I scrolled down the screen, my eyes stuck to the words.

They were so mesmerising that it was impossible to stop till you finished entirely. Each phrase had its own charm. It caught my attention like no other.

The writing was flawless; how the writer had the power to convert a story so simple, into a deep poetic masterpiece, how he had the power of laying all the feelings out with such perfection that you saw what he saw, thought what he thought, and felt what he felt.

After I had completed reading, I sunk back into my chair and stared at the ceiling admiring the creator of the work. I had never felt a connection so strong towards anything before. I was in love with his writing.

It was well past midnight, but my excitement got the better of me and I sent him a quick message saying exactly what I had been saying to him in my head over and over again,

'You're beautiful.'

~~~~~~

I woke up to the buzz of my alarm and scrambled out of the bed for it was only half an hour to my first lecture. I quickly showered and brushed my teeth and made my way to the kitchen to prepare a hasty sandwich for myself.

When everything was done, eaten and collected, I hopped out of the little appartment, locking it from outside and drove myself to class, ten minutes later than I was supposed to.

The professor hadn't arrived so I sighed in relief and sat down on my chair, ignoring the people chattering around, and took out my phone.

I went through the notifications only to be delighted when I discovered that I had received a reply for the message I had sent to him last night.

The text read 'Thank you'

Simple. Yet it made my heart race.

I kept reading it over and over again and stalked his profile. Needless to say, I couldn't concentrate a bit on what my anatomy professor spoke for the next one and a half hours.

~~~~~~

"Did you eat well?"

"Yes mom."

"Did you clean up?"

"Yes mom."

"Are studies going fine?"

"Yes mom."

"Did you get a girlfriend?"

"Yes mom."

"What's her name?"

"Yes mom."

"Are you even listening to me?!"

I flinched from the phone as the voice at the other end shouted through the line.

"What is it mom?" I sighed, shutting my laptop down, on which I had been reading another one of his stories.

"I just want to make sure you're fine, Will." She sighed too.

"Then maybe you should visit me sometime and see for yourself." I said, not caring if I sounded too rude.
It had been a year since I saw her last.

I missed her.
Not her calls, which I received every night at ten o'clock sharp, but her actual presence; her hugs, her kisses, her cooing.

"You know I can't William."

"Then stop bothering me." I snapped, "It's too much mom. I...I can't talk to you."

I hung up and went back to my laptop.

I was accustomed now, to this feeling of loneliness when people only cared about you when it suited them, and not when you needed it.

Mom and dad split up two years ago because of dad cheating on her with a colleague. So typical.
Dad moved away to another part of the country with his new wife not even the least bit worried about his only son, while mom and I stayed in our old sweet home.

A couple of months afterwards, my only comfort and companion found someone for herself too and I got myself a step father.
However, a year ago, when I was about to begin my tertiary education, my mom and her husband decided to shift to another country because of his job, leaving me all to myself.

With the memories of past and present mingling in my head and forbidding me to think straight, I sent him another message.

'Your writing is amazing. I can't stop thinking about it.'

I wrapped myself in the covers and awaited a reply. I didn't expect to receive it just five minutes afterwards though.

'What do you like the most about it?'

I was quick to reply because I was quite confident with my answer.

'The way you write an I love you at the end of all your chapters. It's heart warming.'

I rubbed my hands together for I was feeling suddenly cold due to the anxiety.

I was notified of another text soon.

'Because I do love all those who give my stories a chance'

'Your love is surely reciprocated'

'That's so sweet. Thank you!'

I couldn't figure out what to type next and keep the conversation going. His reply was pretty much indicating 'the end'.

I sulkily lay down on my pillows, tossing the laptop aside.

After half an hour of lazy thinking and constantly turning around in bed, I ended up switching my phone on again.

There was a text.

I sat up straight. I was suddenly full of life once more.

'What's your name? Your profile looks like a secret agent's.'

Did he just admit to going through my profile? God.

'Haha I'm William."

'Hey William!'

'Hey Jay!'

'I'm pretty bored. Do you mind giving company?'

'Ofcourse not! I was pretty bored myself'

'So what's there to know about you William?'

'I guess I'm a pretty ordinary guy.'

'And what's your definition of ordinary?'

Oh god, is that my writer crush taking interest in me?

'A closeted guy who reads too much stories for a med student's own good?'

'Sounds interesting to me.'

