Jacob briefly looked behind him as he ran. The sound of leaves moving beneath his feet, branches being stepped on and his haggard breathing were the only sounds heard throughout.

"Jacob, where are you!?" a voice called out, causing him to run faster.

"Come on, we want to see this magic place too!" another faint voice said.

"Unless you were lying to make yourself seem cool!" the first voice said before snickering.

Jacob looked behind himself again before feeling air beneath his feet briefly. He found himself tumbling forward, mostly expecting to feel pain. No pain came. His body came to a stop and he found himself looking up at a clear blue sky. He looked back and saw a hill. No wonder there wasn't any pain. He finally sat up and took in his surroundings. Somehow he had gotten into Kevin's world without the use of the flower path. Was that even possible?

"Kevin? Are you here?" he called out, not seeing the house decorated with flowers and ivy.

He got up off the grass and started to walk, searching for anything to hunt at Kevin's presence. It was strange. Kevin usually would show up by now, but several minutes had come to pass. He wasn't worried... yet. He sat back down, seeing no end to the grassy terrain.

He didn't know how much time had passed since he entered Kevin's world, but it felt long enough to make him unsettled. Kevin was missing and he needed to find him. Just as moved to search, he felt something wrap around his ankles, keeping him from moving. They were roots, green ones at that. Would they be called roots then? He pushed the thought from his mind, seeing he had no time to waste in trying to free himself.

Soon his wrists were seized and he was now looking up at the clear blue sky with restraints. Was it Kevin's doing or did the place see him as a threat? He tugged and pulled at his restraints then noticed a hole opening up above him. Before he could react, a body came falling out and landing atop him.

"Kevin...?" Jacob managed to squeak out after having the air knocked out of him.

Kevin lied motionless while he still remained bound. He weakly nudged Kevin with his body, trying to see if he was awake or not. Now he was worried.

"Kevin, is everything okay...? Please, answer..." whispered Jacob.

The roots slowly loosened around him before he was finally able to pull himself free. He pulled Kevin into his arms just as he started to wake.

"So you did make it... That's good..." squeaked Kevin, nuzzling further into Jacob's arms.

"What do you mean by that?" Jacob questioned, stroking Kevin's hair. He started to fan Kevin's face as he started having a shortness of breath. "Take your time in responding, okay?"

Kevin exhaled before pulling away.

"I heard you. You were shouting for help." replied Kevin, meeting his gaze. "You were too far from me... so I forced a way open for you."

"Forced? Tell me more." Jacob pressed, wanting to know more about him.

"We can force entries into our world instead of the traditional flower path, but doing so is pretty draining. That's why we rarely do it." said Kevin, finally gaining his strength back. "You sounded frightened so I did it... but I had used so much I couldn't come home until now."

Guilt bit away at his heart as he thought of how worried Kevin looked when he heard him. It was then he realized something.

"But I never said anything though... how did you...?" he asked, hoping for an answer.

"I guess I never got to mentioning I can hear your thoughts now! Right now you're thinking, 'He can read minds? That's cool, but scary too. Wait, he's saying my thoughts aloud! Abort!'." said Kevin then let out a cute snort. "You panic funnily."

"I do not!" pouted Jacob as a blush crept onto his face.

Kevin laughed cutely as he rose to his feet. He helped Jacob up then had him close his eyes. Jacob reluctantly agreed, knowing Kevin could be a prankster.

"Okay, open!" said Kevin excitedly.

Jacob opened his eyes and saw Gust presenting him with a bouquet of white flowers. He reached out to take it then stopped.

"Wait, I thought I couldn't touch Gust..." muttered Jacob, pulling back.

"Its okay. I'll just do this." said Kevin before holding Jacob's hands. "As long as I'm touching Gust too, I won't die."

"I don't want to risk it. You're important to me." said Jacob as he stepped back. "I'll just gather them up after you put them down."

Kevin didn't press further as he could see the small line that formed under his eyes, meaning Jacob meant business. He had Gust place the flowers down neatly then proceeded to gather the flowers up for Jacob.

"So, what are they?" Jacob asked, gently touching the petals.

"Take a guess." Kevin responded, having chairs made of roots form underneath them.

"Uh, well, they aren't daisies. Not roses either." Jacob mumbled as he inspected them.

"They're your birth month flowers!" he said happily. "Aren't they pretty? You should keep and care for them."

It warmed Jacob's heart to see Kevin so happy. He'd do almost anything to always see him smile as bright as he was now. Flowers started to bloom all around them as Kevin continued to gush happily. His eyes softened, finding the sight adorable. Here was this magical being talking to a plain old human like him and getting so excited to the point his powers went willy nilly.

"Kevin." he found himself calling out. The flowers' growth halted once he had gotten his attention. "I uh... We... Um, I'm really-"

He found Kevin silencing him with a leaf from a flower. He smiled warmly before saying Jacob didn't need to say anything, mostly because he already heard it. Ever since he had met Jacob, everything seemed right in the world. Days never seemed so bright and full of promise. Jacob was his ray of sunshine.

"I love you." Kevin muttered aloud.

Jacob blinked rapidly, wondering what Kevin had said. He opened his mouth to speak then found himself sitting on the dirt ground in the forest. Thunder sounded before it started to pour, drenching Jacob. He sought out shelter underneath a tree and looked around for Kevin's gateway.

Over an hour had passed and no gateway. He sneezed a few times before shivering briefly. Kevin had to show up. He wasn't done talking to him. Another half hour passed. No gateway. Jacob's body shivered like crazy as the rain wasn't keen on letting up. He slowly started coming to terms with it. Kevin kicked him out. He didn't know why.

His feet squished against the wet concrete as he finally made his way out. He looked back towards the forest once more before continuing on his way home.