Jonny closed his eyes against the night, feeling the night air wind brush against his face. He sighed. This shouldn't have happened, he thought to himself angrily.

Thoughts flooded into him as he remembered what had happened...what had started this early morning.

It was already summer. Jessie had gone to a dig with her mother Estella, coming back in a month. Jonny and Hadji had been bored to death.

Hadji had suggested for them to have a run to the park. Jonny had been surprised. After all, Hadji seemed to like the calmness and to sit silently for an hour. If he was Hadji, he'd suggest that to himself.

But he brushed aside the thought and agreed. They jogged at the park four times, then finally collapsed on a bench.

Hadji was panting. "That was--okay," he said to his friend.

Jonny nodded, too tired to speak. But he saw something that caught his eyes. He grinned. "Hey, Hadj, want some ice-cream? My treat."

"Of course, if it's your treat, why shouldn't I accept?" Hadji smiled.

So they had gone to a nearby stand and bought two cones. They started the trek home, licking their ice-cream all the way and talking. Sometimes, Jonny had noticed, Hadji would look at him and fall silent, and Jonny would want to ask if anything was wrong, but his friend would quickly smile and open another topic.

When Hadji suggested they not go through the front gates and instead walk through the woods to the other gate that was nearer to the wing with their rooms, Jonny had agreed. They had been through the woods for many times, even with Jessie. It wasn't as if they would get lost.

"I had fun, thank you," Hadji said suddenly as they walked.

"Huh?" Jonny blinked at him, then smiled. "Sure, I did too. Of course, I always have fun with you."

"Really?" Hadji turned to smile at him. "Because, Jonny, I--"

When Hadji stopped, Jonny halted beside his friend, frowning. "Hadji, is something wrong?" he asked anxiously, wanting to be of help.

Hadji only looked at him miserably. "Jonny...Jonny, I--" Then, he stepped forward and kissed him.

Stunned, Jonny had only stood there, not kissing back, not pushing away. Stunned, he could hear the thought running in his mind: Hadji tastes like sweet vanilla... His body felt hot and cold at the same time and he could feel himself starting to grow weak--

Rustle.

They jumped apart so quickly that Jonny almost stumbled on a rock behind him. Both turned to the direction where the sound came from, eyes wide with surprise and fear.

A head popped out of the bushes, followed by a torso. A boy with brown hair stared at them, shaking lightly. "I'm sorry!" he squeaked. "I didn't know...this must be private property!"

"Jonny--" Hadji uttered but Jonny held up his hand, not looking at him.

"I'll handle this, Hadj," he replied quietly. He could feel Hadji staring at him silently, and he half-expected his friend to start protesting.

However, Hadji only nodded and walked away.

Jonny turned to the man, who was still shaking. For the first time, Jonny noticed that the guy was his age, only slightly taller. "What's your name?"

"E--Eric Wilson," the guy stammered.

"What did you see?" Jonny had asked.

Eric frowned. "See? See what?"

"Anything unusual?"

Eric frowned. "Uh--I saw a couple of rabbits," he offered.

Jonny gave a sigh of relief and released him. "Nothing. It's okay. Just--I have to go n\ow. Just don't make yourself so unseen next time so some people won't think of you as a spy or something."

Eric nodded frantically and hurried up, running away.

Jonny had watched him disappear, waited for a few minutes until he was completely sure that Hadji had gone into the house now, and then followed.

He still hadn't gone inside, had stayed outside until all the stars appeared. And he was still here now. He frowned. "Exactly WHAT happened?" he asked himself.

Nothing, he told himself firmly. Nothing at all.

But...what had he felt? He looked up again. How come he'd acted that way? How come he hadn't pulled away immediately?

Suddenly, he felt a presence behind him. Thinking it was his dad, he turned around, preparing to smile.

Instead, it was Hadji.

He had a serious look on his face.

"What?" Jonny asked, taking a step back.

Hadji nodded. "We have to talk." He indicated to the lighthouse. Then, he turned around, walking towards it slowly.

Jonny stood there for a while, knowing that Hadji was expecting for him to follow. He watched the small figure for a while, shrugged, then followed.