Hitch met Noah at the bakery when he went to work. They chatted a little and laughed at Noah's joke about a baker and a chocolatier. Hitch then received another hug from Noah. He felt the warmth travelling throughout his spine and then shot through his entire body before it arrived at its final destination: his heart. He was then dropped on the ground softly. He then blushed when he caught Noah's loving gaze and looked in another direction. Noah then said goodbye to him. Hitch then felt as though he wanted to keep talking to Noah until the end of time. But then he realized that he had a job to work and a family to feed.
"So, he was just a guy you've met at school?! But why didn't he say anything?!" Merika yelled, sounding relieved but also annoyed.
"Well, I think that he might have been shy and just wanted to talk with me privately. He saved me two days ago from hooligans!"
"Well, then I will tell the boss that she has nothing to worry about!" said Merika.
Hitch continued his days in the room full of ovens. The heat was unbearable, but he kept doing his job in there. He was always greeted with the sweet scent of sugar and bread, and other treats that they would bake.
Hitch then arrived at the end of the day. He said goodbye to the other and then returned home. The outside was much colder than the room where he spent his time working. He then let the fresh and cold air enter his lungs. The sun was nearly dying behind the mountains. He then arrived at the doorstep. However, there was something that was awaiting him at home.
"Hitch, it looks like we have a guest," said Erika as she opened the door for him.
"Who is it?" Hitch asked curiously, and he tried to see who was behind his sister.
Hitch then noticed somebody's huge hands, who then closed his eyes, and he couldn't see anything. He then felt somebody's breathing just above his head. The hands were huge, but they were surprisingly gentle and soft. He felt the same warmth, only this time it was much friendlier.
"Guess who it is?" said a recognizable voice.
"Is it Noah?" Hitch said gleefully.
Noah's hand was then removed from Hitch's face, and now he could see his sister. Hitch then spun around and was wrapped around by Noah, who lifted Hitch off his feet. Hitch's head was now resting on Noah's pecs. He could sense Noah's heartbeat traveling from his head to his heart. He then felt the same warmth, only this time, it felt closer. His body was now full of that warmth. Hitch wished that they would stay like this forever. It was a warmth that he had never experienced in his life. He had forgotten nearly twelve years of his life. He had forgotten how warm his parents' warmth was for him. He thought that it must have been comforting, like the warmth he was currently experiencing, only this warmth was much closer than the love between a parent and their child. He wondered if this was how friends' warmth for each other. But Hitch never had any real friends, so he didn't know. But it felt comforting and close. As though they cared for each other's well-being.
Hitch was then put on the ground softly. He then looked at Noah, who was beaming with the brightest smile Hitch had ever seen. Noah then entered Hitch's house and was greeted by his two sisters. Hitch followed him.
They arrived in a room with a huge sofa that could easily fit five people. In front of the sofa was a wooden table that had drawers that contained all kinds of old magazines. In front of the sofa was a television. The dining room was just behind the sofa. It was a rectangular wooden table, accompanied by six wooden chairs. Then there was a door that would lead you into the kitchen.
Erika opened the kitchen door and was led into a rectangular room where there were drawers, cabinets, and cupboards. There was a huge fridge where it stored all of the fresh ingredients that this family would turn into delicious, well-scented meals.
Erika then closed the door and was prepared to make dinner.
Noah then jumped on the sofa and stretched his thick, muscular legs. Hitch had noticed that Noah was wearing a blue tank top and a pair of tight shorts. The shorts were so tight that Hitch could perceive the huge, round bulge that was contained in the area of Noah's crotch.
Hitch decided not to stare too much at Noah because something inside of him was arousing rapidly. He then sat next to Noah, who then took out the remote control and turned on the television.
"So tomorrow we should expect a huge storm coming up in the area of Evergreen. So much storm and rain that you could say that it's... rainy," announced the weather forecaster. "The average temperature for the next week will be between ten and twelve degrees Celsius."
"I don't know if they will be holding up the tournament in one week," said Noah sadly. "I came here to be with my grandmother just for the tournament so that I can win all the money and spoil her!"
"I dunno, maybe they would hold it even though it would look ugly every day," said Hitch, encouraging Noah.
"What are you guys talking about?" piped up a small voice.
"Hey, Mitch! How are you doing, my little sister?" said Hitch gleefully.
