A new chapter. The lyrics, of course, don't belong to me, they belong to Coldplay.

Aaron woke up and lay there staring at the ceiling. He was thinking about last night. His thoughts were all over the place. He had felt nervous about going out but convinced himself he had nothing to worry about. It was a few beers with Flynn, nothing more. As the evening progressed, he'd relaxed and had a good time until that song and then all he could think of was Jackson again, what they'd meant to each other, how important Jackson had been to him and the gap he'd left in his life. He closed his eyes and shook his head. He couldn't believe that he had let Flynn hug him while he cried over Jackson. How wrong was that? Or maybe it wasn't wrong. He could have pulled away, took Flynn's arms from around his shoulders, told him to get lost and leave him alone but he didn't. He'd wanted that comfort, needed it so what did that tell him? God, what a mess. Just when he thought he was starting to get things sorted, it all became mixed up again. How was he going to figure this one out? He realised he was playing with the chain he wore, rolling it between his fingers and thumb. He sighed. It wasn't helping him to relax this morning. So much for things getting easier as time goes by.

Flynn woke up and went downstairs to get some breakfast, also thinking about the night before. He couldn't believe that Aaron had let him hug him or that he had cried in front of him. What a difference a few months made. He was fully expecting to be pushed away, shouted at, told to do one but it didn't happen. The thing that Flynn really couldn't get his head round though was what he felt when he was holding Aaron. All he felt was sadness for what Aaron was going through and how he wanted to take that pain and sorrow away, even if it was only for a few minutes. There was nothing sexual about that hug at all and that surprised him. It had just felt like one friend offering comfort to another. The fact that Aaron was crying over the loss of his boyfriend didn't bother him either. How weird was that? Maybe, he was so focussed on being Aaron's friend and doing what was best for Aaron that his own feelings had been pushed to the back of his mind, forgotten about. He shook his head and turned the radio on, he needed something to take his mind off things. He began to sing along with the song that was playing but as the words registered with him, the song took on a whole new meaning:

And the tears come streaming down your face

When you lose something you can't replace

When you love someone but it goes to waste, could it be worse?

And high up above or down below

When you're too in love to let it go

But if you never try, you'll never know, just what you're worth.

Lights will guide you home, and ignite your bones, and I will try to fix you.

Flynn smiled to himself and shook his head. Was someone trying to tell him something here? First, him and Aaron meet up again on a night when he wasn't even supposed to be in Bar West and now this song whose words were spot on. They described their situation perfectly. That was exactly what he had to do, try to fix Aaron. The problem was, how?

Aaron was walking down the road towards work when his phone rang. He saw Flynn's name on the screen and answered. "Alright" he said.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just checking to see if you're ok, you know, after…"

Aaron saw Hazel coming towards him. "Yeah look, I can't talk now, I'll speak to you later" and he ended the call.

"Morning love, how are ya?"

Aaron smiled at her. "Ok I guess, how about you?"

"You know, good days and bad same as you I suppose."

Aaron nodded his head.

"Anyway, I won't keep you, don't want Cain on me back for making you late, do I?"

"You don't want to be worrying about him. Me and him have got an understanding now."

Hazel raised her eyebrows as she saw Cain watching them.

"Oi, you! You haven't got time to be standing there chatting, get your backside over here now. These cars aren't gonna fix themselves you know."

"See, he barks the orders and I understand that I have to do what he says. I'll see you later."

"Yeah, see ya." Hazel smiled as Aaron walked around the corner into work.

"You can start on that one, it needs new spark plugs" Cain said.

"Alright, give me a minute to get me jacket off."

Cain watched as Aaron walked past him trying to decide from his face if today was going to be a good day or not. He couldn't be sure one way or the other at the moment. He'd just have to wait and see.

An hour or so later, Aaron's mobile rang. Cain looked up from under the bonnet of the car he was working on. Aaron took his phone out of his pocket, saw Flynn's name and refused the call. He couldn't talk to him here, not with Cain so close by. Ten minutes later, it beeped to tell him he had a message. He didn't need to look to know who it would be from. He read the message anyway: what happened earlier, are you ok?

He put the phone back in his pocket and carried on working.

"Someone's keen, a phone call and a message in the space of about ten minutes. Aren't you going to answer them?"

"I'm busy. I'll call them back later."

"Why not do it now?"

"Cos I told ya, I'm busy. Besides, you only want me to call them back so you can listen to what I'm saying."

"No I don't, believe me, my delicate little ears need protecting after some of the conversations I've heard from you in the past. Besides, I'm nipping back home for ten minutes. I forgot something so you'll be all by yourself for a while." He winked as he walked past.

Aaron waited until Cain was out of sight before calling Flynn. He answered straight away.

"Hi, it's me. Look, I'm sorry about this morning. Hazel came up to talk to me."

"Oh right, is that what it was." Aaron could hear the relief in Flynn's voice. "I thought maybe… oh look, it doesn't matter what I thought, how is she?"

"She's ok, good days and bad same as me but you don't need to worry, I'm fine."

"Are you sure, only, after last night…."

