James tugged on his shoes, reaching for his wallet and his car keys and his phone.

"Sweetie, where are you going?"

James started, glancing over his shoulder to see Shay standing at the door with wide eyes, a pout on his plump pink lips. "I'm just going to get some groceries is all," James replied quickly. "No biggie."

"I could do it for you—"

"No, I've got it. I'm gonna meet Carlos while I'm out, so . . ." James scratched the back of his head. "Yeah . . . I'll see you later?"

Shay gave a sultry grin, moving over to him with swaying hips and wrapping his arms around his waist. "I look forward to it," he cooed, standing on his toes and kissing him. James kissed back happily, letting Shay's tongue wrap around his for a second or two before pulling back and saying softly against his lips, "See you soon, babe."

"I love you, Jamie," Shay said sweetly, cuddling him once more before letting him go.

"Love you too," James said quickly, exiting the living room and making a beeline for the front door.

Once he found a place to park in town, James headed straight for the street where he'd seen the man yesterday. He looked around, trying to spot anyone holding flowers, or just anyone in a beanie with shaggy blond hair. But nothing. The stranger was nowhere to be seen. James sighed, frowning to himself. Who on earth was he? And why did he and Shay look so alike . . . why did he act like he knew who (or what) Shay was?

He wanted to find out. Which would be a lot easier if he could find the damn guy.

Then suddenly, through a grubby window with some pretty flowers painted on it from the inside, he saw him. Dressed in jeans and a shabby black coat, wrapped in that stripy scarf with his grey beanie pulled over his head. James' face pressed up against the glass as he eagerly watched the man walk up to the counter of the coffee shop, talking to the woman serving there. He didn't hand over any money, but she smiled at him, ticked something off on a notepad she had, and busied herself making him a hot drink. It must have been one of those pending drinks . . .

He really must've been poor, then. Couldn't even buy a cup of coffee.

An old man at one of the tables looked up from his newspaper and suddenly saw James, hands and face pressed up against the window like a child looking into a candy store. He shook his head in bewilderment before going back to his reading. James pried himself away from the glass and was walking into the coffee shop before he knew it, the cute little bell tinkling softly as he entered. He made his way straight to the counter and ordered a large coffee, tipping her generously and leaving her to work on it. He glanced over and saw the man sitting at a table by himself, hands eagerly wrapped around the hot mug of coffee.

James stared hard at him. He could see now, as he looked properly, that he really did look like Shay. If you were to cover his nose, they could be completely identical. Shay had a cute little button nose; this man's nose was larger, as were his dark and bushy eyebrows. But that pouty mouth looked very similar . . .

Suddenly the man glanced up and oh my god, the eyes were totally different. It was so strange; the colour was exactly the same. But he felt like if he looked into this man's eyes he wouldn't be able to see his reflection the way he could in Shay's. His eyes were too deep . . .

"Here you go, sir," the woman smiled, setting the cup down for him. "Careful, it's hot."

"Thanks," James beamed at her, picking up the cup. When he turned around, the man was still staring right at him. James swallowed nervously, eyes wide and cheeks red.

Then the man gave a small smile and beckoned him over. When James shakily walked to his table, he said, "If you're going to stare at me this much, we might as well have a chat too. Why don't you sit down?"

"Oh. Um . . . okay." James sat across from him, setting down his drink. "Sorry, I didn't mean to stare."

"It's okay, I know why you were." He smiled in understanding. "You don't know how those dolls are made, do you?"

"You know Shay's a doll?"

"Of course I do. A Lover, from the ACC." The man chuckled and crap, he had a dimple too. There was another difference. "How could I not? He looked like a more attractive version of me."

I wouldn't say more attractive, James wanted to stay. He suddenly spotted the little freckles dotting the bridge of Kendall's nose. Shay's skin was flawless. I'd say more polished, at best. "So, how are they made . . .?"

"People are modelled for them," the man explained. "For the basic features of the face. Obviously, people can change their nose and eye colour and things if they like, I imagine you knew that; it's just a basis to get them started. But an airbrushed basis, as is to be expected. I modelled for the company a while back. Every doll's face is unique; I guess you bought mine."

"You're a model?" James squeaked, somehow finding it hard to believe that a model would dress the way he did and sell white roses in the middle of the street.

"No, no," he chuckled. "Not in a million years. I just needed some money. They pay really well, see. Always looking for new faces."

"Oh."

"So, now you know." The man smiled, holding out a breakable porcelain hand. "Anyway, I'm Kendall Knight. Who're you?"

