- Sunday, October 1st -

"Hey Cris, come on in." Aunt Cady opens the door far enough to let me inside the house. Or should I remain saying this is a goddamn villa? Every time I am here, I discover new things to the house, like the fact I have never seen this hallway before, since I normally arrived with Finnley to guide me, and he always goes in through the back.

"Finnley is in his room, you know your way, right?"

"Eh..." I drawl, hesitantly because I don't know which way to go to find the staircase that leads to the basement.

"Just go through that door." She chuckles. "The stair is on your right."

"Ah, thanks." I smile even though I feel a bit out of place in a house like this. Not to say my parents are poor, or that their house is small. It's a really nice house with lots of space and rooms and it was great to play hide and seek back when Finnley, Charlie and I were kids.

But I could use a map in this house, really.

I follow aunt Cady's instructions, going through the right door and going down to the basement. I immediately recognize this place, since I've been here before the few times I slept here during my weekend staying with Finnley, about a year ago. There's an open space with rooms on three sides of it. On the right, I know is Jason's bedroom, along with a small bathroom for him alone. In front of me is a gaming room and a small living room. On the left is an exact copy of Jason's room, also with a small bathroom; Finnley's room.

I walk towards the door, not wanting to barge in on him – since he might be changing – and well, I want this date to be perfect. But before I knock, I already can hear his voice; and he doesn't sound very happy.

"You can't do this to me." He sounds both upset and angry. "I was always there when you wanted me to. Just not today."

There's a silence after his words, so I guess he's on the phone.

"I don't care, you can stick it where the sun doesn't shine."

I hold back my laugh, because it's typically Finnley's way of bickering with someone. I just wonder who he's bickering with. And I know I really shouldn't eavesdrop in on him, but I can't help it.

"No, Oliver!" He calls out. "That's not fair..."

Ah, so the two besties still aren't on friendly terms right now? Friday, I asked Finnley about it and he simply responded with the fact Oliver can be a little controlling and they had a disagreement that ended in a fight. He told me not to pay any attention to it.

"You don't own me, Oliver!"

Maybe I should really stop eavesdropping now.

"I'm acting ungrateful? Well, fuck you, Oliver. Bye." The silence after his last words and the slamming of a door makes me jump and run back to the stairs. I climb back up halfway, pretending to come down just now in case he walks out. But he doesn't, so I repeat my previous intentions, this time actually knocking the door.

"Come in." Finnley sounds really upset and it's gut-wrenching to hear him like this. Certainly because it's caused by someone I hate so much.

"Hey." I smile, finding him on his bed, hugging a pillow to his chest. His eyes are red, as if he had been crying. "What's wrong?" I close the door behind me, before I move towards him and sit down on the bed. I push away some of his hair, looking down on him.

"What am I to you, Cris?" He whispers with a broken voice.

"My best friend, my love, my everything." I answer in all honesty. "Why?"

"Oliver said you're just going to use me until someone better comes along."

"Don't you dare to believe a word of what he's saying," I grumble, pulling his head on my lap. He automatically rolls on his back, still hugging the pillow, but now staring up to me. "I wouldn't dare to leave you, ever again." I whisper, still playing with his hair. "Oliver is probably jealous..."

Finnley snorts, closing his eyes. "Oh, he's jealous, yes."

"But he knew about your feelings for me, right?"

Finnley nods with his eyes still closed. "But that doesn't mean he isn't jealous I accepted to go on a date with you." He opens his eyes again. "He asked me out a couple of times already, you know, officially. But I turned him down because I just don't like him like that. He's great and all, funny, caring..." There's lingering something in the silence that settles after his words.

"But?"

"He isn't you." He chuckles. "But now he's upset, calling me a user. Saying that I only hang out with him because of his money. Said he starts to think about paying me again, because I'm a gold-digging slut that does everything for money..."

