. . .

DON'T WORRY...

I PROMISE, EVERYTHING WILL TURN OUT ALRIGHT IN THE END...

NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS...

I PROMISE THAT I'LL ALWAYS BE THERE FOR YOU...

. . .

WELCOME TO STAR SPACE.

YOU HAVE BEEN LIVING HERE FOR A YEAR.

. . .

"Damn. A whole year, huh?"

Those are the first words you hear as you find yourself waking up - or maybe just simply appearing? - in a black space filled with small bright dots. Wait, no- not black, there was just...an absence of color. Or maybe light? It was hard to tell.

"Sorry, are you comfortable? I tried to make a dreamscape that would fit both of us." The same person spoke again, grabbing your arm to help you into a sitting position. Their face was blurred, simply absent of features other than a generic mouth, nose, and a pair of magenta circular-framed prescription glasses.

You stare at them, confused.

"Oh, right! You probably don't recognize me," they said with a light laugh. "Here..."

You blinked, and Bee had taken the place of the person before, all gray skin and fluffy teal hair. The small, goat-like antlers on their head flickered in excitement.

"That better?" They twirled around once, bubbly.

Suddenly, something soft butted it's head against your wrist. It meowed audibly in a demanding way, looking up at you with round yellow eyes. A brown tabby kitten.

"Oh, that's Selena, my cat," Bee said. "I put her in place of MEWO. I would've added your dogs, too, but I don't really have an idea of what they look like or how they would behave. And Angel just seemed like a bad idea, so..."

You took the opportunity to stand up and look around as Bee continued talking, partially listening.

A couch stood on the right side of the "room" - there weren't any walls; or a door, for that matter - with a large TV across from it. A bookshelf stood a little ways from the TV stand, it's shelves bending slightly under the weight of books, books, and more books. Hardcovers, paperbacks; comics, fantasy, dystopian, dark fantasy, poetry, realistic fiction, historical fiction, science fiction, and a few stragglers of other genres. A stack of books was on the floor near the bookshelf. While most of the books on the shelves seemed to be young-adult and up, these on the floor seemed to be for younger audiences, mostly consisting ofDork Diaries, Emily Windsnap, and this magic dog series that you couldn't really read - the titles and covers were blurred.

"O-oh! Ah-" Bee rushed over, face flushed a light red. "I-I don't know what these are doing here... thought I'd gotten rid of them years ago." They were clearly embarrassed, but tried to laugh it off. "I honestly don't know why I read these in the first place, they're so dumb!"

As Bee said that, the books blurred to a black heap, unsettling in a way that made them different from the black around them. A small insecurity, it seemed.

"Oh..." Bee looked at the blackness, guilt and longing written in their expression. "Sorry, um- Oh, hey, look! The moon is really clear now."

You turned to look where Bee was pointing to see a large, round, yellow mass in the...sky? Space? You figured it'd be best to not question it. Bee gently grabbed your hand and led you over to the couch, where you sat down and watched the moon together.

"Isn't this amazing?" Bee said, tossing a cow plushie at you with a giggle. "I mean- a whole year! That's insane, right? I remember you telling me one time that most online friends just give up and leave after a month or two, but look at us. Three-hundred and sixty-five days, and counting!"

. . .

"I really hope it doesn't end. I hope we never have to leave this place."

. . .

"It might change, it might grow, it might disappear every once in a while, but it'll always be ours, right?"

. . .

"Imagine meeting each other in-person. I'd finally get to give you a hug, ha ha!"

. . .

"Hey, is it weird that that's one of the few items on my bucket list?"

. . .

". . ."

. . .

Bee sits in silence.

. . .

Bee doesn't want to talk.

. . .

Bee probably needs to talk.

. . .

"H-hey, um- you ready to end this? The...oneshot, I mean."

. . .

"I'd never leave you. I promise."

. . .

Bee is trying to convince themself of...something.

. . .

"Gee, we're um- already at 750 words."

. . .

"You can stop reading at any time, you know."

. . .

Bee sits in silence.

. . .

Bee sits in silence.

. . .

Bee sits in silence.

. . .

Bee sits in silence.

. . .

Bee sits in silence.

. . .

Bee sits in silence.

. . .

Bee sits in silence.

. . .

Bee sits in silence.

. . .

SOMETHING is behind you.