Alex's silvery eyes gently fluttered open, and he rolled over in his comfortable bed to be met with the soft glow of his phone screen - a sight that brought him both joy and dread in equal portions. He hadn't spoken to his friend Lyle since their little walk through the woods a few days prior, which was strange considering they couldn't bear being apart before that fateful day. The flashing blue light emanating from just above the display is a text notification. Could it be him...?

Alex yawned, stretched his tall, feline body and exhausted all the things he could possibly do to put off picking up that damn phone. So, he braced himself and scooped it up off of the oak bedside table, then switched it on. His lock screen was a familiar sight, he hadn't so much as altered a single thing about it since he bought this phone a few months back. 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it' was a motto the white tiger chose to live his life by. And it seemed to be working out okay so far. Kinda.

But right there, inscribed in the centre of the screen, was the name 'Lyle'. Well, okay, not right in the middle, it was a little off to the side and followed by a message.

"Alex? We need to talk. I've been thinking about things. About us. Wanna go get coffee later?"

Alex's heart sunk, and it felt as though his soul left his body as his perceptive eyes scanned across the text. No, it wasn't that he didn't like coffee (which he didn't, he thought it tasted like 'actual shit'), it was that Lyle wanted to talk. He had been thinking about them. The way he worded it made it sound like they were already a couple, when all Alex had done in that forest was admit he felt something for the lynx. Something he couldn't accurately explain, at least not in words. Actions? Maybe.

And so, the tiger simply lay there for what felt like hours until the first few rays of sunshine filtered through the curtains and hit him square in the retina. 'Ow, okay, that was unwarranted'. It was evidently a good wake-up call, though, because soon enough Alex was on his feet and making himself some tea. He hadn't even noticed that he had left his phone by his bed, and that he had forgotten to dress at all. He liked sleeping naked, thought it brought forth a unique sense of freedom...well, some parts of him were certainly feeling pretty free right now.

As the kettle boiled and hot steam began to spew into the small kitchen the feline's sensitive, fluffy ears detected the distinct sound of a phone buzzing on a wooden surface. Alex looked and listened for a moment or two more before quickly walking back to his bedroom. His phone was ringing, and on the screen was - once again - the name 'Lyle'. The phone had already rung three times, time was running out.

Alex thought 'Fuck it' and picked it up, swiped from left to right and held it to his ear. And then... silence. At least for a few seconds. The call was definitely connected, Alex had double checked. Then, from the other side, came the sweetest, most pure voice ears were capable of hearing.

"...Alex? You there?"

The tiger exhaled deeply, rubbed his temples, stood up straight and composed himself.

"Yeah, I'm here."

He replied, voice a little groggy and far less attractive in every way when compared to the lynx.

"Did you just wake up?"

"Yeah."

"Oh shit, I'm so sorry Alex! I didn't realise! I thought... I thought t-that... oh jeez, I'm so sorry! God, I feel like a twat now."

"You didn't wake me up! I've been up for a couple of minutes now, I was just making some tea and heard the phone ringing. It's cool, don't worry about it Lyle."

"Okay... if you say so. Oh, hey, did you get my text?"

Alex hesitated before answering, his long tail still in the air.

"The one about coffee? Yeah, I did. I'm up for it."

"Awesome, I think it'll be really nice. We can talk things over, discuss where we go from here..."

"Talk what things over, exactly? Is this about our little walk in the woods?"

"..."

"Lyle?"

"Yeah, it is. Do you not remember?"

"Remember what?"

"I told you that I love you, Alex. I told you that I've felt the same way about you as you've felt about me for a while now."

Alex's eyes widened and the colour seemed to drain from his face. His knees felt weak. Fuck, he hadn't remembered that. After Lyle had asked him to speak about his feelings, everything had become a blur. A haze past which even the most powerful eyes and lenses couldn't see. How could he not remember?! His memory was bad, but...fuck, thi-

"Alex?"

"Huh? Y-yeah, I remember. Sorry."

"Okay, so how about we meet at like...7? Is 7 good for you?"

The tiger cleared his throat loudly.

"7...7 is good, yeah. Let's meet then."

"Alright. You okay? You promise it's just grogginess?"

"Yeah! Yeah, it's just...I haven't been up for long. Sorry."

"It's fine. I'll text you a little later. I love you, Alex."

"...I love you too, Lyle."

*Beep*