Also, I think there might be some Friends spoilers, so... yeah, I guess. If you haven't watched the first season and a half of Friends, you might get kinda spoilers for like an episode.

Devin

I got to play with my wings ALL WEEK! It was awesome! I learned fly much better now, so that the wings never failed. I was even able to fly smoothly in the wind, but I don't have the guts to try it in the rain, and I'm sure if Ben saw me trying, he would actually go insane.

Since it got really cold at night (I couldn't get any good air conditioning yet) Lizzy's socks came in very handy. My whole house smelled like pine since I burned the scented candles 24-7, and the chocolate bark existed for a good two days until I ate them all while I binged Friends for a while. I'm about halfway through season two and lucky me that Ben was actually serious when he said that he would like to watch it with me. So, I get to head over to Ben's house in a bit and watch some tv with him for hours on end, on separate heterosexual sides of the couch of course. (Did anyone catch the Big Bang Theory reference? Well, in the first episode Sheldon tells Penny that he and Leonard sleep "in separate heterosexual bedrooms")

I landed in front of Ben's modern house around 7:30, ready to meet him and casually binge some Friends with him. I undid the straps around torso and fixed my hair before stepping inside. His house was nice, warm and welcoming with plenty of light that would've streamed through the many windows if it wasn't winter. Ben slid around the corner with his socks as his main mode of transport as Ziggy trotted behind him.

"Hey Dev, great to see you." He greeted, continue to slide over with his socks like he was an ice skater.

"Great to see you to!" I replied, as I felt heat run up to my cheeks. (Gay panic 1) Ziggy ran up to me and eagerly jumped up on my lab and barked in my face. "Hello to you to." I smiled as Ziggy forcefully licked my face.

"Ziggy! Don't jump." Ben grabbed Ziggy around his belly and pulled him off me. "Sorry 'bout him."

"Oh, it's fine." I chirped, "I don't really mind."

"Good, cause you know he will never stop." He laughed, walking over to the kitchen. "Would you like some popcorn?"

"Uh, sure." I started, not really knowing the 'correct' answer. "If it's not too much work." I quickly added. (Gay panic 2) Do I sound to needy? Jeez I hope not.

"Devin." Ben replied, looking up at me. "It's popcorn. It's not hard." I laughed nervously and wandered around to the corner to his coat closet where I hung up my wings. I stayed out of sight for a second, letting myself catch my breath. Considering I get flustered by getting asked if I wanted popcorn, this was going to be a long night. I came out from around the corner when I heard popping noises from the kitchen. "Thought you got lost." He laughed, moving over to stand next to me.

"S-Shut up." I replied, mostly as joke. (I love how I only hear Amity say that, also gay panic 3)

"You know I'm kidding." He cooed, gently resting his hand on top of my head and gently stroking my hair. If my face ever returned to normal color, it certainly didn't last long. I turned my head away from him so he wouldn't see me become a flustered mess (Gay panic 4) "Your hair is so soft..." Ben complimented quietly, twirling his finger around a couple strands of hair.

"I-I'm going to s-start the show!" I blurted, slightly tripping over my feet as I backed up towards the couch.

"Alright." Ben sighed quietly and walked over to the air pop machine and removed the bucket of popcorn. I sat down on Ben's dark brown leather couch and grabbed the remote while I tried to steady my heart; it felt like it was beating a million times a minute. I flicked around his various recordings of Stranger Things and Grey's Anatomy until I got to the eighty recordings of different Friends episodes. (Me needing to go to google and ask what TV shows 20-year old's watch)

"Which one are we on?" I called out to him. Ben moseyed out from the kitchen and sat down next to me.

"Umm..." I kept flicking through the season four episodes until we got all the way to season two.

"We watched The One with the Baby on the Bus... so I guess the next one is The One Where Ross Finds Out." I hit 'ok' on the remote and the episode began.

