Jackson shoved his hands into the pockets on his jacket as he crossed the street. Thick smoke coming from his mouth as he breathed out into the cold night air. He walked along the street to where his best friend’s house was. It had been a long time since last time they saw each other. Two months to be exact. He walked a little faster. Jogged almost. As he got closer to the house he could see light coming from one of the windows, he knew then that his friend was awake. As he got closer, he could see the figure sitting by the window. The bright red hair almost shining in the moonlight. It made his heart beat faster. His friend was as beautiful as the last time they were together. That beautiful, flawless face. He remembers how the tears ran down those pale cheeks that day it happened. He remembers it as if it were yesterday. His chest hurt just thinking about it. Exactly two months and one week ago, that was when their lives turned upside down. Jackson had really missed his friend. More than anything. Two months felt like forever. An eternity without his best friend. He would have died if it had gone on any long. But now, now when he was finally close enough to see the beautiful creature by the window Jackson just wanted to run away. 

He swallowed down the big lump that had formed in his throat as he stared up at the figure in the window. He remembered everything. The first kiss. All those judging eyes. Those mean words. Everything. Jackson was scared. He knew they couldn’t pick up where they left off, but what frightened him was the thought of them not being able to be with each other. That his best friend didn’t want to be his lover after all. He pushed the hood of his sweater back as he took off his snapback. The cold air quickly wrapped around his ears and bit them. Jackson quickly pushed his fingers through his hair before putting the snapback back on. Backwards, the way he preferred to have it. Until now, he had observed the figure in the window from the darkness, but now he had to man up. “Come on Jacks, are you a man or are you a mouse?” he quietly scolded himself. He breathed in deeply and stepped forward into the light coming from his red haired friend’s bedroom.  He stood completely still, just waiting to be seen. It did however seem like the redhead didn’t notice him. Jackson bent down and picked at the frozen ground. The air and stones felt cold against his skin. The stones more than the air. He picked up a small rock and threw it at the window. But he missed. Hit the wall instead. That was probably for the best. He found himself another rock, and this time he hit his target. The person by the window jumped and turned his head quickly. Their gazes met.

The window opened, and the redhead leaned forward so he was just hanging out over the edge. “What are you doing here?” the redhead whispered. The soft voice sent shivers through Jackson’s entire body. Oh how he had missed that gentle voice. “I tried to call,” he answered hesitantly. “I know.” Jackson shoved his cold hands back into his pockets and kicked the frozen ground a little while he looked up at the red haired beauty. It looked like his friend wasn’t doing so well. Seemed sad. He could hear it in his friend’s voice even. “I’ve missed you. I came as soon as I heard you were back. Haven’t you missed me?” The soft red hair bounced lightly as the person in the window nodded. “I have.” Jackson smiled gently. Awkward silence wrapped around them after that. The cold air bit Jackson’s nose hard, and he was sure the air was treating his friend the same way. Only wearing a worn out t-shirt, the redhead’s arms also got bitten by the cold. They stared at each other without saying anything more. The silence covered them like a thick blanket, and Jackson swallowed down. “Can I come in?” he asked as he pulled the collar of his jacket up to cover his cold, red ears. “You shouldn’t be here. My parents doesn’t want me to speak to you.” The answer was expected, but it didn’t hurt him any less. “If you don’t let me in I’ll stay here, right outside your window. I’ll freeze to death," Jackson stubbornly said. The redhead smiled weakly and nodded his head as he closed the window and vanished.

Jackson quickly walked around the corner of the house, and there, in the light from the open door he stood. The tall, red haired boy he cared so much for. He smiled widely as he walked up to the boy by the door. Without a word, Jackson wrapped his arms around his friend and buried his face in the crook of his neck. He inhaled deeply and tightened his grip around the slim body. Jackson held the boy close; eyes closed and hear beating faster. He took a step back and released him when he noticed him shivering. Without saying anything, the boy stepped aside to let Jackson in. They went up to the redhead’s room and sat down on the edge of the bed. Jackson wanted to tell the red haired boy just how much he had missed him, but he couldn’t get the words out. Instead, he gave the boy another hug. This time his hug was returned. They sat like that for a while, just holding each other in silence. Jackson pulled away from the hug like he did when they were by the front door. But this time he did it because he felt something wet against his skin.

Tears.

He placed his hands on the redhead’s cheeks. They were wet and almost as red as the boy’s hair, but not particularly cold. Jackson’s hands were colder, but it seemed like the other didn’t even care. The tears kept flowing down those red cheeks. Jackson gently pecked the boy’s lips. One, two, three times. "It’s okay Mark. I won’t let go of you, not this time,” he softly said as he wiped the red haired boy’s tears away. Mark nodded his head, and Jackson smiled. Jackson pushed his fingers through the bright, red hair while he took his snapback off. He put it on Mark’s head, backwards, before he proceeded to wipe away his tears. “Don’t cry. You’re so ugly when you cry,” Jackson said with a teasing smile, something that made Mark smile as well. Jackson softly laughed when Mark hit his shoulder and shoved him. “I hate you,” he mumbled. “I hate you too,” Jackson answered with a wide smile. Mark got up and turned off the lights.

They crawled into the bed and under the covers. They laid close to each other, cold skin against warm. With arms around each other and feet tangled together. Mark had his head bent and pressed against Jackson’s chest. He inhaled deeply and tightened his grip around Jackson as if he would disappear any second. Jackson rested his chin in Mark’s soft hair while he stared into the darkness of the room. His eyes had gotten used to the dark so he could see everything quite clearly. He quickly noticed a small piece of curled up paper on the nightstand. He reached out and took it. He opened and read it. What he read made him smile. With his arm back against Mark’s smooth back, Jackson closed his eyes and fell to sleep. Outside large white flakes had started to fall from the sky. A white blanket soon covering the ground. Promising a clean slate.