Part 2 Of 3;

The boy's presence brought Joe a sense of safety. They probably looked goofy; two boys sitting cross legged in front of a tombstone...but Joe was happy just to have a person beside him.

The boy took a deep breath before exhaling slowly.

"So what's your name....?"

"Joe. Joe Snyder."

"Joe Snyder...I like it," The boy winked and Joe found himself warming inside.

"I...I don't have anywhere else to go."

"So you go to a cemetery?"

Joe turned to the boy, before returning his glance to the tomb in front of him. "I come here...when I need to talk to someone." His fingers danced across the tomb.

"Why not talk to a person?"

Joe paused, sadness overwhelming him. "I don't have anyone else...She's my everything," he said softly as he chanced a glimpse at the boy. "Just like your daughter was your everything..."

"--Is," the boy interrupted. Joe nodded.

"I don't remember much about her. But just the fact that she's here, even if she's not here, makes me so happy. Does that make sense?"

The boy chuckled. "Surprisingly, it does. Sometimes it just helps to know someone is there, even if they can't necessarily hear you..."

"Yeah," Joe said. "Exactly. And it's terrifying. When you only have one person you can depend on…"

"Can I tell you something, Joe?"

"Sure."

"Do you promise not to laugh?"

Joe cocked his head to the side, pursing his lips. "No guarantees."

The boy shifted his weight. "When I was younger, I had a dog that I always confessed my issues to. She was, if I'm being honest, my best friend. I simply didn't trust anyone else."

Joe smiled. "It's a lot easier to trust something that can't talk back, isn't it?" he said. He looked up to find the boy staring intently at him.

"What?" he asked quietly.

"...Let me ask you something, Joe. What do you think she'd say about you, if she were here?"

"What would she say..." Joe turned away. "What kind of question is that for a complete stranger?"

The boy laughed, the sound shooting straight to Joe's heart. "Well, nothing else we've talked about has been conventional, now has it?"

Joe smiled, slowly and freely. He glanced down. "I think...She would be really disappointed in me. And I hate that." The boy said nothing, and Joe glanced up. "All this time, for years now, I did everything in my power to hurt him...I thought I was... But it turns out I hurt everyone I love."

The boy moved even closer. "What would you say to them?" He asked softly.

Joe instantly stiffened. "Who," he inquired.

"Them. Everyone you've ever hurt, either purposely or inadvertently…If they were here, what would you say?"

Joe pulled his knees to his chest. "I…" He shut his eyes tight, hoping to force the defiant tears away.

"Its okay, Joe." The boy's hand slowly reached towards him, landing perceptively on the small of Joe's back.

Is it really okay though? The tears fell freely now, and Joe took a deep breath, struggling to find the words.

"I...I would tell them that I'm sorry…" he glanced at the boy beside him. The boy only stared, quietly encouraging Joe to continue. In the steady gaze, Joe found bewildering courage.

"I'd tell them…I'm sorry for being so stupid and careless and selfish…" His tears threatened to choke him, but he took a deep breath, fighting through it. "I need them so much more than I ever told them, and they deserve better than me…but I love them…But they don't know that…"

He was near sobbing now, and he buried his head in his knees. "I'm so stupid and careless and--"

"—you already said that," the boy interrupted calmly. He pulled Joe closer, but Joe wretched away, his burning eyes meeting the boy's stable gaze. He took an unsteady breath, glancing down again.

"I hate this," he whispered, curling deeper into himself.

"Hate what?" the boy asked softly, and Joe felt him shuffle closer.

Joe looked up, finding himself face to face with the second most beautiful pair of eyes he'd ever seen. "This," he whispered. The boy's hand rose to Joe's head, gently gliding down Joe's cheek.

"This, what?"

"This...being seen crying....Only one person in the world's seen me cry."

The boy paused in his attempt to smooth away Joe's tears. "It's rather subjective, isn't it?

"What is?"

"Does it take more strength to allow others to see your vulnerability…or to garner it all inside?" His fingers lightly danced on Joe's cheek.

"You sound like him," Joe confessed quietly.

"Like who?"

Joe's eyes widened, and he pulled away slightly. "No one special…" He crossed his arms, feeling a light blush tickle his face. He gazed up quickly, noting the boy's face hardening slightly.

