He saw Riley standing by the low wall surrounding the car park and waved him over.

"You drive?" he said incredulously, eyes wide.

Alex chuckled, "yep this is my baby." he said stroking the bonnet of his ford fondly.

Riley grimaced a little, "i'm still a learner, i keep messing up on the theory side of the test."

Alex laughed, "I can help you study for it if you like, I'm pretty sure i still have the disc with the program i used to study."

Riley accepted gratefully and then said, "Why don't we go see a movie or something, my treat since you're gonna help me study for my test."

Alex agreed and they climbed into his car with Riley giving him directions from the passenger seat.

They finally pulled up to an old building with the name of an obscure cinema company on the side.

They went inside and chose to watch a thriller.

While Riley got tickets Alex queued for popcorn and drinks and sent his mom a text explaining that he was hanging out with a friend and he'd be back later.

His mom replied and told him it wasn't a problem.

The film itself was kinda underwhelming but Riley was on the edge of his seat the whole time, giving exaggerated gasps at predictable points throughout the story.

Alex couldn't help but giggle at this which made Riley do it even more.

He couldn't explain it, but he felt some kind of pull towards this other boy.

Alex took in the sight of the happy boy next to him, He'd never thought himself as gay or bi or whatever but there was just something about Riley that intrigued him.

Shaking his head he turned his head back to the movie.

By the time the film finished it was starting to get dark.

"That was a great laugh, we should totally do that again." Riley grinned.

"Definitely, i had a great time, you need a ride home?" Alex asked.

Riley shook his head, "Nah, my dad works a few doors down, i'll jump a lift home with him."

They went their separate ways and Alex drove home with his head swimming with thoughts of Riley, wondering why he felt the way he did, Anxious to go back and see him again.

He decided to drown out all thoughts of it and pushed play on the stereo, cranking up the playlist he kept set up ready to go.

The drive home was fast and he spotted his mom's office light on when he got back.

Reaching for his keys he unocked the door and a heavenly smell enveloped his nostrils, his mom was making his favourite chilli for dinner.

Alex's stomach growled hungrily, his mom's chilli was awesome, he stepped into the kitchen and offered to help, which she gratefully accepted.

While they cooked his mom asked him about his day.

"It was great mom, i can't believe i made a new friend so quickly." he smiled.

His mom was happy that he'd had a good day, the worry that he'd be on his own swept from her eyes.

Alex grabbed some bowls from the cupboard and his mom started serving up.

They settled onto the sofa and his mom pulled up netflix, selecting one of their favorte series to watch while they ate.

After eating Alex had this overwhelming urge to go for a walk.

He told is mom he was headed out and stepped into the night air.

He didn't go very far but the air on his skin eased some kind of tension from his mind and tiredness washed over him.

He made his way home and showered before crawling into bed.

He quickly fell asleep and slipped into the familiar dream with the wolf but instead of howling, the wolf looked at him and growled out a single word.

Mate.