The day had been bright and sunny, but later in the day so that the sky was a deep orange when Hollis had awakened. Not long after this, he and his family had spoken in thorough detail of the things Hollis had missed during his coma, and his parents had profusely apologized to the youth for the near loss of his life, as they had given the doctors their consent to turn off life support. They had truly expected him to never recover, as his condition had neither improved, nor worsened.

About halfway through this discussion, his sister perked up before asking, "Where did he go? He said he wanted to be here for this..."

"He's been standing out there. He said he didn't want to 'interrupt our reunion'." Hollis's mother smiled politely as she glanced to door. Hollis's father went ahead and opened it. He said something too quiet for Hollis to hear, and then returned. A moment later, a young man entered. With his sister sitting on the chair next to the bed, most of the form was entirely covered, so he only got a good look at this youth when he moved by Mayura's side.

The entire time, in the back of his head, he had felt a deep curiosity regarding Ambrose's whereabouts as he knew for certain he was here. When the knowledge that he was only mere feet away emerged, his heart throbbed in his chest as if it would burst. Now, he had calmed and looked the youth over with the most neutral of faces.

The youth before him had hair of that same, sandy shade. It was almost blonde, but almost brown in its tone but clearly neither of them, and its style was short, though it framed his face ever so slightly. His eyes drooped and were muddy brown. The shape of his eyes and the slight bags beneath them made him appear tired along with his slow, carefree gait. His height was nothing remarkable. He was likely the same height as Hollis, perhaps a little taller, but nothing more, and his figure was just as unremarkable, perhaps more so. He was quite plump. Quite being an understatement. Even with his baggy shirt, his weight was obvious, and his face gave it away just as well, as it was particularly round in its shape.

All in all, Hollis had to admit, he was stunned. This was clearly a young man, but Hollis got at least one of his original assumptions correct.

Having realized he had done nothing but stare, Hollis cleared his throat and spoke in a low voice, "Ambrose?"

The young man gave no response to this at first, then a smirk crawled onto his face before fading away to a small smile. "Hey." His voice was thin and youthful. It had an innocence to it that was not present in the world of dreams.

That's why he sounded different then... Hollis simply nodded. The two of them stared at each other and the silence seemed to grow. Not only was Hollis feeling awkward, but his family seemed to be feeling just as. Hollis, eventually realizing how uncomfortable this situation was, cleared his throat.

"Um...thank you...for everything."

"Hm? I didn't do much..." His voice went softer as his eyes peered down at his feet, his hands being forced further into his pockets. "It was all you, ya know?" Though he tried to hide his face behind his letterman's collar, his smirk was obvious. His eyes narrowed as he did, and Hollis noticed. Another silence took over and Hollis released a soft sigh. "Um, do you all think we could, uh..." He motioned towards the door with his hands, unable to finish the sentence. His parents exchanged looks before nodding and exiting the room. Mayura blinked before nodding with a smile. She reached out and gave Hollis a gentle pat on the back before turning and leaving, the door shutting with a soft click behind her. The two were now alone and the awkwardness that had been present only seemed to increase ironically.

Hollis felt great difficulty while attempting to swallow. He wasn't sure why, given that this wasn't the first time he found himself alone with Ambrose, yet now, with nothing to really separate them from each other—such as Ambrose's pajama—perhaps that was the issue?

As he contemplated this, he heard Ambrose clear his throat. "So," he started with an awkward tone, "what do you think?"

"Hm?"

"Don't 'hm' me." His brows seemed to furrow in a mocking way as he tilted his head dramatically.

This was feeling familiar.

He continued, "You get to see me, right? So...am I what you expected?" He spread his arms and slightly twisted his body. Though he did this, the slight tensing of his brows said he was uncomfortable. Given the fact that his hefty form was now on full display, the brunette could understand why. Hollis kept his mouth shut at first and the vacant look on his face said he was lost in thought. After a pause, he spoke up softly. "Not bad, I guess."

"Eh?" His arms dropped and his head fell far to the side. "What's that mean?"