'Thanks, I guess.
How is your life going?'

'Pretty ordinary.'

'Now what's your definition of ordinary?'

'Procrastinating college assignments and doing pretty much nothing?'

'Hmm. Sounds ordinary to me.'

As much relaxed and genuine I was sounding, I was hyperventilating inside.

I texted further before I became too sheepish to back out,

'Are you single?'

'Um'

Feeling his hesitation practically oozing out of the word, I face-palmed myself. I shouldn't have asked that.

'You don't have to answer that'

'No.'

'Is that "no, I'm not single" or "no, it's okay, I'll answer your question?"'

'Both?'

'Oh. Okay. Cool.'

'Losing interest in talking?'

'No! I wasn't planning on flirting anyway.'

'Ouch.'

'No offence'

'Too late. Do you have a boyfriend?'

'No. Told you, closeted.'

'So noone knows? Not even a single soul?'

'Nope?'

'Not even friends?'

'Don't have friends. Just acquaintances.'

'Family?'

'I live alone.'

'Oh.'

My depressing social life was probably serving as a lullaby to him.

'I'm probably boring you.'

'No, not really.'

'That's actually a polite way of saying "yeah, now will you please stay the fuck away?"'

'Haha no!'

I was so stupid to have thought I'd manage to strike a proper conversation with him. He was quite a popular writer and I was a total jerk.
I decided to say my goodbyes before I texted something genius out of those legendary brains of mine to keep the conversation going.

'Good night'

'Sleepy much?'

'Not really'

'Is that a "yes! now will you please stay the fuck away"'

'No! I thought maybe you'd have better things to do'

'Actually I don't'

'What about the boyfriend?'

Only after hitting the send icon did I realise how mean it sounded. Now he definitely thinks I'm upset because he has one.

'He's not attached to my hip all the time.'

Okay, great. Now he's upset.

'I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be rude.'

'It's fine. And to answer your question, he's gone for a month to visit his parents.'

'Okay.'

For a stranger you just began speaking with, that was a pretty personal information to share.

'You voted for one particular book of mine. Can you relate to it?'

'Um...not entirely.'

'Who's he?'

'Who?'

'The crush'

'Oh. You mean "was". It was just a high school thing.'

'Aww no eye candy in this uni of yours?'

'Sadly, no :('

'What was he like? The high school crush?'

'As cliché as it sounds, my best friend.'

'Tough luck.'

'Yeah.'

'What did he look like?'

'Is that your way of asking "what's your type?"?'

'Maybe'

'Well, he was pretty much of the same height as me, if not just a little shorter. He had green eyes and brown hair.'

'And what's your height?'

'5'11'

'Cool'

'Am I shorter than you?'

'Taller.'

'Yay'

'Typical dominant'

'You sound experienced'

'Oh because I am.'

I was so tempted to ask if his boyfriend was like this too, but was wise enough not to bring him up again.

All the thoughts about my broken family and broken hope for future seemed to fly out of my brain as the dialogue continued for another hour with little flirting here and there.
We had managed to exchange information about our habitats, hobbies, family backgrounds, preferences and stuff like that.

I felt happy.

Like, genuinely happy.

Like, 'I'm-a-socially-awkward-freshman-but-have-just-become-great-friends-with-the-popular-senior' happy.

'I'm gonna go sleep now' he texted

'Okay good night'

'Night William'

I fell down on the pillows with a happy sigh.

I wanted so desperately to discuss this with somebody. But there wasn't a single person that came to my mind.
So I fell asleep with my heart jumping in my chest.

~~~~~~~

The next day, I was walking from the university campus to the cramped appartment I call home when the heavy downpour decided to soak me wet.

I always chose the wrong day to walk.

I opened the door with an uncontrollably running nose and powerful sneezes announcing my arrival.

"I'm...aaaachhoo...home!" I said to the dull blue walls and the deserted couch sitting in front of the discarded television.

I strolled towards the kitchen, rolling my eyes at this life of mine. How talented I was, to have been able to make it worse each day.

I prepared myself a cup of coffee and then flopped down on the couch, going through my phone, finding new stories to read.
That's basically all I did in my free time.

'How was your day?' I texted him, being well aware of the fact that the day hadn't even come close to it's ending.

I got a reply nonetheless.

'It was wonderful! I managed to get into the literature club and there's a literary fest here next month so I'm pretty excited'

'That's great! Planning on getting your work published?'

'If I get the chance...yes!'

'Awesome'

'How was your day?'

'It was pathetic. Caught cold :('

'Oh my god! That's chronic! Are you dying?'

'Haha very funny'

'Hey it's a pretty good excuse for staying at home all day and reading with a cup of coffee in hand'

'That's exactly what I'm doing right now'

We talked for a couple of minutes more, just trivial talks about college.

And then I fell asleep too early, switching my phone off, ignoring mom's call for the day.

