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Autumn leaves were falling from the trees, creating a brown, soggy and muddy ground for the citizens of Las Vistas to walk on.
The green frog, Jamack, was sitting on a lonely bench in the Las Vistas park. It was his day off and he'd decided to take advantage of it by not moping inside his home all by himself. Smoke left his mouth with every breath. It was getting cold. Luckily, he was wearing a warm jacket which kept him from hibernating.
Further away in the park, he watched Benson and his recently affirmed fiancé, Troy. Both of them were wearing an engagement ring. Jamack couldn't help but be jealous of the young adults. They got their happy ending. He didn't.
He lost the man he loved, and he never got to reveal his feelings to him. He'd planned to do it during Prahm, but when Dr. Emilia attacked them, all of his chances blew out. His could-have-been lover died that night, and Jamack felt guilty for not doing more. Maybe he would have still been alive if Jamack revealed his feelings before Emilia's attack, and they'd stayed together.
Jamack sighed. He watched Benson kiss Troy on his cheek, getting a kiss on his mouth in return. That could have been Jamack sitting there, with the man he still craved. But it wasn't.
Jamack was all alone now. He didn't want to to go on dates. To see if there was anybody else who could fill the hole in his heart. Because that hole was reserved for someone who wasn't there anymore. Jamack had to keep the tears at bay. It was so unfair, but life had always been unfair to him.
He was so deep in his thoughts that he didn't notice the young adult boys kiss each other goodbye, wanting to do things by themselves for the day. Jamack didn't notice when Benson caught the Mod Frog sitting all by himself, waving him over despite not recieving an answer. He didn't notice when Benson walked up to him. He only noticed the younger boy when he sat down beside him with a bright smile on his lips.
Jamack wished that he could have been that happy. At the moment, it seemed like it wasn't possible for him anymore.
"Hey, Jamack. What are you up to?" Benson asked, not having caught up on the frog's mood.
"Hey," Jamack muttered back, not answering his question.
"Are you okay?"
Jamack sighed before offering a simple shrug.
"I saw you and Troy over there. You seemed to have a good time," Jamack looked down at his shoes and kicked a rotten leaf away.
"Oh, yeah! He was going to hang out with a few friends of his. I'm going to try a new recipe that I found a few days ago," Benson explained cheerfully.
"Hm. Must be nice to be with someone like him."
Benson frowned. Jamack seemed to be upset about something. All the talk about his and Troy's relationship made him suspicious. Had Jamack been dumped recently?
"It is. Do you have someone like that?" Benson decided to try and sneak information from the Mod Frog.
He was clearly not doing well.
"No. I thought I had found someone like that, but... They're not avaible anymore..."
Jamack didn't want to say the word 'dead', because it would make it even more real. He tried his best not to tear up again.
"Oh, I understand. Do you want to talk about it?" Benson offered, putting a hand on Jamack's shoulder to hopefully reassure him that it was safe for him to reveal his emotions in Benson's company.
"No," Jamack sighed.
He just wasn't ready for that yet. At least not if he didn't want to burst into tears.
"That's alright," Benson answered. "I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have Troy wurh me anymore. He's the best thing that ever happened to me, except for meeting my friends and saving Las Vistas, of course. We do everything together and we talk to each other about everything. I bet it must be hard not to have anyone."
Jamack bit his lip to keep the tears from falling. He nodded and looked away from the boy beside him, hoping that he wouldn't see his glassy eyes.
"You're strong for going through all of that, though. Not many people would have been able to take it if they lost someone who was very close to them. I admire you for that."
Jamack looked back at Benson. He gave a him a slight smile, and that was enough for Benson. Jamack wiped his glassy eyes with a green fist, sniffling.
"Thank you, man," he showed his gratitude.
"No problem, bro. I'm a friend sticking out for a friend," Benson said. "If you've got nothing to do in the evening, you're free to come over to me and Troy's house. I need more than one taste tester because Troy likes everything that I do,"
Jamack chuckled at the last part.
"Sure, I'll be there," he answered.
"Great, looking forward to it!"
And with that, Benson stood up and left, waving when he exited the park. Jamack waved back, not being able to wipe his smile off of his face.
Somehow, the weight was lifting off of his shoulders and he could finally breathe again.
