Chris' P.O.V.

A new dawn means a new day and a fresh start. Yesterday's mishap with Andy has been running through my head nonstop since I landed on my bed. I'd like to leave that awkward experience in my past and move on with my life. Everything with Andy was going great until he touched the one topic I was hoping to avoid. I tried to suck it up and ignore it, but I couldn't I just hope I haven't ruined my chance to be friends with Andy by running away from him.

My anxiety woke me up at almost six this morning and I've been writing lyrics and melodies since I woke up. There is nothing to distract me from the past but myself, which has not been nearly enough. I don't jump when my phone rings, but my hand does shoot out to lift it from the night table so I can see the screen flashing the message symbol. I jumped when I saw the message was from Andy.

[b] From: Andy ._.:
Hey Christofer. [/b]

Responding is such a bad idea because no good can come of this.

[b] To: Andy ._.:
Hey, what's up? [/b]

The wait for the next text is horribly long.

[b] From: Andy ._.:
I'm out, running family errands, but it's so boring. Do you want to come with me? [/b]

No good can come of this.

[b] To: Andy ._.:
Yeah sure. [/b]

The response is instant.

[b] From: Andy ._.:
Great. I'll pick you up at twelve. [/b]

Okay, twelve gives me plenty of time to prepare myself mentally and physically. The clock is flashing ten thirty. Flashing? Oh crap, when did the power go out? When did the power come back on? That isn't the correct time. The screen on my phone says eleven thirty. Thirty minutes isn't much time.

I shower, do my hair, and freak out about Andy while I look for the perfect outfit. Jeans and a Ramones t shirt are good enough. I get so nervous about things like this. Music is the cure to everything. I jump around to the too loud volume of Bass Nectar for what seems like hours. Overthe music I can hear a rapping that sounds like knuckles on my door. There can't be anyone at my door but it doesn't hurt to check.

A surprisingly colorful Andy is standing in front of me in his usual tight black jeans but with a blue and white striped tank, a black cardigan and a black beanie on. He also looks for more shy than what I'm used to.

"Umm hi." His voice is strained like he is practically yelling but he sounds like he is barely talking. Crap! The music is still blaring from the speaker next to me and I turn it down before I make any more of a fool of myself.

"Your sister sent me up. I was knocking at the door but you obviously didn't answer and seeing why."

"Sorry, I got a little lost in stereo there."

"It's totally cool, what was that, Bass Nectar? Dubstep is cool." I'm staring at him and not saying anything, woopsy.

"A few of these errands are time sensitive so let's o." His voice is so thick and smooth and I'm following him down the stairs and out of the house without realizing it. And he's sliding into his side of the car, expectantly looking at me to get in too.

"Okay, so my mom ordered some stuff from the mall and needs me to order other things too. The errands should only take an hour or two. I was thinking that after we could hang out at my house."

"Yeah, that's cool." I could swear that the corner of his mouth just twitched like he wanted to smile at me, but I am probably imagining it.

The drive is peaceful and he turns on some random radio station that seems to be a mix of every genre that exists. When Bohemian Rhapsody comes on, I don't even notice that I'm singing along. We pull to a stop in the mall parking lot and I'm still singing. It takes me nearly a full two minutes to notice that we are still in the car and Andy is staring at me. The eye contact is what stops my singing more than anything else.

"Your voice is beautiful, why'd you stop singing?" He is practically staring into my soul. I have to turn away in hopes that he doesn't notice the way my skin is changing shades rapidly.

Maybe I've been staring out of the window too long because his hand come up to capture mine. I give him back the eye contact he is asking for. His smirk is soft and subtle but enough to calm my nerves.

"How about we get some shopping done?" He lets go of my hand and slides out of the car, reappearing on my side to help me climb out. The mall is huge. Somehow, since I moved here I have never been to this particular mall.

"So, I think first we should place some orders." He goes into a shop that looks really girly and makes a complex order of several flower arrangements.

"I'm guessing that isn't the first time you have done this." His laughter is like the touch of an angel to my heart because it's deep yet reserved. And it is my mission to cherish every single one of his laughs because they are something to look forward to.

"Yeah, it's a biweekly/ monthly thing. My mom likes flowers in pretty much every room of her house."

"Sounds just like my mom. She sticks sunflowers on my guitar stand when she thinks I'm not going to notice them there." Something quick and bright passes through his eyes like he just smiled but it didn't reach his mouth.

Walking through the mall with Andy isn't nearly as intimidating as I expected it to be. He is playful yet serious. He doesn't ask too many questions but he doesn't let any awkward silence build between us. I am fascinated by a pet store and end up standing, frozen in front of it. He sees the look in my eye and days me into the store. We walk through row after roe of adorable animals until one dog catches my eye. I hadn't noticed that our fingers had been locked this whole time until I step towards one of the cages and he moves with me. Cue the blush.

"Christofer, do you want to play with him."

"Huh?"

"I'm eighteen, I can play with the animals, so you can too. I'll be right back." The warmth of his hand is gone and it's nearly impossible to ignore the change. I don't stand there alone for too long before he is back with a cute blonde who is making the flirtiest eyes at him. When she reaches to open the cage, she makes sure that her arm brushes his and I feel a green fire light inside of me. Her eyes are trained on him and mine are on her.