"No, Finn, stop." I put my hand over his mouth to silence him. "You're none of those things." I start lecturing him. "You're sweet, you're funny, you're too smart for your own good, you're the best friend a person could ever wish for. You're so much better than you think. And I'm gonna remind you of those things until you start to believe them again."

"Good luck with that." He snorts before taking in a deep breath. "But I think you'll eventually realize I'm none of those things anymore."

"You can't just "un-smarten" yourself because you're not happy with your life." I laugh out a little. "And I know the old you is in here somewhere." I tap on his chest, indicating his heart, a couple of times.

"You're sweet, Cris." He murmurs, before he sits up, looking at me. "But what made you change your mind? About me?"

"Finn, I never thought about you different. I just got mad and I shouldn't have. But I always thought of you like this." I watch him sitting on the bed, obviously he's feeling a bit uncomfortable although I don't know why. "And I started listening to you." I whisper. "We started talking again."

"True." He smiles wearily. "Thanks, Cris. I think I needed to hear that."

"Good, I'll repeat it ever once in a while to make sure you won't forget."

"So, what are we going to do for our official first date?"

"I'm going to surprise you." I lean in to peck his lips. "Put on one of those sweaters. You look extra cute in them."

"Okay, but only because you're really sweet right now." He murmurs, before he leans in to kiss me back. "And because I want you to feel proud to be out there with me."

"I'll always be proud to be with you."

"What made you this sweet, all of the sudden?" He chuckles again, his arms sneaking around my neck. "I've heard you talk about girls before, and dating, and hitting on "chicks" for just some fun..." He sums up, straddling my waist with a sly smile on his face. "You never cared about most people's feelings."

"But I do care about yours, because I care about you, a lot." I put my arms around his waist, staring at him while trying to contain myself. God, why did he have to crawl on top of my lap?

"Someone thought you to give the right answers." He smirks, before he closes the gap between us, kissing me sweetly.

"Finn..." I groan, leaning backwards. "I'm gonna do this the right way, we're going on a date first, and you have to get off me right now, because it's really hard not to jump you right now."

"Isn't that what you want?" He stares at me with a look in his eyes I can't exactly decipher. It contains both question and curiosity.

"I want you to get dressed and take you out for a date." I mumble, remembering myself this is about proving Finnley I like him for him, not for his body. Although I wouldn't mind at all to throw him on the bed for some fun time with him. After all the heated kissing, the hugging, the holding hands in the past week, I really start to wonder what it would be like to actually make him mine.

"Okay, okay." He smiles, but it doesn't meet his eyes, confusing me a bit. He places a quick peck on my chin. "I guess I'll get dressed then."

"Thank you." I sigh in relief once he got off of me, watching him move around his room to find a sweater he's happy with to wear right now.

* * * * *

"O my god, you're taking me out to eat sushi?" He excitedly claps his hands, turning around before hugging me, kissing me on the cheek. "That's awesome."

"Well, we did always say once we got a license, we would go out and try sushi. I know we've both eaten sushi before. But I'd still like to keep my promise of taking you out for sushi."

"I can't believe you remember that." His eyes widen. "That's so... not you."

"You bring out the best in me, darling."

"Awwe!" He grins. "You called me darling." His hand finds mine, while his other hand is still around my neck from this hug. "I really appreciate all of this, Cris. The whole dating thing, asking me out and everything..."

"I'm glad you like it." I peck his lips. "Because I like you, and I like you even more when you're happy."

"Well, keep this up, because it's making me damn happy." He grins, answering my peck on his lips with another one. "You make me happy."

I grin, forcing myself to let go of him, since we're still not inside and we're here for food, not to be a clingy couple that can't keep their hands off of each other. We're here for a date. So, let's have a date.

I lead him inside, our hands still entwined while we wait for someone to show us a table. I see an older couple staring at us, but in the last month I kind of got used to the fact most people around here really could care less about gay couples. There'll always be haters, but the fact I'm standing here with Finnley gives me the feeling I can concur all the hate with ease.