"James Diamond." They shook hands, and James picked up his coffee to take a drink. Kendall did the same, sipping much more daintily but eagerly. "So, are you selling roses again today?"

"Actually I managed to sell all those yesterday so today I've got magazines, but it's too cold out so I gave up. The magazines are in my bag; I needed to get warm." Then Kendall gave a small, squeaky sneeze, blushing scarlet afterwards. "Sorry!" He gave a sniffle, wiping at his blocked nose with one of the little white napkins. "I've always got a bad cold every other week." He picked up his coffee and took a shaky sip, giving a small sigh of relief before looking up and noticing James staring at him. "What?"

James' face flushed, his mouth opening and closing, but no words coming out right. "I-I just . . . you have a cute sneeze."

"Oh." Kendall gave him a puzzled smile. "Thanks. Not something I hear every day."

"Well, I like to be original," James managed to reply wittily, giving him a charming smile. "It's all part of my breathtaking charisma."

Kendall chuckled. Drinking more of his coffee, he said, "So. If it's not too personal, what brought you to buy Shay in the first place?"

"Well, I wasn't planning on it. My friends Carlos and Logan gave me a gift card for my latest birthday."

"And you were . . .?"

"I'm twenty three, since September." James sighed, not even sure why he wanted to admit this. But somehow Kendall's gaze told him he could say anything he wanted, and he wouldn't look away. "But honestly, I've always had shitty luck with relationships. My most recent was this guy, Dak. We were together for about three months, until he promptly texted me that he'd arrived at his destination in New York, and that it'd been fun, but he had better places to be."

Kendall's jaw dropped. "You're kidding me. What a jackass! He didn't even tell you?"

"Didn't say a word. It was bewildering." He gulped down some of his cooling coffee and gave a sly smile. "But I think you'll prefer the previous boyfriend. We only dated for two weeks."

"Can't wait to hear this . . ."

"He's got a wife. He was a sexual tourist."

Kendall spluttered with laughter, coughing a little by the end and giving another sneeze. "Oh, wow . . . that's very interesting." He giggled. "Think he enjoyed the tour?"

"If he stuck around until he got caught, I'd assume he did." James finished his coffee, draining the cup of the last strong remnants at the bottom. "So. What about you? Got a b— girlfriend?"

But Kendall noticed the little slip up, nodding in confirmation and deadpanned, "I'm gay." He frowned. "Is it that obvious?"

"No no!" James replied quickly, hands up. "I mean, it's not like you're jumping around in sparkly rainbow boots or anything, I just . . . I just knew."

Kendall nodded, giving a relieved smile. "Okay, I can deal with that. And no, I haven't got a boyfriend. I've only ever had one boyfriend, actually."

"Oh." James bit his lip. "Then l . . . then I guess he wasn't what you wanted?"

"No, not that. He was exactly what I wanted. I just wasn't what he wanted." Kendall slumped back in his chair, jutting out his bottom lip and blowing a gust of hair up into his bangs. "You may not be interested, but since you've confided in me I might as well do the same, right?"

"I am interested," James said earnestly. "Really, I am."

"Okay," Kendall replied slowly, smiling warmly at him. His brow furrowed as he began his story. "I met Beau when I was fifteen and he was seventeen, he'd just transferred to my school. He was handsome, and smart, and funny, and older, so naturally it was all a bit overwhelming when it turned out he was interested in me. We dated all through high school, even when he graduated; he was going to college nearby so we still got to see each other. My parents didn't approve of him at all, but I just kept telling myself that I knew better, and that we were in love, all that crappy sappy stuff."

"Three years together though, that's a long time. Are you sure you didn't love him?"

Kendall shrugged, sighing. "I don't know, I guess. Maybe I did. Certainly not anymore."

"So, what happened?"

"Well, basically the second I turned eighteen we decided to move in together. My parents didn't want me around anyway, really, and after that they totally disowned me. They'd always wanted me to be straight anyways, so . . ." He stirred his teaspoon around in his coffee as he continued. "At first everything was fine. I didn't have enough money for college so I just went straight to work. Then about six months later, I came home to find Beau, in our bed, with two girls. All totally naked . . ."

James' heart jumped in his chest, and he felt something hot burning inside of his chest. How could anyone do that?

"He kicked me out after I confronted him, because I'd unfortunately lost my job at the closing diner a few weeks before and wasn't helping pay the rent, as he put it. In reality I think it was just his excuse to get rid of me so he could find someone else to charm. So, there I was; no family, no boyfriend, no job, no home. That's essentially my story in a nutshell."

