The night was quiet, only illuminated by streetlamps. The sound of crickets could be heard in the grass as you and Sal sat on the steps to his house, drinking soda and chatting away into the night.

You had recently returned home to Nockfell from college, and the town was just as still and solemn as you had left it. It was what drew you to Sal so much, since he was neither of those things.

Being back with your old friends, back with him, was a calmness you didn’t know you had been craving, despite all the unexplainable things that seemed to always be going on in the town around you. Strange or not, it was still where your little world was.

After a small pause in the conversation, Sal quietly spoke up again, subtly fiddling with the soda can in his hands. “I missed you while you were away, y’know.”