After Darkness

*11. The friendship*

Being friends with Gawin was a very good thing after all. Krist realized that they got along very well, they had many subjects and tastes in common and after a week of friendship, it seemed that they had known each other their whole lives.

Of course, the way Gawin had taken care of him after the drama club rehearsal was one of the reasons Krist liked him so much, but he realized that Gawin was already one of the people he most enjoyed talking to. On Thursday, the two fell asleep talking on the phone about The Gifted, a series the two started watching together.

The two were also very fond of music. Krist could play the guitar and Gawin was excellent on the piano. They started joking that they were going to launch a duo together, drop everything and make a living out of music. It wasn't a real plan, but they had a lot of fun imagining what it would be like to live on the road, from city to city, playing concerts. It would certainly be very different from the life as doctors they were choosing for them.

On Friday, the two agreed to go out after college. Gawin spoke of a photo exhibition he was very interested in seeing and Krist has turned excited about it. Initially, Gawin would go with Aye, but the girl had a test on Monday and would spend the day studying. When Gawin invited him, Krist could not do otherwise than accept the invitation. It would be a good way to end the week and they could continue to talk about musical tastes, a subject they had been exploring a lot in the last few days.

Krist and Gawin had no common classes on Friday. The two arranged to meet at the cafeteria and from there they would go to the exhibition. When Krist was leaving the Medical Biochemistry class, Mike held him by the arm, wondering why he was in such a hurry.

"Aren't you going to have lunch with us?" Mike pointed with his chin towards where Gun and Off were sitting.

"I can't. Gawin and I are going to an exhibition", he tried to control the excitement this caused in his body. "Anyway, I don't think he'll want to have lunch with me," he nodded toward New. The two looked at their friend, who was distracted sending a message on his cell phone.

"You know he just needs some time, right?"

"I know. I didn't mean to hurt him."

"He knows that too. Trust me!"

"Thanks," Krist said, giving Mike a quick kiss on the cheek and waving to Off and Gun before leaving the classroom.

The two walked for some time in comfortable silence. Afterwards, Gawin proceeded to explain to Krist why he was so interested in this photographic exhibition. It was from a 70-year-old photographer who was launching his last exhibition before retiring. He had photographed some LGBT couples 40 years ago and now he photographed the same couples, those who had stayed together after all this time. It was an exposition about time and love - two of Gawin's favorite subjects.

Krist was touched by the justification. The theme of the exhibition made him even more excited. In fact, going to an exhibition was something he did very rarely, but the idea didn't sound bad. But his friends didn't like that kind of event and Krist was never one to go places alone.

Before going to the event, the two stopped at a diner and ordered pasta. It was a place Gawin had come to often since he stopped going out with Aye and her girlfriend. He knew about that place after First's death, so there was no memory there that was associated with his boyfriend.

"You've never told me about your ex-boyfriends. Have you dated many times?" There was a casual tone, but Gawin's interest in the topic was noticeable.

"Being honest? I've never really dated before. Or never been in love."