"Hey, are you sure this is okay?"

            Anthony stared at me, a large cardboard box in his arms. "Ellie, you're waiting until half of your stuff is already in my apartment to ask me this?"

             I grinned sheepishly. "I feel like I'm intruding."

            Sighing, he placed the box down on the ground heavily. "Ellie, Ellie. You aren't intruding at all."

            "Really?"

            "Really," he insisted, opening his arms. "Come here."

            After hesitating a moment I slid into his arms, resting my head against his shoulder. "My mom really appreciates it. It's much cheaper than dorming."

            "And better, right?"

            "And better," I agreed, tilting my head up to smile at him.

            He smiled back at me. "I love you, Ellie."

            Laughing, I nodded. "I know. You've told me that. Every day for the past four months, Anthony."

            "I just like saying it," he responded happily. "Now that you know, I can't help myself."

            "Well, I love you too." Pushing myself up onto his tiptoes, I gave him a light kiss on the nose. "And I'm happy I'm not intruding on you in your home."

            "You'd never be an unwelcomed guess, Ellie."

            I placed chin on his shoulder. "I know."

            "However, on the other hand—"

            "Ew, you two, get a room!"

            Grimacing, Anthony pulled himself away from me. "Julius is an unwelcomed guest," he finished. Scowling, he turned to the blonde. "If you didn't notice, we are in a room. My room."

            Julius smiled innocently at him. "Oh, this place is yours? I thought it was ours now. After all, I am helping to pay with rent."

            "Whatever," Anthony muttered.

            "You should be thankful to me. If I didn't move in with Ellie, her mom wouldn't have let her."

            "That's not true," I protested, but part of me had the feeling he was right. Sure, my mom didn't want to pay for dorming, but I doubted she'd let me live alone with my boyfriend. And since my brother had different class times than me, it wasn't like I could drive with him... Which meant I'd be dorming alone.

            Julius chuckled. "Believe what you want, Ellie. But if I move out, you'll probably be going home too. So I suggest you two behave so I'll want to stay."

            "I'll go crazy," Anthony murmured to me.

            I grinned. "It'll be okay."

            "Actually, you guys should be my slaves. Oh, geez. I have so much power over you two..." Julius began to laugh evilly, rubbing his hands together. "I'm going to have so much fun..."

            "Just kill me now," Anthony pleaded. "Please, Ellie. End this before it starts."

            I lightly batted him on the head. "Oh, shut up Anthony. It'll be fine. I know how to handle Julius."

            "How?"

            "Food. Watch. Hey, Julius?"

            "Hmm?"

            "You know, my mom's been teaching me how to cook..."

            Perking up, he stared at me. "Really?"

            I nodded. "Yep. She says what I cook tastes exactly how hers tastes."

            "You're kidding."

            "I am not. So if you're nice, maybe I'll cook for you."

            If Julius was a dog, his tail would be wagging fifty times a second by now. "Really? I'll ne nice! I'll be nice!"

             Anthony gave me an impressed look as I smirked smugly. "Sure thing, Juju."

            "I've just got one request."

            "What's that?" Anthony asked.

            Julius gave him a serious look. "Ellie is like a little sister to me. I don't want to go to bed, and hear you to banging each other in the next room."

My cheeks blossomed red at his comment. "J-Julius!"

"What? I know you two our sexually active. I'm not stupid."

            I glanced at Anthony, and was shocked to see he seemed a little proud. "Anthony! What's that look for?"

            "What look?" he said innocently.

            "You know what look!"

            He grinned. "No I don't."

            "I'll try to go out on some nights," Julius continued, shoving his hands into his pockets, "that way you can have your private time. But, you know, be safe."

            "Oh God," I groaned. I so did not want to have this conversation with Julius.

            "I'd rather, you know, go out and get you guys... things... than have Ellie become pregnant."

            "Julius!" I cried.

            He blinked at me. "What?"

            "Just... stop! Stop."

            "What, are you embarrassed?" he inquired, grinning maliciously.

            "Yes!" I told him.

            Anthony chuckled, putting his arm around my shoulder. "Don't worry, Ellie. It's a natural thing."

            "Guys, really," I pleaded. "Stop talking about this."

            Julius nodded. "Alright, alright. As long as you promise to not annoy the neighbors when I'm gone."

            I slapped myself on the forehead. "I hate my life."

            Laughing, Julius headed into the kitchen. "I'll make lunch. You two bring in the rest of the stuff from my car."

            "I'm helping Ellie with her stuff," Anthony called back to him. "Do it yourself."

            "Ellie's a big girl. She can handle her own stuff."

            "Yeah, I can," I told Anthony. "Just appease Julius so he stays quiet."

            Anthony ruffled my hair and started for the door. "Sure. What ever you say, Babe."