"You're pretty average."

The youth's eyes went wide, and he looked like he was about to spit, but he held his mouth shut. He eventually broke down and stifled a laugh. "A-average? Alright, alright. That's good enough for me!"

I wonder what he was expecting then? Hollis simply glanced away before looking back. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to respond to this, so he kept quiet. Noticing this, Ambrose straightened up and returned his hands to his pockets. Peeking over to the chair at his side, he dropped down. Both remained quiet for a moment before the younger boy decided to speak up. "My name?"

"Hm?"

"Hmm," Ambrose mocked as he leaned forward. "You wanted to know my name, right?"

"Oh, right..." He nodded. There was another pause. Hollis pulled his tongue into his cheek as he sat and listened to the uncomfortable silence.

"My name's Valen. Use it if you want. I don't care."

"Valen?"

"That's what I said." He let out a half-hearted chuckle. "Uh, look." He sat up and rested his back against the chair. "I'm sorry if this is really weird. I'm not..." His mouth fell lopsided as he seemed to search for the proper word. "I'm not...good at holding conversations, so..." He shrugged. "Yeah."

"I find that hard to believe. I could never hold a conversation no matter how hard I'd try. You ran every single one we had, so if you say you can't hold a conversation, call me the king of the world."

Valen scoffed, his cheeks flushing as he forced himself to hold back his laughter. "I think that's the most you've ever said at once, guy."

"Yeah. Of course." Hollis nodded, but his face remained neutral. "I meant it." He paused before going on. "After I'm out of here, we're, uh...hanging out, right?"

"Ah? You want to?"

Once again, the brunette nodded. Seeing the calm and collected demeanor of Hollis that was so familiar to him, Valen smirked. "Alright," he began in a tone much more reminiscent to his typical dream self, "where to? I don't know this place at all aside from some of the stuff from the map I found online. I'd much more prefer a tour from you."

"Oh, well...we've still got time to think of the details." The somewhat reluctant tone of Hollis's voice made the younger boy chuckle. As of now, the two of them had considerably relaxed and the conversation smoothed out. Feeling much more inclined to open up, Valen sneered. "It'll just be the two of us, right? I could see that little girl trying to tag along."

"Well, she is my sister. It'd only be fair to bring her."

Valen held back his groan and nodded. Hollis's brow perked, but he decided this was one of those many things that was better off ignored.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

After a few days, Hollis was free to leave the hospital. Once outside, he felt an invigorating sense of liberation as the sun hit him, as he took in the fresh air. He had forgotten just how nice reality felt. Of course, this was still in civilization. He wondered just how nice it was to be out in nature. He couldn't recall it, not truly.

Once he returned home, there was a small party waiting for him. Party platters and cake slices abound on the small dining table, and everyone laughed and joked as they began to once again feel like a complete family. Once he ate his fill, he opted to leave the house and feel the air and sun of the outside once again. He wandered down the road and stopped at a small bridge on a side path that ran over a crick. Trees shaded the spot splendidly and he found he actually preferred this to standing in the sun.

To think in a world like this we can still have these small spectacles of nature. As he stood on the bridge and observed the water running below him, footsteps came up at his left and he turned. Valen smiled, his hands in his pockets as they always seemed to be.

"Ambr—Valen? How did you find me? That's creepy."

"Hey, your sister gave me your address, guy. Blame her." Valen's demeanor grew smugger as he cocked his head to the side, his body leaning against the railing on the wooden bridge. "I was coming up to your house when I saw you leaving out the back way. Figured I'd just follow you instead."

"You really sound creepy." Despite the neutral expression Hollis wore, his tone carried a hint of humor, and this pleased the sandy-haired youth. He smirked impishly in response. "Hollis is one interesting guy."

"Valen—er, Ambrose is...one of the weirdest guys."

"Ah, even still?"

"Even still. You're undeniably weird and creepy."

"I'll take those as badges of honor." He sneered as he moved closer to Hollis, peering backwards into the water the brunette was looking into. "You know, the Somnium Killer was caught and all. But things aren't quite back to the way they were."

