The Vale Of Tears

Chapter 6: Fondness

''I have a fondness for souls who, despite their sorrow, continue to love and grow."

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"Hey, I was waiting for your call." Kyan pouted when Avery picked up the Skype call.

"Don't be a baby. I'm here at exactly the time we decided on, aren't I?" Avery rolled her eyes.

"You were 6 seconds late," Kyan complained like a kid.

"It doesn't count. So, how's stuff over there?"

"It's pretty good. I hung out with Flynn and Skye the other day. It was fun. I would never have thought I'd be able to enjoy after you left, but I actually am. Skye's really cool too, just like you." Kyan gave her a smile.

Avery couldn't help but feel jealous about Skylar. She had been hearing about Skye from the day Kyan met her. She seemed like a nice girl, but Avery felt threatened by the fact that Kyan had compared her to Avery. It made it seem like she was already on the same level as Avery in Kyan's eyes. It was inevitable that they'd both be spending more time with others than together since they were living so far apart. And yet, Avery couldn't accept it. She had been his friend from the start, but as crazy as it sounded even to herself, she felt like she was going to get replaced.

"I would love to meet her someday. Since you talk about her all the time, I feel like I know her too." In an attempt to mask her thoughts, she got up from the bed and moving out of the camera's range.

"Where are you going?" Kyan asked, peering into his laptop screen.

"I have a party tonight, so you're gonna help me pick a dress," Avery said, moving into the frame again with a few dresses.

"You're gonna look beautiful in anything," Kyan said, watching her in different dresses.

After some time, they picked a navy blue dress. Kyan could only gawk as Avery twirled around in from of the camera in the dress. He had never seen someone so beautiful and he felt so attached to the girl who had stolen his heart. At the same time, he felt jealous of the people who now got to see her every day and hang out with her. He sighed as Avery came back after putting her clothes away.

"It's Saturday, don't you have any plans today?" Avery asked, flopping down on the bed.

"I'm thinking of getting the whole crowd together and doing something fun. Maybe even do something adventurous." Kyan answered.

"I miss hanging out with you guys so much. I've met some great people here, too, but no one can replace you guys." Avery's voice trembled signaling that she was about to cry.

"We'll all meet up soon, I know we will." Kyan reassured her.

They talked for another hour or so before Avery had to get ready for the party and they hung up.

It was always hard ending the calls or chats they had. With neither of them being aware of it, they both wanted to say the same thing to each other, but both were hesitant, worrying about how it might affect their friendship if the other didn't feel the same.

Kyan started calling his friends one by one and inviting them to hang out. They all agreed and decided on going bowling, since it had been a while.