My hands gripped onto the steering wheel, as I gazed at the quiet street littered with houses, various ones unfinished and abandoned midst of construction. At first I was weary, that my determination about the existence of Lonsdale was wrong - until I drove uphill and discovered this suburbia.

Indeed, no one was there and it was clear why no one stayed there. The place was uphill with no commodities, and maybe not even clean water since there was no reason to provide it to a fictional hamlet, with hardly any line or connection. There were a few remaining chucks of the picture to complete, I was anticipating the complete photograph to come together. 

I went into the first house through the open window, since the door was locked. The inside was an empty space, with unfinished tiles and half-painted walls - blue in colour. The whole place smelled of stale wood, old and abandoned pasts that bustled with anticipation for something new. My shoes stepped on the floor that had moss slowly growing out of it all, the only thing missing was a tree growing in the corner ofthe living room. 

Where to look? That was the real question to answer. The place wasn't considered small either, like any average house in a town. My mom could have hid her puzzle pieces anywhere, maybe even somewhere else and not in this house. I took out the journal and turned the pages to find anything else that could have been a sign. My eyes were alert to spot anything that said 'Lonsdale', anything that could make sense. 

It was as if she answered my call.

A single note stapled to a random page, purple in colour with cursive writing.

'In case you forget: No.69, the attic under the stairs.
Inside the shoebox, and under the tree at the backyard.
Thank me later, future me'

I darted out the house, searched for the address - and found it on the mailbox. The faded letters and numbers said 'No.75', and that meant I was definitely raiding the wrong place. Immediately I got back into the car and drove down the road, estimating when I was going to find the right one. Jogging up and down the lane, I searched for the right number until I found it on the far end of the road, where the construction had stopped abruptly. It almost seemed like time had estranged itself from the town.

Like the edge of the world...

*Timothy's P.O.V*

"He's stopped!" I heard Felix announce from the passenger's seat. Both Donghyuck and I turned to look at him while both of us were lounging on the back of the truck, staying in that position after our little conversation. 

I didn't expect Mark Lee's brother to be that way, much less be that open to discuss about my interests towards his own brother (and defending my case was what threw me off). Donghyuck was a nice person, with a natural sense of connecting to people. It was something Mark lacked, as I observed, as much as he tried to be someone else's strength for support - it was only a few exceptions that he could relate to, a big portion of his life was centered upon himself. 

Not saying that he was a bad person, he was one of the nicest people I knew but still...his brother had the better grasp of dealing with problems.

"He's so close!" I think Illy added. "Just a few more miles and we'll find him!"

"Now he better give us a damn good explanation or I'm kicking his !" Somi declared. 

And with that Felix kept on driving, all when everyone was ecstatic about finally reuniting with Mark, yet I was having mixed feelings about it. I looked through the poems I had written in my notebook, caressing the words I had wrote. Almost every page was littered with my thoughts of him, I started rewriting poetry because of him - raw and honest poetry because that was my only way of getting a kick out of it, and not affecting anyone else in the process. 

There were phrases that stuck with me, of how I used it to describe him and me and everything in between. 'Running after you was like chasing the clouds' was when I was at my lowest point, half-intoxicated and beaten down by despair; 'Leave my heart open, it stays here in its cage' was the best term I had to describe how much I held on when I wasn't supposed to, when I could have run away. 'Can a moment last forever?' was one for happier moments, back when everything just seemed as simple as him being someone nice to look at before it developed into something more. 

"Hey," Donghyuck out his hand on my knee, almost like Mark whenever he noticed I was zoning out. "Have you figured out what's gonna happen - when we actually find him?"

I let out a breathless laugh, "What's there to figure out?"

"Like maybe, I don't know, how you'll react to him? I mean, I can tell you're worried about him and that you care for him." 

"You make me sound like a mom, Jesus Christ..." I remarked, and he laughed. "But I did think a lot about him over the past few days, a bit more than I usually do. Maybe more about other things, I guess - maybe a lot more after what we talked about. And I can't control what I feel at that moment, I'm leaving it to fate for that."

"What did make you two connect?" Donghyuck wondered. "Because I know you're not the only one that felt that connection, Mark talks about you all the time you know. It kind of gets annoying that he seems to...adore you at some points."

I had to laugh, "Very funny."

"Seriously this is the second time I've told you and I'm not joking, you're like the only thing he ever talks about, more precisely the only topic he can go on and on about for hours and not get tired. You matter that much to him, Tim."

I was trying to hide my face from blushing, I hated being like that and it made me feel so full of myself in a sense. I cleared my throat, "I suppose we both liked a lot of things, poetry builds connection between us and, I don't know, we just get along really well. It's not like we fight, just some bickering over what's right and what's wrong, and when it comes to the serious topics we usually shrug it off like it's no big deal like we have some empathy link and we end up being okay with whatever prolems there are. That's pretty much it."

