17.12.2023, 01:49 AM

I went there only for Nick. I knew he would be there, and even if I didn't know who else was gonna be there, I didn't care. Not until I saw his face, the face of the man that harrassed me, in the crowd. I don't think he saw me, but this story is not about him anyway: it's about him, Nick.

But, after I saw that man, my harrasser - not Nick, of course - , my heart started to pound in my chest, not a rational thought in my head. I just turned around, and went in another room. The 'Mic Plug' was basically a long hallway, with a couple of rooms on the right along the way and a bathroom at the end. I rested sitting on the big speakers before the bathroom, my eyes getting lost in the poster on the wall under the light, now red, now blue, now green, now red, ...

Nick eventually found me. "Finn" was the first, and one of the only, words that came out of his mouth. Just my name.
He then landed his hands on my shoulders, briefly asking how was I feeling, and listening to my response but not believing my "fine" too much. Then Nick sat down next to me, my eyes still lost in the poster on the wall, his shifting under the flashing lights; he gently let me rest my head on his shoulder, wrapped my shoulders with an arm and caressing my hair while holding my hand with the other.

He was silent, caring, soft, gentle. He was everything. Not  a single word in the whole world could describe him better than this one. The soft kisses he landed on my cheek, on my head, like the sweet pats when I looked at him and he got flustered. The little hair of his face, that made it as soft as a peach when it's mature, and the way we looked into each other's eyes every time we were about to kiss, even if we never did.

Then my best friend, Maia, arrived too, and I hugged her: it was our second hug ever. It' been more than 4 years, and the first time we hugged was because we didn't see each other for 3 months because of Covid. I hugged her tight, then let her go. She just sat down next to Nick, and stayed there. Not a single word escaped from our mouths for half an hour, but it was one of the moments I care about the most: they were everything i needed, and even when that moment passed, I did not leave his shoulder. If that's selfish, then let it be.