California Night It was a constant stare that looked back at him through the finger tainted mirror. His hair was too long. Again. His face was slightly masked in stubble. The bags under his eyes have reduced. Not much but, just enough for tonight. Tonight. Right. The night he was going to go somewhere. Somewhere that most people now a days forget that places like those even exist. They were the type of place where you would see people your age, even older. It's where you can relive your past and enjoy the vintage vibe within. He's brushed his teeth at least twice. Flossed between every gap in his remarkably healthy teeth and was practically swallowing down mouthwash. Basically the only things he's been eating throughout the day so far have been mints and gum. He checked his profile, both left and right, parted his bangs aside Just slightly, adjusted the collar of his black flannel and with a dissatisfied sigh, took one last look in the old mirror and turned off the light of the small bathroom as he headed out the false, white wooden door. Today started out differently. He awoke next to his significant other as usual with a large ball of caffeinated fur, curled around the hem of the pillows above their heads. He yawned and got out of bed quietly to not awake the two beings at his bed. He reached for his iPhone off the nightstand, not expecting any calls or texts other than for work, and scrolled past the reminders and informarives his colleagues had sent him for the day. Scrolling past one from a certain someone, assuming it was just another unnecessary reminder but, took a quick double take at the pixilated message illuminated upon by his phone. Sure enough the contact name read, iIan./i He reread the text at least twice, fighting the urge of sleep and wake up. It was a strange text. It had no explanation, no sugarcoating, nothing. It wasn't even a question. They were a sentence of combined words that probably had no meaning behind to others. To Anthony, though, this message had a lot of meaning behind it. It didn't seen that way at all though. How could the formation of, iCome with me to the movies tonight, meet me at the house at 9:00./i Seem so significant? The month was May. Movies? In May? Oh, never. Yet. Yet Anthony knew deep down, the blue eyed adventurist was talking about the imovies/i the real deal. The ones that were so vintage, they were shown outside. Anthony didn't have the need nor want to question it. It just was. The day went on with work. As usual. There were scattered props around the living room and tattered scraps of paper littered all over the beaten downed-by-years carpeting. After that minuscule amount of cleaning didn't take long though. The day so far felt like a job well done. The day. Night was just getting started. As the partial Latin male walked past his room, he couldn't help but eye the duffel bag resting on the faded, carpeted floor leaning against the pale and frigid wall. There was a time when his clothes Hung upon the the wired clothes hangers behind his dusty old closet. Instead of being rammed inside a mesh duffel bag that was used mainly either Sunday or Monday a hint of hesitation, he entered, just for some finishing touches. He sprayed a soft scented axe on the base of his wrists, where his natural tan faded into, and rubbed the wet substance across his neck, along the brim of his color bones and for a finishing touch, patted his oddly stained cheeks. He adjusted his belt and patted the side of his left, frontal pocket to make sure his phone was where it should be. Without another moment to let pass by, he shut his door and walked towards the living room where he would wait for the smaller of the duo to finish getting ready. He couldn't help but cringe as the insides of his stomach started snarling at him, threatening to burst from his insides if he didn't eat something other than Extract 5 gum. The more feminine of the pair was just re adjusting his caramel, bowl hair. For the fourth time. After losing all hope with his stubborn hair he focused on his slightly chapped lips. It was hot outside. He reached into a drawer and pulled out a biased flavored Chapstick, clearly showing the wear and tear of usage. He applied it thoroughly on his lips and smacked them together. He scratched the rough stubble upon his chin, pondering how itchy it would feel like to get a mustache and quickly dismissing the thought as he reached for his Calvin Klaine cologne , obsession edition, and lightly sprayed two spritz on both sides of his neck. He quickly set it down and started to dab at his chest , arms and chin. He brushed his teeth for the third time and had two sheets of his spearmint breathalyzers. He desperately patted his hair in hopes of achieving his desired hairstyle but soon giving up seconds later and quickly shutting the lights off and slamming the door a little too loudly behind his gray shirted back. The