Milo woke up to his skin melting off his body.

An exaggeration, but that was how it felt as he sat up on the softest thing he had ever laid on, drenched in his own sweat.

He blinked his eyes rapidly, wiping his forehead with the blanket he threw over the sofa when it hit him. He was on a sofa, in an apartment building.

Milo got off immediately, the events of last night rushing to his mind as well as enough blood to make him fall back down on the soft piece of furniture, a headache pulsing behind his eyes as he closed them tight.

He tilted his head back and put an arm over his eyes, the sun from the balcony behind him not helping his headache much. Milo tried to recollect his thoughts as he took deep breaths, the sweat around his armpits making him reach an insane level of being uncomfortable.

He moved his arm down to his growling stomach, nose twitching at the sweet aroma of chocolate that filled up the spacious home.

Slowly opening his eyes again and getting off the sofa, Milo eyed the home he had passed out in, whistling low under his breath. It was so modern, so sleek, and the telltale sign that the person living in it was rolling in wealth.

Must be nice, he thought as he took off the jacket and sweater that were suffocating him, grimacing at the sight of his body. Surviving on one or two meals a day meant goodbye to the physique that could have made him an Olympic swimmer.

The thought made him scoff as he walked around the glass coffee table, eyeing the large tv on his right that was mounted on the wall beside a black bookshelf, an opening on its left. It was where that smell was coming from. Milo’s throat went dry and he swallowed several times, surprised at how hungry he suddenly was.

Turning around the corner, hiding his body in front of the bookshelf as he peeked into a kitchen, his eyebrows furrowed as he saw a shorter person dancing to imaginary music in front of a cooker as they flipped some fried eggs.

He ran his hand through his hair, getting the strands away from his eyes as he glanced down at the light brown circular table in the middle of the side kitchen, confused by the amount of food on it. There was juice, coffee, bread, hot dogs, bacon, poached eggs, chocolate spread, jelly and a lot more. He was surprised that the table was still standing.

Are they having guests?

Milo glanced back up at the person when he heard them squawk like a broken hawk, brown eyes wide as they stared at him.

“H-hello!” they said louder than was needed, their entire being stiff as their arms were pressed to their sides, shoulders pushed up and neck barely visible as they smiled so wide, Milo was sure their slim cheeks would rip.

“Hi,” Milo said back, stepping further into the kitchen with his hands stuffed into the pockets of the cozy sweatpants he had on.

He stopped a good few feet away from the shorter, though more muscular, person, neither of them saying anything. The sweet-smelling room quickly got full of tension so thick one could try and cut it with a knife.

Milo stared down at the person he saved, finally getting a good enough look at them without the shroud of early morning darkness hiding them.

All in all, he could say they were pretty, depending on who was looking. Their brown skin with reddish-brown undertones practically glowed under sunlight, the short-sleeved large hoodie and jogging pants doing nothing to hide their strong arms and legs, making Milo wonder why exactly they couldn't swim on their own. They looked capable enough to avoid getting that far from shore at the very least.

“I'm Willow.”

Milo took a step back, surprised by the sudden introduction. He blinked back up at Willow’s face, smile more relaxed, lopsided and boyish as they stepped closer with an outstretched hand.

“Well full name is Willow Kiplagat Kemboi but that's a mouthful, right? My dad calls me Kiplagat all the time which confuses my friends a whole lot. So Willow works fine. Buddies call me Will and teachers call me Mr. Kemboi which I mean that's my dad, dude, an--"

“Friends call me Milo, strangers call me Sim,” Milo cut them off, shaking their hand once then dropping it. “You call me Sim.”