pretty self-centered—why would they care if I got my eyesight back?

“They would. Mike definitely would,” Phoebe said, and I scrunched my nose up when I realized I had spoken out loud. Sometimes I couldn’t separate my thoughts from what I actually wanted to say.

I shook my head. “It’s fine, honestly. It’s not a secret. I guess I just figured it would be easier if less people knew about it, so if it didn’t work out…” my voice trailed off and I shook my head again. I didn’t even know what I was saying.

“I can tell Vic not to tell Mike if you want.”

“No, no, that’s just silly,” I shook my head again. “Just forget I said any of that, it’s fine, really,” I rambled. Phoebe chuckled.

“There’s something else, isn’t there?” she asked, a smirk in her voice. I knew she was insinuating about Mike, but I just sighed and didn’t answer her directly.

“Everything’s changing, Phoebes. It’s scary. Like we came here and, boom, everything is different. And I didn’t expect to make friends, especially friends that will be traveling again in a few months,” I blurted out.

“Aw, babe,” Phoebe whispered. She swiped my cheeks; I didn’t realize I was starting to cry.

“And I don’t cry, Phoebe. I don’t have nightmares this often. It’s like everything all of a sudden is just crashing down on me—on us—and I don’t know what to do!” I continued. “I’m so used to having a rock—you—who never leaves. It’s just really weird having other people in my life, but who aren’t permanent. I don’t think I can handle that again,” I panicked. My mind fluttered to back when I was a kid. I had two loving parents, friends, and a sense of community. But when I turned eleven, everything changed. Phoebe was the only consistent person in my life. I wasn't accustomed to knowing other people--I've always been afraid of forming new relationships, in fear of the same thing that happened to my parents happening to them. So the fact that I was getting close to Mike was terrifying.

“Hey, listen, it’s going to be okay, Faye,” she said gently. “I understand that you’re in a lot of stress right now, but you have me and even Mike to get you through it--and, I’m sure, the other guys, too. Just let him take a load off of your shoulders, Faye. You don’t have to worry about them leaving for tour yet, but I’m sure, if things are still going well by that time, that it will be just as hard for them as it is for us. But if we’re all really meant to be really great friends, it will all work out in the end. You can’t worry about it though, okay? Just go with the flow, sweetie. Thinking about temporary people versus permanent people will drive you crazy. You can't control it, so don't try to...”

I nodded, finding comfort in her words. “I just…” I sighed and smiled weakly, thinking about Mike. If I had visual memories of him, I would be reliving the few times we’ve hung out. But I didn’t, so I was left with the tingling sensation of his kiss on my cheek, the imprint of his hand gripping mine, and his voice ringing in my ears, asking me if he could kiss me. I suddenly regretted saying no, imagining that the feeling of his lips on mine would be a great feeling to remember.

I gulped, wondering where these thoughts of mine were coming from.

“Phoebes, I don’t want to become too attached,” I whispered. “Mike’s company makes me so happy, like when I’m with you. He’s so gentle and kind, and I feel like I’m going to get attached to him,” I admitted. I grimaced and buried my head into her hair. I didn’t know I felt like this until the moment the words slipped past my lips. But it was true; I was getting used to Mike’s sweetness. Similar to how I was used to Phoebe’s. I was definitely attached to Phoebe—I wouldn't know what I’d do if she left me (or if I left her). And it seemed strange to me that I was already feeling attached to Mike’s company. I guess that the feeling of having another friend in addition to Phoebe was so new to me that it was almost addicting.

“I know, love,” she said sympathetically, playing with some of my hair.

“You know?” I laughed irrationally.

“Of course I know, Faye. I know how you feel about people before you even know it yourself. I can see it in your eyes.”

Notes

Short filler! Yucky! Except Faye and Phoebe have a heart to heart, which is good.
xx

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Honest opinion: I'm trying really hard not to rush things (I seem to do that a lot in my other stories--rush things), but do you think this is rushed at all? Like the stuff they talk about in this update, is it all too soon?
Sorry if I'm annoying I'm just trying to improve myself and keep things more realistic or something