It was late in the evening when Alex finally went in to check on Henry for real this time. The whole day he went inside the room peaking his head in and see he still asleep on his side and he refused to wake him up just yet. He was worried for a while when Henry didn't wake up for lunch nor dinner but when Alex tries to wake him up, Henry groaned and told him to leave instead.

He was still upset about earlier but by the time it was almost nine in the evening, he got even worried at him. It wasn't until a sound of a door slammed shocked him and he jumped from his couch running towards Henry's room.

Henry was no where inside the room when he barged in. The bedroom door however was half opened and there's light coming from the other side. Alex taps on the bedroom light to help giving a bit of brightness in the bedroom before he went to the bathroom to check on Henry.

"Henry?" He called pushing the door opened only to find Henry on the floor sprawled on his stomach. "Hey, hey." He helped Henry to flip on his back when he noticed the wheezed sound coming from Henry's throat. His hand clutches on his chest wrinkling the shirts he had on that made Alex worried.

"Hey, hey breathe slowly Henry." He instructed him but Henry was barely keeping his eyes opened. He had him leaned against his chest on the floor while Alex leaned back against the tub. He pressed his palm over Henry's forehead to feel his burning skin that made him clicked his tongue again.

"Christ Henry I told you to take the Tylenol. You're gonna fit like this." Alex curses under his breath but Henry was out of breath to answer him.

"C-Can't b-breathe." Henry mutters in difficulty leaning his head back against Alex's shoulder. He could hear his throat tightened at each breaths before Alex grabbed his phone from his pocket. He taps on Cash's number but as soon as the calls connected, it fails. "Fuck!" Alex cursed wanting to throw the phone to the wall but he needed it for the moment and there is one person he could call to help him right now.

"Alex? What the hell? Why are you calling at this hour?" Zahra was pissed when she answered his call but Alex couldn't care less. He needed help and no one is going to help him other than her.

"Zar I need help!" Alex told her and clearly she can hear the panic in his voice. 

"Alex? What is it? Are you hurt?" She asks and Alex can hear rumbled behind her.

"What's going on?" The other voice chirped in and Alex knows Shan is awake too.

"I uhh- I'm fine but my friend. He's sick. He had fever all day and now he can't breathe." Alex told her and she sighed longly before answering him.

"Alex tried to call the ambulance dumbass, why are you calling me?" She asks him.

"It's storm outside and I doubt there would be any ambulance that would come for a low priority call. Please Zar! You are a nurse once. You can help." He begs and for once in his life, he begged not for his own but for other people's life.

"Okay, okay let me hear it." Zahra told him and he brought the phone speaker closer to Henry's gaping mouth. Zahra listened to a full seconds before she replies.

"Alex sounds like your friend has a croup. Is he asthmatic?" She asks.

"Henry are you asthmatic?" Alex asks shaking his hand over his chest which Henry shook his head at him.

"Wait. Henry? As in Henry, Nora's friend?" She asks and Alex silently cursing banging the phone over his forehead. "No! Different Henry! Focus Zahra!" Alex yelled at her.

"Okay, okay. Sorry. What you need right now is to turn on the shower to the hottest one. Closed the window and leave the door just a slight opened so you can breathe. Let the room steamed up and Henry would feel better after breathing in the steam. Tried that and if it doesn't work, you need to call the ambulance Alex. You hear me?"

"But his fever." Alex was already up and turning on the shower while Henry leaned against the tub clutching on his chest while Alex jumped over his sprawled leg to close the door a little to let the room filled up.

"It will be fine. Just keep a cold clothes over his forehead and once his breathing is fine, get him some Tylenol." Zahra instructed and Alex nods frantic into the phone. "Thank you Zar. I owe you one." He said ending the call which he knows Zahra refused for him to do so but he didn't want her to know Henry is here, especially Shan.

"Okay Henry this would help." He sat beside him pressing the cold towel over his forehead when Henry shivers at the coldness touching his skin. "Sorry. Sorry." Alex mutters pressing the cloth over his burning skin when his vision got blurred by the steamed starting to fill up the room.

