"Are you sure you want to room with him?" My dad watches me running around the apartment we're in, checking out the rooms, indecisively about which room to pick as my bedroom.

Nathan chuckles and shrugs carelessly. "It's nice to have someone with that much energy around."

"You always seem to think positive about his hyperactivity. But mark my words – I lived with the boy for over nineteen years – he can be a hand full."

"Oh, I know." Nathan laughs out. "I'll just make sure he joins the local soccer team to channel some of the energy. I'll make him do chores a lot..."

"Hey, we agreed on the chores to be divided equally!" I call out from the bedroom in the front of the house. All three bedrooms have their ups and downs.

The first one, in the front part of the apartment is located on the street and it has single glass so it isn't that much sound proof. That could be a con is I want to sleep in every so often.

The second one is located in the back of the apartment, has doors to a small balcony and a build in closet above the stairs. But it's small, only 4 by 2 meters. I can barely fit my bed in here, since it's a queen-sized bed.

The third and last is bigger, also in the back, but has one small window and it's pretty dark. Nathan said this room might be best to use as an office because there's enough light to work.

"I don't know which to pick." I mumble, looking back and forth in the hallway to the first and second bedroom. "Big, but noisy, small but quiet?"

"And in three..." Nathan holds up three fingers, counting down like I'm a child. "Two..."

I send him an unimpressed look, contemplating my decision.

"One..."

"The one in the back." I give into his countdown. "The quiet room."

"Good, fine, I'll take the one in the front. I don't like to sleep in anyway."

"Well, that's settled." Nathan's dad claps his hand. "Nathan, Cris, go to the store and pick out paint and whatnot. Here are the measurements of the rooms, make sure to take enough." His dad hands him a credit card, Nathan happily accepting it with a wide small.

"Thanks, dad." He gestures for me to follow, which I do after grabbing my phone and wallet, along with my dad's credit card.

"You too, daddio!" I call out, before I skip out of the front door, running down the stairs and towards the car. "I'm driving!"

Nathan rolls his eyes, throwing me the keys that belong to his car. "Sure, whatever makes you happy."

"I'm just full of energy today." I grin widely, taking a seat behind the wheel. "I can't believe we're actually moving out."

"I can't believe I'm actually going to live with you; a jock."

"Hey! I'm not a jock. I'm not like them."

"No, you're a geeky jock." He laughs out loud. "The weirdest combination I've ever seen."

"Let's be honest, I'm just really adorable."

"You're so, so full of yourself." He shakes his head.

"I'm just confident. I know what I want..."

'... something you can't seem to get."

"Hey!" I groan. "That one was low."

"Just trying to keep you down to earth here. You do know there's plenty of boys and girls that wouldn't mind spending a night with you."

"They're just never really it."

"You haven't seen anyone all summer, which must be some sort of personal record after the endless on-off thing you had going on with Stan."

"He had sexual frustration, I did, we just had a very convenient agreement to use each other whenever we needed some loving."

Nathan snorts in reaction, gesturing for me to go right at the next traffic light. "But now he's dating someone?"

"They're not dating, because – according to Stan – the guy is hiding even deeper in the closet then I did when I met him. So, he's having some difficulties to persuade him."

"Maybe he's just really not gay, at all. Not even close. Not in the closet, but fully out as a heterosexual. Those boys do exist, you know?" Nathan smirks. "I can write a book about falling for straight guys."

"Your gay-dar is just broken. Stan's always right in these things. Besides, they already kissed multiple times when he was drunk."

"Whatever. This isn't about Stan, this is about you and your stupid obsession of never dating anyone seriously."

"Which is because I don't want to get my heart broken again."

"You're the one that said you didn't want to see Finn anymore, not the other way around."

"Nate, you do understand why, don't you? You said I had every right to be angry."

"But not to drop him like that. He might be a mess, but he's been through a lot. It isn't easy to get abducted, shunned by your own parents and have your uncle die all within six months."

"But that doesn't mean he had to go around and sleep around like he did, while repeatedly telling me I was the only one for him."

"Cris." Nathan throws his head back. "I keep telling you, what he did wasn't cool. He should have been honest about it. But to completely kick him out of your life..."