~~~~~~~

It had been nearly a month since we first started talking.

We had become friends. Like real friends. Not the ones you only hung out with when you're in the mood, but the ones you can share your miseries with when you're feeling low. I hadn't become friends this fast with anyone before, that too with a person I had never met.
But that didn't bother me, I loved the talks we shared. I loved the trust growing between us.

We had completely different lives.

He was majoring in English and was a budding writer who was bound to get published and recognised at a larger level, very soon.
I was a soon-to-be doctor, alone and not cared for.

But, our perspectives about things, about life, in general, were mirroring.

We began talking every night, sharing what made our day or what ruined it and became pretty comfortable with each other.

He was the first person I shared my family situation with, the first person I allowed to see how miserable I was from the inside.
He took it well, and taught me how to take it well too.

He had become the person I came home to, everyday.

'Sylvester went to his cousin's for the weekend'

I was laying on the couch, one hand tucked behind my head and the other holding the phone, just after finishing up with my dinner.

'And?'

'The literary fest is this weekend!'

'Oh!!! Draft ready?'

'Yes! Fingers crossed.'

'So what about Sylvester?'

'I thought he'd be there with me. I am so nervous about this thing and the dumbass has gone to his cousin's.'

'Uh oh. What about your mom?'

'She'll be there hopefully.'

'Great'

'So how did the surgery go?'

'It was so awesome. You won't believe how sick it feels to hold a human heart in your hand!'

'You would know' I added murmuring and chuckled at my hopelessness.

'Ew shut up!'

'It's muscular and slimy and slippery with all that blood coating it'

'You're a monster'

'And then cutting it into half...'
'Like Sylvester is doing to mine' I murmured again, sighing.

'I'm going now'

'And you can see the things inside, and touch it without wearing gloves'

'Goodbye William!'

'And then there are the lungs. You blow near the mouth of the wind pipe, (keeping your mouth a little away if you don't want the blood to be touching your lips), and they actually puff up!'

No reply.

I laughed to myself. He was absolutely adorable.

I went to the kitchen to wash the dishes. It took a while as I hummed with content, drying them up, thinking about these new feelings I had developed.

Despite being well aware of the consequences, I was falling.

I went back to the coffee table where the phone was lying.
A smile etched on my face as I read the message I had received seven minutes ago,

