PHOTOGRAPH

Chapter 20

"Don't go freaking out on me." Avi says as he notices the pure panic on Tim's face. "Your secret is safe with me."

Tim nervously runs a hand through his hair as he lowers his eyes to the checkerboard.

"I've not always been nuts, you know. I once had a normal life." Avi says as Tim slowly kings his player before giving Avi his full attention. "I had a beautiful girlfriend named Kirstin. God, I loved her so much. She was my life. I planned on asking her to marry me."

'What happened?' Tim writes on his notepad and slides it over in front of his friend.

"The night that I was going to propose I caught her in bed with a guy that she had been seeing behind my back." Avi sighs. "It destroyed me. I ended up having a mental breakdown. Not only did I lose the love of my love but my friends slowly disappeared as well. That's when t.v. characters became my friends. They were always there for me. Cheering me up. Making me laugh."

Tim reaches over and lays his hand on Avi's.

"Then I met you guys. You're my family." Avi says as he quickly wipes the tears from his eyes. "So, you can trust me to keep your secret. But I'd still like to know who you're messing around with."

Avi smiles as he looks down at the game board. Trying to think of who he had seen Tim spending time with. One person came to mind.

"HOLY MOLY!" He says loudly as he quickly looks up at the brown-eyed man. "I know who it is!"

"Shhhh!" Tim hushes him before he draws attention to them.

"It's Chance." Avi whispers as he leans in toward Tim. "Isn't it."

There was that panic returning to Tim's face again. He lays his hand on his chest as his breathing becomes irregular.

"No, no. Don't you go have one of those panic attacks. Listen to me. I think it's awesome. Just calm down. I promise I won't tell a soul." Avi says as he squeezes Tim's hand. "Breathe."

Tim nods as he tries to control his breathing.

Chance walks into the recreation room. This was his last day off and he was hoping to spend a little time with Tim.

"Hey, Chance." Adam waves from his seat on the floor in front of the television. "Good news. Tim's not going to die."

"That's great news, Buddy." Chance chuckles and gives him a thumbs-up. He continues walking before Adam had a chance to start his rambling.

Avi sees Chance enter the room and quickly motions him over. Chance becomes concerned when he sees Tim resting his head in his hands, breathing heavily.

"Is everything okay?" Chance asks as he stoops down beside the table.

"Tim almost had a panic attack." Avi tells him.

"Timmy? Hun, what's wrong?" Chance asks as he raises up and sits down next to Tim. Rubbing his gently on the back.

Tim scribbles something on his notepad and hands it to Chance.

'Avi knows about us.'

Chance lifts his eyes and meets the green eyes of Avi.

"I told him not to worry that your secret is safe with me. I won't tell a soul." Avi says.

"How ... how did you know?" Chance asks quietly.

"It wasn't too hard to figure out. I once had a girlfriend so I know what hickeys are. And you guys have pretty much been inseparable since you got here. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out." Avi says with a smile. "Not to mention that we caught you kissing, remember?"

"Oh, yeah. I forgot about that." Chance chuckles.

"It all makes sense now." Avi says as he nods his head. He seemed deep in thought.

"What does?" Chance asks.

"Motor-mouth Mitch said he saw Tim coming out of the apartment door. He had been to see you, right?" Avi asks.

Tim begins to write on his notepad.

'I have a key. Tina gave it to me. All the nurses know about me and Chance.'

"Well, if Ms. Tina and the nurses know, what harm would it do to let the others know. Ms. Tina would be the one to worry about. What does it matter what the crazy people think?" Avi asks.

"I ask myself, why are you even here, Avi?" Chance says as he looks to the patient.

"Because I hang out with Kramer, Sheldon, Joey and Chandler." Avi smiles.

"Well, we'll give it some thought but until then let's keep it to ourselves, okay?" Chance says with a warm smile.

"My lips are sealed." Avi smiles.

"Guys, that was an awesome movie." Austin says as he joins them at the table. "Where did Virgil go?"

"Oh, uh, he didn't want to play anymore. I think he went outside." Avi answers.

"May I make a suggestion, Chance, whenever you decide to go to work? We need popcorn. Everyone knows that you're supposed to have popcorn when you watch a movie. Popcorn with lots and lots of butter. It's the law. And Milk Duds. Skittles would be nice too. Oh! And M&Ms. I love M&Ms, don't you? Do you like the regular M&Ms or with peanuts?" Adam rambles. As Chance opens his mouth to speak, Adam continues. "And chocolate covered raisins are awesome. You can pretend that you're eating chocolate covered ants. Why anyone would want to eat chocolate covered ants, I haven't a clue. Have you ever eaten any? Sounds pretty nasty. I watched a show once and they ate grasshoppers, grub worms and even tarantulas. That's sick."

Tim quickly reaches over and lays his hand across his friend's mouth to silence him.

"Thank you, Photograph." Austin chuckles. "I'm getting a headache."

"I'm sorry if I made Y'all sick." Adam starts again once Tim moved his hand. "It made me sick when I watched it. I gagged....."

"Adam!" Chance says as he lays his hand over on the blonde's arm. "I'll see about getting you popcorn for the movies, okay?"

"And Milk Duds, M&Ms, and ....." Adam says before Chance stops him from naming all his favorite candy.

"Yes!! I'll see what I can do!" Chance says.

"And don't forget drinks. I like Mountain Dew." Adam adds.

"Of course not, what's popcorn without something to wash it down with." Chance says.

"So. When do you start to work?" Avi speaks up quickly before Adam had a chance to start naming his favorite beverages.

"Tomorrow." Chance answers.

"So that means you won't be able to spend as much time with us." Avi says as he shifts his eyes over at Tim.

Tim bites his bottom lip as he looks sadly around at his lover.

"I'll always make time for you guys." Chance says as he inches his hand over and rubs Tim's leg under the table.

'You better ;) .' Tim scribbles on the notepad before reaching under the table and taking Chance's hand and gently squeezing it.

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