Slowly, he could finally see Henry's breathing became slower, coordinated unlike previously his breathing was short and forceful. Henry was almost falling asleep with his head tilted to the side before his eyes shot opened to see Alex sitting besides him.

"Easy. Just me." He says holding his shoulder down from falling to the side and Henry relaxed after his voice finally calming him down.

Alex stood up from the floor, turning off the shower before opening the vent and the door wide to let the steam subsides. He went inside the bedroom and came back few minutes later with his hand clutched and a glass of water on the other. "Here." He handed Henry the glass of water which he accepted it with a shaking hands.

Henry gulped the water rapidly almost choking on the swallow but continued to drink it till half a glass. Alex sat back down next to him with their thighs touching together. Henry is practically drenched with sweats by now and there's sweat marks over his neck soaking his shirt.

"Here." Alex handed him a couple of white pills in his palm which Henry eyed him sternly and fearfully at the sight of those pills. "It's just Tylenol. It's not an ecstasy or anything. I'm not here to drug you." Alex commented seeing Henry is eyeing the pills in his hand with fear clearly in his eyes.

"I-I'm fine." Henry says turning his head away from him but Alex sighed before pulling his phone and googled the other name for Tylenol and showed Henry a picture of his search.

"See? It's this para-ceta-mol." He spelled the words to explain to Henry in hope he knows what it meant. "Oh." Henry says weakly after finding out what Tylenol meant in this country. Alex pulled Henry's palm out before placing the pills over his cupped hands.

"Take it." He instructed Henry and he did. Alex sighed in relief when he sees Henry gulped the remaining tablet before placing the glass down beside him.

"What happened?" Alex asks after a while of silenced. The bathroom has dissipate into a normal view with no steam in sight.

"I got this a lot if I was sick. My throat felt like it was on fire and it's hard to breathe." Henry explained which Alex nods silently next to him. "What about earlier? When you slapped me for handing you the pills?" He asks and Henry was silent.

"I was showing you kindness I showed no one and the least you can do is respected that. I could have thrown you out on the streets in this cold blizzard but I didn't. So tell me something to make me understand your weird self or I am done." Alex stern voice cause Henry to pressed his lips together before he turned to face him.

"I'm sorry." He says at first which Alex nods back at him. "Apologies accepted. Still doesn't explained what the hell happened." Alex continued.

"I was terrified of being drug by strangers. Especially the strangers that had me kidnapped since last night."

"I did not kidnapped you! You passed out on the streets and I brought you back here! Was that a crime? If yes then I'd be glad to throw you back in the streets then!" Alex defends which earned Henry a snickered laugh at his defends.

"Then why do you keep me here still?" Henry asks which Alex scoffed turning his gaze forward. "I don't know." He replied and for once, Henry believed him.

He wanted to say something else but was betrayed by his own stomach grumbling in hunger and Alex laughs at him. "Come on. Changed. I got some food for you." He says standing up from the floor and handed out his palm for Henry. He eyed the opened invitation and softly accepted it.

His head was dizzy when he stood up and almost stumbling back on the floor but Alex caught him pressing his body closed to his muscular chest. "Easy." Alex mutters feeling their face inches away from each other. Henry's hot breaths fanning over his lips and Henry eyes are burning gaze into his face.

Henry could feel his hand wrapped tightly around his waist and there's no sign of Alex letting him go anytime soon. Henry could feel the dizziness betrays him when Alex's image doubled and Henry tries to shake the blurriness away. He focused on Alex's eyes that was to his surprised was nothing like he had seen before.

He knows Alex's eyes are brown but tonight, his eyes are like chestnut colored and the closer he looked, he could spots few specks of golden honey colored in them. He was lost by Alex's curled eyelashes that he envied since the day they met. His nose that was sharp as his chin with the little split over the tip connected to his cupid bow made everything about him is perfect.

He studied the amount of line and curves of Alex's face when he noticed the tightening grip over his waist. Alex was holding on his breaths when Henry still holding on to his shoulder and their legs are practically tangled in each other.

"Are you okay to stand?" Alex asks swallowing his throat in process when Henry nodded for an answer. Slowly, the grip loosen and Henry almost whined at the lost contact. "I'll heat up the food." Alex suggest pulling away from Henry's grip which he could feel the cold distance starts building in between them.