'Come to the literary fest for me?'

~~~~~~~

I threw the little bag of clothes in the back seat and checked the time. It was seven in the morning.

I seated myself in the driver's place and turned the ignition for the four hour journey.

I was going to see him for the first time.
What would I do when I see him? Slap his back? Shake his hand? Hug him?

I was so happy that I could fly, but the growing nervousness was doing a good job in keeping me to the ground.

I stopped once at a little diner for breakfast at eight and then sped up the rest of the way, trying to keep my excitement in check, but failing.

I spent half of the journey being eager to meet him and the rest half wondering whether he was as eager too.

As the GPS indicated that the destination was only five minutes away, I checked myself out in the mirror, weaving my fingers through my hair and turning my face at different angles to see if I looked presentable.

He was the only person who knew I was gay.

I wondered if I looked good enough to be a guy's crush.
I kept reminding myself that he had a boyfriend, of two years and me fantasizing over him will bear no fruits, but I just couldn't get over it.

I parked the car and then stepping out, smoothed my crumpled shirt. It was nearly 11:45.

I went through our texts, re-reading the address he'd sent me, the exact spot he'd asked me to come to, which was the very entrance gate.

There was a whole crowd.

'Hey I've reached. Where are you?'

He replied in an instant, as if he'd been waiting for the message.

'You have!?!?! What are you wearing?'

'A blue shirt and jeans.'

'There's a guy in blue shirt and jeans right in front of me, but he's talking to some girl.'

'Then it's obviously not me genius. And I'm wearing a button up shirt.'

I steered my way through the crowd and to a clear place.

"William" I heard a voice behind me, say. A very sweet, confused and...familiar voice.

I turned around to be the most astounded I'd ever been.

"Ethan!" My eyes widened on seeing my high school best friend after a year.
He was different; whether it was because I saw him after such a long time or because he had actually changed, I did not know.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, equally surprised, before locking me in a firm hug. I withdrew and looked into those same green eyes I once loved.

"I-- I came here for a friend. What are you doing here?"

"Came here for a friend too" he replied and then looked me over, head to toe and smirked.

"Grew some muscle hunh? So who is this friend you came all the way here for?" He teased.

At the mention of him, I shoo-ed Ethan's thoughts away and quickly took my phone out.

"Uh...wait a second" I said to Ethan and read the message Jay had just sent.

'There's another guy in a blue shirt, button up, and jeans. But he was just hugging another guy. Looks handsome, this one. Am I ever going to find you?'

I chuckled as I felt heat rushing to my cheeks.

'Jay. I am that guy. Come over.'

I got no reply in return and I lifted my head up to see Ethan smirking again.

"What?"

"Who is it?" He asked

"No one" I shrugged.

"Come on Will! Who's it? You're blushing." Ethan pressed

"Um...William?" I heard someone's cute voice say.

With my heartbeat speeding up, I turned ninety degrees to my right, only to be faced by the cutest of faces I've seen on Earth.

I decided that very moment that brown were the eyes I loved.

"Jason" My voice came out as embarrassingly high pitched.
I cleared my throat as he smiled.

"Hey" he said in his beautiful voice, making my heart squeeze.

"Uh...this is Ethan, my school friend." I introduced though there wasn't a need to. I had taken one whole night, once, to tell Jay all about him.

"And this is Jason, the friend I came here for." I said to Ethan.

They both shook hands.

I couldn't take my eyes off the beautiful boy in front of me, and it seemed that the beautiful boy couldn't take his eyes off Ethan.

"Let's go inside?" He asked, looking at me and Ethan.

"I'm umm...waiting for someone actually. You guys-- you guys go ahead." Ethan said uncomfortably.

I sensed it. He had figured it out.

I nodded silently, trying to shake Ethan out of my head. He meant nothing to me anymore, and Jay, he was slowly becoming my everything. My cheesy feelings were real.

"See you around." I said to Ethan and he forced a smile back.

I turned to Jay.
He had the perfect kind of body- neither muscular, nor skinny and his head was at the level of my upper-lip.

For a moment, I was out of words.

He absent-mindedly took my hand in his and started to pull me through the crowd, oblivious to what he was stirring in me. The feeling of having his hand fitting perfectly in mine gave me chills.
I wondered what it would feel like to twine our fingers together.

Once we were finally behind the gates, he stopped and turned to me.
Giving me the most breathtaking of smiles, which, I guessed, was his true smile, he squeezed my hand in his.
I melted there and then.

"Thank you" he said to me. I tried so hard to look away from those eyes, but I couldn't.

"For what?" I managed to speak.

"For coming here." He said with a slight chuckle as if it were obvious.

"It's the least I can do," I shrugged, "to have the pleasure of hearing a guy calling me handsome." and then smirked. It took all the courage in me to do that.

