Hop swung his legs over the edge of the cliff at The Lake of Outrage. He took a deep breath of the frigid air. A light mist came from his nose as he exhaled.

He had to think. A lot of things were running through his mind. He finally knew what he wanted to do with his life. He truly believed being a professor was what he was meant to do.  Yet something nagged him- tugged at the back of his mind.

Bede.

He had been so mean. So rude. Yet Hop couldn't seem to forget about him. He could understand if his words had branded themselves in his memory, but it wasn't his words that stuck out. It was the way he snapped his fingers. The way he ran ran his fingers through his hair. The way he smirked when he spoke.

Hop shook his head as his ears grew hot. He groaned loudly.

"Please don't jump off. That would be horribly difficult to clean up."

Hop's heart skipped a beat. He covered his ears, "I'm not gonna jump!"

A set of feet appeared next to Hop, "What're you doing here then?"

"Thinking..." Hope grumbled, "And yes I can think!"

A boy with a pink jacket and bright hair sat next to Hop, "I wasn't going to say that you couldn't."

"Bugger off, will you?"

The boy took a deep breath and rubbed his hands together, "I came to apologize."

Hop blinked in surprise, "You? Apologize."

The boys face grew red, "I can apologize!"

"I wasn't going to say that you couldn't." Hop said, smirking.

The boy blinked in surprise and his cheeks became tinted pink.

Hop crossed his arms, "So get on with it, Bede. Grovel."

Bede sighed, his breath visible in the air, "You aren't going to make this easy, are you?"

Hop grinned, "Nope!"

Bede smiled lightly at Hop's grin. He realized he was smiling and frowned, looking away, "I'm sorry for what I said. I was horrid and rude and I feel terrible. I didn't realize how badly I'd hurt you. I'm sorry."

Hop smiled sadly, "Thanks, Bede."

Bede blushed, "It was overdue."

"Well overdue," Hop agreed, "But sometimes I feel like I needed to hear it. If you hadn't come along I never would've figured out what I really wanted to do."

"I still said horrible things."

Hop nodded, "I know."

"I'm sorry."

"Quit it, I already forgave you."

Bede blinked, "What?"

"What?"

"You shuldn't forgive me! You should hate me!"

"I don't judge people based on their worst mistakes," Hop said, nudging Bede's shoulder with his, "You're working on yourself."

Bede and Hop both blushed at the contact. Hop scooted a bit closer, "At least you can admit when you're wrong."

Words escaped him, so Bede nodded. He and Hop were so close, their breaths intertwined.

Bede looked away, "Y-Yeah."

Hop sighed.

"Er...come challenge me at the gym sometime. I promise I'll go easy on you."

Hop raised an eyebrow.

"Sorry," Bede apologized, "I'm working on it."

Hop chuckled, "I know, mate. I may take you up on that though."

Bede smiled softly, "So...What're you up to these days?"

Hop grinned and went on and on about his research with Sonia. Bede has no clue who Sonia was, but Hop spoke as if Bede already knew. The boy in pink didn't mind though. The only thing that bothered him was that his ears were warm when they should have been freezing. He didn't understand it.

But, he didn't mind it, either.