"I know that Charlie, but I mean I'm in love with you" Alex nervously spat out. He looked up from the table almost afraid to see how his friend would respond. "No" Charlie whispered shaking his head. "Alex, if you just say you're joking, I'll pretend I never heard that." Charlie's body appeared to be shaking. "I'm not joking. I've felt this way since we met" Alex said, hurt by his mates' reaction. The other man still lightly trembled until he stood up from the table, no longer able to keep silent. "Alex I'm leaving" he finally said. Alex nodded his head expecting his friend needed some time to think. "I'll be back tomorrow at half two" Charlie continued. "I'll be taking all my things and moving out. You really shouldn't be here when I show up." Alex couldn't believe what he was hearing, but he didn't protest. As Charlie walked toward the door Alex turned the other way, knowing he couldn't watch his mate leave. When he heard the door slam his eyes filled with tears and he began to sob uncontrollably.
Glancing back down at the table he saw a rolled up old news paper, he grabbed it and walked to Charlie's room. He just needed time to process the situation. As he stepped into the room his gaze landed on a figure who was sitting on the bed, with its arms crossed, looking very disappointed. It was Charlie. "Oh, don't tell me, I missed another scene from melodramatic poofter theatre" the younger boy said sarcastically. Alex wasn't fazed by the impossible sight of his flat-mate or his harsh words. "Let's be honest, it was cute at first. You'd confess your love and he'd be all like 'I love you too mate, lets snog!' But at this point, you're just torturing yourself." Alex stared at the other man, but didn't make a sound. "Ok, so I died and you're sad. I get that, but that was two and a half months ago Alex. You gotta move on!" Alex began to speak as the tears streamed from his eyes. "But I just wish I could have told you how much I love you."
"That doesn't matter, Alex" Charlie informed him, changing his tone. "Besides, you can't keep kicking yourself over what you didn't do. Right now it's all about what you can do. You can get back out there and have a life again. I don't have that choice." Charlie stood up and walked over to Alex. "You were always the stronger one, so why are you letting this ruin you?" Alex hung his head and thought until his tears stopped flowing. "I don't know, maybe you're right. Maybe it is time to push these images from head and finally move on." He glanced back up to look the other man in the eyes, but Charlie was gone. Alex looked down at the rolled up news paper in his hand, glancing quickly at the article on the front page. The title read: Drowsy Lorry Driver Kills Young Man in Car Accident.
