Hitch could be seen sitting outside under a giant patio umbrella. He often glanced at his watch on his right hand. He tapped his right foot on the hard floor impatiently as he glanced around for the person he was waiting for. On the table on which he rested his arms was a medium-sized chessboard with all of the pieces that were present.
The day was sunny, and the temperature of the air still had the cold from the night that still lingered. The air was also as fresh as the previous night, which was quite pleasant in Hitch's humble opinion.
Hitch then noticed the person he was waiting for - he wasn't exactly hard to miss by as he was six feet and a half, and his body was nearly four times wider than Hitch's thin body. He had long blond hair that gave him the impression that he was a young lion. He had oceanic blue eyes, which were always pleasant to look into.
Hitch then waved savagely to hook the attention of the person he had been waiting for. He finally saw Hitch and jogged quickly before he pulled a steel chair and dragged it from the table (it's too close to the table and had barely enough space for someone of his proportions). The sound of the steel chair's legs clawed the floor slightly and made an unpleasant noise before Noah had managed to pull it away from the table to make enough space for him to sit in.
"How are you doing, Hitch?" Noah asked warmly.
"Well, I'm on my lunch break, so I gotta return to work in about an hour, but I just wanted to spend some time with you," said Hitch casually.
"I see that there's a chessboard here," said Noah coolly. "Doyouwannaplaychesswithme?" Noah blurted out, and Hitch noticed that he blushed a scarlet shade on his face.
"Sure, why not? Do you remember how each pieces move and how each piece eats the opposite pieces?" Hitch asked seriously.
"Yeah, I think the pawns can only move one case in front and eat one case diagonally, is that right?" Noah asked anxiously.
"Yes, that is right," beamed Hitch.
Hitch then made Noah recite all of the pieces' moves to verify whether he knew how each piece moved, and Noah exceeded Hitch's expectations. Hitch beamed every time he got his answer right.
"All right," said Hitch finally after Noah told him how the knights move. "Do you wanna be black or white?"
"I prefer white, because they have a head start," explained Noah casually.
"Well, you're lucky that I'm modest, because I'm going to let you play white and I'll play black," said Hitch warmly.
They then put the pieces where they belong. Noah's hand seemed too big for the pieces, but he could still place and hold them with his huge fingers.
Noah opened the game by placing the pawn from E2 to E4. Hitch then placed the pawn from E7 to E5. Noah then placed the knight from G1 to H3. Hitch then looked as though Noah had committed a rookie error in the game of chess and hid his smile pretty well. Hitch then placed the bishop from F8 to C5. Noah then looked confused and raised an eyebrow curiously, as though he wondered what kind of offense Hitch was planning. Noah then took the knight from H3 to F4. Hitch then looked slightly impressed by the move that Noah had just made. He then took his queen from D8 to F6. Noah then looked panicked as he realized that Hitch was menacing his knight, and he had no piece to defend the knight. He then put the knight from F4 to D5. Noah then looked smugly as though he thought that he could menace the queen and eat her if Hitch didn't do anything. Hitch's eyes lingered on his queen and on Noah's knight. Hitch then smiled deviously and sniggered maliciously. He then took his queen from F6 to F2.
"Checkmate!" yelled Hitch gleefully.
"What!?" yelled Noah.
"Are you deaf? I said that it's checkmate!"
"But how!" He looked completely caught off guard. "But then I could eat the queen with my king!" He said defensively.
"No, no, no," chortled Hitch. "The queen is protected by the bishop here!" said Hitch smugly as he pointed to where his bishop was stationed.
Noah then groaned sulkily.
"You're just too good at this game!" said Noah, annoyed.
"No, it's just that you're too bad at this game!" said Hitch triumphantly.
Noah then snapped. He then threw the chessboard across the street, and then he lifted the table they were using high into the air (twelve feet) before it landed hard on the street. It was lucky that the table was made out of steel because or else Hitch would have paid the full price for the damage caused by his friend. Noah looked furious, and he was breathing like a raging bull.
Hitch was too surprised to say anything as he didn't know what to do or what he had done to trigger a reaction as savage as this. Hitch then left his seat as he approached Noah carefully and silently while he was looking in the other direction and breathing like a mad bull.
"Noah?" Hitch asked anxiously.
