:CHAPTER 18::

[One Year Later]

Richard’s POV

Squinting into the morning sun, I made a face. My mouth felt cottony and dry. I moved the empty bottle of champagne from my chest and looked on either side of me.

One guy was lying with his nose bare inches from mine. He had a cute, boyish face. He'd been a perfect choice to model in the fashion show last night. His twin brother on the other side had identical features but a slightly more angular chin. Both were pretty. Not my usual type, but on them it worked.

Gently removing one arm from around my waist and another leg from over my thigh, I slipped off the hotel bed. The first thing I did was throw on my pants and shirt. Both were wrinkled but that was the least of my problems. Where the hell is my phone?

I hunted around the room in silence, trying to retrace my steps. I got my shoes on and found my phone, in one side. I sighed, not even wanting to think about how I’d managed that. I ran through a mental checklist.

Clothes, check. Phone, check. Wallet, check. Money and credit cards in wallet, check. Keys, check. Stray accessories, check.  I put my watch on. One by one I ran through the list and, once satisfied, slipped out of the room.

When I made it to the hotel lobby, I made arrangements to ensure that that room's tab was closed. I didn't need the hotel billing me for anything the guys might want to order.

The guy behind the counter scowled at me. He wasn’t my biggest fan and his glares reminded me every time. He and I had had one night together in this very hotel once. He never forgot it and he never forgave me for ignoring him on the off times that I brought another guy here.

It used to bother me. I’d felt guilty and not to mention a little man-whoreish. Now I didn't bother with the scowls and glares. I told myself that he'd known better. He worked front desk. He had witnessed others come in with me before. I had even gone so far as to warn him. I always warned them.

All I could give them was one night. No calls. No relationship. Nothing but one night.

I got out to where I’d parked my car two blocks away. You had to take precautions when you did these things. It was a dirty game and I’d be damned if my car got punished for it. After doing the regular checks on things like the breaks, tires and gas, I figured the car was safe enough to drive back to the campus.

In the beginning I’d blushed whenever Tommy teased me about being almost as bad as him. I justified it by reminding myself that, unlike him, this was necessary. I didn't have many other choices. It was either this or go monk. The latter was impossible given my situation.

I couldn’t really explain it. It was such a rapid-fire, violent change that I could tell anyone the exact day and time it happened.

I’d been taking a nap after class when I’d felt something. It was a jolt to the gut. I’d never felt anything like it before. It was sort of as if I’d been electrocuted from the inside out. Except it didn’t hurt. It was pleasant almost. It was something warm and buzzing in my stomach. A feeling of rightness. Contentment.

My heart had been pounding and according to Tommy, I was pale and sweating. He pointed me to a mirror where I saw my that my irises had paled more than they had before. They were a cool blue. Lighter than Tommy’s. That in itself was weird considering my eyes had been dark brown when we’d first met.

He tried to get me to go to the doctor but I refused to go. What would I tell them? That I was feeling better than I ever had before? There was nothing to fix. Eyes aside, nothing really worried me. Usually I would have gone to the doctor about this, but somehow I knew that they wouldn't find anyhing.

At that time, the change in me had been good. Innocent. The next day, not so much. I’d woken up sweating and rubbing my chest. It felt like a rubber band was stretched too tight over my chest. It made it difficult to breathe.

I'd looked down to find myself harder than I could ever remember being. I'd already made a mess in my shorts but the material was still uncomfortably tight around my waist.

It was only then that I was hit with the extent of the change in me. It was as if I was going through puberty all over again. This time it came with a vengeance. Nothing I did made the erection die down and it was starting to almost hurt. Eventually, I figured it was a two man job.

Tommy didn’t mind helping in the least. We went at it for hours. Hours. We were running out of positions by the minute and my hard on refused to go away. My stamina was not normal. Usually Tommy was the insatiable one who I fought to keep up with. By the end, he was practically beating me off with a stick.

From that morning it got worse. Or better according to Tommy. He seemed to think it was a blessing from the Deity of Sex. I know. There’s always that one friend.