shorter male entered the living room, only to be greeted by the dark haired brunette. He smiled, and he smiled back. The taller eyed the keys on the counter residing beside Ian and causing Ian to lose the small smile upon his pale face. "No. No way man." "What?" "You know what." "What do you mean?" "You know you want to drive but I'm the one that invited you." "Oh come on, just the drive there and then you-" "Uh-uh, no way in hell." Anthony smiled at the frustrated pout his blue eyed friend performed and that only fueled him up for more begging and pleading just to annoy him enough to cave in. "Just one ride." "Not gonna have it." "I'll be your best friend." Ian smirked playfully at that comment. "You're so incredulous." "I'll buy you a burger." Anthony wiggled his eyebrows so he could solidify that bargain he requested and Ian couldn't help but snicker at that little persuasion his bold friend had made. "Deal." Ian tossed him the keys only to be answered by Anthony making a snark remark. "You're so naive." It was 9:17 pm. The temperature was lower than the afternoons, exposing a neutral weather of overcast at 81 degrees fahrenheit. The only sound was the sound of the car, the radio was turned off and the streets were almost barren. Of course, the toad they were taking was probably not used much anyways since their destination was a few miles away from the city life. They didn't talk. Having the atmosphere of silence is just what they deserved after a while. A little peace never hurt anyone. Hence why they call it peace. The sun has set and the sky was a swirl of black, navy blue, ocean blue and purple. Only brightening it up with the splatter of stars speckled across the endless sky. And there it starts. You know it starts when the first car you see is a faded jade colored, 1960's mustang. You see some fords and battered old pick up trucks. If your window was down you'd be able to smell the musk of raw beef being cooked at 450 degrees and see your surroundings be illuminated by the massive billboards towering over the vintage cars and some modern nissans, most likely belonging to teenagers. The movie starts at 10:00pm. It was 9:39pm. They made it just in time. It's not like the parking lot would be overcrowded or anything but, now they had time to wait in line at the drive through selling good ol' fashioned hamburgers. Not forgetting the fact of also being served with burning hot curly fries overflowing the checkered basket and spilling out onto the floor while reaching out from the server to pass through your window. Anthony pulled in, stopping behind a small, faded green nissan, giving him time to get the correct change from his worn out wallet. He already knew Ian's order. No pickles, no mustard. He already knew he'd say, hold the tomatoes. After the car in front of them drove off to find a parking space, Anthony pulled the gearshift to drive and drove forward gently. He kindly said his order to the teenaged, acne faced young lady with the snake bites, making sure to order a large bag of Twizzlers. Ian smiled bright when he heard that Anthony had ordered an all time classic of movie theater candy. Well, in his opinion. After barely waiting in the cool summer air that flowed through the open window, he finally got the tray that was supposed to be attached to the base of the open window and their piping hot meals. With a smile, he thanked the server and drove off into the parking lot. He found a perfect spot and shifted the gear in park and turned off the ignition. He grabbed the two baskets that contained the smoke emitting burgers and checked under each bun to make sure who's is who. No tomatoes. That one was his. He handed the latter of the meals to Ian as well as handing him and overflowed basket of spiced curly fries. Receiving a muttered, i"Thanks"/i Their drinks were seated in the two cup-holders that were conveniently placed at the brim of each of their seats. Dr pepper's. The condensation on each side of the cup Trickled down slowly. Ian emitted a mischievous glint in his eyes and took an overly dramatic bite of the juicy patty after exclaiming, "First bite!" Anthony, mouth full of his already bitten twice burger, shook his head in discouragement and couldn't help but chuckle at the display of childsplay. The movie. Oh right, the movie. Tonights preview was an old 2006 movie people have soon forgotten. If you mention the title of the film, you'd receive a handful of what's. The film wasn't widely popular. It had it's time to shine and now you could find it in the film basket at Walmart where the DVD cases aren't holographic like new releases but, are encased in a cheap plastic box, either encased in cardboard covering or plastic. Or both. The film was entitled, bPremonition/b A romantic tragedy. Normally the two comedic geniuses preferred exactly the opposite, comedy. Though tonight was something different. A change never hurt anyone and quite frankly, the two young men didn't seem to mind at all. At least there was the torturing suspense and mild gore to it. So it was fine. Well, for one of them. The shorter male wasn't quite fond of gore. But it wasn't a big deal, he had to man up once in a while. It didn't hurt. Oh so the lights have brightened up upon the dirtied billboard and soon enough, everyone got quiet as the movie began. 