Dear DoubleO

Not a Goodbye

 Clothes all packed back in bags, Paint all tidy and stowed away. Etho smiled at his empty hotel room. It was sad to be leaving, but he was excited to see his friends, to tell them about his travels, to show them what he painted. This trip had been the best birthday gift he had ever gotten.

Etho grabbed his suitcase and wheeled it out the door. He made his way down to the front desk and checked out of his room. Etho then made his way outside and shoved his luggage in the back of his rental car's trunk. There was still 4 hours until he had to be at the airport, so he wanted to make them count. And what better way to spend his last few hours in Hawaii other than surfing with Xisuma.

As Etho pulled up to the beach, X waved him over like always. Boards in hand, the two hit the waves together one last time. They laughed and surfed and crashed together. It was bittersweet. They had been friends for a week, yet it was like they were childhood best friends. And in a few hours, they'd be worlds apart.

Etho and X sat on the beach together. They had one more hour.

"Hey Xisuma?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks. For everything this week. It's been super awesome."

"No thank YOU! I haven't had as much fun hanging out with anyone as I've had hanging with you. It's a shame I won't see ya till I come visit."

"I hope that'll be sooner rather than later. My roommates are gonna freak out when I tell them I made a friend who's an epic surfer." Xisuma laughed.

"Well I can't wait to meet them." The two sat in silence for a moment, enjoying the hustle of the beach and the sigh of the waves. Suddenly Etho stood.

"Xisuma, I've got less than an hour before I leave. I wanna make it count. I wanna do something stupid." X smiled at his friend and stood next to him.

"What did you have in mind?" Etho grinned mischievously underneath his mask.

"Where around here does someone go to get his ears pierced?"

The shop wasn't anything special. It was small with gray walls and a few stools and tables. There was a black couch pushed up against the back wall and a neat little entry desk. If it weren't for the plethora of earring selections on the left wall, a person might assume it was just a small apartment. Etho didn't mind. He was gonna do this, odd place or not.

Etho fidgeted as a woman walked to the desk. X patted him reassuringly on the shoulder.

"Hello! What can I do for you two today?" Etho took a breath and spoke calmly.

"I wanna get my ears pierced."

"Alrighty! Is this your first piercing?" Etho nodded. "Great! Just fill out this paperwork for me and then we can get started." Etho quickly started scribbling down his information as the lady prepared a stool. Etho finished and handed her the paperwork. X watched intently.

"Perfect. Now I'm gonna need you to pick out some nice studs. I recommend something simple and silver to start out with. And something small and easy to take care of." She held out a few pairs to Etho, of which he selected some that matched her description.

"Can I do these ones?" She smiled.

"Great choice! Come sit. I'm gonna talk you through the process and then we can do the actual piercing." Etho sat on the stool and X hovered near.

"Ok we're gonna cleanse your ear here and then add some dots where the earrings go. Once The dots are in place I'll use this nifty tool to pierce em. Sound good?"

"Yeah. Sounds great!" The lady smiled and went through the steps of cleaning and dotting. She handed Etho a mirror so he could check the placement. He was excited. Out of the blue, Xisuma blurted out.

"Umm, sorry to interrupt, but do you think I could get mine pierced after him to match?" Etho's head shot around to look at X, who was just standing there nervously.

"You sure you wanna do that X? You don't have to."

"I was planning on getting them pierced but I've always been too scared. But I guess if you're doing it I might as well too." Etho smiled enthusiastically and held his hand out for a fist bump, to which Xisuma cautiously returned. The lady smiled.

"Of course! Paperwork is on the desk. Fill that out while I finish up with Etho here and then you're up." Xisuma smiled nervously and moved to the desk. Etho sat up straight and waited. Now was the moment. The lady was talking to him but he couldn't really focus. He suddenly felt a slight pinch to each of his ears. In a few seconds, the tiny pain was gone. It was done.

Etho was once again handed the mirror. He couldn't help but smile when he saw the silver studs in his ears. He was given a few tips on how to clean his piercings and handed some solution before being ushered out of the chair. It was X's turn.

Etho had never expected Xisuma to be scared of something like getting his ears pierced. Cool, confident surfer dude X became shy and nervous the second he sat on the chair.

"It'll be ok X, it's not that bad dude." Xisuma chuckled nervously.

"Yeah! It'll be fine.. You just did it so I'll be fine... heh." X closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Etho smiled as the lady quickly pierced X's ears. He sat there for a while longer with his eyes closed.

"Is it over yet?" Etho laughed and patted X on the back.

"It's been over for five minutes. You ok?"

"Yeah I... WOAH!" X grabbed the mirror and looked at his new earrings. Etho smiled as his friend excitedly gushed over his new accessory.

"Etho! We look so cool!"

"Yeah we do!" The two paid and thanked the lady before exiting the shop, happy with their results. And just like that, it was time to go to the airport.

Terminal A3 wasn't too crowded. Etho and X smiled bitterly as they approached. It was time. Etho spoke.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye?" Xisuma opened his arms for a hug. Etho accepted it.

"Not goodbye, more like a see ya soon."

"It better be soon ya hear?"

"Yeah yeah it will be. Until then you can just spam my texts." The two parted from the hug.

"I will. But when I don't you gotta spam me ok? I'll miss ya dude."

"Me too E, me too. But hey! We got matching earrings now so that technically makes us best friends right? And best friends can't stay apart for too long!" They both smiled. Suddenly the terminal intercom switched on and called for all passenger boarding.

"Well, that's me!"

"Call me when you land ok? I don't care if it's like midnight just call! Have a nice flight!"

"Deal. See ya soon X."

"See ya soon." And with that, Etho turned, walked down the boarding deck, and entered the plane. He felt melancholy, but he was ready to be home.

Taking off didn't feel as scary as it did when he had originally flown out. He didn't even think about being so high in the air. All Etho could think about were his friends, old and new. He noticed his reflection in the window and smiled at his newly pierced ears. And for some reason, looking at the piercings, he wondered if a certain short, brown-eyed man would like the earrings too. It was gonna be a long flight.

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Hehehe earring Etho 

Just a happy lil sad chapter. They're besties your honor. ;-; 

QOTC: How do you think Bdubs will react to Etho having his ears pierced? 

Love you all! have a wonderful day or night! Hydrate or diedrate. BUH BYE! *disappears*