Five Years.

We had been apart for five years now,due to things that were beyond our control. In those five years we had not spoken to or seen the other. We were mad at each other. I don't know why we were mad at each other. We just were. If I had to guess as to why we were mad, it would probably be because we had allowed ourselves to be apart. I did love him. There was nothing that would change that fact.

I had been talking to my brother the other day when he was brought up in our conversation.

"When's the last time you saw Bert?" Mikey had asked. I had to think about it for a moment. I hadn't known how long it had been a few days ago.

"I don't know," I said. "Five years? Yeah, five years. Why?"

"Just wondering," he said. He ducked his head, mumbling slightly, "Plus I heard that he might be in town soon."

"Oh," I said. Mikey looked up at me.

"You ok, Gee?" he asked.

"Yeah," I lied. "Fine."

I didn't hear anymore about Bert after that. I found it easy to not think about him either, which was quite surprising. This being because I had constantly thought of him these past five years. My guess for the reason of why I was not thinking of him quite as often was knowing that he could be nearby. I don't think I wanted to get my hopes up for seeing him. Just a theory. Or maybe I was just realizing that five years was a long time. Maybe I was afraid to think of negative things about him. Things like, what if he's changed? What if he's replaced me with someone? I'll stop now. I don't want to think of those things.

I found it surprisingly easy to distract myself. I was constantly drawing, focusing at band practice. I even visited my parents more in one week than I usually did. If anyone noticed I was doing more than usual, they didn't say anything.

A week passed and it just became increasingly easier not to think of Bert. I didn't know if he had come to town yet, if he had come and gone, or if he was still here. But I didn't worry about it. It was in the back of my mind.

Another few days passed and I got a call from Mikey.

"Hey Gee," said Mikey when I answered the phone.

"Hey," I said. "What's up?"

"Not much," said Mikey. "I was wondering if you wanted to come and hang out for a little bit."

"Sure," I said. "Sounds good."

"Great," said Mikey. "See you in a few?"

"Yeah," I said. We hung up. Mikey only lived a few blocks away, so I usually walked to his house unless it was too cold or raining.

When I got there I saw that Mikey's car wasn't in the driveway. What the fuck? Did he just invite me over then leave? Was this some kind of cheap trick?

Maybe I was over-reacting. Mikey could be here. He could have lent his car to someone. That was unlikely, though. Mikey didn't trust anyone with his car. Not even me. I sighed and decided to just go knock on the door for the hell of it.

I knocked on the door and waited a few minutes. The door didn't open. Fucking Mikey. Fucking calls me and asks me to come over, then just leaves. I turned angrily and went down the steps of his porch. As my feet hit the last step, I heard the door creak open slowly behind me.

"Fucking-a, Mikey," I said turning around. "You couldn't have answered the door sooner?"

But it wasn't Mikey I was talking too. My mouth snapped shut. Silence surrounded me, seeming to thicken the air. I found it a bit more difficult to breathe. There he was. I had been busy distracting myself from him, but I don't know how I had managed that. All I wanted to do was think about him. I wanted him to fill my thoughts completely. I wanted to draw pictures of his face. I wanted to write songs about him. I wanted to tell my parents about him. How much I love him. I've always loved him. Five years later and I still love him. And he hadn't changed at all, appearance wise. Well, there was a change. In the eyes. His eyes were sad. They weren't bright and full of mischief like they had been five years ago.

I must have been staring too much because he looked down quickly. I couldn't help but notice a blush stain his cheeks before his hair fell in the way. This wasn't the Bert that I knew. Bert didn't blush. He wasn't shy, or quiet, or calm.

I finally decided to move. I walked back up the steps until I was standing in front of Bert. He looked up at me. I pushed his hair, which was greasy (I'm sure mine wasn't any better), out of his face so I could see him better. Without a word, I quickly wrapped my arms around him, hugging him to me tightly. I wanted to cry. I couldn't believe he was here. I pulled back slightly and kissed him tenderly. He didn't respond right away, but when I pulled away, he initiated the next kiss. When I pulled away from him, I saw the familiar look in his eyes returning. So the Bert I knew wasn't gone.

I had a feeling neither one of us knew what to say to the other, for neither of us had spoken yet. We stayed standing close to each other; my arms wrapped around his neck, his hands on my hips. Our foreheads were pressed together. I had my eyes closed and was slowly breathing in his familiar scent which I had also missed: Cigarettes and the cologne he always wore.

I pulled Bert into another tight hug, finally speaking, "I've missed you so fucking much," I said. Bert pressed his forehead into my shoulder. I assumed that he was breathing in my scent as well, as he was taking in deep breaths.

Bert lifted his head and cleared his throat.

"I kept convincing myself that I was mad at you," Bert said quietly. "I'd tell myself that it was your fault that things were the way they were. But I think I knew deep down that what I was telling myself wasn't the truth. At the end of the day, my last thought was always about how much I loved you."

Bert's eyes met mine.

"I did the same thing," I said quietly. "But I think we both know that it's neither of our faults. Things like this just happen. It was our parents. Your parents didn't like me and my parents didn't like you. But you know what? Fuck our parents."

Bert nodded his head and smirked at me. I loved his smirks, and he knew it. His eyes brightened.

"That's exactly why I came back," Bert said.

"To fuck our parents?" I asked with a straight face. I couldn't help myself.

"In a literal sense only. If I tried to fuck your parents it would be rape considering that they don't like me and they wouldn't be willing," Bert said, also with a straight face.

I laughed a little. He always knew how to make me laugh. Bert grinned.

"Plus I wanted to tell you that I love you. I've always loved you and that's never going to change. I want to be with you forever," he said.

"I'm not saying this just because you just said it," I said. "I truly mean it with all of my heart that I love you. My feelings never changed and they never will change."

"Glad to hear it," Bert said. I smiled before leaning in to kiss him again. I pulled away after a minute.

"So does this mean you're back for good?" I asked.

"Of course," Bert said. "How else could we be together forever?"

"We'd find a way," I said.

"Yeah," Bert said, leaning in. "We probably would."

I smiled as he kissed me. Now that I had Bert back, I couldn't imagine a life without him. The five years apart was put behind us. A thing of the past. It didn't count for anything. Those five years were pointless because of the fact that we didn't' have each other. With Bert here again, our lives meant something to us again. As long as we were together, we could both be happy again. The empty spaces we both felt were full again. And nobody could take that away from us. No one.