Hervy slowly opened his eyes.

He looked at the window and saw the sunlight between the small spaces of the window blinds.

It's still bright outside. Hervy thought to himself.

He reached for his phone under his pillow – it was 2 PM.

He woke up five hours early. Again. He's been like this for over a week now.

Hervy got up and went to the bathroom. His hair is a mess. He quickly took a rubber band near the mirror and tied his hair. He washed his face and went downstairs to the kitchen.

He made a cup of coffee for himself and quickly went back up to his bedroom and opened his notes.

He quickly scanned his notes and was surprised – he had already written a handful of poems. He noticed that he could write much easier these past few days. He quickly turned to the page where he had last written a poem.

Remember when you wanted to stay up all night

Sing, dance, and pass out 'til the first sight of daylight

Have you found the courage to tell him

The three words you felt when you first saw him

Hervy tried to recall what he could be thinking of when he wrote this piece. Try as he might, he couldn't quite remember what it was. But even if he can't recall what it was, the thought of being able to write again made Hervy smile.

It made him happy.

He rechecked the time – a few more minutes before 3 PM.

"Great," Hervy said to himself.

He quickly got up, took one more sip of coffee. He grabbed his towel went to the bathroom. He's going to visit a very important person.

***

Ding-Dong!

Lewis quickly got up when he heard the doorbell ringing.

Ding-Dong!

"Coming!" Lewis shouted as he hurried to the door. He ran so fast he almost tripped.

"Who could this be?" Lewis asked himself.

He opened the door and was surprised when he saw who was waiting on the other side of the door.

"Wassup, Lewie?"

Lewis can't believe it. 

Standing in front of him, a black-haired, brown-eyed young man was smiling from ear to ear.

"Zayd!" Lewis almost cried.

He grabbed Zayd and gave him a tight hug.

"Stop with the waterworks already, okay?" Zayd jokingly said when he saw Lewis's eyes getting red.

"How are you?"

"I'm great! How did you find me? When did you come back? How long are you staying in the country?" Lewis asked incessantly.

He was excited; he could barely contain himself.

Zayd laughed, "Easy tiger. One by one, okay?"

"Are you not going to let me in?" he asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Oh!" Lewis exclaimed. He was so carried away by Zayd's arrival he forgot to ask him inside.

"Cut me some slack, will you?" Lewis added, laughing. "I was just happy you're back!"

"Come on in, you, vain human, you!" he added, gesturing Zayd to get inside. He helped Zayd with his baggage.

It had been forever since the two saw each other.

Zayd was Lewis's best friend. Or at least that's how it looks. If Lewis is being honest, he liked Zayd more than a friend. Zayd and his family had always been there for Lewis – or Lewie. Zayd was Lewis's go-to person whenever he had trouble, especially when his Mom died. He always kept Lewis's spirits up. He knew about Lewis's situation at home, and he would even let Lewis stay at their house for a week or two when things got tough.

The two loved to bond over music and art. Lewis loved drawing, while Zayd loved singing and playing the guitar. Lewis was not much of a singer, unlike Zayd, but they would spend their time singing their hearts out.

Zayd made Lewis the person he is right now – happy, cheerful, hopeful.

Lewis loved everything about Zayd, his voice, kindness, and looks. He's the most beautiful human being, according to Lewis's eyes.

Though he liked Zayd a lot, Lewis never told him how he felt towards him. It was partly because he's unsure if Zayd would reciprocate, but mostly because he valued their friendship more than anything else. He was content that they were best friends, and Zayd would always be there for him.

He thought wrong.

Zayd's family decided to move out of the country.

Lewis was devastated by the news, but he quickly got over it. He'd been through more challenging times that he told himself Zayd leaving the country won't be that hard.

He never had any news about the family after they left that Lewis would often wonder how they were doing. So, Zayd showing up today was a surprise to him.

***

"Thanks for visiting us, Hervy. Everyone's delighted to see you back. Look outside," said Simon, pointing outside of his office. Every single staff of the publishing house gathered outside of

Simon's office. Everyone sure is happy Hervy is back. They've been waiting for this day to happen.

Hervy went to Midnight publishing's office to talk with his boss. He didn't announce he was coming, and he just snuck into Simon's office, trying to avoid a scene.

