Ken still didn't show up to school for the rest of the week, as he had said, but Felix already felt loads better. They had been texting regularly and had made plans to play videogames at Ken's house this weekend. Felix already told Gaby about his talk with Ken and she was happy that it had all worked out so well. It was Saturday now and Felix was on his way to Ryan and Michelle for homework.
He opened the door and saw them sitting by the desk. 'Hey guys!'
'Hey Felix', they both said.
Felix grabbed a chair and sat beside them. 'So what are the plans for today? I thought we could start with physics, I'm having some trouble understanding that new formula for the magnetic flux.'
'Yeah, sure', Michelle said. 'But first you gotta tell us about how it went Wednesday, I'm curious!'
'Oh yeah, of course. Sorry I didn't tell you guys earlier. Luckily it went great, we talked things through and everything is pretty much back to normal I feel like. Ken just needed some more time, he is coming back to school on Monday for the history excursion', Felix said. He didn't mention the details of the conversation, for Ken's sake.
'That's great, I'm glad it went so well', Ryan said.
'Yeah, me too!', Michelle added. 'Does he actually know that we know? We just want to be able to show our support you know, even though we don't know him that well.'
Felix smiled, Michelle and Ryan were so kind. 'Yeah, he knows that you know. I think he'll be glad to hear your support either way.'
They spent the rest of the afternoon and evening doing their homework and watching TV. Felix enjoyed spending time with Ryan and Michelle. They seemed like they were genuinely happy, and that had positive effects on Felix's own mood. Ryan was a bit quiet and Michelle could be somewhat loud, but Felix always felt pleasant in their presence.
The next morning, Felix got up at 10am. He had the 11am bus so he had more than enough time to get ready. He was excited for today, he hadn't seen Ken since Wednesday and even though they had remained in regular contact he wondered how Ken was doing. About 90 minutes later he rang the doorbell. This time it was Ken who opened. He had trimmed his beard and looked much healthier and happier than he did the last time Felix saw him.
'Hey Felix', he said smiling. 'Come on in.'
Felix just smiled and walked into the hallway and put away his coat. He followed Ken to the living room, where Ken's parents were sitting at the table with coffee.
'Mom, dad, this is Felix', Ken said. 'We're gonna play some videogames today.'
Mr and Mrs Morrison both got up. 'Hi again Felix', Ken's mother said smiling. His father was a tall fellow. He had the same hair and beard colour as Ken's and looked very friendly. He shook Felix's hand just a bit too firmly. 'Nice to meet you Felix!', he said with a thick southern accent.
Felix greeted them back and rubbed his painful hand afterwards.
'Alright, we'll be upstairs if you need us', Ken said and they walked upstairs to Ken's room.
They turned on Ken's Gamecube and plugged in two controllers. Ken also had an Xbox but they wanted to play some old-school games like Super Smash Melee and Metroid first.
'Hey Ken, I gotta ask. How have you been holding up?', Felix asked.
'I actually feel great Felix, thanks. I have never been so relieved my entire life, I'm glad I could tell you', he said and Felix could see that he was being genuine. 'I have come to terms with myself too I feel like, I used to downplay myself quite a lot for being what I am but I'm not ashamed of it anymore', Ken said.
'Dude I'm so glad to hear you say that, really', Felix said and smiled. Ken smiled back the warm smile that Felix had missed during school so much.
'So, what do you want to play first?' Ken asked.
'Let's go for Metroid Prime 1, I'll just watch you play first', Felix said.
'Alright, if that's fine with you', Ken said and turned on the game. The Metroid Prime Trilogy had always been one of Felix's favourite games. There was no talking of any kind, just a whole lot of walking around, finding upgrades and shooting aliens. But it was the feeling of discovery and not the violence that made Felix love it so much. And the protagonist Samus Aran was a real badass.
Felix had always been proud of how good he was at the game, but Ken was even better. He played very calmly but took on the bosses in a very strategic manner. They took turns playing and after an hour or three they had about 15% of the game finished.
'We're gonna have to finish this bad boy another time', Ken said and laughed. 'Otherwise we'll still be sitting here by tomorrow'.
Felix laughed. 'Yeah you're right. How about some Super Smash then? You've been bragging about how good you are with Link all the time, I want to see for myself if it's true'.
'Hohoho, you're challenging me and Link Felix? Alright, bring it on!', Ken said dramatically.
They laughed and turned on the game. Felix always played with Pikachu. What followed was one of the most intense melee battles that Felix had ever had. He had never been this focussed. They were playing on the infamous Hyrule Temple map, and started with 10 lives both. Now, Felix was left with only one life, while Ken still had two.
'I gotta say Felix, I underestimated you. I think you're one of the toughest opponents I've ever had', Ken said casually while he took an electric shock from Felix.
