Conor and Ian sat at opposite sides of the table with a map of El Capitan's mountain routes. Conor pointed at the routes along the granite sheet. Ian nodded. They exchanged words, planning out their trip once the snow began to melt. The white pelted down outdoors. Ian nervously contributed to the conversation and Conor rose his arms and started screaming as more ideas poured into his already heavily occupied brain, pushing all irrelevant thoughts to the back of his mind. He abruptly stood up making Ian slightly jolt in his seat. Conor, not noticing how nervous he was making the other, continued to run around the dining room, shouting his ideas at the top of his lungs.

Conor ran towards the front door where a wooden desk sat. He pulled the draw open and grabbed a highlighter. He ran back to his beginning position and highlighted there path of climb. Up Free Zodiac and then across to Lunar Eclipse. The two boys had never come face to face with this monstrous mountain though they both looked forward to it. They'd waited for this day to come for years.

"Could you please calm down, Conor?" Ian quietly asked.

Conor looked up from the map and stared at Ian. He showed his white teeth. "Sure. Sorry, Ian."

Ian simpered and pulled at the sleeves of his pale yellow hoodie with his muscular but dainty fingers. Conor couldn't help the thoughts that flew through his mind. The two returned to the map and continued to study it further. Ian's thin lips occasionally curled up at the sides while the other couldn't help the beaming expression plastered across his face. Conor reached for the hair tied back in a loose bun. He pulled out the hair-tie and snapped it on his thick wrist. His shoulder length wavy black hair fell behind him.

"Conor? Your phone," Ian muttered.

"Huh? What about it?" Conor said as he continued staring at the large map, mapping out the crux's of the adventure the two would be going on soon.

"I can see it lighting up in the mirror."

Conor slowly and hesitantly tore his eyes off the map and towards his phone. It indeed was lighting up like rapid fire. Conor slid back the wooden chair and sauntered towards his phone. His mama was texting him frantically.

"I'm gonna call my mama. Be back soon," Conor said and grabbed his phone.

He walked out of the dining room and across the hallway to a cream carpeted room. He back flopped onto the blue sheeted bed and called his mama.

"You can stop freaking out, mama," he said calmly.

"Are you alright? Has the heating stopped working? What's going on over there?" She frantically asked questions.

"Calm down. Nothing's happening here. The snow is falling hard though. Why?"

"You haven't watched the news yet? Well, you're snowed in. You can't leave the house. It's too dangerous. There are a few suburbs with no power. Your mum and I are stuck in the airport. The planes have been delayed for three days," she said worriedly.

"What? We're snowed in!" Conor shouted.

"Yeah. You can't leave the house until the snow stops falling and they clear the roads."

"You have to be kidding me. This is an absolute disaster." Conor groaned.

"Look on the bright side. You get to spend time with Ian," she said suggestively.

"Shut up mama," he paused, "make sure mum is alright."

"I will, don't worry. Give me daily updates on what's going on over there, alright? See you soon," she said and hung up.

Conor's arm went limp and he groaned. "I'm stuck in here for three days, all alone with Ian."

Conor let his phone droop to the bed sheets and brought his hands up to smack both sides of his face. He smiled. "Cheer up, Conor. It isn't that bad," he tried to convince himself.

He stood up and walked with a pep in his step towards Ian. He informed the other of their situation and Ian looked surprised and nervous.

"I don't have any clothes," Ian whispered.

"Don't worry. You can wear mine," Conor said with a goofy grin.

Ian's short brown hair fell in front of his face as he stared at his legs. Conor grinned. "Don't be such a downer. It'll be so much fun. We can binge watch movies, try on Connie's dresses and do many other things."

Ian looked back up at Conor with a small smile. "Yeah..."

Conor grabbed the map off the table and folded it back up and placed it at the edge of the table. "I'm so hungry. Are you hungry? You must be hungry? Oh my gosh, we should eat something," Conor said with realisation.

"I guess I'm a little bit peckish," Ian replied and stood up.

He followed the taller male into the kitchen. The marble countertops shimmered in the bright artificial light. The cupboards had been cleaned to the point where germs would shiver away from its cleanliness. The fridge stood in clear sight with family photos and achievements held in place on the fridge with memorable magnets from their family trips.

Conor strolled over to the fridge and nearly ripped the door off its hinges. The contents shook in surprise. He rummaged through the contents, pushing things to the side until he found something that he knew tasted good.

"Hey, Ian?" He said as he pulled out the cheese.

"Yeah?"

"Have you ever had red cheese?"

"Uh, no," he replied awkwardly.

Conor whipped his head around to face the shorter male. "What!" He shouted.

"Yeah, uh, sorry?"

"You've never had red cheese? Oh honey, you are missing out on the essence of life. Red cheese is rich and full of flavour. It gives me purpose, it's the reason why I still stand on this earth. The reason I have been able to accomplish so much in my short life span. Red cheese gives me power and life. It fills my soul with unimaginable power. Without it, I wouldn't be standing on this earth. Thank you for listening to my Ted Talk," he laid upon the other boy.

"That was...interesting. I should try it," Ian said with a smile.

"Yay!" Conor cheered.

He pulled out a chopping board, a knife, bread, butter and two plates. He grabbed out a few other ingredients and got to work on making top tier sandwiches. The entire time, he acted as if he had mastered cooking, all while trying to impress Ian. Ian would chuckle at Conor's stupid comments on how he was making his food so much better than anyone else could.

By the time Conor had finally mastered his sandwiches, he had tomato splatters on his fresh white shirt. He handed Ian his respectful plate and they walked back into the dining room. Conor set his plate down and said, "I'm going to change my shirt now. You can watch if you want. I wouldn't blame you if you'd fallen in love with this beauty," he threw some modelling poses to the other man who had a faint baby pink dancing gently over his soft ivory skin. Conor couldn't help but let out a titter. Ian shrunk into his seat further.

Conor removed himself from the room and pulled off his shirt to reveal the small but strongly packed muscles, veins clearly noticeable. He pulled on another shirt that hugged his body tightly, only to tease the shy boy.