- B O S T O N -

Part Three

 

 

As the year passed, Chris found out more and more about Jonny, though it was hard to know much about the elusive boy. He was always very quiet, even when he was having a one-on-one conversation with someone. Most of the time he'd just nod or laugh.

 

Soon they were hanging out almost everyday, and spending far more time together than Chris and Guy were. But now Guy had found a new girl to chase after, one who didn't ignore him all the time, and so he was more preoccupied with her anyway.

 

The winter months forced them indoors, confined to the small perimeters of drywall and fiberboard. On the thick carpet that covered Jonny's living room floor, he and Chris sat, staring mindlessly into space.

 

“It was nice of your mum to make those,” Chris said, pointing to a now-empty tray, but one that had been recently filled with a mountain of chocolate chip cookies.

 

“She knows you like them,” Jonny softly replied. “Or, I told her you like them and that she should make them for you.”

 

“Aw, how nice of you!” Chris smiled, bringing his knees up to his chest and resting his chin on them. He stared at Jonny for as long as he felt he could without being caught.

 

How was it possible for there to exist a person such as Jonny, a boy so sweet, so entrancing, that Chris actually forgot at times about girls? They once meant something to him, but now Jonny was all that mattered.

 

Jonny started fidgeting a little, his mouth twisting, then suddenly he turned to Chris and Chris's heard started pounding in his chest. For a second he thought the look in Jonny's eyes was one of suspicion, and that he would soon ask what the hell Chris was doing staring at him like that, but luckily that wasn't the case.

 

“Are you bored?” Jonny asked, and Chris realized it was concern that he saw, but his heart didn't do much slowing down.

 

“No,” Chris immediately and simply said, “of course not.”

 

“Well, I was just thinking there's more to do in my room.” Jonny shrugged, and Chris wasn't sure if he was suggesting something more than what he said. But he told himself not to expect anything either way, not necessarily so he wouldn't embarrass himself- though that was rather important- but mostly so that he couldn't be let down.

 

“Oh, sure.” The answer to Jonny's technically unasked question seemed to please him; he smiled at Chris and stood up, then began to bring him down a hallway which Chris supposed led to Jonny's bedroom.

 

It was smaller but a bit warmer than the living room had been. Jonny sat down on the edge of his bed, but Chris took a few minutes to stand and look around. Every wall was almost entirely covered in posters, magazine clippings, and drawings. Chris recognized some of the subjects, but not others.

 

“Who's that?” he asked of a picture taped to the wall featuring a gray-haired Australian man.

 

Jonny only had to quickly glance up at the poster to identify it. “Uh, that's Baz Luhrmann. He's a filmmaker,” Jonny explained. “I think he's really... cool.”

 

“Filmmaker,” Chris quietly repeated. “Is he, like, a director?”

 

“He has directed before.”

 

“Like what?” Chris finally took the liberty to sit down with Jonny, observing him with wide, questioning eyes. As weird as it might have sounded, he felt like this conversation was actually going somewhere.

 

Jonny paused for a moment, thinking, then began to list a few. “Moulin Rouge, Romeo + Juliet... he's working on a version of The Great Gatsby.”

 

Chris twisted his mouth in a quirky sort of frown, and said, “I never read that book.”

 

“I have. It was all right. But Baz Luhrmann's an awesome director, I think the movie will be great.” Jonny looked up at Chris, and Chris smiled because he could see in Jonny's eyes a light, an excitement that he'd never seen there before.

 

Chris figured that he would be lost if they kept to the same subject, but he loved seeing Jonny so passionate. He asked, “And who are all those other people? You know, on your walls.”

 

Jonny took a deep breath, then walked over to the wall across the room and began to name the men and women. Chris stood behind him and watched over his shoulder. He listened intently even though he knew nothing about what Jonny was saying, because he liked the sound of Jonny's voice. A few of the names he actually recognized, and soon he noticed a pattern.

 

“They're all film people, aren't they?” Chris asked when Jonny had taken a pause. Jonny nodded. “That's pretty cool.”

 

“I want to be a filmmaker,” Jonny mentioned nonchalantly. Chris observed Jonny, nothing that his tone had changed back, lackluster and detached.

 

“You don't like people asking questions about you, do you? Or talking to about you... why is that?”

 

“I'm not as interesting as people think I am,” Jonny replied. “A lot of what they say is just made up.”

 

“Like what?” Chris inquired as kindly as possible.

 

“The drugs,” Jonny said. “I have no idea where that came from. And the... sleeping with a bunch of girls...”

 

“I figured,” Chris said with a small laugh. “But you are an interesting person.”

 

“I highly doubt that.” Jonny seemed to have grown tired of showing off his walls, and he sat down on his bed again.

 

“Well,” Chris began, walking over to Jonny, “I think you have to be interesting if you're going to be a filmmaker. You don't want to bore people with your movies.” Chris tilted his head to the side. “Have you made movies before?”

 

“Yeah.” Jonny stared at his hands, twiddling his thumbs.

 

“Can I see them?” Chris sat down beside Jonny, hoping that Jonny would open up to him at least a little more. Jonny looked at Chris with a sort of fear in his eyes, like he was afraid of being judged, and Chris smiled at him to tell him he had nothing to worry about.

 

Without saying anything, Jonny walked across the room and came back carrying a sleek black laptop. A few minutes later, after the computer had booted up, he clicked a bunch of buttons and a video popped up.

 

To get a better view, Chris leaned in closer to Jonny. His arm brushed up against Jonny's, his nose tickled by the scent that Jonny produced. But he kept his focus on the video, because as nice as it was to stare endlessly, he much preferred actually talking with Jonny, and certainly he wouldn't mind giving Jonny an infinite amount of compliments. That boy needed to recognize just how awesome he was.

 

 

The Best Years Of Your Life

Chapter One: Out Of Curiosity

 

 

 

 

Chris' PoV

 

"Chris!" Dad shouted up. I turned round on my bed, looking up to the ceiling. "Jonny is here!"

 

My eyes widened. I was about to get out of bed when he entered my room.

"Alright, Chris?" Jonny asked, playing with the football he had in his hands. "Do you want to go and play footie?"

 

 

"It's like almost nine, my dad won't let me come out" I said, sighing. "Just stay here and we can play some poker or something!"

 

"It sucks with only like two people, we need to get Jonny, Guy and Phil and the lads over and we'll have a proper poker night. Remember that last time when we all got drunk and your dad threw me out!" Jonny said, chuckling.

 

"Haha! Yeah, that was funny. He still doesn't like you that much" I replied, laughing even more than Jonny was.

 

"He does! Everyone loves old Jonnyboy, especially your mum!" Jonny said, grinning.

 

"Watch it dude! Don't make me beat you up!" I said, raising my eyebrows in a sarcastic matter.

 

"I'd like to see you try" Jonny said, jumping on Chris' bed. "So, what are we doing then?"

 

I looked around my room before hearing a crash of lightning outside and a huge rainfall. I turned my back to Jonny and grinned as I approached the window. "I guess we are staying in!" I said before turning back round to Jonny and approaching my bed. I got on my knees and got my safe out.

 

"What is that?" Jonny asked.

 

"Haven't you ever seen it before? It's my safe!" I said, opening it and producing two cans of Carlsberg lager.

 

"You legend, Chris!" Jonny said, taking one of the cans from my hand and opening it.

 

"No worries, just be quiet, If my dad see's us drinking, he'll get right pissed off. I got grounded for three weeks last time!" I said. It was really annoying, he didn't talk to me at all for that amount of time.

 

I watched as Jonny made his way through the can of lager. He was always a lightweight.

"You're getting drunk already!" I said, smiling.

"Am I heck!" Jonny replied, slurring his words.

 

"Do you want me to go and ask my dad if you can stay over tonight?" I asked.

 

"Anything to stay away from Sophie!" Jonny said, smiling.

 

"Dude, why don't you just dump her if you are so sick of her?" I said, thinking it was logical.

 

"I'm not going to dump her. I'm scared of her" Jonny exclaimed. "Anyway, yeah, go and ask your dad while I finish your drink!"

 

I started walking out the room.

"Okay you can have a bit of it, just don't drink too much of mine. I'll get you another one later!" I said as I ran downstairs. My dad was staring at me.

 

"I've just had Jonny's mum on the phone" he said. I looked up at him.

"Oh yes?" I replied.

 

"Her sister's ill, so she has asked if Jonny can stay here tonight! You can tell Jonny it's alright but no drinking, after what happened last time!" Dad said. "Oh alright, cool, I'll tell him, goodnight dad!"

 

"Goodnight!"

 

I walked back upstairs and into my bedroom, Jonny was looking at one of my dirty magazines.

"Chris, you dirty bastard! I didn't know you were into this sort of stuff!" Jonny said, laughing.

"Uhh, I'm a guy, aren't I?" I replied, grinning. "Anyway, your aunt's ill so your mum is staying with her tonight so you can stay here anyway!"

 

"Oh okay" Jonny replied, more captivated in the magazine. "Look at her tits!" he said, pointing to one of the girls. I simply smiled. I didn't feel comfortable. I just bought the magazines to be like every other guy.

 

"Jonny" I said bluntly, my voice was stern. Jonny looked at me. "Do you think we can try something? You know, out of curiosity"

 

"Like what, do you want to kiss me, Chris?" Jonny said, sarcastically.

 

I paused before replying;

"Yes"

 

Jonny moved in and kissed me. It didn't last long. I don't know if he even meant it but he did it. It left both me and him speechless. Without a word being said, we kissed again.

 

 

 

The Best Years Of Your Life

Chapter Two: The Morning After The Night Before

 

 

 

 

Chris' PoV

 

The bell rang. I rushed out of Maths and into the hallway. I looked around for Jonny. I had to find him. I had to talk to him. He left my house this morning before I even got up. Maybe he felt bad about the night before. I had no idea, the only way to find out is to find him. I finally spotted him coming out of Geography, I ran over to him, he was wife his girlfriend, Sophie.

 

"Jonny" I said, smiling.

 

"Alright mate?" Jonny said. "Crazy night last night, wonnit? I can't remember a thing!"

 

"You are so crazy!" Sophie said to Jonny before she snogged him in front of me.

 

I just walked off. I couldn't be dealing with him. He must have remembered what happened last night, mustn't he?

 

"Chris" a voice said. I looked around, I didn't know what was going on. I looked up, it was Guy.

"Chris, are you alright?" Guy asked.

 

"Yeah, I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?" I replied, pulling myself together. "What lesson have we got now?"

 

"Dunno" Guy said. "I think it's German and if it is, I'm not going, I can't stand Mr. Deacon!"

 

"What are you going to do, then?" I asked.

 

"I'm going to bunk off, you coming with me for a smoke?" Guy asked. I looked behind me and saw Jonny and Sophie kissing some more. I couldn't take it any more.

 

"Yeah sure, why not?" I said. "Let's go"

 

Guy lead me outside, we climbed over the fence surrounding the school. He led me down a small track I had never seen before and made me climb through a hedge. This revealed a sort of 'smoking area' where there were cigarette butts, alcohol, and plastic bottles littering the place. There was also a smell of drugs that I don't think could ever go away.

 

Guy got out a cigarette and a lighter, and proceeded to light his cigarette and smoke it. I watched as the smoke seemed to clasp onto my clothes.

"Do you want a drag, Chris?" Guy asked, smiling.

 

"No thanks" I said. I'd never smoked before, I've told everyone that I have. You know, just to try and sound cool.

 

"Guy" I muttered.

 

Guy looked up."Yes?" he said.

 

"I've got to tell you something" Chris said.

 

"Go on, tell me anything, I won't judge!" Guy said, winking.

 

"Last night I kissed Jonny. Guy, I think I'm gay" I said, sighing.

 

"Wow" Guy replied, smoking the last of his cigarette. "I don't know what to say, so, I suppose, I won't say anything"

 

Guy got up and walked off, leaving myself time to think.

 

 

 

- B O S T O N -

Part Four

 

 

By the time summer came, Chris had decided that he was in love with Jonny. And why shouldn't he be? Jonny was the sweetest, kindest, funniest person Chris knew. He and Guy had been best friends since they were two, but he would have traded all that for one day with Jonny.

 

Besides, he and Guy weren't speaking much anymore. It seemed that though their friendship had lasted for well over fifteen years, it couldn't exactly weather their sudden explorations in the field of romance. Guy had grown tired of hearing Chris swoon over Jonny, seeing Jonny's total obliviousness- though Guy was willing to admit that maybe he noticed it more simply because he knew about it- and he still had a girlfriend of his own he needed to pay attention to.