"Thank you." Henry whispered softly turning Alex's gaze back at him with a simple nod.

.

Henry came out later wearing Alex's simple black long sleeves shirt and he still had his sweatpants on when he saw Alex placing the dinner over the table in the living room. Henry pulled the sleeves down towards the end fingers before Alex spotted him.

"Let's eat." He says gesturing him to join which Henry did. He sat down on the couch leaving a decent amount of space between them. Henry saw the display of food before him. It was neither leftover nor ordered in, Alex cooked.

To his surprise, Alex seems to know what he was thinking about. "I know. I cooked. I barely cook since my schedule is super busy but sometimes I find it calming." Alex explained pouring out a porridge into Henry's bowl and sprinkled some white pepper and scallions on top.

"My dad always said nothing beats better than a calla de pollo for healing. But I made it a little different this time. Less spices, more ginger for your stomach and instead of rice, I think you would prefer to eat with porridge." He says handing Henry a spoon for him which he accepts with a smile.

Henry scooped a small amount on his spoon before he took a whiff of the scent. The smells of spices and the ginger already send him ease in his stomach. He finally took the spoon into his mouth and risen his eyebrow at him.

"This is delicious. Never had Mexican food before." Henry says before taking another spoon. Alex jaw dropped at Henry words beside him before taking the bowl from his hand.

"You're lying! You never had Mexican food in your life? Ever?!" Alex asks and Henry was furrowing his eyebrow back at him.

"You always brought Chinese or sushi and sometimes Thai for lunch which I never complaints but yeah. Never had it before." Henry says trying to grab the bowl from his hand but Alex held it higher.

"You're lying. What kind of person never had Mexican food in his entire- thirty years of his life?" Alex asks again which Henry rolled his eyes back at him.

"What difference does it make?" Henry says and Alex noticed the changes in his toned when he said that. "You're not lying. You're a virgin." He states turning Henry's head sharply at him. "I beg your pardon?!" He asks half yelled at him.

Alex smiled before handing him back the bowl in his hand which Henry takes it eventually. "Not a virgin-virgin. I meant food virgin." Alex says taking a spoonful himself and noticed Henry had stopped taking his portion.

"If I know you're a Mexican food virgin, I would have popped your virginity with something more special." Alex says causing Henry to drop his spoon loudly into the bowl.

"Can you stop saying that! It's degrading!" Henry says and Alex noticed the blushes formed on his cheek and ears. Alex never noticed it before but Henry does this a lot especially when he teased him more.

"What's so degrading about being a food virgin? I'm saying it's an honor to be able to taste first thing for a first time. I would give my life to be able to do things for the first time again." He says and noticed the smile returned on the corner of Henry's lips.

"What would be the first thing you wanna taste for the first time again?" He asks that made Alex stopped and stares into spaces before him.

"A lot." He replied briefly.

"I guess it won't be a first time but it would be the hundred times I could have instead." Alex says softly lowering his gaze down on the bowl in his hand.

"Tell me more." Henry asks and Alex sighed twirling the spoon inside the bowl. The mix of oil and spices floating on the surface brought memories of his own family.

"My mum's Texan breakfast. Bacon, eggs, pancakes. She always made it so perfect that no one could know her secrets how she made the bacon so crispy or the pancakes so fluffy. My dad's steaks and brisket. Or June's homemade lemon meringue cake. I could taste it in my mouth if I remember it hard enough." Alex explained which Henry felt a pang of guilt for asking him.

"I can teach you the recipe." June's voice echoed next to him and Henry tilted his head to find June sitting right next to Alex with her legs crossed over the couch.

Henry eyes watered when he saw her. She was smiling at Alex sitting right next to her and the way she hold herself back from touching him.

"What I wouldn't give to have all of that for just one more day." Alex says leaning against the couch with his broken smile.

"I know how you felt." Henry says remembering the time back in London. How his mother would make him the perfect baked beans and toast for breakfast. The sweet taste of the baked bean cooked with scrambled eggs before she fried up a sausage that has thin crispy skin. Henry still remembers the bite into the sausage that he had before.

