Connor stirred as he heard a small moan coming from nearby. He shook his head to help himself wake up, realizing that he was hearing Jude moan quietly, shuffling around in his sleeping bag. Connor placed a hand on Jude, who jumped suddenly, gasping and turning around to face Connor.

"Hey, it's just me," Connor said quietly.

Jude nodded, taking a deep breath to calm himself. Connor removed his hand from Jude's shoulder and noticed Jude's sleeping bag was wet.

"Please tell me you didn't wet the bed," said Connor, looking slightly uncomfortable.

Jude shook his head. "No, sweat," he said.

"Sweat?" asked Connor, as he turned on the electric lantern in the tent. Jude nodded, wrapping his arms so he could warm up. "Are you OK?"

"I'll be all right," Jude said. "I'm just a little cold."

"I've got a spare blanket in my bag and an extra shirt," said Connor, leaning over to grab his bag. You should change shirts and use the blanket so you'll stay warm." He pulled out one of his extra shirts and handed it to Jude, who was taking off his sweat-covered shirt. Jude put Connor's shirt on while Connor pulled the extra blanket from his bag and handed it to him.

"Thanks," Jude said. "I'm sorry for waking you."

"Were you having a nightmare or something?"

Jude paused for a moment, hesitating. "No, not a nightmare."

"What's wrong?" Connor asked.

"It's kind of stupid," said Jude. He paused for a moment before continuing. "Scientists think the universe is about 18 billion life years across."

"Uh huh," Connor said, nodding. "But what's that got to do with you?"

"Well, suppose you kept going another 18 billion light years," Jude said. "What if there's nothing out there, I mean, like, at all? Suppose you kept going another trillion times further, so far out you see nothing. The light from the universe would be fainter than the faintest star. Infinitely cold. Infinitely dark." Jude paused before he spoke again, wiping a tear from his face. "Sometimes, if I wake up and it's dark, I get really scared, like I'm out there and I'm never coming back."

Connor looked at his best friend in sympathy, wondering if there was anything he could for Jude. Then, he had a thought. He reached over by his bag, grabbing his jacket. He set it down next to Jude.

"Here," he said. "Hold onto this while you sleep. And if you wake up and you're scared, you'll think to yourself, 'Hey, wait a minute. I'm holding Connor's jacket. Why on earth would I be holding some shoe a trillion light years away from the universe? I must be here on Earth, safe in my sleeping bag and Connor must be close by."

Jude wiped away another tear as he looked at Connor and then the jacket. He grinned.

"I guess it's worth a try," he said, grabbing the jacket and setting it down next to his sleeping bag. He then pulled Connor's spare blanket over his body, while Connor helped him. Once Jude was covered, Connor patted Jude on the back.

He then hesitated before he leaned forward and gave Jude a soft kiss on the forehead. Jude looked back at him in shock.

"I'm sorry," Connor said, turning bright red. "I shouldn't have done that."

"It's OK," said Jude, who pulled Connor closer and kissed him back. The kiss lasted several seconds. Both boys were unsure of themselves while they kissed, but somehow, it felt right to both of them. After a few seconds, Connor pulled away as he realized Jude had fallen asleep again.

"Jude?" he said quietly. Jude didn't respond. "Do you want me to leave the lantern on?" Instead of responding, Jude turned in his sleep, tightening his grip on Connor's jacket.

Connor smiled to himself. He gave Jude another kiss on the forehead before turning the lantern off and laying back down, quickly falling asleep again.