The thrill and excitement Berry felt before entering the house vanished as soon as the door opened. His radiant smile disappeared, replaced by a down curve of his lips.
What he saw as soon as he entered was an enlarged photo of Stuart and another man who was undoubtedly Kevin. The photo that covered the expanse of the wall was the first thing anyone would see if he walked through the front door and this was what Berry saw.
They looked so much in love in that photo, under the clear sky, Stuart hovering over Kevin while they lay on the grass and staring deeply into each other's eyes with loving smiles on their faces. He didn't want to admit it but they looked beautiful together in that photo.
Berry found himself admiring the photo. Everything in that photo; the people, the background, the atmosphere, just screamed deep love and strong emotions. He could swear he saw little hearts and butterflies flying around them, painting a picture of a perfect couple.
He almost wanted to give up on chasing Stuart because this photo was a huge blow to his confidence. How on earth was he supposed to make Stuart forget Kevin and love him instead when he was looking at Kevin with loving, gentle yet obsessive eyes?
Swallowing the bitterness in his mouth, Berry tucked his hand into his pockets and turned halfway to Stuart who was beside him, "You should take this down since Kevin isn't here. It will only make you hurt", then he strode into the house.
Stuart could only sigh knowing that Berry was right. Anytime he looked at this picture, it reminded him that Kevin was gone and the remainder always made him hurt. He couldn't believe that he was already considering taking this photo down, given that it was one of his favourites.
It seems his decision to make Berry his friend wasn't a bad one. Having Berry around would make him forget Kevin little by little till all memory of him was gone. That wasn't what he wanted but life has given him no choice. It was either that or living the rest of his life lonely and heartbroken.
As he watched Berry go further into the house, he wanted to yell directions to him but he stopped thinking that Berry would figure it out himself.
Unfortunately, Berry went into the wrong room and he did not realise it till he turned on the lights. Even though he didn't know who Kevin was, he knew that this room was his.
Every detail of the room was so beautiful and delicate that Berry could not tear his eyes off them. The room's decor was simple yet welcoming and accommodating. A pastel pink wallpaper covered the walls, the lights were bright and soft, the bed was laid neatly like someone was still living in it and lying on the bed was a bright red teddy bear. The chest area of the stuffed bear was covered in perfectly calligraphed letters that read 'Stuart'.
Moving further into the room, Berry saw a framed photo of Stuart on the bedside table. As he stared at the photo, he began to wonder why Kevin left. Stuart was a fine man, the perfect boyfriend. Why would Kevin leave if he had such a man who loved him to bits?
Berry didn't stay long mulling over something that wasn't supposed to concern him so he turned around to leave the room but when he was almost at the door, he stopped.
His eyes narrowed and a stupid grin made its way to his face, his bright eyes shining with mischief.
Feeling brave, Berry began to take off his clothes. His smile widened as a plan formulated in his head. All that was left was the execution. He was going to take a bath in Kevin's bathroom and wear his clothes then afterwards, he would pretend to fall asleep in the room.
He wasn't sure what Stuart's reaction was going to be but he was going to do it anyway!
Since he wanted to replace Kevin in Stuart's heart, this was one of the steps he should take.
After a long shower, Berry came out of the bathroom. He smiled at himself when he saw his reflection in the mirror. His skin was pink all over because of the warm water and his hair was damp with beads of water at the tip of the strands. Apart from that, he smelt like the shampoo he found in Kevin's bathroom. All that was left was Kevin's clothes.
He laughed as he pictured Stuart's expression when he saw him lying on Kevin's bed, fast asleep. He might be angry, but would not wake Berry up and would leave him to sleep peacefully.
He opened the closet and looked through the clothes inside. He was looking for something thin, almost seductive, yet should cover his body but he couldn't find any. All he found was thick clothes that weren't seductive at all. He left the closet with a dissatisfied groan and sat down on the bed with jumbled thoughts. After seconds, he smiled and left the room.
He strode silently Along the corridors, looking for Stuart's room. It wasn't difficult because Stuart's room was just a door away from Kevin's. When he entered, after making sure that no one was inside the room, he found the closet and began to rummage through Stuart's clothes.
After a long time of hard work, he found something that was relatively thin and looked seductive enough; a black button up shirt and he threw it on. Confident that he looked good enough in the clothes, he began to rummage through the clothes again for something to wear underneath.
Just then, he smelt something funny and the fire alarm rang in his ears. His eyes bulged and he raced out of Stuart's room, and back to the entrance to find Stuart but when he got there, there was no sign of Stuart. His heart raced and fear gripped him as he searched frantically for Stuart while calling out his name.
Fortunately, he found Stuart in the kitchen and in his hand was a … fire extinguisher?!