Finnley notices the lady watching is with a disapproving look and I feel him tense beside me, before he forces a smile on his face, waving in her direction with made up enthusiasm.

"Ignore them." I chuckle. "I don't care what they think and neither should you."

"I know." He nods. "But every time women stare at me like that, I think about mom and the fact she hates my guts just because I like boys." He turns a bit in my direction. "And then I think about the fact I miss living at home, with dad and Charlie and all." He shrugs. "And then I feel lonely."

"You feel lonely now too?" I turn to face him completely, wondering how many times he feels lonely. He's still struggling because of his mother and I hate her for doing this to him.

"No." He smiles a bit. "You're here, holding my hand, despite that couple disapproving. It helps."

"Good." I grin, leaning in to kiss him on his lips. "Whenever you feel lonely, think about the fact I will always be there for you from now on."

"Sweet." He purrs, turning away as soon as a lady appears in front of us.

She shows us a table for two, explaining the rules for ordering and asking us what to drink.

For a minute, we're both a bit uncomfortable because I think the fact we're on a table for two, surrounded mostly by couples, that this is actually a date and not just us as two friends hanging out.

I watch as Finnley writes down his order. Finnley is left-handed and for some reason I think it's sexy. But that's probably because I like everything about him.

"So," – he clears his throat – "I know your biggest mistake." He starts talking without looking up from the chart in front of him. "What's the best thing that ever happened to you?"

"The day four-year-old me didn't know how to build a sandcastle and four-year-old you came to the rescue."

He smiles, for a second he stops looking at the chart to look at me. The glistening in his eyes is one I haven't seen in a while. "The day we met." He concludes.

"Yeah, because that's the day I found the love of my life, even though us four-year-olds had no idea what gay meant." I chuckle and watch him lifting his right hand to grab mine with a content smile.

He puts the chart away with his left hand, putting our order on the side for the waitress to take. For a couple of seconds, we just stare at each other.

"Any questions for me?"

"Lots of questions, but not the right ones for now." I admit, cocking my head a bit. We remain silent again while the waitress brings our drinks.

He seems to understand exactly which questions I'm talking about and for a second there's some sort of fear and sadness in his eyes. Like he's afraid for the time when I'm going to ask them.

"Is your biggest fear still the dark?"

He smiles again, shaking his head. "The dark is my friend." He chuckles. "I realize by now, the fact I can't see anything, also means nobody is able to see me."

"And that's a good thing?" I frown while taking a sip from my water.

"Yeah," he mutters. "I don't mind being invisible every once in a while."

I know Finnley, or at least the old Finnley, well enough to know there's a much deeper meaning behind this fact. There's one rule for Finnley that hasn't changed in all these years; still waters run deep. And Finnley is silent, but there's a lot hiding behind his silence. When you talk to Finnley, you have to pay attention to the things he doesn't say, more than to the things he does tell you.

But this isn't the right time to ask what's behind his wish to be invisible, because I don't want this conversation to become too heavy and ruin the date.

"So, what is your biggest fear now?"

"Losing you for good." The fact he's staring straight into my eyes, no hint of a smile visible, tells me this is an honest answer.

I can't help but smile, because his answer tells me he's just as much in love with me as I am with him. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Me neither."

"Good." I smile. "Because I'd drag you by that sexy hair of yours..."

'...and lock me in your room." He chuckles before a warm, loving smile appears on his face. "I should have done the same to you when you left."

"You should have, really." I nod. "I'm really sorry I didn't want to listen."

"It's in the past, let's leave it there, okay?" The smile is still there, but it isn't as wide as it was. "Let's focus on the future, okay?"

"I'd like that." I nod. "Thanks for giving me a chance."

"Thanks for proving me you needed a chance." He chuckles softly, watching to the food that the waitress puts in between us on the table, forcing us to let go of each other's hands. "You have redeemed yourself."