His cheeks tinted pink for a second before he rolled his eyes and tried to cover up, "Oh please. That was for Ethan."

"Really now?" I raised my eyebrows, "Why were you eyeing him anyway?" I asked, remembering how he had given Ethan a long cold stare.

"Because seriously? You had a crush on him?" He scowled, looking even cuter.

"Why not?" I shrugged, but still eager to know why he disliked my first crush.

"He's not that good looking" He rolled his eyes.

"Jealous?" I laughed.

"In your dreams," he rolled his eyes again, and continued walking, me following close.

We soon reached a giant garden with book stalls, counters and balloon decorations here and there, some people talking, some people reading and a crew preparing the microphones and speakers on the stage kind of an area.

Hanging in the air, with the support of two bunches of Hydrogen balloons--each at the two extreme ends of the place, was a huge horizontal banner, reading "The Literary Fest 2016"

I turned to look at the beautiful boy standing next to me.
He was biting his lip and the nervousness was crystal clear in his eyes.

"Hey" I said, scooting closer to him and putting an arm around his shoulder in a platonic way.

"You know I'm your biggest fan, right?" I said, causing him to look at me. His face was so close. It took all that was in me to not look at his lips, and focus on his eyes.

"And I know you're awesome." I said firmly, squeezing his shoulders ever so slightly.

"There are going to be better writers here." He said, his gaze returning to the stage on which he had to present a piece of his work along with the rest of the participating writers. Only ten of them will be chosen by the publishers attending the event.

"Nonsense." I said.

He shook his head, smiling with his bottom lip between his teeth.

"Trust me, I've read many. But you've always been the best." I said softly.
I wanted him to believe it for it was the truth.

He turned his face to look at me again and I could swear I saw his eyes flickering to my lips for a mere second.
His phone went off in his pocket, causing us to jerk away.

He took it out and a smile appeared on his face while mine faded. Sylvester, obviously.

"Mom" he said, answering it. I smiled in relief and then turned to admire the place. I loved books.

A few seconds later, I felt a hand on my bicep.
I looked at him to see him smiling brightly now.

"She's coming in an hour." He said to me and I smiled back at him, giving a nod.

"Will you hear my draft out?" He asked, as if I'd ever say no.

"It'd be my pleasure" I bowed and he laughed.

I got seated on a chair around one of the round tables while he disappeared to get his final draft from his car. My eyes drifted around for a while, till someone came and sat next to me.

It was an old lady, dressed richly and her disposition was that of an aristocrat.

"It's beautifully decorated" she spoke, her eyes roaming around the place.

"Indeed" I replied with a slight smile. I don't know why, but I loved talking to the elderly. They talked wisely and were hardly ever rude.

"Book lover?" She asked, taking a notebook and a pen out of her bag.

"Yes" I admitted with pride.

"What genres do you like reading?" She asked, now adjusting her glasses on her nose and then finally she looked at me. And when she did, she smiled.

"I like mystery the most. And I also read romance, but only of one specific writer."

"And who would that be?"

"He's...actually presenting one of his new works today. I'm here to see him. He is not published yet, but I'm sure he will be, very soon. He's downright beautiful." I said, leaving out the 'friendship' part so that she doesn't get under the impression that I like his writing because he's my friend.
Because that wasn't so. I fell in love with his writing way before I got to know him.

"Okay, let's hope some publisher signs him today then, if he has the magic of making a 'mystery lover' switch to romance."

I smiled at her.

"I hope so, too."

I spotted Jay walking towards my direction with a bundle of sheets in his hand.

"Excuse me." I said to the lady and ran to him before he appeared in front of the woman and gave her the idea I hadn't been wanting to give her; that we knew each other, at all.

"What's up?" He asked when I reached him, stopping him in his tracks.

"Nothing. Let's go to the--"

I was cut short by a voice echoing through the speakers.

"Ladies and gentlemen" the man addressed, catching everyone's attention.

"Welcome to The Literary Fest 2016..." He continued talking about the event, when it first started and where it had reached and all that stuff nobody bothers about.

"No time for practice I guess." Jay said, the anxiety and nervousness returning.

"Don't worry. I know you'll be a hit out there." I assured him. He looked at me hopefully but didn't seem wholly convinced.

I knew he'd be better when his mom arrived. He was very close to her. He needed her right now and I was praying she arrived before he went upon the stage.

It seemed like my prayers were answered the fastest they'd ever been, as a sleek arm draped around his waist from the side right then.
He whipped his head around to see his mother and then hugged the life out of her.

I stood there awkwardly as the two shared a moment. It reminded me of my mother too, and I smiled.

When they finally stopped the hugging and cooing and everything, they both turned towards me.

