JONAH
Today 1:45 AM
Hey…
Hey? You’ve been MIA for
two months. Seriously?
Look, I’m not supposed
to be texting you…
I really wasn’t. The pen pal assignment only lasts a week and after that we aren’t supposed to reach out. It’s one of the rules. Cut all communication after the assignments complete. Don’t give out personal details. And under no circumstances, reveal that you two don’t share a planet. I’d already failed at that last one. Although… I don’t know if it counts if the person you’re talking to doesn’t believe you. I wouldn’t have believed me either. I suppose Terra 3 doesn’t have the same experiences we do with extraterrestrial contact. This semester was the first time Terra 3 even appeared on the list of approved pen pal planets. I guess that’s why they made such a big deal about the rules. Typically students would just communicate with Keeblor’s sister planets. There was no risk with that, we all knew of eachother even if we didn’t interact much outside of programs like this. I just had to be special, the first Keeble to have a Terran pen pal. I’m definitely regretting it now. Terrans are special. Whether people admit it or not, we’re all aware of it. Of course it’s just my luck to be paired up with the most special one of them all. I told him that once. He thought I was just being sweet but I meant it, and that’s why I’m breaking the rules for him. I can’t stay away.
BEN
Today 1:47 AM
Look, I’m not supposed to
be texting you…
Don’t give me that pen
pal assignment shit.
We agreed to ignore the
rules. You promised. We
both promised.
I’m sorry, Benny…
I cried myself to sleep for two months, and he’s sorry. I guess that fixes that then. Sure he abandoned me after promising he wouldn’t but it’s okay. He’s sorry. Asshole. I’m in love with an asshole. I hate that him saying my name gave me butterflies. I hate that I’m gonna let him get away with this. Jonah who fell from the sky. Well not literally. He only existed in my phone and my thoughts. Fuck, if I didn’t love those thoughts. He was an angel. An angel who only spoke to me because of “a dumb school assignment”. His words, not mine. It felt like more for a second there… Then he left, leaving me to rot like a forgotten diorama from the third grade. A dumb school assignment. Still, he was back. That had to count for something right? God, I’m hopeless. There were so many red flags. Pretty much everything about him was a red flag. I don’t know where he lives. I asked once. He made some joke about “the planet Keeblor” on the “outskirts of our galaxy.” I let that slide. He explained the rules of the assignment to me. Apparently they were pretty strict with the no personal details one. Jonah wasn’t even his real name. It was a nickname. He said it was as close to his name as a human tongue could pronounce. I get it, I mean my parents named me Benvolio. I didn’t have a foot to stand on so… Again I let it slide. I let everything slide with Jonah. He was Jonah after all, and now he’s back.
JONAH
Today 1:47 AM
I’m sorry, Benny…
I stg if you do it again
you’re not getting a
response next time.
That’s fair, I missed
you
I missed you too… so
fucking much.
Why are you awake?
I haven’t been sleeping
much.
Leave it to Ben to make me worried about timezones on a whole other planet. He didn’t have to tell me that I was the reason he couldn’t sleep. I’d lost sleep too after, well, everything. We used to text until one of us passed out. It was a dumb ritual. One we both apparently got way too attached to. I attempted to type out a response but what do you say to that? It wouldn’t be enough to apologize again. We were both hurting. I was responsible for his pain and the universe for mine. I couldn’t stop myself from breaking another rule.
BEN
Today 1:50 AM
Wanna call?
...
Two months ago I would’ve slammed my thumb against that call button without a moment’s notice. We’d never called before. It was apparently another one of his rules. What was I getting myself into… My thumb pressed down against the screen.
“Hey… Nice to meet you, I’m Jonah.” His voice lit the room around me. I couldn’t help but smile. Actually, I couldn’t help but laugh.
“What the actual fuck was that introduction?” I teased.
“Was it not good? I was practicing for a while.” I could hear the frown in his voice. I couldn’t help but notice how adorable his sad voice was.
“No, it was good. A little formal, but good.” I smiled and with a faux professionality spoke, “Nice to meet you, Jonah. I’m Ben.”
“Benny. You said I could call you Benny.” He sounded more nervous than I was. I didn’t know how that was even possible.
“That was before you ghosted me for two months. Benny is for the people I care about.”
“You don’t care about me?” Fuck. I can’t help myself around him.
“I didn’t say that. You just gotta earn your rights to call me Benny back. This call is a good start, though.”
“It was the least I could do… I’m sorry again. I was just scared, I don’t really break rules and this one is rather large. I missed you. If people found out they’d probably… well I’m not entirely sure what they would do, it’s never happened before.” I cut him off.
“You’re cute when you ramble.”
“You think I’m cute?” He sounds so innocently excited.
“Adorable. I mean I’ve only seen that one picture you sent when we started texting but yeah, you’re a cutie Jonah.” I worshiped that photo. Over the past two months I’d gone back to delete it a few times but never could. There was only that one. “So, since Jonah’s a rule breaker now, do I get to see more of you?” Part of me hated myself for using his guilt like this. However, that was a fairly small part and the other part got me more pictures of Jonah. There was a sigh on the other line and then a notification.
JONAH
Today 2:01 AM
Attachment: 1 Image
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“Did you get it?” I was nervous about sending any pictures. Lucky for me, Keebles look almost identical to Terrans. Still, I didn’t trust Ben to not find those little differences between us.
