These are rare days.

He never really knows when the next time he’ll see her is. They live 30 miles apart and never have any intersecting schedules. She has a life of her own to live, and he; his. He’s just chilling as a high school senior and not worrying too much about college applications. She, on the other hand, is still a junior who’s trying to decorate her resume to get into one of the nation’s best colleges.

How they met? They used to play club tennis together. They had a mutual friend, and after they were introduced to each other, they hit it off quite well. They always hung out with each other whenever they had some free time at the club. Then they made time to meet up during the weekends. Every spare moment that they had, they spent it on the phone texting or talking to each other. If not, then they were chatting over AIM. They were inseparable.

Unfortunately for the lovey-dovey couple, the guy never had the guts to ask her to make it official. So their relationship never progressed from the “good friends” stage. Eventually, the flame started to die down because of a lack of fresh air to breathe new life into it. At one point, even the embers could no be rekindled. What was once a bright strong burning fire was now an empty hearth void of any activity.

The one thing the guy was able to do was to steadfastly hold on. Even past the rough times with serrated edges poking out the front, he never gave up. Not to the point that he became obsessively involved with her, but just enough to keep the hearth warm, in case a rekindling was possible.

And as fate would have it, a spark from the past would prove to be the starting point. Once again, their relationship moved past the chilly ice age back into the normal fiery times of once was. Of course, the past could never be completely revisited, but they had as much as they could. They weren’t constantly connected through technology. Their separate parallel lives were unable to intersect at all. That is, except when the stars aligned.

Plans made in advanced tended to fall apart before it could materialize into something tangible. Instead, they could only meet up randomly, with meetings prearranged a few days ahead of time. At other times, their surreptitious meetings were called on the day-of.

It is this Friday night where one of their infrequent clandestine meetings take place. Her school is playing his for homecoming, and since she’s part of the band, she is one of the few selected to travel over. They try and reach each other during a lull in the game; halftime.

At first, they’ve been separated over the years by an immaterial barrier; distance. Now that they’ve finally congregated at the same location, another physical barrier keeps them apart. For reasons unknown, a gate has been erected between the visitor and home side of the field. There’s no way around it. They call each other and express frustration and regret at being so close, yet so far away.

But what’s one little gate to him? He finds a way around it. It’s a long desolate path behind all the action, but he makes the trek. After all, he hasn’t seen her in about two months. This is after they were previously constantly in each other’s company, nearly 24/7. He finally has her.

She rushes up to him and throws her arms around him. It’s been awhile since he last felt her; the embraces of others cannot even compare to what she does to him. Once together, his mind loses all conscious train of thought; he merely relishes in the forbidden moment that’s so hard to come by. Having her in his arms, hearing her sweet voice in person, just having this time means so much to him. The scene fades away; there’s only him and her left in the world. He had planned a whole list of things to say to her, things that he has gone over and over in his head. But all that melted like cotton candy in her presence.

And now their short time is up. The band director calls them all back from their break, and she must return to her post. A final goodbye, one that must last until the next time they meet, and they both go their separate ways again.

His heart still longs for her.

11.10.08, 9.30-10.51pm.

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I like the beginning/middle. The end seems to be to drawn out. I thought about splitting it into two separate stories, but got too lazy. So yes, I'm aware the end should probably be a little bit shorter, but w/es.