"WHAT!?" He snarled as he spun around and looked at Hitch with pure rage and hatred. Hitch was totally taken aback and hadn't expected Noah to act like this as he fell hard on the ground. Noah then looked calmer and looked as though he regretted what had happened, and just looked deeply ashamed of himself as he helped Hitch get back on his feet.
"I'm sorry," he said apologetically and sincerely. "I shouldn't have lost my temper like that."
"It's okay, Noah," said Hitch as he noticed that dozens of people were goggling at them curiously, and some stared anxiously. "But could you please tell me what I did back there so that I wouldn't repeat the same mistake?"
"It's just that... come on, people are gawking at us like idiots," said Noah quickly as he dragged Hitch by his arm, and Hitch followed him obediently. They found themselves alone in an alleyway, which took away more than three times the intensity of light when they were in it.
"Hitch, please listen to me," begged Noah desperately.
"I'm all ears!" said Hitch gleefully with a confident smile, though Noah didn't return it.
"I'm not going to blame you, Hitch," he said sadly. "It's just that when you said that I was bad at this game and looked at me with that proud, smug face.... it just reminded me of when Julia would torment me with her face in a sort of smug and she would always call me out when I'm bad at something. I'm not blaming you, Hitch," Noah added quickly before Hitch could open his mouth. "It's just that... you have the same eyes as her, and that expression on your face with her eyes, plus the fact that you called me bad at something: it made me furious and I gotta destroy something and throw the closest things to me! I'm sorry if I acted like a savage," said Noah sincerely.
Hitch then looked as though he was guilty and was the reason why Noah acted like this. Noah then noticed that Hitch looked guilty by just looking at his eyes.
"Hitch!" He cried, "You mustn't blame yourself! It's Julia who's to blame! She was the reason why I lived miserable years at school! It's not your fault, Hitch! You just did something that unknowingly triggered me! Why do you still look guilty?!"
"It's just that..." muttered Hitch. "You wouldn't understand, nobody could," said Hitch.
"Hitch, I'm your friend, you can confide whatever to me if you want, but if you don't want to, I get you. Just don't blame yourself for what just happened, I am to blame!"
"Nobody could.... not even my family..... not even my therapist..... not even my doctor...." Hitch muttered as though he were alone, which caused Noah to look anxiously at Hitch.
"Hitch! Hitch! Do you hear me?!" Noah shouted.
"Er-? Yes - yes! I hear you," said Hitch, who seemed to have returned to Earth. "It's just that... I'm sorry if I didn't pay as much attention to your words," Hitch said honestly.
"Don't blame yourself, Hitch! Now, I've finished what I wanted to say, and what do you wanna do now?" Noah asked gleefully, which caught Hitch by surprise with how fast his mood changed.
"Errrrr..... I think I should return to work," said Hitch hastily.
"All right, off you go, then," said Noah as he punched Hitch affectionately on the shoulder, which made Hitch buckle slightly.
"Jeez, you know that you're strong as hell, Noah, don't just punch me like that, okay?" said Hitch.
"Oops, sorry! Yeah, I often forget how strong I am. Next time, I'll just hug you tightly," beamed Noah.
"Yeah, I'm up for hugs," said Hitch as he then wrapped his arms around Noah's strong, thick waist. It felt like hugging a very thick tree, but it felt warmer and softer and much more affectionate when hugging somebody you like as much as Noah. Hitch felt loved, a type of love he had never once experienced with his family or people he knew. He felt the warmth shoot down his spine and made it chilled his bones chill. He wanted this moment to continue forever, as though this was going to be the only thing he could ever experience.
Noah then hugged Hitch back with his thick, dense, muscular arms. Though those arms could lift hundreds of pounds, Hitch felt as though they were a warm blanket that wrapped around his back. It was the best blanket he could ever ask for.
"Well, gotta go," said Hitch finally, though inside him, he didn't want to go to work but stay like this. He knew that hugging and being physically affectionate with Noah was the best thing he had ever done in his life, but doing this wouldn't earn him any money, so that he could pay for all the bills, taxes, debts, and other things. "I wanna stay like this," whispered Hitch softly.
"Me too," whispered Noah warmly back, "but you gotta go to work, don't you?"
"Yeah, I gotta go, and what kind of work are you doing?" Hitch murmured curiously.
"Well, I gotta teach some group of people how to play soccer this afternoon, do you wanna come to see me with them?" Noah asked hopefully.