At first we thought this thing was kinda cool. A bit funny sometimes. We’d joke about it and he'd tease me mercilessly.

In less than a week it stopped being funny. It was growing stronger. It was demanding more than any one guy could give me.

I’d gone to a private clinic later that week and the doctors insisted there was nothing wrong. It was the same damn thing with the eyes all over again. None of them could find any problem to fix.

I was growing more irritated with time. It took a lot for any guy to complain about an overactive sex drive, but even Tommy was getting concerned. That said it all. He was willing to lend a hand but we soon found that it wasn’t working out any more. He couldn’t handle what I demanded from him. No one man would. It was unfair to even ask him to try.

Now I steered clear of Tommy in that way. It was too much for him. He wouldn’t say no if I asked but I didn’t want to take advantage of him.

It was the worst thing not to have any control over your body and to not know why. It was a daily problem that flared up at night more than any other time of the day.

It was a tug low in my stomach. It was pure lust and heat. An itch no one seemed able to scratch. A pulsing need inside that could be stroked but never sated. Worse, I’d fall asleep feeling horrible every night that I did it. I knew I needed the sexual outlet but afterward I felt guilty.

I felt like I was betraying someone. As if I was taken and cheating on them. That was impossible though. I was single. And for a good reason too. I had a tendency to screw up every relationship I tried to get into. They all felt wrong. No one really fit well with me. My heart rejected them almost before I agreed to be in the relationship. It just knew they were wrong for me. They always wound up cheated on or neglected or hurt in some way or the other.

I was at that point where I had no interest in a relationship with anyone. I didn’t want to keep anyone around for long. Because of that, I had to resort to one night stands if I wanted to calm my near constant sexual need. There was no choice in that.

I started off with friends but it became pretty obvious after a while that one night stands with people you knew was a big no-no. They expected compassion and pillow talk and sometimes dating. I didn’t want any of those things and I most definitely was not paying for sex. This was the only other alternative.

Abstinence was the worst thing I’d contemplated. Nights would find me wild eyed, sweat slicked and feeling as if I’d swallowed half a bottle of pills no guy my age had any business taking. It hurt and it ached and there was a longing for something I couldn't put my finger on.

The wrongness of these one night stands wasn’t lost on me. I hated what I had talked myself into doing. The pleasure was always short lived, the calm lasted only two to three days before the next flare, and the self-loathing lasted four times longer. It made me sick sometimes, but a guilty conscience was the price of sanity. My body needed the human contact and an impossible amount of it. Taking one guy home was pointless.

It was fucking with my school life, my work life and my life in general. I hated it. I resented it. It was not a cold shower and a jog around the park sort of problem. My body was in near constant craving but I ignored it for as long as humanly possible before giving in. I tried to keep things at a minimum and suffered through the rest of the week in silence.

The hotel was another unfortunate thing.

Tommy understood what I was going through, but I didn’t feel right about abusing that fact. I couldn’t have guys in and out of our dorm three or four times a month so I used the hotel. I had the money for it so why not? I could afford a decent room and drinks a couple nights a month. A motel wouldn’t work. Not with the kind of guys I wound up with.

After all, I was Tommy Ackles’s new ‘BFF’; the new hot thing in the tabloids. We were always seen up and about at this event or that party. Those magazines made me feel like a piece of meat the way they always had us plastered all over for our looks. They never bothered to ask us anything about ourselves. It was always a full page with us laughing at a club or talking at some show. I was the new toy and people wanted to be seen with me.

I was well enough known that the guys came to me and had no qualms about sharing. I didn't have Tommy's pedigree-bred charm but no one seemed to mind. A smile and a hello was all it took to get them to agree to come with me.

And each time I drove away from that hotel, I felt dirty. I stopped feeling guilty for leaving the guys there a long time ago, but I sure as hell wasn’t fine with sleeping with strangers like that. I don’t think I ever would be. It just wasn't me.

