XANDER

George unhooked the carabiners once he climbed onto the mountain top and handed them over to Xander. His scrawny arms gave the impression of a weak man, but George was durable and tough. The determination on his pale face was admirable, despite the sweat reaching his grey eyes. His thinness allowed him to carry his own weight easily and he sprinted like a cheetah if it was needed.

Xander wiped the sweat off his forehead, his muscles hurt and he was grateful when he smelt the barbeque not far off. Zora camped out on the clearing on the mountain top, she placed the tent in the deep shade of pine trees. Sounds of sizzling meat reached Xander's ears and he almost forgot about Tony still climbing.

"Man, come on!" Tony shouted, hanging off the mountain. Xander laughed and offered a hand, barely able to hold the buffed Italian guy. Tony was strong as a bull, but also heavy as one. Unlike George, this made it very difficult for Tony to lift his own weight. He repeatedly tried, though.

"Zora, you've outdone yourself this time." George murmured, approaching the electric barbeque. Sausages, ribs, chicken wings and mushrooms found their place on the brown folding table.

"Try it first!" Zora said, smiling widely.

Xander enjoyed the smell of the meat and the sound of the crickets in the forest. Fresh air on the mountain top was so much easier to breathe than the stale air of the city. Zora and him spent half of their childhood with their grandparents in the mountains and they grew as one with nature. The dirt, the bugs and discomfort never bothered them. Nature was an escape they often needed.

"You're going to make someone very happy one day, Z." George said with his mouth full of mushrooms.

"I already made a lot of them happy." Zora winked, making Xander almost choke on his water.

"Jesus, Zora!" He wiped his chin and shot a serious look at laughing George.

"Don't fret, X. Come on, boys, time to eat!" She invited all of them around the table and Xander was already too starved to complain. Satisfied moans spread through the forest as guys munched the meat.

Xander grabbed the chicken wing and turned to the edge of the clearing, where they had previously climbed. The city was below them, impossibly small under the huge mountain. And above the city, clear blue sky promised a starry night. Xander never wanted to live in the city, he wanted to have a house somewhere on the hill, where he could overlook everything but no one could see him. Where birds and hedgehogs visited daily.

"X, I saw some guys walking around before," Zora said suddenly, "one of them was actually looking for you, said his name was O'Hara, said you'd know him."

"Oh, shit." Xander turned quickly, remembering the man Zora was talking about. "What did he say?"

"Wait, man, who's that?" Tony asked, his heavy Italian accent meant for much more elegant words than those he said.

"He's this bigshot I met a while back, on a meeting for Woods Corp." Xander could not sit still, he got up with his chicken wing still in hand. "We talked and I mentioned free climbing. He was really into it and said he'd contact me eventually for a possible job offer."

"Oh, wow!" George interrupted immediately, his mouth full of meat.

"I didn't think he would actually find me, of course. He might just be here by accident." Xander murmured, not letting himself think that maybe it was on purpose.

"I doubt that," Zora said, "I mean, he knew I was your sister. It was a bit creepy. He said he'd hoped he would see you climb in person and not just on Instagram."

"What are you gonna do, man?" Tony asked. There was a general friendliness to Tony's face. Despite his height and weight, he actually looked like a teddy-bear. His huge, brown eyes stared at Xander widely, like this was the greatest event to ever happen in his life.

"I'm gonna call him. He can come see me climb some other day, if that's what he really wants." Xander shrugged, but he was nervous. O'Hara was an important figure in the environment-related business and getting on his good side would mean wonders for Xander's career.

"Are you two staying here tonight?" George asked, looking at Xander and Zora.

"Yes, I called in sick. I'm trying to get my boss to realise I can work from home. So, I'm gonna work on this cliff all day long and Zora's gonna study for her entrance exam." Xander grabbed some ribs, trying to hide his nervousness.

He was trying to change his lifestyle for over a year now, to get out of the 9 to 5 routine. The first step was convincing his boss that he would do more work from home than in the office. If that failed, he would find a different job. O'Hara asking for him was like a sign from God that big changes lay ahead.

"It's a good thing what you're doing, trying to work from home. It is the future, after all." George said, nodding for himself.

"Easy for you to say, Mr Programmer." Zora smiled, waving with her fork.

"You know that's gonna be an option for you, too, once you're an engineer." George said.

"Wait, wait, wait." Tony interrupted, gesturing with his chicken wing. "I smell trouble beyond this delicious meat. Why aren't you sleeping at home?"