"This is William." Jay introduced me to his mother.

I shook her hand and smiled.

"Nice to meet you." I said,

"Is this the William you..." she stopped and then seemed to change the words in her head before saying, "you told me about."

I looked over at Jay, to find him looking here and there as if avoiding being in the conversation but then he smiled and nodded. I narrowed my eyes at him. He didn't notice because he was busy trying to find interest in other things in the background. He needed to compose himself now, he could be called to the stage anytime.

"Let's get seated" he said, pushing his mom towards the round tables, and then we followed behind her.

"Presenting the first writer for the event, Ms. Louisa McNally, ladies and gentlemen" the speaker announced, followed by light claps as the said person made her appearance on the stage.

The girl started reading the first chapter of the thriller she had written, after summarizing her book to all of us. Some people began scribbling on their notebooks as she read.

Jay was sitting in between me and his mom.

In the midst of the first writer's presentation, two boys came over to where we were sitting and slapped Jay on the back, as a greeting.

He turned around and grinned at them.
"You guys made it" he whispered, so as to not disturb the others.

"Ofcourse we did!" The taller boy said, returning the grin.

"Go rock it man!" The other one said, slapping his back again, several times.

"Which one are you reading?" The same boy asked.

"A new one" Jay answered

"Good luck!" The taller one wished.

Then they both began retrieving, but the shorter one stopped and turned back around.

"Oh! And Jay..."

"Yeah?"

"Mr. Bailey said you're next."

He suddenly clutched my hand which was on my lap, causing me to shiver slightly. I saw his eyes widening as we locked our gazes at one another. We stayed like that for a moment before he began hyperventilating.

"Oh my god!" He panicked, looking at his draft.

"It's alright honey, the sooner the better. You won't have to sit here and worry for long." His mom said, rubbing his back as a mixed attempt to calm him down and encourage him.

"Yeah. Just breathe." I said, squeezing his hand, which was still in mine. I was happy that he was comfortable enough to lean on me. It meant that he trusted me as much as I trusted him.

There was another round of applause and we looked at the stage to see that the girl had finished.

"You ready?" I asked and he nodded nervously.

His mom hugged him while murmuring blessings as his name was called.

He clutched his papers in his hand and was about to get up when he turned to look at me. I quickly brought his hand up to my lips and kissed his fingers, our eyes fixed on each other's. People were staring at us but I was totally unfazed.

I knew I did the right thing when he smiled, stood up, exhaling a good volume of air and strode charmingly towards the stage.

All eyes were on him as he climbed up the stage and over to the podium where he put down his papers and began with his introduction.

I couldn't stop smiling as his beautiful voice echoed around the place, his eyes roamed around the crowd while addressing them, and locked into mine for a second, making both of us smile even broader.

He began reading from his work and I tried to focus on his words rather than his lips, though with difficulty.

He spoke about love, in such depths nobody in the vicinity would've ever thought possible. His words held everyone captive, there wasn't a single movement in the crowd while he spoke. Everyone was probably tongue-tied, hearing such philosophical words about something so delicate and complex as love, out of an eighteen year old's mouth.

He was magnificent out there. I cherished the moment, capturing it in my mind and soul.

"And I realised that very moment, that it was nothing, but love." He spoke his final line, and as he said it, his eyes met mine, making my heart flutter.

There was a loud sound of claps following behind, along with murmurs of awe and appreciation.

He expressed his gratitude and then began descending from the stage.
While I was still in the world of my fantasies, wondering why he had looked over to me when he had spoken that sentence, his mother scooted closer to me and placed a hand on my forearm.

"Thanks for coming today" she said, smiling softly.

I smiled back, not knowing what to reply.
Then we both looked over to him. Making his way through the people who congratulated him, he shook hands with the ones that offered.

"He's beautiful" I said before I could stop myself, my eyes fixated on him.
His mother squeezed my arm, making me look at her and passed me a knowing smile.
I blushed back.

"How was it?" He asked, biting his lower lip looking at both of us when he reached.

"You were wonderful!" His mother stood up and hugged him.
He peered down at my sitting form, I looked up at him.
There was a new meaning to those gazes now.

"You nailed it" I said, smiling broad, as he smiled back at me.

"Let's get out of here." He said, looking into his phone, "This will take two-three hours, we could grab lunch and come back before the selection starts"

"Yeah, being here will only make you nervous" his mom agreed.

"Let's go then" I said, standing up to join them, and then we walked out of the place.