Running my fingers through my hair, I lit a cigarette and cracked the window open. It was a bad habit I only did after leaving the hotel. It calmed me. I sat in the car, blowing the smoke through my nose. “I can’t keep up with this,” I sighed looking up at the sky through the window, "This is the last time."

I said that every time. The last time was always the last…until the next time came around at least. It was always easy to think that when I was in control. When I wasn't was the real problem. My body was always there to remind me that my mind and conscience had no say in this.

Back in our dorm, I watched Tommy sit on his bed surrounded by leaves of paper; some balled up, some torn up and others with writing all over it. Tommy had the penmanship of a calligraphy artist.

“Had a good night?” he asked without looking up.

“Good enough,” I got my things out to go take a shower down the hall, “Anything so far?”

“What do you think?”

“Guess that’s a no.”

“Oh shit, you think?” he asked.

I was too used to Tommy’s sarcasm and irritation by now to question it. It had been a while since I was able to joke around and laugh with him.

Time was drawing closer to Mr. Ackles’s retirement. The old man was gearing up to hire someone to take his place and Tommy was running out of time. More than anything in the world, he wanted his father’s company. Tommy had been stressing himself out trying to prove to his father that he was the man for the job.

Mr. Ackles was not budging on their deal. He wanted to know for sure that his son was capable of running the company. He wanted to be sure that his business would be in capable hands. His irresponsible, playful, spendthrift of a son wouldn’t be allowed near inheriting the business unless he was sure that Tommy was ready.

I took a long, steaming shower and came back to the dorm to see Tommy in the same position I’d left him in. It was no surprise. He spent most of his time hunched over the papers on his bed jotting down possible ideas that might impress his father into handing over the multi-million dollar business.

Tommy and I didn’t talk much these days. I understood though. Stress was a new concept to him. He was handling it as best as he could.

I didn’t want to imagine how he’d survive in a regular job. He’d never had a worry in the world. In a regular job, he’d be working for a regular salary that would introduce him to the stress of things like making ends meet and bills. He wasn’t ready. I knew that much.

Leaving him to brainstorm, I worked on my own stuff for school. Hours later, I looked across the room to see him sleeping against the wall. Sighing, I put away my books and went over to him. I had enough practice with Nye to know how to look after people I cared about.

I moved him onto his pillow and tucked him under his blanket. It didn’t take too long to clear the bed of the papers. I tossed out the torn up bits and put the rest on his bedside table. I frowned down at him. I don’t think I’d ever wanted anything as badly as Tommy wanted this company. As much as I pitied him, I envied him too. It must have been nice to care about something so much to put your all into getting it. There really wasn’t much that I cared about lately. Not with the passion he had.

Needing a break of my own, I turned off the speakers near Tommy’s bed and turned on the ones near mine before putting on his TV. The screen was so huge that I could easily watch it from my side of the room. The volume was low so that it wouldn’t wake him.

I flipped through a few channels and caught a couple of late night cartoons and a movie before I started dozing off on myself. As I started surfing channels again, a news station popped up. Like I wasn’t sleepy enough before. I got up and helped myself to a slice of cake and juice from Tommy’s mini fridge before going back to the bed.

While licking off the frosting, I caught the reporter talking about a couple of humans who died in Rondesdale. I frowned at that and decided to listen in for a bit. I hadn’t lived there for three years but I still felt connected to the place. Just the name on the radio or TV usually got my attention.

The reporter suddenly turned the story to the rising number of infiltrations going on within the dens of closely situated Chosen underground communities. I listened half-heartedly. What they need is better security. If they had some kind of…oh my shit. That’s it.

I scrambled off the bed, ignoring the fallen cake on the floor. Tommy’s housekeeper would have a fit when she saw the chocolate frosting stains but I didn’t have time to worry about that. I’d just gotten an idea that I’m sure Tommy hadn’t had simply because he was human and had grown up around humans.

Rushing to the bedside table, I turned on the lamp. I would have woken Tommy up immediately if he was the same Tommy from a few months ago. This Tommy would punch me in the face if I woke him up with false hope. I had to be sure.

