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Simon Nessman as Asher such a hot muthafucka

*Asher's POV*

My love life was a difficult and complicated reality.

I was definitely not the romantic type, so usually, I was the one who failed in relationships. But it wasn't as if I did all those little stupid things on purpose; standing up

him or her on dates, forgetting anniversaries and missing important events. I'd been free

from relationships for almost two years, so I used that time to focus on stomping out bad habits.

I wasn't expecting to be falling in love so hard again. I guessed that was just my weakness. One could imagine how astonished - and relieved - I felt upon hearing that

Nolan was fine with dating another male... but I was also very afraid. I also didn't think that Shane, the boy I'd met at his house, was his ex either.

"Maybe you and Kalani can just spend the day together. I'll keep Nolan company," I told Justin as he held onto Kalani's hand.

He raised an eyebrow. "W-well, we were going to see the house after we ate, remember?"

"Yeah, but do you really want him to hang out with his ex?" I questioned. He sighed.

"We can reschedule," Kalani suggested. "It's okay, baby. We'll just go eat."

Justin nodded, not bothering to protest against his love. He faced me, turning serious and giving me a look that told me to take caution.

"If his breath picks up erratically, he's in panic mode. So you're gonna rub circles on his back, hold his hand, and calm him down. Remind him to focus on his breathing techniques because if he doesn't think about it, he'll stop breathing completely and pass

out. You're smart, figure the rest out. Just please don't panic when he panics because it'll freak him out even more. To prevent an attack altogether, keep him as busy as possible. Don't take my seriousness personally, I trained and grilled his ex-boyfriend too."

I smirked. "I can handle it, I promise. I'll call you if I'm concerned."

"Alright. Thanks." Justin released Kalani's hand and moved closer to the stairs. "Nolan!" he called.

"Yeah?" came the angelic voice, then some thumps on the staircase. He came into view, his school outfit now changed to regular, stay-at-home clothes. His carefully-styled hair was now a mess, but it looked better that way if I were to be honest.

"Asher wants to keep you company, so... Kalani and I are gonna just go out to eat and some other things. I'll see you soon okay?"

"Okay. Drive safely."

"I will." Justin pulled his brother into a hug before saying goodbye and letting go.

"Hi, Nolan!" Kalani waved, a bright smile on her naturally tan face. She ran up to him then caught him in a tight hug, rocking him from side to side. "Oh, my baby!"

Nolan chuckled. "Hey, Kalani. I never got to see your ring." He beamed and examined the ring on her finger. "Oh, man, Justin. That looks expensive."

Justin shrugged. "It... yeah, it was."

Kalani laughed and grabbed Justin's hand again. "I heard you were in the hospital, Nolan. I couldn't come see you like I wanted, but I'm so glad you're okay."

"Yeah. Thanks."

"Okay. We're gonna head out." Justin led his fiancée out the house and Nolan took the liberty of locking the door after them. He sighed and turned to me, clasping his hands together.

"You're okay?" I queried, stepping a bit closer. He nodded quickly and sucked in a deep breath.

"Just fine. Um, what should we do?"

"Well, what helps you get your mind off of things? I'm sure you've had a rough week." I raised my eyebrow.

He chuckled at that. "I know, and it's just Wednesday." He picked up the TV remote and turned it on before flipping through the channels.

"You guys got popcorn? We could watch movie marathons," I suggested. He nodded.

"Yeah. I like romantic comedies and surprisingly horror even though they makes me hyperventilate if they're too scary."

I laughed lightly. "Alright, well, you can find something that intrigues you, and I'll do the popping."

I went to the kitchen and heard his voice call out to me. "Wait, what kind of stuff do you like to watch?"

"Um... I don't really watch TV much, but I do like action and dystopian movies."

"I like dystopian, too! Hmm... what about Inception?"

"Sure!"

I made sure I kept a very reasonable distance between myself and Nolan. Obviously, we hadn't given ourselves the title as friends, partly because of me and partly because we were just an inch above acquaintances. But it seemed as if he trusted me. Why else would he want to be alone with me here?

I did want to be friends.

Scratch that; I wanted to be more than friends. I really couldn't help but crush on him, and a part of me felt like that was very wrong because of our six-year age difference...

That was why I told him becoming friends was a bad idea. Besides, his brother was an intelligent lawyer. If I so much as looked at Nolan the wrong way, I'd be screwed. Friend or not.

"So, when's your birthday?" I found myself asking. I was silently hoping it was this month.

"February the twelfth," he replied. I let out a breath. That wasn't too bad.

"When's yours?" he redirected.

"May fourth," I responded.

"What'd you do on your 21st birthday? I know that your 13th, 18th, and 21st birthdays are the most important ones in a young person's life."

"True. I didn't celebrate much if that's what you're asking."

"How come?"

I sighed. "You know how you told me that you've forgiven lots of people?"

He nodded, removing all his attention from the movie.

"Well, I haven't. I didn't forgive then, so it was pointless to celebrate without anyone there for me. I haven't forgiven myself either. That's why you're so right. When you have all those feelings bottled up it just gets harder and harder to let all the mistakes go, including the ones you made."

He stared at me for a while before smiling and putting a hand atop mine. "Then let's celebrate every birthday you didn't get to. You have someone to have fun with. Me."

I laughed. "How do you suppose we do that?"

"We can bake something together. A little cake would be fun." He beamed, and I couldn't say no to such bright eyes and excited smile. Plus, I had to keep him busy.

"Okay," I accepted.

He put the popcorn down and practically flew to the kitchen. I smiled and followed him as he started throwing out ingredients on the counters, some even I hadn't heard of before.

"Should I look up how to make a cake?" I pulled out my phone.

"No, no, no." He lowered my phone. "I know how to do it. You'll help, right?"

"Yeah," I promised. He opened the refrigerator and brought out a jug of milk and some eggs. "What flavor's this gonna be?"

"Whatever you want it to be," he insisted.

I smirked. "Vanilla."

"Oh, good. That's all I had."

I laughed and he joined in, grabbing a bowl.

***

"There. My little masterpiece," Nolan gushed as he lit the three candles on the cake. He put two right next to each other and one candle farther away, to signify the numbers 2 and 1 - so 21. "We have to celebrate your 22nd and 23rd, too, someday," he added.

I smiled at him, but that smile fell quickly. "And 18th... and 16th... and 19th..."

He pouted. "What happened?" he quietly asked. I snapped out of it.

"Nothing. Don't wanna dampen the mood."

He caught the message, realizing I didn't want to talk about it. "Make a wish." He nodded towards the lit candles. I chuckled and leaned closer, blowing out the candles.

I already knew what I wanted.

Nolan.

*******

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