 

Soon it was no longer the three of them sitting at one table in lunch, it was just Jonny and Chris. Chris didn't mind so much, and truthfully neither did Jonny. He didn't mind Guy, but to Jonny it was the less, the better. But he did like having Chris around.

 

Chris was like the only person Jonny felt he could talk to and not have to be constantly worried about what Chris thought of him. For some reason he was rather confident that Chris would be friends with him no matter what. Perhaps it was because Chris was the only person who could really say they knew Jonny, or perhaps it was because of something a little deeper.

 

School let out on the fifteenth of June. To celebrate, Chris ran to the park by the school, dragging Jonny along with him, though Jonny was certainly more than willing to go. They sat on the swings- Chris's idea- and Jonny let his feet drag across the sand underneath while Chris was busy propelling himself high into the air.

 

“Come on, Jonny, live a little!” Chris exclaimed. As he swung forward and down, he made sure to tap Jonny's arm before he went back in the air. Jonny looked up at him, but did not move otherwise.

 

“Hmm... I'm good,” he said in his usual drone, returning his gaze to his feet. Chris laughed at him, his nose crinkling as it seemed to have started doing since he had decided he was in love. Any time he laughed, any time he smiled, at Jonny, his nose would crinkle. It was more subconscious than anything else, but it was guaranteed to happen.

 

Chris stopped swinging after a while, bored, and he hopped up from the seat, expecting Jonny to follow him. He walked until his feet came in contact with the merry-go-round, then he turned around to see if his assumption had been correct. Sure enough, there was Jonny, though he was slowly making his way over.

 

“Please don't push this thing too fast,” Jonny requested. “I'm not fond of vomiting.”

 

“Nor am I, dear Jonny, nor am I.” Chris turned again, slipping under then over the bars to reach the middle, where he sat on the flat surface on top of the center pole. Jonny stood near the edge, watching Chris.

 

Chris stared back, smiling, and began to kick his legs pointlessly. Jonny was not smiling; his eyes were narrowed, and it seemed as though he was suspicious.

 

“You're not gonna make me push it, are you?” he asked, dreading the answer just a bit.

 

Chris shook his head fervently and merely replied, “No.” After a few moments of silence, Jonny sighed and crawled under the bar as Chris had done, but with much less vigor.

 

“I have to tell you something,” Jonny mumbled. Chris's eyes widened and his heartbeat quickened a little.

 

“Tell me.”

 

Jonny lifted his brilliantly green eyes to meet Chris's, then waited a few seconds. “I'm going away this summer.”

 

Chris's hope had been easily destroyed, and he tried not to frown. “How long?”

 

“A month. Next month... I'm going to Boston, because there's this college out there that I want to visit, and there are some program things going on, so I'm gonna stay and I'll be gone for a month.” Jonny, who had been speaking extraordinarily fast compared to his usual pace, stopped and waited for Chris to respond. He was waiting for a while.

 

“Oh.” Chris looked down at his feet, thinking, then jumped off the seat and stood very close to Jonny. “Cool. I hope you have fun.”

 

For another minute both boys stood still, staring directly at one another and not doing much aside from breathing. Then suddenly the merry-go-round was moving, and fast. Jonny was lunged forward, and he nearly hit Chris.

 

“Sorry,” he quickly said, and Chris told him it was all right, though he thought he might have just had a heart attack. They looked around and found Guy running away in the background.

 

“Gaaayyyy!” he shouted at them, but it wasn't entirely coherent. Chris understood what he was saying, and he felt his cheeks start to flush.

 

“What did he say?” Jonny asked.

 

Chris waved his hand carelessly and said, “Oh, who even knows? That Guy is a loon.” Jonny seemed satisfied with the reply, so Chris sighed with relief and nervously looked around. “Uh... I think I'm gonna go home now.”

 

“All right,” Jonny said in what seemed like a calm voice, but Chris detected a hint of disappointment. And there was no way he could let Jonny be disappointed.

 

“Wanna come with me?” Chris offered, and Jonny smiled kindly at him.

 

“Sure.”

 

Chris had planned on returning home and moping in his room, but as he and Jonny began to walk he realized that this was a good thing and that he should be spending as much time with Jonny as possible before he left for a month. An entire month. Chris wanted to stop breathing every time he thought about it.

 

When they passed Jonny's house, Jonny suddenly stopped. Chris stood beside him, waiting to find out what was going on.

 

“Wait here.” As if Chris needed to be told to wait for Jonny.

 

Minutes later Jonny returned carrying what appeared to be two motorcycle helmets. He handed one to Chris, then started walking towards his bike. Chris put on the helmet and followed Jonny without really thinking; by the time he realized he would have to hold on to Jonny and froze completely, he was already sitting on the back of the bike, and seeing that Chris wasn't going to do it himself, Jonny grabbed Chris's arms and put them around his stomach.

 

 

The Best Years Of Your Life

Chapter Three: Confessions

 

 

 

 

Jonny's PoV

 

I sat up.

 

"What's wrong?" Sophie asked.

 

I shouldn't have done it. Why the hell did I just have sex with Sophie.

"Sorry, Sophie, I just need to be somewhere. I forgot" I said, giving Sophie a quick kiss.

 

I started getting dressed and got out of her house as soon as possible. I jumped on my bike and started biking- towards Chris' house. I knocked on the door. His mum let me in and I slowly walked up to Chris' room, opened it and walked in. Chris stared at me as I walked in.

 

"Jonny" Chris said.

 

"We need to talk" I said. "About...last night"

 

"I'm really, really sorry" Chris said. I was proud of Chris for saying sorry, I smiled.

 

"There is no need to be sorry mate! We both had a part to play last night" I said, sitting next to Chris on his bed.

 

"Well" Chris said. "Did you like it?"

 

I paused to think.

"To be honest, I'd never thought of you in that way before. I'd never thought of any dude in this way before and I don't know if I feel it for you now!" I said, probably kidding myself. I did enjoy it, in a way.

 

"Did you like it?" I asked.

 

"Yes. I did" Chris said. "I'm sorry"

 

"Stop saying sorry" Jonny replied.

 

"So what shall we do about it all? Forget it?" Chris asked.

 

"I'm not sure if I want to forget it" I said. Chris' face brightened up.

 

I wasn't even sure what I was saying or how I felt.

 

"I've got to tell you something, I've told Guy what has happened!" Chris said.

 

"What?" I exclaimed. I couldn't believe what I had just been told. "Why the hell did you do that, Chris?"

 

"I'm sorry, I needed to tell someone" Chris said.

 

"Well, what did he say?" I asked, sighing and shaking my head.

 

"Nothing really, he just walked off" Chris said.

 

"Fanfuckingtastic!" I exclaimed. "Well, everyone is going to know soon!"

 

"Guy isn't like that!" Chris said.

 

"He bloody well is" I replied, collapsing on the bed. "Look, I'm sorry Chris, I mean, I've kind of got a confession too!"

 

"What is that then?" Chris asked.

 

I sighed before muttering the words; "I slept with Sophie"

 

 

 

Arrow & Bow

 

Chapter 14

 

 

But as soon as I heard the sound of the door shutting something clicked inside my brain and I knew that it still wasn’t time yet. If I sought out Chris now he would shun me just like before. Because it wasn’t over yet. There was a funeral to be had, final goodbyes to be said. And Sarah and Madison would need me through all of it.

 

So I grabbed my jacket and decided to accompany them as Sarah made preparations. When she saw me I could see her eyes light up. I knew I was doing a good thing. Sarah never would have told me she wanted help but I can imagine it would have been a terrible weight on her if she had ended up preparing the funeral of her own husband alone.

 

We made several stops and had to make several decisions. Some of them were tedious. Some of the seemed pointless. All of them were painful.

 

I tried to imagine what it would be like if I had to make these decisions for the funeral who I loved as much as Sarah loved Jackson. For some reason, I kept replacing Jackson with Chris, which scared me a little. So instead I tried to stop thinking altogether.

 

I wasn’t sure if I would be able to take part in the actual decision making. But once I tried it, it became easier and soon I was just mindless spitting out answers to questions. Sarah didn’t seem to mind. I think she was surprised. She’d never heard me like that before. I didn’t blame her. I had never heard me like that before either.

 

Could it really be Chris who was causing all of these changes in me? Could it possibly be just his simple guitar plucks and his weird way with words that had caused my brain to do a 180 and give me the confidence that I never thought I would be capable of?

 

I asked myself those questions all throughout the day and well into the night as I lay in bed thinking about the funeral the next day. It seemed preposterous. Most people would just say that Jackson’s illness was what really struck a chord in me.

 

I wanted to think that too. But one little factor kept interfering. The fact that whenever I needed to summon up some courage I would think of something Chris said or did and I would suddenly have the audacity flowing through me. The influence he had on me was astonishing.

 

The morning of the funeral I was up bright and early. I dressed myself nicely. I hadn’t bothered to care about my appearance in so long. But that day it was important. Everything I did that day mattered.

 

If that had been the old me, I would have seen the dim rays of sunlight beginning to stream through my blinds and proceed to pull my blankets over my head. I hate to admit it, but I may have feigned some terrible illness.

 

Or maybe if it were not a Sunday, I would have gotten up at the usual time and gone off to work and made up some excuse about something major I had to complete that day. Anything so I would not have to face up to my true responsibilities to the ones I loved.

 

I had once been horribly afraid of letting someone down. But after that afternoon at the bar with Chris I knew I had nothing to fear. Every one of Chris’s notes had been wrong when he played for that crowd. But at the end they all cheered, and they all loved him.

 

That’s how it would be on this day, I knew. I would arrive early at the funeral home and though I might not know the right things to say or do, I would still be loved and appreciated for my efforts. I had finally learned that nobody wanted perfection from me. They just wanted something.

 

So I gave Madison and Sarah something. I gave them my deepest condolences. I gave them my hugs. I gave them my support. When the wake was over and the funeral procession had ended, I gave them each a hand to squeeze and a shoulder to cry into.

 

And best of all, I gave them my tears. I gave them the assurance that it was okay to cry. It was perfectly alright to feel things, and to let weakness show. And so they saw my tears and proceeded to cry along with me, until all of us were exhausted and had no tears left to shed.

 

Then we climbed into my car like zombies and I drove them, and later myself, home. When I entered my apartment I stood there staring, not really knowing what to do with myself now. I had helped and helped and helped Sarah and Madison all day and now it felt weird to have no one around to provide assistance to.

 

It was actually quite scary. I climbed into my bed and sat in the dark and I felt as though something was creeping up on me. I began to fear that if I wasn’t helping someone all the time my old self would return with secrecy and stealth, like a robber in the night.

 

I jumped out of bed. All of a sudden the blankets and pillows were a prison instead of a fortress. A trap to fall into. I did not want to become trapped in my old personality yet again.

 

I don’t know why I thought it would happen. I suppose I felt I had been climbing a mountain for a long time, aiming to gain some sort of confidence. Finally gaining that feeling was like being on the mountain’s peak. Instead of staying up there, I feared I would totter and fall back off, into a downward spiral until I hit rock bottom and had to start all over again.

 

Pacing around my apartment, I tried to think of Chris, as a last resort. It had been so easy before. But I suddenly realized that I had not thought of him since morning. And now when I tried to hear his voice or his music, I couldn’t seem to come up with anything. I even had difficulty remembering his face.

 

In a panic, I grabbed my jacket and headed out into the night. I had to find Chris. I had to thank him. I had to remember him. I had to see him again.

 

 

The Best Years Of Your Life

Chapter Four: Repercussions

 

 

 

 

Chris' PoV

 

I don't get angry in normal circumstances but this was not a normal circumstance.

 

Before getting too angry, I calmed myself down.

 

"Did you just say that you slept with Sophie?" I asked, shaking my head.

 

"Just before I came here, yes" Jonny replied.

 

I snapped.

"You said you hated her! It's not about love with you, is it? It's just sex, sex, sex with you. If anything ever started between the two of us, you wouldn't love me, would you?" I exclaimed, picking up a glass and throwing it at Jonny.

 

"What the hell are you doing? I'm sorry!" Jonny said.

 

I heard someone running upstairs, my Dad burst into my room.

 

"What's going on here, then?" My dad exclaimed, demanding to know what was going on.

 

"I just dropped a glass" Jonny said.

 

"Why the hell were you shouting at him for breaking a glass? He is a guest in my home, not your home!" Dad exclaimed.

 

"He wasn't shouting at me, I dropped the glass without Chris knowing and then asked him to shout at me to get him into trouble, I was just being stupid!" Jonny said.

 

I was shocked, he was defending me.