He decided that he'd drive us to a restaurant. So when we reached his car, I opened the passenger door for his mom, but she pushed me inside instead.
I looked at her and she winked, taking a seat at the back while Jay started the engine, I smiled back at her, gratefully.

Jay was in his own world to have noticed this little scene.

He drove on the city roads and I peered out the window, taking in the first new place I had visited since two years ago.

He started humming a melody, and I relaxed in the seat, getting lost in the sound.
I wished I could hold his hand while he drove too, run my fingers through his hair, smooth his brow, kiss his cheek.

Blind, were the people who didn't find him beautiful.

I only realised I had been staring at him when he turned to me for a moment, probably sensing my eyes on himself, and smiled.
I smiled back shortly and turned away embarrassed.

He soon pulled up in front of a restaurant and we all went inside.
Ordering our food and drinks, we talked about random things. I was telling his mom about my studies, when his knee involuntarily brushed against my thigh, making me completely forget what I had been saying.

"And um...the professor, he....um...he..." I struggled to complete the sentence, trying to remember what exactly I was speaking about, but all that occupied my brain that moment was Jason sitting next to me, and the feeling of imagining him touching my bare skin.

"There's a party tonight." Jay interrupted. I thanked him in my head.
"At a friend's" he continued and then facing me, said, "Would you come with me?"

I smiled, (that's all I really did around him) and replied with a 'Sure, I'd love to.'

We had our food and then made our way out, me feeling all giddy about the party.

I had attended one back at my university too, but this one was special. This one had Jay. And I was going with him!

"There's still enough time for us to spend before the selection thing starts" Jay said as we were walking towards the car.

"We could have ice cream" His mom suggested, "What do you say William?"

"Whatever you guys want" I shrugged.

Jay's ringtone blazed through his jeans' pocket and his face showcased a combination of confusion and anxiety when he checked the caller ID.

His side of the conversation went like, "Yes, Mr. Baily...no!...No, no...I'll be right there...no...yeah, I'm almost there"

He disconnected and ran to the car while his mom and I gave each other puzzled looks and then followed behind him.

"The selection process started half an hour ago" he said frantically as we all got buckled in and he began driving.

"No way! I thought there would be atleast forty to fifty writers!" I said in disbelief.

"Slow down Jason!" His mom scolded from the back and he slowed down a bit. Only a bit.

"Don't worry. Everyone was quite impressed by your work, I'm sure many of them are waiting for you." I consoled, referring to the publishers.
I got no reply.

"Jay honey, don't worry, William's right." His mom added.
Still no reply.

I saw a bead of sweat about to drip from his temple. Without thinking about it, I took out my handkerchief and wiped it. I felt him getting tensed when my hand was near him, but then he relaxed and began breathing normally.

I smiled in my head.

I kept hoping and praying the whole way that what I assured him comes out to be true, for what I had seen was that people loved what he spoke and payed attention as if they didn't want him to stop, so there should be at least two or three publishers waiting for him to show up.
He deserved to be selected.

We were parked in the place after twenty minutes, and then rushed out, running into the lawn.
The crowd had reduced to half and people were sitting in groups around the tables, writing and discussing.

They were probably the selected writers, or the writers trying to be selected, with the publishing team or something.

Jay spotted an old man going through a book in one of the stalls. He ran to him while his mom and I stayed behind, watching him.

"It'll break his heart if he doesn't get selected today" his mom said, still looking at her son who seemed to be in a deep conversation with the old man, who was probably Mr. Bailey.

"Yeah" I agreed, "He has put so much into that book"

"You should tell him." She said, now facing me.

"Tell him what?" I asked, pretending to be confused, despite of being well aware of what she meant.

"Tell him what you feel about him." She explained to a blushing me.

"I don't want to pressure him. He's already has so much for a day, and then there's Sylves-"

"Oh he's no good for my Jason." She cut me. I smiled because I totally agreed.

Her gaze returned to the spot where Jay had been standing a minute ago, only to find it empty. We both began scanning the place with our eyes.

"You know, you admitting your feelings may just be what he needs, to add to his happiness for today." His mom said, now pointing at a table near the stage, around which, sat the beautiful boy and another person, both discussing something, while the other person scribbled on their notepad.

That other person was the old lady I had had a conversation with, earlier that day.

"Oh my god! He's getting signed, isn't he?" I beamed.

His mom nodded with a proud smile.

We stood there witnessing Jason having one of the best moments of his life. He sat all calm and composed but I knew he was probably squealing inside.