"Let's stop talking about this. I felt all my energy drain in the past couple of seconds and I don't want to be depressed while picking out colours for my room."

"I'll let it slip, for now." Nathan chuckles. "Because I do agree black isn't the best colour for a bedroom."

I laugh out a little over his joke, steering the car onto the parking lot. "Thanks Nate, for being the best friend a guy could wish for."

* * * * *

"Cristian!?" My dad yells from down the stairs with a loud and a bit of annoyed voice. "Did you pack everything? Marc and Nathan are here!"

"Yes!" I yell back on top of my lungs. "Packed everything three days ago, told him I did. But does he ever listen?" I grumble in annoyance, dragging a big bag full of clothes behind me and out of my room. "Is anyone gonna help me?"

"Hey, you said you're a big boy now." My dad laughs out, opening the front door to let Nathan and his dad inside. "You should be happy we're helping you move. That we helped you with getting the apartment ready."

"Dad, you're so annoying," I whine, throwing the first bag at the doorstep, next to the pile of boxes that is already ready to be loaded into the trailer we rented for the move.

"I can't help it your so dense you think you need that much clothes. One would think we're moving a girl..."

"Dad! Oh my god..."

"And to think I raised a boy."

I wish he would stop joking and teasing me. Ever since I came to terms with my sexuality he's constantly joking he raised half a girl. "I'm really not going to miss you, you know." I run back up the stairs to retrieve a second and third bag of clothes, releasing them on top of the stairs, letting them fall down.

"I won't miss your humour either, my boy." Dad laughs out, shaking Marc's and Nathan's hands to welcome them. "We'll take the heavy boxes. We're not letting a girl lift the heavy..."

"Could you please stop!?" I shout out in annoyance, seeing Nathan and his dad holding back their laughter. "I'm still stronger than you are."

"I'm just teasing you." Dad chuckles, before lifting one of the boxes. "Grow a spine..." He starts walking, stops again and looks back over his shoulder. "Or a pair off..."

I threw my pillow down, hitting him right in the face, the three of them laughing out loud.

"Kody, stop fooling around. We don't have all day." Mom appears in the hallway. "James is coming over for dinner later tonight." She ends the joking and under her supervision we start piling the boxes in the trailer, followed by the bags of clothes and the last bits of stuff I used until this morning.

I look around the nearly empty room I leave behind. An empty desk, an empty closet and a single person's bed that I used ever since my queen-sized bed was moved to our new apartment.

I can't believe I'm finally moving out. Which I wouldn't be able to without Nathan, by the way. His parents bought the apartment and we're going to rent it from them.

Nathan spend his first year attending university while staying in a student dorm, sharing a kitchen with nine others and a bathroom with three others. He hated every part about it, so his parents came up with the plan to buy him an apartment to rent, since there's a severe lack of housing for students in the bigger cities in this country. You either live like Nathan did last year; sharing a house with nine others, sharing a bathroom and a kitchen with people you possibly don't even like that much, or you pay a shitload of money for a small room, stuffed with maybe a small kitchenette and a shower build in a closet.

I'm just happy he instantly came up with the idea to move in together, since he hates to be completely alone, we've been the best of friends ever since we met and I was accepted in the same school – doing a bachelor instead of a master like he is.

I already got myself a part-time job in a lunchroom and I researched every soccer club in the city because I will definitely join one as soon as possible.

One pro of the city we're moving is the fact Felix, Jaimie, Stan and Liam all moved here too. It's not that big of a surprise most of the towns teenagers go to college or university here, since it offers most of the best study programs in the country.

And yes, Finnley moved close by a year and a half ago. His aunt and late uncle living in a large house in the outskirt of the city. I've been there twice and it's a goddamn villa, with double garage, a neat basement that held three bedrooms, a gaming room and a bathroom. Jason and Finnley shared the basement, his aunt and two cousins sleeping upstairs.

I know Finnley's uncle did about a year ago, getting a heart attack without ever being seriously ill, dying in his sleep out of the blue.

But we fell out, our friendship reaching an all-time low, hitting rock bottom. I haven't spoken to him in over three months, after I told him I didn't want to see him anymore.

I regret it more every second.

I miss him more each and every single day.

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