 

"You are a very stupid kid, Jonny! You used to be nice when you were younger, but now your a teenager, all you are doing is being stupid and getting drunk. Chris isn't much better!" Dad said, turning to walk away but then stopping in his tracks.

 

"In fact, no, I am sick of this" Dad said, turning back round. "Jonny, you can stay here for tonight but after tonight I don't want to see you in my house ever again!"

 

"Dad!" I shouted out in protest.

 

"This is not up for debate!" Dad shouted before walking out and slamming the door behind him.

 

"Well, we better make the most of tonight" Jonny said, winking.

 

 

 

-

- B O S T O N -

Part Five

 

 

Chris's POV

 

 

On the back of Jonny's motorcycle, I was, like, freaking. I know it wasn't just the heat and the fact that it was summer that was making me sweat. That didn't explain my racing heart. It felt like a thousand drummers were pounding against my chest as fast as they could.

 

And it was a little scary. I'd never been on a motorcycle before. Those things go very fast at times, and I'm sure it wouldn't be so hard to take a turn wrong and just fly off onto the pavement. So I held onto Jonny even tighter, and that made it worse. But it was so nice.

 

It only took a few minutes to reach my house, but as we were coming up on it, Jonny looked back- which frightened me half to death, but that's another story- and yelled something which I couldn't hear. So I asked him to repeat what he said.

 

“WOULD YOU MIND IF WE KEPT GOING?” he shouted a second time. “OR DO YOU WANT TO STOP?”

 

“We can keep going!” I screamed back without even thinking of what I was saying. I thought I saw a smile on Jonny's face as he turned to the road again, and my anxiety dissipated for the moment. Until, of course, the bike lurched a bit and then suddenly we were going so much faster down the road.

 

I heard Jonny laugh as I shrieked a bit and squeezed him. I was afraid I'd break his ribs or something, though of course that was a ridiculous fear. But, really, I was glad to be spending the extra time that close to him.

 

Several times the thought danced across my mind that I was, basically, holding Jonny. Sure, I was holding onto him, but it's close enough. I had the strong urge to rest my head against his back or shoulder, but I resisted. The feel of his flesh and muscles- and t-shirt, if you want to get technical- under my own was exhilarating enough. More so, I daresay, than just being on that motorcycle.

 

Guy would have mocked me if he was there. I can't help the way I feel.

 

Speaking of Guy, we went past his house at one point and I think I might have seen him. Maybe he saw me, too. He was probably laughing as we went by.

 

Since we were riding so fast, time seemed to fly by extraordinarily quick. There I was, having a million panic attacks while holding onto Jonny, and then the next thing I knew the bike was stopped and we were outside of my house. The air had stopped moving so much around me, but it didn't really register until Jonny's voice suddenly filled my ears.

 

“Chris,” he said, pressingly, and I assumed that he had been trying to get my attention for a bit. I was too busy staring bug-eyed at the ground to notice, though.

 

“Huh?- Oh.” I shook my head and slowly, sadly, removed my arms. “Sorry, I guess I spaced out.”

 

I hopped off the bike and waited for Jonny to join me on the sidewalk. He was smiling, which made me happy and paranoid at the same time. Why was he smiling? Was he smiling because of me? If so- and believe me, it seemed very plausible- was it good or bad? If it was bad, then I probably could have cried right then and there. But he did look so pretty smiling.

 

“Wipe that smirk off, Buckland,” I told him, trying to not sound too flirtatious or anything. I think I did pretty well with that.

 

“It's not a smirk,” he said, “it's a grin. There's a difference, Martin.”

 

Oh, he thought he was being so clever. What a lovely wiseass.

 

“Then wipe that grin off.” And to retort, he just grinned wider. I suppose reverse psychology is not so bad. I sighed, obviously fake, and said, “Fine. What do you want to do?”

 

“What?”

 

“What do you want to do?” I repeated. “I mean, you're my guest now, so you get to pick.”

 

Jonny did a one-shouldered shrug, which was adorable. “I don't know. Whatever.”

 

It was a bad idea to say that. But I merely spun around and traveled through the fence into my backyard. As I laid down in the middle on a lavish patch of grass, I heard Jonny's footsteps and the closing of the gate. A few moments later there was a shoe directly blocking my field of view.

 

“Oh, whoops, my bad,” Jonny said in his strange affected tone. Then he removed his foot and gazed down at me. “I didn't break your nose or anything, did I?”

 

“I don't know, it feels kinda... off.”

 

“Hmm, then maybe you should get it looked at.” Jonny squatted down, then leaned over until he was only a few inches from my face. His eyes roamed my face for a bit, and I tried to give my best blank expression. Then he sat back, and I started to breath again.

 

“Looks fine to me,” he said, and he laid down beside me.

 

We stared at the sky for a while. Sometimes I pointed out fancy-looking clouds, and sometimes Jonny would acknowledge it and say that they were cool. Then other times we were quiet, but it was still nice. Laying in the grass is always peaceful to me.

 

You know that feeling? The one that burns your insides and leaves you feeling like you're made of a billion sharp needles. It's almost agony, but you like it.

 

I looked over at Jonny. The fire in his eyes was lighting them with wonder. Maybe he was thinking about how big the world is, and how small we are compared to everything else, how insignificant every tiny particle in our bodies seems when compared to the larger picture.

 

I was thinking of how much I love him.

 

 

Arrow & Bow

 

Chapter 15

 

 

There were a couple of factors I did not consider in my panicky rush out the door. One was the darkness. I couldn’t see anything ahead of me apart from a few inches. I nearly tripped and fell on my way down the steps of my building and on numerous other cracks and bumps on the sidewalk.

 

The second was the reason for the darkness. I looked up at the sky and noticed it was unusually black, like chalky coal. I recognized this color to be resulting from a thick, dark blanket of clouds that hung menacingly miles and miles above my head.

 

They threatened to dump excessive amounts of precipitation on me. And I didn’t have a suitable jacket. Just my ridiculous leather one without a hood.

 

But this didn’t matter. If anything, it just increased my drive. I had to find Chris before the storm. I had to tell him how grateful I was. And I didn’t want to have to do that curled up in that little tunnel of his.

 

After what seemed like ages and ages of fast paced walking I turned onto the final block. I could vaguely see the park in the distance, due to a few decorative lamps which stood near the sitting areas.

 

A few warning drops of rain splashed onto my head and shoulders. I quickened my pace until I was standing in the grassy open of the park. I did my best to scan for Chris in the dim light. But it felt eerily empty and I had a gut feeling Chris was not around.

 

But I didn’t want it to be true. Not when I needed him so much. There was a strange stillness in the air. Then a sudden breeze. I decided to head down to the trees and search there. But I had barely started towards them when the clouds unleashed all of their wrath on me.

 

There was no slow increase in severity. It was an immediate downpour. I instantly lost the small amount of vision I had. I could see nothing in front of me. I tried to walk on anyways, but I had no idea if I was even going in the right direction. I could have been traveling in circles for all I could tell.

 

Defeated, I stopped and just stood as the typhoon-like weather raged all around me. The rain hit me from all sides. But instead of feeling like mere water, I felt as though I was being struck with a heavy rock each time a raindrop hit me.

 

There was such a heavy load on me. And I didn’t know what to do. The enemy, the universe, was giving me all it had and it was winning. It was defeating me. Slowly but surely. I knew I couldn’t hold out much longer. I could sense my sanity waning.

 

As a last resort, I cried out. “Chris!” I called. I knew it was futile. But I didn’t know what else to do. I couldn’t deal with this on my own anymore. I needed that man. I needed his words or his music or even just his silent presence beside me.

 

I hugged myself tightly feeling the chill of the combination of the rain and wind. And though physically I was just soaked, mentally I was bruised. Bruised and battered from the weight of the world. Once again, I called out to Chris.

 

“CHRIS!” I shouted, louder this time. “CHRIS! WHERE ARE YOU!? I need you….” I whispered just to myself. I hugged myself tighter and felt a drop of something warmer than the rain slide down my cheek.

 

I knew I was being ridiculous. I was a grown man who could and should be able to handle my own problems myself. But Chris was like a sugar high. Hearing his words and music gave me a sudden, extreme rush of power and courage. But it was only short term and once it left my mind, I crashed hard.

 

Through my whimpering and shivering I imagined I heard a strange sound. Something like music. But yet, not. It was different than that. No rhythm or melody. It started off as a barely audible noise, but gradually grew louder until it rang in my ears like a family tune from my childhood.

 

My heard stuttered and stopped for a moment. I knew that sound. It was the beautiful sound of Chris’s guitar. I was sure it couldn’t be true. But somehow I just knew it was.

 

And suddenly the music was ringing loudly right next to my ears. And Chris was standing there. He was barely visible in the rain. But I knew it was him. Instinctively I reached out to him to prove to myself that it really was him who stood there.

 

It was. Despite the rain, I saw him smile and swing his guitar round his shoulder. I vaguely realized the music had stopped. But it didn’t matter. I didn’t even need it. As long as he man was physically near me I could keep myself together.

 

I fumbled around to find his hand. I pulled it toward me and kissed it. Then the rain just stopped, as if it knew how pointless it was to try and interfere with this magical moment we were having. Now I could see Chris’s smile stretch into a grin.

 

“I am sorry for not being in my usual place. I had a gig tonight. But I knew you would need me. So I had to cut it short and rush back here. Apparently I was not quite fast enough,” he mused.

 

I rushed forward and hugged him tightly. “It’s fine. Everything’s fine Chris.” I let go and took a step back, just looking at him. “As long as you are with me everything will be fine.”

 

“Well, I’m here,” Chris said awkwardly. “You know,” he admitted, “I really don’t know what to do this time. Normally there is this feeling that I should go in a certain direction. But this time, nothing.”

 

“That is convenient,” I replied. “Because I have this gut feeling that I know exactly what you should do.”

 

Chris just stared at me with those large, questioning blue eyes of his.

 

“Come stay with me.”

 

“Wha…what?”

 

“Come stay at my apartment with me.”

 

Chris didn’t say anything. I began to feel apprehensive. “What is your gut telling you to do?” I questioned.

 

“I still don’t know what it is feeling right now,” Chris told me. “But my heart is telling me to go with you.”

 

I could have cried out with joy. Instead I pulled him in for another hug, and with my arm around his shoulder we walked back through the puddles to my apartment.

 

 

 

Nothing but the epilogue left folks ;)

 

 

 

 

 

 

- B O S T O N -

Part Six

 

 

Jonny was very unaware of it, but Chris had made his own calendar counting down the days until Jonny left. Each night he would cross another box off, and each night he would sigh and wish that he could be adding boxes rather than taking them away. Then he hid the calendar in his dresser where he thought no one would find it.

 

Whenever he saw Jonny, he made a conscious decision to make the most of their time together. Chris wanted to have a million great memories to hold onto in the next lonely weeks. At moments where neither of them were speaking, he would just sit and memorize every inch of Jonny's face, every hint of Jonny's scent. When Jonny spoke to him he listened and absorbed as much as possible. That voice was like a chorus of angels.

 

Then, before either of them knew it, the end of the month came and it was time for Jonny to leave. The night before he was set to fly out to Boston, he and Chris laid in the grass in Chris's backyard, staring into the darkening sky in silence.

 

“There are a lot of stars out tonight,” Jonny said. He clasped his hands, resting them on his stomach. “Looks pretty.”

 

“Stars are nice,” Chris mumbled. He turned his head to look at Jonny; in the quickly fading light Jonny seemed to glow divinely. The green in his eyes was bright and the orange sunlight made the tips of his hair look golden. Chris felt even worse than he had the rest of the night.

 

He tried to push out all thoughts reminding him that Jonny would soon be gone, but they overwhelmed him. He wanted to cling to Jonny and either make him stay or sneak onto the airplane with him. It didn't matter that Jonny would come back. To Chris, a month was like an eternity.

 

“What time do you have to be home?” Chris asked.

 

“Soon,” Jonny replied. “I have to get to bed early, my plane leaves at, like, three in the morning.”

 

Chris looked back to the sky, the sounds of nature around them resuming and filling their quietness. He could hear Jonny breathing beside him, too, and even that sounded magnificent. Though they weren't touching, Chris was very aware of the presence of Jonny's hand so close to his. It was purely harmless, but he couldn't help thinking that he would like for it to be more.

 

For every second of the next ten minutes that passed, Chris hoped that time would slow down or stop completely, but it seemed to actually speed up. He blinked, and suddenly they were on the sidewalk in front of Chris's house.

 

The moon was out, shining its luminescence down on them both. Jonny thought Chris looked a little pale, but then again Chris was always rather pasty. Surely the brightness of the moonlight wouldn't make him look any tanner.