"Well, today's Wednesday, so we're all free after three o'clock. When do you start to teach people how to play soccer?" Hitch asked calmly.
"Well, I start at three o'clock, but you can come see us in the small soccer field, five miles from the village. I could lend you a bike if you want," said Noah.
"Don't worry," murmured Hitch assuringly. "I can walk there, I know where it is.
"Okay, see you there," said Noah as he released his arms from Hitch and spun around and walked off. Hitch's arms slipped easily from his waist, even though he tightened his grip, but Noah was just too strong to hold on.
Hitch walked out of the village; he had escaped from all of the delicious scent of sweet bread, with other sweet products that a bakery could provide. He was now filling his lungs with the fresh air, though it was fresher this lunch, and exhaled contentedly. He was walking for about ten minutes, and he thought to himself, Wouldn't it be funny to just tell Noah that he was attracted to Noah? But then he thought that might have been too extreme a joke and that Noah might have taken it badly. But he's bisexual, maybe he would also jokingly flirt back when Hitch would call him sexy. But then, Hitch thought, maybe there was a part of him that liked Noah more than a friend. That part is probably the part that Hitch doesn't wish to reveal to Noah, yet. He then thought hopefully that maybe Noah was already attracted to him and didn't want to admit it. Then they both would be on the same boat, but one of them had to make the first move.
Hitch thought that Noah kissing his forehead might have been a little sign that Noah liked him more than a friend, but Hitch then thought that Noah only did that because he didn't know other ways to comfort Hitch when he was emotional, other than talking and hugging him. Hitch then thought that friends could kiss each other affectionately without it being romantic.
But then Noah might have already got a romantic partner without it being in Hitch's knowledge. But Noah didn't look as though he had a romantic partner, because otherwise he would be talking about it.
Then Hitch remembered something, when it was Valentine's, which was two months ago, somebody had sent him a box full of chocolate. There was nothing else other than a note which contained the poem written by the one who sent the box. He never went into depth about who had sent the box, as he thought that someone who sent the chocolate was probably a girl who had taken a liking to him, but he was gay!
He then thought that he knew how girls' minds work because he had spent most of his time at school with them. He then thought about what kind of girl could send a chocolate to a guy who wasn't that attractive, but if it were a girl who sent the chocolate, they would most likely stay anonymous, just like how the sender of the chocolate box was anonymous.
He then told himself that he shouldn't bother his mind with stuff that wouldn't get him anything that would make him gain something - it would only waste his precious time.
He then arrived at the soccer field, and to his horror, there were -
"Kids!" beamed Noah as he was surrounded by them in every direction. "Who knows how to play soccer?" said Noah cheerfully.
The soccer field seemed to be containing at least dozens of kids, some were playing tag with each other, while the majority of them listened to Noah as he saw that barely any of them raised their hands. He explained how to play with the ball and the roles of each player, and how many players should be in a team.
"All right, kids," Noah yelled cheerfully. "Were you able to grasp what I just said?"
Most of the kids raised their hands, and Noah picked one from the team to repeat what he had just said to them. He beamed as every kid repeated exactly what he just told them.
The soccer field was surrounded by a thin steel wall, which was eight feet tall, and it had thousands of holes that permitted people from the outside to be able to observe the field's contents.
The grass was emerald green, and it looked as though it still contained the dew that it had stocked up from this morning.
All the kids were wearing the same thing: a t-shirt and shorts. But the clothes they wore weren't identical, as a dozen kids were wearing blue and the other were wearing red. Hitch then thought that it must have been how they form a team, even with his poor knowledge of sports.
Noah seemed to spot Hitch as he waved at him, beaming. Hitch grinned warmly back and waved at him. Noah was triple the size of the kids here. He must have looked like a giant to them.
Noah then escaped from the little kids and walked outside the field as he approached Hitch confidently.
"How are you doing, Hitchy?" He exclaimed gleefully.
"Don't call me that," said Hitch sternly, "you wouldn't want me to call you nicknames, do you?"
"Yeah, you're right, Hitch, I shouldn't have done that. I always hated it when Julia called me all sorts of names and nicknames she would use," said Noah in a less cheerful manner. "Do you see those little tykes?" He returned to his cheerful self. "They're getting ready to play the first soccer match and I'll be the referee!"
"That's good for you," said Hitch uncertainly as he didn't know what else should say.
