“Are you alright?” Alder asked as he picked up Earl from the entrance of the mansion.

“I’m not sure, but I’m glad you're here.” He turned his head and looked out the window as cars passed by.

“I don’t think I will be going back to my house for a long time.” He laughed. “My father is enraged at me.“

“I hope your mom will be ok,” Alder replied.

“Me too... Anyways, could you drop me off at my apartment?”

“Of course. Wait, I’ve never been to your place?” he chuckled, “The idea never came to mind before.”

“You’re welcome to come inside anytime,” He suggested.

They kept on with small talk until they finally made it to the large apartment complex.

‘Here’s my place.” Earl opened the door letting Alder inside.

“This is so nice, but a bit dull. You need to get some pictures.” He giggled. Earl paused and watched as Alder walked around inspecting the small room... A small blush formed on his cheeks before he shook it away. 

Stop.

“You should decorate your room!” Alder called out from the bedroom. Earl walked over to find Alder sitting on his bed.

“This room is too boring.”

“Isn’t it a bit childish to decorate?” He teased.

“What’s wrong with being childish? I wish I could have decorated my bedroom when I was little.”

“My parents would never have let me decorate my room, they told me I must look professional... It might also be that I’m not very creative.”

“I never really had a room to decorate.” Alder sighed and looked down to his knees, “My childhood home was small so I had to share a room with my parents.”

“Then let’s decorate, Ok?”

Alder raised his head and smiled, “thank you.”

They drove to a small vintage shop that sold all kinds of decorations. Earl watched as Alder picked out pictures and cute decorations for the bare walls. As he searched through some bins he found a little bag of stickers,

“Look! I found some glow in the dark stars!” Alder bubbled as he ran over to Earl.

* * * *

“Do you like them?” Alder questioned as they both stared up at the ceiling filled with yellow glowing stars.

“I love them.” He paused, “Thanks for helping me decorate. Now my apartment is starting to feel like a home.” He looked over at Alder and suddenly had a fun idea,

“Would you like to look at some real stars?” Earl sprung up from the bed and put his hand out to let Alder up.

“Ok, let’s go.” Alder beamed.

It was a cold night, but perfect for stargazing. They walked down the sidewalk to a small empty park and picked a patch of grass to lay a dark blue blanket on. As they lay watching the stars twinkle in the night, a cold breeze passed and Earl heard a small shiver from Alder.

“Are you cold? You can use my coat if you’d like?”

“It’s fine, I don’t want you to freeze.” He replied while shivering. Earl ignored what he said and took off his long trench coat, placing it on top of Alder.

“Don’t worry, I wore extra layers since I knew it would be cold,” Earl reassured.

“Thanks,” Alder flushed and turned his head back up to the night sky.

Hours passed by as they quietly chatted and laughed together. Alder began to grow silent and Earl looked over at his watch to realize it was 2 AM,

“Alder I think we need to go home, it’s already 2.” He paused as he looked over to see Alder snuggled up in his coat asleep next to him.