Somehow he would have to get home, Nem thought. The bench underneath him was cold and smelled faintly of tar. Walking proved difficult when your legs turned to noodles. He was shaking all over, in fact. He really needed to calm down.

The boy buried his face in his hands. It was all a mess. Inside of him a cocktail of emotions. A gut-wrenching fear, a seeping dread. Yet overcoming all of those were a handful of things.

Excitement. He was so unbelievably excited. Maybe that's why he was trembling. Thinking of the future usually filled him with nothing but outright angst, but for now, he couldn't wait for whatever the next morning would bring with it.

Happiness. He wasn't sure where that came from. Or, rather, he just couldn't believe he felt it so strongly. The joy of taking that next step. The mirth of a new beginning.

Nem blushed. That last one. Suddenly he wanted to scream. Not now. Too early to give it a name, he thought. But he felt it. Overwhelmingly so. When Marcus hugged him, he felt it. When he looked at him, he felt it. Even thinking of him now, he felt it. 

The redness was spreading up to his ears. No good. But wonderful. Horrible and great. He needed to get home. But he didn't want to. Maybe it would be okay to get lost in this feeling for a while yet.