            A smile crossed my face. Babe. I loved when Anthony called me that. "Wait for me," I demanded, hurrying to catch up with him.

            "Are you ready for tomorrow?" he questioned, taking my hand in his as we walked down the apartment hallway.

            "No," I said honestly. "You already know how nervous I am..."

            "I'll be there."

            "I know. But you won't be in any of my classes."

            "Except that creative writing class," he corrected me. "Remember? You, me, and Julius all signed up for it?"

            I half-smiled. "Oh, yeah."

            "You don't sound excited."

            "You're wasting money on a class you don't really want to take."

            He scoffed. "What? Of course I want to take creative writing! Don't you know? I'm an excellent writer."

            "Uh-huh."

            Grinning, he nudged my hip with his. "Listen, it was the only class both Julius and I could get into short notice. Be happy, not regretful."

            "I am happy," I told him. "I just don't like the idea of you wasting your money."

            He waved me off. "Just forget about it. I'm going to grab Julius's stuff."

            "Okay," I sighed, shuffling over to my car. Most of my belongings were inside already, but there were a few small bags left to bring in. Deciding to take the heavier ones left, I grabbed two duffel bags full of my clothing. As I turned to go back inside, Anthony's voice stopped me.

            "Ellie... come here for a moment."

            Pausing, I turned toward Julius's car, where Anthony was standing. He was staring at something in Julius's back seat with some kind of brochure in his hand. Frowning, I walked over to him. "What's that?"

            "A brochure for Spain... and look, Julius has two travel bags in his backseat." Leaning over, Anthony unzipped one of them and pulled out a white piece of paper. His eyes widened. "I don't believe it..."

            "What?"

            "It's a plane ticket. And the departure is for tomorrow."

            My mouth fell open. "What? To where? For who?"

            "Spain, and Julius. Holy shit."

            "Let me see it," I demanded, snatching it from his hands. My eyes scrutinized it. Julius had never mentioned taking a trip to Spain... When my gaze landed on the returning date, I gasped.

            Anthony glanced at me in surprise. "What?"

            "That jerk!" I cried, dropping my duffel bags and running back up to the apartment. "Julius!" I yelled, nearly sprinting through the halls. "Julius Montgomery! Get your ass out here now!"

            A few seconds later, Anthony's apartment door opened and Julius poked his head out, a worried expression on his face. "What happened?"

            "This happened!" I said, shoving his plane ticket into his face. "When exactly were you going to tell me you were going to Spain for six months?"

            All expression was wiped from his face for a moment. Then, he scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Oh, I see you found that..."

            "You see I... When were you going to tell me?" I demanded again.

            "Er... tomorrow morning."

            My eyes widened. "You were planning on waiting until you left for the airport, weren't you?"

            "I figured you wouldn't care since Anthony is here..."

            "You're so stupid!" I cried. "Of course I care you'll be gone for six months! Half a year is a long time, Julius!" I said, clenching my fists. "You told my mom you'd be here!"

            Julius pressed a finger to his lips. "Me going to Spain is a secret."

            "But for six months? Why? Why are you going for so long? And why tomorrow?"

            "Yeah, why six months?" a new voice asked, and I turned my head to see Anthony standing behind me, his arms crossed. "Most trips are like, a week."

            Julius took the plane ticket from my hands. "It's not a vacation, guys. I'm going to study abroad. It's a program from the school."

            "Are you going to like, live with a family or something like that?" Anthony questioned.

            "Something like that... I'm actually going to work at a school there. As an English language teacher."

            I stared at him. "I thought you wanted to be a Spanish teacher..."

            He grinned at me. "It works both ways. If I help them learn English by speaking Spanish, I'll still be practicing my Spanish. And since I'll be speaking in Spanish entirely outside of that class, I'll be learning to become more fluent. Get it?"

            "Yeah, but... Why?"

            "It's a good opportunity."

            "But... six months..."

            Julius's smile grew wider and he held out his arms for a hug. "Aww, is my little Ellie upset I'll be gone for half a year?"

            "Of course I am!" I snapped at him. "Geez, Julius. You're one of my best friends... We were supposed to take an English class together! Are you getting refunded for that?"

            He pressed a finger to his lips. "Actually, I lied about that. I didn't sign up."

            Anthony laughed. "So you're making me do it alone?"

            "You're with Ellie, aren't you?"

            "Yeah. But that's the only good thing."

            "What if my mom calls and asks for you?" I demanded. "What do I tell her? Or when you don't come to visit?"

            Julius tapped his head. "I've thought this out. First of all, if she calls, just three-way with my phone. Simple right? And the reason for not visiting... well, I'm in college. Just say I'm busy with sports and work and whatnot."