His father might not be able to cook for them but each time he travels, he would returned with gifts and the trip to the ice cream store that Henry had been imagining too frequently in his mind, it seems like it was something he saw in a movies.

Or the memory of Bea's horrible mishap in the kitchen that almost burned their house down still lingers in Henry's mind. The tragedy that started off as an innocent surprised for their Mother's day turned into a trip to stay in a hotel for the night while they fixed their house that caught in fire. They were barely five at the time.

But it was the best memories they had since they all got to be in a same room together to sleep in and their father's snuggled up with them in the middle sending tears in Henry's eyes.

"Nora told me you lost your sister too. May I ask how?" He asks suddenly turning Henry's gaze back to the room and June was gone from the sight.

"Suicide." Henry replied softly. Alex fixed himself sitting to face Henry next to him when he noticed how silence he had gotten.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know that." He apologized but Henry faked a smile before he took another spoon into his mouth. "It's all in the past." Henry says dismissively which Alex choose to believe how he still hung up on the fact Henry barely recovers from her death.

But eventually he let it go. He let Henry eat in peace and the sound of the television with his favorite show was playing around the quiet apartment.

.

"I don't think it's fair on his account." Alex's voice breaks them halfway into the episodes. "How you mean?" Henry asks curling up on the couch contented and the headache had subsides from earlier.

"Monica had a boyfriend prior early of the show and he had a cigar habits which later when they broke up, she light up the cigar just because she misses him. Now later on the show, she manipulated her own husband out of spite just because he smokes some cigarettes which is a bit unfair." Alex explained which from the jist of the show Henry had never seen before, he understood the predicament.

"Sometimes loves makes you turned on a blind side. Maybe the first guy she broke up with was someone she had first real relationship with and coming to terms of that, she was a bit more cautious on the bad habit with her now husband. She loves them both in her own way." Henry explained which knocks some sense into Alex's mind.

He never though of it that way but it made him frowned at his words for saying it. Alex turned to face Henry on the side with his arms over the head of the couch right behind Henry's head.

"You're saying that love made people do things that made them refused to see it right or wrong?" Alex asks and Henry sighed turning his body to face Alex. His hair touches Alex's fingers over the couch as he leaned deep to the side.

"Like Nora did for you." Henry starts causing Alex to draw back a breath.

"She loves you unconditionally which I know you guys must have some sort of history before and now maybe you are not in a romantic relationship with each other but you both care for one another. She turned on blind eye when it comes to you. She knows what you did was wrong but she never reports you. She never told you to leave her alone or stay away from her which I think is a way of her not wanting to lose you to the crime you had committed."

"The crime I had committed?" Alex repeats pointing his fingers at his chest.

"Don't tell me your hand are clean Alexander. We both know that's a lie." Henry adds which cause Alex speechless. Each time he heard Henry called him by that name made his heart flutters and rendered him speechless over time.

"Touché." He replied letting his body slumped back into the couch but absentmindedly his fingers tracing over Henry soft blonde hair that sprawled over the couch.

"What is the worst crime you had committed?" Alex asks causing Henry to stares deeply in spaces before he answered.

"Being born." Henry says causing Alex to raise his body to face him but Henry ignores the burning stares from him and let his eyes wandered to the screen before him. The living room was dimmed enough for Alex not to see the tears that formed in Henry's eyes but he chose to hold it deep down burying his feelings away.

When the episode ended, Alex turned to face Henry already asleep on the couch with his arm crossed over his stomach. His head tilted to the side facing Alex but his eyes are closed and soft snores escaped from his nose. Alex somehow smiled sincerely at the sight of Henry sitting right next to him.

Alex didn't realized when his fingers starts tracing the line of Henry's head when he noticed a scar formed under his blonde hair. He didn't want to alarm Henry about finding out the scars he had in his head nor worrying himself about the fact he was hurt before.

But something about Henry sitting besides him voicing his point at him made him feels that he is not who he thinks he is. Henry was insightful. He sees the world differently than he does. In a world full of darkness, Henry was the light in between the dark.

He always sees good in people no matter how much the world had wronged him and Alex on the other hand had seen nothing but bad in people and everything around him is darkness and failure.

