"Hey, kiddo, wake up. It snowed last night."

"Wha?" Sylk kicked his quilt off and stumbled to his window. "Dad, there's snow out there!"

"Of course," the tall blonde man chuckled. "Get dressed and you can go out and play in it."

Sylk tore through his room, throwing on warm clothes and ran down the hall, hitting doors and yelling. "Velvet, Marty, get up! It snowed!"

"They're already up," his father called in a deadpan after him.

"KITCHEN!" he bounced down the stairs and slid into the kitchen. "Mom! It snowed last night! I'ma gonna go get Jamie and throw snowballs!"

"Just a minute, Sylk," his mother said as she lassoed her youngest son with a scarf

"Come on, Mom, I wanna go play," Sylk said in a little-boy tone as his mother kissed his cheek and pressed a warm toaster pastry into his hand.

"Go on, and remember you have school tomorrow so you can't stay over."

"Okay, bye-bye!" he waved to his mother when she released him and bounced out of the house.

Halfway to Jamie's, he found that the sidewalks were still icy (He had found out by slipping on a patch of ice and nearly colliding with a lamppost), so he slipped and skidded the rest of the way. He grabbed the mailbox in front of the Davis residence to halt his sliding and saw his friend standing in the yard. He was about to call out when something about the situation stopped him.

Jamie stood in the ankle deep snow in bare feet, thin pajama pants that was made to only reach mid-shin, and a tank-top. Not exactly the best winter wear. He stared blankly at the air slightly above him, like he was listening to someone talking and yet clueless to what was being said.

Sylk stepped into the snow-blanketed yard, padded over to his friend, and reached to touch tanned skin. Still hot, so the brunette hadn't been out for very long. "Jamie, come on, Jamster, snap out of it," The white haired teen gently slapped the brunette's cheek to if he could get a response. It always worked in the movies, but not now. "What's wrong Jamie?" he asked softly. "Come on, let's get you out of the cold."

Walking backwards towards the porch, he pulled his friend after him. He swept the brunette off his feet when he realized that he wasn't going to go up the stairs and carried him to the door, it was slightly open so he used his hip to bump it the rest of the way open. "Mrs. D, I got Jamie, something's wrong," he called to the warm house.

"Sylk? What's wrong, honey?" a feminine voice asked and Jamie's mother walked into the hall.

"Something's gone wonky on Jamie," Sylk replied as he gently kicked the door closed, still holding his friend bridal-style. "What's happened to him? Can you fix it?"

"Jamie's sick, dear," Mrs. Davis said softly. "This is one of his symptoms. He'll zone out for no reason at all."

It could be Epilepsy, he thought. "Will he stay like this?" he asked, looking up at the tall brown haired woman. Jamie looked like a male version of her, pretty raspberry eyes included.

"No, we just have to get him to come back."

"How?"

"Various ways. He should be back soon, he never wanders far, poor lamb," she said and pet the top of Jamie's head lovingly.

"Where does he go?"

"No one really knows. He doesn't even tell Dr. Renee."

"Who's Dr. Renee? Jamster's doc?"

"Yes. He has weekly sessions with her."

"A head shrinker?" how he had managed to keep the shock out of his voice, he'd never know.

"I've heard them called that, yes. Come into the kitchen, dear, I'll make some hot chocolate to warm you up."

Sylk let his friend carefully drop to his feet and guided him to the kitchen before having the brunette sit. The white haired teen took Jamie's hands and blew on them to warm them, not knowing what to do next.

"It's okay to talk to him while he's like this, he's not completely inanimate," Jamie's mother said and busied herself making the packaged cocoa.

Somehow he knew that but he stayed quiet anyways, sliding his chair a little closer to his friend and draping one arm on the back of Jamie's chair.

"-So THAT'S what happened! Damn, and here I thought it was something STUPID!" Jamie growled suddenly and blinked, looking around the warm kitchen. "Mom, did I sleep walk?"

Sylk flung his arms around the brunette's neck, surprising him with the sudden movement, and hugged him tightly, gently nuzzling below his ear.

"Uh… hi, Sylk, what's up? What are you doing here this early?" the brunette asked the white haired teen hanging around his neck.

"I think Sylk came over to play, Jamie, dear. He brought you in from outside," Mrs. Davis said as she set two mugs of hot cocoa onto the kitchen table.

Jamie looked at his mother then at his friend and settled his arms around Sylk's shoulders. "Thank you, Sylk," he whispered.

"You two look so sweet, I wish I had my camera." Both teens gave her twin little boy looks and she immediately went in search of her camera. "Hold that pose, I'll be right back!"