One of the little kids then sprinted at Hitch and wrapped their arms around Hitch's legs. Hitch looked surprised and wore a disgusted look, which made the kid back away with just its aura. The kid then ran back at the other who were playing tag and asked if they could join.
"You didn't need to be that hard on them," said Noah warningly.
"It's just that...." Hitch didn't know how to object.
"Just from your face, I could tell that you hate kids," said Noah acidly.
"I don't hate kids!" interjected Hitch, "it's just that I don't wanna be around them. They're noisy - they're too playful - they're always energetic - they're always begging people for attention and time!"
"That's how kids are," said Noah casually. "If you can't accept a kid being a kid, then you should get away from this place as far as you can," said Noah darkly as he took a kid into his arms, and the kid sat on his left shoulder. Hitch was speechless and just looked around at the kids, all of whom were noisy, energetic, and undoubtedly annoying.
Hitch then thought to himself that since Noah wanted to be a jerk just because he didn't like kids, he was going away. But he couldn't let away the thought of watching Noah while he was enjoying the time of his life. He wanted Noah to be happy no matter what: he wanted him to enjoy life while he could.
Hitch then looked around and noticed a bench and decided to station himself on it.
Hours passed by as the sun burned Hitch's neck; it now stung harder than before, even though the sun was setting slowly, very slowly indeed. The air was much warmer than this afternoon and this morning. Hitch then noticed that the match was over.
He then saw a dozen cars that were parked in the parking lot near the field, and adults came out of them. They must have been the kids' parents who came to pick them up when it was nearly time. There were more adults who came here either by walking or by bicycle.
"All right, kids!" boomed Noah. "It's time for you to return to your parents!"
Many kids ran and screamed 'mama' or 'papa'. Some kids still wanted to hang around and circled Noah, and they seemed to be yelling that they still wanted to play, but Noah explained that they could play next week.
"Please, brother Noah," piped up one of the kids, "we wanna play with you!"
"Yes, brother Noah," squeak one of the kids, "we wanna be with you!"
"Now, now, " said Noah calmly. "Lila, Struwts, Mike, Ben, Aurora, Maria, you all have to return to your parents. We can play a bit longer next week, okay?" The kids didn't seem convinced and looked as though this might be the last time they would see him. "Pinky swear?" Suggested Noah. They all did the pinky swear with him.
Hitch watched as the last of the kids returned to their parents. In under five minutes, the kids and their parents were gone, and only Noah could be seen in the field packing the balls in a huge backpack. Hitch was watching him amusingly as though he were a sort of pleasant movie to watch.
Noah then approached Hitch, and he looked as though he had done something wrong and was coming here to apologize about it.
"Look," he began awkwardly. "Back there, I was kind of harsh because I like those kids, you know, and I couldn't bear if someone acted as though they were like filth. I just didn't know why you don't like kids, but I assumed that you were just those kinds of peoplethinkhinks that kids are annoying and they're useless; but they're not!" said Noah defensively. "They're the ones who decided our future! They're the hope of humanity! They should be taught and loved and disciplined and neglected! I love them. They always make my days better with their wonderful laughter and their bright smiles etched on their happy faces. I love it when I make someone happy, it makes me feel with p, proud, and clears out all of the negative feelings that're building up inside of me!"
"All right," said Hitch dismissively, "you won the argument! Kids are wonderful!" said Hitch with irony in his voice, though Noah didn't capture that.
"But this time, I will listen to your reasons for hating kids," said Noah trustfully.
"I don't hate kids," said Hitch sharply. "I'm just beyond envious whenever I see them or the mention of them!" yelled Hitch sharply.
"Why are you envious of them?" Noah asked curiously.
"You'll think that my reasons are ridiculous before you could ever hear them," snapped Hitch.
"I don't think that opinions are ridiculous," said Noah defensively. "I just think that some opinions should be heard and ought to be judged and compared to other opinions!" said Noah confidently.
"Let me make it clear," said Hitch grimly. "I don't care what you will say! You will never be able to change my opinion about kids! Nothing could!"
Hitch then took a huge inhalation and then exhaled sharply. He then grinned warmly at Noah and gestured for him to sit next to him. Noah obliged easily and sat next to Hitch.
"I'm all ears," said Noah sincerely.