"Yeah, I know, sorry about that."

"Now look who keeps apologising" Flynn said. "Look, I'm just glad you're ok. I thought you might be, you know, embarrassed or something, not that you need to be or should be of course. Anyone would get upset at times if they were going through what you are."

"Flynn" Aaron laughed "I'm not embarrassed ok, just a bit surprised that's all. I wasn't expecting to burst into tears like that but it's not long since Jackson... well... you know so I suppose it's bound to happen every so often. I just wasn't expecting it to happen while I was with you. Besides, I thought real men are supposed to cry, aren't they?"

"So they say" Flynn replied "so what's your excuse? Anyway, as long as you're ok, that's all that matters and you can cry when you're with me any time. That's what I'm there for."

"I know. So, do you fancy that pool rematch, maybe one day next week?" Aaron asked.

"Sure, why not?"

"Ok then, I'll phone you next week and we'll get something sorted then."

"Great. Speak to you soon."

Cain watched his nephew put his phone back in his pocket and smile as he turned to start work again. He'd made sure he went just far enough round the corner to be out of Aaron's sight before turning to watch him. He was pleased to see that the conversation seemed to be a happy one. He'd thought maybe Aaron had had a fallout with Adam or Paddy or someone and that's why he didn't want to answer his phone but that didn't seem to be the case. He was pleased, Aaron didn't need any more aggro in his life at the moment. He walked back around the corner and back to the car he was working on.

"So, where is it then?" Aaron asked.

"Where's what?" Cain answered.

"Whatever it was you forgot that was so important you had to go home to get it straight away."

"Oh that, it wasn't as important as I thought it was. It can wait."

"Yeah, right, if you say so" Aaron laughed and turned back to his work.

Aaron and Flynn spoke the following week and arranged to meet in Bar West on the Thursday night. On the Wednesday before, just as he was finishing work, Aaron's phone rang. It was Flynn. "Alright, I wasn't expecting to hear from you. Everything ok?"

"I don't know, that depends on you. I've just had a call from an old mate of mine. He's up here for a couple of days and he wants to meet on Thursday night. It's the only night he's free. He goes home on Friday."

"Oh, right." Aaron tried to keep the disappointment out of his voice.

"So, if you don't mind, I thought he could join us."

"Well, if he's your mate, don't you want to see him on your own, I mean, you don't want me there."

" Look, we made plans first. If you don't want him to come along, I'll just tell him that it's too short notice and I'm busy. I haven't seen him in ages anyway, it's not like he's a really good friend."

Aaron sighed. "No, don't do that. Fine, bring him along but if he bores me, I'm not stopping, alright? I'll leave you two to it."

"Right. See you Thursday then."

Thursday evening and Aaron was dressed ready to go out. He looked at himself in the mirror. He looked the same on the outside but on the inside, he felt different. He couldn't put his finger on it. He sat on his bed and touched the silver chain he was wearing. I wish you were still here, Jackson, he thought. Everything was so right when it was just me and you. He rubbed the chain for a few minutes, lost in his private thoughts. Right, come on then he told himself, let's go and have fun.

Bar West was busy as it usually was on a Thursday night. Aaron pushed his way through the crowds looking for Flynn. He found him by the pool table talking with a tall, good looking blonde bloke.

"Alright" he said as he walked up to them. Flynn smiled at him. He had a funny look on his face, an expression Aaron wasn't sure about. He looked almost relieved. "Aaron, this is Harry, Harry, Aaron."

Harry held out his hand. "Nice to meet you, Aaron." Aaron shook his hand. "Yeah, you too."

"Right, I'll get the beers in" said Flynn "apart from you Harry, you're getting an orange juice, you've had enough for one night" and he disappeared through the crowd.

Aaron looked at Harry, not smiling. "So, you're a mate of Flynn's are you?"

"Yeah, that's right. We used to go to school together, before he moved up here. You've got nothing to worry about though, I'm not a threat."

"You what?" Aaron said.

"I'm not a threat, to you and Flynn so you can relax."

Aaron shrugged his shoulders. Who did this bloke think he was, I'm not a threat to you and Flynn, there is no him and Flynn. "Don't know what you're talking about, mate."

Harry grinned. "Look, I'm a straight lad, from Manchester, just visiting an old school friend. That's it."

"Yeah, so you said. Thanks for the information." Aaron looked away and shook his head.

"Anyway" Harry said "Flynn tells me you're a pretty decent pool player. I play a mean game of pool too. Fancy a game?" He started to put the balls on the table.

"Yeah, alright then, why not" Aaron said, still without smiling. At least then, he wouldn't have to try and talk to this prat any longer.

At that moment, Flynn arrived back. Harry grinned at him. "I was just telling Aaron that you said he was a pretty decent pool player. We're going to see if you were telling the truth or not aren't we Aaron?"

"Yeah, we are. So, what else has he been saying about me, then?" Aaron looked straight at Flynn.

"Calm down, nothing for you to worry about. Go on then, you break. Winner stays on."

