I didn't sleep much last night. Maybe a total of two hours. The most I slept was during the morning, and it could have lasted longer, but the sound of Dorian leaving the apartment woke me up and left me anxious. He had only gone to get some breakfast, but my heart still beat fast, imagining that he had gone without saying good-bye and I'd never see him again.

Dorian returned half an hour later. By then I was already fully awake and unable to lay my head back on the pillow. I had brushed my teeth, showered and already moved some of Dorian's boxes to the front door.

"Brought us some breakfast burritos, mi amigo," he said when he walked through the door, holding up a brown bag that smelled like every delicious food known to man in one.

"Hey," I said.

He should be leaving right about now, but he was staying a little longer to have breakfast with me—our last breakfast. We moved to the little dining table in the corner that no one used.

"You didn't sleep, did you?" he asked as we sat down.

"I slept," I said.

"Really? Your eyes say otherwise." He tossed me a heavy burrito wrapped in paper. "Or did you forget to wipe off the eyeshadow?"

"Okay! Okay! I slept like an hour or two."

"I'm sorry," he said sincerely.

"I'll sleep before work."

"You work tonight?"

I nodded. I bit into the delicious burrito and chewed. Eggs, cheese, ham, potatoes, bacon, sausage, peppers, topped with a secret sauce that left my tongue tingling, but wasn't spicy. This was heaven on earth.

"I have to make up for leaving early," I said.

"You left like . . . an hour early. So to compensate you have to work an extra day? Makes no sense. Your boss takes himself way too seriously."

I shrugged. "It will be a good distraction. Besides, I need the money."

"I told you," he said, dropping his burrito on the table, "you won't be paying my side of the rent. Gwen will be here next week."

Gwen was the girl replacing Dorian. She was becoming my new roommate. We didn't know each other very well, she was friends with Dorian, not me. I didn't know most people at his old job. But she was one of them. It took some convincing to get her to accept taking his place—she didn't want to room with a guy. Once she found out I was gay, she took it right away without a second doubt.

Maybe she thought she was getting a gay best-friend.

"I still need the distraction," I said.

He sighed loud and obnoxious.

We finished eating our breakfast. It turned out to be the most depressing meal ever. He had already packed everything into boxes and trash bags. He was only taking clothes and electronics, no furniture. His friends in his new place helped him with a bed for him to sleep on, the rest he was going to get when he was there.

"What the hell is in here?" I asked as I lifted a heavy trash bag with sharp and pointy objects sticking through. They scratched my legs and caused a little bleeding.

"Uh . . ." Dorian said, standing at the front door with a large box in his hands. He wasn't moving. I had to drop the bag and walk around him to check what was wrong. "Dude . . ."

Sitting on the floor outside our door, covered in gold ribbons and chocolates, was a bouquet of roses in a white heart-shaped vase. A big envelope stuck out from the middle. I pulled it out, my brain cells falling out of my ears momentarily as I opened it, completely unaware who it was from for the first few seconds until I read the letter.

"I wonder who it's from," Dorian sang sarcastically.

"I am so fucking DONE!" I shouted and kicked the vase. It didn't crumble to pieces like I wanted, but it still tipped and fell on its side, spilling all of the flowers onto the floor.

"Hey, man." Dorian approached me and laid a hand on my shoulder. "It's okay."

"No, it's not!" I exclaimed, leaning against the wall, staring at the roses spread all over the floor and wishing they were on fire like I was. "He's not gonna listen. I'm just going to end up pretending like I didn't break up with him."

"You are not going to do that," Dorian said.

"I just wish my life could go my way for fucking once!"

He walked in front of me and grabbed my face with both of his hands, forcing me to look deeply into his eyes. His eyes were soft and tender. Dorian was the only person in this world who could read me like a child's book. It was pointless trying to hide anything from him.

"Come with me," he said.

"What?" I said, moving his hands away, as if that would make what he said sound clearer to me.

He lightly punched my chest and grinned. "You could use some sun, you pale motherfucker."

"Again, what?"

"Come with me . . . to Cali," he repeated.

He wasn't joking. He had a smile on and he wasn't laughing obnoxiously. I'd know if Dorian King was joking.

"What are you on about?" I said and walked back inside to pick up the trash bag. Dorian followed me in.

"I've thought about it, not gonna lie. But I wasn't sure how it would work. I think now it doesn't really matter how."

"Dorian, I can't just go to a new state that I've never been to. I don't have any money and I don't have a job waiting for me there. Not to mention all of my knowledge of California comes from movies. Really really bad movies."

