He stared up at the ceiling fan and clicked his tongue before slowly sitting up and glancing toward his desk.

As he got to his feet, he walked over and grabbed a nearby book, opening it and running his fingers across the pages. The book was old and dusty, and he handled the paper with unusual care.

"Hm... come back..." he murmured.

He flipped to the blank pages at the back and began writing across the empty lines with his pencil.

It was already the fifth time he'd sharpened it and gone back to writing. Once again, the tip snapped from the pressure he was putting into every word.

Dropping the pencil and pushing his chair back, he rubbed his eyelids and stood up.

He unlocked his bedroom door and headed toward the kitchen, only to stop in the living room when he heard a familiar voice.

"Yu... YURI?!"

He stared at her sitting on the couch, chatting with his sister.

"Well, look who's here. The runaway himself." Yuri brushed a few strands of hair from her face. "Came to have a chat."

"A chat? About what exactly? I don't remember havin' anythin' to talk about. Matter of fact, I left because of that." He folded his arms.

"She told me you were practically asleep on your feet before you vanished outta nowhere. That's reason enough for me to wanna know what happened."

His sister stood up from the sofa.

"If he tells you anythin', let me know, would ya? I'd absolutely love to hear it. For now, I'm off to do my nails. See ye later."

She pointed a finger at both of them.

"And don't mess up what took me ages to clean."

Already dressed and ready to go, she waved goodbye and left the house.

Yuri got up from the couch and looked directly at Liuk.

Hands on her hips.

Waiting.

Neither of them spoke.

Outside, the sounds of the neighbourhood carried through the windows. Birds singing. Wind brushing through the grass. Cars passing every now and then.

Inside the house, there was nothing except the two of them staring at each other.

"So?" Yuri finally broke the silence.

"So what?" Liuk shot back.

"How much longer are ye gonna take?"

"Take for what?"

"To tell me what's wrong with ye. Did ye honestly think I saw ye lookin' like a zombie and figured it was just another one of yer weird habits?"

"Well... yeah. It was one of my weird habits." He shrugged. "Now that ye know, could ye leave me alone to think? When I was a kid they always put me in the naughty corner."

"Funny. Things changed. These days the naughty corner is me sittin' here watchin' ye act like I'm about to shoot ye."

She narrowed her eyes.

"Seriously, what's with all the shaking?"

"Probably the cold air from the ceiling fan. Any other questions?"

"Hm... actually, yeah."

She smiled.

"Wanna go out with me again? Just you and me. No Max. No Taylor. And no blond kid you've apparently adopted."

She made air quotes.

"I didn't adopt anybody..." He scratched the back of his neck. "Honestly, I think he adopted me."

"Oh?"

Yuri leaned slightly forward.

"So it is about him, then?"

"No. Has absolutely nothin' to do with him."

He looked up.

A bead of sweat slid down the side of his face.

Yuri snorted.

"You're unbelievable. Ye can't even blush properly when ye're lyin'."

She ran a hand through her hair again.

"I didn't lie. You weren't even there when I met him. There's no way you know everythin' I've seen about him."

He turned his head away.

"Maybe because ye never told me anythin' about him." She shrugged. "How about a proper conversation over iced tea?"

"And what exactly are ye plannin' to squeeze outta me during this little trip?"

He slowly turned back toward her.

"Hmm..." Yuri pretended to think.

"For starters, I'd like to know what oranges and avocados have to do with any of this."

Liuk closed his eyes.

A low growl escaped him as he rubbed the top of his head.

"That's news to me as well," he muttered.

Then he sighed.

"But I get it. You wanna know more about the lad I met."

"Straight to the point. Unlike me."

She laughed.

"I don't even know how much circlin' around I had to do before ye figured it out. You're a bit slow sometimes, but at least ye eventually think. Unlike Max."

"Either way, there's not much to tell. We're not even friends. He ignored me for a while. Then he came back sayin'..."

He stopped.

"Actually, he didn't say anythin'."

"I'm absolutely certain he did."

Yuri smirked.

"And I'd love to know what it was."

She gestured toward the door.

"Come on?"

"Hm... I'll just, uh..."

He began backing away.

"Brush my teeth. Change my shoes. Change my clothes."

Yuri looked him up and down.

"You look grand to me."

"No! I do not look grand!"

He immediately clenched his teeth.

"I'll be back. Stay there!"

Then he hurried off toward his room.

---

Standing in front of his wardrobe, he didn't move.

Didn't reach for any clothes.

Didn't open a drawer.

He simply sighed and walked back over to his desk, picking up his phone.

After unlocking it, his fingers moved quickly across the screen.

News websites.

Celebrity articles.

Digital archives.

"Aha..."

He stared at the screen.

"Leon... Ríthe."

His eyes scanned the page.

"Yeah..."

He swallowed.

"The eyes are exactly the same."

He locked the phone and finally turned toward the wardrobe.

"Maybe we should get closer..."

His voice dropped to barely a whisper.

"Deep down... I think you'd understand me."