His watch told him it was ten to twelve and he waited impatiently for his replacement. Fifteen minutes later Nicholas stepped out of the lift and went to the canteen. He wasn't very hungry, but anxious to meet Matthias and to tell him everything that had happened over the past few days. He passed the crowded counters with pieces of cake, puddings and fresh fruit, and the counters where the cooks waited to serve the ordered dishes. From the smell it seemed like fish and roast pork, cheese soufflé and potatoes.

Matthias raised an arm and seconds later Nicholas sat down in the chair opposite. Matthias gave him a broad smile and chewed on a piece of soufflé.

"Good to see you again. Aren't you eating anything? The bake is good. Here have my apple." He passed him the fruit. Nicholas took it and rubbed it on his sweatshirt. "How are you, mate? How was the holiday?" asked Nicholas and bit into the apple.

"Man, I'm dying to know how YOUR holiday was. Tell me first!"

Nicholas grinned into the glistening grey-blue eyes. "Everything you can imagine."

Matthias wrinkled his nose. "Really? Everything?"

"Everything!"

Matthias grinned without shame. "Congratulations. When are you getting married?"

Nicholas laughed. "Straight away if I could. Now, seriously, he is wonderful but it's a bit scary to see his house and the antique furniture. It all looks so precious but he doesn't care about it. He says they are just things to make life more pleasurable. I'll have to get use to it first." he said.

"And?" insisted Matthias. "What about the hot nights?"

Nicholas blushed slightly.

"Hotter than you can imagine," he whispered. Matthias giggled and put his head closer to Nicholas.

"You mean, really and truly a heavy love affair?"

Nicholas smelled the savoury smell coming from Matthias' lunch. His appetite was aroused.

"Heavy. Can I have a bite?"

Matthias picked up a piece with his fork and hold it out under Nicholas' nose. He took it and chewed. "Not bad."

"Go and get yourself one, I'll wait."

After Nicholas' return with a steaming portion of cheese bake Matthias asked, "What about Frank and your fears? Did he succeed in making you forget them?"

Nicholas swallowed down his first bite and nodded.

"Yes," he said indistinctly between chewing. "He could make me forget everything, even the arsehole Frank."

Matthias looked happy at this statement. "I'm glad for you, buddy, really glad." His voice trailed off and Nicholas was alarmed.

"Something wrong with you?" He stared at the young man eating in silence. His brows frowned above his nose.

"Hey, come on. Tell me?"

"Well, it's nothing really. I had a quarrel with Tina at the Christmas Party in the club."

"Quarrel? And you never quarrelled before, right?"

"Yeah, there's always a first time, I guess. She hasn't spoken to me for some days."

"So? It must be pretty difficult to live in one flat and not to speak to each other."

"It is, Nick, it is."

"But what was it about?"

Matthias took his time to answer. Then he said, "The party was good, you know, the music and all..."

Nicholas was impatient. "And?"

"I wanted to make it even better."

Nicholas face was a question mark.

"In what better?"

"Well, you can make it better ... tablets you know..."

Nicholas stopped chewing. "Tablets? You mean Ecstasy?" He chewed again. "Ever tried it before?"

Matthias shook his head. "I thought it couldn't do any harm, everybody takes it, so I bought two. One for me and one for her. But she didn't want to try and made a scene. I couldn't understand why. It's harmless, only a bit of fun and after some hours it's all forgotten. But she went on and on about drugs and addicts and that she hated it and she would hate me if I took such trash.... and so on."

Nicholas said nothing. Matthias looked up.

"Have you ever tried it?"

"No. I couldn't think of a reason why I should want to."

"Geez, now you start the same babbling. What's wrong with it?"

Nicholas thought for a moment. "I have heard it could be dangerous in certain circumstances. Some people had died after taking the pills."

"Yes, but it only happens because they forget the time and that they have to drink and to eat or get over excited and the circulation collapses."

"Right. And what if you too forget the time and drinking and eating? Do you think it only happens to other people and not to you?"

Matthias threw him a sinister glance. "I thought I could speak to you about it."

Nicholas dropped his fork and grabbed Matthias arm. "But you can. You have always listened to me when I had problems. Now it's my turn. It is only my opinion and maybe I'm wrong, ok?"

He stared insistently on his friend and repeated, "Ok?"