this straight. It's natural for things to wander in a person's brain, especially things that worry the human minds. Eliazer nudged my elbow with his own, giving me a questioning look as he drove.

"I'm good." I smiled, trying to reassure him as I patted his bicep. Eliazer's head twitched from my contact, I quickly retracted my hand, wondering if it was bothering him. "Are you okay there?"

"Yeah, fine. My necks just a little itchy." He mumbles whilst wavering his eyes. I chuckled, leaning back on my seat. I asked for a lift after I took Benji home in his own car. The poor guy was what the government calls "under the influence". Being the good friend I am, I made sure he sneaked inside his room safely, locking the window too.

I suddenly jerked forward, the only thing saving me from hitting my head was Eliazer's arm which was stretched out. The breaks skidded to a stop as Eliazer immediately got out of the car. I was plain out confused as I saw him bend over in front of the car. Once he rose back up, he held a puppy in his arms.

I mentally awed as he came back inside the car, holding the golden retriever in his big hands.

"Here, hold it." He said, handing me the little pup. It was dirty but other than that he was fine. "You're going to take it home, right."

"Woah, what?" I replied, my eyes wide.

"Your house is big, you're able to provide, he's better off living with you."

"Okay, stop right there. This dog is your responsibility now, you take care of Jared, I'm sure you can take care of him too." I argued, stubborn that he thought he couldn't take care of the puppy. "He's yours."

I sat the puppy on his lap, crossing my arms. It was a battle. Eliazer and the puppy. After a few minutes, Eliazer sighed in defeat, turning on the car and driving towards his apartment. I could tell he was a bit bothered or angry, but damn.

That puppy is irresistible.

Eliazer sighed again once we were in front of his apartment, holding the puppy in his hands. We took the stairs, as usual, heading towards his door. Once inside, Eliazer wouldn't let the dog on the ground. He said he would get the floor dirty, which I don't really understand. Instead, he went into the bathroom, placing the puppy in the tub.

"He's staying there," Eliazer stated, placing his hands on his waist.

"I think you're supposed to take him a bath," I replied flatly.

"You talking to me? He's filthy and just... filthy." He said, scrunching up his nose. I gave Eliazer a look, the only problem was that he looked back at me. Not really the reaction I wanted.

"Fine! I'll do it." I said, kneeling in front of the tub.

"You're making me feel bad so now I'm doing it," Eliazer replied, rolling his eyes and kneeling beside me. "So... How are we going to do this."

"We could just, I don't know. Give him a bubble bath and tomorrow we could just buy him the things he actually needs." I said, turning on the faucet.

"Royal," Eliazer said pointedly.

"What?"

"Royal, his name is Royal."

"Bet you came up with a name the minute you saw him."

"Yeah Bryn, I'm not soft." He replied, grabbing a towel. I chuckled, watching as Royal scooted into a corner of the tub. It's like he was scared, and it hurt me. Eliazer noticed and gently moved him closer to the center. Soon enough, bubbles started to appear.

"Hey, I'll be back," Eliazer said, getting up to go retrieve something. I mumbled, paying real close attention to Royal. I don't know what happened, but I somehow ended up inside the tub. It was most likely me, of course, a puppy couldn't possibly drag me inside a tub. To say it was awkward when Eliazer came back.

"What are you doing?" He asked, a comb in hand.

"I'm trying... To have a connection with Royal?" I said dumbfounded. Eliazer looked at me, I looked right back at him, something that tends to happen a lot. It was like our thing. I broke the moment by failing to throw bubbles at him.

"Did you seriously try to get me?" He said slowly.

"Maybe," I said, a grin growing on my face.

"Well, that was obviously a mistake." He replied with a mischievous smirk. My smile turned upside down as I hastily tried to get out of the tub. Before I could even do that, Eliazer covered my face with bubbles. I grabbed his neck, pulling him inside the bath. Royal had successfully jumped out of the tub, letting out little barks and wagging his tail.

Eliazer laughed, revealing his straight teeth, which was pretty fascinating in my point of view. I mean, how can somebody keep their teeth straight? I leaned in closer to get a better view, which led me to look at his nice lips too. That led me to look at his nose and perfect face structure. And that's when I realized.

This man was beautiful. Inside and out. People just didn't realize this, they don't realize that beauty is only skin deep. The way he thought about others before himself, the way he cared about Jared. The way he kept quiet and kept to himself was the most fascinating thing of all. But I know deep down, he still has more secrets than what he's told me.

At that moment, I don't know what went through me. But I kissed him. I kissed the boy that everyone thought was an oddity, but I didn't care. Because I wasn't like those people. And what surprised me was that his lips moved in sync with mine and it felt amazing. But I pulled away.

I wondered what got through me as I saw his dumbfounded face, and I felt like an idiot. So I ran, I ran out the door and out the apartment. But I ran because I was scared.