"I'm not little!" she squeaked.
"Well, you're six years younger than me, though!"
"Yeah, but I'm in high school and in two years I'll be in college and then in two years I'll graduate!" she announced excitedly with a joyful smile etched upon her small, cute face.
"Good," said Hitch softly. "What do you want to be in the future?" Hitch asked eagerly.
"I wanna be a psychologist!" she beamed.
"Then you should study at least four more years after you enter college. So you won't be as young as me when I graduated," said Hitch seriously.
"Okay, but I read every book about psychology and psychological experiments that were conducted by professionals! Why can't I already be a psychologist?!" She asked.
"Well, you need a medical license when you wanna become some sort of doctor. And it takes about four years of college to be able to accomplish that!" said Hitch matter-of-factly.
"Okay, brother, but I can't wait for me to become a psychologist!" she beamed. She then ran to the other side of Noah and sat next to him. She was scanning his body.
"Who are you?" she asked anxiously.
"I'm Noah," said Noah warmly. "Nice to meet you, Mitch!" He then patted her head softly and made her blush. "I'm your brother's friend!"
"Is it true that you saved my brother?" Mitch asked eagerly. "Erika told me that you told her that you saved my brother! But maybe she was lying..."
"No, she wasn't, Mitch!" Beamed Noah. "I saved my brother from the ones who set me on fire back at school!"
"No way!" Cried Mitch, disbelief was omnipresent in her voice and her face. "They tried to set you on fire?!"
"Yeah! Back when I was at school! But your brother here saved me! So now we're even!"
"Wow, I didn't know that you once saved a guy from burning, Hitch!"
"Well," said Hitch as his face glowed with guilt, but it was unnoticed by both of them. "I just thought that I did something good, but it wasn't worth speaking at the table, and I promised the principal not to speak about it because they had hushed up the story. The story that was told publicly was that the three of them were expelled because they set the school's beds on fire and not Noah here. But I trust that both of my sisters would not blab this story about in public because or else I'll beat you guys!" said Hitch seriously.
"Well, I already know that I don't want to blab about it when you consider the fact that Noah felt safe enough to confide his personal traumatic experience to his younger sister. Which meant that he felt safe enough when he was with Hitch or people who knew Hitch more than him, because talking about something like that so casually in the presence of Hitch proved my theory. Don't worry, brother, I won't blabber about it!" she said wisely and sounded so trustful that Hitch could have confided his deepest, darkest secrect to her with her knowing smile and her clever mannerism.
"Yeah, you wanna see the burns on my body?" Noah asked playfully.
"Noah," said Hitch, sounding worried. "I don't think that showing your scar to a kid would be a good idea," said Hitch seriously.
"I'm not a kid!" snapped Mitch sharply. "And I've seen pictures of scars worse than second or third degree burns!" she said triumphantly.
"Where have you seen them?!" Hitch asked angrily.
"In class, from every book about heavy and light injuries," said Mitch proudly. "I've also seen how people's scars were in dozens of books that I've read from the local library."
"Why are you interested in wounds, scars, and injuries?" Hitch asked anxiously.
"Well, since I wanted to become a psychologist, I thought that maybe visible scars and invisible scars have an impact on one's mind! You have never read really interesting cases about how people's scars impacted them! So I wanna first understand the impact on people from physical wounds, injuries, and scars before I hop on the invisible on one's mind!" said Mitch wisely enough that it convinced him that she wasn't a little girl anymore.
"So...." said Noah awkwardly. "Do you wanna see my scars?"
"Yes! I've always seen them in books but never one in real life!" she said excitedly.
Noah then removed his tank top, and there were visible purple burns all over his chest and stomach, and around his waist. While Mitch was mesmerized by his burns, Hitch then looked like a child being caught guilty of some naughty deeds when he laid his eyes upon Noah's burns.
But then something aroused inside of him, a sense of attraction that he had never experienced before. It was like feeling hungry, but not the typical hunger for food; it was a craving for something deeper and closer. He couldn't stop himself from looking at Noah's white body. His muscles were rippled underneath the skin that reflected the lights. His pecs were huge and round. His abs were solid and square. His body made the huge pecs and abs look proportionate, even though Hitch swore that they were two times big as he had seen from anyone at school.