 

“See you in a month, I guess,” Jonny quietly said. Chris nodded solemnly and Jonny slowly turned, beginning to walk towards his motorcycle.

 

But a hand on his shoulder stopped him as Chris yelled, “Jonny, wait!” Jonny spun around and Chris retracted his hand. For a few seconds they stared at each other, wordlessly, then Chris took a step forward.

 

His hands cupped Jonny's jaw as he kissed the other boy as passionately as he could. Jonny responded much more positively than Chris expected, sliding his hands to Chris's sides and pulling him closer.

 

Then Chris was back where he stood before, the darkness hiding the frown caused by the torment of his fantasies. He could no longer handle staring into Jonny's eyes, so he stared at the ground.

 

“Have a good trip,” he mumbled. Despite his previous desires, he now just wanted Jonny to leave and get the month over with. But Jonny had a slightly different plan.

 

He stood, trying to catch Chris's eyes. He even leaned forward a little, but nothing seemed to work. When he realized his failure, he said with a bit of a sigh, “I'm gonna miss you, Chris.” Chris finally looked up, his vision beginning to blur.

 

“I'm gonna miss you, too.” Jonny looked at him sadly for one moment, then the next his arms were around Chris, his chin on Chris's shoulder. Chris hugged him back, tentatively at first, but then he realized he should try to hold on for as long as he could.

 

A minute later the sound of sniffling was by Jonny's ear. Jonny raised his eyebrows, both helpless and confused.

 

“Are- are you crying?” Jonny awkwardly asked, unconsciously tightening his arms. Chris didn't answer right away, because he wasn't entirely sure if he should tell the truth. Jonny would probably know either way; it's not like he could really hide.

 

“Maybe,” he mumbled in reply as a few of his tears splashed onto Jonny's t-shirt.

 

“Why?”

 

The concern in Jonny's voice stabbed at Chris's heart and left a rather deep puncture. Chris pulled back and tried to dry his eyes on his sleeve. “I don't know,” he lied, hiccuping a little. He folded his arms across his chest- perhaps to cover his new wound- and stared off into space. “Just... go home now. Get some rest.”

 

Jonny looked a little skeptical, but he let his worried expression fade as he said, “Don't cry while I'm gone. I want to see every tear you shed.” Chris, though he kept his lips pressed together, smiled, and Jonny grinned back at him. “Bye.”

 

“Bye...” Chris let his arms fall to his side as he watched Jonny sit on the motorcycle and strap on his helmet. Then suddenly his mind seemed to pick up some sort of hidden context, a tone that he hadn't noticed before when Jonny had been actually speaking. And Chris momentarily felt like he had all the hope in the world, until he looked up. Then he saw Jonny driving away down the road and it was far too late.

 

 

What's Real?

Chapter 2

 

 

“Good evening the future Mrs. Berryman, you look ravishing in that lighting.”

 

Dianna turned around and blushed at the sight before her. Her fiancé, Guy, stood in her doorway with little flakes of white snow dusting his lush dark locks and he held a vase of white daisy’s in his hands.

 

“Mr. Berryman, I regret to inform you that until we announce our engagement I am still Ms. Green.” Dianna said with a wink and dramatically placed her hands on her hips to give a sassy effect.

 

Guy laughed and crossed the room and set the flowers down on the counter and then proceeded to walk toward Dianna and kiss her. What had been planned as a quick little smooch turned into something a little longer than that. Guy finally had to break away because he smelled something burning.

 

“I think love your burning something.”

“Oh Shit! Dinner is going to be ruined.”

 

Dianna ran into the kitchen where black smoke was starting to fill while Guy waited for her to return. Guy had only been waiting a few seconds when he heard the clatter of a pan being dropped and shattered as it hit the tile floor.

 

Snippets of memories from long ago flashed in her mind like lightning striking in the same place. The small boy running and laughing, the long black car, the torn and stained t-shirt, and the grave stone in the overgrown field.

 

Dianna collapsed to her knees and grasped at her heaving chest. The few memories were daggers that were tearing her insides to shreds leaving her week and breathless.

 

As Dianna sat two strong arms wrapped there way around her and a warm body pulled her close and cradled her in his arms. He brushed away the tears and stroked her hair and waited until she was ready to talk.

 

“It hurts so much.” Dianna whispered.

 

“I know, I know it hurts.” Guy whispered back. “He reminds you off him doesn’t he?”

 

Dianna just nodded her head and buried it into to Guy’s chest. He hummed a sweat melody and rocked her back and forth in his arms until she relaxed and fell asleep.

 

Guy carried Dianna to her bedroom where he tucked her in. He set out a glass of water on her nightstand and then kissed her forehead and closed the door. He walked back to the kitchen and cleaned up the dinner mess and left her a message before leaving.

 

Dianna,

 

I wish I was as eloquent with words as you are or as gifted at music, but I have neither all I have is the love that overwhelms me when I see you. I have made mistakes and I have faults, but you are able to see past them. I know you have a past that weighs you down and is a burden on your shoulders, but one day together we will lift it and overcome. With all the love that one man has.

Yours and yours alone,

Guy

 

 

 

- B O S T O N -

Part Seven

 

 

“Are you stupid??” Guy screamed. Chris, who had just gotten through informing Guy of what he had missed in Chris's life over the previous months, stared at him in disbelief.

 

“Excuse me?” Guy leaned over the table that sat in between them, and he waited a few moments.

 

“I said, are you stupid?” Guy repeated, slower and louder for Chris to better understand. Chris didn't change his expression at all.

 

“Why am I stupid?” he asked. Guy rolled his eyes at Chris, then sat back in his seat. He pompously folded his arms and sighed.

 

“You've been friends with that kid for how long? And you still haven't told him you like him.” Guy shook his head as he finished his sentence. Chris held out his hands as if to ask Guy what he was supposed to do. He didn't say anything, and so Guy took the liberty to continue. “Well, why haven't you told him?”

 

Chris looked at Guy like he had six heads. He may as well have. “Guy, I can't just tell him-”

 

“Why not?” Guy asked, raising his voice a little, but not in anger, just to get his point across.

 

“Because, Guy,” Chris began, his voice growing softer and his eyes growing larger, “what if he hates me?”

 

“He does not and will not hate you. Have you seen the way he looks at you?” Guy leaned forward a little, pointing his finger into his chest as he said, “Hell, I don't even spend that much time around you two and I've seen the way he looks at you.”

 

Chris looked uncertain of what to think. On the one hand he wanted to- and almost actually did- believe what Guy was saying, but on the other hand he didn't want to get his hopes up only to be disappointed later.

 

“Are you... saying that he likes me?”

 

“At the very least,” Guy replied. “So, you should tell him. Or, hey, I'll do it for you if you're really that scared.”

 

Chris stared down at the table, tracing with his eyes the strange pattern it displayed. “Jonny doesn't even come back for another two days.”

 

Guy watched Chris for a while, then finally said, “Then you've got two days to prepare.”

 

For the rest of the time Chris spent with Guy, all he could think about was what would happen if he did follow Guy's commands, if he did tell Jonny, and what sort of consequences he would have to face as a result. Every second of every day he imagined what it would be like to have Jonny love him back, but he was intent on persuading himself that it would never be true. If he didn't get his hopes up, then he could never be disappointed. He could never be hurt.

 

He didn't realize he was already hurting by not telling Jonny.

 

That night Chris received quite the surprise when his mother handed him the phone, only to find that it was Jonny's mother calling him. She asked if, since he and Jonny were such great friends, he would like to accompany her to the airport the day after the next to pick Jonny up. Chris grinned, but realizing that it wasn't a sufficient answer when speaking on the phone, he vocalized his agreement as well.

 

The car ride to the airport was quiet, the air filled with a sort of awkward silence. The radio was on, but just barely, and the only station that would come in clear was a boring talk radio station.

 

Unbeknownst to Chris, Jonny's mother had a slight ulterior motive to inviting Chris along. She tapped her fingers on the steering wheel, then casually said, “So, Chris... do you plan on telling Jonny how you feel about him?”

 

Chris, completely taken aback, widened his eyes in near horror and looked over at her. “What? You... you know?”

 

“Everyone knows,” she bluntly replied. “Are you going to tell him?”

 

“Well, I-I mean, I thought about it,” Chris stammered. “Do you think I should?”

 

“Yes,” she said, “you should always tell the person you care about how much they mean to you. And make sure they know before it's too late.”

 

Chris slowly turned his gaze back to the road in front of them, torn between his options of telling Jonny or continuing to hide.

 

“I like him a lot...” he said. Jonny's mother nodded. “I've never felt this way about anyone else... I... I love him.”

 

It was strange for him to hear his own voice say the words, even though he had felt that way for a while, but it also seemed totally natural.

 

“I believe you,” Jonny's mother said. “And I think you should know my son feels the same.”

 

“He does? Did he tell you?” Chris was still apprehensive, but he spoke more quickly now and his tone was eager.

 

“No, Jonny would never tell anything like that to anyone.” She momentarily glanced at Chris, and with a wink said, “A mother just knows.”

 

Chris sank back in his seat a little. For the remaining duration of the trip he kept quiet, staring out the window in deep contemplation. It sounded simple: Tell Jonny he loves him, and go from there. It didn't seem so simple when he actually thought of how he would tell him. Should he just directly blurt it out, should he hint at it, or maybe he should break the news with something like a kiss? Any way he looked at it, the pain he would feel if rejected was totally unbearable.

 

His fantasies brought him to the middle of the terminal, standing around restlessly as he watched a crowd of people shuffle towards him. Except he really was in the terminal, and the people really were leaving the gate. Jonny's mother was standing a few feet behind him.

 

Chris closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Soon the moment would be upon him, the moment he had decided would be best to tell Jonny. He went over in his head one final time the speech he was to give, carefully memorizing every single word and all of the emphases.

 

He opened his eyes and again breathed deeply. He thought it was a good idea to make sure that oxygen was still being brought into his system.

 

Then he saw Jonny walk through the door, and his mind blanked, his legs shaking violently.

 

 

Will You Marry Me? Pt. 1

So Chris Martin and Jonny Buckland and Will Champion and Guy Berryman were all sitting down because their sitting down muscles are fully capable of sitting so they might as well put them to use. Jonny said "Sitting is my hobby, y'all".

Chris Martin then called him a loser and nobody cried because they are MANLY. Guy felt the need to reinforce this fact, so he said "I'M SO MANLY YOU GUYS, IS THIS DANGEROUS?"

Will replied to this in a very Will-like manner except not really I don't think except I wouldn't know because I'm not an expert on Will Champion. "I WISH I WAS AS MASCULINE AS YOU".

"I see" he said.

"You go girl, I wish I had your superior vision abilities"

Guy cried because he was lying about being manly. "I'm bored, let's play truth or dare". Guy lives life in the fast lane, in case you haven't noticed.

They only played one round because they didn't really want to play. They thought it would be fun to ruin Guy's life.

Jonny started off, "Okay Guy, truth or dare?".

"Dare".

"I dare you............to everytime somebody says a sentence that ends in a vowel to say "Will you marry me?" and you must do this for the rest of the day".

"Oh crap".

"You do realise I just said a sentence that ended in a vowel, right?"

"Jonny, will you marry me?"

"OH MY GOD I THOUGHT YOU WOULD NEVER ASK".

Guy's eyes lit up. "Whaaaaa"?

"Just kidding, you goon"

Guy cried again, and left the house blubbering like a blubbermobile. "My life is ruined, oh how I hate truth or dare".

 

 

 

 

DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

- B O S T O N -

Part Eight

 

 

Jonny looked around for a bit, and as soon as he saw Chris- the same moment that Chris started waving frantically to him- his face lit up and he speed walked over to Chris. He didn't even notice that his mother was there until he was almost right in front of Chris.

 

“Hey,” Jonny breathlessly said in excitement as he stopped. Chris stared at him; Jonny looked even more beautiful now than he could ever remember, and it was for this reason that he found himself speechless and merely threw his arms around Jonny.

 

For a while it seemed almost too good to be real, then Chris remembered what he was going to do. His enthusiasm waned a little as he pulled away from Jonny's hold.

 

Chris held his breath for a few moments, thinking back to when his mind was organized and he had anticipated this moment. But his memory failed him, and he decided to just do whatever he thought of first. And just like ripping off a bandage-

 

“Jonny, I love you,” he quickly said. There were a few seconds that passed, but they seemed like hours. Chris was worried that by the time Jonny responded with anything other than a blank expression, they would both be old men and possibly even on the brink of death. But luckily Jonny answered before that happened.

