Nobody questioned or month-long absence much. in a day, everything was back to normal, and Liron had a newfound passion for life. He was at every one of my shows again, causing chaos with Alenna. We went to the park. He painted, and painted, and painted. He finished the mural. He asked Alenna out on a date. We all freaked out and Jess and I started planning their perfect evening. 

It was decided: another weekend at the lakeview.

It felt good to finally have some fun again, and turn the tables on Liron and Alenna who usually did the scheming.

Liron and Allena were two love-birds in the backseat all the way to lakeview, and once we got there, late in the afternoon, they immediately went swimming again.

Jess and I sat back, watching the kids at play, drinking beers and planning their wedding. 

When the moon started rising, Jess and I snuck up and laid out their picnic. They were enjoying themselves far too much, nightswimming like that. Jess played the song on eh speakers, and the two crawled out of the water. 

It seemed very romantic from where we were sitting by the firepit. Jess and I pretended to have our own mock date to pass the time.

We were so absorbed in our terrible accents - it was somehow a date between the Duke of Birmingham and a farmer from Boulder - that we were both caught off guard when Alenna stormed past us, trailing her towel behind her and sobbing. 

I looked at Liron, sitting alone on the shore, and then back at Alenna disappearing into the house. Jess and I didn't need to speak. He followed his sister, and I went to my best friend.

Liron wasn't crying. His face seemed hard. He was staring at the water, not even shivering in the cold of the night. I sat down next to him.

"Some date this was," he muttered.

"I dunno," I said, bumping him with my shoulder. "Seemed pretty cute to me."

"She left. She got up and left, Maddock."

I huffed and put my arm around him. "You scared her. You can't blame her, buddy."

Liron shrugged my arm off. "What's the point in even trying?" he seethed. "I'm going to die and  anything I do with my life is a lie anyway!"

I grabbed his arm and pulled him to face me. "You can't think like that, Liron, you're -"

He violently tugged his arm away, and he looked at me with hatred in his eyes. "Leave me alone, Maddock," he spat at me. "I don't need your pity." He shoved me and got to his feet, storming away from me, dragging my heart behind him in the dirt.

For a moment, I felt rooted in place before the fury built up in me. Before I knew it, I was acting on instinct. I stumbled to my feet and ran after him, grabbing him around the waist in a tight grip. I didn't want to let him go.

We stumbled at the impact, but Liron managed to keep his balance. He twisted his body, and, in a flash, I was flung over his shoulder and my back hit the cold earth, knocking the wind from me. He was standing above me with his fists clenched, silhouetted by the light of the moon. 

"I swear I will break your arm if you touch me again." I scoffed. I knew he could.

I just didn't care.

I tried getting to my feet, and stood in front of him. He was staring at me with defiance, a challenge in his posture. I wrapped my arms around his stiff body. "I don't care. You can't hurt me more than when you walk away from me."

We stayed like that, and I felt him slowly relaxing. Eventually, he wrapped his arms around me, and buried his face in my neck. His body started rocking and shivering. "I'm sorry," he cried, "I love you Maddock."

"I love you too, Liron," I whispered, and stroked his hair.

He was shaking violently now. "I'm so stupid. I'm sorry. Thank you for being here with me. I can't do this on my own."

"Don't worry, Liron. I will always stand by you."

He nodded, still shivering. I tried to pull away, but he gripped me tighter. "Just another minute."

"You're gonna freeze to death in under a minute. Let's go to the fire." He sniffled, but disengaged. I put my arm around him and let him to the porch, where Jess immediately jumped him.

Jess was shaking more violently than Liron. "I'm so sorry, Li," Jess said, even his voice was quivering. "I didn't know. We're here for you. We're here from you."

Liron was starting to cry again, and clung to Jess. "Thanks," he muttered. 

It was true. Liron, for the rest of his life, would never be alone again.

"You still threatened to break my arm, though," I said. 

Liron scoffed. "And I would have too, because you're stupid."