"So, are you still . . .?" James struggled to finish his sentence, he didn't want Kendall to get offended, or upset, or hate him . . .

"Am I still homeless?" When James nodded nervously, Kendall smiled and shook his head. "No, I'm not. I've got my own small place now, and I'm really happy with it. I wasn't on the streets very long; I'm almost twenty now, been living in that place almost a year."

"Well, that's good to hear," James replied earnestly. And he meant it too. "It must have been tough, living outdoors during winter."

Kendall nodded, sighing. "I made a couple of friends after I got the apartment, but I wish I'd had them then. Not even for help, but just a bit of comfort would've been nice."

James' eyes fell on Kendall's white mug on the table in front of them. "I can get you another coffee." He stood up.

"No, you don't have to do that!" Kendall said quickly, shaking his head.

"I'm gonna get one for myself," James told him, shrugging. "I don't mind . . ."

"Really, I'm okay," Kendall said softly, cheeks flushing slightly "One coffee is enough for me."

"Let me get you a snack, then?"

"James—"

"Kendall," James said, giving a teasing smile and nudging Kendall's shoulder. "Come on, I know there's something up there you like. If we do this again, you can buy me a snack if it bothers you so much. Okay?"

"Okay . . ." Dimple prominent in his cheek, Kendall looked past James at the shelves of cookies and buns and sandwiches beside the counter, safely secured behind a display window. ". . . The raspberry and almond muffins are my favourite," he said at last, smiling shyly up at James. Somehow he felt like he'd just been entrusted with this gigantic secret.

"I'll be right back," James said, winking at him, before walking over to the counter and addressing the woman standing behind it. "Another coffee and one of those raspberry muffins, please?"

"No problem. That'll be $5." As James handed the money over, he glanced over his shoulder at where Kendall was sitting. The blond wasn't paying attention to him at the moment; he looked a bit zoned out, hands clasped on the table in front of him as his eyes stared blankly into space. James wondered what exactly he was looking at, or what he was remembering. Maybe that period of time when he'd struggled for survival on the street, maybe that moment when he discovered Beau's infidelity. He couldn't even begin to imagine how betrayed he must've felt. James had been cheated on before, so of course he'd experienced that same pain. That automatic feeling of self-loathing, because surely you must've done something wrong for them to ever want to cheat on you in the first place. That unbearable knowing you weren't good enough for them. Then a while later, that sudden realisation that maybe, just maybe, you weren't at fault after all. You'd been faithful, they hadn't. They could've broken up with you and gone for someone else if they were no longer interested, but they hadn't. But no matter what pain he had felt, it must've been different in Kendall's case. He'd completely put his trust in Beau, leaving his family for him and losing his bond with them. Only for Beau to turn around and fuck some STD infested sluts when he had everything he should ever want right in his arms—

He suddenly realised how off track he'd gone. He shook his head slightly, frowning a little.

"Here you go!" the woman announced, setting out the tray with the coffee and the plate with the muffin on it. "Enjoy."

"Right, thanks," James said quickly, smiling at her before picking up the tray and carefully carrying it over to where Kendall was sitting. Kendall looked up and beamed when he saw him. "Here we are," James announced, putting the tray down carefully, taking the drink and snack off it before putting it aside on an empty table, out of their way. He pushed the plate towards Kendall, who wrapped his pale fingers around it and tugged it over. "Thank you," Kendall said softly, smiling at him before peeling off the muffin case and breaking off a piece of the crusty top. "Want some?"

"No thanks, I'm not a fan of nuts," James replied quickly, stirring his coffee a little to cool it down.

"You don't like nuts?" Kendall raised his eyebrows, a smirk stretching across his lips. "But you're gay."

"I'm . . ." James suddenly realised, chuckling a little. "That was an awful joke."

"I know, let's not bring it up again."

"Anyway, I don't mind the taste of nuts. I just hate eating then." James gave an impulsive shudder, sipping from his coffee. He picked up the jug of milk and poured a drop in, before opening a packet of sugar and putting that in too. He stirred it around as he spoke again. "They're all chewy and get stuck in your teeth. I hate it."

"Oh. Well, the almonds on the top are sliced but the rest of them are ground up." Kendall tore a chuck of the soft sponge from the bottom of the muffin and held it out. "Go on. It's good, trust me."

"Okay." James took the piece from Kendall, smiling. "Thanks." He popped it into his mouth, the taste of the sweet berries bursting on his tongue. And the nutty taste was oddly comforting. He could see why Kendall liked these so much. "I like it," he said, once he'd finished it.