"Yes! This is a good one, I haven't watched this in forever." Ben placed the bowl of popcorn half on his leg and half on mine. I tried to keep my attention on the TV, but how could I when our hands kept touching when I reached for popcorn or no matter where I moved my leg, it would always slightly touch Ben's, at least he never caught me looking at him. That would've been humiliating. (Gay panic 5... sorta)

Ben

We watched Friends for nearly three hours, well I watched Friends for nearly three hours, Dev mostly watched me. I bet he thought he was being smooth, but I know when I'm getting daydreamed about. Around 10:30 or so, after the Superbowl two part-er, I could tell Devin was getting tired. He would fight to keep his eyes open during the commercials and would yawn slightly every now and then.

I figured that after this last episode, I would probably say something like 'I'm pretty tired, what about you?' I don't know, but I think that he would probably want to go home anyway. Right as the episode almost came to an end, I felt Devin's warmth resting on my shoulder.

"One more?" He pleaded. I looked down at him, my eyes focusing in on his. I've never really noticed them before; they were warm and inviting like they were filled with the utmost care and hope.

"Of course." I replied, quietly and sweetly. I gently placed my arm around his shoulder, sandwiching him between my arm and my chest. (Gay panic 6, not for Ben, for Devin)

About halfway through the episode, Dev dozed off. I wasn't too surprised, I kinda expected it. He woke up not long after, with nearly five minutes left in The One with the Prom Video.

"Good morning." I chuckled quietly as he stirred gently. I lightly rubbed his shoulder.

"Whatever..." He murmured, dragging out the 'r'. I smiled sweetly as he continued to nuzzle his face in my shoulder.

"Are you sure you don't want to go home and sleep?" I asked him again.

"Mmm... I guess."

"Do you want me walk you home?" I ran my fingers through his hair again.

"Nah... you don't gotta." (Speech 100) The episode ended with the classic 'She's your lobster' line and me and Devin giving a couple claps for Ross and Rachel. "I think I'm going to skedaddle." Dev just sorta rolled off the couch then pushed himself up to stand.

"I don't even know what that was." I laughed.

"Yeah, me neither." He wearily laughed along and wandered over to the coat closet to grab his wings. I grabbed the empty popcorn bowl and tossed it haphazardly into the sink with a loud clang. "Nice shot, you should play basketball." Dev joked, walking out from the corner and towards the door.

"I know right? I could be in the NBA." A cute smile stayed over his face as he slowly swayed closer to the door. "Have good night." I called after him as he started to shut the door.

"You to!" He sent a cute wave and finally closed the door. I let out a sigh of relief and walked back over to the TV. Ziggy was already asleep in his bed, a.k.a. the armchair on the far side of the room. I fell back down on the couch and kicked my feet up on the coffee table, listening to the quiet commentary of some Harry Potter movie playing on HBO.

"Resigned! But why!"

"It seems that someone has let slip the nature of my condition."

"Snape."

"Whoever. It was bound to get out. This time tomorrow, the owls will start arriving. Parents will not want a, someone like me, teaching their children."

((Taken from page 125 of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban script))

I could feel sleep pulling on me as I just passed out on the couch.

/-/

I heard the soft ting-a-ling-ing of my watch alarm at my usual time, 7:30. People thought I was crazy for having an alarm set every morning, even weekends, when I live on my own with absolutely no real reason to wake up early. No real job, family or pet—excuse me—needy pet to look after. Ziggy would probably starve before he left his arm chair, or until I dragged him outside. (I'm noticing multiple similarities between myself and Ziggy)

"Come on Zig! Get up!" I pulled the blanket off the black, furry lump on the chair. Ziggy finally jumped off his resting place and followed me to the kitchen where I grabbed a scoop of food and plopped it in his bowl. I started brewing coffee then grabbed my phone that had plugged in at least around lunchtime yesterday. "What!" I saw a little notification in the top corner. 'Interview for P714: 8:30 Today, December 29.' Without even bothering to grab my coffee, I sprinted up the stairs to my room.