"It begins in a hospital," began Hitch. "I woke up and found myself in a bed. I looked around and I wondered how I got here? Before I could prompt more questions in my head, nurses came to tell me that I was in a huge accident, which had caused a building to break down, and miraculously, I was one of the few who made it through, while more than a hundred people departed from this world. I asked who I was, and they told me that my name was Hitch Frederick Hiker. I told them if they weren't mistaken me for another one who had perhaps died or one of the survivors, they told me that my DNA proved my identity. Yet I couldn't shake off the feeling inside of me that this wasn't my name. That I had another name, that I am not who they told me that I was. Yet, I couldn't bring myself to deny the name that they had given me, so I accepted the name.
"I told them that I couldn't remember anything, and they then told me that I was twelve years old. It shocked me that I had lost twelve years of memories. I was then told that I had siblings, who were my only living relatives. I have two sisters, according to them, one named Erika and the other named Mitch. I was then told that they were safe and were still at school. They had no other guardian who could take care of them. So I was bequeathed the duty of taking care of them by my dead parents.
"Don't you think that it's unfair? That, I, who had never felt the love of my parents - not even once! Should be taking care of people whom I have no emotional bond to begin with, only binds us together as a family. It was as though I were born in this world, I didn't get to enjoy, I didn't get to experience what every child should experience before they reach the age of twelve. I, who didn't get to see how my parents would smile and laugh with me! I, who didn't want to see proudoumy parents, wouldn't let me when I take care of their ochildren chil extrewellldren!
"Now this is where my dislike for kids begin, I couldn't bear to look at them - them who were growing up with their parents' love and care - them who knew what true love felt like - them who were taught that life was full of laughter and happiness - them who didn't get to expeinced burdens until they were ready for it!
"I couldn't bear seeing them - the happiest creatures to ever walk this Earth! They're unaware and ungrateful for what they have!" he spat bitterly. "I never even once experienced kids that were born to have!" He saisaimournfullyfore he broke down to tears and wailed miserably. Noah was patting his back comfortingly and was muttering Hitch's words of comfort.
"Hitch, I totally get you," said Noah caringly. "Here, why don't you just blow your nose on my shirt?"
"Why s-s-should I do that? I-I-I'd only make your shirt g-g-gross!" croaked Hitch.
"Don't worry, because I had a spare tank top in my bag. Just blow all you want," said Noah warmly.
Hitch then grasped Noah's shirt; even with his nose full of mucus, he could smell the nasty smell of sweat from Noah's shirt. But he didn't mind that much; there was even a part of him that wanted to keep this shirt full of Noah's sweat so that he could have Noah's natural body scent in his room. He then blew his nose loudly; the sound it made resembled a person who plays a flute badly.
"Thank you," croaked Hitch.
"No problem, Hitch," said Noah warmly as he stroked Hitch's hair affectionately.
Noah hadn't changed his clothes yet, but his shirt was so sweaty that even at a close range, you wouldn't notice the transparent mucus on it. Noah had invited Hitch to go to his house so that he could introduce Hitch to his grandmother. Hitch accepted his invitation immediately.
They walked side by side while staying silent. Noah understood that Hitch didn't want to be bothered by anything in the world now.
They arrived at the house, and Noah let Hitch inside first. Hitch thought that Noah's house didn't look so different on the inside as the outside: both were ancient-looking. Hitch then examined the sofa, which could only seat three people. In front of the purple sofa was a small table that had a huge bowl of fruit. In front of the bowl of fruit was an old television. Under the television was a DVD player. The television was placed on a small table that had dozens of drawers. Hitch deduced that the drawers should contain DVDs. He then looked around and was met with a circular table that had only four wooden chairs that circled it.
Hitch then noticed that there was a door. He then thought that the door might have led to the kitchen. Hitch then looked upward and noticed that there was a ceiling fan glued to the ceiling, though it looked so old that he would be flabbergasted if it ever worked.
Noah then climbed the stairs rapidly.
"Hitch!" called Noah, "You can come to my room if you wanna come!"
"Yes, I'm coming," Hitch called back.
Hitch then climbed the wooden stairs, and then he reached a short corridor that had only two doors on each side. He then saw that Noah was leaning against the right wall; he seemed to have been waiting for Hitch.
"This is my room," explained Noah. "Come in now," he said coolly.
