Poison from a love unrequited

The chilly wind of that morning left goosebumps on the skins of the two figures that sat side by side on the lawn chairs. The morning dew had not yet fallen from the grass it clung so desperately to and the birds had yet to awaken. The two men sat with their heads tilted towards the sky with calm, relaxed faces.

The sun seemed to peek at the scene in front of it from behind the little hill that was at the edge of the horizon. The two men watched in awe as the clouds in the sky above them transformed into a dusty pink and pale orange. One of them spoke, breaking the little bubble of tranquility they had formed.

"Hey, Alex? How have things been with you lately?" Alex turned to his companion, trying to read his expression, before responding.

"Pretty good actually. Work's been great and I'm planning to propose to Veronica soon. How about you Matt?" Matt didn't respond for a while, causing Alex to worry.

"Oh, you know me, work's been the love of my life and it doesn't seem like it's changing soon." He let out a bitter laugh at the end that Alex did not like, not one bit.

"You sure? There are plenty of chicks I can introduce you to, even guys if you swing that way."

"Alex, I do swing that way. You've known this for years now."

"Right. I forgot, sorry. So? You up for it?" Matt smiled, though it didn't reach his eyes.

"As tempting as that sounds, I'll have to take a hard pass. Thanks for the offer though."

Alex just stared at his best friend. He had been having a feeling for a while now that Matt was hiding something from him, but chose to dismiss it because Matt wouldn't hide anything from him, right? He turned back to watch the breathtaking sunrise, having a sinking feeling that that was no longer the case.

###

Matt had always had the worst luck when it came to relationships and romance. Horrible breakups, cheating boyfriends, abusive boyfriends; you name it, he's probably dealt with it. Though, if he was being honest, falling for your straight best friend had to be the cherry on the proverbial cake.

To make matters worse, he'd fallen for him in the most cliche` way ever; when he was rescued by him. I kid you not. He literally fell for him because he was a damsel in distress, and a hero had answered his call for help.

It had been raining heavily for three days now, and the rain showed no signs of letting up anytime soon. Thus, like the little reckless daredevil he is, he went outside in nothing but his clothes and a raincoat.

If you really stop to think about it, he was probably right, considering the fact that carrying an umbrella would have just turned him into a human lightning rod. Though, if you start to think along those lines, what the heck was he doing outside in the middle of a raging storm?

He plodded on despite the harsh 15 mph winds that were hitting him with the force of an oncoming truck on all sides. Soon enough, he couldn't tell back from the front and had no idea where he was going. Unfortunately for him, he had unwittingly wandered onto a small footbridge and had lost his footing.

This is when Alex found him, clinging desperately onto the railing in an attempt to pull himself back onto the bridge. He had found himself staring into those forest-green eyes and had just then noticed the gold flecks embedded in them. Naturally, he fell in love with Alex at that moment.

Sadly enough, love is a cruel thing in its own right. The result of falling for his best friend was sleepless nights, plenty of headaches, an unnatural amount of jealousy, and worrying about Alex's well being to the point of getting sick himself.

To put it plainly, this was terrible for his health. Matt's work performance had plummeted to the point where his boss was calling him nearly every day, just to figure out what the hell had happened to his most cherished employee.

On the other hand, here Alex was, living a dream life, not knowing the fears, pain, and anxiety he was causing his best friend. I mean, here he was, ready to tie the knot and settle for some chick when Matt can give him the same love and then some.

I mean, why? Why did the universe play such a cruel trick as to make him fall in love with his best friend, knowing that there was no chance of Matt ever leaving the friend zone? It must be enjoying watching his suffering, right? That is the only other explanation for this cruel twist of fate.

Matt sighed. His personal doctor had told him that whatever was causing him stress had to be eradicated at all costs, or else he was signing himself up to an early grave if he continued on the path he was on. The million-dollar question was; how the hell was he supposed to eradicate his best friend from his life?

