In My Memory

Chapter 4

The moment Ant looked into his eyes, Dec felt his heart suddenly beat faster. He found himself gravitating closer to Ant. Dec hadn't felt this kind of intense attraction since he first laid eyes on Stephen.

The thought of Stephen made Dec pull away from Ant, creating space between them on the bench. Dec broke eye contact with Ant and diverted his gaze towards the pond. Sensing the awkwardness, Ant scooted away as well and looked out into the pond.

Dec fidgeted with the sleeve of his jacket as he tried to think of something to say and break the silence. Luckily for Dec, he didn't have to do much more thinking because nature intervened.

Huge drops of water started to fall from the grey London sky. Dec hurriedly shot to his feet and pulled of his jacket and draped it over his and Ant's head.

Ant got up himself and grabbed Dec's hand. "Come on, man! Let's go to my house!"

With Hurley leading the way, the lads ran back to Ant's house, hands intertwined the whole way. By the time they reach the house, the two were soaked to the bone, despite being under Dec's jacket.

Once inside the house, Ant let go Dec's hand and knelt down to take off the lead from Hurley's collar.

"That was quite the walk, wasn't it Hurls?" Ant said as he scratched Hurley underneath his ears. He then straightened up and noticed Dec shivering. "Youse cold, man. Go on to me upstairs bathroom while I get youse some dry clothes to change in to."

"No, I'm fi-"

"Don't say youse fine. You're visibly tremblin'." Ant placed his hands on Dec's shoulder, turned him around, and started guiding him upstairs. "Come on, Hurley. Follow us upstairs. Youse need some dryin', too."

Ant's hands still on his shoulders, Dec couldn't help but tense at the contact. He thinks Ant may have noticed because once they reached the top of the stairs, Ant dropped his hands from his shoulders.

"The bathroom is the last door on the right. There's some towels in the cupboard; youse can use those to dry up." Pointing at the other hallway, Ant continues, "I'm just poppin' over to me room and change me clothes. I'll be over in a bit with some clothes for youse."

Ant headed towards his room with Hurley not far behind. Dec followed Ant's directions and went into the bathroom. Once he was in the privacy of the bathroom, Dec gripped the sink and looked at himself in the mirror.

"What's goin' on with youse, man?" Dec asked his reflection. He sighs and runs a hand over his face.

Dec is so confused with his feelings for Ant at the moment. Everything had been fine between them until that one moment at the park. Something within Dec was awakened that suddenly made him change the way he saw Ant.

Now, all he wants to do is be the person to dispel all of Ant's insecurities, to be the person to hold him and kiss-

"No, no, no!" Dec shook his head, not finishing that last thought. "Youse can't think of Ant like that. He's yer friend...and besides, youse only known him for a a few days."

He ran a hand through his hair in an attempt to calm himself down. "It's just a crush, okay? Just a crush," Dec sternly told his reflection. "Nothin' more than a crush. You gotta hide these feelings, man...especially from Stephen. You don't want a repeat of last time..."

Flashback

"How was your day?" Stephen asked as Dec entered their home.

"Tirin' as usual. The restaurant was a lot busier today." Dec collapsed on the sofa and kicked off his shoes. He closed his eyes and continued on, "Good thing a new waiter came in today. Definitely needed the extra hand. He was quite helpful. Cool guy, too. Really funny and quite the looker," Dec said with a small smile.