The weather was getting colder day by day. Stores started to display Christmas decorations on the shelves. Dull mornings and the city often covered with the cloud of fog until the sun climbed up on the sky. Autumn aura didn't put down Kai's mood. 

Although he was feeling nervous and stressed at the moment, he reminded excited since the previous week. The future seemed brighter and having people around who offered the support motivated him to reach for more. 

In the following days after Kai announced that he wanted to get a job, Leo and Noah kept sending him offers. Most of them were irrelevant to what he wanted to do. Nonetheless, he was grateful to them for encouraging words and guide.

Kai was in the process of posting more of his work on a website for rising artists when he answered the phone. It was a reliable place to sell paintings, one of Maya's recommendations. Before you could put anything up for sale, it had to be verified. Some of the artists got also recruited by companies or galleries. That was a fresh start, and he had a good feeling about it.

When his phone went off, Kai rose a bit concerned to see the unknown number. Expecting a phone call from one of the places where he applied for a job, he quickly pressed a green icon. Slightly stressed, but excited Kai greeted a young-sounding woman on the other side. After a brief introduction, he heard a piece of good news that the company invited him for an interview.

He agreed to the meeting in a couple of days and immediately called Leo to share the news. Kai had a brief look at the company he applied to, it was a small family publishing house, and he was hoping for a friendly environment. They were looking for a book cover designer, which can sometimes involve further help in the marketing department.

The day of the interview came quickly. Leo insisted on seeing him before meeting for mental support. They became much closer since they met the last time in Kai's apartment, and daily contact felt natural to them.

"How is your university going? I thought you are busy this week." Both meet at the coffee shop, near the offices where Kai's interview meant to be in less than an hour. It was the same business area where Noah's parents were working. Sometimes he accompanied Noah when he had to run errands for his parents, so he was familiar with the whole area. 

The coffee shop was the usual catch up spot for him and Noah when they were around. It held an adorable collection of framed cat pictures on the sidewall. Kai chose the table right next to it for Leo to have a good view of them. From that day, this spot became their favourite table. It took him good five minutes to get his attention back on him from the photos. 

It was a ridiculous feeling to get jealous of cat pictures, but considering that all attention went there, it was reasonable. However, it vanished as soon as he saw pure joy on the laughing boy's face.

"I am, but I wanted to be there for you. It's an important day. We will also celebrate once you get this job." Kai's chest felt tight in happiness. It was strangely pleasing to finally feel that someone is getting out of their way to do something for him. It is not the first time when Leo showed that he cared. Leo was one of the people who showed affection to people close to him in small gestures and constant reminder of his presence.

"I feel good about it. It's the kind of job I wanted to do in the first place. I still can't believe they invited me." Kai smiled at him. "Thank you again for coming here with me. I feel better while having you with me. It's distracting me."

"Your welcome. I told you I will always be there for you." Leo reached over the table and squeezed Kai's hand.

"You should have a cat. Your eyes are running back to the pictures," Kai laughed. "It's adorable."

"I would love to! They are so cute. I will hang the pictures on the wall in the living room. Exactly like in here." Leo bent to the side and searched for a phone in the pocket of his parka jacket. Grinning, he stretched his arms out in front of him, holding the phone, and took a picture of the wall. "This will be my inspiration."

"I can paint a lot of flowers on the wall to match them."

"I'm counting on you then." A warm smile appeared on Leo's face to match Kai's.

"I need to go." He let go of the shaky breath and took another, deep one to calm himself down.

"I will be here when you finish your interview." Leo got up with him. He reached out and patted Kai on the shoulder.

"You will?" Kai whispered to himself, not believing that someone would do it for him. "Why? It will be a long meeting. There is no point for you to sit here."

"Of course, I will wait for you." He smiled playfully and pushed him towards the door. "Now go and get a job!"

The walls were covered in some avant-garde projects, weirdly going well put together. Kai loved the place just for that, and he didn't care if the art he looked at was pretty. 

It was about what he felt after the first look at it. 

