Psychoburners

Part 23: Is it Wrong?

June 24th, 2016, John's house, Los Angeles, California

    A smell of delicious pancakes reached John's nose. He reflectively sucked the scent, sighing with happiness and feeling his stomach growl. Then, he opened his eyes widely, realizing that he wasn't the one cooking; someone else was in his house, making pancakes. He lifted his upper body and smelled again to be sure. It was indeed pancakes, freshly cooked, in fact. He fully got up from his bed, wore his glasses and headed towards the kitchen with both curiosity and caution, not knowing whom to expect. When he arrived there, he froze, not being able to believe who he was looking at.
    Michael was in front of the kitchen table, serving a few more pancakes. He smiled at the blue-haired man, who was looking at him, without knowing how to react.
- Surprise!
Michael exclaimed. The voice of his best friend helped John finally realize that Michael was there, in his kitchen, cooking pancakes for breakfast.

- MICHAEL!
John shouted, ran to Michael and hugged him tightly. Chuckling, Michael hugged him back.
- I missed you...
- I missed you too...
    John pulled away, suddenly remembering that Michael wasn't supposed to be back from the Caribbean Islands yet; he and Evelyn would normally return on July 5th. He spoke, stuttering for an unknown reason:
- But-but you were not s-supposed to return n-now! W-why are you here? And w-where's Evelyn?
    Michael's smile faded away when he heard Evelyn's name. He lowered his gaze for a moment, biting his lip. He took a deep breath, looked back at John and showed him the kitchen table.
- Sit down to have breakfast. After we eat, I'll explain everything.

- ...
- Now you know why I returned earlier.
- ...
- And right now, Evelyn is with Emily, Amy and Jimmy at the Stand-Up Comedian Tour.
- Wow...
- You didn't know that?
- No...
- But... didn't Emily tell you? Don't you guys talk at all?
- ...
- John? Are you crying?
    John shook his head, but he was obviously lying.His whole body was shaking by his quiet sobbing, and his eyes were full of tears. He looked up at Michael, who gasped in concern; without any hesitation,he dragged his chair closer to John (maybe closer than he planned) and wiped his tears away. He asked, hoping that his suspicion wasn't true:
- John? Did... did you guys... break up as well?
    John nodded and broke down in Michael's hands,bursting in tears. The red-haired man hugged him tightly, crying as well. They burst until they had no more tears to shed about their lost loves; until they knew there was no reason to cry about them anymore.

June 25th, 2016

    Michael and John were moving Evelyn's stuff from Michael's house to Emily's. It was a painful process for both, but Michael preferred to do it now than being forced to watch Evelyn herself doing it in front of his eyes. They had contacted Amy, who informed them that Emily had agreed on Evelyn moving in with her, and Evelyn was okay with the two friends moving her stuff. Michael suspected that the reason of her acceptance was that doing it herself would be as painful for her as for himself.

    Every single item of hers reminded him of all the good memories they had together. With every single item, his heart was breaking again and again. He wasn't crying anymore, though; he was done crying.When all the signs that Evelyn Belrose used to live with him were gone from his house, he felt a weight off his shoulders. He knew it was the right thing to do. He knew that he had to move on. Somehow, he felt relieved. He felt... free.
    As well about John, seeing Emily's house, a place where he had the greatest times of his life, was as painful as Michael with Evelyn's stuff. However, like Michael, he deeply knew it was the right thing to do; he knew he had to move on. And, like Michael again, he felt a weight off his shoulders. He felt relieved. He felt... free.

- Michael?
- Yeah?
- Have we forgotten anything?
- No, I think we haven't. This box you just closed is the last one.
- Good. I will leave it with the others and Evelyn will organize them by herself when she and the others return.
    Michael nodded and John picked up the box. He started walking carefully, since he couldn't see his feet because the box was blocking his view. Unfortunately, he didn't predict a dropped pair of pants in the hallway, which had probably fallen from the previous box, full of Evelyn's clothes. John's foot was tangled in the pants and tripped; fortunately, he didn't fall, but the box did, causing everything inside to get spilled on the floor. John swore and knelt to put everything back in the box.
    Michael suddenly appeared out of nowhere, having heard the hustle and bustle; he knelt next to John with concern.
- JOHN! Are you okay?
- I'm fine, I didn't fall. But everything in the box did. Don't worry, I got this!
    Michael didn't leave, though. Instead, he started grabbing things and putting them back in the box along with John. No one was looking at what the other was gathering until suddenly, their hands touched. They lifted their eyes and looked at each other. The feeling hidden inside them got strong again, stronger than it had ever been. I want to hold his hand forever... To feel his hand into mine... What? NO! No... Why do I feel this again? This is wrong! I can't feel this way about him! He's my best friend! That's what he is... Nothing else. No... I can't... I can't feel something more than friendship! I can't! I must not!
    Michael was the first to look away. He grabbed the thing both he and John wanted to pick up at the same time and quickly put it back in the box. He then got up, lifted the box and headed to Emily's house,leaving a kneeling and confused John behind.