 

Jonny slowly held up one hand. “Say that again?” Chris felt the blood rush to his cheeks and he rolled his eyes around, too embarrassed to meet Jonny's eyes again.

 

“I don't think I can...” He lifted his hand and scratched at the back of his neck. Jonny looked up at his mother quickly, discomfort painted across his face.

 

“I love you, too,” he reluctantly mumbled into Chris's ear, trying to be as quiet as possible so his mother would not overhear. He wasn't successful, but she looked at the terminal around them obliviously to make him think he was.

 

Chris felt a pain in his chest, but it was a good pain; it was the sort of pain associated with extreme happiness, if there ever was a kind. Instead of his heart breaking he felt it burst in his chest, and the grin spread wide across his face like some sort of infection. He couldn't say anything, his voice lost somewhere in his vast happiness, so he just kept smiling and grabbed Jonny's hand.

 

“I'd kiss you if my mum wasn't here,” Jonny quietly said.

 

“It's OK,” Chris replied, beaming. “There'll be plenty of time for that later. How was your trip?”

 

“It was great...” Jonny shrugged a shoulder, “It doesn't compare to this, but it was great.”

 

“Do you have all your stuff?” Jonny's mother asked, reminding the boys of her presence.

 

“Uh, yeah.” Jonny repositioned the bag slung over his one shoulder, and he looked around him briefly for the suitcase he had let go of when Chris hugged him. It was standing to his left, and he went to grab the handle, but Chris picked it up for him. They stood still for a moment, Jonny staring at Chris and Chris smiling at Jonny, then Jonny's mother cleared her throat and they were brought back.

 

“Come on then,” she said, nodded her head, and walked towards the exit. Chris and Jonny walked behind her, keeping a bit of a distance.

 

The car was relatively close, and once the three reached it Jonny took his suitcase back from Chris to put it in the trunk. Chris sat in the back of the car, expecting Jonny to sit shotgun, but as he brought the seat belt strap around to buckle it he realized that Jonny was sitting next to him. He said nothing, but smiled and clicked the buckle, then readjusted the strap so that it laid comfortable against his chest. He watched as Jonny did the same, then when Jonny let his hand fall to his side Chris reached over and grabbed it, lacing their fingers together with relative ease. It was almost as if their hands had just been waiting for this moment.

 

“Mrs. Buckland?” Chris called just before Jonny's mother started the car.

 

“Yes, Chris?” she replied, checking the rear-view mirror. Chris quickly glanced down at his and Jonny's intertwined fingers, then he looked back up at the driver's seat.

 

“Thank you.” In the mirror's reflection he saw the corners of her mouth twitch upward, and she then proceeded to start the car.

 

The trip home seemed to take much less time than the trip to the airport, much to Chris's dismay. Before long the car was stopped outside of his house, and he was a bit sad as he realized that he would have to say goodbye, at least for now. Even though Jonny's mother was still right there, Chris leaned across the back seat to kiss Jonny before he left. It was only a quick peck on the cheek, because he knew that Jonny would be embarrassed, but even that was enough to turn Jonny's face bright red.

 

“See you later,” Chris sweetly said to him, then he exited the car and made his way up to his front porch. He turned around and watched as the car pulled away, then he decided that it was such a beautiful day and he was just going to stay outside. He sat down on the top step and gazed into the empty road. With nothing better to do, his thoughts began to wander.

 

He imagined the sound of a motorcycle drawing near, and though he was almost certain he was just hallucinating, his heart still beat faster. He pictured Jonny's bright green eyes staring at him with immense intensity and a small shiver ran down his spine. Then it dawned on him, and he finally realized that he had told Jonny he loved him. He had thought about doing it for so long that he couldn't believe it had all actually happened.

 

Chris was even more surprised to look up and find that he hadn't been imagining the sound of the motorcycle; Jonny was standing only a few feet away from him now, smiling and carrying his helmet in his arm.

 

 

- B O S T O N -

Part Nine

 

 

For quite a while Chris and Jonny stayed inside Chris's house, sitting in the kitchen and speaking very quietly amongst themselves. Jonny was busy telling Chris all about his trip, Chris listening intently. Then eventually the conversation switched focus to their new relationship, and in the solitude of the kitchen the boys formulated a plan.

 

“Are you sure you're OK with this?” Chris asked in a hushed tone. He and Jonny were huddled together just outside of the living room, where Chris's parents were currently located. Jonny waited a few seconds before answering, but he soon began to nod.

 

“Yeah,” he said. Chris turned away from him so they were both facing the doorway to the living room. Jonny briefly reached out and reassuringly squeezed Chris's hand, but he let go before they walked into the room.

 

Chris stopped right in the middle of the room, Jonny right beside him, and to get his parents' attention he cleared his throat.

 

“Yes, sweetie?” Chris's mother asked as she looked up at the two boys. Chris stared into her eyes, telling himself not to be worried. Don't panic.

 

“I, um, have an announcement to make,” Chris said. She clasped her hands in her lap and waited expectantly, and Chris's father turned to them as well, though he didn't look as interested.

 

“Go on,” she said.

 

“Right. So, we all know and love Jonny, right?” Chris began, motioning to the boy beside him in case his parents were confused. Then he wrung his hands and tried to build his confidence. “Jonny's my boyfriend.”

 

His parents stared at him blankly; his father's jaw had even dropped.

 

“He... He's what?” his mother finally spoke. She shook her head and tried to look calm. Chris realized that their reaction to the news was not going to be as joyous as he had hoped, and so he looked down at his feet, frowning. Jonny watched Chris, feeling quite helpless, and he decided to step in.

 

“I love Chris,” he said, his voice strong until he remembered where he was and what he was doing. Chris looked up at him, surprised at first, but then he smiled. Jonny struggled to further his speech, though it was already clear he had failed. “And, uh... we're together...”

 

“Exactly,” Chris continued for Jonny. “He's my boyfriend and I love him.” Chris held out his hand, and there was one tiny moment where for some reason he was afraid that Jonny wouldn't act, but in a second Jonny grabbed his hand and Chris shakily sighed with relief. Then he looked back to his parents.

 

“OK,” his father said with disinterest, and both he and Chris's mother returned to what they had been doing before.

 

“Seriously?!” Chris shouted. He wasn't disappointed by their reaction, only angry that he'd been so afraid for nothing.

 

His father glanced up at him. “Well, I did always wonder about you, Chris.”

 

“Dad! It's... It's not like I'm gay,” Chris replied, but the nervous laughter and eyes darting around the room gave him away.

 

His father shot him a look that only a parent could give. “Oh, please, Chris. Explain the giant Les Misérables poster hanging up in your room.”

 

Chris gaped defensively, but after a while he gave up and narrowed his eyes at his father. “Fine,” he grumbled. He turned to Jonny and suggested that they go outside (“It's such a lovely day, dear Jonny, let us bask in all it's dazzling glory!” “Yeah... he's straight all right.” “Dad!!!”), and Jonny agreed.

 

“Hey,” Jonny said as they stepped onto the sidewalk, “at least they're fine with it. So we don't have to worry.”

 

“Yeah,” Chris agreed. “Oh, maybe we should go tell Guy. Last week he was pressuring me to confess to you, so I'm sure he'd love to know and rub it in my face like, 'I told you so!'” Chris sighed and shook his head as if to say that Guy was crazy, but he was Chris's oldest friend, what was Chris to do?

 

“Do you really have a Les Misérables poster in your room?” Jonny asked, almost out of nowhere. Chris looked at him and narrowed his eyes seductively.

 

“You wanna see it?” he slyly replied with a wink.

 

Jonny smiled, but he said, “I don't think your parents would like that now that they know about us.”

 

“They're not always home, though,” Chris retorted. “There are some things they go out to do. Like work.”

 

“Where does Guy live?” Jonny wasn't trying to be subtle- it was very obvious that he had grown uncomfortable with the direction of their conversation- so it was no surprise that Chris found his motive to be obvious. But Chris merely shook his head and laughed a little at Jonny.

 

“Jonny, Jonny, Jonny,” he said, “always changing the subject. Guy lives in this direction.” Chris lifted his right arm and flung it out, careful not to hit Jonny as he did so. “Shall we?” He held out his other arm for Jonny to link with his, which was precisely what Jonny did, laughing at Chris's bright manner.

 

In a matter of minutes they were at Guy's door, and Chris thought about kissing Jonny as soon as the door opened and delivering the news that way, but then he realized that Guy might not be the one answering the door. He was, though.

 

“Oh, look, it's you two,” he droned. “What do you want?”

 

Then Chris rethought his idea and he tapped Jonny on the shoulder. When Jonny looked over at him, he made his move, and by the time Chris pulled away Jonny's cheeks were bright red. From the doorway came some smug laughter, but neither of them turned their eyes away from the other.

 

“I told you so,” Guy snickered. Chris quickly raised his eyebrows at Jonny and they shared a knowing chuckle.

 

 

- B O S T O N -

Part Ten

 

 

With only one month left of summer time seemed to fly by. Chris could hardly believe it when he received a letter from the school informing him of the date of the first day as well as his homeroom number. As he had expected, he and Jonny were in different homerooms, but he didn't mind that. There would be plenty of time to seen him otherwise.

 

Guy, however, did share his homeroom with Jonny. Guy couldn't say he was entirely thrilled, but since Chris and Jonny had become a couple, the pair had gone out several times with Guy and his current girlfriend, and the four seemed to get along well. Jonny was nervous, though, because he knew Guy was Chris's oldest friend and he was now worried about gaining his approval, even though he realized Guy's opinion wouldn't affect Chris's. It just made it easier for everyone if they were all on good terms with each other.

 

People stared when Jonny rode in on his motorcycle the first day of school, though now they weren't so much impressed with the vehicle as they were intrigued by the mysterious passenger whose arms clung tightly around Jonny's midriff. They could tell it was some boy- maybe Jonny had a younger brother?

 

No, this other boy looked too old to be Jonny's younger brother. And when the two set their feet upon the ground, helmets off, and Chris kissed Jonny as he pushed him up against the motorcycle- Jonny had somehow managed to set aside his discomfort with public displays of affection- the people realized that they probably weren't even related at all.

 

As they walked hand-in-hand into the school, the stares kept on coming, but they both just kept on going as if nothing had happened. Chris pulled Jonny off to the side of the hallway as they came upon the door to Chris's homeroom.

 

“Looks like today's gonna be fun,” Chris said sarcastically. He draped his arms around Jonny's shoulders and pulled him closer. Jonny let his hands rest on Chris's waist.

 

“You think people are gonna... like, flip out or something?” Jonny asked him, the fear in his voice sounding rather genuine. Chris shrugged his shoulders.

 

“I guess we'll find out.” He smiled at Jonny, then leaned forward and pressed their lips together. “Bye, love,” he whispered.

 

“Bye,” Jonny said, returning Chris's smile, and they both began to walk away.

 

Chris sat down in a seat all the way across the room from the entrance. He sighed as his body hit the chair, and he stared out the nearest window. He already missed Jonny.

 

A few girls sat down beside him, and they started to whisper and giggle amongst themselves. Chris didn't even notice them, until one of them poked him in the arm.

 

“Excuse me,” she said as he turned. “Hi. I was just wondering... are you, like, dating Jonny or something?”

 

He saw that the other girls were all staring intently at him. It made him feel kinda weird. “Yeah, he's my boyfriend.” All of the girls gasped in awe.

 

“Wow,” one of them said. “You are so lucky.”

 

“I'm so jealous!!”

 

“Is he a good kisser?” Chris was taken aback by the question, but even more so by the girl who asked it. She closed her eyes and sighed. “I'll bet his has the softest lips.”

 

“Oh my God, he probably does!” one of her friends squealed. Then they all started squealing, and Chris desperately wished he could go back in time and pick a different seat. Or somehow change his homeroom so he could be with Jonny again.

 

Chris went back to looking out of the window without answering any of the girls' other questions. At that moment he realized how Jonny must have felt for most of his life. People were always talking about him like that, but not one of them bothered to get to actually know him. In a way it made him happy, because he liked the idea of having Jonny all to himself, but it also made him sad to think that such a lovely personality was hidden under a pile of blind admirers.

 

He had no idea what classes he would have with Jonny, and by the time lunchtime came he still had no idea. He sat at a table by himself and hoped that eventually someone he knew would show up and sit with him.

 

“My, Chris, you look so alone and sad,” a voice said from behind him, and Chris instantly recognized it. He brightened up and grinned as Jonny took the seat beside him. “OK, now you don't.”