"Call me back if you need any help or when you are done with him." Somehow, I feel like she is referring to me and not the dog. Her voice is sickly sweet, and there is no way anyone's eyelashes ever flutter that many times unconsciously.

"Uhu, yeah whatever." Why is he being so passive, she is obviously flirting with him? Oh. He is looking at me with furrowed eyebrows and a look of slight confusion. I just shake my head, but that doesn't smooth his features over. A bark makes us turn back to the cage. The Siberian Husky puppy is pushing the cage door open, tumbling out into my arms. It's really cute, and it reminds me of my dog. Fallon belongs to Taylor. My dog is the one we left behind.

I'm sure my expression must have a changed because the look in Andy's eyes has changed to one that suggests that he is enjoying this. I've noticed today that with Andy, it is a lot said in his eyes and not nearly as much out of his mouth. He is certainly a stoic guy. Usually, this much silence from a friend would bother me but it's different with him. The mystery and strong emotion is very fitting. I appreciate the way that every time he opens his mouth, he makes his words count.

"Who's a good puppy? You? Yes you are." My obnoxious baby talk gets me the reward of a very wet tongue on my face. I'm not going to look up at Andy because I don't need to look to know that he is fixed on me again, I play with the dog for a long time.

"I'm gonna name you Porter even though you aren't mine. I love dogs. We used to have two until right before I moved here and my dog died. His name was Prestige and he was a larger version of this beautiful pup right here." Andy only gets up and disappears again to go find the bouncy employee from earlier.

"Christofer, we need to go." I slide the puppy back into its cage and wave to it as if it can understand me. The shameless tramp flashes a suggestive smile with whatever combination of "good-bye" and "come back soon" she chooses. My stomach is rolling in disgust. As we leave the store, I can't help but to slip out a snide remark.

"Looks like you've got a new girlfriend."

"Huh?"

"That girl was almost breaking her neck checking you out and flirting with you."

"I didn't notice. I don't generally notice girls. She really should save all of that effort for someone who bats for that team." I'm pretty sure I look like I'm choking to death right now, but that is beside the point.

"You're gay?" Woops, that wasn't supposed to come out of my mouth.

"If you want to put a label on it then, yes. I mean if I'm drunk enough and just need an easy release then I'll probably end up with my dick in some girl, but generally, I go for guys." This is a pleasant surprise.

"Hmm." We walk into a Coldstone Creamery and Andy orders a bunch of ice cream cupcakes that obviously aren't for him. The next hour is a blur because we go through a vegan sweet shop ( he places an order for something amazing he is going to take home), several different odd shops where he picks up bags and bags of his mother's orders. Finally, we are in the last store, a dress shop where a tailor is putting the final touches on Andy's mom's dress.

"Does this dress make me look fat?" I turn around and find Andy with a monstrously poofy floral dress thrown over his clothes and burst out laughing. He starts dancing around me in circles. I didn't think there was a side like this to Andy, much less that he would show it to me.

"Take that off before we get in trouble."

"Fine. Fine. Unzip me then." I have no choice but to walk over to him and slide the zipper all the way to where it ends near the top of his jeans. I know I'm blushing. He steps out of the dress and hangs it back on the rack in front of him and then turns around to face me again. But he is closer than he should have naturally been.

"Okay, here it is." The woman reappears from the back and gives Andy the dress. We head out of the mall, collecting all of the orders Andy placed and carry them out of his car. The ride back to his house is much louder this time with both of us singing along to the radio and laughing at bad pop songs.

His house is just as quiet today as it was yesterday. I'm sure his parents are around somewhere but wherever they are, they are busy being quiet. His house is big for only three people to live here. There is a picture of another black haired boy but there is no other evidence of him anywhere so I don't ask.

We set everything on the floor and coffee table of the living room. Andy grabs a box and I follow him up the stairs to his room. It is huge. He has a king sized bed and a couch and a big TV. The room isn't dark the way I expected either. He has one wall lined CDs and books and music/movie posters while the rest of the room is painted a gray scale that washes from black to white from ceiling to floor. It's creative to say the least.

"Yeah, this is my room." He walks over to the foot of the bed and sits on the floor in front of it. I didn't even notice until now that he had one of the boxes he brought with him. I move to sit in front of him as he reaches for the remote and turns on a random movie. He opens the box to reveal a dozen cupcakes that look amazing. He takes one out and rips the paper off it. He looks up and catches me staring. He sighs and reaches into the box to hand me a cupcake.

"Here, eat, I promise you it will be the best thing you've ever tasted." He is biting into his cupcake enthusiastically, but I am a little more reluctant as I take an experimental taste. My eyes widen as the taste hits my tongue and I impulsively take a huge bite of it. The out right laughter coming from Andy startles me into looking back up. Apparently, he was watching me eat the whole time.

"I told you it was good." My face is hot enough to melt ice.

We both lean back against his bed and watch the romantic comedy with equal disinterest. We only get through about twenty minutes of the movie before he turns down the volume and turns to me with an undecipherable look on his face.

"Let's play a question game, I want to know more about you."