They got up from the table and paid before leaving through the large doors which they came from. They walked towards the shop, keeping a distance between each other, but as they reached the glass doors Alex held the door open for Carter, and Carter brushed past him somewhat awkwardly as he walked towards the counter.

As Carter stood at the counter he looked over all of the flavours, even though he knew exactly what he wanted. The ice-cream parlour was quite large, with ice-cream display cases along the middle and tables and chairs around the room. Along the edges of the room were large booths in bright colours. The shop screamed colour, even the walls featured big, bright patterns and the floors were checkers in bright blue and pink. Just walking into the store was enough to liven Carter's mood significantly. These bring walls were apart of happy memories for him and this was one of the only places that hadn't been tainted since. This place was pure and happy, it reminded him of good times, of laughs and smiles and kisses. There were no bad memories or deep secrets hidden within these walls. Also, this was where he had consumed vast amounts of one of his favourite foods, it was the greatest place on earth.

"Alex, Carter! I haven't seen you two around in a while!" The voice brought Carter out of his internal appreciation of all things ice-cream. He looked up to see Pete, the old man who owned the place. He and Alex had been coming to the shop for years and Pete was there almost every time, serving ice-cream with a smile on his face. The old man was in his late sixties, with thinning grey hair, but he had an optimism that gave him a hint of youth.

"Hey Pete," Alex smiled. "How have you been?"

"Great, yourselves? On a diet or something you two? I haven't seen you two in ages!" he said with a smile.

"Something like that," Alex said with a half-smile, not meeting Carters eyes. Pete didn't know that they had broken up, and Carter was with Alex on not wanting to upset the man who had been kind to them for all these years.

"Would you look at your face boy, that's one nasty bruise you've got there," Pete gave Carter a concerned look as his eyes looked over the bruise on his cheek and jaw. He then turned to Alex. "I trust that you set whoever did that straight?"

Carter had almost forgotten completely about the bruise, in fact, he had almost forgotten about the events of the day all together, being completely enthralled by his unexpected catch up with Alex.

"Yes sir." Alex nodded.

"Good." Pete nodded approvingly. "Men who talk with their fists aren't real men."

Carter nodded. "Amen to that."

Pete straightened up, seemingly happy with their responses. "What can I get you two boys?"

Carter opened his mouth to speak but Alex beat him to it.

"He will have two scoops of mint, in a cup, and I will have two of chocolate in a cone."

Carter almost smiled at the fact that Alex still remembered his order. Alex paid for the ice-cream and Pete handed them both their orders.

Carter automatically crossed the brightly checked floor and went to the booth at the back, sitting and starting to eat before he even realised that the exact spot was where they used to sit every time they went there as a couple.  

"I knew you would sit here," Alex laughed as he sat down opposite Carter, licking a stripe of ice-cream.

"Thank-you for today," Carter said quietly, but just loud enough for him to hear it. "If you weren't there, I honestly don't know what I would have done."

Alex looked disappointed. "I just wish I had gotten there earlier."

"You always do this to yourself." Carter shook his head slightly. "You saved me from probably getting a concussion or even worse. Give yourself some credit, I know that I'm giving it to you."

Alex seemed to consider that, as his eyes tracing over the bruise on Carter's face. "I don't like seeing you hurt."

Carter didn't reply to that, because deep down, he knew that Alex was one of few who really hurt him. Carter had already been through so much after his father left, and to have Alex leave as well, with no explanation, it almost destroyed him. Some days he thought that having an explanation would have made everything easier, make it all make sense, and yet he was too scared of the possible answers. Did Alex just fall out of love with him? Or was it something more, something worse? Did something happen in Italy? Every unanswered question seemed to bounce around his mind, so he pushed them away. 

"So.." Carter started, but he didn't really know what to say so he stuck with the safest option. "How have you been?"

"I've been alright. Thinking of going back to Italy to visit my dad for a few months."

That was a bit of a shock to Carter, since when did Alex volunteer to spend time with his absentee father? Why didn't he tell him about this at dinner?

"What about school?" Carter asked.

"I can always do school in Italy," Alex said, but something in his eyes told Carter that moving to Italy wasn't what he wanted. Carter had to wonder if it had something to do with him, not that he would ask.

"Yeah, I guess."

Alex leant forwards. "What about you? Anything new?"

Carter was about to say 'nothing' when he wondered what on earth they were doing. They weren't friends, they didn't talk about family and how they were. They were ex's, they were the definition of 'people who weren't friends. He didn't need any more unanswered questions.

"Why are we doing this?" he sighed.

"What?" Alex asked with wide eyes.