Hitch then followed Noah as he pushed open the door. Hitch was met with a room full of dumbbells and carpets everywhere. The dumbbells were all purple, and some of them had their weight written on them. Hitch saw one that had one side of the dumbbell written '100lbs'. He then looked around and saw a huge bed that would make somebody of Noah's size sleep and rest comfortably in it. The bed had golden mattresses and pillows.
Hitch then noticed that all the walls were all sorts of sporting champions - he knew that they were sporting champions because they all had golden medals, though Hitch didn't recognize even one of them.
"I'm going to shower," said Noah.
"All right," said Hitch.
"Just don't touch anything, all right? But you can sleep on the bed if you want," said Noah warmly.
"Don't worry," said Hitch so trustfully that he made Noah pull a smile that says 'I trust you'.
Noah then shut the door of the bathroom softly. Hitch then heard the sound of water running; it sounded more like rain was happening inside the bathroom.
Hitch then hopped on the bed silently. The softness embraced him the moment his body was on it. Then he was quickly engulfed by the comfort that the bed provided. He wondered what kind of bed, so wonderfully produced this kind of comfort, though it was nothing to Noah's comfort.
Hitch then grabbed a huge pillow and cushioned it under his bed, and he felt as though his head was drowned in the comfort that the bed provided. It was the kind of comfort that only could inanimate object could provide - no human could do that. But Hitch would have chosen the type of comfort humans provide naturally rather than the comfort that could only be produced by inanimate objects.
Hitch looked at the ceiling he glanced around, and thought that it might have been older than he had previously thought it to be. It looked as though it had been dealt a great deal of damage. He even thought that it might have survived bomb raids from the Third Ethia War, which was fifty years ago. He then thought about the Third Ethia War and could remember the allies and the enemies and dozens of famous battles that had occurred during that specific war. He could remember the dates and the place where each battle had erupted.
He then slipped his mind off the subject of war, as it didn't really make him feel good. He then heard the water, which sounded so much like as though rain the size of bullets was plummeting from the sky, stop suddenly. Hitch then knew that Noah must have finished showering.
The door opened, and Hitch had expected that steam would have been the first thing to escape from inside the bathroom. But there was no steam, and Noah was coming out of the bathroom with a blanket around his waist, which covered a quarter of his legs.
Hitch had never seen something like this before. He loved Noah's body, which was slightly wet from the shower, as light reflected off his skin and made him look like a precious gem.
Noah's hair was long and as blond as ever, but it looked slightly more golden than it was before he took the shower. Hitch was able to admire his strong, extremely muscular body. Hitch noted that on each inch of the area of his skin was filled with muscles, and Hitch couldn't find any other thing to describe him other than...(though he hated to admit it) hot. Hitch could see his strong shoulder and his thick muscular limbs as he moved with such simplicity that attracted Hitch most about them.
Noah then approached a closet which was in the room, and he then opened the closet as he rummaged his hands in the closet and he pulled out a tight tank top and a boxer shorts. He then put on the tank top, and it hugged tightly against his huge, round chest and thick abs, and strong back. Hitch didn't expect the next thing, which Noah did: he then let go of the blanket, which covered his waist down to a quarter of his legs. It dropped on the floor as Hitch's eyes darted to Noah's backside. They were perfectly round and looked very plump, even though Noah's other body parts were filled with muscles. His butt was thick, and it looked quite dense as though if he fell from ten feet on his butt, they would absorb all of the shock. Hitch couldn't stop himself from staring in awe at Noah's buttocks, as he had never seen anything so hot as that.
Noah, who was unaware that a gaze lingered on his magnificent rear, was putting on his shorts. He then spun around and noticed that Hitch looked startled.
"What is it, Hitch?" He asked anxiously.
"Nothing!" said Hitch quickly.
"Well, how do you think I look?" Noah asked suddenly.
Hitch couldn't think of a single word other than sexy, but he didn't want to disrespect or make Noah think that he was secretly attracted to his body. He mumbled silently, but Noah caught a glimpse of it.
"What did you say?" said Noah curiously.
"Sexy," muttered Hitch timidly as he then covered his face as though he couldn't believe that he had just said that very thing that he was going to avoid.