Alex sighed pulling his fingers back from tracing Henry's skin with a sighed. He grabbed a soft blanket from one of the cupboard in a hidden wall before draping it over Henry's body and left him to sleep over the couch that night.

.

"I don't fucking care! You told me you're gonna send me those wine by today so get it done! Storm or not or I fucking sue!" Alex was yelling at the phone again for the third time today and Henry was staring at him pacing around the apartment that he still stuck inside together.

"I don't fucking understand Italian asshole!" Alex screamed at the speaker when Henry decides to step in front of him and held his hand out. Alex furrowed at him before handing him the phone.

"Buongiorno señor." Henry starts and Alex's jaw falls at Henry communicating in perfect Italian in front of him.

"Si, si. Grazie. Quando esattamente?" Henry lifted his gaze at Alex still standing with his jaw still falls opened.

"When is your party?" He asks whispering at him and Alex raised his eyebrow at him.

"New Years Eve." He replied and Henry nods before continuing the conversation.

"Grazie, grazie mille. Sei una manna dal cielo señor. Grazie mille. Buon natale e felice anno nuovo." Henry ended the call before handed the phone back to Alex still standing frozen on the ground before him.

"Your people skill is affecting you doing your business Alexander. You're lucky he didn't sue you back. The wine will be there tomorrow provided you gave them a little tip for driving through the storm for you." Henry says turning himself towards the couch but Alex grabbed his arms back.

"How much?" He asks and Henry winced raising his fingers at him, "Twenty percent." He says in expectation of Alex bursting out in anger but ends up smiling his half dimple smiled at him. "Since when you speak Italian anyway?" He asks as Henry turned to head towards the living room when he stopped himself halfway.

How could he explained that to Alex that his family used to have a house in Tuscany where he spend all summers and sometimes winters with his family. He learned his Italian there when he was only five and he could admit his Italian had gotten better in time when he enrolled into Eton.

But he couldn't hide the fact that his Italian was still practiced when he was at Broadmoor when one of the doctor was actually Italian himself and he loves when Henry interacts with Henry in his native tongue. But it didn't help easing the treatment, it made him turned into a psychotic person that ends up using Henry as his sexual pleasure instead.

"It was part of school to learn a different language. You American is so uncultured that you guys only speaks English and Spanish." Henry says playfully at him but Alex was not the one to let it go. So instead he chased Henry and grabbed him by his waist pulling him over his shoulder making Henry's view of the apartment upside down.

He breaks into a laugh when Henry also giggled at him especially when Alex starts tickling his side. "Stop! Stop! Alex! Oh God stop!" Henry tries to wiggled his way out of Alex gripped but Alex was not gonna let him go anytime soon when he slammed Henry down on the couch and continues to tickled his side.

Henry's laughter breaks in the apartment and Alex was smiling widely at the sight of Henry laughing underneath him. "Say we're uncultured again I dare ya!" Alex warned tickling Henry sides with his finger which send Henry into a fit of laughter.

"You're not! You're not! Oh God please." Henry tries to break free when Alex locked his wrist in his hand above his head with his face lowered inches from Henry's flushing face.

They both pants in their breath when the tickled finally stops and Henry realized his legs was wrapped around Alex's waist with him practically on top of Henry.

"Be my plus one at the party." Alex whispered swallowing his throat from asking Henry such questions. Henry gulped his throat before his own mind could think, his heart betrayed him by nodding at him.

He could feel his heart racing further when Alex smiled at his reply. His dimple was curved deep into his cheek as he let his fingers traced over the line of Henry's jaw. "You are different." He whispered causing Henry to gulp his throat further. Their hot breaths fanning over each other and he could see Alex's licking his lower lips to soothe the dry cracks on his lips.

"Well this is a development." A sudden voice breaks them both apart and Alex shot up from the couch to see Cash standing by the door with Nora beside him.

"Seriously?! You haven't returned my calls or my text because you were with Henry this whole time?!" Nora yelled tossing the box of gifts in her hands toward Alex but he caught it in time. Henry peaked through the couch from under Alex's surprised at Nora sudden appearance in the apartment.

