The breath of the morning breeze caressed Wade's face as he walked along the paths of the park, accompanied by his dog Ember. The wind also ruffled her furry coat, even more as she ran a few steps ahead of Wade.

The park was almost completely deserted that Sunday morning. It was quite early and people preferred to sleep at that time. That's why it was the perfect time to take a walk. Wade hated crowds and in fact tried to keep a safe distance from parties, when Gavin didn't drag him there by force.

When they reached a large green space, Wade stopped. He bent down to caress Ember, with one hand, while with the other he unhooked her leash, to let her run freely. From his pocket he took a ball out. He pulled it and Ember chased it, then bit it and, when she brought it back to Wade, she was rewarded handsomely with caresses and cuddles.

As they played, Wade threw the ball too far and Ember started running to catch up with it, cutting into the path of someone who was jogging. Wade immediately recognized Kyle, tried to tell him to be careful, but it was too late. To avoid colliding with the dog, Kyle tripped over his own feet and ended up falling to the ground. Wade rushed to him, to make sure he wasn't hurt. He bent down in front of him. «I’m sorry, are you okay?» he asked.

Kyle didn't answer, he was just staring at Wade in surprise fot that completely unexpected meeting.

Ember joined them wagging her tail with the ball between her teeth. She placed it in front of her master and awaited her prize. Wade petted her and then reattached the leash. He stood up and extended his free hand towards Kyle. When their fingers touched, Wade couldn't help but think of their close encounter at the party. He didn't even want to go, but he couldn't deny that it was worth it for that brief moment.

Once he helped Kyle to his feet, before his face got too red, Wade let go of his hand. «I’m very sorry.»

«It’s okay.», Kyle smiled shaking his head. «I thought you were more of a cat person.» added.

Wade was ignoring him though. His eyes were staring at Kyle's elbow. He had injured himself and was bleeding.

Wade grabbed Kyle by the wrist. Kyle looked at him with wide eyes. «What’s wrong?» he asked surprised and above all confused.

«Your elbow... there’s a wound, it is better if you disinfect it.»

Kyle looked down and noticed the blood running down his arm. He didn't even have time to react, Wade dragged him towards a fountain. He released him from his grasp only so he could tie Ember's leash to the nearby bench. Then he went back to Kyle and put his arm under the water. Gently, he wiped away the blood and small debris from the gravel. Kyle could do nothing but watch as Wade took care of him.

«Much better. It's not that deep.» he said, looking closely at his elbow. «It's just a scrape, but you should still disinfect it before it becomes infected. My house is not far away, if you want – »

«Now I understand your exaggerated reaction to a simple scratch. You wanted to take me to your house.» Kyle joked, smiling. «Don't you think it's a little early? We haven't been dating for a long time.»

Wade couldn't stop his lips from curling into a smile. «I just don't want to be the cause of the end of your musical career, I would feel terribly guilty.» Wade said in a exaggerated melodramatic tone.

«Fine.», Kyle gave in.

Wade reached the bench and untied the knot on the leash. «This way.» he said leading the way to Kyle.

During the walk, Wade looked for Kyle out of the corner of his eye. He couldn't stand the silence, so he tried to make conversation. «Do you often run in the park? I don't think I've ever noticed you around before.»

«Only when I can't find inspiration.» Kyle replied.

«It's not something you can do on command, unfortunately. You should not force yourself to compose, otherwise nothing good will come of it.» Wade said. «Inspiration is like a river, which arrives suddenly, impetuously, and you cannot stop it, only indulge it.»

«But writing in one go doesn't always lead to good results.»

Wade nodded. «Of course, you always have to refine what you write. Inspiration is not enough.»

«It sounds like you know something about this, from the way you talk.»

Wade didn't answer, he was too busy looking for his house keys in his pocket. They had now reached the driveway and were almost at the door.

Wade put the key in the lock and opened it. He let Kyle in first, then he crossed the threshold too and freed Ember from the leash.

Kyle looked around and realized that the house was a little too empty and quiet. «Are your parents sleeping?»

Wade shook his head. «No. They went, with my sister, to visit my grandmother.» he replied. «I stayed, to take care of Ember and not miss classes.»

«Gavin is right. You're such a boring model student.», Kyle teased him.

«I need good grades if I want to go to a good university.» Wade retorted before walking away towards the bathroom. «Wait for me here, I'll get the first aid kit.»

Kyle nodded and while he waited he started playing with Ember. When Wade returned, he was surprised to see his dog completely at ease with this stranger. She rolled over to be cuddled. Wade almost felt guilty disturbing them.

Kyle petted the dog one last time before joining Wade on the couch.

While Wade rummaged through the briefcase, looking for what he needed to disinfect the wound, he could feel Kyle's gaze on him. Even as he pressed the cotton wool to the scratch, he continued to feel his eyes on him. He felt slightly uncomfortable but, at the same time, it made him happy. As Wade bandaged his wound, he couldn't help but wonder how Kyle was feeling. Did his touch make him flinch too? Every time Wade touched his skin, did his heart skip a beat too?

As soon as Wade finished putting the gauze on, Kyle withdrew his arm. Wade thought maybe he was embarrassed too. «I better go, or my mother will start to worry.» he said and Wade felt like he was reliving the party scene.

Kyle got up from the couch and started to leave. Wade hurriedly accompanied him, like a good host. He opened the door for him and greeted him. «See you at school.»

Kyle turned to look at him and, for a few seconds, hesitated to leave. He looked at Wade straight in his eyes, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he said nothing but a simple: «See you.», then he left.