He took off his shoes before opening the apartment door. Teo had a hard time finding his keys in his backpack, well he’d have a hard time finding them if he had the backpack with him. At the last minute, a few seconds before calling Sonia in total shock that someone had stolen his stuff, the young man realized that when he left home that day, he left the backpack in the bedroom. In the end, his keys were resting in his jeans pocket. Another dramatic situation was saved at the last minute. 

 So, he placed the key within the hole, turned it thrice to his left, and unlocked the door. Since it was already three o’clock in the morning – according to his phone –probably his guest would be sleeping by now. Teo didn’t want to wake him up or cause any kind of noise. By taking off his shoes with slow, almost delicate moves, the man opened the door, entering his apartment.  

           Everything around him was dancing uncontrollably to some imaginary melody that was impossible to be caught by the human ear, yet somehow, Teo was able to walk along with the non-existing rhythm. It was fun. Perhaps, it had followed him from the pub. Yeah, it even sounded like the music from back there. If Sonia was with him, she’d have loved this.

          Along the way, though, something hard, wooden probably, impacted his leg, forcing a scream out of the top of his lungs. “Fuck!” he cursed, again and again, limping, and caressing the bruised spot. And while he was cursing his dumb luck, he failed to realize that right behind him was the small cabinet, his now nemesis. A hard fall was all that came afterward; a hard fall on his buttocks and a heavy sigh of surrender. Teo had enough for just three minutes. His head was throbbing from all the alcohol, his stomach was a mess, about to explode at any minute, and his eyes were sore, unable to recognize the simplest of shapes. He rubbed his forehead, trying hard to bring himself in a state of auto-pilot, to at least stand up, go to his bedroom and sleep there till the end of his days.

            “Someone had a bit too much.” Teo’s blurry gaze was shot to the voice’s source.

           “Nick!” he called out his name throwing his arms in the air like some kid and smiling widely for no apparent reason.

           “Teo!” the boy mocked him and walked to his side. “Do you need help there, buddy?”

           “Pfft!” he scoffed and after a short pause, he shrugged, snickering lightly. “Maybe, I don’t know.” The man dropped his head and then lifted it, staring at Nick. “Heyyy Nick~”

           “We’ve already been through that, ay?” Nick sighed, shaking his head. It was quite unusual and awkward watching someone getting that much drunk while him being sober and all.

           Well, the good thing was that the fuss that had woken him up wasn’t a burglar or worse. How would he defend himself in somebody else’s place? That evening he had just found out where the utensils were in the kitchen and he doubted that any of that would make a good defensive weapon. Perhaps some of Teo’s collectible ones, yet he’d never listen to the end of it if he dared damage them.

           “Come on, you need some cold water on your face, right now”.

           “No!” Teo pulled back his arm and crushed his elbow against the cabinet with a loud thud. “That’s gonna hurt tomorrow…” he softly spoke to himself within chuckles.

           Nick wanted to laugh so hard and maybe grab his phone to capture this moment of absolute triumph; have something to use against him…for fun. The struggle and the urge were too powerful, yet he managed to maintain his composure. Instead, he leaned against the wall and watched closely as Teo was struggling to get up to his feet.

          “Why is walking so freaking hard? I mean it’s one foot in front of the other!” he complained loudly, yet he wasn’t moving at all.

           “Well, you are a big guy. You can handle it, mate” Nick was planning on leaving him like this for a while just for the laughs. Damn it, he cursed under his breath and offered Teo his hand, “I can show you though if you are not too sure.”

           And just like that, with a soft push, Nick was brought too close to those twin green orbs and honestly, the smell of alcohol didn’t bother him. “Ugh,” a tight knot was blocking the air to go through his lungs. “Teo?” he spoke his name in a soft tone, softer than a whisper, and yet he couldn’t release himself from the other’s grasp, nor move his gaze away.

           “I know I have been a true ass to you, Nick, I know. But thank you. What you did…” he paused and his lips curved a smile “Thank you.”

           “Hey, we talked about that. You don’t have to worry about anything.” A sigh escaped from his lips and quickly Nick pulled Teo up, helping him get to the living room.

           There, the eldest one fell flat on the sofa, while Nick sat right next to him once he turned on the lights.

           “Right, you have an ulterior motive after all” he chuckled and shook his head to stop the nausea, somehow.

           “I don’t!” Nick argued and then laughed a little. “Ok, so is it bad if I just want to get away for once? If I just want no one to find me until I feel ready to return?”

           “Mmm, and you will be able to do so by hiding in the apartment across yours? Please explain your way of thinking.”

           “You are not sober enough to listen to it.”

           “Maybe I am drunk enough to understand it, though.”

           That made sense. In a very weird way, it made sense. After all, they were roommates under the most uncanny conditions but they had to get to know each other a bit more to make this living bearable.

           “Alright, so it’s pretty simple. If you want to disappear you choose that place that no one will think of searching for. You and I never had the best relationship. It’s sad but it’s true, it helps me.”

           “So…your boyfriend will not even think of knocking on my door?” Teo tilted his head to the side, lips pressed together and sore eyes shot at him.

           “I’m not going to lie there, mate, he might even try to do that, but mostly to ask you if you have any idea where I am.” Nick then put on a much more serious expression than before and by raising his index he demanded “In which case you will -”

           “Shut the door at him?”

           “You are brave enough…” Nick commented and they both laughed, lighting up the mood a bit.

           “So, you do agree that he is a bit scary…not much of a ‘not bad’ guy.”

           “For being off your face, your memory is almost on point!” the boy joked and then took a deep breath before pulling his legs up on the couch. “Sometimes, I do believe that deliberately I make the worst possible choices. I don’t know why – wait – I do know why but I guess I don’t stop myself from it. Perhaps, I don’t want to think that I deserve any-” the loud sound of someone snoring made Nick stop. He chuckled as he watched Teo falling asleep in the most uncomfortable position imaginable, “thing better.” By finishing his own words, the young man stood up, stretched his tired body, and covered his friend with the edge of the couch’s cover. “Good night, big guy” he whispered and walked away turning the lights off.