The night fell quietly over the town, its weight settling into the corners of Eli's soul. He and Noah had returned to the cottage after their tense meeting with Jason Lin. The air between them was thick with unresolved questions that had been growing since they began this search. But for the moment, the silence seemed to offer some respite—an unspoken truce.
Eli spread out the photos, the yellowed edges curling under his fingertips as he sifted through memories of a time when life hadn't felt so heavy. There was Jesse laughing in the cafeteria, his arms draped around Noah. There was a picture of Eli and Jesse, their faces hidden by the blur of motion, arms wrapped around each other after a long day, their smiles wide.
Jesse's handwriting was scattered across the backs of the photographs, random thoughts penned down, the edges of his notes curling up like fading echoes of the past.
"I remember this," Eli said, holding up a picture of himself and Jesse at a high school bonfire. "He was always so full of life, you know? Like nothing could break him."
Noah's voice was softer than it had been all day. "He was brave. And you… you were always there, Eli. He knew that."
Eli didn't know what to say. He hadn't been brave. He hadn't been enough. But it didn't matter now. They were both fighting ghosts.
As the hours passed, they slowly moved through the memories, through Jesse's notes, through the remnants of the life they had all shared. Their murmurs filled the room—tender, quiet, almost intimate—but there was a wall between them that neither seemed ready to break.
When the last of Jesse's notes fell to the table and the silence lingered too long, Eli felt the barrier between them finally crack. Noah's eyes were on him, and for the first time, there was no hiding.
Noah didn't say anything, but the way his gaze lingered on Eli was enough to make Eli's heart race. The space between them seemed to shrink, their breaths aligning in the stillness of the night.
"You always made me feel like I was more than just… a side character in your life," Eli whispered, his voice rough. "Even when you left… even when everything fell apart, I still felt like you cared. But I—"
Noah reached out then, his hand warm against Eli's cheek. "I never stopped caring, Eli. You have to know that."
Eli's breath hitched, a lump forming in his throat. And before he could second-guess himself, before the weight of the past could drag him down again, he leaned in. Slowly, as if testing the waters, like trying to figure out if this was a moment of weakness or something more.
Their lips met—hesitant at first, both unsure of what it meant. But then something shifted, something deeper, as the years of silence, regret, and longing spilled over in a rush of emotion. The kiss deepened, raw and honest, as though they were both trying to rewrite the past and reclaim what had been lost.
Eli's hands found Noah's shoulders, gripping him as though the kiss could anchor him to the moment, to the chance to make up for everything he'd held back.
But the kiss didn't answer any of the questions that lingered between them. The longing felt like a wound, one that had been buried for years and was now bleeding open.
When Eli finally pulled away, his heart thudded painfully in his chest. He couldn't meet Noah's eyes at first. He stood up quickly, pacing across the room, his mind reeling with the weight of what had just happened.
"What the hell are we doing?" Eli muttered to himself, more to the silence than to Noah. His thoughts tangled in a mix of guilt and confusion. "We're chasing ghosts, Noah. We're chasing something we can never get back."
Noah stood as well, the quiet tension between them thickening. "I don't know what this means, Eli. I don't know if we can ever fix what's broken. But I…" He stopped himself, his hands clenched at his sides. "I've never stopped feeling it. You were always there for me, even when I didn't deserve it. And I think I owe it to both of us to figure this out."
Eli could feel the heat of Noah's words against his skin, but still, there was no easy way forward. They had stepped into uncharted territory, and neither of them knew what would happen next.
"I don't know if I can do this," Eli said quietly, his voice trembling under the weight of it all. "I don't know if I can be the person who makes things right. Not after all the years of pain, regrets… and the truth we're still chasing."
Noah took a step closer, his hand reaching out to touch Eli's wrist. "We don't have to have all the answers right now. We can figure this out, Eli. Together."