“Did you not see my reply?” He was laughing. I’m not entirely sure if that’s good or bad.
“Oh… I saw it. I just assumed your phone fell, it didn’t make much sense.”
“Jonah, do you not have key smashing there?”
“No. Is key smashing good?” My voice shook for a second. There were a lot of Terran traditions I hadn’t acquainted myself with. In my defense, my “studying” of Terran culture was only supposed to last a week.
“Yes, your dork. It means I think you look good.”
“O-Oh. Nice. I don’t know how to reply to that.” I really didn’t. Thoughts didn’t come easy when it came to Ben. I existed in a constant state of flustered and I wasn’t complaining. “What… time is it there?” I asked, fully knowing the answer.
“About two in the morning. How about you?”
“It’s umm, about nine at night. Tomorrow.” The time conversion didn’t make too much sense. According to Ben time conversions there didn’t make too much sense either. I laughed. “Time is weird.”
“Yeah… I wish you weren’t so far away.” Those words broke my heart. It wasn’t often that we’d have conversations like this. The ones that make it clear there’s more between us than friendship. These conversations came with one unspoken rule: don’t bring up the distance.
“Me too…” My mind began to drift.
“Maybe we could meet someday, in person.”
“Ben, we don’t live in the same town…”
“I know-” He started.
“Or the same state…”
“I know, but-”
“Or even the same country…”
“Jonah.” He stated, snapping me out of my minor existential state.
“Yeah?”
“The same universe is enough for me.”
BEN
Two things I was sure of. One, Jonah was the most attractive man I’d ever seen. Two, if I ever needed him to get out of his own head, that line worked like a charm.
“Jonah, I hate to say this but I think I’m passing out.” My eyes were fighting me long before he texted.
“Oh, you should get some sleep. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to keep you up.” He stammered out his apology. I could tell he meant it, but somewhere in his voice he was glad I’d stayed up.
“Don’t apologize. I like staying up for you… you’re worth it.” I smiled and laid back, struggling to keep my phone held to my ear. “You should be getting to bed here pretty soon too, right?”
“Yeah… the moons have been out for a while now.” He laughed, and I followed.
“You’re a nerd, y’know that?” I blushed. It was almost flattering how long he’d kept the alien bit going.
“It was one of the first things you said to me.”
“Yeah, I remember… Goodnight my little alien.”
“Goodnight Ben.”
I hung up the phone first. I really was on the verge of passing out. I typed out a quick text and let myself drift off, smiling like a complete fool.
JONAH
Today 2:34 AM
Be there when I wake
up and you can call
me Benny again. 😉
I’ll be there.
I hugged my phone. It was stupid but I couldn’t help it. I knew I missed Ben but I didn’t realize how much. Life without him was exhausting. For two months he was my only thought, my only want. I knew now I couldn’t live apart from him. This was real, a galaxy apart, but real. I needed him and he needed to know the truth.
Today 2:34 AM
I’ll be there.
Benny… I know you’re
probably asleep by now.
I need to try this again…
I’m Jonah, J’Oh Nua is
my real name.
I’m from the planet Keeblor,
it really is on the edge of
your galaxy.
And I’m madly in love with
you.
BEN
So Jonah confessed his love for me. That was something. That was nice. In doing so, he doubled down on the alien thing which honestly was weird. Still, he was in love with me. Goddamnit. I think I’m in love with him too. My finger scrolled through our messages, stopping at his picture. Okay, I’m definitely in love with him too. I don’t know if aliens are real. I don’t know if the planet Keeblor is real… But I know Jonah is real.
Today 10:17 PM
You’re in love with
me?
Oh… You’re up.
Yes. I’m in love with
you. I am so madly
in love with you, Benny
And you’re from
Keeblor?
You’re really an
alien…
I’m really an alien.
I don’t believe
you.
I want this, Jonah.
I want you but I
can’t do this if you
aren’t going to be
honest with me.
I am being honest.
Prove it.
My phone rang out. I looked down to see Jonah’s name across the screen, he was calling again. It was different this time. Jonah was video calling me. I picked up to see Jonah’s face staring back at me. His face looked nervous. I’d imagined him nervous before but never this nervous.
“H-Hey.” He stuttered out, giving me his best “everything is okay” smile.
“Hi there,” I smiled back at him. “You look nice today, you don’t get a bedhead. Noted.”
“Benny, please be serious.”
“I am serious. I’m serious about you, Jonah. You’re the one playing games, making things up.” I looked behind him, it was a fairly typical room. A bit bare but nothing alien about it.
“I’m not playing games I’m really-” He growled, struggling to form words. He spun around, his phone spinning with him. His background changed to a window, the curtains pulled open. “Just look.” It took a second for the camera to focus. Behind him… Outside the window were beautiful red skies. The clouds were a shade of purple I couldn’t quite name.
“Holy shit… Jonah, it’s beautiful…” I couldn’t say more. It was entirely new to me and Jonah, he was entirely new to me. “You’re really…”
“Yes, I’m really…”
I started laughing, it began as a chuckle but grew till it took every breath. “This is going to be hard, isn’t it.”
“Two people on different planets in love? Yeah… Doesn’t seem like it’s going to be easy.” His laugh matched mine. I managed to catch my breath and asked the only question on my mind.
“We’re fucked aren’t we? I mean… you’re not even on the same planet as me.”
He frowned for a second but quickly replaced it with a confident smile. “The same universe is enough for me.”