Noah then caught Hitch staring at him. He then looked worried while Mitch was laying her hands on his burns. He looked rather envious, as though Mitch had stolen a privilege that Hitch ought to have.
"Are you okay, Hitch! Hitch!" Noah yelled, but his voice was still soft and gentle.
"Yeah?!" said Hitch. He then composed himself. "It's just that I feel uncomfortable looking at your burns," lied Hitch.
"Okay," said Noah, then he put on his tank top, which hid all of the burns on his body. "Hey, I forgot to tell your younger sister something. They also set my hair on fire!"
"Really?" said Mitch. "But why do you still have long, perfectly blond hair? It doesn't look like you have any injuries on your head!"
"Well, it was lucky that Hitch called the security on the goons, because otherwise I would have been bald! I had long hair back then, not as long as today, though," added Noah.
Then, in the silence that was quickly interrupted by the sharp, loud, long sound of someone passing gas.
"Jesus Christ!" Yelled Mitch as she jumped backward and was reaching for a perfume on the table. "Noah! I can't believe that you did that!" said Mitch accusingly.
"Oops!" He said apologetically as Hitch jumped away from him after a few seconds. He had the full blow of the gas in his lungs. It stank of the nasty smell of rotten egg. He was gagging profusely. He had been the closest to Noah and was too busy staring at his handsome face while Noah unleashed the gas attack.
Mitch was spraying the perfume everywhere around Noah. The scent of sweet lavender then replaced the smell of rotten egg. Hitch then went to the toilet that was next to the stairs, and he puked directly into the toilet. He still had the smell that lingered heavily inside his lungs. He was holding the toilet seat for support with his weak arms. His vision had become blurred, and it was slowly coming clear.
"Are you okay?" Noah asked caringly.
"No, I'm all right, it's just that your fart was the stinkinest thing my nose had ever sniffed and the worst thing that had entered my lungs!"
"I'm sorry about that," said Noah truthfully. "It's just that I thought it would make you laugh, but apparently I was extremely wrong. Even I thought that my gas attack was stinky as fuck!"
"Ooh!" yelled Mitch. "He said a bad word!"
"Oops, sorry!" said Noah. "Here, let me help you up!"
Noah then helped Hitch stay steady on both of his feet. Then Hitch took sheets of toilet paper and wiped his mouth, which had puke on it. He then threw the papers in the toilet. He then reached for the toilet and flushed it away. The loud sound of flushing entered his ears, and he watched as the toilet's contents disappeared and were now replaced by water.
"Just promised me that you won't fart next to me next time, all right?" Hitch demanded.
"All right, I promised that I won't use gas attack on you guys anymore! Pinky swear?" Noah then lifted his pinky.
Hitch had just noticed how huge his hands were and how muscly they looked. His fingers were like thick, medium-sized sausages. Hitch then lifted his pinky, and they both made the pinky swear. Hitch felt now much closer to Noah, and he couldn't help but blush when he came into contact with Noah's skin directly, with no clothes acting as a barrier between their skin. His skin was softer and yet muscular than Hitch had thought. They both let go of the pinky swear.
They then heard the door open, and there was Erika, wearing her usual dress. Now, she had a purple kitchen apron on her.
"I heard commotions from your rooms! Does anybody care to explain-"
"Noah let out a huge bomb!" yelled Mitch as she now stopped spraying the perfume around the sofa.
"Ohh," said Noah, who then looked awkwardly at Erika. He looked as if he was expecting to be told off. But Erika just made one remark:
"Boys!" she then slammed the door as though they had wasted her precious time in the kitchen.
"What does she mean by 'boys'?" Noah asked curiously.
"She's saying that boys are always farty and that they barely have any manners," explained Hitch quietly.
"Because we girls and women don't farts!" said Mitch proudly.
"No, they do farts!" objected Noah.
"No, we don't!" snapped Mitch stubbornly.
"Yes, they do!" objected Noah.
"NO, WE DON'T!" bellowed Mitch.
"People, seriously! This discussion is going nowhere! Humans do fart, and that's natural!" proclaimed Hitch.
"But, brother! Indeed, women don't fa-"
"Yeah, say whatever nonsense you wanna say!" snapped Hitch. "I thought you were much wiser for your age; it seems as though my assumption had been proven gravely wrong," said Hitch codly.