            "Speaking of work, what about Walmart?"

            "I notified them last week. This morning was my last shift."

            My jaw dropped. "Wait, you don't work at Walmart anymore?"

            "Nope... and I told them I knew someone who was more than capable to take my place."

            "Who would that be..."

            Julius smile. "You, Ellie. So, if you want, you're the new worker at the Walmart you were trapped in earlier this year."

            I stared at him, his words slowly sinking in. "Me... work at Walmart?"

            "How about it? They love me there. I don't want to disappoint them by not having a replacement."

            Glancing at Anthony, I bit my lip. "I don't know."

            "You don't want to work with me?"

            "I do, but..."

            "But what?"

            "I don't want to accept the fact Julius will be gone for the next six months."

            Smiling, Julius pulled me into a hug. "Hey, this is my future we're talking about. You should be happy."

            "I am happy," I mumbled.

            "Good." He pushed me away. "Then let's enjoy our last day together. Tomorrow, all our new lives start."

            I nodded. "Right."

            Anthony wrapped his arm around my waist. "What should we do then?"

            Julius tapped his chin. "Well, I'd like to beat Ellie just once at Black Ops before I leave..."

            "Good luck," I wished him, grinning evilly. "You'll never beat me."

            He raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? Let's go. Right now."

            "You can have Anthony on your side. He'd just slow me down."

            "Hey," Anthony protested.

            I laughed. "You know it's true."

            Although it was evident he was trying to hold it back, a smile broke across his lips. "Yeah, I do."

            "Then I'll go set up the game," Julius declared. "You two grab the chips from the kitchen and the sandwiches I made."

            "Sure," Anthony responded, stepping into his apartment as soon as Julius made room. "Let's go, Ellie."

            Taking his hand, we walked into the kitchen together. "Tomorrow really is our new beginning," I said, picking up the plate of sandwiches.

            "Yep," Anthony agreed, grabbing a bag of Lays potato chips from the cabinet. "I'm excited. Aren't you?"

            "Kind of. The Julius thing is a downer, but..."

            "But?"

            "I'm still happy I have you," I told him, grinning.

            Chuckling, he kissed my nose. "Me too. You should take that job at Walmart."

            "Yeah?"

            "Yeah. I mean, it has a great significance to both of us, right? We met there, we got trapped together in there... I've never been so happy that Walmart exists."

            I laughed. "Even when they never have the one thing you're searching for?"

            "Well..."

            "I'll take the job," I told him. "I guess it's about time I got a job, huh?"

            "Yeah, you lazy girl."

            Rolling my eyes, I headed back toward the living room. "Let's go before Julius says something—"

            "Guys! What's taking so long? A quickie?"

            Groaning, Anthony followed me out of the kitchen. "You spoke too late, Ellie."

            "Somehow, I feel like I won't miss him that much..."

            "Yeah, me either."

            "Heard that," Julius called indignantly. "You stupid couple. I'm not out of here just yet."

             Anthony and I grinned at each other. "Sorry, Julius," Anthony apologized, entering the living room and plopping down on the couch.

            I followed suit, placing the sandwiches on the coffee table. "Okay, so how about loser of the first round has to do dishes for a week?"

            "Done," Julius said easily.

            "Don't agree so easily," Anthony scolded him. "You're only going to be here for tonight!"

            Julius smirked. "Which is exactly why it's a sound deal."

            "It's not!"

            "What, are you scared you're going to lose?" I teased.

            Anthony snorted. "As if. I've been practicing."

            "Oh yeah?"

            "Yeah."

            "Then you should be okay with this bet."

            "Fine, then don't complain when you have to do the dishes."

            "Same to you."

            He nodded. "I won't."

            "Then I won't either," I responded stubbornly.

            Julius cleared his throat loudly. "Uh, I'm still here."

            Chuckling, I got up and turned on the T.V and X-box. "Okay, let's do this."

            "Videogames and chips... Welcome to college life, Ellie," Anthony said as I sat back down on the couch, laying his arm across my shoulders.

            I smiled. "I think I'm going to like it."

_______________________

I just realized how much of an idiot I am. Since Ellie and Anthony live in Cape Cod, there's no way they can drive to WNEC every day hahaha. So, they now go to Umass Dartmouth. I'm surprised no one else noticed that xD But yeah, I went back and fixed everything :P

Also, I'm doing another chapter of them in Florida, so look out of that... but this is the last chapter of the story! It went on a lot longer than I expected it to, but if you've stuck out this far, thank you! I appreciate you taking the time  to read this and sticking with my inconsistent updates! :D It means a lot! You guys rock! Now, seeing as this story is over, I can start a new one. I'm actually starting two new ones at some point this month. Keep an eye out for them! ;D

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