Jay stood hunched over with his bony fingers clutched around the rims of his bathroom sink, his chest expanding and contracting in desperation as he gasped for air. Drops of water fell with a steady tempo from his damp hair and dripped down into the pool of murky sink water below, its echoing inside the tiny room making his world feel smaller than it already was. He locked eyes with his reflection in the bathroom mirror crookedly hanging in front of him and stared hopelessly at his reflection trying to find empathy in the eyes of someone who had become a stranger to him. There was, of course, nothing behind the empty gaze beside memories of better days that he knew he could never return to.

The five teenage boys had been sitting by the fire, clothes still damp from the ocean water they had been doused in during the afternoon. The remaining salt residue felt like fire ants dancing across their skin, but the heat blanketed them in enough warmth to make them forget about it. To Jay's left, Eric was busy re-creating dramatic movie scenes, his exaggerated gestures and ridiculous expressions glowing under the spotlight of the fire. He decided that life with Eric in it couldn't be anything other than a comedy. To his right, Anthony had alternated between striking his lighter and blowing out silent wishes on the small flame. In front of Jay, Shane was busy drawing profanities on a sleeping Justin's face as a form of revenge for having been pushed into the water earlier that day. Jay let out a small chuckle and took a mental screenshot of the scene displayed before him until his gazed returned to the flame on Anthony's lighter flickering in the wind. If he could have one wish, what would he wish for? Nothing came to mind. World peace, perhaps? Nah...fuck the world, the rest of it anyway. As far as he was concerned, his whole world was right in front of him. Was it selfish to wish that it would never change? That Eric would never stop being a complete doofus? That Justin would never stop trying to annoy the shit out of Sean? That Sean would never stop trying to take revenge on him in pitiful ways like drawing sharpie dicks on his face? That Anthony would always be there to light the fire pit that warmed their bodies and set their souls ablaze for the past three years? Perhaps it was selfish, but he was going to wish for it anyway. Then, Anthony blew the lighter out.

Jay tried remembering how it had all ended, but he couldn't pinpoint one specific reason. He supposed life happened. They were separated by their own journeys into adulthood and failed to keep in contact because they always assumed someone else would reach out first eventually. Jay didn't know whether any of them were enjoying success or had become as lost as he had. Was this how it was going to be for the rest of his life? Jay didn't want to believe that, but the reflection in the mirror wasn't offering any consolation. He reached for the towel hanging on the rack next to the sink and dried off his hair before leaving the bathroom to finish getting ready to go out into a world he had no real place in, hoping for better days.