Flynn was worried now. Watching Aaron's face, something had obviously wound him up. His jaw was set firm, his face had no trace of a smile like the last time they had been here. What had happened while he'd been at the bar? Harry lost the first game and handed his cue to Flynn. "I'm off to the gents" he said.

Flynn went straight up to Aaron. "What's wrong?"

Aaron shook his head. "Why don't you ask your straight friend, from Manchester."

"Has he said something?"

"You mean apart from telling me that he's no threat to me and you. What have you been telling him?"

"Nothing. I told him I was meeting a mate for a drink, that's it."

"So where did he get the idea that there was a me and you then?"

"I don't know, probably put two and two together and got five. It never came from me though. Aaron, I told you the other night, the reason I spoke to you was because you looked like you needed a friend. A friend, that's it."

Aaron looked at Flynn. He could see that he was telling the truth. He began to calm down. "Alright, alright, I believe you. You've got weird taste in friends though."

"Tell me about it, he never used to be like that. Besides, you've only just got here, I've had the pleasure of his company for a couple of hours. Still, he'll be gone soon."

Harry came rushing back over. "Flynn, mate, look I'm really sorry but I'm going to have to go, right now. I've just had a call from Lucy." He looked at Aaron "She's my girlfriend." Aaron raised his eyes up to the ceiling. "Anyway, apparently, there's some problem and she needs me so, you don't mind do you?"

"No, no, you do what you have to do."

"Cheers mate. We'll meet again soon, ok? Maybe you can come down to me next time?"

"Yeah, maybe" Flynn said.

"You can even bring Aaron if you want to." Aaron nearly choked on his mouthful of lager.

After he had gone, Flynn looked at Aaron. "Well, that's a bonus. I'm sorry, I had no idea he'd turned into such an idiot, until tonight that is."

Aaron smiled "Don't worry about it. Just make sure when I meet any more of your friends, they're a bit more likeable than him. Do you want another drink? I could certainly do with one."

"Yeah, please." Flynn smiled to himself as Aaron went to the bar. He wondered if Aaron had even noticed what he'd said, when I meet any more of your friends, not if. Maybe he was getting somewhere after all. They were two small words, when and if, but the difference in the meaning of those words was massive. Taking things slowly, putting his feelings to one side and doing everything he could to make Aaron feel comfortable seemed to be doing the trick. Aaron seemed happier which was good but he knew that, until Aaron spoke about Jackson properly, got everything out in the open, he would never be able to move forward. Now, it was up to him to try and get him to do just that. Should be a doddle, he thought.

The next couple of hours passed without incident, both of them relaxed again, enjoying just being together. They were sitting at a table next to each other with the last remains of a drink in front of them. Flynn looked at Aaron.

"What?" Aaron said.

"I was just thinking I'm glad it was Harry that went and you that stayed, not the other way round otherwise, I might have had to kill him." Aaron smiled. "Anyway, I better be off. Early start tomorrow."

He stood up to go.

"Hang on, I'll come with you." Aaron looked at his watch. "I should be able to get the last bus back."

They walked to the bus stop. They were the only ones there. They stood side by side both with their hands in their pockets. Aaron was suddenly aware of how good Flynn smelt. He hadn't noticed before, maybe because they hadn't been this close together apart from the other night when he had had other things on his mind. He smelt good, he looked good and... he shouldn't be thinking like this. He looked up to see his bus just coming down the road. "Right, looks like my lift's here." Flynn looked at him and smiled. Aaron smiled back. Their eyes stayed fixed on each other. Without even realising what he was doing, Aaron leant forward and kissed Flynn softly on the lips. It lasted a couple of seconds if that. He pulled back just as the bus pulled up. Aaron looked a little embarrassed."Right, I'll, er, I'll see ya then" he said as he got on the bus.

"Yeah, see ya" Flynn said.

After the bus had gone, Flynn stayed where he was. He shook his head. Aaron had done it to him again. Just when he thought he knew what Aaron would do, or definitely wouldn't do in this case, he went and did something that completely threw him, not that he was complaining. He left the bus stop and decided to walk to the taxi rank. Reality came back and bit him hard. Now what did he do? What sort of mood would Aaron be in when they next spoke? Was he already regretting kissing him? Would he try to blame it on the alcohol, say it was a mistake, it shouldn't have happened? How guilty would he now be feeling? All these thoughts were whirling around Flynn's head as he headed for a taxi and home.

Sitting on the bus, Aaron had his eyes closed as he leant his head sideways against the window. What had he just done? What was he thinking of? But that was the problem, he hadn't been thinking, something had just come over him. He'd wanted to kiss Flynn, it felt right but it was wrong. How could he kiss someone else who wasn't Jackson? What was he going to say to Flynn next time they met? He couldn't blame alcohol, he'd had a bit but not that much. He could always say it was a mistake, it shouldn't have happened but that would be a lie because he'd wanted it to happen, he must have done otherwise he wouldn't have done it. A solitary tear trickled down his cheek. Why did Jackson have to die? If he was still here, none of this would be happening. He would be with the man he loved, the only man he wanted to be with, not falling for someone else, something which seemed to be happening whether he wanted it to or not.