"Matt!" Josh yelled with a groan, setting his keys on the table. "Matt, are you in here?"

"Josh? Is that you?" Came Matthew's slightly irritated voice from the other room.

Josh frowned and rushed into the room, nearly tripping as he came around the corner. "Where the heck have you been?!"

"At Catherine's," Matt replied nonchalantly.

"I thought you'd died!" Josh exclaimed. "Or worse yet, you told her something and she tried to have you arrested! You gotta give me some heads up, man!"

"Catherine wouldn't have me arrested. Besides, I think she knows most of the story. Mariah Gerry told her."

"Matt," Josh sighed crossing his arms, "Listen, you've got to remember, man, there's things I remember about your situation that you've blocked off. I need you to trust me, it's for your own good. But this," he gestured between them, "this friendship only works if, when stuff happens, we keep each other updated."

"Alright. Sit. Now, do you want the detailed version, the Reader's Digest version, or somewhere in between?" Matt asked quickly.

Josh gave a small laugh and sat down beside him. "Sparknotes me."

"Let's see...She made some delicious Italian dish and a cake. After, we watched both the movie version and the stage version The Phantom of the Opera. There was some incident with a spider in the kitchen. It was raining and she asked me to stay the night. This morning, she mentioned that she's been bullied. She asked me to stay the night again and give her singing lessons. She's never had any, believe it or not," Matthew concluded. "Oh, and we kissed and I told her that I love her."

"Oh, yeah," Josh said in a high pitched sneer, "because that's how all first dates go. Nothing worth texting a guy there!"

"I didn't have time, okay? I was busy staring at her," Matt admitted.

"My god!" Josh rasped. "It's like a PG13 romantic comedy. Listen, lover boy, if you can get some freakishly hot chick and live in your little romantic wonderland, what am I doing here alone at three in the morning, eating ice cream and crying over Elizabeth turning Darcy down in the rain? Huh?! Explain that one to me!"

"I would if I could. If it helps, Cathy thinks you're cute," Matt laughed.

"Cute?" Josh yelped. "Chipmunks are cute! That ugly snake at the zoo with one eye was cute! The kids named him Freddy the Ugly But Still Kinda Cute Snake, remember? A blob fish! That's what I am to Cath. One of those little blobs of fat laying around the ocean, waiting for Amazon Prime to deliver potato chips by drone into it's mouth!"

"You're definitely something," Matt said, rolling his eyes. "By the way, you've been roped into redecorating her apartment."

"Oh no!" Josh scoffed. "I won't be some ugly hag that's also on a HGTV special, alright? You and your girlfriend have fun."

"Mariah will be there," Matt replied, nudging Josh slightly. "Besides, Catherine wants you to come."

"The chick I spilled my coffee on, who's dating the body builder of Buquet? Yeah, unlike you, I prefer to stay alive," Josh said with a scared little laugh. "You gonna see the show?"

"Of course. And, I'm going to rephrase. You are coming to help redecorate. Whatever Catherine wants, Catherine gets. Should her commands be ignored, a disaster beyond your imagination will occur," Matt said sternly.

Josh snarled his lip, "They were barbecue sauce ones, if you were wondering, you jerk."

"Yeah, about that, you have around fifteen seconds until I try to Punjab lasso you. I'd run."

"I added a little blue cheese once it past one in the morning," Josh taunted, his eyes blazing. "Some honey, some pepper-"

"Josh! So help me God, I will murder you and I will enjoy it, if you don't shut up," Matt exclaimed in frustration.

"And the tulips on the back window?! Well, I didn't water em! And, I ate all the Twinkies in the fridge! And, I slept in your bed, and listened to Ross Lynch on Disney Channel!" Josh continued.

Suddenly, they heard a giggle from the other room. Followed by another. "I told you. They always bicker," one voice whispered.

Josh turned red in the face, bit of angry sweat perspiring down his brow. "Invited more of your friends over, Matthew?!"

"I didn't invite anyone over," Matt whispered indignantly.

"Then why are people whispering behind the panels?" Josh hissed.

"They're aren't behind the panels, genius. The voices are coming from the kitchen."

"Right, because the rats like to discuss their plan of attack on our fridge, like in Ratatouille," Josh gawked.

Suddenly, Catherine peeked her head around the corner. "Aw, man. Don't stop the show on our account. It was just getting good."

"Cath," Matt said through clenched teeth, "what are you doing here?"

Catherine pulled Mariah behind her as she walked over. "I came to see you."

"Hi, Matt. How's it going?" Mariah asked, refusing to meet his withering stare.

Matt gave a soft smile to his old friend. "Mari," he said softly, "it's...been awhile."

"Yep," Mariah replied, still looking down.

Catherine nudged her friend.

"Ouch. What was that for?" Mariah asked in annoyance, rubbing her arm.

"Hi Josh," Catherine spoke up, ignoring her friend.

Josh made a strange sound and crossed his arms, pouting like a child.

"Forget it," Matt sighed after staring at Mari for a good thirty seconds. He awkwardly rushed her into a strong hug, holding her close, and then backing away with a small reserved grin.

Mariah whispered something to Catherine and both started laughing.

"He does," Catherine laughed, gasping for air. She whispered something back.

"Stop. I can't take it," Mariah laughed.

"I hate girls," Josh sputtered under his breath. "I honestly hate em."

"Shut up," Matt growled. He turned to Cath and raised an eyebrow. "Care to enlighten us?"

Catherine pulled Matt close and whispered, "Josh looks like a blob fish with his face all twisted like that."

Josh opened his mouth to speak but nothing but a faint hiss of air came out, like a balloon deflating. He gestured madly with outstretched hands from the girls to Matt before letting out a groan and walking briskly to his bedroom, slamming the door behind him.

"Somebody's a bit moody," Mariah laughed. "What's with Nerd Boy?"

"Somebody probably stole his microphone and ticked him off," Catherine laughed.

"We had a bit of a falling out," Matt sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"About me?" Catherine guessed with a knowing smile.

"About Twinkies and tulips and I don't even know anymore," Matt moaned with a shake of his head.

"Twinkies? Sounds important. Do you want to leave for my apartment now or do you want to beat him up over some HoHos?" Catherine teased, putting a hand to his burned cheek.

Matt's face changed. "Mari...I'm sorry. I forgot my mask," he mumbled. He was an idiot, a blasted idiot. That's why she was looking down. And he had hugged her and probably scared her half to death, or so he thought.

The reality was, Mariah was looking down because she didn't know what to say. What do you say to somebody who had been supposedly dead for the past seven years?

"It's alright," Mariah replied, finally looking him in the eye. "It's just...Oh my goodness, you're alive," she said, tearing up and moving closer. She pulled him into a hug. "I can't believe you're really here."

"I'll be in the other room. You guys take all the time you need," Catherine smiled. She immediately left to give the two some space. They would likely want to talk and catch up a bit.