5. Alex and Alexa

Several days passed since that strange and complicated Friday night. Days when Tommaso didn't talk much to the rest of his friends: Alessia didn't even turn to look at him when they clashed in front of their homes by chance and if it happened, obviously by mistake, she pretended nothing. Alessio had decided not to speak except questioned in conversations, his gaze perpetually downwards. Leonardo had disappeared into thin air again, without letting Tommaso know if he was alive or not. The redhead sometimes even thought that he would never try to look for him: his words in the bathroom were nothing more than lies, said out of courtesy. He had seen him get out of the bathroom that night, without any problems about what he would think. He didn’t have his cell phone number yet, so he couldn’t even contact him, almost as if the universe told him to let it go.

But even if he had the chance, with what courage could he have written to him? He did not, instead, he placed his cell phone on the bedside table with his screen off and facing down, lay on the bed, and carried his hands on his face, confused more than ever given the information he had yet to process. He felt his eyes burning with fatigue, yet he couldn't fall asleep even with all his will. Tom had so many thoughts that, even just trying to close his eyelids to sleep for five minutes, meant seeing the Friday scene repeat itself as a continuous cycle that would never find its end. But that he was, especially, in his head to disturb him and make him feel the baddest of friends for doing nothing.

She saw Alexa yelling at him with makeup-stained cheeks because of the tears shed, the pain of knowing her special someone with another girl in their period of crisis. He also saw his best friend Alex running towards the redhead with his arms open, ready to explain and apologize for a mistake made, but do the same, with just a glance, also to Tommaso who deserved a small explanation. And finally, he also saw Leo and the moments spent with him that same night, but he couldn't miss his sad exit from the scene either.

These thoughts certainly did not reassure him at all, indeed the most complete opposite. Tommaso was not even able to make the first move with a boy who recently became his friend, talking to what he considered two of his best friends would have been even worse if they had not first solved the drama that had been created between them. That’s why the redhead had to get out of his house and get some air, let go of homework, or who knows what else he had to take seriously, outside of his thoughts.

After taking a new pack of cigarettes, a blue sweatshirt, and headphones from the desk in his room and placing a gray cap over his head, Tom went out not even bothering to say goodbye to his mother who, in response, shook her head aware that her son would never tell her what was wrong. Wearing headphones already connected to his cell phone, he let a random song start from his usual playlist, giving space to free emotions: he closed the entrance door and began to walk without thinking too much, occasionally looking at the streets and walls of Rome that surrounded him. He did not have a very specific destination: from time to time he observed the sidewalk that his feet were stepping on, without caring too much about what he had in front of him or what were the streets he crossed, if he had come a short way or found himself on the other side of the city. Now and then he had to deal with branches of trees that had scratched him a bit on his face – even if nothing too serious – and how Leonardo Greco had, mistakenly, gone against him unexpectedly, at some point. The two weren't very careful where they were going that afternoon. They glanced at each other, but before Tommaso could apologize, Leonardo turned to him first.

« Next time you should keep your chin up, Mancini, you might find something new or special even as you walk,» said Leonardo, in a confident tone. However, he wondered what Thomas did to us so far from home, on foot and alone. The red hair, holding on to his interlocutor's arm so as not to end up on the asphalt because of the clash, realized that he had managed to find, by simple chance, the brown-eyed boy who persecuted part of his thoughts. He remained silent, failing to speak a word, trying to look at any point that was not directly related to Leonardo, blinking all the time. The dark-haired boy burst out laughing, seeing him so helpless, but he didn't let him go: instead, let a smile come out on his beautiful pale face. « Is everything ok? You seem to have lost your invisibility cloak. »

« I’m fine, yeah... » Tom cried nodding, letting him go of Leo’s arm once and for all, a little shaken by that sudden confrontation. Those damn thoughts poured out over him again like a jug of frozen water in the middle of winter, destroying his lungs just for a few seconds. He carried both hands in the pockets of his sweatshirt and, almost ready to continue his aimless walk, returned to stare at his shoes to take a new step. This is before the other stopped him again, this time placing a hand on his arm in a completely delicate way. Leo squared him over and on his head, unconvinced by his words, so much so that he slightly curled his nose, which Tom was unable to see. «You didn’t convince me» replied the brown-haired boy, shaking his head and carrying his eyebrows up with a quick gesture. He hit the red-haired boy's shoulder a couple of times and later signaled him to follow him. « Come on, I’ll take you to one side. »

