Green woke up to the familiar scent of autumn leaves rotting and the sight of gentle winds blowing them off the trees outside his bedroom window. It seemed that this morning would go just as any other would on a typical school day. Though most people dreaded the idea of waking up to another day of classwork and assignments, he couldn't say he felt the same way. To him, every day was another opportunity to hang around those he loved most, and he was ever thankful for that.

Of course, it wasn't easy to just up and leave such a cozy room and a comfortable bed. Green was a lazy boy, and the warmth of his blankets and pajamas weren't going to let him go so quickly. He lingered for a moment where he was, wrapped up in his cocoon of sheets and blankets while lost in thought. It was the two-month anniversary of his relationship with his boyfriend in a week, and imagining the ideal date to commemorate such an occasion proved to be a bit difficult. Vio wasn't normally as cuddly or romantic as Green was. Still, Green felt more than contempt to just be around him. Whatever they decided on, they were sure to have a pleasant, joyful time. He was sure of it.

A call from his mother stirred Green into sitting up, essentially overcoming his drowsiness and giving him a small boost of energy to start the day. Randomly shifting and turning until the tangle of bed coverings was no more, Green leapt from his spot onto the cold carpet floor. Naturally, he checked his phone first before doing anything else to see if anyone had tried to contact him after he'd dozed off last night. Nothing. No news was good news, he figured, and he set down the device before preparing for the day. Usually Vio or Red would text him a goodnight message (there was no denying he loved getting those), but they must have skipped it over this time. It wasn't the first time this had happened.

A few minutes later, Green was saying his goodbyes to his mother at the door, now dressed and carrying his backpack. She gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek, to which he gave a slight chuckle. Then, once she opened the door to let him out he slowly made his way down the front steps of the house and started his trek to school. The sidewalk right in front of his home stretched to the end of the street, where he usually caught the bus. None of the people in what his friend Shadow liked to call "The Squad" lived in the same neighborhood, but the bus ride gave him enough time to text the others on the way to school. That gave him the feeling of being right there with them, even if they were all on another bus somewhere else. Today, however, he wanted to talk to one person only. There was an itching feeling in him to ask about the plan for next week, so he stopped momentarily to dig through his backpack. After shuffling through textbooks, a lunchbox, and a few miscellaneous items that earned him the title of "Mom Friend", his hand felt the smooth texture of plastic, and he retrieved his phone. Once he had saddled the bag onto his shoulders and begun to walk again, he initiated a call without further hesitation. Eagerly, he pressed the phone to his ear, keeping one hand on his backpack's right strap.

"Yes, Green?"

A calm, familiar voice sounded through the speaker. Green could feel himself break into a huge grin.

"Vio?"

"Who else? Albert Einstein?"

They both laughed.

"How are you this fine morning?"

"I'm alright. How about yourself?

"I guess you could say I'm excited."

Green held his breath, waiting for the proper response. He hoped to high Heaven that Vio might catch the hint. For how clever he was, he could be clueless when it came to anything to do with their relationship. Despite this and the fact that he wasn't too sensual, when Vio did try his best, he was quite a charmer.

"Excited? May I ask why?"

Green let out a fake gasp, but kept his grin.

"You forgot about next week?"

"Oh, right. It's been two months already?"

"Yeah! Isn't that so weird?"

"It is."

"Yeah…"

Silence. It seemed like so little had happened between them in hindsight. Sure, they had gone on a few dates and shared lots of things between them, but it began to dawn on Green that their relationship was just budding, and not even starting to blossom. It was going to take a huge amount of time to culminate into the ideal image that he had in his mind. Nevertheless, he had all the time in the world to shape it, and he knew that things were going to work out fine.

"Green, you're not walking and talking, are you?"

He snapped back to reality from his thoughts and answered.

"Oh, uh… Maybe?"

Vio sighed this time.

"Green…"

"I'm sorry! I'm just really happy about all this. I have a lot to talk about when we meet up at lunch later."

"That sounds delightful. Don't stress about walking, by the way…"

"Oh, why?"

"I suppose you could say I'm also a guilty party in that respect."

"Ah, geez! Do I need to let you go?"

"I would you'd never let me go, to be honest."

"Vio!"

Green felt his hands rush to cover his laughing mouth and then shift to hide his slightly reddening face.

"Where did that come from?"

"My mind, naturally."

"Well, I like it."

"I like your mind too."

"Thanks. I like the way you carry yourself when you're focused."

"I adore the way you care for others."

"You have such a gentle voice."

"You have the softest eyes and the sweetest smile."

"I love you."

No response.

"Vio, I mean that."

Nothing.

"Did I get too mushy with you? I'm sorry. …Vio? Vio?"

A few moments later, another voice rang through the speaker. This time, he couldn't tell who it was.

"Excuse me? Is someone there?"

"Oh, uh… Who is this? I'd like to speak to Vio, please."

"I'm sorry."

"No, if you could just hand it to him, he should be right around you somewhere. You're talking on his phone right n-"

"I-I'm so sorry, sir…"

"What? I don't understand. Where is the owner of the phone you're holding? He should be middle-school age, kind of medium height, blond hair, blue eyes…"

"He's…"

"Yes, ma'am?"

"He's not breathing…"

Green felt his heart skip a beat.

"What do you mean?"

"I wasn't around to see it, but I heard a car slamming on the brakes, and the next moment, a body is lying still on the street… Books are everywhere, papers, pens… It's awful. Oh goodness, it's so awful. I'm so sorry…"

It wasn't a second before the phone slipped from Green's hands. The woman's weeping and condolences flowed out of it, but he wasn't able to hear it over his own scream.