I uncrumpled the balls of paper and smoothened them out. Checking out the scribbles, my eyes widened once I saw the same figure popping up. If that figure was the budget, I didn’t know how to react. I’d never seen so many zeros in one budget. He’s responsible for all of that? I wouldn’t even know what to do with three million, far less that figure. I glanced over at Tommy. It hit me then that this was just to fund one project.

How much money will he have in his name once the company is his?

I’d never given it much thought. I was used to seeing him flaunting cash, but I never wondered how much he really had at his disposal. It seemed much more imposing now that I saw a figure written in black and white.

Money was power. Everyone knew that. With the kind that Tommy’s family obviously had, it was a wonder that Tommy wasn’t insufferably selfish and stuck up. He practically lived the golden baby rattle life. You could do anything you wanted with that kind of money. I knew that power would have gone to my head. I’d have been a total nightmare. Tommy was downright humble in comparison.

“Hey, get up!” I shook him, “Wake up!”

“What the…” he rolled to me, “You had better have a good reason for this.”

“I have an idea for the company.”

“You what?” he sat up all sleep wiped from his eyes.

“Ackles Corp. I think I have an idea for you to bring to your dad.”

“I’m supposed to come up with it myself,” he frowned a little, but I could tell he was itching to know.

“You said that your father told you to bring him an idea. He didn’t say that you had to come up with it. No CEO works on his own. He has employees…partners. Think of me as your partner.”

“You want to be my partner in the company?”

“No,” I said but then thought it over, “That would be impossible, wouldn’t it?”

“We can make an arrangement,” Tommy said slowly, “You tell me what you came up with, and if it works out I’ll arrange to make you my partner once the business is mine.”

“It’s as simple as that?”

“No. You’re going to need to invest money into the company if you want equal partnership. We can iron out the specifics of an actual number later.”

There was nothing to think about. I nodded my agreement to his terms. Right now, at this point in my life, I didn’t have a single clue what I’d gotten myself into. I had not a clue.

“Have you seen the news about the Chosen?” I asked taking a seat on his bed.

“About the serial killings in your town you mean?”

“No,” I shook my head frowning, “Not that.”

“What then?”

“Okay so get this, in Chosen communities there’s one den for all the Chosen to go into. It’s like an underground thing and no Chosen is allowed to tell any human where it is.”

“Like some kind of secret club house?” a faint smile and a hint of the old Tommy peeking through him.

“Yeah, kind of,” I chuckled, “But instead of junk food, toys and dirty magazines, they have their training grounds, military barracks, Alpha’s office and nurseries there.”

“Why on earth would they house their army with their nursery?”

“Pups are very unstable. They shift without warning, they get volatile fast, they lash out and they are a danger to themselves and each other. They need constant supervision and training…and guidance. They can’t be allowed to be taken by outside packs. It would be only too easy to raise and weaponize them against their own packs because Pack never hurt their own. They never harm their innocents and submissives. The safest place for them is where their army can protect them.”

“So what does this have to do with the news report?”

“Well the packs are doing just that. Infiltrating nearby dens most likely to try to find out where the kids are being held,” I sighed, “It’s the only reason a person would need to enter another’s den. Going after the actual soldiers would get them killed.”

“I don’t get it. I mean it’s sad and all, but what does this have to do with Ackles Corp?” he asked.

“Don’t you see? The dens are being infiltrated because only a fraction of the full army is ever present at one time. The Chosen are still part human and part animal. They can’t live underground forever. They need to be in homes above ground too. That means the dens are left vulnerable. If Ackles Corp could provide their high end security systems to them…maybe start a line of systems aimed specifically for underground places like dens…”

“No other company is doing that,” Tommy said slowly, “The Chosen don’t have the resources and the humans would never think to distribute to them. Damn. It's perfect. You’d have to be a part of both worlds to even consider it. That’s a valuable thing, Richard. I really think we should be partners on this.”

“I try,” I grinned at him and was glad to see his eyes looking more alive than they have in a while.