When she'd left, Sylk switched his hold on Jamie from his neck to his face and gave him a once-over. "You seem fine now, what happened?"

"Nothing, I was…. I don't know."

"Don't leave me, okay? I don't want to be left alone."

"I- I won't. If you won't."

"Shake on it!" they released each other and slapped their palms together and shook, silently making a promise, however cheesy it sounded, to always be friends.

"Hey, weren't you supposed to help me with my English paper?" Jamie said as he gently poked his friend's shoulder.

Sylk smacked his forehead. "I can't believe I forgot! It must've been the weird vibes I got from your dad that made me forget. ....and food."

"You are aware we start school tomorrow, right?" Jamie asked with one eyebrow raised.

"Yes, Mom told me before I came. Man, I hate school."

"We went through this yesterday, ya know," Jamie said and noticed the mugs of chocolate rapidly cooling.

"Your mom made it for us, remember?" Sylk said and they drank the chocolate drink. Not as good as the Emporium's, but that could only be expected.

"Come on, if we mess with the paper now we can be done before lunch."

"What about the snow?" Sylk asked.

Jamie blinked blankly at his friend. "Snow?"

"Yes, it snowed last night. What do you say, pleasure before business?"

"Tempting, but I really need this grade."

"15 minutes and I'm yours all day. Come on, please?" the white haired teen pleaded.

"Alright, 15 minutes and then we work, but first I need to get dressed," he got up from the table and was about to leave the kitchen when Sylk grabbed his wrist and pulled him back, whirling him around so the brunette's back was against the white haired teen's chest.

"Smile, Jamster, your mom's taking a photo."

Jamie looked up just as the flash went off and his mother smiled. "Oh, you two are so sweet."

"Mom, I wish you wouldn't do that," Jamie said and made his way to the stairs, pulling Sylk with him since he had yet to release the slightly shorter brunette. "We're gonna play outside for a little while, then finish that report for school."

"Be careful, dears."

"Not ta worry, we won't!" Sylk said playfully and bounced passed his friend. "Come on, Jamster, time's a'wastin'!"

"I'm coming, Sylk, slow down," Jamie said as he stumbled after his friend. He pulled the white haired teen up short and pushed his bedroom door open.

Sylk whipped open the closet door and started pulling clothes out and tossing them onto the bed. A pair of thick blue jeans, two shirts (one long sleeved bright yellow and one a short sleeved muted purple), and a sweater (Black knit) was pulled out and piled into Jamie's arms. "Put those on and hurry up."

Jamie shed his pajamas and put the clothes on, letting the white haired teen put a yarn cap with tassels on his head along with a matching purple and green scarf when he was done.

"You look like a human rainbow," Sylk commented and ducked a smack. "I'm teasing!" he laughed and bounced out of Jamie's reach.

"Come back here, you psychopath!" Jamie said as he chased his friend down. He caught him in the hallway and pushed him against the wall. "Okay, I got'cha, but now what do I do with ya?"

"Run!"

Jamie squeaked and ran, followed closely by his friend and they burst out of the house and into the snow-covered yard. He came to a sliding halt and stared at the cold wet whiteness. "Wow, all this fell last night?"

"Yeah, awesome, ain't it?" Sylk said as he bounced up to Jamie and dropped a handful of snow on the brunette's head.

Jamie yelped and shook the snow out of his hair before tackling his laughing friend and making them roll, each one trying to get the better of the other and stay on top. He grabbed a handful of snow and plopped it on Sylk's head. He had another handful ready when Sylk sat up and he dumped it down the back of his shirt, making the white haired teen jump up and dance around trying to get the snow out of his clothes.

An hour later they trudged back inside wet, cold, numb, and shivering.

"So much for 15 minutes," Jamie said as he rubbed his hands together after slipping his snow shoes and jacket off. Sylk nodded and took his hands, wrapping them in his and blowing on them to warm them. The brunette wiggled closer to the other teen, slipping his hands around the back of Sylk's warm neck, heated to a higher temperature to keep the cold out. Doing so made the white haired teen squeak.

"God, you got cold fingers!" he whimpered as Jamie tugged his dark gray shirt up and dug his hands under the thick fabric to get to more warmth. The white haired teen writhed under the attack but didn't try to get away.

"You're warm," the brunette said innocently and dug deeper, making the white haired teen gasp audibly as cold hands worked their way up his back.

"You're freezing!"

"I know, that's why I'm using YOU for a heating pad."

"Man, oh man, oh man," Sylk whimpered as he fisted his right hand in Jamie's hair, careful of pulling too hard, and clutching the brunette's upper arm with his left. He bit his bottom lip as Jamie swept his hands over his back and down his hips, looking for more warmth since he'd taken the majority that was on the usually cool-skinned teen's back.