11:24pm. It had been an approximate time change of an hour and half. Just off by 6 minutes. By now the two boys had finished their meals a while ago and the remaining garbage had been set aside, perched on the tray attached to Ians car. Now they were quietly munching onto the red, entwined vines, being shown from the slither of the vine hanging from their mouths. The crescent moon above, expelled dim light, not comparing to illuminated bill boards. Their area was in-between the Rocky western mountains that stretched passed the dry desert of Arizona until they creased out when they reached Colorado. And between the vast pacific stretching its warm, salty waters until it reached the Coast of Japan. The sky was overflowed by the embarkment of summer stars peeking out from the endless space above their heads. It wasn't new. None of it was. They did this one or two times each passing year. The movie was different every time. Their clothes as well. The people around, maybe. But. But all of this, wasn't an exciting new experience. It was their annual... Hm. What was it? Hang out? Bull session? Date? Oh. Oh it was, Anniversary. It was an anniversary only they could celebrate. Alone with each other. No work, no commitment,nothing. It was they day they made a promise years ago, at the very beginning of a knew life style. The beginning of Their Internet star fandom. The beginning of years of commitment. The year was 2005. The year had gone by with premature romance, secrets and nights of pizza and monsters. Anthony remembers that morning in May a little too clearly. He remembers grunting in frustration at the dots of acne strewn across the mantle of his forehead. He had been warned by his mother that if he kept those long strands of coffee colored hair plastered against his face and covering the most of his forehead, he would receive the fowl pink dots that peered before him now. Tonight he was going to the movies with his significant other. They had planned to meet at the reopened drive in. It was so new. He had been to a drive in before but, that was back when his dad was around. Now it was he who was driving out. The night ran by smoothly, things were a little awkward between the two young men with the overly grown hair cuts. Ian was very quiet and shy at the beginning of the date but, soon relaxed as the night progressed on. Anthony couldn't remember exactly what movie they had watched but he remembers the stars that gazed back at him, powering through sand colored hair. He remembers the hue of salmon across the short males cheeks. He remembers pushing a stray hair aside and. Well, Ian with closed eyes whispered inaudibly, Three words that are now disappearing in their present day lives, three words that make the Latin boy shake his head in disbelief, convincing himself he will always commit. iDon't leave me./i The summer air above their heads swayed past them as Anthony smiled. A genuine smile that he only uses once a year. That month being May. And so. And so, they made a promise. To come to the drive in every year, same month, same day, and even if things change over the years, being busy working, moved, getting a girlfriend and if god forbid, death. They would always come to the drive in. No doubt about it. So far they have kept that promise in tact. Being as pure as ever. They got girlfriends. That didn't change the fact about it. They still went to their sacred spot. No attention to the guilt at the back of their heads eating it's way to the front if their minds. Even unchanged by that fact, the movie got to the mild love scene. Anthony looked over his shoulder to glance at Ian expectantly. Ian was already looking back at him and their eyes were glazed over, not paying any mind to the movie anymore, only ever so slightly, leaning over the now empty soda bottles. It wasn't new. It wasn't old. It was quiet. Chapstick smothered lips met moist, soda stained lips. The night seemed to quiet down. Like always. Anthony gently placed his hand over the stubble staining the once babysoft face of the shy male. They pulled apart and exchanged three words that were almost never said, they weren't said last year or the year before. They didn't know why, but those were the years that their girlfriends had been smothering them a bit too much. Now, they needed to exchange the much needed words. They almost didn't hesitate. The words were said almost inaudibly. And after the genuine statement was spoken, it was evaporated by the California night.