Mitch looked as though she would throw the biggest tantrum she would execute in her life. Her face began swelling, and her face had turned a deep shade of red that gave Hitch the impression that he was staring at a giant tomato with hair. She then leapt from the sofa and climbed the stairs rapidly as though she took five steps at a time. They then heard a door slam loudly, which was then followed by a muffled high-pitched scream.
The kitchen door then opened loudly. There stood Erika, who looked deeply annoyed.
"What is it again? It's better not be that beefcake who unleashed another gas attack!" she said sharply.
"No," said Hitch dully. "I just told off Mitch, and now she's throwing a huge tantrum in her room," he said casually.
"But maybe you were too hard on her!" said Noah. "Like you told her off in cold disappointment rather than being loud, hot fury! I bet that it must have felt much worse!"
"Don't worry, Noah," said Hitch casually. "In five minutes, she will finish her tantrum. Then she'll come down and dine with us. And we'll act as though nothing happened. That's the best way that it could go."
"All right, Hitch," said Erika imperiously. "I need you guys to set the table for four people, and I want everything to be fine!"
Hitch and Noah then followed her into the kitchen. The sweet smell of tomato soup entered their nostril. They were able to indulge the scent of fried rice and the salty smell of oyster sauce, which seemed to come from a plate full of bok choy. She opened the cupboard on the wall, and it was revealed that it had plates and bowls within it. She tiptoed and reached for the plates and brought down four before she put them in Hitch's arm's reach. He then set the plates on the table as Noah came back with cutlery in his arms, and he put down spoons, knives, and forks. He then put down water glasses.
Erika came out of the kitchen with her hands holding a pot full of scarlet tomato soup. She then heaved it onto the table. She then pulled out a giant soup spoon from her pocket and stirred the soup.
She then sniffed the sweet and sour smell of tomato, and then her nostrils flared: something's missing, something important that she had forgotten to add while she was making the broth.
Then she ran back into the kitchen with hurried footsteps while Hitch and Noah had installed themselves on the chair that faced each other. He then looked at Noah, who threw his head back and let his hair fly beautifully. He just couldn't stop staring at Noah. Erika then returned with a handful of dried minced garlic and dried minced basil leaves. She then threw them into the pot and stirred it furiously, where there were small drops of the soup that had escaped the pot. She then took out a teaspoon and scooped up the pot's contents. She raised the spoon to her lips and blew on it softly. She then gobbled the soup and let out a satisfied sigh.
"Mitch! It's time for dinner!" called Erika at the top of her voice.
The door upstairs slammed open, and there were hurried footsteps that descended the stairs. Mitch looked totally fine, as though this was just a day as bright as the other day.
They were all seated at the table after Erika had brought a huge plate of fried rice and a huge bowl of bok choy cooked in oyster sauce.
"This looks good!" piped up Mitch.
"No, Mitch, it is good!" said Hitch confidently.
"Well," said Erika. "Dig in!"
They all had a small bowl next to their plate. They passed the pot with tomato soup around the table so that everyone could fill their bowl with the pot's contents. They then filled their plates with a good amount of fried rice, which contained several different vegetables. They then passed around the bowl full of bok choy.
The sound of cutlery being used was present in the room. They all dined silently while Noah was eating noisily and had his face full of tomato soup and fried rice.
"This is so good!" exclaimed Noah.
"Well, I'm glad you liked it," said Erika contentedly.
"Here, have a paper," said Hitch as he passed the roll of paper to Noah. Noah then used one sheet of paper to wipe his mouth so that it would look cleaner.
"So," began Erika. "I heard that there was going to be a tournament happening here. What is it about?" she asked curiously as she eyed Noah.
Noah then coughed while he was eating the tomato soup.
"Well, it's going to be about who would last the longest on the raging bull. I've heard that the bull is huge and that nobody has lasted longer than a minute on the bull! I really hope that I will win this tournament because the prize is one hundred thousand Rowls!"
"I wondered how a little town was able to procure that much money for the prize because we're not exactly in a huge town, you know," said Erika suspiciously.
"Well, no, because it's actually five towns that made this whole thing! They had huge regional sponsors! And apparently it's going to happen in a football stadium. There are like five thousand seats there. I heard that the cheapest ticket was like one thousand Rowls and the most expensive was like ten thousand Rowls!"
"Jeez, it's really expensive!" piped up Hitch.