Jamie had his temple resting on Sylk's left shoulder, eyes mostly closed and only showing a slim line of raspberry-brown so he could concentrate on finding heat, so he didn't see the look of blind panic that crossed his friend's face. What he did notice was when the white haired teen's body went rigid and a strangled groan was released from the slightly taller teen's throat.

He suppose he could've stopped it. All he had to say was '"stop" and Jamie would've stopped. But when Jamie accidentally ground his hips against his, his mind went blank and flashed back to the last time he'd been touched the way Jamie was touching him. He snapped back to reality when his head slammed on the wall that USED TO BE five feet behind him and he clutched at it in pain. It never happened like that....

"Sylk, are you okay? What the hell was that?" Sylk blinked to find Jamie with his arms tightly wrapped around his neck and the pretty raspberry-brown eyes looking into his own ice-blue with concern. "Did you hurt yourself?"

"Wha- no, I'm fine. It wasn't anything important, just.... Just a muscle spasm from the cold," he said and pat Jamie's head to calm him down. "Nothing to worry about."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I do that occasionally, it's really nothing to worry about. Humans have muscle spasms in their sleep and don't realize it. Like when you're about to fall asleep and you have the sudden sensation of falling and you make your bed jostle."

"That's what that is? A muscle spasm?"

"Yeah. Weird, ain't it?"

"No kidding."

Sylk released the breath he'd been holding, having successfully distracted the brunette into not realizing what had actually happened.

"Come on," the brunette said as he tugged his friend up the stairs. "We have a report to work on."

"What's the subject? Something easy, I hope."

"I thought you said that English papers were your specialty."

"They are, but you worn me out, man," Sylk flopped onto Jamie's queen-sized bed and promptly sank. "What the hell?! This is a waterbed?"

"Heated, I might add," Jamie replied as he dug in his backpack for his school books.

"Why didn't I notice?"

"Because usually a waterbed is in the center of the wall and mine is pushed up against it length wise? I don't know. Or maybe," Jamie continued as he found his book. "It's because you were single-minded in finding clothes for me, so you wouldn't have noticed anyhow."

The white haired teen absently ran one hand over the soft multi-colored comforter covering his friend's bed. "Yeah, that might explain it," he stated and wiggled his other hand under the blankets. It was warm, almost hot. "I bet it's heaven in weather like this."

"Yeah, pretty much. I don't remember having anything else but my waterbed and that thing is coming with me when I move out and get a place of my own!"

"Sounds like a plan to me!" Sylk said as he caught the book that the brunette had tossed carefully. "Subject, subject, what's our subject?"

"Don't remember, I'll have to check," Jamie said as he flipped on his radio and slipped a CD in.

"What's the music?"

"Alan Parsons, since you wanted to listen to more."

"Does that CD have the song you sang?"

"Yeah. You'll hear it in all its glory." The brunette hummed along with the music while he searched for a file folder. He found it tucked under his history book and he flopped onto the bed next to his friend. "Okay, I am looking for a 5-page essay-type paper on practically anything."

"Are you pulling my leg?"

"No, I'm serious, look," Jamie handed the piece of paper over to the white-haired teen and he read it over.

Sylk glanced up at the brunette and down at the paper again. "Your teacher is crazy," he stated.

"Yes, she is."

"So what do we write about?"

"I don't know, anything I guess," Jamie said and rolled over to stare at his ceiling.

"How many kids do you think will be doing what they want to be when they grow up?" Sylk asked absently.

"Don't know."

"Well, what do you want to be when you grow up?"

"Don't know that, either, what about you?" Jamie tilted his head to look at his friend and Sylk cracked a smile.

"That's easy, I wanna be a lawyer, start my own practice, get an ulcer, retire, and die an old cranky man who sat in the park and yelled at the kids."

"Now's my question to ask you; are you serious?" he asked.

"Nah. Got no use for those lawyer types. 'Sides, I don't think my grades are that great to be a lawyer."

They worked on the paper for two hours before getting bored out of their minds and chatting instead. The more they talked, the more Sylk liked the brunette.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot," Jamie said as he scribbled down a sentence.

"When you were talking about weekly sessions yesterday, you meant you went to psychologist, didn't you?"

The brunette looked up at his friend and down at his paper again, "Well, I.... Yes. I do."

"Why? Is it because you zone out?"