"See?" Kendall grinned, eating some of it himself. "Raspberries are my favourite; I'd eat them all day." For a while, they just ate and drank in silence, James easily able to see how much Kendall just wanted to wolf down his food, but was taking his time and trying to make it last longer. "So," Kendall said at last, nibbling at a piece of the crust. "Tell me about your friends, Carlos and Logan. They bought you Shay . . ."

"They're great," James replied, grinning. "Carlos is a kindergarten teacher and Logan's in med school right now. They've been dating for two years, but the good thing is it doesn't even feel awkward being around them. They're just the greatest."

"Two of my friends are together," Kendall said, "And it's the same thing, I don't feel out of place when I'm with them."

"Tell me about your friends," James requested. He wasn't sure whether his curiosity stemmed from the fact that Kendall (and he was guessing, his friends as well) had a completely different lifestyle to his, or just from his overwhelming and confusing need to know everything he could about this intriguing man.

"Okay," Kendall shrugged, sitting back. "Well, I'll name them for you; really, the only three I would consider my friends are Heather, Jett and Lucy."

"What about me?" James asked before he could stop himself. His cheeks flushed. "I-I mean . . . am I your friend?"

Kendall frowned, lip pouted. "Um, let me think about that for a minute . . ."

"Oh," James said slowly, gaze averting downwards. Well, he got that message loud and clear. He tried to tell himself that it didn't burn and sting.

"Of course you're my friend!" Kendall replied, throwing his head back and laughing loudly and gleefully, all bright straight teeth and dimples and sparkling eyes. "Silly! Sorry, I just didn't think to include you, since we're sitting together right now. I think of us as friends, even though we only met today." He paused, smile faltering a little. "Wait. Do you?"

"Oh, of course I do!" James replied immediately. "I . . . as soon as I saw you on the street I wanted to get to know you. As cheesy as it sounds."

"I'm guessing it's because of the similarities between me and your boy toy?" Kendall asked bluntly, raising his eyebrows. When James just stared at him blankly, both struck dumb and a little embarrassed, Kendall quickly shook his head and stuttered, "S-sorry, shouldn't have said that. Right, my friends . . ." He quickly rambled on. "Well, Heather is the sweetest girl you could ever meet, she works as a hairdresser and she's the most well off of all of us. Lucy's not so sweet but she's still a really cool girl, she just graduated high school last summer, she got held back a year because she was moved around a lot when she was young and missed out on a lot. She plays guitar in a scary punk band on weekends in bars or nightclubs and during the day she works in a music store. Jett can be a bit conceited and obnoxious but his heart's in the right place, and he's proven that plenty of times. He's a waiter, uses his spare time to try and make all these low fat and organic healthy recipes he's into." Kendall chuckled, his embarrassment forgotten as he thought of one of the few people in the world he put his trust in. "He can be a bit of a hippie, actually."

"They sound like interesting people," was all James could say. But he meant every word of it.

"They're alright. I love them, I guess." And he shrugged it off like it was no big deal. A minute or two later, he took off his beanie hat and dropped it into his bag, running a hand through his hair to try and flatten it after he'd messed it up. His hair looked soft; maybe not in the best condition, if his lifestyle was that difficult, but it was pretty. Attractive. Then he unwound his striped scarf from around his neck and unbuttoned his jacket, draping his scarf over the back of the chair. "Sorry," he said to the maroon faced James, giggling a little. "I didn't mean to go all stripper on you; I'm just getting a bit warm in here."

No problem," James squeaked. Kendall was thin; very thin. His collarbone jutted out, his shoulders and neck looked brittle and pale. Though of course, all of him was pale. Except for his cheeks, which now had a slightly rosy shade of pink dusted over them, from either the excessive body heat combined with his cold, or just because he was getting flustered again. It seemed to be happening a lot.

They sat there and talked for another hour. About their friends, their interests, or just about the weather outside, cracking jokes and laughing. The old man who'd been staring at James through the window took his newspaper and left. A couple came in for a sandwich and left their wrappers after them on the table. A woman came in for a cup of tea. But still they stayed, losing track of time. The only topics they stayed away from was family and ex boyfriends. At one point, James almost brought Dak up again without thinking, almost fell back into that slump, but Kendall quickly cut in and began to tell him about his favourite movies when he was a kid. Anything Disney had been the top of his list. James was grateful for this, and in turn told Kendall about the movies he used to watch every Christmas, curled up under his blanket.

But eventually, it had to end.

