"Hey, Jacob, wait up," Megan called after him.

"I-er-I got class," he said, awkwardly.

She glared after him, "Its break."

He walked faster, "Uh, I'm failing Chemistry. Its an extra credit class."

"You are not running from me, Lawson," she roared, chasing after him.

"Okay, okay," Jacob finally stopped outside the Chem lab, wheezing. "Stop chasing me around! What do you want? I swear, I didn't do anything."

Megan laughed, "Wow, you're scared of me. That's awesome. You need to help me."

"No, no, no," Jacob scowled. "Count me out of whatever nonsensical plan you're cooking up. You should go ask Jessica for help, actually. Yes, that's a fantastic idea. You should do that. Okay, bye." He tried sidling past.

"Not so fast, Jakey," she caught hold of his t-shirt and pulled him back. "I need your help specifically. Connor is your best friend. I need to talk to him. His phone's switched off and he hasn't come to school since well, since I made a fool of myself. And its been nearly a week so you have to tell me where he is."

"I can't."

"Don't be so heartless. Wait, so you do know where he is but you can't tell me?" she narrowed her eyes.

"No," he said, very unconvincingly.

"Yeah, right. C'mon, please, Jacob, I have to tell him I was wrong in saying all that I said. I read the other letters, okay? And I understand. Just give me a chance to talk to him. Please."

"Meg, look, he isn't coming to school because of you. He's got a lot of stuff going on at the moment. He needs some time to figure it out and yes, I know where he is but I can't tell you because he wants to be alone at the moment. He doesn't even want to talk to me, most of the time," he shrugged, helplessly.

"Is it because of his Dad?"

Jacob looked at her sharply, "How-?"

"I am his friend too, you know," she said. "I know you don't think very highly of me but I do care for him. I do know him, whatever bits I could know at least."

He bit his lip, thinking. Finally, he gave a short nod, "I'll try to talk to him about it. Fix up a meeting. God, that sounds so formal."

"Its okay," Megan smiled, trying not to let her disappointment show. She wanted to meet Connor right now but she would have to take what she could. "Thank you. Just be sure to tell him I am sorry and that I miss him."

"I will," he nodded, with a small smile. "See you around then."

"Yeah." She watched him walk away.

He turned around suddenly, "And what gave you the idea that I don't think highly of you?"

She frowned, taken aback, "Because I am not very nice to you? And I fought with your best friend?"

"Yeah," Jacob nodded, a smile tugging at his lips. "Too bad we're friends and I have to forgive you every time."

She caught the humour in his voice and laughed, "Yeah, well, too bad."

***

Megan looked at the calendar at the Bakery. Two days ago, Mrs. Braganza had announced that she was selling the bakery and now there were four days left till the official closing. The old hat had sold the shop and was going to settle in Melbourne with the money.

Once the Bakery was gone, Megan would have no contact with left with Connor. Not that he came here anymore anyway. But maybe he would? She sighed, packing up the orders when the front door opened with a click. She glanced disinterestedly at the customer while Mrs. Braganza beamed a huge smile asking for his order.

"Uhm, I'm looking for Connor Trent?"

Megan's eyebrows shot up, taking notice of the man. He was lean, average height, with a sallow complexion and bloodshot eyes. His fingers which were gripping his jacket were twitching continuously. Despite the appearance, there were signs that he had been handsome once and when he peered around, the resemblance was obvious.

"Mr. Trent?" she asked, putting down the cake boxes.

Mrs. Braganza rolled her eyes, "You're the father? Let me tell you, your son has been very irresponsible. He hasn't showed up for work in a week without any notice. There's no way I am paying for him before I leave. Tell him that, okay?"

Arthur frowned, "Uh, I-"

Megan walked over to him, unsure how to respond to the guy in front of him because he looked nothing like how she had imagined. No, this man looked like a ghost, weak and confused.

"I'm Megan," she introduced herself. "I go to school with Connor."

"Oh, could you tell me where to find him?" he asked.

Mrs. Braganza scoffed, "You're the father and you don't know where your son is? Parents these days."

"How about we go out and talk?" Megan said.

"Okay," he nodded and followed her outside.

Once they were out, he turned to her almost desperately, "I really need to talk to my son. You have to tell me where he is."

"That makes two of us then," she said, ruefully. "He's not at home?"

