Until Death Do Us Part

Chapter 3~ Drinking Buddies

The days turned into weeks and Chris ended up calling Eleanor every night. They would talk about themselves, or how their day was, but before they knew it it was already late so they had to hang up. One night, they were talking over the phone when they decided to plan a hangout.
        "So what are you wanting to do?"
                "I don't know, how about drinks?"
        "Drinks? I thought you weren't supposed to drink with your condition?"
        "Meh, who cares? And plus, I already said that I was gonna live my life fully before I die, and I want to go drinking!"
There was silence on both ends.
                "Hello? Chris?"
        "Sorry, It's just, I really hate when you talk about... you know..."
                "I'm sorry, I know, It's just that It's really hard not to talk about it when It's the thing that is determining the path of my life..."
        "I know, and I'm sorry too, It's not that you can't talk about it, It's just really hard to hear that from someone you care about."
        "Chris... Don't do this. I told you how this ends every time."
        "Friends can care for eachother, can't they?"
There was silence for a moment.
"Well, It's just-"
"Drinks it is! I'll pick you up at 7 on Friday!"
Chris pressed the end call button and fell back onto his bed. He was already in his pajamas, so He crawled under his dark brown comforter and slid onto his soft silk sheets. As he lay down, he couldn't stop thinking about Eleanor. He had gotten so close to her these past few weeks, and even though they barely knew each other still, He couldn't imagine losing her. It had been a month since they last met, and January was coming sooner and sooner. He was dreading the moment when he would have to let her go. Just before he closed his eyes, he felt a warm tear slip from his eyes and a sob escaped his mouth. He turned over to muffle his cries as he sobbed himself to sleep.
...
Friday came along and Chris was in his room getting ready. They were just going out for drinks, so he decided that he was going to dress comfortably. He went to his dresser and pulled out a black hoodie and a gray pair of sweatpants, putting them on before blow drying his hair since he had just finished taking a shower. He spent the last 30 minutes getting ready, and he was now ready to head out the door with his keys, wallet, and bag.
Eleanor rushed around her room, picking up anything she could find to put on. She grabbed a random hoodie from the floor and threw that over her sweatpants that she already had on. She had taken a small nap and accidentally slept too long, so she didn't have any time to get ready. She went into the bathroom and brushed out her hair before brushing her teeth as well. She rushed around the house grabbing her purse and throwing on her shoes as she got the text message from Chris.
"I'm here."
She finished tying the laces to her converse and headed out the door. To her surprise, Chris was already at the passenger door holding it open for her. She was so surprised that she failed to realize the fact that the two had accidentally matched with their clothes. She walked over to the car and got in, Chris putting his hand on the top to make sure she didn't hit her head. She smiled at his efforts.
        "Thank you, sir." She said mockingly
        "Anything for you, M'lady." He mocked back, making sure to bow to his highness.
The ride to the place was about 30 minutes, so they had to be in the car for a little bit.
        "Do you have aux?" Asked Eleanor, wanting to put on some music.
Chris reached over her lap to open the passenger glove compartment, grabbing the black cord out of it.
        "I could have gotten that." She said, her face flushing from the sudden interaction.
        "You didn't know where it was though? Here, play something good." He said while handing her the cord. Eleanor brushed off his acts and plugged the aux cord into the car before plugging it into her own phone. She scrolled through her music before finally picking Haven by Stray Kids.. The song started and Chris looked at her in confusion.
"I've never heard this song before, what is it?"
"It's called Haven. It's about living your life to the fullest and not letting anyone stop you." She replied happily.
He looked at her and scoffed.
        "You're all about living life to the fullest, huh?" He said, looking back at the road.
        "Well, I have to live what I have left."
That familiar silence filled the car once again.
        "How do you cope with it?" Asked Chris.
Eleanor looked at him in understanding and sent a soft smile.
        "When I was diagnosed last year, I went into a deep depression. I didn't want to get out of bed or do anything. I cut off all of my friends and even broke up with my boyfriend at the time. I didn't want to be a burden to the people I loved, so I just cut them off completely. After months of that depression, I finally woke up one day and decided I wanted a change. I wanted to have a chance to grow up and experience new things. I had to bring myself to that thought process, and I've stuck with it ever since."
Chris looked at her pitifully. He took a deep breath and continued driving. As they passed a playground, he could see Eleanor in the corner of his eye looking at the kids playing.
         "You know what hurts the most? The fact that I won't even be able to have kids of my own. Knowing that I can't get married or even be able to experience my own wedding."
Chris felt extremely sorry for her. He truly wanted to help her, but he didn't know how. Eleanor sighed and threw her hands up to her face, propping her elbows on the middle console and pressing her hands around her face adoringly.
        "So where are we going, hubby?" She said lovingly, almost whining.
Chris's face heated up at the words and he felt his face burn a crimson red.
        "I- I told you, we are going to get drinks. And what's up with this hubby thing?" He said nervously, still flustered from her confidence.
        "I don't know, guess I just thought it would be funny." She sighed again and removed her hands from the center console.
        "No fun..." She muttered under her breath.