"What are you doing here?" Alex asks putting the box down on the floor next to him before Nora tossed another and almost hits Henry on his head. But surprisingly for both of them, Alex protectively wrapped his arms around Henry's head to block the hit and the box hits his shoulder instead.

Nora gaped at the gesture before turning her head towards Cash next to her.

"Did he just-" she asks and Cash half smiled shrugged his shoulders at her. "It's a good thing right?" He asks and Nora returned her gaze at Henry standing up from the couch looking apologetic at her.

"We haven't done presents. You left so early and I haven't got to give you your presents." Nora says shoving Henry a small box in his hand. "Nora you shouldn't. You know I never wanted anything." Henry says but Nora clicked her tongue shoving the remaining bag into Alex's chest. "Move." She told him as she pushed her way towards Henry on the couch and Alex shook his head at her.

"You couldn't at least gives me a heads up?" He asks Cash standing in between them smiling at him. "I did. You just not bothered to reply." He says and Alex noticed the text was in between the calls he made just now which is why he missed it.

"Opened it." Nora was jumping in excitement at Henry opening his first present before his eyes darted towards Alex behind her sitting on the arm rest with his knees folded and that dimple smile curved on his face.

Henry eyes focused on the box in his hand when his jaw dropped. It was an iPhone that Nora had bought for his Christmas presence.

"Not something you want but something you need." She says when she realized Henry was holding on the phone box in his hand.

"Seriously. You need it." Alex adds lifting Henry's gaze back at him.

"You guys shouldn't-" Henry voice choked at the thought of them buying him a phone when Henry realized the only thing he got them was a simple present of their past.

"Okay your turn." Nora says handing Alex a box which he sighed noticing that Cash had disappeared into the kitchen pouring out glasses of eggnog that he had brought together with him.

Alex laughs at Nora's present of knitted scarf she had been doing for the last couple of months for him. "It's finally finished huh." Alex says twirling the scarf over his neck feeling the knitted woolen material brushing on his neck.

"I believe this is Henry's for you." Nora says handing him a piece of oil paper he had wrapped with a small red bow on the side. "Wait! No!" Henry tried to stop him but it was too late when Alex ripped open the gifts in seconds. His breath hitched at the sight of the piece of paper in his hand and Henry can see his eyes glistened.

Alex looked up to meet Henry's gaze when Nora got up to see what the paper contained.

"It was daft. I'm not an artist but it's just- something so you could remember her." Henry says and Alex tears began to roll down on his cheek. "Henry it was beautiful." Nora says holding the drawing of Alex and June hugging each other like it was a portrait of themselves right at the moment.

Henry managed to capture the smiled on their face with Alex wrapping his arms around June from behind while smiles perfectly like he had remembered.

"It's perfect." Alex mutters stroking June's face with his thumb before Nora wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him into her hug.

.

"So you speak Italian, you can draw like a Da Vinci and what else can you do Henry?" Alex asks after they all ate some lunches Cash had brought with them. The storm had quiet down for about few hours when he went to pick up Nora and brought her here.

"I dunno. Maybe we'll wait and see what I can do to surprise you." Henry replies jokingly which earned Alex his earnest smile. Nora noticed the gaze from both of them when they were interrupted by Alex's phone ringing and he excused himself to pick it up. Cash had gone home an hour ago leaving these three by themselves when Nora finally get Henry to talk in private.

"Careful Henry." Nora starts earning him a glanced.

"You don't want to be in the middle of him and his business. I suggest you forget whatever your thoughts you had with him. Trust me." Nora warned which confuses Henry.

"Shouldn't I say the same to you?" Henry asks and Nora sighed.

"Look I care about you but Alex is not someone to play with. I don't want to see both of you got hurt. Especially him." Nora says earning Henry a long exhaled.

"I know Nora. I never would hurt him any way." He replies but Nora shook her head before placing her palm on Henry's hand.

"You don't understand Henry. Alex is complex. He is complicated. Not that I said he didn't deserved someone like you but I don't want Alex to get caught up with your past nor you in his. Remember this." Nora says and before Henry could say anything else, Alex came back into the kitchen interrupting them.