"He's fighting with Annie. Again." Zora said before Xander managed to open his mouth.

"Not surprising." Tony muttered, the words rolling off his tongue. Xander shook his head, not entirely in the mood to talk about it. He tried his best to ignore his situation.

"What happened now?" George asked. When it came to women, George was confirming the geek stereotype. But his mathematical rationale was incredibly applicable to all life's problems and so he never lacked advice.

"If you must know, she said some things about Zora that pissed me off. And our parents." Xander sighed, immediately losing his appetite.

"You mean, once again she did not mind her own business." Tony's melodious laughter enveloped them.

"Well," Zora jumped in, before Xander could say anything, "I believe she thinks I'm on the highway to hell, because of the tattoos, of course. She's just trying to save my soul."

"Can we not talk about Annie?" Xander asked. "It's something I have to deal with on my own."

"Maybe we should talk about Mia instead." Zora winked, extracting interested glances from both guys.

"Jesus, Zora, will you leave it alone? I know it's very hard for you to keep your nose out of my life, but please try." Xander knew there way no way to stop his sister from spilling all of his secrets if she thought it might be in his best interest.

"They can help, you know? Right, guys?" Zora asked and both Tony and George nodded. Xander leaned onto his hands, waiting for Zora to continue. "So, X met this hot chick that he wanted to bang, and him being him, can't stop thinking about how morally wrong wishing to sleep with someone other than your girlfriend is."

"It's not about that, Z." Xander sighed, realising he fell into her trap again. Now he would actually have to talk about it. "I just wonder if that means Annie stopped being enough to me."

"Probably." Tony shrugged. "You should go on a date with someone. You know, see if you get hard for someone else, too. Someone hotter than this Mia."

"Well, that's radical even for me." Zora murmured.

"I'd listen to Tony every time." George commented.

"I'd listen to me, too." Tony said it like the most obvious thing in the world. "If no one's gonna say it, I will. Leaving Annie would be the best thing that would happen to you. Wonder how I know that?"

Xander flinched at the sudden burst of honesty, which caught everyone by surprise. But Tony showed no signs of hesitation as he proceeded with his theory.

"I wonder how you know that." Zora said.

"Annie's not your best friend."

Xander's mind tried to work a way around Tony's words, but he knew deep down he was right. The guy might not know a lot about healthy dieting, but he sure knew a thing or two about real love.

"Is Sonya your best friend?" Xander asked quietly, even though he already knew the answer.

"Xander, Sonya's the other half of my soul." Tony put both of his hands on his heart, his voice almost reaching the point of singing. "Who coincidentally has a vagina. Life with her has been easy, it has been simple. I love you guys, but if I had to choose whom to be with on a desert island, I'd always pick her."

"I think Tony's right. You should leave Annie. Then, you should see whether you're attracted to someone else. Because if you're only attracted to Mia, then it's Mia." George murmured, seemingly calculating the steps in his head.

"It's not Mia." Xander murmured. His friends could've said whatever they wanted, but Xander knew his dissatisfaction in his relationship made him want someone else. Coincidentally, it was Mia.

"Gentlemen!" A deep, guttural voice reached them and Xander turned around immediately. An older, familiar gentleman, wearing a black suit, approached, his purple tie in contrast with everything around. "And a lady." He nodded towards Zora.

"Mr O'Hara, you're still here?" Xander got up immediately, wiped his hands and came to greet the man.

"Of course, Xander. My friends and I decided to spend the day in the mountains. We found a beautiful restaurant not far from here." Mr O'Hara's face was tanned and covered in deep wrinkles, like the face of a man that spent most of his life working outside.

"It's good to have you here, would you like something to drink?" Xander offered immediately, hoping him and his group would leave a good impression. This meant something to him, someone recognising his hobby as something important.

"No, no, we're just passing. We wouldn't want to ruin your day off with business. And a man like me can't talk about anything other than business." He laughed out loud, compelling everyone else to do the same. "But, I would love to set a date for us to meet. There are some things we should talk about, my young friend, concerning your future employment." O'Hara winked and Xander nodded, feeling like a little boy whose father patted him on the back.

"Of course! It would be best if you'd tell me when you have time, I know you're a busy man."

"I will leave you and your friends to your food, then. Expect my call sometime soon." Mr O'Hara nodded. "Goodbye!"

The group murmured their goodbyes, possibly still shocked by the man's presence.

"Can I just say something?" Zora asked, but was abruptly interrupted by Tony.

"Annie's gonna be pissed."