A few days went by and the both of them were still around to see them. The nights were long and the days were short and the weather wasn't wanting to cooperate half the time, but they were still alive. Marcus’ plans had gone smoothly and they both slept peacefully each night. He had crafted him a pair of crutches out of rope and sticks of wood he found lying around the property after the storm. They did work, fortunately. Were they comfortable? Maybe. Marcus hadn't asked. Jay loved seeing Marcus smile when he first used them. He smiled back because he couldn't help but to. Seeing others happy made him happy too. Marcus did after all work very hard at putting them together, making tight knots and assembling sticks of wood. Not an easy job. Marcus threw a rock into the river below the bridge. He was visiting his brother's memorial site today. It was a bright day. The sky was a clear, airy blue, and the clouds, if there were any, were far off in the distance to the point where they were invisible to him. He leaned against the rusty metal side of the bridge and watched it fall into the water. It rippled slowly and silently and soon disappeared, allowing the river to carry it downstream. He let out a sigh and waited there. He had told Jay to meet him there that morning. Maybe there was a miscommunication, or maybe he just didn't know where the bridge was located. It led to another part of the forest. A safety route if you didn't want to cross through the river below. He had to respect that he might be running a bit late because of his messed up leg. Maybe he woke up then fell asleep again. Or worse. Maybe he- Marcus turned around and let out a sigh of relief. Jay, at his own pace, was walking limply over to him on the sand using a pair of crutches. “I feel ridiculous.” he chuckled and approached Marcus slowly. “You look fine.” he commented and ran a hand through his curly brown hair. The wind from a few nights before had completely stopped. The sun was warm on his skin, and his cheeks were shaded a light red from the heat. Jay looked a bit over-heated in his long-sleeved button up. He was wearing the same thing he had been wearing, and it appeared to be a bit dirty. Marcus thought about suggesting to him that he could clean up in the river, but with his bad leg, that might not work. The shower in his family’s house did work, it would just be hard to get to with a pair of crutches. Especially without making any noise. The bridge was the place where he felt the least safe because of what had happened, but he couldn't just not visit it. It was where all the memories of his brother came back to him. His eyes lingered around the outline of his view, then came upon where the wooden cross stood. He walked along the sand slowly, crossing one foot over the other as he did so, holding each of his arms out to keep his balance. He could hear Jay following closely behind him, and he took a glance just to be sure he was getting along okay. Marcus smiled and quickened his walking pace to the other end of the bridge. “Is this a competition?” the look on Jay’s face seemed to say as Marcus slowed his pace to a complete stop right in front of his brother’s grave site. He knelt down in the sand and sat there, his face going completely expressionless. Surrounding the cross was a pile of Beau’s favorite belongings, toys, and possessions. Marcus had strung up a few polaroid pictures on it with yarn. It was a while ago, but they were still there. There were pictures from where life had been completely normal. Marcus heard a bit of scuffling next to him and he looked up to see that Jay was lowering himself to a sitting position on the sand. He looked away and pulled his legs up to his chest as he stared off into the distance. Marcus had mentioned a few things about Beau to Jay, but not once had he said that he was gone. He supposed he’d never asked, but why not just be honest about what had happened to him? None of them spoke. Verbal or nonverbal, they kept their thoughts to themselves and sat there. Jay opened his mouth to speak, but closed it, remembering their circumstances. He tapped on Marcus’ shoulder to grab his attention. “What?” Marcus motioned and brought his legs down to a cross-legged position. Jay didn't reply but instead he beamed at him silently and grabbed one of his hands, squeezing it gently. Marcus returned a small forced grin and sighed. “It’s alright to be upset, Marcus.” he signalled and pulled Marcus’ arm over and around his shoulders. His eyes welled up a bit with tears, and he blinked them away, letting a few pour out of his eyes and onto his cheeks. Crying was another way to get your deepest feelings out- his own words were coming back to him. “Thank you.” Marcus whispered directly into his ear and pulled his arm away