###

It was a couple of weeks since he had watched that sunrise with Alex. It was like an unspoken tradition for the two of them to watch the sunrise together whenever it was possible. If Matt was being honest with himself(He wasn't, not one bit.), he'd admit that he was avoiding Alex as much as possible.

The problem with that notion was that; a) They lived in the same neighborhood

b) absence makes the heart fonder

c) try as much as he could, he couldn't deny that he was hopelessly in love with him.

Matt was seriously nearing his wit's end with this. He spent many sleepless nights thinking about it, and he finally came up with a plan that he hoped would work. Seeing as he'd finally managed to take a step forward, he decided to leave the execution of the plan for later.

###

There, in the light of that convenience store by the closest petrol station, he saw him. The one person he was trying to avoid. He stood, shocked, staring at Alex. An Alex that was smiling and laughing with his now-fiancee`, an Alex that was so breathtakingly beautiful that it hurt to look at him.

The feelings he had worked so hard to hide for 6 years came bubbling up to the surface. Witnessing that scene, he knew that there was no chance in hell, heaven, or earth that Alex would ever be his. He had to accept that now, that there was clearly no hope for him.

He decided that it was better late than never. He taped the las box with packaging tape before standing up to look around at the various labeled boxes that dotted his house. He admitted that this was an extreme way of doing things, but he could not stomach the slightest chance of seeing Alex again.

The moving van would be here by afternoon. He had borrowed sick leave from his boss to take care of his moving. This was it, there was no turning back from this. The new house he'd bought was in another state altogether and he'd already sold the house he was standing in. The new owners were moving in the next week. He had already been transferred to the office branch in the new state he'd call home.

The moving van was finally here. It was time. He loaded up everything he was carrying with him to the new house and sent the van on its way. He had one thing left to do. The most painful thing of all. Saying goodbye.

###

He parked his car in front of Alex's house and turned off the engine. Once he had done what he needed to do, he would drive to the new house. He'd even changed his phone number already. This was it. Welp here goes nothing.

He rang the doorbell, steeling himself for what was about to come. He only had to ring the doorbell once before the door opened, revealing Alex standing in the doorway. His eyes seemed to light up when he saw Matt and he tackled him in a hug. Matt reciprocated the hug, albeit reluctantly.

"Alex, I have something important I want to say." Alex broke the hug, looking up at Matt with concern. What was wrong? He nodded in response, encouraging Matt to continue.

"I love you." Alex laughed at this.

"Of course you do man! I love ya too! We're brothers, ain't we?"

"Alex, I mean that I am in love with you. The kind of love where I want us to grow old together, where I get jealous when you're with your fiancee`, the kind where I want you to look at me and only me. That kind of love."

A look flashed by Alex's face that Matt didn't like and never expected he'd receive from Alex of all people. He should have known. He couldn't continue this confession. Not if Alex felt that way about him.

"Goodbye Alex. Don't try and contact me ever again. I've already changed my number. Let us hope we never meet again for the rest of our lives. I wish you and your fiancee` the best."

Matt then turned around, got in his car, and drove off as the tears streamed down his face. What an absolutely heavenly end to this, right? If only he'd known that those were Alex's feelings, he'd have detached himself sooner. He was too naive.

He arrived at the house and noticed the large glistening lake behind it. He hadn't known that it had a lakeside view! He parked his car beside the lake and got out, resting his body against the warm hood of his car. The view was breathtaking.

The lake's surface was calm, giving the impression of staring into a giant mirror. The wise, calm, soothing face of the moon stared back at him from the surface of the lake, giving a somewhat loving gaze. It was as if it could understand his pain and was reassuring him.

He smiled, a smile heavily laced with melancholy, as a single lonely tear escaped from his eyelids and rolled down his cheek, tumbling into the lake and distorting the surface. He was going to be fine, after all, the poison was now out of his system for good.

What poison, you ask? Why the poison that stems from a love unrequited of course!