"So the party is going to be lit. I know it's going to beat last years party." Alex says cheery and noticed the room had gone silent with Henry lowering his gaze on his hand while Nora continued to chew on her food.

"Ask me about the theme." Alex asks her nudging her elbow which she clicked her tongue back at him.

"What?" She asks briefly.

"Masquerade ball." Alex says raising his palm to elaborate his words.

"I got you a dress and a mask. I'm sure I can find one for you Henry." He says tapping on his phone rapidly in excitement. Henry looked up to see Nora signing her head to say no but Henry had already promised him to be his plus one at the ball. So saying no to him would be hell.

"On second thought Alex. I don't think I can be there." Henry says stopping Alex from typing away on the phone which Henry regretted immediately when he sees the furrowed eyebrow are back.

"What? Why?" He asks.

"Uhm, I think I will try some extra work on that day." Henry lied but Alex raised an eyebrow at him in disbelief.

"You wanna work on New Years Eve?" He asks and Henry gulped nodding at him.

"Work with me then. Be a waiter or whatever I can try to squeeze you in." Alex says which ended up leaving Henry and Nora in the kitchen alone while he went to make few calls.

Nora left after a while seeing her presence there would means she has to see the side of Alex that she had longed forgotten, the happy one that would made her regrets later in life.

Henry eyed Alex talking about the party endlessly feeling that guilt creeping up inside of him. "Don't listen to Nora." The voice made him jumped a little when he turned to see June sitting next to him. Henry didn't say anything except feeling the coldness brushes besides him.

"He's happy. I never seen him this happy. After all these years." She whispered distantly in Henry's mind. "You made him happy." She added resting herself closer with her palm over Henry's hand on his thigh but Henry gasped when a flashes of image flooded his mind.

It was seconds but Henry can see it. Dark tall towers with no windows. Chains clanking against the wall and dripping of water hits the puddle echoing around the small area. His breath hitched when he turned abruptly at her sitting next to him. His eyebrow furrowed at her when he realized it wasn't his memories that he sees, it was hers.

"Hen, you okay?" Alex asks since he hasn't been paying attention to him. He was looking at his side with his breaths quicken in seconds. "Henry?" Alex pulled his chin back to face him when he noticed Henry was pallor than earlier. His lips are practically white and his tears are glistening in his eyes begging to fall.

"What is it?" He asks but Henry shook his head at him before he stood abruptly from the couch. "I have to go." He mumbles making bee line towards the exit.

"What? No! What are you talking about?" He asks stopping Henry by his wrist when Henry had another flashes of image in his mind. The images of Alex standing over June's bed that was covered with bloods. The wall had painted red with splashes of blood that wasn't supposed to be there.

Alex was screaming. His howling scream that made Henry's stomach churned that caused him to pull his arm back away from Alex's grip.

"Don't touch me." Henry says before stumbling to open the door of his apartment and finally running for his life.

"Henry!" Alex yelled from the hallway but Henry was already at the end and just in time the elevator opened to let him in. Alex was seconds away to stop him when Henry pressed the button to close it and Alex missed him.

Henry was glad that Alex's loft was a penthouse at the top of the building so there is no way he would run down in stairs to catch up with him.

The images keep flooding in his mind by the time he was out from the elevator. He couldn't differentiate the reality nor the flashes of his own mind causing him to stumble his way into each and every person that was in his way. But somehow he made it through and out from the apartment.

"What did you see?" June's voice came back when he was out from the apartment trying to find his way back home.

"Stop! Don't talk to me." Henry pushed her away from his mind and continued to walk along the sidewalk in hope he would go home in peace.

Surprisingly enough for Henry, he managed to find his way home by his own. The storm had passed and the sidewalk is covered with snow and ice. Henry almost slipped down the stairs when he was descending but luckily it wasn't as bad as he thought. Only few scratches over his elbow and his knees.

But he looked up to see a fading hand tries to help him up and he could see June was there with worried gaze flustered all over her face.

"I'm sorry Henry. I didn't mean to scare you." She says but Henry stood up ignoring her helping hand before he headed to the door of his home.

"Please leave me alone June. Please. I can't help you." Henry says before he gotten inside the apartment and slammed the door shut.