Growing Apart
I had to write something for FE :3
Loud noises; it was the usual atmosphere that was surrounding the local arcade, the one where the neighborhood could pass some quality time playing some old fashionned games, trying to lose themselves into the memories of the past.
But these days, a band of ruffians seemed to have targeted this once peaceful establishment to be their hangout, a place where their entire gang would regroup after their day of whatever they did before.
Although the owner could have supported their presence, for their gang was a potential source of income, he was with the rest of the local populace, for the promise of monetary gain wasn't there to comfort him. Why would they pay him when they could just occupy the space without caring about anything else?
``The music is gone; could you turn it back on, man?'' said one of the members of the gang, a Rottweiler who seemed out of it, bored by recent events, as if he didn't want to be there anymore. Perhaps he didn't fit in the gang, or wanted to pursue a dream that was bigger than the picture that was presented to him; in any case, it wasn't enough to make him disappear and leave his friends, but for the time being, he was still hesitant, wondering why he still there...
``I'm not Johnny; I can't turn the music by simply hitting a jukebox; if you want some tunes to play while you go rack up the score on the arcades, then you should turn it up yourself, for there's a high score that I need to break before we get out of here and get ourselves some sodas'' said one of the member of the gang, a nervous looking German shepherd, as if he wasn't sure what he was doing there in the first place.
''Johnny will never come back and you know it'' said the Rottweiler, as he faced an arcade machine for a moment, dusting his leather jacket before focusing his attention back on his friends, or at least those that shared some of his time.
They looked at him for a moment, as if he was breaking some sort of truce that they had; perhaps it was just a fantasy that they wanted to keep alive, for the sake of their morale, but in the moment he uttered the words, it was as if he destroyed the illusion that surrounded them.
``It's been a long time since we came back here, waiting for him; we could still come here, again and again, but we have to face reality. He is not coming back, nor will the dreams that followed him'' said the Rottweiler, as he tapped on the side of the arcade machine for a moment, wondering if he should play a game or not.
The silence surrounded him, as if they were thinking about the future that he proposed; although they knew that he was right, it was so much easier to deny it, to indulge themselves in a world of fantasies where nothing wrong would never happen...
''But Johnny said he would come back; why should we toss the promise he made to us? Why should we believe that he lied to us? We have to believe that he will be back for us; after all, he promised that he would be'' said one of the members of the gang, as he started fiddling with an arcade machine, trying to figure out how to start it.
The fiddling stopped as some cheery music filled the room; one could have tried to guess the theme song, but their hearts weren't in it anymore. It was a pity; to be surrounded by games, but unable to enjoy them...
``We need to open our eyes; he is not coming back. He moved on and so should we; there is no point for us to linger here, waiting for something that will never happen'' said the Rottweiler, as he walked toward the exit.
Stopping in his tracks, the fading music of the game still filling his ear, he turned his head toward his old friends, wondering if he was doing the right thing; perhaps he should go back to them, so he could rejoin them and hope of better days, even if it would do harm in the end...
Closing his eyes, he turned away and left them in the arcade, for he knew that it was the right thing to do; Johnny had shown them the way and it was their job to do the rest, now...