He stared at the screen, lips turning up while the phrase "Want some?" appeared on the phone. For Lowe, sharing food was considered an action done between friends or people who hold at least minimum affection amongst them, putting himself in a higher position in their thoughts.

He nodded while pushing his plate over the table until it got in front of Andrew, intending to share his bit with him. The other faced the dessert and looked back with furrowing eyebrows and a questioning gaze. Lowe just showed more teeth while he picked the plate with the strawberry cake and put it in front of him, grabbing his spoon to eat a generous piece.

He was so absorbed by how the cake tasted as delicious as it looked that he didn't pay attention to Andrew even now stunned in his place, not sure how to react, while Ethan had a giggle fit, fulfilling the chat box in his phone with all his "ha"s.

Ethan grabbed his attention while he put his plate with biscuits in front of the boy, still laughing and cleaning the tears at the corner of his eyes with his other hand. Lowe took one with a full grin, ready to offer his brownie to the guy, just to find it untouched by Andrew.

Just like a mother disappointed after finding her kid didn't touch their food, Lowe's eyebrows strongly furrowed while his lips turned upside down. He shook his head in disapproval while they established a silent communication, looking for answers in each other faces.

With strict eyes, Lowe put one hand in front of his mouth, motioning his fingers in the direction of his palm two times, pretty similar to a "come here" gesture. But his sign was a clear order that the boy was sure Andrew would understand: eat.

This time, with a boost of confidence, Lowe kept staring at the other, focusing his attention on him in order to cross his intention effectively. With a conflicted face, Andrew kept frozen, looking to his friend a second later, searching for help. But the other was too occupied caching his breath, wheezing due to the situation.

The frown only left his face after witnessing the spoon with a piece of the dessert getting closer to Andrew's mouth, turning in a satisfied countenance after the other took a bite. Lowe didn't waste time, shooting Ethan a glance, but the guy already had his hand crossing over the table to get the plate with the shared sweet.

Soon the plate was back to him, and the boy was eating his own dessert, and all the shared plates went back to their respective owners.

Suddenly remembering how he should focus on demonstrating gratitude instead of spending his time distracted by the food, the boy moved on his chair, rightening his posture and carefully putting the spoon away. 

Grabbing his phone, Lowe checked to see if they spoke to him, only to find a laughter sea. Feeling like he missed the joke, he hurried to type "What's funny?" and, not wasting time, he pressed the speaker button.

He just wanted to fill the gap in his understanding of the situation, but the brief grimace that passed through their faces made him wince. 

He should have known by now when to stop asking, or at least, to judge better the moment. Moments when he asked people more than he should crossed his mind and he feared being shunned again.

If he had to summarize, Lowe's problem was not knowing when it was okay to ask. His previous interactions with others always proved that people had a limit on how much you can pry on things, and sometimes, asking meant digging on subjects that weren't related or involving him.

Not that he was aware of it when he asked. But in those moments, the habitual reaction he received was discomfort. So his surprised response didn't last long. He probably had landed on some forbidden topic he wasn't part of, leading to them setting boundaries.

He couldn't do much since it was pretty similar to a guessing game. If he couldn't keep up with the interactions around him, the boy could choose between asking or not what had happened to fill the blanks in his mind.

And he was enjoying himself so much that he relaxed, forgetting about his worries. Asking things without thinking. Being curious and wanting to take part in everything that he could.

It was like life had to show him time after time that his worries existed for a reason, but he was too naive to learn his lesson. So, without fail, he would get excited over a situation, committing the same mistake over and over, just to end up being shunned by others.

The boy quietly waited for their response, his shoulders sinking heavily. 

Andrew stood up, frowning at his phone, accompanied by Ethan, who wore an apologetic smile. While talking, Andrew put his hand over Lowe's, sightly squeezing it.  

He didn't have the time to answer when his chat, previously filled by delight, now haunted him with Andrew's last words. "We have to go. I'll make it up to you."

By himself, the table felt too big. Lowe signaled to the waitress, decided to ask for the check. Smiling, she informed him that the bill had been taken care of and, if he wished, she would pack the leftovers for him. The boy looked over the wood surface, the almost untouched meals made his stomach churn, but he nodded.

Despite his efforts, their meeting ended up being awkward.