The birds twittered and rustled the branches on the tree outside of Alec's window. Alec's eyes fluttered open and he pushed himself up. The minute he put an ounce of weight on his arm, his shoulder shrieked and he collapsed back onto his bed with a sharp groan.
      It had been a good three weeks after Adrian's father had roughed him up, yet his shoulder did not cease to ache. It was even worse on rainy days, when any simple move Alec made sent it into a frenzy of pain.
      Even three weeks after the whole confrontation, Adrian had not made an appearance out into the neighborhood. Alec began to worry desperately. In the middle of the night he would wake up to himself crying. Sometimes he hated how much his emotions were intertwined with Adrian's being and it sent him slowly into a depression. But depression was not something that was unexpected when he didn't know where Adrian was or had not seen him in a while. It was a long cycle, a slow cycle, a heart wrenching cycle. Dark circles would form around his dark chocolate eyes from lack of rested sleep. His skin would get pale and green, like he was very very sick. His muscles would ache and moan when he moved anywhere, and his shoulder would just scream uncontrollably. After time, he would get skinnier and skinnier, not able to eat much. Unconsciously, he was making himself physically sick.
      It was about a week later, and the old Alec was being slowly eaten away by the sick and morbid Alec. The black journal lay on the floor forgotten. Somewhere deep inside the hollow shell Alec had become, was the old Alec, struggling for a way to reappear and put a stop to this torture. That old Alec must've led the way when he decided to pick up his journal, and a pen, and go down to the pond and write.
      Not having been in the sun for weeks, Alec walked out almost surprised. The concrete glowed in the bright sun and birds flew over head in the magnificent blue sky. It was a gorgeous day, and never before had anyone found such perfect weather. Shoulders hunched, head down, Alec marched his way out to the pond, and next to his willow. Pitifully, he sagged down against the tree and layed his journal next to him in the grass. For a while, he just sat and breathed in the healing air, and listened to that small birds chirp and twitter between eachother. The water was clear and the algea only floated on the outermost edges. Out in the center of the pond was black, the pond was very deep, and Alec's mind floated to what was swimming in the desolate waters. It wasn't very long before Alec couldn't keep his eyes open, and he dozed for the first time in four weeks.
      His dream was also the cheeriest dream he'd had. He saw Adrian's face just looking down on him, like the sun. He didn't say anything, just hovered and watched with a dreamy protective look on his face. His mouth opened and he mumbled, "You look actually at peace when your asleep..." With the pounding of Alec's heart, and a blur of colors, dream turned into reality, and there was Adrian, leaning over Alec staring into his face. Alec wasn't sure what to say, what he could say, but he was glad Adrian spoke first. "I...I'm so sorry..." Slowly, Adrian sat down and glared into Alec's eyes, trying to see if he forgave him. Alec lifted his hand, and brushed it against the yellowed skin around Adrian's eye, not completely blackened anymore. "Yo-...your father?" Alec said in helpless fear. Adrian took his hand and held onto it. "Yes...he...he was so rude to you...treated you like filth...I can't be any more sorry."
      Alec stared meaningfully at Adrian holding his hand. He couldn’t breathe. Everything had been flipped around and upside down. His best friend was not perfect. His best friend’s life was not perfect. And maybe now, his best friend had feelings for him. All the depressions and demons soaked out of his body and this revelation made him happier than he had ever been in his disgusting mud splattered life. With his bad shoulder, he picked up his journal, ignoring the pain, and opened it to the page he had last written on a month ago. As gently as he could, he slipped his hand out of Adrian’s and took his pen out of his pocket. The only sound was his pen writing and the wind gusting through the trees that surrounded the pond.
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