'I was one of the best players in Goteborg actually', Felix lied. 'Oooohh yeahhh! Take that Link!', He suddenly yelled as he hit Ken's character and threw him off the screen. It was the winning kill now. Ken had a slight advantage because Felix had already taken some damage. Felix had never been this focussed, he leaned closer towards the screen and had his tongue out of his mouth slightly. Ken just sat back and blocked Felix's attacks and hit back when he saw an opening.
'Really Ken, really? You're just going to block all my attacks now?', Felix asked.
Ken laughed. 'Well it seems to be working, so yeah!'
Link hit Pikachu with a devastating swing of his sword and Pikachu fell down the map. Felix could do nothing to stop it, he just looked at the screen with a look of disbelief on his face.
'Yeaaahhh, told you I was good!', Ken shouted and stood up to do a victory dance.
'Oh shut up, Ken', Felix said but he couldn't help laughing. He pushed Ken on his bed and they both laughed loudly.
'Dude you were amazing with Link, have you ever done tournaments or something?', Felix asked.
'Yeah once. I lost in the semi-finals though, you wouldn't believe how much better some people still are', Ken said. 'I gotta say though, I've never seen someone play that good with Pikachu either. You almost got me man!'
'Haha I almost did, didn't I', Felix said. He looked at Ken laying on the bed. He was really happy he could talk to Ken again, but there was something else he felt. He wasn't sure what it was however, so he just ignored it.
They played a few other games of Melee, Ken won most of the time but occasionally Felix managed to win a match. Suddenly there was a knock on the door.
'Kenneth, can I come in?', they heard the voice of Ken's mom say behind the door.
'Yeah sure mom', Ken replied.
Mrs Morrison walked in and looked at Ken with a hint of disapproval on her face. 'You've been playing videogames all day now Kenneth, and it's such nice weather outside!'
'Yeah yeah mom, I know', Ken said and rolled his eyes laughing at Felix.
'Anyway', Mrs Morrison said and she smiled at Felix. 'You can stay here for dinner if you want Felix, it would be no trouble for us.'
Felix hadn't even watched the time, he was having so much fun. 'Oh, yeah that would be great, thanks Mrs Morrison!', he said.
'Alright then. We're going to eat in 5 minutes, be sure to have finished the game by then!', she said and she closed the door behind her.
Ken and Felix finished their game and went downstairs for dinner. Mrs Morrison had made spareribs with mashed potatoes and a delicious salad with tomatoes, cucumber and olives. During dinner they asked Felix about how he was enjoying America, and what his life in Goteborg had been like. Felix liked Ken's parents, they were both really nice and seemed very open and accepting about pretty much everything. After dessert, Felix and Ken went back upstairs again to play some Rayman 3. It was one of Ken's favourites and Felix had heard that it was a great game, so he was excited to check it out. It was single player though, so they took turns playing.
'Your parents are really cool Ken, they're so open-minded. I've never heard people so genuinely interested in Sweden', Felix said and chuckled.
'Yeah, they're alright I guess', Ken said, focussed on the game.
'You should tell them', Felix said abruptly.
Ken paused the game and looked at Felix. 'Now? No way. But I will tell them Felix. I just need to find the right moment. But I'll tell them soon, I swear', he said.
'Yeah alright, I'm sorry for pushing it', Felix said.
Ken smiled at him. 'No need to be sorry Felix.'
They played Rayman for another few hours, it really was a great game, they had a blast. It was getting dark outside, and Felix checked the time.
'9 pm. I should get going, Ken', he said.
'Yeah, you probably should. What time do we leave for the excursion tomorrow?', Ken asked.
'Bus leaves at 10', Felix said as he checked what time the next bus back to campus would arrive. He had 15 minutes, that should be enough. 'You will be there right?'
'Yeah, I'll be there.'
'Good', Felix said. He put on his coat and Ken opened the door for him. They walked outside into sultry air of Mississippi and Felix turned around towards Ken. He felt that strange feeling he had earlier again, but still couldn't figure out what it was.
'We should really do this more often, I had an amazing time', Felix said. 'Also I demand a rematch against Link.'
Ken laughed and scratched his beard. 'If you want to get destroyed again, that's fine. But you're right, we should do this more often. I had a great time as well.'
They looked at each other for a few seconds.
'Well, I should be heading to the bus station', Felix said, breaking the silence. 'I'll see you tomorrow!'
'Yeah, see you tomorrow!', Ken said. He went back inside and closed the door.
10 minutes later Felix sat down in the bus. He still felt a little weird but decided it was nothing, it'd be gone in the morning. After a pleasant drive he arrived back at the campus and entered his room. He suddenly realised he was very tired, so he brushed his teeth and went straight to bed.
'Tomorrow should be fun', he thought as he set the alarm and fell asleep.