"I wouldn’t be too sure about that," Hervy answered.

"Well, you better believe me when I say everyone's been looking forward to seeing you again. You and Nyle were the only people who could gather a crowd like that outside my office," Simon said.

Hervy's expression changed at the very mention of Nyle's name.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to," Simon apologized when he saw Hervy's face.

"Not a problem, Boss. I think I should be going now." Hervy answered.

"Are you leaving already? Why don't you stay a little longer? It looks like everyone's up to something." Simon asked.

He signaled Hervy to look outside again – he saw someone holding a cake while some carried a banner saying, "WELCOME BACK HERVY."

Hervy was speechless. He never knew everybody missed him that much.

"Why don't you go outside and see them?" Simon added.

Hervy just nodded and slowly went outside. As he opened the glass door, everyone greeted him – friends, old and new. They all chanted Hervy's name and led him to the food pantry. Hervy was even surprised they managed to pull this off in such a short amount of time.

***

"Good thing you found my address," said Lewis. "How did you even know I live here?"

"Nothing a good Google Search can't fix. Besides, your face popped up on top of the search results when I looked for you on Facebook," Zayd answered.

"How long are you going to stay here?" Lewis asked.

"As long as you want me to," Zayd answered.

"You're funny, Zayd." Lewis laughed, "You're not going home ever again if you want me to decide for you."

"Well, that works for me. Just make sure you tell Mum and Dad you're not planning on returning me to them," Zayd said jokingly.

Zayd hugged Lewis from the back. He missed Lewis very, very much.

"All these years have turned you into a hugger, yeah, Zee?" Lewis asked, then giggled.

"Not necessarily – I just missed you, that's all," Zayd answered before he started to hug Lewis even tighter, moving his arms from Lewis's chest down to his waist.

Lewis could feel the change of pressure in Zayd's hug, and of course, he's not too dumb to notice that he's slowly moving his arms down his waist.

Before Lewis could protest, Zayd had already lifted him while both hands were busy tickling his waist.

"ZEEEEEEEEHHHH- AH-HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. WAAAHHHT AAHHARREEEYOOOOOUUU? PUUUHHHTTTTT MEEEEEEEEHHH DDOOOOWWWWNNNNNN!"

Lewis let out a hysterical laugh as Zayd continued to tickle him.

"NAHAHAHAHAHA STAHAHAHAHAHAP HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Ding- Dong.

The doorbell rang. The two did not hear it at first.

Ding-Dong.

Lewis heard it this time.

"HHEEEEEEEYYYYYYYY! NO WAIIIIIIT."

Zayd stopped and finally decided to put Lewis down.

"Let me get that," Lewis said as he finally got to breathe in.

"Nope, not if I get there first." Zayd teased.

Lewis ran as fast as possible, aiming for the door while Zayd followed, aiming for Lewis.

***

It's almost 6 PM.

Hervy snuck out of the office. He was sure they wouldn't let him go if he asked politely, so he pretended to go to the restroom and went out using the exit door.

-Got to go, boss. I doubt they'd ever let me go if I asked. Hervy texted Simon.

He then hailed a cab and went on his way home. "To the Children's Park, please."

The traffic was so heavy that it took almost an hour before they arrived at their destination.

Hervy got off in front of the park entrance. He then took a short walk to the fast-food place and ordered his usual meal when he remembered Lewis. He thought it'd be a good idea to drop by Lewis's place and bring him something to eat. He ordered another set - a two-piece chicken meal, spicy, no gravy.

As usual, he had to wait for five minutes before he got the meal.

After he got the food, he started walking in the direction of Lewis's house.

Five more minutes, and he was standing in front of Lewis's apartment. If his memory is accurate, this is Lewis's place. He pressed the doorbell.

He thought he heard some screaming from inside, followed by a loud laugh. He found it odd. 

Lewis is supposed to be alone. 

He pressed the doorbell one more time.

He waited a few more seconds, but it was still not opening. Maybe he got the address wrong. He was about to turn back when the door opened – Lewis breathing heavily and some guy he doesn't recognize, arms wrapped around Lewis's waist.

Hervy was surprised.

"S-sorry, I think I got the wrong house," Hervy said and quickly turned around, leaving Lewis and the other guy equally surprised as he is.