Hours passed before Mat realized it was time to exit the library. The sun was setting into the horizon, casting a beautiful array of hues through the window. He felt better after studying for a while. It reminded him of why he was here and what it meant to him.

The front desk students already left for the day - the library was closing soon anyways. He sighed a breath of relief after walking by an empty counter. Thank god George isn't here to harass me. 

He pushed the double doors and made his way out. The sky was painted with oranges and pinks as the sun sunk into the trees. The air was fresh and it seemed it’d be a clear night. What a beautiful evening.

Smiling, he was headed home. What should I make for dinner? Maybe some chicken alfredo? His stomach was grumbling at the mere thought of food. He was probably not going to choose anything fancy. He lived alone and thousands of miles away from his best friend. He didn’t have anyone to entertain, why make a feast? 

Before he could step away from the library entrance, a voice called out to him. The faintness of Matthew seemed to put him on edge already. He hesitantly turned around to find Ywain sitting on the ground. The raven haired boy rose up and gave Mat a nervous wave. 

“Hey, do you have a minute?” He softly asked. 

Obviously Mat was hesitant based on their previous encounter at the desk. He had no idea what he’d want with him or why. 

Without stepping forward he simply said, “what business do you want with me?” He didn’t mean to come off as a douche or anything like that but the way his sentence flicked off his tongue made the boy flinch. 

Ywain made small steps towards the older man. “I uh, just need to um, discuss something - wait do you not know me?” The boy's eyes widened a bit in curiosity but yet was absolutely petrified.

Mat cocked his head to the side, fully having his attention now. What does he mean? I’ve never seen this guy in my life until today. “You checked out my book today? I’m sorry, have we met somewhere else? I’m not very good with names but I know I’d remember yours.” 

He watched as the student closed his eyes and gripped the strap of his backpack. “Did Georgy talk to you at all? I’m sorry if he was rude to you he was just worried about me - totally had nothing to do with you.” He grinned, but it was the kind that was dimmed of life. 

He knew that Ywain was now changing the direction of the conversation. He wasn’t naive, but he didn’t know where he might have met him or why he was so unsettled by his presence. However, the reminder of the homophobe made his skin crawl. 

With clenched teeth he spat, “you’ve got quite the friend.” His voice indicated a lot of malice. 

“W-what do you-“ he stumbled his words, being cut off. 

“If you’re here to patronize me, please don’t. I don’t want your apology. Hate travels stronger and faster in groups. Your so called friend there, extremely intolerant and I’m too old to put up with it. So if you’re here to just play nice and pretend to give a fuck, then don’t.” 

It was harsh but after almost a decade of hatred, Matthew didn’t want to deal with any of it. Even an ounce of unpleasantry was enough.

Ywain’s body stiffened and his eyes became half opened. With a sigh he mumbled, “I didn’t mean to offend you, but please don’t assume that because we’re friends that I am the same way. It’s rather rude don’t you think? Assuming makes an ass out of you and me.” 

“Listen kid, George is homophobic as shit and as a gay man, I’m definitely not going to stand with him or people involved with him.”  Feeling the weight of where this conversation was going, Mat was fiddling with his lip ring. He felt like this wasn’t going to end well. 

“Oh.” 

Mat hummed, realizing that this was about to tank. A weak and bitter smile creased his face. “That’s what I thought.” He shrugged and was about to finally head home. 

“Wait!” He moved fast to latch onto his shirt sleeve. 

The older man curiously eyed the student, shocked at the turn of events. I thought for sure he’d get the memo and leave me alone. 

“Georgy isn’t what I’d call the best person and I don’t condone his views or actions. I’m very tolerant of others. I wanted to apologize on his behalf, not excuse it.” 

Matthew nodded, still puzzled. “So you waited out here this whole time for me to come out and say ‘sorry my friend is a xenophobic POS.’ ?” 

“I uh, umm, yeah. Is that stupid?” He lowered his head, almost bowing. 

“No. Not at all, but I don’t think that’s the only reason.” Something in Mat told him that today wasn’t their first meeting. If it weren’t for the fact that he asked him if he remembered him, Mat never would have questioned his behavior earlier so much. 

A breeze came by, adding a nice sensation to their skin. Mat’s hair flowed a bit in the wind. The sun was really starting to disappear leaving a beautiful orange glaze on the horizon. 

“No, that’s the only reason.” He glanced up to meet his brown eyes, half smiling. “I hope you can just forget about this whole thing. I’ll see you around.” The kid had the saddest eyes and the dimmest smile. 

Matthew’s intuition screamed at him. It shook his heart into doing something he’d never do normally, especially for a stranger. His gut wouldn’t settle until he could extinguish the flame of curiosity.

“Wait a second.”

 The younger male halted his pace and glanced back. 

“If you’re really sorry for your friend, perhaps you could buy me dinner?” He thought of it on the fly, trying his best to hide his intentions. “Unless of course you’re uncomfortable.” He added so it didn’t seem like a command. 

