A few days later, and Mycah wished he could say he was still on a high from the kiss. He wished he could say that finding his feelings with Arden had well and truly cured him.

But Mycah wasn't stupid, nor did he pretend to be. It wasn't that easy.

So when he found he was having an off day, he wasn't even surprised enough to be annoyed. He was just tired at this stage, tired of always feeling like this. Of constantly being pulled back down and soon as things began to look up.

Arden had left around three to go for a long run, and Mycah had been lying here since. This time, he didn't barely even felt the tears threatening to spill. He wasn't angry or frustrated. He wasn't breaking down or throwing things at the wall. He felt worn out- tired, exhausted, and just empty.

And as for him and Arden- he wasn't quite sure what exactly was going on with them. It had been three days since the kiss and while they hadn't kissed since, things had obviously changed between them.

Shy smiles were exchanged- (shy on Arden's behalf anyway- Mycah always seemed to don a confident smirk). Meal times had become a chance to play footsies under the table. Night times had become a game of who would give in and fall into the other's bed first. (Arden usually won that one- Mycah was impatient as hell and super whipped).

Mycah tried to focus his energy on positive thoughts, like Arden, but he was coming up blank. He sunk further into his duvet, feeling so alone. Sure, his parents were just downstairs and would come rushing to his aid at his soonest cry, but he didn't want to be a burden to them. It was their holiday, they had payed for it after all. They deserved a relaxing summer for how hard they worked, and the last thing he wanted to do was ruin that for them.

However, it seemed that for once his thoughts were actually being answered. Because no sooner then the feeling of loneliness had began to sink in, the telltale sound of footsteps running up the stairs told him that Arden was home. And though the small flicker of happiness that crossed his chest was fleeting, nevertheless it was there.

Arden burst into the room on a exercise high from his jog. He was humming under his breath, oblivious to Mycah holed up under his duvet.

It was only when Arden turned around and saw the teary eyed Mycah staring blankly at the ceiling that he realized- oh. Oh. This was one of Mycah's episodes.

He dropped his phone onto his bed, slipping off his trainers and kicking them aside before softly making his way over to Mycah's bed.

"Mycah?" He questioned gently, laying a soft hand on the other boy's shoulder.

Mycah turned slowly in response, using all his energy to muster up a small smile for Arden. It was pathetic, and he knew it. But nevertheless it was sincere, as the closest thing to happiness that he had right now was the boy leaning over him.

"Not doing so good buddy?" Arden asked gently, returning Mycah's feeble smile.

"No." Mycah answered quietly, briefly.

"Anything you wanna talk about?" Arden offered.

There was a pause before Mycah answered.

"Just not feeling too great. I'm in my head too much."

"Want me to go?"

This time there was no pause, no stopping to think.

"No." Of this Mycah was sure.

Arden hesitated. "Want me to join you?"

Mycah looked at him, the look in his eyes all the answer Arden required. He shuffled down, drawing back the covers and sliding into the bed alongside Mycah. Like they had done before. But this time was different because Mycah was exposing a completely different side of himself to Arden. And Arden was experiencing for the first time the completely vulnerable side of Mycah, and learning things about both Mycah and himself in the process.

Because sure Mycah was crying and downbeat and hadn't gotten up all day. And yeah, Arden was sweaty and in need of a shower and still in his exercise gear. But all that superficial stuff was tossed aside, and at the end of the day they were just two boys. Two boys ambling through life and friendship and relationships and newly-discovered feelings.

Mycah snuggled himself further into Arden's warm body, his heart warming when Arden's arms tightened around him. The steady rhythm of Arden's breaths soothed Mycah, and while he wasn't magically recovered from his low, he was finding it all just that little bit more bearable. Like maybe there was a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel after all.

"Hey Mycah?"

"Hmm?"

Arden paused before continuing. "I'm always gonna be here. No matter what happens in the future between us or whatever, I'll never be more then a phone call away. I promise."

Mycah smiles emotionally. "Don't make promises you can't keep Arden."

His tone of voice broke Arden's heart. Mycah was so resigned to the fact that he wasn't worth the effort, worth the time. He hated this, hated seeing this side of Mycah that was so low and depressed. "Don't do that Mycah. Don't downsize how much you're worth to me." He said firmly, nudging Mycah's shoulder with his chin.

Mycah paused, taking in what Arden said before admitting to himself that if he was ever going to be able to love himself fully, he would need to start by accepting that he was loved by others. "Thank you Arden."

Mycah didn't know how long they stayed like that, but eventually he found his eyes closing and sleep taking over.

He woke early the next morning, no surprise as he had fallen asleep more or less around six pm. He felt far better then he had yesterday, filling with a sense of relief that this episode was a short one.

He turned around, coming face to face with Arden's sleeping form. It seemed that sometime while he was asleep, Arden had a shower and gotten changed into his bed wear. It warmed Mycah's heart that Arden had still come back to his bed anyway, even though he was asleep.

He stared at Arden for a few minutes, drinking in the other boy's beauty. Because that was really the best way to describe Arden. Sure he was cute, hot, etcetera. But the word that summarized him most was beautiful. He was all full lips, long lashes, a well proportioned face with a slender nose.