“Dude…I could kiss you right now,” he jumped to his feet striding up and down, “You just opened up a whole line of ideas. Imagine how many new products our tech team could work on now that we have a new market. This is freakin’ brilliant!”

As of now, I wasn’t even sure that Tommy was still on the same planet as the rest of us anymore. He gave me a smacking kiss on the nose and practically skipped over to his wardrobe to grab his satchel.

He brought out a laptop and we started getting our ideas down in black and white. I have no idea when I’d fallen asleep but I woke up to the sound of typing. Tommy was awake and his fingers flying over the keyboard with all the skill of a secretary moonlighting as a pianist.

“Did you even get any sleep?” I asked with a yawn. He scoffed and shot me a look before going back to his typing. “Aren’t you tired?” I got up and stretched. Another scoff but this time I saw his grin. Smiling I got my things to go take a shower.

“Whoa. No. You can’t go to class today,” he looked up, “We have to go over these ideas and start making some calls, arrangements and meetings. Then we have to talk to the department heads to see if this plan is even viable. We've got work to do, bro. I’m not just going to give you the partnership. You have to help.”

“How long is this going to take?”

“We have less than a month before I have to bring the idea to my dad and his associates. We have presentations to do and research to gather. Sit your ass down. You’re my bitch for the day,” he beamed.

“Do I get a maid outfit too?” I rolled my eyes smiling anyways.

“Don’t make those kinds of jokes. I have one of those.”

I didn’t bring it up again. I wouldn’t put it past him to hold me down and force me into the costume for shits and giggles. The Nurse Incident was burned into my memories forever.

Tommy called Ackles Corp and told them that I wouldn’t be in for a few days and, naturally, they accepted it. For the rest of the day we pigged out on shrimp, donuts and apricot vodka while we made call after call to anyone and everyone who would take part in this venture.

For the next few weeks, I went to classes but stayed away from work. Nearly all of Tommy and my time was devoted to this. We needed to sell this idea and we needed to foresee any questions or complaints they may have with the project. We had to have solutions waiting and ready to lay out for them. The upcoming meeting needed to be flawless.

The other candidates that Mr. Ackles was considering for the job didn’t have to come up with anything. They had been working at Ackles Corp for years. They had proven their competence – or lack – over and over before. Tommy hadn’t. He was the spoilt, party-boy wild child of the boss. He had to prove to his dad and the board that he was suitable. He had to show that he wasn’t getting picked because of sheer nepotism…even if that was partially it.

Our diet turned into caffeine, sugar and water. If it didn’t have any of the above, we didn’t eat it. It was a wonder that we didn’t get fat during that time. The end of the month was nearing and still we were researching invasions and making notes on climate and weather patterns and such.

When the big day finally came, we had our presentation saved on three different devices to be safe. I’d made sure we got a good night sleep no matter how many times Tommy tried to sneak off to work a little more. That morning we went over our speeches and practiced until I didn’t even need the cue cards.

The meeting was set for the afternoon and we were both so nervous that we just sat in our dorm in utter silence. I had to hide the alcohol from Tommy. He seemed set on drinking himself calm. Knowing him, he’d just wind up getting drunk and ruin the entire thing.

Right this moment, we were talking with our lawyers in the room. A partnership agreement had been drawn up and particulars settled. With both our names signed onto the document, Tommy’s lawyer took it and left. My own lawyer was arranging for the agreed upon figure be wired from my parent’s account to Tommy's until he could put it into the business account. I had taken all of the money my parents had been keeping as a small but handsome fund for me. It was my financial investment into the business.

As of now, I was a partner of Ackles Corp the second Tommy got the green light on this.

The time finally came and we got into Tommy’s car and drove over to the skyscraper. It was the main building that liaised with all the other companies under Ackles Corp; everything from security systems and devices to oil and gas. Ackles Corp was an infamous conglomerate. The name was on so many products that it slipped most people’s notice when it was printed on the labels and signs.