 

“Listen, Jonny, do you know what it is like being the boyfriend of a boy who is apparently the most popular boy in the entire school?” Chris leaned over and placed his hand on Jonny's thigh, though he meant it harmlessly. “People won't stop asking me things. Girls won't stop asking me things. And I've run out of evasive answers to give them.”

 

“I'm sorry,” Jonny quietly said, and his eyes gazed upon Chris's provocatively-placed hand.

 

“I'm not.” Chris smiled, and he seemed to have noticed what he had done with his hand before. He brought both of his arms up to the table and pushed some of his books off to his side. “Oddly enough, no one's asked if you're gay,” Chris mentioned, then waved his hand as if to say that that's just how things go.

 

“Have they asked about you?”

 

Chris shook his head. “But I guess, if they're anything like my dad, they already know.”

 

“I didn't think you were,” Jonny said, shrugging. “Actually, I was afraid that you would be, like, uber straight or something.”

 

Then suddenly there was a burst of laughter from nearby. Guy sat down opposite them, his head tossed back, laughing for what seemed to be no apparent reason. After a minute he stopped, and he looked to find that Chris and Jonny were staring at him expectantly. “Sorry, I just thought I heard 'Chris' and 'straight' in the same sentence. Had to laugh, you know.”

 

“Hey!” Chris defensively shouted, though he realized soon after that he had no reason to. “Well, you don't have to be so mean about it.”

 

“Fine,” Guy said, rolling his eyes, “so you like to bang dudes, whatever. Can I tell you about how hot my new math teacher is? She's... ah, I might actually pay attention this year.”

 

Chris turned to Jonny and, as Guy was busy drooling over thoughts of his teacher, quietly said, “I don't know how I put up with this for so long.”

 

Jonny laughed in response. “Well, you don't have to anymore, because you have me, right? So you won't be alone.”

 

“Right,” Chris agreed, grinning widely, “neither of us will be alone for a very long time.”

 

 

Arrow & Bow

 

Epilogue

 

 

Three months later, I awoke one lazy Sunday morning to find an empty space beside me in my bed. I rubbed my eyes and sat up. It was an unusual thing to wake up with no other company but myself. It hadn’t been that way for nearly two months.

 

I got up and quietly padded out of the room and down the hall. And there he was. Sitting on the couch where we had shared so much about our lives with each other. Sitting there, his eyes notified me that he was deep in thought. A mug of tea was in his hands and a small suitcase sat beside him.

 

“Where did you find that old thing?” I asked. “I haven’t used it in ages.”

 

“Exactly. You keep all your useless junk in the back of your closet.”

 

I smiled. “So what are you doing with it?”

 

“Well, right now it is holding my few possessions.”

 

My smile turned to a frown. “Why?”

 

“Because it’s been long enough.”

 

“No, it hasn’t,” I insisted. I wasn’t about to give him up for anything. I had already made that promise to myself on that fateful stormy night all those weeks before.

 

He cast me a sympathetic look. “I want to be here. But there is nothing I can do. I haven’t had a gig in so long, not since the fire at the usual place. It’s not that I want the money for myself. But I cannot sit around here all day letting you take care of all my needs. It just isn’t right.”

 

“It is very, very right,” I told him. “I am still repaying you for your gifts to me.”

 

“I think you are done with that now. I don’t know what more you could give me. You have already given me your care and your love. And I appreciate the so much, especially the latter. I try to return them. But the best way to care for you now would be to leave you. “

 

Beginning to panic, I sat down beside him and grasped his arm tightly, nearly causing him to spill his cup of tea. “No. The best thing you could ever do for me is to be here.”

 

He flashed me an exasperated look, begging me to understand. “I am not the kind of person who can accept gifts without returning the favor.”

 

“Neither am I,” I replied. And as if on cue, the doorbell rang. It was perfect timing.

 

I had been waiting for this anxiously. I wasn’t sure it would happen. But since it was the sound of the doorbell I heard rather than the sound of my ringtone, I knew it had happened.

 

“Hold on,” I said. I got up quickly and giddily to answer the door. Sarah’s face greeted me warmly. She burst inside, clearly quite proud of her achievement.

 

“I got you the job!” she exclaimed, pointing at Chris.

 

Chris looked stunned, and a bit confused. I grinned. “I hadn’t told him about that yet,” I said. “I wanted it to be a surprise.”

 

Chris couldn’t control his curiosity any longer. “What is it?” he questioned fervently.

 

“Do you want to tell him, or shall I?” I asked Sarah, knowing full well what the answer will be.

 

Her eyes lit up. “I’ll do it,” she replied instantly.

 

“Chris, do you remember that nasty preschool teacher of Madison’s I told you about?”

 

“You mean ranted about,” Chris corrected. Even now, his directness made me cringe a bit. Only he would have the guts to speak to Sarah that way.

 

But Sarah never seemed to mind. In fact, I think she respected Chris for being like her in such ways. She put her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes. “I had every right Christopher,” she scolded. Chris just grinned back.

 

“Anyways, remember when I told you I was going to get her fired for that? Don’t even answer that,” she added, before he had the chance to reply.

 

“Well, I did it. I got her fired. They just let me know today. But the problem is, now there is no teacher. So I suggested that a quirky, friendly, child loving man with musical talent take her place. And they said yes. You have a job Chris. Now all you have to do is take some online college courses and you will be able to start.”

 

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that,” Chris told her. “I’ve already been to college. I have a degree and everything.”

 

Both of us stared at Chris, completely shocked. This man never ceased to amaze me.

 

Chris just shrugged back at us. “I never had a job because I never found one I was interested in. That’s why I couldn’t stay here, Jonny,” he said, turning to me. “I couldn’t sit here, selfishly letting you go off to work every day while I wouldn’t find a job simply because none interested me.”

 

I shook my head at him. “Oh Chris, you have no idea. I like this job I have now. I hated my old job. I quit it. And honestly, if I went to my current job one day and found I disliked it, I would have quit on the spot.”

 

I sat down beside him and took his hand. “Because I am a different person now. Ever since you came along. My gift. My perfect present, the one I wouldn’t trade for anything.” I lightly kissed his cheek. “Which is why I suggested that idea to Sarah. I figured you might try to bail on me sometime. And I wasn’t having any of that.”

 

I winked at him. He looked happier than I had ever seen him. “Jonny, I have never gotten any present like the ones you give to me. Yours are never tangible, but they always mean so much more. And I thank you for that.”

 

“So you are staying, right? You know you will love being Madison’s teacher.”

 

“Absolutely,” he said. “I will stay, for Madison’s sake, of course.” We shared a secret glance and he squeezed my hand tightly.

 

I let out a sigh of relief, because I finally knew that we would be quietly and secretly thanking each other for the rest of our lives. I would be the most thankful of course, I said to just myself. Then I grinned. I could almost hear Chris laughing at that.

 

 

 

Umbrella

 

 

The water was pouring from the sky in buckets, it seemed. Very, very large buckets that never had to be refilled, or were possibly bottomless. Jonny stood on the curb and waited for the bus while passing cars hit the puddles the wrong way and the subsequent water splashed threatened to soak Jonny's entire being. Then the umbrella would have been totally useless.

 

A man stood a few feet away, unprotected from the weather. Jonny couldn't see his face hidden behind a mass of curls, which were now drenched and stuck to the man's skin, but he could see that the man appeared to be shivering. It was a fairly cool day as well, Jonny thought, and so it was safe to assume that was what the man was suffering from.

 

Jonny, being the good Samaritan he was, took a few steps to the right and held his umbrella over the other man as well as himself. When the man suddenly noticed a disappearance in the water beating down on him, he turned his head an inch or so and looked at Jonny out of the corner of his eye.

 

“Thanks,” he said in a deep and throaty voice. It sounded like he had a cold or something, which wouldn't have been so surprising given the man's behavior of standing in the chilly rain with no protection whatsoever. Jonny meagerly grunted in reply, and for the next few minutes the men stood silent.

 

Jonny glanced over at the other man, and that was when he noticed the man's shoulders were shaking again, but this time he thought he could hear light gasps of air being pulled into the man's lungs. He was a bit unsure of what to do; after all, it's not like he really knew this man. But he didn't want to appear inconsiderate.

 

“I don't mean to pry,” Jonny began, “but are you...?”

 

The man looked fully up at Jonny, and Jonny could see down his cheeks the tracks left behind that had nothing to do with the rain. “I guess it was easier to hide when I was standing in the rain,” he said, frowning.

 

“If you don't mind me asking...” Jonny lightly shook his head. “Are you OK?”

 

The man shrugged his shoulders a bit. “I'm... I-I'll be fine,” he stuttered.

 

“Yeah, and I'll be a millionaire,” Jonny sarcastically remarked. The man looked insulted for a tiny moment, and Jonny felt bad. “Sorry.” But the man shook his head as if to tell him not to be.

 

“My grandmother died this morning,” he sullenly explained. “And we were really close... I know that's kinda stupid.”

 

“It's not stupid at all. Listen, do you want to...” Jonny didn't know how he was going to finish that question, or even the possibilities to choose from to end the question, but the man seemed to find an option of his own.

 

“We just met,” he said, and while Jonny had no clue what the man was thinking, he at least knew now that they were not familiar enough for much of anything. It was understandable.

 

“Right,” Jonny replied, nodding a little, though he really wished he could have helped in some way. Silence laid over them again and the man continued his quiet mourning.

 

Eventually, it became too much, and the man collapsed onto the curb, burying his head in his knees as his entire back trembled violently and unevenly. Jonny was quick to sit beside him, intent on lending a helping hand. He took that very same hand and placed it on the man's back, but there was no reaction from the man. For several long minutes the man bawled into himself, and Jonny just sat there with him, keeping him out of the rain.

 

When the man began to calm down he lifted his head a little, his arms still wrapped tightly around his legs. “I think it stopped raining,” he said, sniffed, brought a hand up to his face to wipe his nose on his sleeve.

 

Jonny looked around, listening. “So it has. I guess I look like a prick with this up, then,” he replied, and he stood up as he brought down his umbrella and closed it. He looked back at the man, who was also slowly making his way onto his feet. “Listen... uh...”

 

“Chris,” the man said, and it was at that particular moment that Jonny noticed the bright blue of his eyes. Jonny smiled a little for no particular reason.

 

“Do you want to go get something to eat? We could go somewhere dry and warm. I mean, it can't be good being out in this sort of weather for long, and you already look a bit sickly...”

 

“All right,” Chris finally agreed, after several moments of staring blankly into space. Then he looked up at Jonny and raised his eyebrows as if he were expecting something.

 

“Oh- sorry, I'm Jonny.” Jonny foolishly held out his hand, but Chris shook it with the same odd smile Jonny had given him.

 

“Well, it's nice to meet you. I guess... when one door closes, another opens. Right?” Chris took his hand back, folding his arms across his chest. The shivers soon to follow actually were the cause of the temperature now.

 

“It at least sounds good,” Jonny said with a hint of a chuckle. “Come on, then.” And the two men began to walk down the wet and mostly unoccupied sidewalk, away from the post on the corner that read BUS STOP.

 

Chris glanced at it briefly, furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “Were you waiting for the bus before?” he asked as he turned back to Jonny.

 

“Yeah, but that was half an hour ago. I don't think the bus is coming.” Jonny quickly pulled back the cuff of his jacket and looked at the watch resting on his wrist. “It's also possible that I had already missed it when I arrived.”

 

“Oh.”

 

“It's all right, it's been known to happen to me,” Jonny continued. “Nothing new, really, and anyway, I wasn't going anywhere special.” Jonny swung the umbrella a little, tiny droplets of water jumping off into the air as he did so. “Besides, as strange as it sounds, I think you and I were meant to meet.”

 

Chris looked at Jonny wondrously with his big eyes and after a while he nodded. “Yeah, it'd seem so.”

 

In the Woods

 

 

 

It was dark, pitch black, but as it was nighttime, that was to be expected. I couldn't sleep, and even though his eyes were closed, I know he couldn't either.

 

“Jonny,” I whispered to him. I heard a faint rustling as Jonny turned over in his sleeping bag. Through the dark I could just barely make out the outline of his face, and the whites of his eyes were like a dull grey as he blinked several times in quick succession.

 

“What is it, Chris?” he asked, clearly tired, his speech slurred from fatigue. His one hand was laying under his head, cradling his cheek, and for a moment I forgot what I was going to say. All I could think about was how I'd like that to be my hand instead.

 

In the background somewhere crickets chirped and owls hooted, and I finally pulled myself together to ask, “Are you having trouble sleeping?”

 

“A bit,” he said. He propped himself up on his elbow and stretched a little, his other hand pushing against his back. It almost hurt to watch him, but I did it anyway because I couldn't bring myself to look away. “It's not as comfortable sleeping on the ground as I'd have thought,” he added with a hint of sarcasm.