"Yeah, but there are over one hundred people who would be competing, and I'm one of them!" said Noah proudly.
"I really hope that you will win this tournament," said Hitch hopefully as he continued to eat his fried ice with bok choy.
"Looking at you, you look as though you could stop an entire bull!" said Erika jokingly.
"Yeah, I am really huge. The doctors said that I've got the biggest growth spurt they've ever seen," said Noah proudly as he flexed the muscle within his arm.
"You look as though you've never skipped any day of your working routine," piped up Mitch.
"Yeah, I always go to the gym every day, even though I do spare myself some time to do other than working out. I loved to visit that bakery and my favourite cake from there is the chocolate fondant cake!"
"Yeah, and I knew you would love it," said Hitch casually. "Well, we changed the recipe for the cake when I first worked there."
"Really? No wonder it tasted much better than usual!" said Noah gleefully.
"Yeah, but if I had to guess," piped up Mitch, "I bet that they change the recipe because you've proposed your own recipe, isn't that right, Hitch?"
Hitch, who was in the act of swallowing, then choked the the fried rice. He then coughed multiple times, spitting small grains of fried rice everywhere. He could feel something stuck in his windpipe, and he gradually lost his vision.
Everybody then looked shocked and worried and leapt from their seat, but the fastest was Noah as he jumped from his chair and landed loudly just right behind Hitch. Noah then hit Hitch's back hard. Hitch felt as though there was somebody who swung a mace on his back. The path to his windpipe then became clear again. Hitch stopped choking and then took gulps of water that helped him very much.
"Thank you," croaked Hitch.
"No problem, Hitch," said Noah warmly.
"Damn, you nearly choke to death from my cooking, that would look good on my resume," said Erika sarcastically.
"Brother, so was my hypothesis correct?" squeaked Mitch.
"Yeah, they did change the recipe after I told them that their chocolate fondant was too dry and that it was too sweet. I made up a recipe that won me third place in my baking class. And they really liked it, and my boss allowed me to impose this recipe as the bakery's official recipe for the chocolate fondant."
"No wonder Noah liked the chocolate fondant," said Mitch knowingly.
"It's not what you think, Mitch! He already liked the chocolate fondant, and now he loved the new chocolate fondant, do you, Noah?" Hitch asked doubtfully as he looked at Noah with uncertainty etched upon his face, and it swam deep in his eyes.
"Yes, in fact, I loved it!" He said honestly, which made Hitch's heart swell in his chest, and his heartbeat was much faster than the average day it spent inside his body.
"Well, thank you," said Hitch as he sounded much relieved. "I thought that I might have ruined the chocolate fondant."
"No, even my grandmother loves it; she even said it was the best chocolate fondant she ever had!" Noah announced happily.
"Well, I would bet my life that it's not just the chocolate fondant that he likes, I bet he also likes-"
"All right, everybody, it seemed that we finished eating, so we'd better clean up the mess we've made," interrupted Erika.
They all spent their time removing the nearly empty plates from the table, followed by the cutlery, which they were then all placed in the kitchen's huge deep sink. The sound of the plates that clatter with each other became present when Erika put them down carelessly, which resulted in none of the plates breaking. They then put the leftovers in separate plastic containers, which were then left in the fridge. Noah and Hitch cleaned the table with sponges and a small amount of water, and a minute quantity of soap. They also trashed all of the fried rice that was scattered all around the floor and table.
Noah then leapt on the sofa and reached for a drawer on the table, and pulled out a magazine. The magazine was still wrapped in a plastic wrapper. He removed the wrapper in an uncivilized manner and threw the wrapper in the bin that was located near the television. He flipped the over and looked at the date of its release. It says:
29/03/1938.
It was only a few days ago, he thought. His eyes scanned the lines in the magazine in a fast-paced manner. He then stopped at something that had hooked his interest.
"It says here that there is going to be a two percent deflation in the currency,y Rowls. And it also says here that there's going to be a five percent inflation for the currency known as Ralous - never heard of it!"
"Really?" Hitch asked in disbelief.
"Yeah, it says right here in the magazine," said Noah as he handed the magazine to Hitch.
Hitch scanned the pages rapidly.