"In a way. I don't really know what's wrong with me. Mom said that sometimes I zone out and sometimes I throw stuff. I don't know, I don't usually remember zoning out, and the anger thing.... Well, I can't hold in much of my anger if someone pisses me off." He rubbed his neck absently and sighed, "I never was much one to bottle anger very well. It's...just... Too damned powerful an emotion, ya know?"

Sylk nodded and thumped his pencil on the book he had been looking at. "I can understand that. Have you checked to see if the zoning out was epilepsy?"

Jamie nodded, "Yeah, but I don't go into convulsions or anything. And I don't hear voices in my head."

"Are you on drugs for it? I know that some people can take uppers or downers or something and that helps."

The brunette nodded slowly, "I used to be on something for ADD but that didn't work. I'm supposed to be on an anti-depressant, but it makes me sick so I don't actually take them all the time." He rubbed the back of his neck again and glanced at the white-haired teen through his bangs, "Ya know, you're the only one besides my parents and doctor who actually knows. The teachers at school just think I go to a physician all the time."

"That makes me feel special, Jamie, thanks."

"Yeah...well...." He blinked when Sylk wrapped an arm around his neck and gently nuzzled his temple.

"Ya got me... for whatever reason you want," Sylk whispered.

Jamie blushed pink and he ducked his head to hide it. "Thanks, Sylk."

"No problem," the white haired teen said and smiled. He cocked his head slightly and leaned towards Jamie. Jamie's blush deepened slightly and he bit his bottom lip as Sylk murmured in his ear, "I think you got windburn, your cheeks are red."

The brunette rolled over on the bed and rubbed his face. "I'm okay, it's just.... Warm in here, that's all."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"'Cause it looked to me you were blushing."

"Shaddup!"

"You were blushing," Sylk said in a sing-song tone and he was tackled. They both fell off the waterbed as they wrestled and that landed Sylk on top. He quickly straddled the brunette's hips and leaned down to purr in his ear, "I win, you were blushing!"

Jamie scowled and looked away, ignoring the fact that he was on the floor with an apparently sexually-precocious teenager on his stomach...that or it was Jamie's mind playing tricks on him. He sat up and dislodged the white haired teen long enough to get to his feet before his shoulder was grabbed and a soft, very warm, breath breathed in his ear. His cheeks flushed crimson and he covered his face with his hands. That could NOT have been just his mind.

"I'm going to go find some sodas, be right back."

He nodded, though he barely heard him, and Sylk left the bedroom. When he was gone, Jamie dropped his hands and sank into his bed, wondering why he blushed at every little thing that Sylk did. He didn't react like this to other people...just him. He pondered on this line of thought for a little while, his head resting in his hands and just staring at the opposite wall.

Deep down... This was going to aggravate him to no end.

He jumped when he felt something cool brush his cheek and he looked up to find Sylk standing there with a can of soda held out. He had brushed the cold can against the brunette's cheek to get his attention.

"Glad you're still alive. Here, ya look like ya need it," Sylk said and Jamie took the soda. He ruffled his friend's hair and flopped down again, popping the top on his own soda can and taking a long swig.

"Thanks. Are you gay, Sylk?"

Sylk choked at the bluntly asked question and for a moment he couldn't breathe. He stared at the brunette in utter shock. He shook his head to regain his composure and cocked his head slightly, "Depends on your definition of gay."

"Homosexual."

That was....incredibly blunt. "Does it matter?" he asked slowly and Jamie shook his head.

"Just wondering."

"Do you ask everyone that question three days after you meet them?"

"No."

"Then why ask me?"

"You.... You cause, no not cause, you make me do things that I don't normally do. Like the karaoke. I don't sing for my family, let alone other people, but you made me get up there and sing without even trying."

"It's called charisma."

"It's called manipulating!" Jamie hissed.

"Would you like me to leave?" Sylk asked softly and he was latched onto, Jamie burying his face in the slightly taller teen's neck.

"No, never! You promised not to leave me. It's just.... I don't know what it is."

"Are you sure you're not gay?" he teased gently and he was smacked lightly, teasingly.

"Shaddup," Jamie said with a crooked grin.

"You are easily manipulated," he observed and was immediately tackled to the bed.

"I knew it! I KNEW you were manipulating me!" Jamie exclaimed and then growled playfully. He butt his head gently against Sylk's and growled again. "Grr, I growl at you."

Sylk laughed and pat the top of the brunette's head like he was a pet dog. "Nice Jamster, good boy, Jamster. No growling at Sylk."

"Woof," Jamie replied and whined before snuffling in Sylk's ear. "I are dog, hear me bark. Woof!"

"What is it, Lassie? Is Timmy stuck in the well? Fallen off a cliff? Into the ravine? How about the lake?"