Moments he could recall by looking at it. 

Memories. 

Fragrances. 

Feelings. 

He liked best the one drawn with one line without taking your hand off the paper. From the whole mess of the tangled lines, you could pick up the figure of two women standing backwards.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could catch a figure emerging from the room. After a few seconds, another woman peered out in confusion, but when she noticed him looking at her- she smiled brightly. 

She was an elegant, black-haired woman in her thirties. She had hair tied up in a bun, she wore a black fitted dress with loose sleeves, and she had a slight healthy tan making her look young. She motioned with her hand, inviting him inside with her.

"Good afternoon! I'm Sharon, and I am a creative director assistant in this company. It's nice to meet you." Sharon greeted him, walked around her desk and took a seat in a massive black armchair motioning for him to do the same.

Kai tightened his grip on the black folder with his portfolio inside, suddenly feeling more nervous. It's happening. The thought hit him instantly.

"Thank you." He smiled politely and took a seat in front of her.

"It's getting pretty cold these days. Isn't it?" She put some files in front of her. "I hope it will snow soon."

"It is cold, but I don't mind that much if that means we will have a white winter."

"Indeed." She reached for the folder and pulled out a picture of the graphic Kai recognised as his. "I love your style and colours. This one would fit perfectly for a cover of some melancholic book you could read on a snowy day. Can you tell me a bit more about it?"

Kai started talking drew on his experience from the club meetings he had. It was his first interview, and he was very nervous about it.

He handed over some more of his previous projects, which he worked on at the art club, and forgot about it when he decided to apply for a job. They talked about some interview basics, experience and motivations. Sharon seemed interested in his visions and prospects for the sample projects she gave him as an example.

"We are looking for some fresh eye, the person who will adjust quickly to the given task. Someone who can work in a team and will compromise when needed. We value both points of views - the author point of view is also important. The final product is the work of loads of people. Everyone is putting a small part in it." She smiled warmly at him. "We will contact you in a couple of days."

They exchanged goodbyes, and he left the office. It went better than he expected. In the end, they laughed and joked a lot. Kai couldn't wait to share his excitement with Leo, who promised to wait for him in the coffee shop. He yet couldn't believe that someone could willingly wait for so long for him. Smiling slightly to himself, Kai quickened his walk to get back to the cafe as soon as possible. He spotted Leo through the window, who sat in the same spot watching something on his phone with a focused, but bored expression. Kai smiled to himself softly.

"You look like you will fall asleep soon. Sorry for keeping you waiting so long for me." Kai walked to the table and sat down in the same seat as before he left. Leo put aside the phone and took a glass of water.

"Don't worry about it. Tell me, how did it go? Did they said anything about the second stage interview, or did they realised how brilliant you are and gave you the offer?" Leo leaned forward, eager to listen to what the other boy has to say.

Kai chuckled to himself. "It went better than I expected, to be honest. I got nervous in the beginning. The lady was nice, and I forgot all about it when we started talking about my portfolio. I'm not sure if they will like me enough to invite me for the second interview if there is any."

"I'm sure they will. You are great!" Leo interrupted.

Kai smiled and continued. "You know it's not only about skills. If they decide I am not a part of the team, they won't take me no matter how good I am. Especially in a small company like this one. I don't want to get my hopes up."

Leo got lost in thoughts before he spoke. "That's true. It's a small team, better for them to avoid dramas. Let's be positive and wait for their response. Should we celebrate today?"

Kai stared at grinning Leo. "Celebrate what? I didn't get the job yet."

"Yet... We can celebrate your first job interview! Do you need a better reason than that?" Leo said, trying to convince Kai, who nodded in agreement. 

They walked out of the coffee shop and parted ways to decide later on what they will do in the evening. Leo was in a bit of a rush to the classes, and the number of projects he had to do before Christmas break was insane. 

Kai was happier to see him in the evening than celebrate his achievement. Lately, they spent less time with each other considering the amount of work Leo had to do for his classes. He missed him and his company.