He sighed and dropped his shoulders, but picked them back up and brought back his smile. "It doesn't matter. We will figure it out. I can't leave you like this. You are my brother, my best-friend, my whitey. I'm not leaving you."

"Dorian, I—"

"No, shut up. You have ten minutes to pack. TEN."

"DORIAN!" I screamed as my heart pounded hard and loud. "STOP STRESSING ME OUT! YOU'RE MAKING ME ANXIOUS!"

"That's only because you want to do it," he said, smirking. "And don't raise your voice at me, young lad!"

I dropped the bag, suddenly feeling nauseous. I bent over and rested my hands on my knees, taking deep dramatic breaths. My throat felt tight and my hands were cold as ice.

"Dorian, I can't just pack up and leave in under ten minutes. This is something you plan."

"Listen to me," he said calmly, pressing a hand on my back, purposely tapping it as if he were trying to burp me. "You've always talked about being spontaneous, about living life on the edge, swimming through an ocean filled with sharks, making your heart race in all the good ways. You've always wanted to try new things, starting with leaving this hell hole. I should have asked sooner, because you're right, packing up and leaving all you know isn't easy, but right now it is the only choice."

"How am I supposed to survive?" I asked, my face shifting uncomfortably at the thought of being terribly lost in a new city with new faces. "At least you have a plan. You're asking me to go in blindly."

"We will figure it out together. You won't ever be alone, Luc."

"What about the apartment?"

"It's not under your name. Gwen will find someone to take your place easily."

"And my things? My aunt?"

He frowned at me and pulled me up to stand straight. "Your aunt? She doesn't give a fuck about you. You know who does? ME, Ni—"

"I know she doesn't. She's still the only family I ha—the only blood-related family," I corrected myself as Dorian glared at me.

"Pack your clothes, electronics, toothbrush—dildos?"

Now it was my turn to frown at him. "Nothing has gone up there and you know it."

He checked his invisible watch on his wrist. "You have five minutes. I'll take these things down while you pack. Nothing too big. Now go. Shoo!"

Was this actually happening? Was I truly going to give in to the temptation of a new life? It could also be a huge mistake. It was too sudden. I barely had any money to my name and I had no friends in California, no connections to help me out. The risk was worth taking, in my opinion, but the loss could be irreversible. I could end up homeless.

I ran to the kitchen and grabbed the box of large trash bags and took it to my room. In my room, I began to throw all of my clothes on my bed. I didn't bother to fold or organize, everything went into the trash bags as if they were actually going into the trash. Shoes, shirts, pants, and briefs all fit nicely in the first bag. My wardrobe was quite small. The second bag I filled with really personal things—and none of those things were dildos. By the time I was done, the only thing left was my laptop, which I shoved carefully into my backpack.

Dorian had carried all of the boxes and bags to the elevator to take them all down in one go. He had balls to do that in this sketchy building. Sometimes belongings mysteriously vanished and nobody knew what had happened. Sometimes your own microwave disappeared and ended up in someone else's apartment.

I was starting to sweat nervously, which was odd considering how cold and dead I felt. Maybe Dorian was right about me getting some sun. Would be nice to sweat for a normal reason every once in a while. It still didn't hit me that I was doing this. My eyes explored the four corners of my room, not really looking for anything, instead weirdly thanking them for providing me with a home. This was my strange good-bye.

"LUCIANO MARSIANO!" Dorian yelled from the hall outside. "TIME TO GO!"

Fuck. It's happening.

"I'M COMING!"

I dragged my two bags behind me and met up with him at the elevators after he locked up the place. A person could tell I was shitting bricks from a mile a away. On the other hand, Dorian was happily dancing by himself. Did he not understand what we were doing?

The elevator dinged and opened. Dorian stepped in, or slid in, and I just hovered outside like an idiot.

"I can't do this," I said, my breathing picking up.

Dorian stopped dancing and placed a hand on his hip. "Lucian, if you don't get inside this second I'm going to give you a second breathing problem called my hand on your ass."

At least he didn't say in.

I stepped in with my sad trash bags and we rode the elevator down. Dorian took one of my bags and hopped like a little kid with an ice cream cone. The car was parked right outside, keys inside and everything. Dorian was feeling too brave. Maybe this was his own mental breakdown.

The car was a packed mess. There was barely any room left and I had to hold the bag with my clothes in the front seat because it was the only thing that wouldn't poke my flesh like a bundle of knives. But we made it work and safely drove away from the apartment building for the last time.

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[Author's Message]: I apologize for this short chapter and the long wait. I wrote two chapters, so for those who are reading exactly when this chapter got posted, another chapter will follow in just a few minutes, so I will leave my actual message there. <3