"Woof, bark!"

"Well, serves him right," Sylk said and that caused the brunette to laugh.

"Oh, God, that was funny," Jamie said as he calmed. "You make me laugh, I like that."

"I've noticed that. You're easily amused."

"Just when it comes to you, Sylk."

"Why thank you- hey, wait, are you calling me a clown?"

"Me? Oh, no, I would never do that!" Jamie replied, looking shocked. He managed to keep a straight face until Sylk narrowed ice-blue eyes and stuck his tongue out. Then he cracked and a half-giggle crept out. It was bubbly and almost contagious and Sylk was slightly shocked that a boy, let alone a teenager, could make that sound. But it sounded it should come from the chuckling brunette and Sylk couldn't help but smile.

Yeah, he was liking Jamie more and more every minute they spent time together.

Sylk growled at Jamie and the brunette smiled innocently. "What time do you think it is?"

"I dunno, what time do you think it is?"

"Could be any time."

"'Cept for late at night."

"'Makes you say that?"

"It's not dark."

"Good point," Jamie said and looked at his window. Snow fell silently and the brunette slid raspberry-brown orbs to look at the teenager beneath him. "It's snowing again."

"Is it?" Sylk shifted to sit up and Jamie dropped an arm on the white haired teen's shoulder in order to keep from falling off the bed. "Wow, more snow. I don't often see snow."

"Why not? Aren't you from the north?"

The teen shook his head. "No, whatever gave you that idea?"

"Well, you said that you couldn't handle heat very well," Jamie said, his cheeks flushed pink in embarrassment. "I...I assumed that you were from up north...."

"It's okay, you didn't know. I usually spend the summers with my granddad on the coast a coupla states north from here. Winter I spend farther south, generally where it doesn't snow....well, used to spend farther south. I guess this'll be our new place for winter, at least until we move again."

The brunette stared at the white haired teen before averting his eyes and looking out the window again. "You just moved here....and you're leaving already?"

"Uh-uh! I ain't leaving this place 'cept for under pain of death and even THEN Mom and Dad would have to drag me out kicking and screaming. I've not stayed anywhere longer than a school year for the past coupla years and I'm not moving again, dammit!" Sylk growled and ducked his head against Jamie's shoulder. "It makes me so mad, Jamster."

"I know how that can feel. When you're under the influence of forces you don't approve of and can't fix it because you're underage," Jamie whispered. The weight on his shoulder left and Sylk's arms slipped around his waist and he was hugged tightly.

"Hey," Sylk's voice murmured in Jamie's ear. "Let's go out and take a walk. We need some fresh air."

---

"So then you take the snowball, stick it in the muffler like this, and Ta-DA! Your car won't start."

"Kinda like a poor man's potato, huh?" Sylk noted as he pulled the snowball out of the exhaust pipe. "That's a novel idea. And no finger prints, either."

"Yeah, but the downside is the snowball melts if you keep gunning the engine since the exhaust is so warm."

"So it's not much help, huh?"

"Not really, no, but it'll give ya enough of a head start to get the hell out."

"Novel idea to avoid bullies. I'll remember that. But wouldn't it just be easier if you beat the shit outta the dumbass?"

Jamie stared at the other teen. "Sylk, have you not seen me? I'm a prime target and even if I took the kick-boxing lessons I wanted then I'd still get beat up just for being weird."

"What's wrong with weird?"

He laughed shortly and shook his head, "Ah, my friend, you have a lot to learn about the jerks at my school. It's not just the kids, it's the teachers, too."

"I think I can take care of myself, Jamie, trust me."

"Alright, but I'm not driving you to the hospital if you get too deep into it. I will call 911, though."

"You don't have to worry, I'll be just fine."

"But you're....."

"I'm what?"

"...nothing. It's not important," Jamie said and packed more snow into a ball. He'd almost said that his friend was feminine.... Girly. That he'd be a prime target because of his appearance. He didn't want his friend hurt, but he couldn't just up and say that the white haired teen would be considered gay as the day was long because he was so pretty..... Hell, he couldn't even admit outside of his head that his friend, though obviously male, was really very pretty.

"What is it, Jamster?"

"It's....just....Sylk.... Man, you look like a girl," he blurted and flushed deep pink.

Sylk stared blankly at him before collapsing in a pile of hysterical laughter. Jamie blinked at the reaction and flushed a deeper shade.

"Hey, it's not funny, Sylk!"

"Trust me, Jamie, I know very well how I appear to other people," the teen chuckled and stood up, patting the snow from his clothes before his clapped both hands on Jamie's shoulders. "I've had to deal with my looks for a long time, I know how to handle all the abuse, man. One fight and that's all it takes and believe me when I say I avoid fights like the plague."