He knitted his brows together in a confused gaze. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea…” he trailed off, breaking his eyes from Mat’s.

He just shrugged. I guess some mysteries are meant to stay that way. Story of my life lately. “Alright. See ya around then.” He put his hand up as a way to confirm his leave. 

Mat started to walk down the street after hopping off the steps. How crazy was I to even try that? I mean really Matthew - first you tell him his friends an asshole and that he’s an asshole for associating with him, you tell him you’re gay, and then you suggesting getting dinner with him? Of course he wouldn’t want to dine with a gay man.

He paused, glancing back to see if Ywain was tailing him - he wasn’t. The boy was just standing where he was, looking at Mat. He wondered if he would change his mind but for now Mat was going to keep walking and focus on what was ahead and not what is in the past. 

Stop caring about other people. They will never care about you the same way you do. Keep your head in the game - the game being college. You worked your ass off to get back to where you crumbled. He began to drown out his surroundings with his thoughts, attempting to force his brain to operate properly. 

His mind was ripped away from processing and thrown in full throttle to reality. A man’s voice did that. 

“Matthew!” An out of breath Ywain wailed out.

He hesitantly pivoted around and was met with a heeled over, hyperventilating, and sweaty raven haired boy. The sight made him smirk in amusement. 

Ywain, after finally catching his breath, stood up straight and looked Mat in the eyes. He seemed a bit dazed but that was probably from the running. “W-where did you want to go?” He questioned, still gasping a bit for air. 

Was he referring to my stupid dinner idea? Mat accidentally started giggling which created a puzzled gaze from Ywain. “Sorry sorry I don’t mean to laugh. While I was walking I was thinking how idiotic it was for a stranger to ask another stranger for food under circumstances that don’t heed importance.” 

“Nonsense! George is a dickhead and he’ll never say sorry or show any kindness. As his best friend I feel responsible so please allow me to.” He smiled, revealing slightly crooked teeth. Cute. Was the first thing Mat thought but quickly shook his head. Focus on yourself Matthew. 

“Ywain, right? Did I pronounce that correctly? Are you sure that’s something you’d like to actually do? I suggested it as an off-hand comment more than anything.” The older male did calm down from his frustrations and realized it was a bit odd. At the same time however, he couldn’t swallow his peeking curiosity for the man. Not even seeking romantic or platonic involvement, just general interest. 

“Oh wow you pronounced it perfectly? EE-Wah is correct but most people just say “wayne” or “yuh-wahn.” I go by any of them. I'm so used to it by now. Are you French of Welsh then?” His colored eyes glistened with enthusiasm. 

"Ah oui, mes parents sont du Sénégal. Je suis bilingue, je parle la français et l’anglais.” Mat was rusty since he hadn’t spoken in French since being kicked out of his parent’s house. 

“Mon français n'est pas très dieu.” Ywain butchered the pronunciation poorly and he knew it too because he gave a nervous smile. 

The dark skinned man softly laughed. He then realized maybe he could at least make an acquaintance out of this whole ordeal. “I like pretty much anything, but greek food sounds good to me at the moment.” 

“I know this great place one town over! There’s a bus that takes us right there too.” 

“That could work, but could you show me the way? I’m still new to the area.” Mat admitted. 

“Yes of course. Let me just call my parents first so they know I won’t be home for dinner.” His bright smile deflated when he walked off and held the phone to his ear. 

Matthew couldn’t hear much of anything but it was 10 minutes before Ywain came back to regroup. His eyes were glossy as if he was holding back tears. Guilt crept into his throat. 

“Are you sure it’s okay with your parents we can go? It’s not a big deal.” He offered his compassion because he knew all too well how it could be with heavy handed parents. 

He shook his head immediately. “It’s fine. I’m 22, they can’t always tell me what to do.” He faked a smile and shrugged as if to brush off the hurt in his painful expression. 

Mat had no business prying into this man’s life so he just agreed to head out. Their walk was silent for the most part until they got to the bus station. 

“So you said you’re not from here, right? Where are you from?” He inquired, giving him a side glance.

He was quiet for a moment, debating whether to give out personal information. I mean, it wasn’t a big deal to tell him where he was from, right? Before he got the chance to answer Ywain interjected. 

“Uh, nevermind. Sorry I don’t mean to pry or anything. I just thought maybe we could get to know each other since we’ll be spending all evening together.” He averted his colored eyes and stared at the bus stop sign. 

“I’m from the other side of the country. I moved into an apartment not far from campus right before my term.” 

“Do you have a job as well?” He asked another question.

“I work part-time from home selling insurance. It’s really boring.” He laughed thinking back to his countless hours spent talking to clients. 

“Sounds like a snooze fest.” Ywain chuckled along.

The bus came right after that, so they hopped on and headed off to their destination.