Donghyuck pursed his lips, "So, you know that he's been through some pretty rough right? He wasn't always the Mark you see now." and when he said that, there seemed to be so much deeper meaning when he said that. Almost as if it was sacred...

But I knew what he was talking about. "It's okay, I know."

"Do any of the others know, by chance?" 

I shook my head, "Not explicitly, no. I knew by accident too, but he's okay with me knowing and he also knows that I don't care. I genuinely don't because that's not him now, and...I like the way he is now. Not that he knows about that though." I smiled. "Besides, why should I be judgemental about his past when that's the very reason of who he is today? The very person I love?"

Donghyuck smirked, "Becoming bold, aren't you Armor? But I must say, Mark is really lucky to have you as his friend...or whatever is going to become of you two after this - but I really hope he feels the same way like you do, both of you deserve it."

"Who knows? Maybe the moment I see him I'll just run back into the truck and wait for you guys to fetch him." I shrugged it off, he didn't know how many layers of feelings were hidden in me. It was a fusion of worry and anxiety and pure fear that I would never see Mark Lee ever again, the dream prior to finding out he went missing increased my fear. There was a biting feeling of guilt that my thoughts were the cause of him leaving (I knew it was far-fetched, but still...)

I looked at the one of last few poems I had written, I recalled it was after a late night poetry session in the library and we were all determined to finish it by that night. It was then that Mark had stood up after much consideration for he wasn't the type to recite his poetry openly. As he spoke, I knew it would be the death of me. Going straight back to the dorms, I told him that I was going to a party and wouldn't be back by two. The truth was I had headed to the park and started writing.

'There are so many words I want to say,
And I do not know if you'd want to hear,
Even if I conjure my courage, at the end of the day,
All I want is for me to disappear.

Throw out the inhibition,
You made my walls crumble,
Your laughter kicked me in the stomach,
Only to make me slip and stumble.

Though bear in my mind, it is not your fault,
That your existence has bested me for good,
I inflicted the pain upon myself,
I'd still endure it all if I could.

"We're more than friends.",
Those were your words,
And how different I wanted this story to end.
In an alternate reality where we stood.

If I was a different person, yet loving you the same,
Brave enough, bold enough,
To call me by your name,
Things would have turned out differently,
Your light could have defeated my dark,
If only I tried to tell you how I felt,
Maybe all this pain could have stopped.'

"We're here!" I heard the engines rumble as Felix stopped the truck.

No. 69 was a slightly different than the other houses, I could tell. The interior were more up-to-date, at least someone actually had made the effort to decorate. The walls were plastered with wallpaper, it was now yellowish; There were chairs and all, even a broken fan stuck to the ceiling which made me truly wonder if anyone did stay here some time ago.Because it definitely didn't look unhabited since construction, it looked abandoned after a period of time. As if whoever once stayed here had got up and left and let their history remain here.

Remembering what was written in the journal, I searched for the only staircase in the house and eventually found the so-called cupboard. It was not locked and so I pulled the latch and the little door creaked open, I cautiously went in, just in case any unwanted bats flew out at me. I didn't know how to react when I saw hung upon the cramped walls, were pictures and quotes still intact.

I knew immediately who was the woman in all of them, and that already indicated I was in the right house. On the shelf in the attic was a heart-shaped chest, dusty from the years left in the same place unvisited. Inside was a single key, along with a few brownish letters addressed to - NO ONE.

I had to read them later, but now my main focus was to finish this scavenger hunt. So I collected the key and left the attic, ventured deeper into the house where I found the empty and dirty kitchen that had the backdoor which led to the backyard. My heart was beating fast, I could feel myself getting closer to what I had been finding - everything about my mom that I didn't know.was soon to be discovered that very moment.

The tree was still standing tall, even though no one had tended to it for so many years. The leaves were healthy green and no signs of malnutrition. And then I started digging, grabbing the shovel I had found in the rickety shed with almost nothing inside. The rust on the surface of the spade didn't matter, the soil dug out almost immediately. 

I stopped when the spade could no longer go deeper, that meant it had already found what it had been looking for. I peered into the hole, indeed there was a safebox - miraculously still in good shape with no dents and hardly any rust. There were my mom's initials on the lid, it made me even more expectant with what was kept inside after so long. 

I opened the lid, and the first thing I saw were letters. Piles of letters. 

Some were scattered into a pile, in brown paper envelopes and there was a bunch of the underneath neatly tied up by a frail piece of lace ribbon. As I took it all out, I collected the remaining scraps of the picture that I knew fitted the other ones she had hid everywhere else. Nudging them in the journal, I picked up a random letter that had no envelope, and read it.