Jamie looked his friend up and down, taking in the gray and black jacket and dark gray shirt. He looked like he could hold his own in a fight, but he was still kinda girlish looking. "After the first fight I'll know whether or not to place bets on ya."

"That's so very comforting," Sylk said sarcastically and swept the brunette off his feet bridal-style for the second time that day. "How's about this; I'll watch your back and you watch mine."

Jamie squeaked at the suddenness of being lifted off his feet and flung his arms around Sylk's neck, nearly dropping his snowball, and muttered acidly, "God, Sylk, warn me first!"

"Whadda I gotta do to convince ya that I can hold my own?"

"You're asking me?"

"Your mind, I gotta do something to change it," the white haired teen said with a slight shrug. Or at least the best shrug he could do while holding a 5'5" teenager in his arms.

Jamie narrowed his eyes before dropping the snowball on Sylk's head so it broke. "You're a tactile personality, aren't you?"

Sylk cocked his head slightly and rolled his eyes towards the sky. "Maybe just a little bit," he admitted with a slight smile.

The brunette chuckled and dusted the snow off the white satin locks of hair, "Gonna hafta take care of that before school starts up again."

"Hey, man, so long as no one else touches me I'll be happy," Sylk said with a serious nod.

"Whassa matta, you no likey people either?"

"No, I think it's just....adults.....ya know?"

"Well, that's silly, you're going to be an adult soon, aren't you? So what's the point?" Jamie asked and wiggled to be let down.

Sylk set his friend back on his feet and shrugged silently.

"Come on, let's get some food, I've got the munchies and Mom makes a mean Pasta e Fagioli," Jamie said and wrapped his arms around one of Sylk's before pulling him back towards home. "Kinda like a soupy chili with little noodles," he explained to the slightly confused look on his friend's face. "Really tasty."

Sylk cocked his head at the coaxing tone and nodded, "Sure, I'll try it."

"Yay! You're gonna love it, I promise," Jamie said gently and rubbed the side of his face against Sylk's shoulder like a cat.

The white haired teen smiled slightly and entwined his fingers with Jamie's. "Probably will," he replied. "Pretty sure you wouldn't steer me wrong."

"That's funny, little ol' me steering a self proclaimed psychopath to the darker side of the dark side."

"Where the dirt and grime is so deep it's just the beginning," Sylk said with a nod.

Jamie chuckled, "Ya know, you really should write that down. Make for an impressive story thingy."

"I don't write stories, though, I write papers and essays and junk."

"Not that far of a jump, if you think about it."

"Think it's a little bit more complicated than that, Jamie."

"How do you know? You ever try?"

"Used to, yeah."

"I don't suppose you managed to keep any of those short stories, huh?"

"Actually, I think Mom kept them. I didn't think they were any good, the grammar and all is okay and there's little to no plot at all, but she said they were well written for my age and she wanted to keep them."

"Can I read them? Please?"

"Depends."

"On what?"

"On what I get in return," Sylk teased. A squeak escaped his throat when he was tackled and the two teenagers went down in a pile of snow.

"What do you want in return?" Jamie asked from his new place on Sylk's stomach.

Sylk screwed his eyes up to look at the sky in thought and finally slid his ice-blue-eyes to gaze at the lightly shivering brunette. "The cold's getting to you already, let's go back inside," he noted. "We got soup awaiting us."

"Nah-uh, tell me what you want from me in return," Jamie pressed. He ducked his head and shook it so the tips of his hair could tickle the pale cheeks. "Tell me or I torture ya."

Sylk smiled slightly crookedly and shook his head. "Can't torture someone when you don't know their weaknesses."

"Well, let me see," Jamie said in thought, one finger pressed to his lips and nibbling gently on the nail before ticking the list off on his fingers. "You're tactile, you have a thing for making me do stuff, and you don't like cherries in your ice crème."

"Right."

"And for reasons beyond my comprehension you seem to like me enough to befriend me."

"Of course. You're an interesting specimen of the human race."

"Ha ha, very funny," Jamie growled playfully and dumped a handful of snow on Sylk's head.

"Ya know, this snow is cold, and I'm getting wet."

Jamie suddenly grinned wildly and stood before reaching down and gently tugging Sylk to his feet by his jacket collar. He flung one arm around the slightly taller teen's neck and pressed their faces together, gently rubbing his nose against Sylk's. "You know what that is?"

"Eskimo kisses," Sylk breathed in mild shock.

"Yup!"

"Why show me that?"