"Oh, that's fabulous news!" He said excitedly. "By law, it's stated somewhere - I don't quite remember, but it says that if there was a case of deflation, one's salary doesn't change after it's been signed when one received the amount of salary stated in the document signed! There's also a law stating that student loan payments don't change in cases of deflation! But that still means that I don't own them the same amount! I can pay my student loan debt faster than I expected!" He said excitedly.
"What does that mean?" Noah asked uncertainly.
"Well," began Hitch enthusiastically, "that means that if I owed them ten thousand Rowls (Which I actually do...) and if there's a case of two percent deflation, my student loan debt will still be the same: ten thousand Rowls!"
"I still don't get it," said Noah shyly as though he couldn't bear the fact that he showed Hitch that he wasn't as intelligent as he thought out to be.
"Yes, but imagine if I had ten thousand Rowls and there's a two percent deflation, it would still be ten thousand Rowls! - but then," Hitch added before Noah could ask Hitch to explain more explicitly. "The old ten thousand Rowls would be worth about ten thousand and two hundred Rowls compared to the new ten thousand Rowls!"
"But then doesn't that mean that the old Rowls is worth more than the new Rowls?" Noah asked Hitch anxiously.
"No, Noah!" said Hitch impatiently. "They are the same and yet not the same! Do you get what I am trying to tell you?" Hitch asked eagerly with a note of hope in his face, but he was let down when Noah just shook his head and looked disappointed in himself. Hitch noticed that and then wore an expression of guilt upon his face. "Just let's stop talking about this, Noah. If you don't get it, it's okay, you don't need to bully your mind!" said Hitch warmly. "It's just been that it's good news for you, that's all you need to understand!"
"Yeah," said Noah sulkily.
"Noah," Erika began caringly. "Why are you sulking? You're just bad at calculation and math, but I'm also bad at it - yet I excelled in other subjects than calculation, like English, history, and culinary! You also must excel in other subjects!" said Erika encouragingly.
"Yeah, I used to excel at Math, but I abandoned the subject, and now I am the best in physical education and sports," said Noah sulkily. "It's just that I abandoned Brain for brawl. I could just imagine what that one certain person would say...." Noah said grimly.
Erika looked confused, while Noah then approached Noah and put his hand on Noah's strong, muscly, yet soft shoulder in a sort of fatherly approach. Noah looked as though he was touched by Hitch's approach, and he then sent him a warm smile, which Hitch understood as he felt much better now without Hitch saying anything.
"You ought to forget about that person," said Hitch advisingly. "She's not here anymore! She left school just a few days after the incident!"
"Yeah, I try, but I never forgot how much I was shamed, humiliated, and exposed to people because of her! She made my life miserable for one whole year at school, which I also had to spend miserable moments even when I was at home! She bullied me - she harassed me - she humiliated me - she tormented me! I will never forgive her! I will find her, and I will do anything to make her life miserable!" Noah roared furiously, which made Mitch so scared that she ran up the stairs rapidly and slammed the door shut.
Noah then looked guilty as though he thought that he had gone a little too overboard when he heard little Mitch, who ran away because of him. He then composed himself by breathing slowly and exhaling, and inhaling sharply with his eyes closed.
"Don't worry," said Hitch assuringly. "You do have the right to hate her with everything you've got!" Hitch said sharply.
"I don't want to butt in," began Erika nervously, "but I just wanna know who this person is you guys are talking about."
"Her?" Hitch said bitterly. "It's a student named Julia McSweet. She always bullied Noah for what he was. I know that you don't know about her because you were in another school, but I was in the same school as Noah, just two years above him. She was supposed to be an exchange student who was going to stay for just a month, but she stayed for a whole year - and she was in my class," said Hitch bitterly. "She was always accompanied by three idiots who were in love with m- I mean her!" Hitch corrected quickly, Noah then wondered what Hitch had corrected because he hadn't heard properly. Hitch then continued his speech, "and always followed her like a dog and gawked at her trollishly when every their dumb gaze could fix upon: Antoin, Piers, and Marcus. I hate it when they do that!"
