There were only four people Aloe could call friends—One being Basil, the others his three dogs.

Even though Basil is surrounded by lots and lots of people he could call friends, Aloe just can’t see himself mirroring that. He’s too terrified to have so many eyes watching him, and if he were to be taken to loud and crowded locations, he’d just end up too petrified by all the overwhelming sensations to even try socializing.

Aloe expected Sage to take him to such a place. In the stories he’s read and the shows he’s watched, people like Sage went to neon-lit bars where people were packed on the dance floor.

Hence, his surprise when he’s taken to a quiet grill with high partitions separating its diners. And because they are seated in the farthest corner, they have all the privacy they could ever want. 

He watches Sage scan the large menu.

“Is there anything you want to eat?”

“Huh?” Aloe flinches when her eyes land on him. He looks at the menu in his hand, a bit overwhelmed by the large selection.“Oh, um, I don’t really know what to get yet. Sorry…”

Sage chuckles as she waves a hand. “Why are you apologizing? You’ve been good to me, Aloe, so just be at ease with me.”

“Sorry. Force of habit.”

“I can see that.”

Despite her sarcasm, her chuckle is light and friendly, putting Aloe’s mind at ease. 

He tries again to scour the menu, but is a bit disappointed to see it’s mostly meat. What little fish or vegetables they had didn't look all that appetizing to him, either.

Aloe wouldn’t label himself a vegan. He still occasionally eats meat, just small portions of it. His stomach just can’t handle anything too heavy, and if he eats beyond what he’s used to, he might just vomit it all out by the end of the night.

“If you can’t decide, do you mind if I order for us?”

“Oh, not at all!” 

I’ll just have a little bit.

Sage pushes the button that calls for a waiter and begins listing out a variety of meat they could grill and some bottles of beer.

All the while, Aloe just looks on, not daring to dissuade the girl from ordering what she wants. She means well, so he doesn’t want to offend her with his own dietary issues. 

I’ll just have a little bit.

When they begin to eat and drink, things are a little awkward and stilted. After all, schoolwork had been the extent of their interactions. 

But with more alcohol in them, they slowly find more and more common ground to talk about.

What starts as Aloe nibbling on skewers and sipping beer turns into several bottles empty and three rounds of skewers eaten. Alcohol eased his inhibitions, and soon enough, his lips became loose.

Without a care in the world, he begins telling Sage about everything that’s happened and everything that he feels. Somewhere in the back of his mind, his rationality is pounding at the door, begging for him to not just out himself like this. 

But because alcohol has muddied his judgment, he turns a blind eye to his rational mind’s pleas.

“So, he just leads you on like that?” Sage asks, her cheeks flushed and eyes a little dazed. 

Aloe hiccups, leaning on the wall beside him as he holds onto a bottle tight. “He didn't—hic—lead me on. I was just bein’ all stupid and assuming shit on my own.”

It’s true.

Despite being kind to Aloe, not once did Basil show signs of romantic interest in him. It’s been years since they met, and Basil has had three, maybe four girlfriends since then. So, it’s Aloe that’s the fool here.

Even though he knows that—accepts it, he tries to convince himself—it still hurts. And the more he thinks about the years he spent pining after the guy, the more he feels like crying.

“Ah! Aloe don’t cry!” Sage jumps up from her seat and moves next to him. 

She hugs him tight, and if he were sober, surely, Aloe would freak out at the sudden contact with a girl like Sage. But right now, he’s miserable and drunk, and he just wants any form of comfort at this point.

So he clings onto her as well, sobbing and crying as he thinks about how many years he’s wasted, all because he couldn’t be normal like the others.

“Ugh, it’s not fair,” Aloe hiccups again. “It’s not fair! Why can’t I just forget about him?!”

Sage snivels. “Urgh, I get you! I totally get you! I’m just like you, all stupid, and can’t forget about a stupid crush!”

“Wh…what do you mean?”

“You see, Aloe, I’ve got this friend,” Sage pauses her sentence to take one long chug of her beer, almost as if she were preparing for what she’s about to say. “I really like her, you know?! I thought I had a chance, but some piece of shit guy I rejected went out with her just to piss me off!”

This time, it’s Aloe that drinks his beer. When he’s done, he raises his empty glass and waves it around. “Guys are the worst!”

“I know right?!”

“I wish I could like girls like you.”

“And I wish girls would like me.”

The two keep on drinking and crying, talking about problems that they could never talk about elsewhere. Despite being from two different worlds, they were able to find solace in someone so different.

Aloe, for the first time, allows himself to feel the emotions he’d been holding back.

The hurt because Basil won’t look his way.

The frustration because he just can’t be normal.

The love he’d kept denying for years.