Arthur looked away, "He left a few days ago. It is my fault." He sat down on the sidewalk, head in his hands, "I destroyed everything."

Megan sighed and sat down beside him, "You should know I'm not very good at this pep talk and consoling business but I think I can be a good enough listener if you want."

He raised his head, "You said you go to school with him. How is he?"

"He hasn't come to school lately. Uh, if you don't mind me asking, what did you do?"

He whimpered, eyes getting teary-eyed.

"Oh my God, you're crying. I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have asked that. Uh, Mr. Trent, please don't cry. Oh God." She looked around for help before patting his shoulder, "Its not all your fault. Most of it is probably yours but I got into a fight with him before he stopped coming to school so some blame is probably on me too."

"I'm leaving for rehab tomorrow," the man sighed, wiping his face with his jacket pocket. "Some more bills that I can't probably."

Withdrawal symptoms, Megan finally caught on. The shaking hands, the bloodshot eyes, the mood swings...it made sense now.

He blinked at the road before continuing, "Whatever fight you had, I am sure you don't need to blame yourself. What happened is all on me. I have been a horrible parent. That woman inside is right. I don't know how I let it happen."

"Did you really tell Jules that she is a piece of shit?" she asked. "Because that was downright horrible."

"I did?" he gasped. "I-I could have. I don't know. I only go home when I am drunk. Makes it all seem better but doesn't mean I remember anything."

And that was how it all came out. The bills, the depression, the drinking, the unemployment and finally, Connor moving out. It was a long difficult conversation for both of them. For Arthur, it was the only time in years he could speak about what was happening. For Megan, it was the first time Connor's picture became clearer and it hurt to realize that he had been hurting for so long. It was difficult to understand how well he had hid his troubles behind his awkward talks and goofy smiles.

"I just wanted to say goodbye before I leave and tell him I'm so sorry and that now that I am not at home anymore, he could come back if he wanted. Most of all, I wanted to tell him I am going to try to change for the better and that I am so proud of him, so grateful for everything he has done." He stood up, taking a deep breath, "Thank you, Megan. I am so sorry that you had to hear all this."

Now, she understood what Jacob had meant.

And yet, she was about to take a risk.

"I don't know where he is but there's one place he could be," she said.

***

Arthur Trent looked at the address Megan had given him and rechecked it with the house his taxi had stopped beside. For a moment, he nearly told the driver to go on, straight ahead to the hospital his doctor was waiting at, to check him in.

What if his son was really at this house?

What would he say to him?

What could he say to him?

All these months, every day, they had grown so far apart that reconciliation would be a pipe dream.

Maybe, it would be better to just leave.

He heaved a sigh and stepped out, walking slowly to the door. It took him more than five minutes to ring the doorbell. When the door opened, he was somewhere between relieved and disappointed to find that the boy wasn't his son.

"I'm sorry, this is the wrong house," Arthur said to the boy. "I'll go."

"Dad?" another voice called from inside the house and his son appeared beside the boy at the door. Connor looked shocked and defensive, "What are you doing here?"

"I want to talk," Arthur found himself saying.

Connor gave a short laugh, "You want to talk? Did Mum send you? Because I am not coming back. We're done. I'm sure it has troubled you enough to miss your daily drinking by coming here so you should just go back."

"I quit."

His son opened his mouth and then closed it. "You're lying."

"I'm not," Arthur said, "and I just wanted to talk to you once before I left."

"You're leaving?" Connor stepped outside the house, a frown lining his forehead.

Jacob whispered something to him but he waved him away, "Its okay, I can handle this. I need to do this alone."

"Okay, but I am leaving the door open for you. Just shout if you need anything," Jacob said before glaring at Arthur to let him know that his friend wasn't alone.

Arthur followed his son as they walked around the garden, "You've got good friends."

"Friend," Connor corrected. "Just one."

"I wouldn't say that," he gave a small smile.

***

Hey, I'm back! How is everyone? Missed you all and #CONGAN too. Before I forget, thoughts on new cover(s)?

Also, DEADLOCK my Loki fanfic is now up. Do go check it out and if you like it, add it to your library. I need all the support on it. Please, please check it out! Its a fab story with both romance and action and just the right amount of fun, sarcasm and feels.

Don't forget to vote and comment on this though. I think #Congan's moment is coming ;)