Dear readers, thanks for the great reviews to the first chapter and for the support to this story!

509h, thanks for encouragement and of course, you guessed it right :)

I was asked an interesting question via PM: Is this story going to be the exact duplication of the original (like, just replacing the character names)?

My answer is: No. Except for a few things, the characterization, the flow, and the situations are going to be entirely different.

So, here is the next chapter.

Enjoy reading and let me know how it is:)

Year 2005

Salem

Oh my god! I can't believe my first non-celebrity crush is right here, sitting opposite to me at a coffee table in the library cafeteria. I'M GONNA FREAK OUT, GRANDMAAA!

I nervously look at the cold cup of cappuccino in front of me and get busy clearing with my fingers the moisture formed outside the cup.

"So…are you going to tell me your name?" Sonny breaks the awkward silence.

I slowly lift my eyes to see the warm smile pasted on that sunshine face.

Somehow, I get the strength. "Will" I whisper in an audible-enough tone.

"So…Will H, am I right?" Sonny nods his head and runs his tongue over his lower lip.

"Yes. But how…how did you find out?" I gasp and try to smile, not to mention the embarrassment of getting caught off guard.

"Well…I, sometimes, check out the books that I would have read already. And…I just happened to see in some of those that your name was right below mine in the entry card. It's funny you know, both our names were the only entries… Sonny K and Will H. I guess no one else is interested in them" Sonny chuckles.

Great! Busted. "May be" I'm very shy right now.

But, it's true. All these months, I creepily checked out the books he read. I don't know…in a way, those works seemed interesting to me.

Suddenly, Sonny leans toward me and whispers "I've seen you staring at me many a times…it's so easy you know… with the scarce number of people visiting the library these days."

Now it's a well-established fact: Will, the stalker.

I swallow hard because his face is just a few inches away from mine. But, he leans back immediately. I relax a bit.

"So, let's introduce ourselves properly. Hi, I'm Sonny Kiriakis!" Sonny gleefully stretches his hand.

Well…though I came out to my grandma Marlena last month, she wanted me to keep it a secret for some time as things are highly tense between my parents. Also, 'Horton' is synonymous with 'Salem'.

I feel bad about lying to Sonny but I can't help it. So, for now… "Hi, I'm Will Henry!" I shake Sonny's hand.

As I am feeling his soft fingers, my digital watch beeps.

"Oh, I forgot. I promised my cousin a game of tennis at 4. I…I gotta go now" I smile sheepishly, holding the half-empty cup.

"Ok… see you, on Friday, maybe? I'm quite busy the next two days" Sonny slightly brushes his dark bangs.

"Sure" I sway my body a little and leave. Out of excitement, I stumble upon an old man on the way and get an affectionate slap on my face.

I turn back to see Sonny laughing heartily…

8 years later…

Philadelphia

What time is it now? I rub my face and look at my cell phone. 11 a.m. And, in one hour I should be at my new office, for my training starts today. Also, can't wait to meet the manager guy. Since I was given a hint that my first few projects are going to be monthly comics, last night I exhausted myself reading through as many magazines published by Green Sea as possible. Obviously, I haven't got a single drop of inspiration yet.

It's a bright sunny day. But, what's the point? I'm about to enter that garbage dump of a department.

I just open the door, and…WHAT THE FUCK! Is it the same place, or am I entering the wrong one?

"Good morning, Will!" cheerfully greets Joy, the quality analyst, as I put a step forward in great confusion.

How, in one night, did this turn into a freakishly pink room with colourful dolls and teddy bears and little-heart pillows!?

"Hey, Joy! How did this happen?" I do a 360-degree wide-mouthed. "Oh, the 20-day cycle begins today" Joy grins.

God, this 'cycle' thing is driving me crazy. "Oh…I see. You carry on. See ya" I pat on Joy's shoulder and walk toward my cabin.

The lifeless zombie guys of yesterday are smiling and acknowledging me.

"Hi Sarah, what am I seeing?" I wave my hand at the assistant manager, who looks all bright today. Good sign.

"Well, today we are starting the next project. It's like the saying, 'When in Rome, do as the Romans do'. To get similar feelings as the readers do, I mean most of them are girls and women, JK wanted this environment." Sarah's face beams.

"And, it's a success, you know. The last month's issue sold more than expected!" Romi, the illustrator, jumps in enthusiastically. Wow, her pink dress perfectly matches this room! I think I'm going to become chromophobic soon.

