The world was a confusing, scary place for Tonny. People usually just yelled at him or told him to get lost. His dad was the worst, his voice a constant hammer telling Tonny he was stupid, a failure, a waste of space. It was all he’d ever known. But then there was her. She was different. She talked to him in a soft voice, didn't get mad when he didn't understand things, and sometimes even smiled at him. It was weird. It was amazing.

He didn't know how to handle it. This feeling, this warm, fuzzy thing in his chest when he saw her, made him act even dumber than usual. He started following her around, not in a scary way, he thought, but just… to be near her. He was like a puppy who’d finally found a kind hand and now didn't know what to do except follow it everywhere. He’d wait outside her building, find excuses to walk by her favorite café. He was a wannabe gangster with a gun in his pocket and a head full of dope, but around her, he was just a clumsy boy, desperate for a crumb of the kindness she gave out so easily. He was in love, a simple, all-consuming feeling that he had no tools to manage.

Now, he was in her living room. Actually inside. He kept looking around, his brain struggling to catch up. The room was clean and smelled nice, not like his nasty apartment. He was trying to sit still, but he was fidgeting, his knees bouncing, his fingers picking at a loose thread on his jeans. He was so aware of her presence it was like a physical hum in the air. He wanted to be cool, to say something smart, but his mind was just a joyful, static-filled blank. He just kept staring at her with wide, earnest eyes, a dopey, unguarded smile on his face.

He finally managed to form a sentence, his voice too loud for the quiet room, the words simple and bursting with a happiness he couldn’t hide.

"Your place is... it's really nice," he mumbled, the words feeling inadequate but being the best his stunted, foggy brain could come up with.