slowly, wiping both his eyes with his hands. He sniffled a little, then turned to face Jay. “I was wondering if you might want to go down to the waterfall.” he motioned in signs and waited eagerly for his reply. Jay raised an eyebrow. “With a banged up leg like this, I don't know.” Marcus chuckled and grinned at Jay’s side remark. Jay couldn't help but crack a smile. Seeing Marcus laugh like this just made him feel- “I mean, unless you have some master plan to get me into the water without me falling and slashing open the rest of my leg, count me in.” they both began to laugh. It was amazing how much emotion could be communicated through signs. “Well, chances are you're going to just have to be very careful. I’m not sure if any of my ‘master plans’ can cover this one.” he shrugged and got to his feet. Marcus was wearing the most water proof articles of clothing he could find in his chest of drawers at home. Just a simple pair of athletic shorts, and a silk tee that he could just throw off before he got into the water. He, on second thought, didn't bring anything for Jay to wear, knowing he was significantly taller than him. Jay...maybe could go in with his jeans? Sure. That would be easy to walk in afterwards. Marcus sighed and reached his hand down to help Jay to his feet. Jay grasped his shoulders for a few seconds to manage his balance before grabbing his pair of crutches off the sand. Jay was a daredevil. He knew he could get into the water with a banged up leg no matter how many jokes he made about messing it up even worse. “So are we going or what?” Jay asked and eagerly waited for Marcus’ reply. “Wait. So you're going?” Marcus asked. So maybe he was a daredevil. Jay smiled and shrugged. “Sure. Why not?” Marcus knew why not, but agreed to bring him down to the waterfall anyways. He reached out to grab Jay’s hand and pull him down the path, but stopped remembering his leg and his crutches. He needed to go at his own pace. 

Marcus dipped his feet into the water and felt the pebbles against his skin as he took a few steps into the river. The waterfall overpowered most noise, and his father told him it was okay to make noise here and talk. Marcus almost felt the safest around here, knowing the safety bunker in his home could be just as safe if not more. Jay set down his crutches and grimaced as he sank to his knees, almost capturing his balance. It took a while, but he eventually brought himself into a crooked stance and headed for the water after he folded the ends of his jeans up to below his knees. Marcus offered to help him into the river, but Jay shook his head and told him he could do it himself. He stumbled a bit and stepped on a sharp pebble. It didn't break skin, but boy was it painful. “Da**it! That hurt!” He tripped and fell over a stone in the process of recovering from the sharp pebble’s painful strike, splashing as he hit the water. The pillowcase bandage unwrapped itself and floated away downstream, away from the waterfall.Marcus had been busy taking off his shirt, but he immediately threw it to the shore and ran over to Jay when he heard his yell and the splash. Jay groaned in pain as he was brought to his feet, yet again by his repeated savior. Jay sighed and looked down at his friend. “You do know how grateful I should be to have a friend like you, right?” Marcus beamed up at him. “And are you?” Jay held onto his shoulders and thought for a moment. Marcus gazed up at him. The boy had a mysterious look. It charmed him, nonetheless, and made him focus on the qualities that stood out to him. His skin was pale, flawless, and his hair as smooth as silk, you could just know without even touching it. Marcus had never studied another boy like this before. He was just so- “Yeah. I think I am.” Jay pulled Marcus into an embrace he was not expecting. The side of his face pressed against Jay’s bare chest as he held him there, listening to the sound of the powerful waterfall. Marcu was a bit dazed, but he paid close attention to the steady beat of his heart. He laid both hands on his chest and closed his eyes. The moments went by, slow, and the waterfall almost went inaudible, his heartbeat now overpowering it all.Jay had his arms wrapped entirely around his small friend’s waist, and soon he decided to lay his head on the top of Marcus’ head. The contact between them was gentle and close. Marcus slowly blinked his eyes open and slid his arms up and around his neck. Never had he ever felt the urge to do anything like this with another boy. The cold current was running between his ankles, and he stood there, not wanting to pull himself away. This situation had occurred out of nowhere, and yet, Marcus had the motivation to carry it on. There was a difference between how he thought about Jay a few seconds ago, than now. As Jay held him closer still, their relationship he felt was changing in some odd way he didn't imagine. Friends that were just friends never held together this long. Marcus let out a quiet breath and let his arms fall to his sides. Feelings like this just weren't right.