The corners of my lips twitched upwards as I saw him standing up and shaking the old lady's hand with dignity, smiling ear to ear.

His mom and I went over to him when the lady left and he jumped into his mom's arms, squealing, as I had already known.

"And Jason..." called a voice from not very far away.
We all turned to our right to see that the old lady had stopped and turned back.

She continued, "You're worth it, if you have the magic of converting a mystery fan into a romance one" and then she winked at me.

I blushed and tried to look away but Jay caught me.
He smiled at the lady till she turned back and walked away, then raised his eyebrows at me.

"What was that?" He asked, a hint of amusement in his voice.
I shrugged and tried to dismiss it, but he narrowed his eyes at me indicating that this conversation will be continued later.

Then he retrieved a cheque from the folder he was carrying and showed it to us with a wide grin on his face. His mom squealed and hugged him again.

When she withdrew, he gave me a warm hug too, sending butterflies flying in my stomach. But he pulled back too soon.

                    ~~~~~~

"Heyyy Jayyy!!" Came a slurry voice from behind.
We both turned around to see a girl making her way towards us, wearing a casual top and shorts.

"Hey Sam" Jay said, hugging her.

"Congratulations on your book!" She said, giving him a sloppy kiss on the cheek.

Before he could thank her, she continued, "Who's the other guy?" She checked me out, head to toe, with a smirk on her face.

"That's William" Jay introduced and before she could jump on me, he continued, "He's gay."

The girl scowled, "Why are the good ones always gay?"

Jay and I laughed and continued our path to the garden, to get drinks.

We had only showed up at the party, five minutes ago and nearly ten people had already come to congratulate Jason.

We picked up a can of beer each and flopped down on the chairs near the pool. For sometime, we sat there looking around and sipping from our beers quietly.

Jay was facing the pool and I was sitting on his right.
He looked at me for a moment, then back at the pool. I saw his lips moving but couldn't hear what he was saying, so I scooted closer to him, a bit too close.

I was still trying to make out what he was saying when he turned towards me and our noses collided.

We both got spell bound into each other's eyes and neither of us moved for a while.
I moved my eyes to his lips which he parted slightly and then found myself moving closer towards them.
In a short while, I was able to taste the deliciousness of his lips.

Our lips moved in synchronization as I cupped his beautiful face and he held onto my shirt, adjusting our positions till we fit like adjacent puzzle pieces.

It was only seconds later, that I began wondering what we were doing.

I clutched his shoulders and pushed him away slightly.

He looked at me, confused and disappointed.

"I..." I started, trying to find the correct words, "I- I really like you, Jason."

His eyes flashed something I couldn't comprehend but I didn't pay much attention to it and continued,
"But I...I don't want this to be a mistake for you, or an awkward one-time thing that we're both uncomfortable to discuss in future. This was my first kiss with a guy and it means a lot to me because it was with you and I just-"

He put a finger on my lips, silencing me immediately.

Then he smiled, amused and said, "You didn't hear a single word I said, did you?"

I stared at him, dumb and confused.
He took it as a 'no' and continued,
"I broke up with Sylvester last night."

"What? Why?" I asked with concern though every part of me was itching to have a happy dance.

"I didn't see us going anywhere" Jay said, looking here and there, and then suddenly focused on me to say, "And then you were there."

I caught my breath.

"Whenever I talk to you, I feel like I don't need Sylvester. It feels like I hold no importance in his life anymore, whereas you...you make me feel so special. You came all the way here for me, and nobody would do that for anyone if they don't feel something. Right?" He looked at me expectantly.

I nodded silently, his finger was still keeping my lips sealed.

"And I...I think I like you too." He said finally and that's when I lost control on my body.

We kissed like there was no tomorrow, holding onto each other like our life depended on it. It probably did.

                  ~~~~~~

"Drive safe"

"Mhmm"

"Thank you, for coming"

"Mhmm"

"Call me tomorrow?"

"Mhmm"

"Come back soon"

"Mhmm"

"Say something!"

"Stop kissing me after every sentence!"

He laughed and fell into my arms, and I hugged him back tightly.
I kissed the top of his head and withdrew, then kissing him once more on those beautiful lips, I sat in the car.

"Bye" he said and waved. I waved back and drove away.

                  
                 ~~~~~~

'A million copies sold!'

'Oh. My. God.! That's insane!'

'Yesssss. I'm so happy!'

'I'm definitely driving over this weekend'

'Omg I love you so much'

'I love you too, Jay.'

Hey guys! It's me. Again.

This story isn't anything new, I had posted it in my other book named Sweets but since it was still hidden from the eyes of my lovely readers who love gay stuff, I thought why not post it as a new book. *Shrugs* Also, it's unedited and idk, maybe too sappy?

I hope you still liked this. Thanks for reading!