/-/

After the world's fastest shower, world's least thought-out outfit, and smallest amount of coffee consumed since early high school, I was 'ready' for my interview that I totally prepared for. At nearly 8:25 I was stepping out my old, black Toyota Camry at the bottom of the B.U.D building. It has been an awful long time since I was here... maybe two years? It doesn't sound that long but it certainly feels it. I made my way through the maze and up to room 705B.

"Hello!" A friendly face greeted as I walked into the room after fixing my navy-blue tie over my white button-up shirt. "You are Benjamin, correct?"

"Yes, but you can just call me Ben." I responded, firmly shaking the girl's hand. She had chocolate colored skin like Steven, and puffy black hair pulled into a bun sitting on the top of her head. A light pink collared shirt sat loosely around her top half and a tight black skirt hugged tightly to her legs.

"Nice to meet you, Ben. Come and take a seat right here and we can start the interview." I walked over to the table, sitting neatly in the middle of the room, and took a seat. "Is it Ok if I record you? Only for the interview." She added.

"Yes, that's fine." I let my arms rest on my knees as she opened her laptop and clicked around for a couple seconds.

"Alright... tell me a little about yourself." A small smile creeped on to my face even though I tried to fight it as much as possible. I've been preparing for this question exactly.
"Well, I grew up in C5 with a love for building. I was involved in many clubs and non-profits so I could get into P386 and hone on my skills to eventually give back to the community and build buildings like this, that become very important places for many different groups of people.

Currently, I still live in P386 but seeing how people from P714 are so successful and have a very good reputation, I figured that I would be a good new member in your realm." I finished my little speech satisfied. Sitting somewhere on my dresser was a printed-out speech that looks nearly identical to what I just said. The interviewer across from me nodded and noted something down on her laptop.

"How would you describe yourself?" Easy question.

"I am very loyal and honest. I try to make sure everyone is comfortable and getting the help they need. I am very smart, and I am a good problem solver. Some of friends even invite me over to their houses and ask me to help them and solve a problem that their having." That's not entirely true. Nobody has ever invited me over to their house and ask me to solve a problem, but it's not like she would know that.

"Thats nice... what are your greatest weaknesses?"

/-/

According to my totally-not-biased-opinion, I think the interview went very well. I answered every question to the best of my ability, and I really think I got in. What's great about this realm, is that this one has infinitely more structure. We would have actual classes and teachers, where we would actually learn instead of learning by doing. I just find classes to be much more effective.

The only problem with this is that I would have to leave all my friends behind. If I got into P714, I would definitely take the offer, but then I would hardly ever get to see Steven, Lizzy or Devin. Not to mention Alex, Damian or Ryan. People are just too nice, but I can't pass up an opportunity like this.

I felt my phone buzz in my pocket. I took a quick glance at my apple watch and saw a glimpse of the message.

Steven- how did the inter go

I pulled into the massive parking garage and jumped out the tiny car.

Ben- great. I nailed it.

Steven- noice

I tossed my empty to-go coffee mug and scanned myself through the portal. Man, I'd miss this place.

Man, I hate that ending sentence. I'm too lazy to change it so it'll stay like that forever. 2,301 words in this chapter. I think that might be the most so far? NOOO! Last chapter was 10 words longer! I think I'll re-do the ending now.

I tossed my empty to-go coffee mug and scanned myself through the portal. Man, I'd miss this place. I grabbed my wings from the rack by the portal and flew home, making sure to take my own sweet time swooping around, going up real high, then diving down like an eagle, then twist around and start going up at the last second. A large smile was slapped across my face the whole time, temporarily forgetting around every other thing in this world.

2,365 words! I feel much better now. I don't really have any other plans for short stories or anything. I might put out another Carry On Amazingly? Chapter before this gets updated again. I don't really have much for this little end note thing.

Love y'all!

--Kio