Over the course of three week, Alexander and Aaron became close friends. They snuck out to the clearing every chance they got, sometimes Aaron would bring some tasty food for Alexander seeing as the food he got was gross, and they chatted about anything and everything.

Aaron was almost like a savior to Alexander. He was someone he could talk to freely, without worry of being harshly judged. Turns out Aaron didn't see anything wrong with the lgbtq+ community. After all, if a God did indeed create all of them, why would He cause people to be gay, trans etc?

Alexander was very glad for the different opinion in this ridiculous camp after suffering for two horrible months .

"Alexander!" A voice hissed. Alexander opened his eyes to see Aaron shaking him gently.

"Come on! It's your last day here! I wanna show you something!" He whispered. Alexander groaned and tried to shake the younger boy off.

"Alexander please!" Aaron whispered, a bit more loudly. Alexander sighed and sat up.

"Alright I'm up." He grumbled. Aaron smiled slightly and grabbed his hand and started to drag him out.

"I hope this is worth it." Alexander whispered angrily, throwing on a sweater before allowing Aaron to lead him out of the cabin. They ran into the forest and Alexander was slightly surprised to see that they weren't going to their signature clearing.

"Hurry up Alexander!" Aaron called quietly, moving through the forest like some sort of nymph. Alexander was still in awe at how smoothly Aaron moved.

"We're here!" Aaron said, grinning widely and gesturing widely to the new area he'd brought him to.

It was pretty plain actually. Just a normal looking clearing. No ponds or large trees to sit under. Nothing special.

"Um, you woke me up for this?" Alexander said, confused and slightly annoyed. Aaron rolled his eyes.

"Yes dumbass. Look up." Aaron pointed to the sky and Alexander did as he said. A gasp escaped his lips when his eyes took in the night sky.

It was covered with bright stars, glittering like gems. Alexander had never seen anything so beautiful.

"Woah..." He whispered in awe.

Aaron smiled. "You don't see the night sky like this in the city do you?" He asked before sitting down. Wordless, Alexander shook his head.

Aaron chuckled. "Yeah, I figured. You're from New York right?"

Again, Alexander just nodded, still captured by the sky.

"I love it here at night. It's so beautiful. New Jersey doesn't showcase a whole lot of stars." Aaron's expression turned sad. "It's horrible what us humans have done to our only home..."

Alexander finally tore his gaze away from the sky and onto the young boy beside him. His eyes widened at the sight of Aaron looking mournfully at the sky, bathed in moonlight. Alexander sucked in a breath, quickly returning his gaze to the stars. His fist clenched and he gently sat on the ground. As he did so, he could feel Aaron's gaze on him, before the boy followed suite.

The two lay there together, just admiring the night sky.

They two stayed there for a longtime, just sitting in silence. It was nice. Alexander felt calm, at peace. Here in the forest, no one was around to judge or even interrupt them. There was no stress, no pressure. Just... peace.

And Alexander loved it.

He couldn't help but think back to his days with his mum in New York. They were pretty poor, so they lived in the more scruffy part of town, but they were happy. They didn't need money to be content. They'd had each other and that was all that matter. It was a hard, but peaceful life.

But then his mother fell ill. They hadn't had enough money for medicine and Alexander was left an orphan. It was by miracle that the orphanage had even spotted him laying in the street, hurt and alone. While Alexander was thankful for the rescue, he wasn't happy. His mother was gone and he was trapped with horribly unaccepting and homophobic guardians.

Alexander didn't even realize that he had begun to cry until Aaron did.

"Alexander, what's wrong?" He asked softly, crawling over to the fourteen year old. Alexander blinked, only just realizing that his eyes were blurry.

He sat up, looking over at Aaron in confusion.

"I... I don't know..." He said quietly, sniffling softly. Aaron frowned, before crawling closer and hugging him.

"Well," He said softly, squeezing him slightly. "Just know that you're not alone okay?"

Alexander drew a stuttered breath and let out a quiet sob before he even realized what was happening. Aaron held him silently as he cried. He didn't ask any questions, just offered him the support Alexander hadn't realized he'd been sorely missing. Just the feeling of being held brought him back to the memory of his mother giving him one last tight hug, whispering in his ear 'Alexander... Just remember, I will always be with you. You will never be alone' . The memory made Alexander sob harder, all the feelings he'd suppressed over the years came crashing down.

Finally, Alexander's sobs quieted and turned into soft whimpers and sniffles. Aaron pulled away, looking at him with concern.

"Alexander, are you okay?" He asked. Alexander nodded and wiped his eyes, sniffling still.

"You're sure?"

Again, he nodded.

Aaron gave him a gentle smile. "Do you want to go back? You've got a long day of travel tomorrow."

Alexander paused, wanting to stay, but then he realized that if they stayed out much longer they would probably fall asleep. This wouldn't be a problem for Alexander seeing as he was leaving tomorrow, but Aaron lived with his uncle. Alexander didn't want to get Aaron in trouble with his uncle. Nothing good could come out of that.

"We should probably head back now." He said. Aaron relaxed slightly.

"Alright. I'll lead the way." He said, standing and began to walk. Alexander was quick to follow. It was dead silent when they returned to the camp and the boys went their separate ways.

 That night Alexander dreamed of warmth and happier days.