For the first time, I took the elevator to the floor just below the top floor. It seemed to be a lobby. One that reminded me of a hotel. There was a receptionist behind her desk and a man tapping away on his phone in a seat near the only door on this floor.

“That’s my father,” Tommy whispered in my ear. It was a waste of time. I could tell already. The man looked just like Tommy but older. I knew from Tommy that he was fifty, but man the guy aged gracefully. He had the face and body of a thirty year old male model. But I supposed he could afford to look like that. He took really good care of himself.

The only hint at his age was the pure grey of his hair. Even then, it looked like he’d purposely had it dyed that color for the sake of style. It gave him that distinguished, older gentleman look that worked when you had an empire like Ackles Corp under your control. Hell, with a company like his he could afford to retire at fifty. Especially since he started this business at a young age.

The closer I got, I caught the fine lines on his forehead and the wrinkling at the corner of his eyes. They were as blue as his son’s and the smile he flashed when he looked up made me wonder if Tommy’s mother had passed on any traits at all to him.

“You’re early,” he said, “I’m honestly shocked. I didn’t know you owned an alarm clock.”

“Yeah, his name is Richard,” Tommy nudged me.

“Ahh yes. This must be your new partner-to-be,” Mr. Ackles said.

“Yes, sir. Richard Crowley,” I said holding out a hand.

“Spencer Ackles, pleasure,” he shook my hand, “We have a few minutes before things start, do you want anything from the buffet inside?”

“I couldn’t keep anything down,” Tommy shook his head.

“Same here.”

The nerves were killing me. I could only imagine how nervous Tommy was. Wiping my palms against my pants, I took a breath. I really wanted Tommy to get this. It wasn’t about me. I could more than survive without this company but not him.

“I’m sure you guys will do fine,” Mr. Ackles nodded, “Take deep breaths, watch your time, cover the important things first. These people are busy folk. Always getting calls or needed somewhere. Some won't be able to stay until the end.”

“Thanks,” Tommy gave his father a smile and a pat on the arm.

“You know that it’s you I want in my place,” he said, "Good luck."

When it was time for the meeting, I could have smacked Tommy. We got into that room and I realized that he’d been nervous for no reason. The minute he walked in after the others, he changed. He went from Tommy the prince of the tabloids to Thomas Ackles the future head of this company. He was the CEO of Ackles Corp in there. He acted like it was in the bag, as if he was already the boss, as if he hadn’t woken up at three this morning throwing up because of nerves.

I was proud of him. This was his moment to show everyone that what he could do. I assisted and offered my part when it was needed, but essentially Tommy ran the show. It was important to show the others that he could stand on his own two feet. And there was no doubt in anyone’s mind of that. They seemed impressed with his choice in a partner too and I forced myself to keep from blushing at their nods of approval.

Standing before them in his black power suit with the crisp, white shirt and silver blue tie, he was the picture of greatness in the making. He was intelligent and yet charming when he needed to be. It was obvious that he’d won them over. Charisma had always been his strong point. Whenever he made a joke, the room fell into laughter. If someone had a question, he had the answer. When there was a flaw in the plan, he had the solution.

Everything was going well until a man with a mousy face and a large, broken nose cleared his throat. Tommy had mentioned that he was one of those in line for the company too. The minute he opened his mouth, I wanted to break his nose for him again.

“I don’t mean to interrupt,” he started, “but are you saying that this equipment is going to be for the Chosen and the Chosen only? Why waste our resources on them? Why not let the animals handle their animal problems themselves?”

“Excuse me?” Tommy and I chorused.

“Well they’ve been taking care of themselves for all this time, it just seems like a waste to bother with them now. These kids of theirs have claws and teeth too. If they’re really as volatile as you say they can be, why can’t they deal with it themselves.”

“What you’re suggesting, sir,” Tommy said in the most cordial tone and smile in place, “Is the same thing as me saying that a group of people come to raid your house every night with guns, but that your children should be safe once they too have guns.”

"Oh."

"They are not old enough to defend themselves. They are only children."