Now I know who is the weirdest among these: the manager! But, all the hard-paper works made under his guidance have sold like hot cakes, surprisingly, even in this digitized world...

Some of my colleagues, well for the time being, get all friendly and offer to teach me the ropes. I'm happy they are not like those punks at my previous office.

I am engrossed in the style manual when I hear "Hi Will, how is it going?"

I look up to see… I see…those big brown eyes! GOD, NO! It can't be him! No way! Tell me this is a nightmare! Maybe it's someone who looks like…like Sonny.

"Will, are you there?" the person with neatly-parted lustrous dark hair in white-grey semi-formal attire looks at me confusedly.

"Huh? I…I'm good" I shake my head and stand up, my gaze transfixed to his face.

That same soul-soothing voice…but a bit husky.

"I'm Jackson Kiriakis, manager of this department. But most of them here address me as JK" the person flashes a sparkling smile.

Kiriakis? That same smile… which I could never forget?

My legs tremble as I shake his hand. That same soft hand...

Ok. Stop. Get hold of it, Horton!

"He-hello, JK" I force a smile. "Are you not ok, Will?" Sonny, nope, JK puts up a frown.

"No. I'm alright. I mean, I'm absolutely fine" I grin as I run my palms over my thighs.

"Ok. Maybe we can grab a coffee and have a little talk?" JK says.

"Sure!" I nod and follow him.

That same slightly-slumped walk…

The only visible differences are the mature contours of his face and of course, he has packed on more muscles. A very handsome man.

"Hello, JK! How was your trip?" asks a tall middle-aged gentleman in black suit, meeting us on the way.

"Hello Mr Brennan! Should I say, fruitful?" JK smiles clasping his palms together.

"Attaboy! I heard it all from the CEO" Brennan gives a friendly punch to JK's shoulder.

"Mr Brennan, please meet Will Horton, our new editor" JK introduces me to one of the directors of Green Sea Publications.

"Oh! So, what I heard about the son of the CEO of Horton Book House joining here is true? Glad to meet you, young man! I once worked in their New York branch. Mr Lucas Horton is a great inspiration to me." Brennan puts me in an awkward situation.

"Well, thanks, I mean, glad to meet you too!" I utter as I am still reeling from the shock treatment given by the hot guy standing next to me.

JK and I sit in the lounge and have coffee.

"Will, I went through your resume this morning. It says you have 2 years of experience in editing illustrious literature books. Of course, it says you are a literature graduate. So, you must be totally new to editing comics, right?" JK sounds all serious and diplomatic.

"Yes. I…love literature, and it's my forte. But it's a shocker that I am not assigned to the same here, even though I made it very clear during the final interview" I nod, my eyes shuttling between JK and the coffee table.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't know that. Well, comics is also a kind of literature, if you ask me. The thing is it's more of a visual form. The same amount of dedication and hard work goes into it as well. I too am a literature person like you. But I'm more of an open-to-learning-new-things kind of a guy. That attitude has helped me a lot in life. Hey, I'm not trying to convince you. It's, after all, about YOUR career and passion. No one is a better decision-maker that yourself" JK gives a pep talk.

Now, that's quite motivational.

"Thanks, JK. Um…I…I want to give it a try" I nod and purse my lips, even if I'm unsure of it.

"Good!" JK smiles and sips his coffee.

Though my focus is on drinking the coffee, I can see JK curiously staring at me…like trying to find some hidden thing. And, that makes me nervous.

"I get a feeling that I have seen you before… maybe in Salem? Because, that's MY hometown as well" JK says with piercing eyes.

I just spill the coffee on my light-blue shirt.

"Uff…I'm sorry. I will back in a minute" I stand up.

"Hey, um, no problem. Take your own time. I have a meeting with the production team in a few. Sarah will be guiding you. So, nice first meet. See you around!" JK smiles gently and leaves.

"It is, indeed, him. One hundred percent" I murmur to myself as I rush to the bathroom to clean up the mess.

The minute I'm done, I take my smartphone out and log in to an online social network in which I'm a member. I click on the uploaded old picture of mine taken at my 16th birthday party.

I stare at the picture as well as at my mirror image. I remove my glasses and rub my 2-day-old stubble. There's been a lot of changes in my physical appearance over these 8 years.

It's not surprising that he couldn't, as of now, recognize me.

Sonny. Maybe that's his pet name. But, I don't feel bad that I never got to know his official name… because it's nothing compared to the fake 'Henry' I was, the entire time I spent with him.

What should I do now?

(to be continued...)