7:00 came and went. It was around 9:15 when the party started to thin out and people began to call it a night. We stood out underneath a clear sky, stars sparkling like glitter and a lone streetlamp providing enough light for the entire street. Smoke from Auden's cigarette floats through the air as I stand beside them and stare above, the familiar aroma of burnt nicotine wafting into my nose. Mary and Riley stand across from us, hands in the pockets of their jackets and pants, and we're accompanied with the presence of another party-goer, Rory, who stands beside Auden and joins them in inhaling nicotine smoke. My friend talks about their aunty, who's been getting sick with pneumonia, and the conversation is mostly one-sided, spare for the snide remarks from Riley at every given opportunity. I was glad to see he hadn't changed. At least, not from the guy I knew in high school.

"They've put her on bed rest for the time being," Auden specifies. "But she won't get any better for a few days. I'm worried it'll get worse."

"Pneumonia usually lasts for a week or two," Mary comments. "But she probably won't feel herself for at least a month. I had a cousin who had a mild case of it, and his Mum managed to keep him away from work and school until he got better. That only lasted for about a week, but he kept saying he still felt like he was going to throw up after every meal for the weeks following."

"Yeah, my sister had a similar case," Rory notes, bringing his cigarette to his lips. "Before she moved out with her boyfriend, her whole throat swelled up and she couldn't talk for something like 5 days. The doctors were worried she might have damaged her vocal chords for good."

Auden takes in a deep breath, but doesn't inhale the cigarette in their hand. "You guys aren't making me feel any better, shockingly enough."

"What are you talking about? Imagine doing nothing but lying in bed for a week," Riley says, a light smile on his face. "And think about all the ice cream you could eat to soothe your throat."

"We're talking about pneumonia, dumbass," Mary bites, shooting him a glare. "Not bloody tonsilitis."

"Sounds like you're almost talking about the same thing."

"Shut up, Riley." Mary snaps. Auden pushes their glasses up their nose, taking another drag, instantly looking uncomfortable.

I didn't have all the answers that my friend needed, and I didn't know enough about hospitals and pneumonia to give my feedback. So while everyone around me talked, I looked up to the dark sky, the stars glittering and sparkling as we stood underneath them. It's so easy to forget how expansive the sky is, not until you're standing underneath it, staring at the stars flickering against an infinite, dark, navy black. The moon hasn't shown its face, so the world is dark, albeit for that lone streetlight glowing. The last time I was able to look up at this sky like this was when I went camping, maybe almost two years ago, when everything was settled, and we didn't have to worry about anyone, or anything, and we were happy.

I bring my gaze away from the stars and the ever-expanding sky and back to earth, where the present was before me and the past was now just a memory: a fragile memory that could explode and pull everyone down with it like a black hole.

"Shit, what's the time?" Mary asks, looking towards Riley, and I focus back on the group, looking towards the couple.

Everyone reaches for their phones. Rory is the first to answer. "9:23."

"Shit, we better get home," she swears again, glancing at everyone. "I've got a 7am start tomorrow."

"Ooh, lucky you," Riley teases sarcastically, giving her a blank stare. "Try getting up at 4am every morning."

Mary stares back at him, her eyes shooting daggers, but a smile is gracing her lips.

"You come home and sleep after every shift, thank you very much, while I stay awake and look after the animals." She spits, fire in her tone and a know-it-all attitude aimed directly towards Riley.

"You finish at, like, two," Riley argues.

"I've been finishing at six most nights this week," Mary is quick to reply.

"Yeah, this week," Riley clarifies. "The rest of the month you've been finishing at, like, 1 or 2 o'clock."

"And then I come home and look after the animals while you come home and play PlayStation," she points out, venom beginning to lace her tone, much more stronger than before.

"By the time I get back, everything's already been done," Riley continues to argue, like he's barely fazed by Mary's change of tone. "I asked you if you wanted help the other night and you told me you had it all under control."

"When did you ask me that?" Mary snaps.

"When I came home! I asked if you wanted me to bring the rabbits in and you told me 'don't worry about it. I'm fine.'"

While the two continue to squabble, I glance at Auden and Rory, who continue to finish their cigarettes. Rory proceeds to drop his on the grassy earth, smooshing it into the cold mildew, glancing at us as he says, "Alright, it does seem like a good idea to get going."

Mary and Riley turn to the rest of the group, Riley being the first to speak. "Yeah, we should probably head off. Someone's getting cranky."

"Piss off." Comes the sour reply, Riley snickers. I feel a smile lightly spreading to my lips. It's been nice to dabble in the familiarity of Riley's stupidly insensible behaviour, even for a couple of hours. The familiarity is warm, welcoming.

The two of them say their goodbyes, turning on their heels and making their way across the front garden. I can still hear Mary's voice bickering in whispers as they make their way to the car, and though I can't hear what they're saying, I can hear Riley's over-friendly, everything-is-okay, tone, and that makes me smile for real.

I turn and see Rory giving Auden a hug, before parting and wishing us both a good night. He heads in the opposite direction, down the road, and disappearing into the blackness of the night once he has stepped out from the stream of light underneath the streetlamp.

And then it's just me and Auden. Standing on the front lawn of their grandmother's house, they finish up their cigarette, taking one long inhale of the death stick and exhaling a cloud of burnt nicotine.

"You sticking around, Kara?" They tap the cigarette to rid the ash off the end.

I shake my head. "I should get going. I've got work tomorrow myself."

"Fair, fair," comes an understanding reply, and the cigarette falls to the ground, only to be crushed into the dirt under Auden's boot. "You and I still need to work on your character sheet for D&D."

I look back up at the stars, wishing I didn't really have to leave. Wishing I didn't really have to drive for an hour afterwards.

"Yeah," I respond poorly, before forcing a real answer as I looked back at my friend. "Did you wanna do it sometime this week?"

They shrug. "Up to you, man. I got nothing on."

"Sweet." I had more pressing matters on my mind besides Dungeons and Dragons. More to the like of wondering if I was pushing my luck leaving half an hour later than I should have. I didn't even need to check the time to know I was already going to be late.

I go to turn. "I'll message you, alright?"

"Alright dude." Auden says, turning themselves to go back to the warm confines of her home. "Talk later. Have a good night."

"You too." I call after them, before turning and making my way towards my car.