But even as Noah's words echoed in the still room, Eli couldn't shake the feeling that the wounds they had both carried for so long—ones that Jesse had left behind—might never heal. The truth was still out there, but so was the pain. And no kiss, no matter how desperate or full of longing, could erase what had been lost.The night fell quietly over the town, its weight settling into the corners of Eli's soul. He and Noah had returned to the cottage after their tense meeting with Jason Lin. The air between them was thick with unresolved questions that had been growing since they began this search. But for the moment, the silence seemed to offer some respite—an unspoken truce.
Eli spread out the photos, the yellowed edges curling under his fingertips as he sifted through memories of a time when life hadn't felt so heavy. There was Jesse laughing in the cafeteria, his arms draped around Noah. There was a picture of Eli and Jesse, their faces hidden by the blur of motion, arms wrapped around each other after a long day, their smiles wide.
Jesse's handwriting was scattered across the backs of the photographs, random thoughts penned down, the edges of his notes curling up like fading echoes of the past.
"I remember this," Eli said, holding up a picture of himself and Jesse at a high school bonfire. "He was always so full of life, you know? Like nothing could break him."
Noah's voice was softer than it had been all day. "He was brave. And you… you were always there, Eli. He knew that."
Eli didn't know what to say. He hadn't been brave. He hadn't been enough. But it didn't matter now. They were both fighting ghosts.
As the hours passed, they slowly moved through the memories, through Jesse's notes, through the remnants of the life they had all shared. Their murmurs filled the room—tender, quiet, almost intimate—but there was a wall between them that neither seemed ready to break.
When the last of Jesse's notes fell to the table and the silence lingered too long, Eli felt the barrier between them finally crack. Noah's eyes were on him, and for the first time, there was no hiding.
Noah didn't say anything, but the way his gaze lingered on Eli was enough to make Eli's heart race. The space between them seemed to shrink, their breaths aligning in the stillness of the night.
"You always made me feel like I was more than just… a side character in your life," Eli whispered, his voice rough. "Even when you left… even when everything fell apart, I still felt like you cared. But I—"
Noah reached out then, his hand warm against Eli's cheek. "I never stopped caring, Eli. You have to know that."
Eli's breath hitched, a lump forming in his throat. And before he could second-guess himself, before the weight of the past could drag him down again, he leaned in. Slowly, as if testing the waters, like trying to figure out if this was a moment of weakness or something more.
Their lips met—hesitant at first, both unsure of what it meant. But then something shifted, something deeper, as the years of silence, regret, and longing spilled over in a rush of emotion. The kiss deepened, raw and honest, as though they were both trying to rewrite the past and reclaim what had been lost.
Eli's hands found Noah's shoulders, gripping him as though the kiss could anchor him to the moment, to the chance to make up for everything he'd held back.
But the kiss didn't answer any of the questions that lingered between them. The longing felt like a wound, one that had been buried for years and was now bleeding open.
When Eli finally pulled away, his heart thudded painfully in his chest. He couldn't meet Noah's eyes at first. He stood up quickly, pacing across the room, his mind reeling with the weight of what had just happened.
"What the hell are we doing?" Eli muttered to himself, more to the silence than to Noah. His thoughts tangled in a mix of guilt and confusion. "We're chasing ghosts, Noah. We're chasing something we can never get back."
Noah stood as well, the quiet tension between them thickening. "I don't know what this means, Eli. I don't know if we can ever fix what's broken. But I…" He stopped himself, his hands clenched at his sides. "I've never stopped feeling it. You were always there for me, even when I didn't deserve it. And I think I owe it to both of us to figure this out."
Eli could feel the heat of Noah's words against his skin, but still, there was no easy way forward. They had stepped into uncharted territory, and neither of them knew what would happen next.
"I don't know if I can do this," Eli said quietly, his voice trembling under the weight of it all. "I don't know if I can be the person who makes things right. Not after all the years of pain, regrets… and the truth we're still chasing."
Noah took a step closer, his hand reaching out to touch Eli's wrist. "We don't have to have all the answers right now. We can figure this out, Eli. Together."
But even as Noah's words echoed in the still room, Eli couldn't shake the feeling that the wounds they had both carried for so long—ones that Jesse had left behind—might never heal. The truth was still out there, but so was the pain. And no kiss, no matter how desperate or full of longing, could erase what had been lost.