“Montrero,” he said slowly testing the name on his tongue. He had no clue if it was just a hiccup on the side of a road or an actual town. He had not been away from his small radius of school, Mira-Anna’s and his own house. He sat up like someone poked him in the back with a sharp object. “Six hours? Damn girl, you could be a truck driver if you keep that up.” His brow knitted in thought. “But beware of the black dog.” He made the last two words as creepy sounding as possible wiggling his fingers. He was pretty sure she hadn’t seen that movie and wouldn’t understand the context of the statement. 

Vince’s head tilted to the side when she plopped on the bed causing him to bounce slightly. He giggled softly. His smile faded at the question, his eyes dropped to his hands. What did he remember? He remembered blood dumped on his rented tux. Yea, he wasn’t getting his deposit back. He raked a hand through his hair, which stopped at the place where the bucket had collided with his head. There was no bump or tender spot. Odd. 

The laughter from the crowd and his best friend screaming, distant like a movie. He had seen the video online and had reported it to the site manager in hopes they would be smart enough to remove it. He never checked back to see if they had. He planned to sue if they were still allowing people to see it. “I saw colors weaving and flowing around me, in me and through me,” he touched his chest. “All I could hear was rage, like roaring of a thousand tigers. It was so loud, but it didn’t hurt.” His gaze flipped to her face. “You would never hurt me Anna. Never.” He rolled on his back and peered at the ceiling for a moment his hands resting on his stomach. “Then it was all quiet, I stood up and my tux didn’t come with me.” He let out a strangled laugh, which deepen into a more cheerful sound. “Then I had you in my arms and you were unlocking the door. Then,” he inhaled a deep breath and let it out noisily. “I was standing in the middle of the street, you were at your door and went inside.” He smiled at her, a mischievous smile spread on his lips, rolling on his side his hand propping up his head. “Then I chased you and feel asleep in the back seat.” His finger traced her jaw line. “So, I guess I don’t remember what happened after the stage. Do you want to talk about it? I am here. I have always listened, nothing’s changed in that department.”

Vince brushed some hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. “You know that right?” He scooted a little closer to her resting a hand on her side near her hip. “I am your bo—“ He almost said the committed boyfriend word. He didn’t want to scare her or cause a fight. They had never really officially declared anything between them. “Best friend. Forever.” He would marry her in a heartbeat. Always felt that way in the back of his mind. But he didn’t want to ruin the special bond they had with the topic he was too frightened to even voice. What they shared in that classroom was something he would always treasure. Their first time, giving themselves to each other in such a way. Never in a thousand years did he dream he would have done that at the prom.