“Timothy! Timothy, wait!” I called after him but he was running far ahead, looking behind him every few seconds to laugh at my crooked run. 

“You’re never gonna catch me!” He screamed as he turned the corner of the book store, almost tripping as he did. I had to stop and catch my breath before I ran into the store and beat him to the back entrance, “Didn’t you ever learn to take the diagonal route?” I asked him with a smile.

“Of course I did! There was just this terrifying girl chasing m-” I punched his shoulder before he could finish talking. He started laughing and looked back at me, “Okay fine, maybe not terrifying.” 

I scoffed, “Wow. As much as that hurts, we have work to do so I’m going to walk away now.” I turned around and began walking towards the cash register, as I did so, Timothy yelled after me, “I’ll see you after work Quinn!” I just flipped him off and kept walking, silently laughing to myself. 

Timothy and I have worked the same job at the bookstore for a year now, it’s how we met. In the beginning we didn’t really talk but after the first three months he started throwing books at me, not heavy or sharp ones but nonetheless books, so I couldn’t exactly avoid him anymore. He would throw a book at me and then duck behind the counter as if I couldn’t still see his poofy hair sticking up. I was initially annoyed but then I started throwing books back at him and we made a game of it. See how many books we can throw at each other before the manager catches us. I believe our high score is currently 17. Sadly, today was not the day to dry and beat it, seeing the store was packed and I was way too scared to hit someone in the head; we made a truce.

After ringing up books, stocking shelves, and saying hello to many strangers, it was finally time to close up the store. Timothy and I were usually the ones to stay the latest which has allowed for us to get to know each other really well. I mean, considering we have been friends for nine months now, I would hope we knew each other at least a tiny bit. The more I think about it, Timothy might be my closest friend. All my friends from school aren’t true friends; they just help pass the time in class. Timothy though, he genuinely knows me and I know him, it’s nice. We started hanging out outside of work about five months ago and it’s been so interesting getting to know more about the goofy kid that throws books at me. 

The important bits I’ve picked up about him would be: his favorite animal is a turtle, his favorite color is light blue, he enjoys driving around very late at night while blasting music, he practically only wears sweaters and loose jeans, and he is basically a golden retriever. He’s got the dark brown eyes and golden fluffy hair, not to mention he’s quite hyper and outgoing, very playful as well. The best part about him though, is how comfortable I feel around him. There’s no pressure between us and I’m finally able to unapologetically be myself. This isn't a usual occurrence so it’s quite-

“Quinn, you ready to head out?” He peered from around the corner of a shelf. 

“Yep!” The thought dropped from my mind and I started walking towards him as he ran towards the back entrance. His car was parked out back underneath the only street lamp, how clever. He ran to my side of the car to open my door, now this was a usual occurrence, then he ran to his side and hopped in. It was cold out considering we were in the middle of winter but that never stopped Timothy from leaving the windows open and letting the wind blow our hair in all kinds of directions. I usually wouldn’t mind this but today it was especially cold so I asked, “Can we please roll the windows up, just tonight?” 

“Absolutely not! You of all people should know that this is the only thing that brings me joy,” I felt a little hurt by this but then he continued, “And throwing books at you, of course. But if you’re cold just grab my jacket from the back seat, these windows are staying down tonight.” I rolled my eyes but did end up grabbing the jacket from the back. When I brought it into my view I saw that it was a dark gray hoodie with his initials embroidered on the left sleeve, how cute. Luckily, it was very large and very warm so I wasn’t too cold anymore. He turned to look at me and just smiled, I never noticed he had a left dimple. Out of sheer awkwardness I just started to laugh and turned on the radio to hear “Alright” by Supergrass playing and this boy started singing along. He was bopping his head and playing the beats on his steering wheel with the world’s biggest grin, showing off his slightly gapped teeth. He looked genuinely happy and I wish I took a picture.

Before I could look away he turned to me again but this time he actually said something, “You know Quinn, I don’t mind having you around.”

“Thank you?” He just nodded with a smile and went back to his own little singing zone. I couldn’t help but smile when I was looking at him. He truly was someone from another world and I was eternally grateful to have him as my closest friend. 

Unfortunately, he pulled up to my house and the moment came to an end. I went to take off the hoodie but he insisted that I should keep it instead. Saying the old time classic, “It looks better on you anyway.” Deciding to just give in, I kept it. I was getting out of the car but he grabbed my hand before I could leave, “I’m picking you up for work tomorrow, right?”

“Yes, that would be great.” He dropped my hand, looking slightly embarrassed.