"I didn't think they would go back so easily." Hollis mumbled more than spoke as his gaze remained steadfast on the flowing water. "A lot of damage was done, and things weren't looking great to begin with." Hollis's companion peered over with a growing smirk. He spoke with a smug ring to his voice. "I'm glad you remember all of this."

Hollis smiled. "Yeah. It's...nice."

"It really is." Valen cleared his throat as he crossed his arms. "I'm still one of the moderators of the Somnium forum."

"I didn't know you were in that kind of position."

"I'm not one to brag." He sneered as he looked across the bridge. "Anyway, things are a mess on there right now. So if you were thinking of coming on..."

"I'm good. Maybe some other time. Socializing isn't one of my favorite sports."

"Oh, I didn't know I excelled at any sport."

Hollis had no response for this and instantly turned his face away. He wanted to chuckle, but he didn't want his companion to notice that. Valen cocked his head, his smile firmly in place and his eyes squinting. "Anyway, all that noise aside," he pushed himself from his place against the railing. "We going out or what?"

"Hm?"

"You sure do hum a lot. We're hanging out, right? You've got time, right?"

"Oh, yeah. I do." Hollis mimicked his friend and pushed away from the railing of the bridge. "I know there's an old diner down the road if that's alright."

"A diner? Sweet." The joyous tone in Valen's voice sent a wave of warmth through Hollis's body, his cheeks flushing and a small smile forming on his lips. Valen caught this and his smirk turned into a sneer, his stride pausing at Hollis's side. "You look like you're having fun, guy. What's this?"

"Hm, no. It's just..." His eyes circled around before stopping back on the slightly taller youth. "You're really no different here than you are there."

"Ha? That sounds like it's supposed to be an insult." His brow arched and his head fell to the side.

"It's not. Even if your appearance is, uh...exaggerated so to speak in your mindspace...you're still the same guy either way."

The younger boy had no response to this, and he remained mum. His eyes jumped to the far side of the bridge, then jumped back to Hollis before going back. "Uh, thanks, I guess."

"Just being honest. Is that a problem?"

"Not at all. I appreciate the honesty." He cleared his throat loudly as they both walked along the bridge. Hollis hummed softly to himself as he tried to think of something else to say, when the warmth he had felt before returned to his hand. He jumped in shock and turned in a flash towards Valen. He clutched Hollis's hand in his own, and the smirk on his face and the glow in his eyes said he was satisfied with himself. "I'm glad my idea worked out, Hollis." Despite their statures being similar, Valen's hand was a fair bit larger than Hollis's, and this made the brunette's stomach turn in an odd way.

How embarrassing... He cussed at himself.

"Call me a bit of a romantic, but I had hope this would help create some kind of connection."

"You're a romantic." Hollis's voice was heavily blunt and Valen simply shrugged in response. The shorter brunette's mind wandered back to the moment in the mindspace, that warmth in his hand. As the memories of that place replayed, one question tugged at his mind that had only presented itself momentarily before. "You said you livestreamed the confession? How much did you show?"

"Ah." Valen's voice came out soft, yet blunt as he paused his attempted stride. "I see what you're getting at."

"You do?" Hollis's brow arched.

"Of course," The taller boy smirked playfully at his companion. "You're worried I showed you off to the whole world. Given the fact you're using your real face, that would be a problem. Don't worry, I made sure to aim the virtual camera in a way that you were probably only visible for mere seconds, and only from the back."

Hollis was stunned at this explanation, but he doubted it could be that fool proof. "Are you sure?"

Valen sneered, his cheeks turning a faint pink as his confidence seemed to grow. "Of course. I knew from the start that you'd be worried about that. I was actually expecting you to say something sooner, but you never did."

I was actually too absorbed in what was going on to really think about it at the time...

