Numbers.

Oli walked through the grocery store, his list gripped tight in his fingertips. If he were to lose it, he'd surely pay the consequences. They didn't need very many groceries, since Mike and himself were moving in only three short days. The apartment was just so barren, Mike wanted some snacks laying around.

Mike had made him wait to go until it was late at night, around one in the morning. People don't ask many questions at night, and Mike didn't want his precious boyfriend to be taken away from him. Oli paced himself as his dull hazel eyes scanned the aisle in search of Mike's favorite fruit snacks. He's focused, and the world around him is fuzzy and irrelevant. So when his shopping cart slams into someone, his face blushes a wild red in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry!" He squeals, rushing to help the fallen person off. They actually look sort of odd, wearing a hat and sweatpants to the grocery store. Well, Oli figured that the stranger didn't care about his appearance either. At least not at this time of night. But when the stranger stood up, and turned to Oli, his heart melted in his chest and dripped down at Oli's feet. It was Josh.

Oli couldn't breathe. He couldn't speak. Neither could Josh. So they stood there for a couple moments, staring at each other and basking in the nostalgia of old memories that seemed to only happen yesterday. In reality, it was about a month ago, but to Oli, it still felt nice to see someone who he felt so strongly about. Josh felt the same.

"Hi." Josh finally gets out. He's proud of himself for not allowing his voice to crack, or sound raspy.

"Hello." Oli forces a smile, but he really just wants to throw himself back into his arms, and hold him. He wants to apologize for being so stupid and not staying with him. He wants to be Josh's and Josh's only. He wants Mike to be out of the picture.

Josh also wants Mike to be gone. He was just minding his own business, crouching on the floor and looking at granola bars, when he turned to the left and saw a pair of legs. God, he'd recognize those cute little chicken legs anywhere. The second he saw Oli, staring up at the fruit snacks, he knew something was wrong. The limp in his step was enough to signal something. But when his eyes reached that beautiful face, he realized that it wasn't as beautiful as it was when Josh lost him a month ago.

There's a white bandage covering his nose, signaling that it was more than likely broken, along with the splint on his ring finger. His eye is blackened and swollen, though you can still see the beautiful hazel behind it.

When Oli said hello, and smiled, Josh had also noticed that there was a gap behind the canine tooth in his mouth. Had Mike honestly hit him that hard? His lip was bruised on the outside, right above the gap in his teeth.

"How are you?" Josh asks, feeling as though he already knew the answer.

"Fine," Oli lies, shrugging. "I'm sorry for leaving, okay? I didn't want to."

"I know you didn't. But when did all this happen?" Josh raises his eyebrows.

Oli decides not to lie. "A week ago."

Josh cringes. "I'm sorry I couldn't be there."

"I know." The hazel eyed boy replies shyly, smiling up at Josh.

The other boy smiles. "I love you, y'know."

"I love you too." Oli thinks for a moment. "I'm sorry."

"You don't need to be."