"They were huge fools back at school and were bullies, but the school didn't do anything about it, as they were the sons of a powerful person," said Noah heavily. "She was always accompanied by them, and whenever there were break times or lunch times, she would always find an excuse to start an argument or humiliate someone. She always went for me because I was this nerdy, chubby, shy guy who had no friends and never tried to defend himself. But it was lucky that she doesn't comùe every day, because she only comes on Monday, Thursday, and Friday afternoon. Apparently, she spent those times when she wasn't in school at the local theater to practise because she wanna become an actress. I doubt that she needed any kind of training to play the role of a huge bitch! And it's funny when you thought that the only guy who was nice and kind to me was always absent when she's here. It's this person here who always comforted me and helped me through when I was having a hard time after she harassed me. I must thank you, Hitch. You were the one who was kind to me, and you helped me whenever I needed help and comfort from someone," said Noah warmly as he sent Hitch a really warm smile, which made Hitch blush red, and he tried to face the other way; he couldn't muster the strength to not smile warmly back. There was a single tear that fell from both of his eyes. He then slumped on Noah's chest (they were soft and yet strong, and he could feel the warmth from Noah's heart that travelled through his body) and began sobbing hard. Noah then looked completely flustered, with no idea what to do. He decided that the best action he could execute was to let Hitch sob and release all of his caged feelings, regrets, and emotions.
Erika watched them anxiously as though she didn't know what triggered this reaction from her brother. From her bewildered look, Noah deduced that this sort of event doesn't often occur in this household. He then just hugged Hitch as he continued to sob and cry, which was muffled by Noah's chest.
Noah's shirt was getting wet as Hitch continued sobbing hard. Noah then rested his head on Hitch's head, which made Noah feel somewhat closer and much more intimate than a friend. He wondered if this was what to have a friend who was willing to share something they wouldn't do with their sibling.
"I'm s-s-s-sorry!" Hitch finally croaked. "It was all my fault!" He wailed helplessly. Noah then stroked Hitch's short brown hair and sang a lullaby. Hitch seemed to somewhat calm down, as he stopped wailing but continued his episode of sobbing cathartically.
"No, Hitch," said Noah caringly, "you mustn't blame yourself! You helped me a lot - more than I deserved!"
"I couldn't have defended you when she was there! But I prioritized my studies in the culinary in another school when she was there with you! I could have chosen to stop my culinary classes and return to my normal school and defend you from that wicked witch! But I didn't! I was too selfish! I am a horrible person!" He croaked.
"Shh.... sh....." he said caringly. "You mustn't blame yourself, Hitch. I would understand if you would rather spend your time studying in the culinary world rather than being in school studying things that are barely useful in the real world! It's okay if you are career ambitious, you are a wonderful person, Hitch!"
"I-I-I d-don't d-d-deserve to be called wonderful!" He moaned sadly.
Noah then hugged Hitch tightly around his waist with his strong, thick, muscular arms, yet Hitch felt that his arms were soft, and it radiated a warmth inside of him, which made his mood light up a little bit.
"You are the reason why I'm here, HItch - you are the reason why I'm still alive - you are the reason why I've changed - you are the reason why I'm happy with my grandmother - you are the one who made me change. You've changed me through you. I could never do anything that could thank you enough. I owe a huge debt to you, which I'll probably still owe until the end of my life."
Hitch continued to sob, and then Noah kissed his forehead. His thin lips were soft, and they were gentle in a way that Hitch hadn't anticipated. Hitch felt a sense of intimacy flow inside of him from where Noah had laid his lips upon. Hitch couldn't explain this feeling that he was currently experiencing. But it was a great feeling, probably the best feeling he had ever felt in years. He was wondering whether this was what it felt like to have somebody who cared deeply for you, other than relatives. He felt as though he could kiss Noah back on his cheek, but then he felt that maybe he hadn't earned this level of intimacy yet.
Hitch then looked up at Noah with his eyes, which had swelled slightly red because he had been sobbing hard for several minutes. Niah just smiled warmly back with his eyes, which were full of love and caring for the one who was reflected in the oceanic blues. Hitch then knew that Noah would be able to do anything for him.
"I don't deserve this kind of relationship," he muttered.
"What are you talking about?" Noah asked caringly. "You do deserve the world! You were the one who had saved me from different episodes of misery in my life! I would even trust you with my life! Stop being modest, Hitch!"
"It's just that...." Hitch was able to muster the strength or the courage to tell Noah the truth. He decided that it was maybe for the best - for now.
"I've been childish," said Hitch sternly.
"No, Hitch! You haven't been childish at all!" Noah said honestly. "When someone cries their feelings out, it doesn't mean that they are weak: it means that they were too strong for too long, Hitch! Never, ever feel ashamed about yourself when you need to let out your emotions. It's natural for humans," Noah said comfortingly.