 

“I just can't stop thinking,” I replied, leaving out the about you part, because Jonny wouldn't have wanted to hear that. “I guess that's always my problem, huh?”

 

I laughed a little, and Jonny laid back down. He was still on his side, facing me, and for a while I just listened to him breathe until he said, “Is there anything you want to, like, I don't know, talk about or something?”

 

I would have told him that there were a thousand other things I'd like to do with him apart from talking, but again, it wasn't something he would have wanted to hear. I couldn't jeopardize our friendship just because I'd had a stupid crush on him since we were twelve. After all, there were only a few more months left before Jonny went off to university and I went off to... wherever. Then maybe we'd never see each other again, and none of my feelings would matter anyway.

 

“No,” I sighed, as I had done a million times before. It was obvious that I was lying, obvious that Jonny knew I was lying, but he never pestered me further about it.

 

The wind blew across some of the tree branches above, and for a minute or so a beam of moonlight fell upon us. Jonny's eyes sparkled magnificently, and it was a good thing I was laying down because I could feel my knees going weak. How was it possible that even after all of these years, all Jonny had to do was live- breathe every now and then, involuntarily pump blood through his veins- and it completely took my breath away.

 

I was certain that those sparkling eyes of his could see my face now, too, and so I tried to hide any expression as best as I could. Jonny didn't try to hide at all, though, and his eyebrows scrunched together as he stared at me, his eyelids closing just a little.

 

His lips parted and he took in some air like he was going to say something, but no words came out in the moments after. Then the strange tingling sensation I had gotten so used to burned through my body, and maybe if I had been able to take in enough oxygen to even stir, I would have made a move.

 

It was quiet for a long time, not including the sounds of nature around us, and I realized about five minutes later that somehow Jonny and I were closer than we had been. It wasn't just me, though, because he seemed to have also moved. Could it have been that we were both just slowly leaning towards each other without even realizing it? Did Jonny realize it? Maybe he had done it on purpose...

 

It seemed as though as soon as I noticed this, we were inching closer and closer much more quickly, and I found my breathing extremely labored as it occurred to me that Jonny was mere centimeters away from me, his nose almost brushing against mine, his lips not far behind.

 

Then, without saying anything, Jonny took his hand and cupped my jaw, brought our lips together. It was a quick kiss, but it was a kiss nonetheless, and my heart was frantically beating in my chest, trying to bust out of its cage. Knowing that Jonny didn't seem to mind anymore, I couldn't control myself, and I grabbed his waist and kissed him for real, open mouth and everything. Our bodies pressed together, and I could feel his heart pounding in his chest, too.

 

“I think we've needed to do that for a long time,” Jonny quietly said a few minutes later. I kissed his shoulder and rested my head on his chest as he laid on his back, and we were both still trying to catch our breath. I closed my eyes for a bit, but almost immediately I felt Jonny hand shaking my arm a bit. “Chris... Chris...”

 

Then suddenly everything was bright, and Jonny's heartbreaking green eyes were leaning over me with a great deal of concern. “Are you OK?” he asked, and I had to take quite some time to think about it, considering that I had no idea what was going on.

 

“I...um...”

 

“You were sleeping,” he explained, sitting back to give me some space, though I would have loved it if he had stayed right where he was. “And you were breathing really heavy, and I just wanted to make sure that nothing was wrong.” He voice quivered and he sounded almost frightened. I sat up and ran a hand through my tangled hair.

 

“No, I'm fine. I just had a... really... weird dream.” Jonny's eyes scanned over my body like he didn't believe me, and it felt a little invasive and at the same time exhilarating, but maybe that was because I imagined his hands and not his eyes. Then I felt really angry with myself for thinking that.

 

You just can't think those sort of things about Jonny. He's such a kind and gentle and innocent soul, and I would never want to ruin that with my warped fantasies. Part of me thinks that I should tell him how I feel, just because he deserves to know, but the other part of me thinks it wouldn't be fair. Besides, there's no way that he feels the same, so would there even be a point in telling him?

 

And of course, this would be the spot where Jonny decides to change everything.

 

“Chris...” he tentatively began, curling up and biting his lip adorably. “There's something that I've been thinking about for the past few days. I've been thinking about it a lot, actually. Remember how I was telling you about that girl I want to ask to prom?”

 

I bit back my disgust at remembering the girl, the pretty girl with the pretty black hair and the pretty brown eyes and that pretty smile. I nodded and told him that yes, I do remember her. Then he shifted so he was sitting cross-legged and leaning forwards.

 

“Well... would you go with me instead?” He looked at me expectantly, but I couldn't answer; I couldn't do anything but stare blankly and dumbly, my eyes wide and my jaw dropped. Jonny noticed that I was acting very strange, but he must not have thought that it was anywhere near a good reaction, so he decided to explain. “It's just that a lot of people make prom out to be a huge deal, right? And you're my best friend, and I figured that if it is the most important night of my teenage life, then I'd much rather spend it with my best friend than with some girl I barely know and may never even interact with again. You know?”

 

I wanted to answer, I really did, but I still couldn't do anything. I think something in my brain must have burst when he first asked, because I felt totally dead right then. I could see in Jonny's eyes that he was growing impatient and very anxious, and I really wanted to be able to say something.

 

“Like, we'll go as friends, you know, I mean... it's not gonna be weird or anything. I was just thinking that it would make a lot more sense...” Jonny sighed, turned his regretful eyes away, and at that moment something clicked for me, and I grabbed his arm. He looked back at me quickly, unsure of whether to be happy or scared, or both. I surprised myself by shaking my head.

 

“I can't go with you as just your friend,” I said, and now it was Jonny's turn to be shocked. For a few seconds he was dazed, but he shook himself back to the moment and cleared his throat.

 

“Well... OK. We could be each other's date, then... Like, real date. That's what you mean, right?”

 

“Yeah,” I said, breathily because I couldn't find the strength to use my full voice, and my hand slid down his arm to find his hand. His fingers clasped around mine and he let out a laugh, one of those giggly laughs that he was known for and that always made me smile.

 

“I should have asked you a long time ago, I'm sorry,” he sincerely said, the corners of his mouth still turned up impossibly far. I shook my head and moved so that I was sitting on his left.

 

“It's fine, but...” I told myself then not to do it, not to say what I was thinking, but did I listen? Of course not. Here we were, just Jonny and myself, sitting all alone in the middle of the woods and holding hands. There may never have been another perfect moment such as this. “You know, maybe we should...”

 

And that was when my vocal chords decided to stop working at the request of my brain, and I was stuck halfway through my proposal looking like a nervous, bumbling idiot. Jonny helped me out, taking his free hand and placing on the empty space of ground on my other side, and he leaned over so close that I could already start to hear his heartbeat.

 

I had to remember then that this was real, and not like the dream I'd just had at all. No, this was going to be a million times better. Every fiber of my being raged and urged me to just get it over with already, but I wasn't having any of that. I was going to move as slowly as possible and enjoy every single second, because- again- this was the perfect moment.

 

And that moment, the one I had been waiting for- no, longing for for five long years was nothing short of spectacular. Jonny's lips were even softer than I'd imagined them to be and really, there was no other way to describe any of it other than perfect. Just perfect.

 

Maybe I needed to find a thesaurus, but that definitely wasn't going to happen right then in the middle of nowhere. Instead, I stumbled upon the fabric of Jonny's shirt bunched around his torso as I let go of his hand and pulled him even closer until there was literally no space between our bodies. Anywhere.

 

I could hear Jonny moan against my lips as I laid back and brought him with me, the clothing between us creating far too much friction and making everything so hot. I slid my hands under his shirt, my fingers gliding across the smooth skin stretched over his ribcage. Before long I felt a pair of hands grabbing at the hem of my own shirt, but they didn't stay there, and only seconds later my jeans were no longer buttoned. I should have been feeling really self-conscious at that moment, but I wasn't. I felt totally comfortable.

 

Jonny broke away momentarily and paused, waiting to see that I was all right with him continuing. All I had to do to assure him was just look straight into his eyes, and he leaned back down. His hands went back to work, and a very short time later I was stripped down to just my boxers. I did start to feel a tad embarrassed at that time, but then I knew that now it was my turn, and so I undressed Jonny as he had done to me, except somehow even quicker. Or maybe it only seemed quicker to me.

 

And there we were, laying together on a tattered sleeping bag with nothing but two thin pieces of cloth separating us. His hand was on my waist, my hand on his cheek, and I could hear nothing but the sound of our breathing. It was kinda cool, because we were breathing in sync, and maybe our hearts beat together as well.

 

Despite how heated things had become, we didn't go any farther than that. It seemed like things just completely slowed down then, and we realized that there was still plenty of time left in the world. It was nice, though, because there was still no space between our bodies, but there was also no pressure to move the right way or say the right things. We were just there, together, and the rest of the world didn't exist.

 

And to think I'd only dreamed of kissing him.

 

 

The Best Years Of Your Life

Chapter Five: That Night

 

 

 

 

Jonny's PoV

 

"Jonny, you don't have to do this if you don't want to" Chris said, trying not to smile. He wanted to. I knew he wanted to.

 

"I want to" I proclaimed. I really wanted to.

 

"What do you want me to do?" Chris asked.

 

"Just" I paused to think. "Just...do stuff to me" I pleaded. I'd never really done this sort of stuff, I'd only just slept with a girl for the first time yesterday but I'm more excited about what is to come today than of what happened yesterday. She didn't excite me. Chris does.

 

Chris slowly walked over to me, looking over his shoulder to make sure that the door was shut...then he stopped and listened. Listening to see if anyone was coming up...his mum, his dad, one of his brothers...there was nobody. The house was silent, a far cry of what it was like several minutes ago.

 

Knowing that the setting was right, Chris continued to walk towards me until we were almost touching. He proceeded to take my school uniform off, slowly. First my tie, then my jumper and then my shirt which he stopped to smell. I began to feel increasingly uncomfortable but that didn't last for long, the night was the most comfortable I had spent with Chris ever. I learnt so much about him, I learnt what he liked...and what he didn't but most importantly we learnt what we could enjoy together...as a couple.

 

"I'd just like you to do one thing for me" Chris asked.

 

I stopped and looked at Chris.

 

"I'd like you to finish Sophie" Chris asked. I smiled.

 

"Of course I will" I said, I'd do anything for this guy right now and at that moment it struck me- I wasn't straight.

 

I was not straight. I was the think that I mocked kids at school for, the thing every kid swore that they were not- gay. All these years I had been drooling over girls was a lie- It was myself wanting, wishing to be straight but I am not.

 

"Chris" I said.

 

Chris looked over at me, I was lying beside him- catching my breath.

 

"Yeah?" he said, his eyes wide.

 

"I think I'm gay" I admitted.

 

"Really?" Chris asked. "We've just been at for almost an hour, and you've just realised" He laughed.

 

I grinned.

 

"You know what" Chris said.

 

"What?" I asked.

 

"I think I'm in love" Chris replied.

 

Without a word being said, we quickly made ourselves comfortable again and slowly drifted into sleep in each others arms.

 

-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

 

The door slowly opened. It was Chris' brother Al. He walked towards Chris' desk, not noticing Chris and Jonny. He grabbed a pen and as he turned to walk out, he spotted Chris and Jonny in each others arms. He looked shocked before walking out of the room, closing the door and sighing, throwing the pen on the floor and putting his head in his hands.

 

 

 

To Dare

 

 

Jonny stood at his locker, staring blankly into its interior. It was far too early in the morning to think. And it was far too early in the morning to pay attention to anything that Chris was saying to him, all hyper and bubbly like always, but that didn't stop Chris from chatting on and on. Of course, Chris did realize that his talking was pointless, and so he never mentioned anything of importance.

 

But this particular morning, Chris had a very serious subject which he wished to speak to Jonny about. It did make him rather nervous, though, so for a few minutes he actually said nothing. Jonny hardly noticed, lost in his own dream world.

 

Something brought Jonny back to the moment, and he figured that it was probably the eerie silence surrounding him. He slowly turned his head to make sure that Chris was still standing there, and he was, very pale and wide-eyed. He just blinked at Jonny a few times.

 

“Chris, are you feeling all right?” he asked, probably the first thing he had said since he had said goodbye to his mother as he left the house for school. “You look kinda...”

 

Jonny let his sentence trail off, and Chris cautiously nodded. He tried to muster as much courage as possible before answering with any actual words. He took a deep breath, though it didn't feel like much air had been taken in.

