A/N: So, this is sort of an interlude chapter, but I'm going to end up writing a lot of interlude chapters, hence why I didn't name it interlude. I'll put these types of chapters in brackets so that you'll know. There will only be two types of interlude chapters. The first are dreams (aways Daehyun's dreams) and the second are memories. They are kind of important but skippable (and generally pretty short).

     Youngjae bubbled with laughter, holding his hand over his mouth as his whole body shook. Daehyun watching intently, burning the picture into the back of his eyelids so that he could return to this image whenever he closed his eyes. Slowly, the laughter ceased and Youngjae cleared his throat. He focused his eyes ahead of him, staring at nothing in particular as they strolled down the streets, shoulder to shoulder. 

     The lights of the city night scape enraptured them, lighting their way as the rain lightly tickled their exposed skin. Their hands found each other, intertwining. 

     The warmth of Youngjae's hand felt too real for a simple dream. 

     "Can I kiss you?" Daehyun whispered. 

      Youngjae nodded and the elder gently pressed his lips against the other's cheek. The heat Youngjae emanated was exhilarating. 

      The roads were peaceful, cars driving by at a leisurely pace. Few pedestrians passed by the two boys, paused in the middle of the street, one particularly angry one muttering to himself in anger as he swerved in his path to avoid them. Daehyun saw it only as the backdrop to the scene in front of him; the happy ending to the play he had been living through. 

      All that mattered was Youngjae. 

      "Where did you go?" Daehyun asked, squeezing the younger's hand as if to make sure it was real. He knew it wasn't.

      "What do you mean?" 

      "You transferred... Where did you go?"

      "A lot of places." Youngjae smiled and looked up at the sky, letting the raindrops kiss his chapped lips. "Nowhere... Everywhere... Where do you think I went?"

      Daehyun thought about it, but decided he didn't like the idea of Youngjae being anywhere than here. "...it doesn't matter. You're here now." 

      There was a long moment of silence. One of the background actors cursed as their foot landed in a puddle but they continued walking along the street in a rush. A car horn sounded but Daehyun didn't turn his head. He felt tears stinging his eyes before his whispered the words 'I love you'. He hoped the wind had carried them away as it brushed past them. 

      "Why say that to me here?" Youngjae questioned. "Tell that to the real me." 

      "...the real you doesn't feel the same way."

      "How do you know that? What if I'm lying?"

      "What reason do you have to lie?"

      "I don't know. You came up with the idea; you tell me."

      Daehyun didn't speak. Instead, he leaned in and pressed his lips against Youngjae's. It was brief and chaste and didn't even feel like a real kiss. Still, his heart fluttered and Youngjae smiled sweetly. Daehyun brushed the water off the younger' face with his free hand, returning the smile as best he could. It was faulty and slightly broken and he hoped the water slipping down his own cheeks masked the tears that fell from his eyes. 

      "Do you hate me, Youngjae?"

     The younger shook his head and kissed Daehyun's cheek. "Of course not. I came back for you."

     Daehyun really wanted to believe that.

     He glanced at Youngjae's wrist, seeing a friendship bracelet and briefly wondering who the other one belonged too. 

     "It will be summer soon/" Youngjae murmured, his hand slipping from Daehyun's grasp. "We should go to the firework show. Like we promised" 

      He looked at Youngjae and sighed. It was the Youngjae he had known in middle school; all bright smiles, contagious laughter, and innocent eyes. His height was shorter and his hair longer. He was the exact same boy Daehyun had fell in love with. Even the scuffed up shoes he wore were the same. 

      We can't go back to that time though.

      The words rang through his ears, much like his alarm did as it woke him for another day of school.

      At least he knew he could return to it in his dreams.