"Are you kidding me? No way. These things are the worst." He hugs his chest now, pouting, but also trying a little not to laugh. The longer they talk about it, and the more he feels Michael's feelings, the harder it is to be upset. He walks around to the opposite window so he can see Michael's face.

"What are you so happy about? This isn't something..." He trails off, realizing that Michael isn't happy for him, or amused. It doesn't feel like that — like that cotton-candy sweetness dancing over his tongue. It feels like sunlight, bright and beaming and warm.

He thinks back to the past few days, of something that would make Michael so happy. Only Alex really brings that out in him, and he's not here right now.