"Well, thanks," said Noah cheerfully, who didn't seem at all offended. "I always knew that I was hot, but not at the point of being considered sexy, but I accept your compliment in any case," he said happily and grinned warmly at Hitch. "Still...." he began slowly as he then crept onto the bed and was crawling slowly to Hitch, who looked beyond flustered and blushed as scarlet as the blood that flowed within him. "I never heard someone admit to me that they were attracted to my body," he said slowly, though there was no hint of accusation in his voice, but rather the tone indicated that he was amused by it. Hitch didn't know what to do but just breathe rapidly as his heart beat faster than ever. He could feel as though his heart was swelling faster than a balloon. He could feel Noah's breath on his face, and it was soft and rather well-scented. Noah's eyes were darting from Hitch's face to his chest as though he knew excatly what was happening inside of Hitch. Hitch couldn't stop staring into those blue oceanic eyes, as they resembled precious marbles.
"I-I-I d-d-din't me-mea-mean to s-sa-say that!" He blurted out. Noah just laughed as he was six inches above Hitch as he stretched his arms to grab the side of the bed to support him, and his face was just three inches above Hitch. Hitch's mind was then flooded with images that he would have been most ashamed of, as it set the boundary of their relationship to another level. He didn't want it to change, yet he wanted those images to become real one day, but he couldn't risk it all just for the sake of pleasuring himself.
Noah then grinned and shifted his position so that he would sit on the side of the bed, and he then chuckled loudly, which made Hitch's heart leap. Noah then turned his head to look with a slightly apologetic smile.
"I'm sorry," he said softly, "I was just teasing you, just wanted to see how you were going to react!"
"Jeez... you made my heart leap several times, you know that! I was so scared that you were going to end our friendship right there! Please never do that again," said Hitch heavily.
"I'm sorry," replied Noah. "I didn't know that you would have been so afraid, because I'm really open-minded and I didn't mind if friends of mine thought that I looked sexy - heck, I take that as the greatest compliment because it meant that all the times I've spent on building my body didn't go to waste. So Hitch, you don't need to be scared about anything," said Noah warmly.
"It's just that.... I don't wanna lose what we have, Noah, I don't want this friendship to fail," sobbed Hitch. "It's just that I think you would have understood me better after all of the emotional episodes I had when you were around.
"It's just that I barely had any type of affection from other people, even from my siblings; they didn't feel as close as I would have expected, but maybe I was placing my expectations so high that it would have been ridiculous of me to expect them to exceed them. It's just that I was like born twice: once from my mother, and once from the accident. It created two different versions of me. One who was adored by their parents and loved by their siblings, one who has never experienced the love parents were supposed to give to their child, one who was born just to carry the burden left by their parents who perished.
"I am Hitch Frederick Hiker, that is the only thing I'm certain about myself. I am a completely different person compared to myself that died in that accident. I never knew what love was supposed to feel like from my siblings, as though there was an invisible wall between us."
"But back at your house, I saw you with your sisters, Hitch, and you got along pretty well!" said Noah encouragingly.
"Yeah, but you weren't here in other times where we would act like strangers," said Hitch grimly. "I feel as though I was bestowed the task of raising them, but without love, as I didn't know what love was. I thought that it was this great feeling of caring inside of me, and that feeling would be the thing that would attach us as a whole, but it never did," said Hitch sadly.
"Little Mitch acts as though I were just the person who should pay attention whenever she wanted to feel special or noticed. I think she must have got that from school because people thought that she was a weirdo, and she had no friends; that's why I ought to play the role of her imaginary friend. She wants this imaginary friend to be the close to reality, that's why she needed me to play it. This is the closest I could feel between me and my little sister, Mitch. I'm just afraid that, if one day, she would give up on this imaginary friend, I would have never been able to play with her again, never act as though I was her best friend. I am scared that I would be left alone while she met other people to act the role of someone who cared for her. I doubt that she even cared that I was her brother; I was just someone to be her friend, someone to make her feel wanted, someone to make her feel as though she was worth something.
"I thought that it was supposed to be the purpose of my role as a brother to her, but no... she was the one to impose this purpose on me, even though I didn't want or ask for it," said Hitch sadly.
"I didn't know all about this, Hitch," said Noah hoarsely.
"Yeah, well, it's quite complicated, isn't it, my mind? I could go on and talk forever, but it would only bore you. I thank you for your patience," said Hitch gratefully.
"No problems, that's what friends are for, isn't it?" said Noah confidently.
"Yeah, that's right," said Hitch softly. "That's what friends are for, isn't it? Helping each other when one of us has a hard time."
