Chapter 2

It was 7:30PM in the evening as they drove past Imelda Avenue, the road where Henry should have taken the turn, to where Will’s house is. Henry knew that Will was aware he was taking him to Armand’s wake, against his will, and was not feeling guilty about it. He knows that his best friend needed this.

Having noticed that they were nowhere near Will’s apartment, driving in silence “Gee, I wonder where we’re going?” Will said dryly, as he stare at streetlights that pass by.

Henry produced a small grin. He knew it wasn’t a question, and they both knew Will was aware of where they were going.

As they were getting closer to Edge Memorial, Henry thought about how Will would behave around people who he himself admitted to be annoyed at times. “Just try to act human for once, ok?” Henry requested.

“So, what’s the plan?” Will said abruptly, ignoring what Henry just said. “Surround me with so much people who show how much they care for the dead, and hope that some of their ‘caring’ will rub off on me?” Will protested.

Henry rolled his eyes in frustration to another one if his snide remark and just chose to ignore it. Will always knew where to push people’s buttons with these kinds of comment. He always knew how to push people away. Most people are mystified as to why he does this, it would appear inhumane, but a friend knows better than to stop at that argument Henry believed, he takes this as a sign that there is still hope for him, convoluted as it may seem.

They finally arrived at Edge Memorial. The parking lot surrounding the building was full and there wasn’t a parking space to be found.

“Oh, no” Will said sarcastically. “We have to go home now. Dang it, I was so looking forward to this.”

Will knows Henry wouldn’t easily budge. It was just well worth his while to make Henry miserable.

To Will’s regret, eventually, they found a car just leaving. Will sighed at the sight of this empty parking space. Rubbing the palm of his hand against his forehead, he still cannot believe he’s just about to attend this ceremonial gathering of pretentious idiots as Will would put it.

Finally, they got of the car and head towards the memorial. It wasn’t raining anymore.

“You’re gonna thank me for this.” Henry said.

“Oh, here we go,” Will complained “I was wondering when we’re gonna have one of our sessions.”

Ignoring Will, Henry continued “You hide behind your computer all day to run away from people---”

Will cut him off. “Wow, you really never get tired of saying that.”

“You avoid any kind any kind of human connection because you can’t control them like your little programs, your video games, or you precious pornos ---”

"Yeah yeah yeah, very enlightening. But can you just shut up till’ we get there? This is really annoying, might upset the dead.” said Will bluntly. “By the way, you should really give me back my precious pornos you borrowed.”

They went on like this till they reached the building. Will deflecting, while Henry ignores what he says and continue lecturing him.