Next to each other, they headed for the Mezzocammino bridge, after a long journey they made on foot. After many minutes had passed on a walk, they took place in silence since neither of them had bothered to melt the ice that separated them. Ice that was created that same Friday night and that continued to present itself in the while to Tommaso: incessantly, noisy and annoying. Arriving at the chosen spot, Leo had no qualms and dropped onto the grass, tapping the left side of the grass to tell Tom where to sit. At first, the latter hesitated, passing his gaze first towards the brown eyes of the boy next to him and then to the greenery that surrounded them, arriving a few moments later to the awareness that it would be better to sit with him, right there.

« So? What's wrong with you? » Leo asked, carrying a cigarette on his lips and lighting it with a simple gesture. After taking a breath of smoke from the orange filter, he turned to Tommaso, waiting for an answer from him. Meanwhile, the redhead was trying to figure out if he liked sitting on that grass, giving him a sense of peace, or if it was even more annoying than hearing Alessio talking about his new achievements-girls.

« Nothing, I’m fine. » he blurted out quite rudely, leading the young man with his cigarette to raise his surprised eyebrows, having never known this almost ‘bad’ side of Tommaso. Dropping excess ash on the grass, Leo shook his head, but couldn't say another word, as Tom continued with his fairly detached speech. His brown eyes were turned to the void offered by the Tiber, which allowed him to concentrate even more on what he had to say, not only to Leo near him but above all to himself. « I have the feeling of being ignored by everyone, all of whom would just be my two best friends. I feel tremendously alone and I don't even know why I'm telling you, we're not even friends. » His gaze rested on Greco's, who had hinted at a small regretted smile at him, as gray smoke came out of his lips.

« Sometimes it’s good to vent with those you don’t know, » Leo replied then, bringing his brown eyes to the same spot where Tommaso’s had lingered. Nothing was interesting around them: just people coming home from work or kids going out to have fun. Yet both eyes of the two had been captured by something harmless, which had made it even more possible to continue that speech among almost strangers. « so continue, I am here to listen to you. That's how you do it with friends, now move on. »

Tommaso could not help but smile at his statement: they were just the right words he wanted to hear from someone at such a delicate moment. Talking to Leo about it meant expounding his weak point and he had appreciated that comment, rather than having to find himself walking around Rome without returning home.

The two continued to converse for some time, among the various topics they both had available, letting the day take away hours and hours of words that would almost leave their mark, but not as much as the event that was about to break loose shortly thereafter. Tom and Leo, after exchanging the cell phone number still lying on the grass watching the now star-filled sky, decided to get up: it was late and both had many missed calls from parents who didn't give them much importance to.

Removed the grass and earth attached to the back of the jeans, they walked to the nearest house, not knowing, however, that something, or rather someone, would wait for them nearby, but how could they know, especially Leonardo? In fact, after as many moments of silence that had occurred during the return, Thomas realized that there was something wrong at all in what he had found himself in front of him: his two friends, Alex and Alessia, clinging to each other, smiling. They both tried to better observe the scene, hiding behind a wall nearby, succeeding in intent.

The girl had her chin slightly raised, due to the difference in height against Alex, whom they saw from behind. Her arms clinging to her neck, a gorgeous, beautiful smile to tear her face apart. For a moment they seemed about to kiss, no matter how close they were, causing the red-haired boy a strange feeling. If on the one hand, Leonardo did not break down in the slightest, Tommaso was so baffled that he found himself taking a few steps back, as if wanting to return from where he had come from. The other's brown eyes followed him feline and silent, before deciding to take him to a small street nearby, where he could vent saying whatever he felt the need. Both leaned against the first wall that could well hide them from what they had just seen and then sighed, taking both eyes to each other. As helpful as Leo would have liked to help, nothing would wipe that moment off Tommaso’s head, who felt increasingly guilty about a disaster he hadn’t even committed.