"Why are we having dinner in our old favourite restaurant like we are still together? Why are we pretending like everything is alright between us, when I know that it isn't?" He asked, looking around at where they were. This was a place for dates, for first kisses and smiles, not awkward small talk with you ex-boyfriend.

Alex shrugged. "I missed you, I wanted to talk to you. I think that dinner was great, being able to catch up with you, we were friends for so long, and I just really enjoyed talking to you."

"We aren't friends Alex." Carter looked down, not wanting to see the pain on Alex's face. Instead he stuffed a spoonful of ice-cream into his mouth.

Alex looked heartbroken. "I know that, I just, I missed you." He told him in a quiet and vulnerable voice that did not match his stature.

"You were the one who let me go, you were the one who pushed me away." The words may have been accusatory, but Carters quiet and heartbroken tone were anything but.

This wasn't the time or place for conversations like these, and Carter didn't want to upset Alex after they had such a good time at dinner, but he had so many unanswered questions and he had never really been able to just sit down and talk to Alex about everything.

"I had my reasons Carter, I didn't have a choice," he admitted with a pleading look.

That only made Carter even more confused. What did he mean by not having a choice? "What are you talking about Alex?"

Alex didn't answer him, instead he said, "I still care about you, haven't I shown that? I protected you today. I meant what I said that day at the lake, and I still mean it today."

Carter shook his head. "You broke that promise the moment you took off your ring."

Alex bit his lip and stayed silent, but after a few moments he reached down his shirt and brought out the end of a necklace that Carter didn't even know he was wearing. The ring hung on the end of the necklace. "I wear it every day." The words were said so softly that Carter wasn't sure he'd even heard him right. 

The knowledge was like a knife to his heart, yet, at the same time it made his heart swell. Carter was stunned into silence. The ring was an exact replica of his own, the only difference being that this one was a few sizes bigger. How had he not realised? He had thought that because the ring was gone, that Alex's feelings for him were gone too.  

"You aren't wearing yours," Alex muttered quietly.

Carter reached into his pocket and pulled out the silver ring that had been sitting at the bottom of it. Alex's eyes widened as he saw it in Carters palm.

"Do these mean anything anymore?" Carter asked, flipping the ring in his hand.

"I like to think so, we were more than just people who were dating, we were best friends, and I will protect you until my last breath."

"That's nice Alex, but we aren't best friends anymore. We can't even be Facebook friends until I know why everything happened three months ago."

Alex's eyes wandered to his ice-cream. "I can't tell you."

"You promised not to hurt me, and you did. This is your chance to explain Alex," Carter pled.

He shook his head sadly. "I can't Carter."

"Then this," Carter placed the ring on the table, "means nothing."

Carter got up to leave but Alex's hand shot out grasping his wrist gently. "I'm so sorry Carter," he whispered.

Alex let go of his arm and Carter ran out of the shop, blinking back tears which were threatening to overflow. He couldn't deal with this, there were so many unanswered questions, and tonight had only made it worse. It was a glimpse into a life he could never have again. He and Alex weren't dating and they couldn't, not now anyway. Alex was keeping secrets and even if he did still wear the ring, that didn't change the fact that he hurt him without explanation.

Yet, that heartbroken look in Alex's eye was enough to make his heart hurt. Yet, Carter couldn't do a thing until he knew the truth, and unless Alex came clean, well, things between them couldn't change.

<><><><><><><><>

The drive home was mostly silent on Carter's part, and the exact opposite on Lara's. She told him every detail about her date, and he nodded along as she spoke, trying not to let her see the hurt in his face.

His mind kept flashing back to saddening words that were said, and the ring that was probably still sitting on the table top in the ice-cream parlour.

"Are you alright Carter?" Lara asked just as they pulled into the driveway. "Did something happen with you and Alex at dinner?"

"I'm ok," he told her, getting out of the car. She didn't move for a few moments, not believing him, but eventually she followed suit and left the car, following her brother.

Carter said goodnight to his sister and made his way to his room. He changed out of his clothes and sat on his bed, his back leaning against the headboard as he pulled his legs up and wrapped his arms around them. Carter didn't know what he wanted. He and Alex had such a history, yet the weight of the secrets he held was more than he could handle.  Archer seemed so perfect, but he wasn't sure if he and Archer would ever have that spark, that irresistible chemistry that he and Alex once had.

Well, maybe their date the next night would shed some light on their relationship. He did originally ask him out as a pay back to Alex, but it seemed much more than that now. It wasn't even about Alex anymore.

Carter hoped that their date was perfect, that they would click right away and fall deeply in love and thoughts of Alex would never cross his mind again, but when does anything as perfect as that happen in Carter's life?