'Do you remember the way I held you close in the backseat of the Chevy?
Do you remember all those rendezvous you had with me?
Because I remember the weight of your lips, the metronome our hearts thumped to,
Chained to the rhthym, an open cage, with the lock thrown away,
Me and you.

I took your hand, and you gave me your smile,
A reward not even a hundred muses could offer,
The way you made me dance and how we clicked in a second,
My love, I'll tell you, my longing for you never wavered,

Marissa Lee, was there a more beautiful name than thee,
The only person whose love for poetry exceeded me,
You were the dawn to my dusk, the Audrey Hepburn to my Gregory Peck,
A Roman Holiday we shall embark on, and never look back.'

"There he is! Mark!" a heard someone call out my name from inside the house, just when I was sure no one else was around except me. 

"Donghyuck?" I said, bewildered. "W-what are you doing here? What are you guys doing here?" I asked when I saw five other people tailing from behind. 

"What the hell are you doing out here, miles away from home? That's the ing question, Mark!" Donghyuck exclaimed, his tone somewhere between mad, exasperated and just downright relieved. "Do you have any idea how long it took for us to track you? Let alone find you here?!"

"I didn't need anyone to find me," I finally answered. "I was doing fine on my own...I didn't think you'd be that worried about me-"

"Not worried? Are you kidding me, Mark Lee?" he hissed. "You're my brother of course I'd be worried you might pull of some stupid stunt alone!" he jabbed a finger at me. "Just what the hell were you thinking running off like that without further notice, and leaving some ty poem for a clue?"

I scratched my head, "First off, I think I forgot to put the note away before going out. Second of all, aren't you usually the one that comes out with stupid stunt?"

He punched me in the shoulder. 

"Well, was vanishing off the face of the earth worth it for you?" Somi said, crossing her arms in dismay. "Did you get your spiritual awakening?"

I glanced at the box of letters, "Y-yeah, I guess so."

"Good, since we're going back now that we've found you. Thanks to you, we've just skipped one whole week of classes and a load of assignments - but I guess some storytelling from you would make up for it."

Lucas nodded, "At least we found you, buddy."

"Good luck explaining to your aunt and Doc about your whole shenanigan this time round, Mark. I'm not sure how long you're gonna get grounded." Felix added.

I had to think about Aunt Tiffany all over again, even if she already knew about me.Reality began taking over again, and I realized it was time to face the music again. 

Somehow, the whole roadtrip almost seemed like it didn't happen at all - even if I was still in it. 

"Hang on, did anyone see Timothy?" Ily suddenly questioned.

I looked up and cocked my head, he came too? 

"There he is." Caleb answered as he pointed at the emerging shadow from inside the house, judging by the way it walked I knew it was Timothy - but it was as if he was walking in a hurried, reckless way...

He appeared in the backyard, his eyes tense and set in my direction. He was walking in my direction. "Tim, um, are you doing alright?" I vaguely heard Somi say in a distance.

He still wasn't looking away.

"Tim-" but I stopped mid-sentence when he grabbed my by the collar-

*Donghyuck's P.O.V*

-and he pulled him into a kiss. 

I couldn't believe it was happening, and I was sure everyone else was just as astonished as I was. I didn't think Timothy Armor had the balls to pull off such an act, let alone think about pulling it off. Or maybe he meant it in literal snese when he said he had no control over his actions when his feelings took over. This was a tidal wave of emotion on display. 

He was really doing it.

It wasn't like it was simple, but the way Timothy pulled Mark - it looked as if he had released everything he had been hiding. It looked almost violent, desperate even. The real problem was starting to sink in: How was Mark going to take it?

*Timothy's P.O.V*

What the are you doing?

I tried holding back, but the second I saw him my legs just couldn't stop.

Let go, let go now.

This kiss, right now, was what I thought I longed for. But it wasn't. The more I kissed him, the more I was reassured that he was finally found, real and not some dream I had. I was no longer worried. 

Timothy Armor, let go now.

Awakening from my trance, I pushed him away. Mark looked bewildered, I prayed I was not turning red. How on earth was I going to get out of this?

He stared, "T-Tim..."

"W-we won't ever bring this up," I blurted. "I'll be in the c-car." and I my heel and darted away.

What just happened?

I didn't know what to think, whether it was about him or the kiss in general. I didn't want to think about it, I was unsure of what I should think about. Watching him walk off like that, I felt some part of me going away with him. The sudden awkward silence didn't help either. 

"That was, er..." Lucas said. "Well I guess we should get going? We've had enough adventure for one week, Mark."

"Yeah, I'm coming-" and that was when Donghyuck pulled my arm back. He looked at me intensly.

"Yeah, I'm riding with you. It's time we talk." he said. "And I'm taking the wheel to your car this time."