Hitch didn't know why, but he couldn't even muster even the slightest strength to doubt the type of relationship that he had with Noah. It was the best and closest thing that Hitch ever had, as they both cared for each other and for one another. There was no condition imposed on it by either of them, which must have made it feel so real.
"I never loved anybody like this before," said Hitch as he stroked Noah's soft, blond, long hair, which made him chuckle.
"I also never felt like this for anybody before," said Noah softly. "That means that we are best friends, right?"
"Yeah, best friends," said Hitch simply.
"Now, do you wanna see all of my collection of comics?" Noah asked eagerly.
"Sure, why not?" said Hitch as he leapt from the bed, and Noah then pulled out a huge chest from under the bed and opened it to reveal hundreds and hundreds of comic books.
There were all kinds of comic books, the children's books, the teenagers' books, the rather mature audience books, and there were even gory books that Hitch avoided taking.
They spent their time talking about their taste in comics, comic books, and talked about their favourite comic books and their favourite heroes and villains. They were having a great time, sharing something you like with somebody that you like was a guaranteed good experience. Hitch had never shared something he liked with somebody before; it was a nice feeling as they talked and laughed and read the comic books together (though Hitch could finish two pages in ten seconds, Noah needed much longer, so they were reading at Noah's pace).
But Hitch looked slightly uncomfotable about all this, there were all kinds of signs: the way he looked gulity at Noah as he looked happy, the way his smile would vanish when Noah mention about his old tormentor, and also when he would be in physical contact with Hitch would make Hitch's heart swell, but it would ached as it knew full well that he didn't deserve this kind of intimacy with Noah.
"Noah," Hitch choked, "there's something you should know."
"What is it?" said Noah cheerfully as they had just finished reading the comic book 'Universo: the Universe's Guardian'.
"We shouldn't be best friends... even friends at all... we shouldn't even be able to stare at each other's faces," he said sadly.
"What are you talking about?" Noah asked anxiously.
"It's just that... I don't deserve to be your friend - heck, I don't even deserve to be near you," said Hitch gravely. He looked away from Noah's gaze as though he thought that he was undeserving of even being recognized by Noah. He looked deeply ashamed of a subject that Noah knew not about.
"What are you talking about?" Noah started to look worried about Hitch.
"It's just that... if only you knew, if only I had the strength to tell you.... if only I could stop myself from feeling guilty and ashamed of myself whenever I'm close to you.... I don't deserve this!" said Hitch heavily as silent tears streamed from his eyes, and he stood up and reached for the door. But there was a tight grip that held Hitch from moving a muscle. Hitch looked at Noah, and he couldn't bear to see his face; it was full of concern and a note of pity in it which Hitch felt the utmost undersaving of Noah's concern or pity.
"Please," Hitch mumbled, "don't look at me like that, you're only making me feel worse - just let me go!" he ordered, but Noah's grip on his arm only seemed to tighten. "Let me go!" He roared, but then he looked as though he regretted this because Noah suddenly let go and was breathing heavily. Hitch then looked apologetically at Noah. "I'm sorry," he muttered, "I know that you don't like it when people raise their voice at you," he said honestly.
Noah then frowned and looked at Hitch as though he had said something that only he knew.
"How did you know that-"
"It's just your reaction and your face, with just that, I could deduce multiple things. Now, Noah, I hope that we wouldn't meet again, I shouldn't be doing this to you, because you are going to live of lie with me if we keep being friendly with each other.... goodbye...." Hitch muttered sadly as tears cascaded from his eyes, as he left the room with Noah, who looked as though he blamed himself for Hitch's reaction.
Hitch was still crying, and he entered his home with his sister, who was filling several papers and didn't look as though she knew he was there. He then climbed the stairs and entered his room. He leapt on his bed, and the softness of it engulfed his entire body. He looked pointlessly at the ceiling. Hitch then looked at the drawer next to his bed and pulled it open. There was a plastic bottle with no label on it. He then popped it open; inside were dozens of small red pills. He picked up a pill and then shoved it in his mouth. He then swallowed like and covered his face in an expression of someone who just ate something really bitter. He then felt calm and felt as though sleeping was an easy business. He felt as though he was going to be the kindest man in the entire world. He just had to hope that the pills an old lady gave him from the city would last for several weeks. He then saw the note next to the bottle that read:
One pill a day