"Did you love him?" The boy suddenly seemed to be overtaken by unhappiness and exhaustion. Joe opened his mouth, before immediately shutting it.

"Yeah, I did; Maybe too much." Joe could feel the tenseness of the air increasing. The boy cleared his throat.

"Joe, would you rather I left now? Apparently, you don't feel comfortable revealing so much to a stranger and—"

"—No," Joe stated.

"No, what?"

"No. I don't want you to leave."

The boy's eyes widened in astonishment, and he nervously began pulling at his collar. "And why not?"

"Because. I hate being alone more than anything else..." Joe's voice cracked, and he felt like at the moment, so did his heart. In his head, he imagined the earth doing the same, opening and inadvertently sucking him in.

"Would anyone do then, Joe?" The boy looked down and tapped his fingers against his pant leg, and suddenly, Joe felt as though someone was tugging at his heartstrings.

Please let go…

"No…" Joe said faintly. His brain felt too slow, catching onto the words a moment too late.

"Does it really help that I'm here?" The boy asked. Joe's eyes widened and he bit his lip, cautiously debating his answer.

"I told you to leave before. Earlier. Remember?"

"Yeah. What changed your mind?"

Joe raised his head, and his head spun slightly. "I say, and do, a lot of things I don't mean." The boy smiled, and Joe's heart skipped a beat.

"Is that so. In that case, what did you mean?"

Joe gulped. "I wanted you to stay from the beginning. I still do."

The boy smiled, his warm hazel eyes dancing.

Joe could only look away. "You're wrong." He said. The boy grasped Joe's head, turning him.

"About what?" The boy asked.

Joe gulped. "You think that I do this a lot, and you're wrong…"

"Do what? You already told me you don't do the 'talking' thing."

"No, I mean...Let strange boys touch me and be with me." The boy's eyes widened, his hands dropping from Joe's face.

"You do, don't you..." Joe whispered.

The boy shook his head fervently, reaching out to touch Joe before retreating back. "I never said that Joe..."

Joe pulled away heatedly. "You did! You said so yourself. 'Anyone would do.' Maybe, maybe in the past, that was true but not anymore. I'm different." Joe bit his lip, nervously hugging himself before peering up, feeling the heat of two forests staring at him. "I am."

"I believe you, Joe. And whether or not that's true; I have no right to judge you." He leaned closer, his warm breath inviting Joe closer.

Joe shut his eyes tightly. "I'm not a virgin!" He blurted out, opening his eyes. He felt his face flushing.

The boy shrugged, and suddenly he seemed ten years older. "Neither am I."

Joe turned away. "Do you...do you regret that?" It was no longer raining, but it seemed like it just dropped 10 degrees. Or maybe it was just his body playing tricks again.

The boy inhaled. "I regret a lot of things, Joe."

Joe cleared his throat. "I...I wish I still was one," he admitted faintly. His head began spinning. Or maybe it was just his world. He ran his hands over the rough dirt, tracing the words J&N into the soil. His hands instinctively rose to clasp the necklace around his neck. It was still there, pulsing over his own heart. He took a deep, chilling breath.

"I've...I've been called heartless before..." Joe whispered. The boy turned Joe's face, his eyes piercing their way through Joe.

"And I've been called selfish," he whispered back.

Joe gulped. "My first impressions....They usually suck, but if you were really selfish...you wouldn't have stayed with me."

The boy's eyes gleamed, glittering under the kaleidoscope sky. "I've made a lot of mistakes in my life, Joe. One of the biggest being the day I said 'I do' to a woman I never loved. I've always wondered how my life would be if I'd been brave enough to admit the truth. On one hand, I wouldn't have had Liz and so many hearts wouldn't have broken...I mean, was having Liz really worth it if she was going to be taken away from me in the end?"

He took a deep breath, tears shattering his clear eyes. "You're a brave man, Joe. It doesn't need a brain surgeon to comprehend that." The boy's hands rose to Joe's cheeks again, floating down to rest above his heart. "...And no one truly heartless would have a heart that beats so wildly. So long as it beats like this...no one has the right to call you heartless."

"It's broken..." Joe whispered, as if speaking any louder would break it even more. The boy wrapped his arms around Joe until their bodies met, chest to chest, no space for even the slightest of hands to fit between them.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?"

"What is?" Joe murmured into the boy's coat.

"That it can be broken...and still beat so much."