"Something told me to," he murmured and smiled again before finally pulling Sylk back towards home. "I'm hungry and a Jamie needs to be fed every once in a while, ya know."

"You are one sick, sick, puppy," Jamie muttered at his reflection. He and Sylk had gotten back to the house and asked Mrs. Davis to make them soup. She had agreed and they ate it up almost as fast as she could make it. He had been a little surprised how much he and the white haired teen had eaten, but then again they were still growing boys.

Watching the white haired teen carefully lick some soup out of his bowl had immediately brought a bright red blush to Jamie's cheeks and he had hastily excused himself. Hence his relocation to the upstairs bathroom.

When Jamie was finally rid of the flush, he came down and found the kitchen empty; Sylk's bowl had been rinsed and was resting in the sink along with his spoon and glass. He picked up his own bowl and utensils, rinsed them, and went in search of his friend.

He found the white haired teen in the living room sitting lotus-style on the ottoman clad in a pair of deep purple boxers and his dark gray shirt. Looking around, he found his mother calmly reading a book, in a chair situated near the fireplace where Sylk's jeans hung so the heat from the fire could dry out the long black cuffs. Violin music played on the CD player and it took Jamie a moment to realize that his friend had his eyes closed with his wrists resting on the bare knees. He looked to be meditating.

One eye opened, an almost blinding white-light blue before the single eye blinked and was the ice-blue he knew them to be.

"Hey, took ya long enough," Sylk said as he uncurled his legs. Jamie's cheeks flushed slightly, those boxers were surprisingly short. "Thought for a sec ya fell in."

"No, I was... I had to replace the toilet paper," he murmured and Sylk nodded.

"Know how that is, man, I share my bathroom with my brother and he never puts a new roll on the stupid tube."

I want to kill you, Jamie thought in the back of his head as Sylk stood and stretched his arms over his head, stretching his whole body and his shirt slipped up to reveal a pale plane of skin. The white haired teen yawned lightly and ran his hands through his hair, thoroughly messing the white locks up before he shook his head and allowing it to settle back into place.

"Oh, I love this part!" Sylk said and closed his eyes, swaying slightly to the violin. "Wish I could play," he added wistfully.

"Well, honey, why don't you learn?" Mrs. Davis asked.

"I couldn't do that," Sylk replied. "I'm tone-deaf. It would be an insult to musicians worldwide."

Jamie thought back to yesterday at the karaoke bar and rose an eyebrow. Sylk was lying about being tone-deaf. "You could pretend," he said softly.

"I could," the white haired teen said, looking at Jamie. He winked slowly and murmured, "besides, my talents lay quite content in other departments."

"It's good to know that some teenagers have hobbies. Unlike one teenager I know," Mrs. Davis teased.

"Hey, I resemble that remark!" Jamie growled playfully at his mother. "I got hobbies."

"Name one," she challenged cheerfully and Jamie pointed to Sylk. "I don't think he counts, honey."

"I can count! Watch me, one, two, skip a few, ninety-nine, one hundred!" Sylk said, acting the vapid blonde.

"Yeah, yeah, you can count," Jamie said.

"Yay, I'ma hobby-ee."

"Is that even a word?"

"Yeah. Hobby-ee, adverb, person who is considered a hobby. Pastime pursuit, diversion, entertainment," he ended in a soft purr.

"Are you making that up?"

"Me? Would I do that?" Sylk pointed to himself and tried to look innocent. Being in a shirt and very short boxers, it wasn't working very well.

"You are so making that up."

"I am," Sylk purred sweetly. "It's not a word. Hobbyist is, but not hobby-ee."

"You're so weird and getting weirder by the minute," Jamie muttered and Sylk grinned like an idiot.

"That's what you like about me," he purred again, making the brunette blush lightly.

"Shaddup and put on some pants."

"Oh, but they're wet!" Sylk said in a pity-me tone. "You should know how wet they'd gotten, you were the one who got me that wet in the first place. After all, I don't recall giving you permission to throw yourself at me into a snow drift."

"You brat!" Jamie riled and clenched his hand into a fist. With one swift movement he grabbed his friend and tossed him onto the couch before attacking.

"No wrestling in the living room," Mrs. Davis said in a monotone, having gone back to reading while her son and friend played.

"Yes, Mama," Jamie said from his place on Sylk's abdomen, and promptly went back to pretending to strangle the pretty bleached haired boy.

"He'p, Mrs. D, being strangled here!" Sylk pretended to gasp and reached up to tickle the brunette in retaliation.

"Don't hurt each other, boys," she replied and turned a page.

"We won't," they chorused and looked up when the CD player stopped.

