Then and Now

A filler about Sam and Gabe

Okay before we start this chapter, I just wanted to share this song with you all because it is freaking amazing! Well, I love it anyway 😂
Alrighty, back to your scheduled content. (Also in case you couldn't tell, this is a filler chapter of sorts and I couldn't think of a good title)

Sam had taken a seat in the desk chair, his eyes almost a dark hazel as he studied Gabe. His expression was... quiet. His eyes looked as though they belonged to someone much older than Sam. He looked like a boy who had seen something so terrible, it had chipped away at his soul until all that was left was the silence. A darkness that lingered behind his eyes.

Gabriel wanted to ask Sam so many things, a million questions filling his head as he searched for the right words to say.

"So, you're back then?" He finally asks lamely, playing with the hem of his shirt. Sam, this older and world worn Sam, seemed like a stranger. He didn't know how to talk to the boy who had once been his best friend. But, he supposed, time changes people. Some more than others.

Sam just nods, his hair falling across his eyes. He brushes the strands aside, looking at Gabe as though he wanted to say something. He didn't, of course.

"I didn't see you at school today," Gabriel says, trying to think of something less cringy to say.

He could practically feel the awkward air between them grow thicker. The years between now and their childhood friendship grew more apparent, it was as if they didn't know each other... Gabriel brightens up, a brilliant idea coming to him.

They were strangers now, and how did strangers become friends? He just needed to get to know the boy again.

"Want a lollipop?" Gabriel asks, grabbing one out from his pocket.

Sam stared at him blankly for a moment, before frowning in confusion at he looked at the lollipop in Gabriel's hand. Finally, he slowly reached out for it, still looking highly confused.

"That lollipop marks the start of our new friendship," Gabriel declares, because obviously it was normal to do such things. "I would tell you my name, but that seems a tad ridiculous considering we already technically know each other."

You're weird. Sam types this out, showing Gabe.

"And you love it... wait is that something I can say to a new friend? Ah who cares, I'll see you at school tomorrow Sammy!" Gabe didn't need to look at his watch to know that it was well past midnight.

Sam was still just staring at him, shaking his head ever so slightly while a slight smile emerged on his face.

~~~~

It was very late by the time Gabriel finally got home, most of the house was dark as he walked up the front path.

He silently slips inside, quietly shutting the door behind him. The living room lamp was on, illuminating a sleeping Chuck on the couch. Gabriel breathed a sigh of relief, at least he wouldn't have to put up with Chuck's disappointment in Gabriel's general.... well everything.

Taking the stairs two at a time, Gabriel passes Alfie's room, glancing in at all of Alfies certificates and science fair awards that decorated his side of the room. Aflie himself was passed out asleep on his bed, still fully clothed and his tablet sitting on the bed next to him.

Chewing his lip, Gabriel hesitates at the door before quietly tiptoeing towards the sleeping boy. Sure enough, faint music played from the fallen headphones connected to the tablet, Alfie's music mixing app up on the screen. That was Alfie's hobby, mixing beats and tracks together. Gabriel had to admit, the boy was pretty good at it. Yet another thing he was better than the rest of the siblings at.