The familiar picturesque scenery gradually becomes more evident, as the train hurries along to the next stop: Goring and Streatley. The sensation of nerves starts to build up in George's stomach again; he knows he has nothing to fear, but the idea of seeing his friend face-to-face makes him feel some sort of unexplainable way. Of course, this isn't a negative feeling — but it's enough to make George feel slightly sick. The tannoy announces the next station; this is when his heart starts to palpitate.

"Here we go again," he murmurs to himself under his breath, as he grabs his bag from the seat next to him; and he heads towards the vestibule area to alight. With an inhalation through his nose, and an exhalation through his mouth to calm him, he leaves the train. With his ticket in his hand, a wave of peacefulness washes over him; despite pining to come back, he forgot just how much he adored this special little village until now. He exits the station, knowing which car is Levi's already. He heads straight for it, spotting his friend getting out the vehicle ready to greet him.

"Hello again," he beams, a lock from his black quiff falling over his forehead as he tilts his head. "It's great to have you back."

"It's great to be back," George agrees, moving towards the passenger side of the car. "What's on the cards for today?"

"I'm unsure of what you expect from a little village," Levi answers with a chuckle. "We covered most bases last time you came."

"So we'll re-cover them," George decides, feeling he knows the area better this time to pass judgement. "We can go for a walk, and sit on that bench again ... and watch the river. Doesn't that sound nice to you?"

"Of course. It's nice to have the company to do it with, too." With a genuine smile from Levi, they both get into the vehicle; they drive back into the village centre and park in the same spot as they did the last time George visited.

"So, I got you a little something," George snickers, pulling out the envelope he promised during their phone call earlier in the week. "Your totally-not-creepy photograph of little me. Oh, and a pigeon, because I had to upstage your feeble effort."

"Man." Levi exaggerates a gasp, even going as far as pressing his hand to his chest in false shock. "I've met my match. My photograph of Meggy is simply not enough." He takes the envelope from George, untucking where it's been folded closed to expose the images inside. He pulls them out, examining them both one-by-one. "Wow, little George is really something else."

"Disgusting, right?" George can't help but visibly cringe at the sight of his younger self. "You can totally see why he got bullied."

"Not at all. It's adorable," Levi corrects him, laughing a little. "It's nothing compared to how I used to look. But that's a photo for the next time we see one another."

"I'll hold you to that." George grins, glancing back down at the photos in Levi's hands. "Anyway, put them away. I don't want us to scare anybody who happens to walk by the car."

"You're so hard on yourself." Despite this protest, Levi does as George says; slipping the pictures back into the envelope neatly. "But regardless, let's go and have a little walk-about." He unbuckles his seatbelt, prompting George to do the same; the pair get out of the car, and George stands patiently while Levi checks it's locked. "Right. Let's go."

Their walk to the river is brief, what with Levi's home being so close to it. As he catches sight of the gorgeous water, George can't help but sigh in content; the only poignant element to this is knowing he has to return to London in a few hours. His brows furrow sadly at this fact, which Levi spots.

"You look disappointed."

Levi's speech causes George's head to snap around to face him; he forces a faint smile in acknowledgement. "It's just knowing I can't be here after a few hours have passed. You know, I'd move here in a heartbeat if I had no ties to London."

"And if you were rich?" Levi suggests, with a chuckle. "Because it's pretty, but it's also expensive here."

"Of course." His eyes move down to the gravelled path below his feet; even such a simple element of this place, like the ground he walks on, is endearing to him. "I just feel so much peace here. Tranquility. It's so different to the way life is in the capital."

"I can imagine." Levi shrugs, knowing that he's lucky to be somewhere so enchanting — yet wanting to make his pal feel better about his respective situation. "But you have all the cool sights in London. Big Ben. The London Eye. Buckingham Palace."

"Fun fact — Big Ben is the bell inside the clock tower," George comments, seeing it as relevant. "It isn't the clock tower itself."

"I know. I'm educated. I just call it that for ease." Levi rolls his eyes playfully, glancing across at the river. "But either way, you've got all the famous stuff. That must be cool."

"When you live somewhere long enough, the novelty wears off," George corrects him matter-of-factly. "It was cool going to those places growing up. But as an adult, all I want to do is leave really."

"I understand." Wanting to make the conversation a little more lighthearted, he changes the subject. "Anyway, should we go and sit on the bench? Then our legs won't ache."

"Yeah, of course." George follows Levi, as he leads him over to the same bench they shared last time. The pair take a seat; with George crossing one leg over the other to make himself comfortable. He looks down at his attire for the day — his leather biker jacket; a nice black button-up shirt; and some slim-fit black trousers. "What do you think of the outfit today?"