It was almost as f Arden could hear Mycah's thoughts, because no more than a couple of moments later his eyelashes were fluttering open. Mycah blushed at being caught, but Arden's own cheeks were no better. He turned red when the first thing he noticed was Mycah's eyes on him.

"What?" He asked, shifting uncomfortably.

"Has anyone ever told you you're really fucking attractive?" Mycah asked bluntly. Hey, beating around the bush never got anyone anywhere.

"Shut up Mycah." Arden shoved Mycah slightly, flustered.

"Just stating the obvious." Mycah answered with a smirk.

"Someone's feeling chipper today." Arden changed the subject.

"Feeling a lot better." Mycah admitted abashedly.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Sorry you had to witness that yesterday." He replied, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Hey, don't be embarrassed. It makes me happy to be able to be there for you." Arden answered.

Mycah shot him a grateful look. "Thank you."

Arden just smiled in reply.

They stared at each other for a moment, the air suddenly getting ten times thicker. Mycay let his eyes drop down to Arden's lips, and saw Arden do the same to him. It wasn't clear who initiated it, but suddenly they were both leaning in closer and closer and then they were kissing, lips moving slow and soft and in sync.

Mycah allowed his hands to slip into the Arden's hair, and Arden's own found home around Mycah's waist.

This was surely what bliss felt like.

They kissed for a few minutes, breaking apart only to catch their breath before reconnecting their kisses. God, this surely had to be illegal. Nothing should be allowed to feel this good.

They eventually pulled away with a soft smack, matching grins on their faces.

"I'm never going to get used to that." Mycah said softly.

"Makes two of us."

There was a pause before
"Arden.. what are we doing?"

Arden paused, looking up at Mycah. "I don't know Mycah." He admitted. "But I like it."

Mycah blushed. "I like it too Arden. But.." he hesitated. "You don't think we're... moving too fast?"

Arden looked confused. "Moving too fast? I mean, all we've done is kiss Mycah."

"That's not what I mean." Mycah shook his head. "Maybe too fast isn't the way to say it. Maybe too intense?"

Arden cocked his head to the side. "What do you mean?"

"It's just.. okay it's like this. I'm going to be honest. If you start to get freaked out, just tell me and I'll stop. This thing that we have, it feels so much stronger then anything I've ever experienced. And I don't know, maybe we're going into this too headstrong. I mean, barely a week ago we were sworn enemies, and we've gone from that to this intense thing. I'm not saying I don't love what we have going on, but I'll admit it scares me a bit. Because you were always Arden that I disliked, Arden that I fought with. And now all of a sudden you Arden that I can't stop thinking about. Arden that I am infatuated with."

Mycah took a deep breath after his long spiel. He looked at Arden, gauging is reaction. His speech had been pretty intense, and a small part of him worried it had been too much and would scare Arden off.

Arden was nodding along, though somewhat blushing at the whole infatuation compliment. "I was thinking the same thing myself to be honest, and I sort of have a theory."

"A theory? Go on." Mycah urged, amused and curious. Trust Arden to categorize relationships using theories. What was next, algorithms for feelings?

"Are you familiar with law of conservation of energy?" Arden began.

"Really Arden? We're bringing physics into this?" Mycah snorted, earning him a shove from Arden.

"Shut up and hear me out. Anyway, the law states that energy can not be created or destroyed, only changed from one form to another. And in a way, I think that can be applied to us."

"It can?"

"I mean, think about it. We've always had this intense energy between us. We've never been passive, we've never had neutral. It used to be a strong negative energy, but obviously the situation and circumstances have changed. But is like our energy, our intensity hasn't lessened, just changed from one form to another. From very negative to what we have now. But hey, that's just one explanation." Arden finished with a shrug, and Mycah did have to admit he understood where Arden was coming from.

"Surprisingly, that makes a lot of sense. Like, the intensity of our relationship since we were three years old is still the same, just a different kind of energy." Mycah nodded in agreement. Arden had some good points.

"Exactly." Arden agreed.

"Who knew physics could make such sense."

"Physics is actually extremely fascinating." Arden answered.

"I sure bet it is." Mycah replied sarcastically. "Comparable to watching paint dry, some may say."

"Don't knock it til you try it."

"Nerd."

"Idiot."

"Your idiot." Mycah whispered, leaning in and stealing a kiss from Arden's unsuspecting lips. Unsuspecting or not, Arden responded within moments and they were locked in a slow kiss for the next few moments. It was slow and sweet and perfect.

It was balance.

"I still think you're a nerd." Mycah said, when they eventually pulled away from each other.

Arden picked up the nearest pillow, hitting Mycah square in the face with it. "Shut up Mycah man."

+++

I'm so sorry, this is the most absent I've ever been from Wattpad but honestly school started back and I am UP THE WALLS! I'm in an exam year too (cries) and much as I love each and every one of my readers, my exams and my future has to take priority

Anyway, super super sorry xx hope y'all enjoyed the longer chapter to make up for my lack of posting x

What's did you think of the chapter? Lemme know guys

-A