It was late. The kind of late where the air felt heavier, where thoughts refused to quiet down. Axel stood in the rain. He wasn't sure why he'd ended up there on the sidewalk, halfway between the school and the empty, cold house he hated returning to. He didn't bring a jacket. His hoodie clung to him, soaked and dripping, his hair sticking to his forehead. He didn't care. The fight from earlier still echoed in his head. His parents hadn't come just the maid, silent as always, escorting him to the office like he wasn't even her business. They didn't even ask what happened. They never did. His fists clenched, his eyes stinging not from the rain, but from everything else. Anger. Shame. Hurt. And something he couldn't quite name. He didn't even notice the footsteps at first. "Axel?" He looked up, squinting through the rain. A figure with an umbrella, grocery bag in hand, stopped a few steps away. Noah.

Noah looked stunned, but not the disgusted kind of stunned Axel was used to. Just... worried. Genuinely worried. "What the hell are you doing out here?" Noah asked, already stepping closer. "You'll catch pneumonia or something." Axel didn't answer. Noah sighed and moved the umbrella over Axel's head, letting the rain hit his own shoulder instead. "Where do you live?" Axel didn't move. Didn't speak. His lips were tight, pressed into a stubborn line, but his eyes betrayed him. Noah didn't push. "Let me just walk you. You shouldn't be alone right now." They walked in silence. Axel led him down a quiet road, through a gate, and up to a house that looked more like a museum than a home. Spacious. Spotless. Lifeless. Axel opened the door. No voices greeted them. No smells of dinner. Just empty air and soft echoing footsteps. Noah looked around. "Where... where are your parents?" Axel said nothing. Noah turned to him and that's when he saw it. Axel's shoulders trembling. His jaw tight. His breath shallow. And then, without warning, he broke.

A choked sound escaped him as he turned away, sinking down onto the armrest of the living room couch. His hands covered his face. His chest heaved. "I don't get it," he whispered. "I try—God, I try—and it's never enough. They don't care. They never cared. I mess up once, and it's like that's all I'll ever be." Noah stood frozen for a second. He'd never seen Axel like this. So raw. So real. He walked over, slow and cautious, and sat down beside him not close, but not far either. "You're not just one mess-up," he said quietly. "You're a person. People mess up. That doesn't make them trash." Axel laughed bitterly, dragging his hands down his face. "Try telling that to my father." A beat passed. Then another. The air between them buzzed with silence and pain. "I should go," Noah said gently after a while. "You should sleep or... something. He stood. But before he could turn away, Axel reached out, catching his wrist. No words. Just a look. Noah froze, heart pounding. Axel stood too, slowly, like the weight on his back was too much to carry. His eyes searched Noah's face then flicked to his lips. It was quiet. Then he kissed him. Soft. Scared. A little unsure. But it was real.

Noah didn't pull away. His eyes fluttered shut, just for a second, letting himself feel the truth of it the loneliness, the longing, the ache behind that single moment. When they parted, neither of them spoke. Axel looked down. "Sorry." Noah didn't say it was okay. He didn't lie. He just nodded, barely, and whispered, "See you tomorrow." And then he left leaving Axel standing alone again. But this time... his chest didn't feel so empty.