"Certainly less mustard," Levi jibes, grinning in amusement. "I like it. You look edgy. Last time you looked very ... soft."

"So jumpers are soft now?" George raises a single brow, before his fingers move up to rub his nose quickly. "I was expecting 'camp', but not so much 'soft'."

"You know exactly what I mean. You look like a different person with a badass jacket on, and you know it." Levi snickers, shaking his head at George. "What do you think of my outfit, anyway?"

George takes a moment to observe what Levi is wearing; this time, he has on a black military-style jacket, with a red shirt underneath (which, of course, appears less red for George due to his slight colourblindness). He has on black slim-fit slacks, with black loafers; George acknowledges to himself that he knows exactly who the inspiration was behind this look.

"Michael Jackson?" is all he utters; when Levi's expression becomes a little embarrassed, he laughs. "Hey, I think his style is cool. No negativity here."

"You mean that?" Levi beams, his mood seemingly boosted just by his friend's complimentary attitude. "It isn't as if I've fully copied him ... I just took light inspiration. Although I do agree that his style is amazing." As he continues to discuss his passion, he sets his gaze in one fixed position. "I mean, that jacket he wore in Thriller really was something else. And did you see the red sparkly one he wore for the American Music Awards back in '84? Now that was iconic. And how could you forget the jacket from Beat It? That one was pretty simple, but he's Michael Jackson — so he could make it look like the most stylish thing anyone could ever wear. And the hat he wears for the live version of Billie Jean! Have you seen that? It literally doesn't even go with the sequin jacket at all; but somehow he makes it work so well. Don't you think? Like, my goodness! I could talk about this guy's fashion sense all day, and ... "

While Levi is gushing about his idol, George watches him in awe; the way he's smiling as he talks mingles perfectly with the sun hitting his chiselled facial features. When they'd spoken on the phone about this topic previously, the level of interest Levi had in his voice was one thing — but seeing the expressions and the mannerisms in real life is entirely different. Although George doesn't have the same level of enthusiasm for the artist that his friend clearly does; it suddenly seems as if it's the most amazing subject to talk about in the world. He questions whether it's because he likes Michael Jackson's music; however, as he continues to gaze at Levi reeling off sentence after sentence, an agonising pang of terrifying awareness hits him. It prevents him from being able to pay attention to whatever else he's saying; his lips part, as he turns his head away from Levi for a moment. He stares off into space, unsure of what he can say, or how he can act in order to conceal the signs of the epiphany he's having.

He curses in his mind several times over, but nothing can reduce the overwhelming feelings that rush through his head. In an attempt to forget what he's experiencing, he looks back over at Levi; he's still talking about the same thing, but this only triggers George's brain to think of exactly what he's trying to push from his conscious.

'Stop it,' he tells himself silently, not wanting to speak out loud for fear of Levi hearing. 'You're going crazy.'

But is he going crazy? Or, is he just frightened of the realisation that he's trying to deny: that maybe, just maybe — for the first time in his life — he is experiencing intense, authentic feelings for somebody? The reason he is so willing to listen to this ongoing verbal essay about a singer he has minimal interest in, is because the person speaking is someone George finds himself at a loss for words over. His breathing hitches in his throat a moment, as he tries to talk himself out of the way he is perceiving Levi.

'You don't like him like that,' he assures himself. 'He's a good friend. Both of you being gay doesn't mean you need to fancy him.'

"Don't you think?"

Levi's question is the push George needs for him to zone back in to reality; he looks to Levi with widened eyes, desperate for a shred of context for the mini interrogation that's just been put to him.

"S-Sorry," George apologises shyly. "I didn't quite catch the last bit." Although this is a lie, he doesn't wish to upset Levi by telling him he didn't listen to any part of his rant.

"It's fine." Levi laughs, before repeating what he said before. "I said, back when Thriller first came out ... I'm fairly sure everyone wanted to dress like him, don't you think?"

"Ah. Yeah, definitely." Feeling relief that the inquiry wasn't too difficult to answer, he nods. "And everyone had the curly hair like him, too."

"I have to admit I did that too," Levi replies bashfully. "But hey — I think I made it work. Having dark hair definitely helped my case."

"Definitely." George is entirely stuck on what to say to keep the conversation going, by now; he offers a small smile at best.

"Anyway ... enough of me going on and on about stuff you couldn't give a damn about," Levi self-deprecates. "Maybe we should go and grab some lunch."