"I'm going to get going," Kendall announced at last, standing up. James watched with disappointment as the blond buttoned up his black coat, wrapped his scarf around his neck and pulled his beanie back on over his ears. "I wanna try and sell a couple more magazines before it gets too late and dark out, I don't like selling at night. All kinds of shit goes on and I don't want to be there to see it."

"Okay." James sighed, standing up too and picking up his jacket, pulling it on and zipping it up to the top. He wanted to keep his neck sheltered from the cold; the last thing he needed was to catch a cold like Kendall's. And he didn't have a cute sneeze like him, nope; he sounded like a water buffalo. Maybe an ill or even dying one. He told Kendall this, who laughed loudly and teased him saying that probably wasn't true. He also blushed at the repeat of the cute sneeze compliments. "Maybe I'll see you around?" James suggested, trying not to sound too hopeful. Though why he would even sound hopeful in the first place, he didn't really understand . . .

"I'd like that," Kendall replied, smiling. "It was good to meet you properly, and talk and everything. I had fun. I completely overdid it in the break from my sales, but it was worth it."

"Good," James grinned. "I'm glad. And I hope you can sell more stuff before you head home." Wherever that is. He had a million different options buzzing around in his brain like pesky but tantalising little flies. He had a choice between swatting them, or grabbing a magnifying glass and taking a closer look. He didn't know which to choose. He opened the door to the café, suddenly seeing above the door that it was called 'Palmwood's' as he did, and let Kendall walk out before him, before following him out into the street. The bell jingled behind them, calling its little chimed goodbye.

"Thanks. I hope so too." Kendall slowly reached out his hand, looking to shake James'. But as James held out his hand to grasp Kendall's, the blond suddenly changed his mind and lurched forward, arms lunging around James' neck as he gave him a warm hug. He hugged back, arms around Kendall's minuscule body, afraid to squeeze too hard just in case he snapped him in half. "Bye James," he said breathlessly when he pulled back, giving him a shy smile and a wave before turning and heading off down the street, not looking back or saying another word.

"Bye, Kendall!" James called after him. "See you around!"

A little wave of his hand in the air indicated that Kendall had heard him. But he didn't turn around, and he didn't slow down. It was only when he was out of sight that James finally moved from his spot in everyone's way and went to grab some groceries before he went home, like he'd told Shay he would. Afterwards, he drove home in silence, too distracted to turn on the radio or any of his CDs.

"I'm home!" James called, walking through the front door with his grocery bag in his arm.

"Jamie!" Shay squealed in delight, running out from the living room and jumping into his arms, James holding him with his free hand as they kissed. "I missed you," Shay cooed, taking James' hand and pulling him down to the kitchen. "Did you have fun with Logan? Show me what you bought!"

"Yeah, I had fun," James answered, sitting at the counter and smiling as Shay set the bag down on the counter, opening it up to take out the content. He was such a sweetheart.

"Let's see," Shay said to himself as he began to unpack the bag, taking a look at the products James had bought. "Sausages, eggs . . . cheddar cheese . . . tomatoes, bananas, ketchup . . . basmati rice . . . and raspberries." With all the groceries set out on the counter, Shay folded up the paper bag and moved off towards the recycling bin, throwing the bag away before walking back and leaning his elbows on the counter, opposite to where James was sitting. "I didn't know you liked raspberries," he commented, tilting his head in a manner that resembled a confused and curious puppy. "I'd never seen them around the kitchen."

"Oh." James' eyes fell on the plastic box of the pinkish red berries. "I guess I'm getting to like them again . . ."

"Oh." Shay shrugged. "Okay. So, what do you want to do tonight?"

"Let's watch some movies," James suggested, finally looking up again. "There's a pile of DVDs in the cupboard in the living room, by the window. They might be a bit dusty, I haven't watched them in years. Can you get those?"

The next day, James met Kendall again in that same café. Kendall bought him a coffee this time, but James insisted on buying him a bagel and a smoothie, since he admitted he had a fondness for those. And they met the next day after that. And on and off they met every day for the next three weeks. It always started the same way; James searching for Kendall on the streets, before glancing through the window and scaring some other unfortunate customer as he did. Kendall would smile and laugh when he saw him, and James would walk in. Some days Kendall left earlier than others, because he still wanted to get some flower or magazine sales in before it got too dark out. And James would way goodbye and watch Kendall disappear into the crowds, like a ghost. His hands always trembled, his cheeks always flushed. His skin stayed white as snow, except for those little freckles on his nose. His hair never did get any shorter.

James, from what he noticed, wasn't changing either.