“It was simply a question. I am sorry,” he said not looking in the least bit sorry.

“That’s fine. People, these are young children. They are untrained and vulnerable with limited protection at any given time. How much do you think people would be willing to pay if we could offer them additional protection to loved ones in a time of crises?”

“Another question.”

“What is it?” I asked with a scowl barely hidden.

“Why don't we let this play out naturally? It is the natural order after all. Alpha versus Alpha, pack against pack. I don’t see why we should spends millions of dollars trying to stop this when it might just benefit us humans in the end.”

“Does anyone have any questions that may restore my faith in humanity?” Tommy looked around the room.

“Anyone?” I asked, “Anyone at all?”

Uneasy chuckles flitted through the room. Racism was usually an under the carpet thing. It was there and it was shown but not blatantly like this. No one was so open about it. The idea of leaving children – babies some of them – to die for the sake of watching a race die out was a hundred kinds of sick.

Tommy and I pointedly ignored that man throughout the presentation. His father proposed that we have a follow-up meeting in a couple weeks’ time one some things were confirmed. He also suggested that we meet with a couple of Alphas to discuss their take on it. Aside from that, Mr. Ackles was impressed with Tommy and his pride was an obvious thing.

He took us to lunch at a hotel nearby that had the best lobster around. Skipping breakfast had us starving. We celebrated there and it was in that moment that I saw how deeply Tommy had wanted this. The happiness in him affected everyone he came into contact with from the waiter to the people in the nearby booth.

We made plans later to have me made partner officially the next month when things were finalized. I left my second floor job and prepared for a top floor career. Things were looking up. It seemed like it had just been waiting to fall into place.

The Chosen believed in something they called Faith in Fate. They always talked about how everything that happened was pre-destined. Fate. Everything happened for a reason. It wasn’t an impossible belief when you had things like mates existing.

This all just seemed like it was meant to happen. I go away to college and just happen to get Tommy for a roommate. I somehow wind up great friends with him despite how different we were and we were both majoring in Business Management. Then I'd been lucky enough to have him help me in so many ways until I felt the need to repay him. Just the idea that I so happened to watch the news for once on that particular night when we needed an idea like that. Hell, just the fact that I was born in a Chosen community and wound up around a guy who needed someone with a mentality different from his. It all played out to get to this moment. This perfect moment where my life, future and career was finally taking some kind of shape.

It was all a college student really came to college looking for.

Some answer that would make their future make a little bit of sense. A sense of what you’re meant to be when you grow up. Because you can dream big as a kid all you like. People say you can be anything you want. They’re wrong. They lie. You go to high school and you find that you suck at Physics or Math or English. Or you’re not good with people or have absolutely no talent at painting or music. You don’t have what it takes to be a doctor or astronaut or writer. Your childhood dreams often die in high school. Not always but often.

Reality hits you.

And you go to college either because you were told to or because you hope to find your calling there. You hope that you meet the right people or find that subject that you’re great at. You sometimes settle for easy and convenient, but you might just find that thing you’re great at. You find your career-to-be.

Finally, I found what I was meant to be. And lucky me, luxury and riches seemed to be in my future. Lots of it too. And funnily enough, I had absolutely no problem with that. Thank Ahmose for Faith in Fate.

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Sorry for to super mega ultra (Nye has me saying that a lot lately idk why) late update. Honestly I didn't think I'd be able to upload anything until Christmas break when school would be closed. Thanks to all of you who didn't unfollow or give up on my babies. You're the best <3 It really would have been better to put this on hold but I didn't have the heart to do it.  It's too final. 

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for old time's sake :)

I actually really want comments more than anything. I'm curious about what you think about this. 

TWO MORE CHAPTERS UNTIL PART 3 AND THE REUNION AND OUR BABIES ALL GROWN UP.

You'll get to see pics of them in every chapter in Part 3. I think it's better that everyone meet at the same time. So you get to meet older Nye and Orion when Richie does. And you get to meet older Richie when Nye and Orion does. And all the other surprise people and stuff too. And Asher.