They fell in a heap on the cool wooden floorboards, pulling the attic door to meet the latch. It clicked shut and the two men began to laugh at the situation they had found themselves in. The loft was dark and dusty, but oddly peaceful. Lofty felt one of the walls for a switch, and clicked it a soon as it met his touch. A small light bulb hung from the centre of the ceiling, barely illuminating the shadows they found themselves hiding in. There was only just enough light for them to see each other's faces. Lofty sat back down on the floor, crossing his legs like a child. Dylan sat up to be face to face with his friend, only a metre separating them. It felt like an odd staring competition, only they were not competing. They simply could not take their eyes off each other. After a minute, Dylan cleared his throat.
"How long do they normally…?" Dylan's voice trailed off. An embarrassed grin spread across Lofty's face, he rubbed the back of his neck.
"Depends really. Anywhere between 20 minutes and 2 hours," he laughed, instantly feel the shock from Dylan's face hit him.
"2 whole - bloody hell! I suppose we had better get comfortable up here for now then…" he rubbed his eyes to adjust to the new dim lighting. Lofty peered around the room for some topic of conversation, but his eyes were only met with cardboard boxes and old ornaments. He could just about make out the sofa Lofty had slept on while hiding in the attic, the blankets and pillows still sprawled over the floor beneath it. Suddenly, he realised something.
"Hey, this is where I got my nickname," he began, anxious that Dylan would be reluctant to listen. Instead, Dylan's eyes lit up. To the nurse's surprise, he actually looked interested. Lofty took this as a sign to continue.
"I stayed up here for ages while Robyn and Max had moved in downstairs. They had no clue I was up here, bless them. But then Robyn caught me downstairs one time while I was doing some ironing, and well… you know the rest…" he chuckled, rubbing his face. He remembered how much had changed since then. Lofty was so grateful for everything Robyn and Max had done for him. They had become his friends at a time where he had no clue what was going on, who he was, what he was doing with his life. The shadow from the lightbulb indicated a smile had crept across Dylan's face, happy at the sight of Lofty's nostalgia. Their eyes met and they sat in silence for a minute, simply smiling. Eventually, Lofty's face looked down, taking the grin to the floor with it. He cleared his throat.
"Did you um… ever have a nickname?" he asked, cautiously. Dylan's face lost its cute smile and turned into a much more serious stare. It deepened and then softened as he continued to look at Lofty's anxious face. He realised Lofty hadn't asked out of sick or cruel motivation, but more of genuine innocent curiosity. Dylan opened his mouth to speak, and then closed it again. He hesitated, finally replying after a minute of thought.
"I - um… yes. After I went into care, I did get a bit of a reputation… they were always very imaginative with their vocabulary choice, but the children would always favour the classic 'freak' in the end." The doctor sighed, rubbing his arm.
"Oh Dylan…" Lofty finally looked back up, to comfort the other man. His face was more than sorrow, it was pure sympathy. Lofty looked up into Dylan's eyes like a big puppy and Dylan was sure his heart had melted. He never intended to get the other's sympathy, but Dylan just wanted to be held by Lofty now. They continued to make conversation, but all the while Dylan was resisting the urge to just kiss the man who sat in front of him.