 

“I was just... wondering,” Chris began, his voice as shaky as his unstable legs at the moment. His fingers fiddled with the buttons on his jacket. “Well, are you doing anything Friday night?”

 

“No,” Jonny slowly and skeptically replied. “Why?”

 

“Um, you know- well, no, I guess you don't know, but I...” Chris tried to pull himself together, forced himself to make eye contact with Jonny even though it frightened him greatly to do so. “I was wondering if maybe you would want to, perhaps, say... um... go... on a date with me?”

 

Before the words even escaped his lips Chris could feel his cheeks heating up, burning bright red. He was even more afraid now of what he would see in Jonny's eyes, so he broke his gaze and stared down at his trembling hands. He had done it, it was over. He told himself that it shouldn't matter what the answer was. He could live with being rejected, after all-

 

“Sure,” Jonny quietly answered.

 

Chris was completely taken aback. His head shot up and his jaw dropped, and somewhere in the distance behind Jonny came a loud shout, “Oh my God!!”

 

Jonny spun around; not far from where he and Chris were standing was Guy, Will beside him, snickering. Guy stared at him with as much shock as Chris, maybe even a tad more.

 

“What's going on?” Jonny worriedly asked. He was starting to think that there was way more going on than he was aware of.

 

“You said yes! You actually said yes!!” Guy exclaimed, his eyes only increasing in size. “I didn't think you'd say yes...”

 

Will cut his laughter out long enough to at least moderately explain to Jonny. “We dared him to do it,” he said. “We dared him to ask you out.”

 

“I didn't think you'd say yes,” Guy defensively repeated.

 

Then suddenly Jonny felt like a complete idiot, and all he wanted to do was go hide somewhere and potentially stay there for the rest of his life. He couldn't even stand the thought of facing Chris again. The presence of Chris's hand on his shoulder did nothing to help. Jonny involuntarily turned, instantly regretting it, but it was too late to turn back.

 

“You would really go out with me?” Chris asked, his voice low in hope that Guy and Will would not hear.

 

Jonny shrugged a little. “Yeah.”

 

Chris smiled, pulling back his hand from Jonny's shoulder. “So, Friday's good for you?”

 

Jonny shook his head a bit to make sure that he wasn't simply imagining things. When he was convinced that all was real, he smiled back. “Friday's great.”

 

Chris had intended to reply, but he found himself to be entirely speechless. So for the next few moments, he and Jonny simply grinned at each other. In the background, Will scoffed.

 

“You know, I had a bad feeling that something like this was gonna end up happening,” he said. “Now they're gonna start dating and we'll constantly have to hear about it.”

 

“I think it's kinda cute,” Guy told Will. “I mean, look at them.” Will did as Guy suggested, and it seemed that Chris and Jonny had gone back to their usual positions, Jonny staring into his locker while Chris rambled in his ear. “They've been best friends for a lot longer than we've even known them. I think we may have actually helped them out.”

 

“Best friends doesn't mean shit,” Will retorted. “You and I've been best friends for as long as they have and we don't...”

 

Will's words became lost somewhere in the air, the awkward silence that consumed them hanging over the two boys like an extraordinarily heavy weight. Guy kept his focus on Chris and Jonny as a distraction, and Will just looked over to the wall that happened to be nowhere near Guy.

 

“I think I should be off to class now,” Guy said. He cleared his throat, scratched the back of his neck, and finally tore his eyes away from his other friends. “See you later.”

 

“Right,” Will lamely replied, and the two walked off in totally opposite directions despite their next classes being right beside each other.

 

“It was, like, the craziest thing I had ever heard- and, Jonny?” Jonny looked up and into Chris's big, blue eyes. “I'm really excited for Friday. I mean, it's only been a few minutes and I already can't stop thinking about it. Is it Friday yet?”

 

Jonny had to think for a moment. “Two days,” he said. He closed his locker and took a step closer to Chris. “It will come soon enough, don't worry.”

 

“I suppose. But in the meantime-” Chris leaned forward and quickly pecked Jonny on the cheek. “I'll walk you to your next class,” he brightly offered.

 

“All right,” Jonny replied. The two began to walk down the hallway, taking their time even though the bell was to ring in a very short amount of time. Neither of them had to speak, as it was plenty just to be near the other. And as they walked a little further, Jonny accidentally brushed his arm against Chris's, and somehow that action caused their hands to slide into each other's, and their fingers to lace.

 

 

What's Real

Chapter 3

 

 

I was unsure how long I had stood there, all I knew was that I could tell you how many scuffs there were at the base of the door. 26. Some were a dark gray and long and others were faint black and short. Regardless I had stood there long enough and I needed to gather my courage and knock on the door. I closed my eyes and counted to ten and then let my hand fall and hit the door three times. I waited for him to open the door, I waited to see the chocolate waterfalls that were his eyes and I waited for the scruff that would outline his jaw emphasizing the strong line. I waited.

 

-+-

 

I don’t know why I heard the knocks. I don’t know why I didn’t just ignore them and go back to sleep, but I didn’t and I don’t know why. I saw through blurred vision red numbers that gave way to an early morning. Instead of guessing what time it was I decided the smart move would be to reach across to the nightstand and grab my glasses. It was like cleaning the fog of your mirror after getting out of a hot shower; what were blurred numbers now became clear and told me it was 3 in the morning. I groaned and tossed my covers off and stumbled down the hall to the front door. I turned the lock and then pulled open the old oak door.

 

She stood there in her black pea coat staring at the ground, while flakes of snow were encircling around her as if they were a halo. I shivered, not from the cold, but from her shear beauty. Dianna was enchanting to begin with her hazelnut eyes and velvet chocolate curls but the snowy background just completed her. She flashed me a quick little devious smile and I beckoned her in to my apartment. She nodded and crossed the threshold and hung her coat up while I closed the door. I wanted to run to her side and hold her in my arms, but I couldn’t bring myself to. So instead I waited.

 

-+-

 

He looked so divine in his old glasses when he answered the door. It gave him this sexy professor look and I wanted to drag him to the bedroom, but I fought the desire. What I had to do was important.

 

“I have always loved your apartment. It suits you very well, it has an old spirit and lots of character.” Dianna said as she ran her fingers over the old leather couch. “The beat up wood floors have been loved and the fireplace has been used with tender care. That’s what I love about you Guy, you take care of everything, from your apartment to the old lady that lives next door and then me.” Dianna said as she crossed the room to stand in front of Guy. “That is why I need to take you somewhere, so you understand why, why I love you so much.” Dianna whispered.

 

 

 

The Best Years Of Your Life

Chapter Six: When Everything Was So Perfect...

 

 

 

 

Chris' PoV

 

"Jonny" I whispered into his ear. His eyes slowly opened. I smiled and looked over to the door, to make sure no one was there- no one was.

 

"Y'alright, Chris?" Jonny asked. I just continued to smile. "Hey, hey, there's something I need to remember, I need to hand in my Geography homework, write a note for me or something so I don't forgot"

 

I walked over to my desk and grabbed a piece of paper and looked around for a pen.

"Jonny, have you seen my pen?" I asked.

 

"No I haven't" Jonny replied. "Don't worry, I'm sure I'll remember"

 

"Okay" I grinned. "Do you want any breakfast?"

 

"Nah, I don't think I will. Your Dad will find some reason to have a go at me!" Jonny said. I stared, listened and savoured his voice. That was one of the things that attracted me to Jonny- his voice. His deep, husky voice. I snapped out of it.

 

"Yeah, sure, that is probably smart" I said. "Anyway, why don't you get dressed and I will meet you at school!"

 

Jonny smiled and got out of his bed- he was only wearing his boxers. I watched as he slowly got his school uniform on which was crumpled up in his bag. He paused before looking over at me.

"I can't believe that was the last night I could stay at yours!" Jonny said, sighing.

 

"I'm sure my dad will come round!" I said, I hoped.

 

"Til' then, you can stay at mine" Jonny said, winking.

 

"Are you serious?" I replied. "I thought your mum hated people staying at your house!"

 

"Yeah- people. You are not just a person. You are my friend. My best friend" Jonny said, chuckling as he adjusted his tie and put his backpack on. "I'll seeya at school kiddo!" he said, slapping me on the back, quite hard. And then he walked out of my room.

 

A few minutes later I made my way into the kitchen where Mum, Dad and Al were sat at the breakfast table.

"Where's Jonny, then?" Al asked, looking at me with daggers in his eyes.

 

"Uhh, he has gone to school" I replied, sitting down at the table and grabbing a piece of toast.

 

"I was serious you know, about Jonny staying here. He's not staying here again" Dad said, bluntly.

 

"Oh, I know" I said, standing up. "That reminds me, I'm staying at Jonny's tonight"

 

"Okay dear" Mum replied, smiling. Dad stared at her with his menacing eyes. "Oh for goodness sake, let him stay at his friends"

 

"Oh fine, as long as he doesn't come anywhere near this house!" Dad exclaimed.

 

"Don't worry, he won't" I said, nodding my head as I turned to walk out the door.

 

"Chris" Al said. I turned back around. "Do you want your pen?" he asked, his arm extended and the pen in his hand. I grabbed it.

 

"Thanks" I said.

 

"Anytime kiddo!" Al said. "And hey, say hello to Jonny when you see him, I didn't manage to talk to him last night, I guess you were just too busy!"

 

"Haha, yeah" I said, forcing a smile as I walked out of the front door and closing it behind me and walking down the street.

 

------------------------

 

"Guy!" I exclaimed as I walked out of Maths. He was trying to ignore me, I ran up to him and put my arm on his shoulder, he turned round and looked at me.

 

"What?" he asked.

 

"We need to talk" I said, smiling. At that moment Will turned up.

 

"Is everything alright?" Will asked.

 

"Yeah, everything is fine" I said.

 

"Alright then, I'll see you in Geography" Will said. Guy was already gone. Someone else ran at me and jumped on me, I turned around- It was Sophie.

 

"Hiya Chris!" she said, chewing on a piece of chewing gum.

 

"Alright?" I said.

 

"I guess you heard then" Sophie said.

 

"Heard what?" I asked.

 

"About me and Jonny- having sex for the first time"

 

"Uhh yeah, but, excuse me, do you want me to say congratulations or what?" I said, getting angry.

 

"Chris, there is no need to be like that!" Sophie said, sniffing.

 

"But there is, you are using my best friend, you are nothing but a slag!" I exclaimed.

 

"Excuse me!" She shouted.

 

A crowd started to gather.

 

"Yeah, you've told him that you lost your virginity to him but I know for a fact that you've slept with loads of guys!" I exclaimed, pushing her.

 

At that moment, Jonny ran up to me and Sophie.

"What's going on?" he said.

 

"Nothing" I said, starting to walk off. Jonny grabbed me. "What are you doing, Jonny?"

 

"Stop messing with my girlfriend,eh!" he exclaimed. I was shocked.

 

I started to talk quieter, "I thought you were finishing with her!"

 

"No" he said, Sophie putting her arm around him. "Where the hell did you get that idea from?"

 

 

 

What's Real

Chapter 4

*short, but crucial. Will post more soon.*

 

 

The sky was beginning to lighten up as the morning progressed. It turned from a swirling dark night to a snowy fairytale. The snow was continuing to fall and had now accumulated a few inches on the ground. A few rays of sunlight poked through thin clouds to cast a pinkish hue to the snowy grounds. The old oak tree sat still in the middle of the field, directly beneath it sat 7 gravestones. Each was slightly different from the next except for the last.

 

Dianna sat still in the car staring straight ahead. Her eyes followed the windshield wipers as they continued to slide back and forth across the windshield. Guy was sat next to her in the drivers seat, he was unsure what they were doing here, but this is the place that Dianna had him drive to. He decided to slide down a bit in his seat and take a nap, but as soon as he had he felt warm hands on the sides of his face.

 

“You ready?” He asked.

His answer was a simple kiss on his lips. “Mmm I will gladly take that as a yes.”

 

Dianna buttoned up her coat and tied her scarf around her neck; Guy followed her example but ditched the scarf for a hat. When the two were bundled up they emerged from the car into the snowy morning. Guy was quick to take Dianna’s hand and then let her lead the way.

 

They climbed up the little hill and then walked down into the valley where the old oak tree sat. Guy squeezed Dianna’s hand in a cute fashion to remind her that he was here for her. Dianna squeezed his hand back. Finally they stopped in front of the last gravestone. A tiny gasp slipped through his lips as he read the name.

 

“Dianna I..”

 

“You should know the story. You need to know why I feel the pain. Why Christopher is such a constant reminder.”

 

“Are you sure?” Guy timidly asked.

 

“Yes, you are my future now. This is Jonathan my twin brothers grave.”