"Don't you think," Jamie said. "that it would be faster if we simply threw your pants into the dryer?"

"Yeah, duh."

"Then why wasn't that done? Why sit next to the fireplace?" he questioned.

Sylk blinked up at him as if the brunette had missed the most obvious thing in the world. "Would be pretty silly to run the dryer just for a single pair of pants. That's why."

"Are you sure you didn't have any ulterior motives?" Jamie asked in a low tone, low enough for only his pale skinned friend to hear. The white haired teen cocked his head and kept looking up at him, silently questioning, and Jamie sighed. "Nevermind."

Are you really that innocent, Jamie thought as he let his friend up. Or are you making me ask to make me embarrassed?

He squeaked when Sylk flung his arms around his neck and rubbed his head against Jamie's. "Ack, hey, wait, Sylk! Leggo, man! My mother's in the room!" he hissed and fell backwards, Sylk landing on top. "Geeze, what are you, a touch-aholic?"

"Your mom isn't in the room anymore and yes, I am, but only around certain people," Sylk grinned cheerfully down at the brunette.

"Eh? Where'd she go?" Jamie asked, looking around for his one hope against Sylk's apparent need for touch.

"Dunno," Sylk replied with a shrug and snuggled against Jamie's chest and closed his eyes. "Chilly in here, even with the fireplace on. You're warm."

"Oddity," Jamie sighed and messed up the fluffy white hair, earning a soft purr as he did so. He examined the white locks of satin, wondering if it was his true colour or a dye, before he remembered he had considered it bleached when he first met the cool-skinned teen. He inhaled the scent of Sylk's shampoo, something cool and clean like aloe and cucumber, and he tugged the blanket from the back of the couch and tossed it over Sylk's bare legs.

"Jamie."

"Hn."

"Jamie, dear, wake up."

Twin raspberry/brown eyes opened and looked up at similar eyes. His mother's. He rubbed his right eye with his palm and cocked his head until it popped. "Not sleeping. Being slept on," he corrected the brunette woman.

"Really, now? That's interesting. Because it looked as you been sleeping for the past couple hours to me," she teased gently and smiled.

Jamie scowled at her. "What do you need?"

"Sylk's pants are dry now. You think he wants to put them on or just hang out with you half naked?"

"Mama!"

She chuckled softly at the flush that appeared on her only son's cheeks and ruffled his hair. "Wake your friend, dear, so he can get his clothes back on."

"Sylk, wake up, man," Jamie said and nudged his still sleeping friend. "Geeze, man, you sleep an awful lot. Don't you sleep at night?"

"Mmph," Sylk replied and buried his face in Jamie's neck.

The raspberry/brown eyes narrowed before the brunette retaliated.

"HEY! Dammit, Jamie, can't you wake someone a little more gently?!" Sylk hissed from the floor.

"Sorry, man, but ya gotta get up," Jamie said, looking down at the white haired teen with a wide grin before his sense of worry took over and he put his hand on Sylk's head. "You hurt?"

"Nah, I'm indestructible," Sylk replied and stood to stretch his back and legs. "Mmm, I feel good."

"Yeah, you look happy."

"That's because I'm well rested and had a nap," Sylk replied cheerfully, picking up his plain black jeans and slipping them on. Next he leaned over and whispered a soft purr in Jamie's ear, "and now I'm perfectly warm and content."

Jamie clamped a hand over his mouth and blushed hard, squeezing his eyes shut and hoping fervently that his blush would subside.

"Holy shit you're bleeding!"

"What?" Jamie asked, opening his eyes again.

Sylk slipped his thumb over Jamie's top lip and pulled back to show blood. "You got a nose bleed. Did you hit yourself or something?"

"Ack, no, I'm fine. It happens when I'm in dry air for too long. It dries me out and then I just bleed. Dad can crack his skin open in the winter months," Jamie said and tilted his head back to stem the flow. Shit, shit, shit! Why did this happen, now of all times and places?

Sylk had disappeared from the room and returned with a makeshift ice-pack and paper towels. "Hold still, okay?"

"O-okay," the brunette replied and let his friend tend to the blood.

The blood was stemmed and Sylk flopped down next to Jamie. "You feel better now?"

"Yeah, thanks."

"Hey, I bet I know what would make ya feel even better."

"Like what?" Jamie asked, watching his friend warily.

Sylk grinned. "Cake! Let's go!"

"Go where?" Jamie questioned as he was pulled to his feet and tugged to the door.

"The Emporium, where else?" Sylk replied cheerfully as he slipped his jacket back on and tossed Jamie his.

End of Chapter Two