Hitch had stopped sobbing after Noah's word, which touched his core deeply. Erika said that she was going to bed because in about three days, she would take a train thirty-five miles from here into a city so that she could start he career as a cook (Good for you!).
"Hey, Hitch," Noah began nervously, "do you wanna be a bit of company when I return home?" He asked shyly.
"Yeah," said Hitch excitedly, "at least I will know where you are currently living!"
"Thanks, Hitch, this means a lot to me," beamed Noah.
They both exited the Hiker's house. The outside was chillier than usual, and the air was also much fresher than the air you would normally inhale during the day. Hitch was shivering silently with his teeth clattering dully. Noah, however, looked totally not bothered by the cold that the nighttime had for people who would wander outside their residences.
"How do you manage to act as though it wasn't cold?" Hitch shivered.
"Feel, the cold doesn't really bother, and I heard that it's good for your health, unless of course, if you catch a cold!" said Noah casually.
"You literally wore only a tank top and tight shorts, while I am in my jacket and my warm pants."
"Well, I like to expose most of my body parts so that they can enjoy the temperature, the sun, and the cold that the night has to offer. It makes me stronger, you know. I think that there was some philosopher who once said, 'what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger'. I don't remember who it was, but this quote is pretty true for me," he said casually.
"Can we please walk to your house?" Hitch asked desperately as his knees became weaker and weaker the longer they stood still. His teeth kept clattering even though he tried his best not to. Noah must have noticed more symptoms than Hitch could experience because then he looked quite nervous and anxious before they then walked silently (except for Hitch) through the night.
The streets and the roads were illuminated by street lamps or lamp posts, or the lights that shone through the windows of the building. Noah was humming nosily through the night, though he didn't seem to bother anyone, so Hitch decided to let Noah hum to his heart's content. They walked for about fifteen minutes before Noah came to a halt in front of a building.
The building looked ancient compared to the other buildings that were present in the town. It looked as though it went through multiple phases of ownership. Hitch then looked at Noah, who then approached the front door. He then looked behind and saw Hitch. He then walked up to Hitch.
"Thanks for being here with me," he said gratefully.
"Well, how can I say no to a friend!" He said gleefully.
"And...." Noah then reached to scratch his head awkwardly. "I'm sorry that I didn't ask for your consent when I kissed your forehead," he said apologetically.
"No, no, no, not at all!" Hitch said quickly. "I know that you didn't know what else you could do to comfort me, so you don't need to apologize for it at all!"
"Well, thanks," Noah said as he blushed. "I probably shouldn't have done," he said regretfully.
"No, no, no! I don't mind it at all! I know that some people might think that act to be considered as homosexual, but I don't see it that way, if you're worried about that!"
"No, no," he said quickly. "I don't care if you think that I'm gay, because you're half right.... I'm bisexual," he said honestly.
"Well, I'm gay," said Hitch honestly. Noah then looked flustered and didn't know what to do, as though he had just learned something that could change everything.
"Well, I didn't know that you were gay," said Noah truthfully.
"I didn't know that you were bisexual either," said Hitch truthfully.
"I gotta go now," Noah said quickly. "I need to take care of my grandmother before she can set the whole house on fire. Thank you for the meal, Hitch," said Noah gratefully.
Hitch chuckled and didn't try to hide his smile.
"It's not me who you should be thanking," piped up Hitch. "You should be thanking my sister, Erika!"
"Well, could you please tell her that I was thankful for the meal she provided?"
"Yes, I could do that," said Hitch causally.
Noah then reached to grab Hitch's back and pulled him rapidly into a tight hug. Hitch felt the warmth travel through his entire body, and he couldn't deny that his heart was beating faster. He could feel Noah resting his head on Hitch's head and could feel his long blond hair, which was incredibly soft, and Hitch wanted to touch it and turn it into a masterpiece that he could preserve forever.
"All right, I gotta go, I hope that you could come and see me in the tournament," said Noah hopefully.
"Yeah, I'll try and get the day off from my boss," said Hitch casually, though there was a hint of uncertainty in his voice which Noah wasn't able to capture.
Noah then entered his grandmother's house and vanished behind the door. Hitch was now alone, and he didn't know what to do.