- Were they? Jay lifted his head off and crossed his arms behind his back. His stance was upright, and his posture was now full. Marcus looked down and noticed that the cut was healing itself up well. All of the blood was cleaned off, and the skin was gluing itself together. Marcus bent down, pretending to examine it, and kept his secret smirk hidden away as he cupped a bit of water in his hand. “What are you up to-” Marcus shot up and splashed the water into Jay’s face, laughing as he kicked the water playfully and smiled. “Oh, I see what you're trying to do.” he said and splashed some water up at Marcus with his hands. The two of them laughed and played, bonding with their similarities and differences, almost losing themselves and forgetting about what was really going on in the world. It was nice for them not to have to entirely live in fear of their circumstances. Soon, they got tired and decided to sit on the shore. Marcus grabbed his shirt and put it on, sitting down next to Jay as he buttoned up his shirt. He only buttoned it halfway because it was still blazing hot and humid outside. Marcus drew a smiley face in the sand with a twig he had found, then threw it into the river. “Don't think that bandage would have been much use to me anyways, now knowing my leg is healing up pretty good, huh?” Jay asked and pressed his handprint into the sand. “Hm. I guess so.” Marcus pressed his handprint into the sand next to his and gave him a small smiling glace to the side, noticing Jay’s hand was slightly larger. “Hm. You know, you're a really fun person to be around.” Marcus looked over at him, a confused expression plastered to his face. “You really think so?” Jay moved a bit closer and leaned back on his hands. Their fingers were almost touching, he noticed, and Marcus hesitated, but placed his hand over his, getting that same urge again. His confused mind was sorting out whether or not it was right to hold another boy’s hand. He let out a sigh and got up, walking back into the water to wash off his hands. The sand was muddy and thin, so it was more of a dirt than a sand, but the grains were big enough to be considered some sort of sand. He sloshed around in the water with his feet and turned, swishing the water from side to side. He picked up a pebble and threw it back into the river, glancing over to see that Jay was carving something else into the sand, using his finger. Marcus was curious as to what Jay was drawing, and stepped out of the water to get a better look. Jay retraced over the shape he was making, and Marcus bent down a little to see that Jay was drawing a heart around both of their handprints. It was very heartwarming, but he again wondered why he had drawn it. Maybe Jay had never had a friend like him before, and he treasured their friendship, or maybe he just wanted to show how much he- Jay powdered off his hands and stuck them into the water, rubbing them together, then toweled them off on his pair of jeans. Whatever it was, it was obvious that Jay had some deep feelings for him he wanted to keep a secret. Marcus smiled at the thought of being a best friend and retraced over the heart in his mind. He would never forget it. The weather might wash it away, but it would never leave his memory. Jay grabbed his crutches and hurried him over to the path. He seemed to want to keep the heart in the sand a secret. Why?

Marcus walked along the path followed by Jay next to him, walking along profusely, as if he knew exactly where they were headed. Marcus knew the woods well. He and his father traveled through it very frequently, but even he didn't know where they were going. Marcus stumbled and nearly tripped over a tree root, catching himself before he fell, and looked back to see that Jay had nearly fallen too, reaching out to grab his hand. Of course he didn't need to though, and let out a sigh, ambling along with his obnoxious crutches. The walk was fairly quiet. That was preferred, after all, but the silence grew awkward. They exchanged glances from time to time, but didn’t know what to say. Or in these matters, what to motion. Marcus didn't ask about the heart. He grew anxious to ask Jay what it meant to him, but kept his signalling hands down for the sake of keeping a friendship. He didnt want one stupid question to ruin the way they thought of eachother. Marcus chewed on his lip out of nervousness and stole a quick glance at Jay out of the corner of his eye. It was a heart. A heart in the sand. Maybe being friends wasnt what Jay had in mind.