“Okay, just making sure.” He smiled as I got out and closed the door behind me. I waved goodbye and he drove off into the starry night. As he drove away I walked up to my front door and tried to go inside as quietly as possible in hopes I wouldn’t wake my mom up. I made it up to my room and was able to fall asleep quickly that night. 

The next morning I realized I still had Timothy’s hoodie on so I quickly threw it off and laid it onto my chair. I got ready for work and as I finished, Timothy pulled up to my house. We drove to work while blasting his favorite songs and I got to admire his stupid smile once again. I really should’ve taken a picture. When we walked into the store we realized how empty it was and decided today was the perfect day to throw books at each other. We started out small but by the end of it he threw an entire book of Shakespeare works at me. I always kept count of how many we threw, and today we beat our highschore by making it to 28 books. Not too bad if you ask me. He walked over to me and saw that we got to 28 books, “Oh that’s brilliant.” He said in his awful fake British accent. Then he looked at me and quickly exclaimed, “I’ll meet you at the car!” Before I could get a word in he dashed down the hall and out the back door; so I grabbed my stuff and ran after him. 

When I reached him leaned against his car, slightly out of breath, he started laughing again, “Do you just run everywhere you go?” 

“Not quite but I do seem to always be running with you, huh?” 

“Yeah, it appears so. Yet, I still win every race.” He snickers.

“Oh whatever, you’re a solid six inches taller than me so it doesn’t count.” 

He just continued laughing but finally leaned down to open my door so I could step inside. As I got in he just whispered, “It definitely does count,” and shut the door. Wow, okay then. Sometimes I wonder how I haven’t gotten mad at him yet, it’s like everytime he does something frustrating, it comes across funny and makes my stomach do that weird flip. I don’t like it. But with him-

“Would you like to go anywhere tonight?” He said with a tinge of sadness.

I didn’t know where the sadness was coming from, “I thought you were just dropping me off at home?”

“I was going to but it’s my last night in town and I want to do something memorable with you.”

“What- Why did you never tell me you were leaving? Timothy you can’t just-”

“I know... But I have to. It was sprung on me last week and I never had the heart to tell you. Quinn, I don’t want to leave, especially not you but-”

“So this is it? After this you just- you won't be around anymore? I’ll be working alone at the bookstore while you’re- you’re gone?” I was crying at this point.

He grabbed my hands and I could see the tears welling up in his eyes too, “I’m so sorry. If I had a choice I would stay. But I can’t, I promised my family.” 

“Why?! Where are you going?!” The cries were turning to sobs.

He held my hands tighter, “We have family business to take care of back in New York and I can’t let them go alone. I’m sorry.” His tears were falling on our hands, holding so tightly to each other as if our lives depended on it.

“Will you ever come back?” I looked up at him, tears streaming down my face. 

He just shook his head, “Not anytime soon.” He met my eyes and lightly rubbed his thumb across my cheek, collecting the falling tears. His hands were so warm. I closed my eyes trying to soak up as much of this moment as I could for I knew it would be our last. His voice broke, “I’m so sorry, Quinn.”

All I could do was whisper back, “I didn’t mind having you around either, Timothy.” This made us both slightly smile but we were still a sobbing mess and as much as I wanted to wipe my tears, I couldn’t lift my hands from his. They were just so warm, I never wanted him to let go. But he did. He shuffled in his seat and rolled down his windows, just like always. He put on his seatbelt and I mimicked this action, knowing we had to start driving now. He turned the car on and put it in drive but stayed parked. He turned to me and grabbed my hand again, squeezing it three times, I love you. I squeezed back four times, I love you, too. We silently smiled at each other, tears staining our faces, but neither of us could say these words out loud, it hurt too much. And we knew that. We knew that by saying it out loud it would only make our hearts break further and I don’t think either of us could handle that. So we didn’t. 

I wish we did.

When I got home that night I immediately put on your hoodie and for the first time, it smelled like home. You became my home and I didn’t even realize I moved all my boxes until they were thrown back at me that Friday night. It took me months to move on from your absence. I was always waiting to see a book fly across the bookstore but they never did. The car rides home felt much colder, even with the windows up and your hoodie on. Oh, and speaking of your hoodie, I embroidered my initials under yours, mine are light blue. I didn’t think you would mind. It’s been about seven months since I’ve seen you, it hasn’t gotten easier yet. I miss you more than my words could possibly describe.

Maybe it was the way your hair flipped from side to side when you sang or maybe it was how when you smiled your one dimple became prominent or maybe it was the opened windows. I could never tell you. But something about you, Timothy, felt like running with the waves at the beach yet you also felt like sitting near a fire on a rainy day. You were an enigma I couldn’t quite figure out but by the time I did, it was too late. 

I love you Timothy, and letting you go was the hardest thing I have ever had to do.