"Anyway, you can find the livestream online, I can link you to it later. See just how great my foresight is." His sneer seemed to be ever increasing as he spoke, and Hollis was astounded by this show of pride. He was used to it in Valen's dream form, so this was a whole new sight to him. Deciding to take the boy's word for it, he simply nodded and said nothing more. At this, Valen chuckled.

As they continued on, nearing the dirt and stone path at the end of the bridge, the sound of racing footsteps approached from behind, and the two were startled by the sound of a high, sweet voice, "Holly! Hey!" The two turned to find the dainty brunette Mayura approach with joyful steps. "Woah," she paused and tilted her head to and fro. "What are you two doing? I guess you are pretty close, huh?"

Hollis gasped but it caught halfway in his throat. Realizing Valen was still holding his hand, he ripped it away instantly. "I-I...I'm grateful that you helped me out and all, but could you refrain from...this?"

Valen froze, his eyes widened and his lips a singular line as he sucked them in. "Ahhh, alright," was his only response. The tone of his voice had clearly deflated. The two stood and stared at the ground silently and Mayura said nothing, feeling as if she had intruded on something she shouldn't have.

"Ah, actually," Hollis's eyes seemed to dart around everywhere except for Valen and his face was low. "I guess it's not that bad." Hollis reached out and placed his hand back in Valen's. "I mean, I guess it's not really that weird, is it? I mean..." He paused, trying to think up a reason to satisfy the younger boy. "I mean, girl's hold hands, don't they?"

"Sure, I'm sure they do. Right, Mayura?"

"Don't ask me. I hate every girl I've ever met except our cousin, Linda and our mom." She crossed her arms and her cheek puffed up as she pouted. "But sure. Guys holding hands is such a cute sight. I think more should do it."

"Where has masculinity gone..." Hollis mumbled under his breath, the color seemingly draining from him at his sister's words, and Valen chuckled as he tried to latch onto every word that seemed to mindlessly tumble from his mouth.

"Don't worry about it, guy. It's just a nice feeling, isn't it? Holding someone you like's hand. It feels nice and to me, well..." He paused, his brown eyes glancing upward to the clear sky above. "I think it makes a nice memory. A physical memory lasts longer than a mind memory. Trust me."

If someone says 'trust me' I'm less inclined to. Though he thought this, he had no intention of voicing it. "Alright. If you say so."

"I do say so."

"So, where are you two going? I thought Holly wanted to get away from excitement." Her head fell to the side. So far to the point that she looked like she was going to topple over. Valen smirked, though his eyes narrowed in a malevolent way. "Well, we were going to the diner down the street. You know? We promised to do this when he was still stuck in his mindspace."

"Oh? That sounds great! But you just ate a lot, Holly. Are you sure you can eat anymore?"

"I'm good. I won't eat much, anyway."

"And if he eats too much, I'll be there to take the leftovers. Since it's the two of us and all." He threw in a chuckle at the end, but his tone was growing more agitated. Hollis caught on to his agitation the moment she arrived, but he had no intention of saying anything. Seeing him growing increasingly irritated by her presence, he decided to speak up. "Mayura, I need to talk with Am—Valen for a while. It's kind of private, so if you don't mind..."

She caught the hint immediately and nodded. "Right, got it." With a swift wave of her arm, she turned on her heels and headed off back towards the house. They both stood quietly now that she had run off. After a moment, Valen chuckled. "She listens pretty well to you, Holly."

"That's Mayura for you."

"Definitely not for me." He scoffed; his arms crossed over his chest. "Anyway, I think that's enough goofing around. We going to this diner now?"

Hollis didn't speak briefly. He felt how the breeze brushed past his face and watched the branches of the trees sway. The light from the sun broke through the gaps in the leaves and formed magical patterns across the wooden planks on the bridge behind them. Valen watched Hollis as the young man stared at the nature surrounding them. The sandy-haired youth smiled. "Nature is a beautiful thing. Honestly, I don't feel like anything compares to the real thing. And personally, technology could never be as beautiful."

"You sure are a romantic."

"I am." He cocked his head to the side before moving on ahead. Hollis followed behind.