"Great," George agrees quickly, rising from the bench abruptly; it would be a lie to say that his head isn't full of profound thoughts, which are largely distracting him from all sense of typical human functionality. "Same place as before? Works for me." He heads in the direction of the pub-restaurant they dined in the last time he visited, leaving Levi slightly confused as to what's gotten into George out of nowhere.

•••

"Another wonderful day," Levi comments, once the pair are back at the train station, ready for George's departure. "I'll look forward to the next one. And of course, the phone calls that come beforehand."

"Me too." By now, George has calmed down a little; although, he has yet to block out the immense and repetitive ideas that circle in his mind. "I'll call you some point soon. Whenever Stephanie isn't around."

"Sounds like a plan."

The train starts to pull up to the platform, so the men say their goodbyes to one another for the day; as George gets on, he looks over his shoulder at the stunning male he's had the pleasure of spending the day with. Levi flashes a smile, raising his hand up to give a wave; George returns this, as the train pulls off. The journey home is a quiet one; with one reason being he has nobody to talk to, and another being how sad he suddenly feels to be leaving Goring again. After an hour or so, he arrives back into London; the sight of the big city fills him with dread in a way he could never describe. He evaluates, as he walks home, that he needs to try and pick his mood up — so he remembers the fantastic day he's just had with fondness. It's enough to bring the corners of his mouth upwards; and of course, it reminds him of how lucky he is to have Levi in his life.

When he gets home, he remembers — after forgetting for the duration of his journey home — that Stephanie isn't in; it's Saturday night, meaning she has gone out with her friends for the evening. This brings him a little more joy; as it means he can do whatever he wishes to for at least a few hours more. He enters the house, locking the door behind him; then, he heads up to the bedroom to write in his diary immediately. There's too much in his head, to not do so.

Dear diary,

What a day it's been once again! I went to Goring to see Levi, and it was wonderful. We sat by the river again, and had lunch in the same place we did the first time. And this time around, I didn't spill food down my outfit! We spoke a lot, and got to know each other a lot more. But boy, does he have an obsession with Michael Jackson! He could talk about the guy for hours and hours if you let him. But I think it's nice. It's nice having a passion, something to talk about. And I like listening to it. Overall, it's been a perfect day. Or as close as you can possibly get to perfect.

He halts his writing, as he hears the answerphone beep downstairs. Curious, he shuffles off the bed, setting the diary down on the mattress to go and investigate. Once he arrives downstairs, he finds he has a new voicemail; he picks up the phone to listen to it.

"Hi, it's me." Levi's nervous laughter shudders down the line. "You said Stephanie wouldn't be in, so I knew I was safe to leave this message. Just make sure you delete it after you've heard it."

"Tosser," George chuckles between Levi's words.

"But anyway, I just wanted to thank you for coming today. And thank you for coming into my life, too. I know it was only by chance, but you're really one of the best people I've ever met. I really appreciate you, Georgios. And yeah — I practised saying that a million times before I made this call." He laughs again, evidently a little anxious — but in the sweetest way. "I really enjoyed today, anyway. I hope you did too. Call me whenever you get the chance to. You're amazing, and I wish you would remember that. You listen to me when nobody else will, and that's something I've never had. You have my humour, which I've never found in anybody either. It's great. You're great. A great friend." He sighs, almost as if he's being annoying. "Sorry. Listen to me harping on. Anyway, I'll leave you be for now. Hope you sleep well tonight. See you soon, George."

The voice message causes George to smile wider than he ever recalls smiling in his lifetime; as much as he wishes to keep the message forever, he knows he must delete it to hide it from Steph. Once he's done so, he heads back to his room to continue his diary entry. Before he heard the answerphone, he'd had so many ideas of what to write. Now, he can only think of one point he needs to make note of.

Oh goodness me, dear diary! One thing I should add. It's something I shouldn't be adding, but I just cannot help myself. And besides, I trust these pages more than most people. So, here goes.

Dear diary,

Today I did something I thought I'd never do.

For the first time in my life, I fell, so hopelessly, so beautifully, and so earth-shatteringly hard. And it is as though everything in my life now has meaning, and everything around me has finally fallen into place.

Is this really what love is? If it is, then for years I have denied myself the most breathtaking bliss a man could ever wish to experience. Something so raw and authentic, that I could fall to my knees in tears. What a wonderful world I live in, now that my eyes have been opened to what I have missed all my life. And even if nothing ever happened between us — I finally know what it's like to feel these intense emotions for someone, 100% unconditionally.

And it's beautiful. It's all beautiful.

A very dizzy, giddy Yog xx

•••

Aww, George has a puppy crush on Levi! How cute is he? xx