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The sky is clear, the night is dark and quiet as Sam sits outdoors on the damp grass of a hill not too far from the dorms.
It wasn't exactly the kind of weather that Sam seemed to favor, but a particular someone did.
It was on nights like these that Sam wondered outside and stared at the stars for what could be hours at a time because it reminded them of nights spent in the backyard with Phoebe, Sam staying totally silent as she listed off facts about space and pointed out constellations with ease.
The last time they talked was a few months after their 13th birthday, Phoebe had to move back home with her dad because her grandmother was sick and needed a carer, but she obviously couldn't be left behind, so she went with her father and now Sam has not heard about it from her in years. She was the one to give them the jacket they always wear, it was originally way too big on them but Phoebe insisted they would just be able to wear it for longer.
She was always really nice and cheerful, only really showing sadness when talking about her mom or when she said goodbye to them before leaving. She seemed genuinely upset at the time and Sam hopes shes doing better.
Sam laid down so they would no longer have to crane their neck to look up at the stars.
Sam couldn't tell where the constellations were, but they could still remember what they all meant and little facts about them, you tend to remember that kind of stuff when you're being told so much about it. At some point Sam had to re-learn some history stuff because their brain space was too occupied by space facts.
As Sam laid, counting the craters on the moon's surface for the 3rd time, when a small droplet of water hit Their nose and snapped them back to reality. The one in which they have class in the morning and it is currently God-knows-what-time, probably around 2AM. Another, bigger droplet falls onto their face, then another, and Sam is reminded that they need to get home.
The rain started to pick up more and more as they walked through the city, glancing around at all the stores in the area. Sam was never in this area before as it was too far from their dormitory and they had no reason to be out this far so they had never had the time to admire any of the older buildings or look at what was being sold.
Sam was walking through the dorm buildings doors some 45 minutes later, dripping with rain water and not nearly as relaxed as they usually would be after spending an hour in the rain. They walked up the stairs and found that, despite the hour, a small group was sitting in the hang out spot.
The entire group looked up at Sam as they entered the area, and they decided to just awkwardly shuffle away from the groups wiping their shoes on the carpet in the process.
Thankfully none of their roommates were awake, or if they were then they were being very quiet in their room. Sam grabbed a new pair of pajamas before taking a short shower, leaving all previous articles of clothing either on or under the radiator.
They made some tea before going back to their room, opening an old wip document and putting some music on.
No point in sleeping when you know you won't be able to, Sam was just a tad too stressed and not tired enough for sleep. The pajamas were purely for comfort while Sam worked on the old story.
Even as the stars hid away and the sun peeked over the horizon Sam was awake, but thinking about Phoebe again. They wonder how she's doing and if she's still the same space nerd that she was as a child.
None of those questions would be answered and Sam knew that but they couldn't help but wonder.