"WELL, YOU LOOK LIKE SHIT."

Colin stares at his sister's slightly pixelated face on his laptop screen. "Wait till you get to college. Looking like shit is pretty much the default."

"Liar. I'd seen Dexter's Instagram photos. He certainly doesn't look like shit."

Colin rolls his eyes, once again reminded of Cindy's long-time crush on his best friend. If Hadley wasn't in the picture, Colin's pretty sure Cindy would have made a move despite her being three years younger. She always joked about herself being Ginny Weasley, and how she'd be the one snagging Dexter in the end. "All in good time," she used to tell Colin.

"Maybe you just need a girlfriend," Cindy tells him now. "That might whip you up to shape."

"I don't have time for a girlfriend." Colin pulls out his planner from the pile of books on the makeshift table, opening it to this week's spread.

"What about a boyfriend?" Cindy suggests. "Perry looks nice."

"Don't tell him that." Colin once made the mistake of going on a video call with Cindy while Perry and Drew were home. Now, he does his best to only answer her calls when he has the apartment to himself.

"Why not? I've seen his Instagram photos too."

Colin heaves a sigh. "Don't believe everything you see on social media. That fucker dedicates, like, ninety-percent of his energy trying to take good photos of himself. How's Mom and Dad doing?"

"They're fine," Cindy replies. "Dad seems a little overworked with the whole renovation thing, and Mom's crocheting her stress away."

"She's crocheting again?"

"You didn't know?" she asks him. The camera moves as she picks her phone up, focusing the view on her bed instead. "You see that?"

Colin recognizes the crocheted blanket on Cindy's bed and easily spots the row of handmade stuffed animals sitting on her bed.

"I'm trying to convince her to sell them online, but she keeps insisting nobody will want them," Cindy, who is out of the frame, tells him.

There's a rustle as she puts her phone back to where it was earlier, entering the frame once more.

"Is she all right?" Colin asks her, unable to stop himself from worrying. Crochet is something their mom does on and off, usually when she's very stressed or uneasy. The last time she picked up the hobby was when Clark went rogue on them.

"Don't worry. I'll keep an eye on them."

"All right," he says, but the worry still gnaws at him. They've started renovating the grocer earlier this year, with hopes of slowly expanding it to a mini mall. While this seems to be a good step for the business, Colin can't even imagine the toll it must be taking on their parents. "Tell me if anything comes up."

"I will," Cindy says.

"What about you? How are you holding up?"

"Oh, you know. Same old. Nothing exciting ever happens in Rivermount anyway. I can't wait to get into college and leave all this high school drama behind."

"College isn't all that fun either, you know."

"Says the guy who keeps sending me drunk texts."

"It was one time—"

"You literally sent—"

"I was just—"

Before he can finish his sentence, a movement on his self camera catches his attention. The apartment door is opening behind him and before his brain could realize what this actually means, Sadie enters both the apartment and the camera frame.

"I'm home," she says, "and I brought some chicken from—"

"Sadie?" Cindy's voice cuts her off.

Colin snaps the laptop shut, but he knows it's too late. Not a second longer and his phone buzzes with notifications of Cindy's texts.

"Was that Cindy?"

Colin's phone continues to vibrate, this time with a video call request. He pointedly ignores it, trying to convince himself that she'll get tired of calling eventually. She probably won't—he knows this all too well—so he picks his phone up and switches it off.

That should fix it.

At least, it should have fixed it. A phone rings from where Sadie's standing and Colin watches in horror as she fishes it from her pocket. She looks at it, then back at Colin.

"Don't answer."

Sadie's brows lift.

"Just don't."

She rolls her eyes then takes a seat beside him and he instinctively inches away. She obviously notices this, but chooses not to comment. Instead, she turns back to her phone screen and answers the fucking call.

Jesus Christ.

Cindy talks before anyone else could get a word out. "Did I just see you walk into my brother's apartment or is he dating a girl who looks exactly like you to make up for the fact that he's not actually dating you? Also, I love your hair! How are you?"

Sadie tilts the phone to include Colin in the frame. "We're okay," Sadie tells her. "How's senior year treating you so far?"

Ignoring the question, Cindy says, "So you guys are a 'we' now? Why is this the first time that I've ever heard of this? I can't believe you, Colin. After all these years of me waiting for you to man up and--"

Colin reaches out to grab the phone but Sadie's quick to move it away.

"--ask Sadie out, you do it behind my back without telling me? When were you planning to tell me, when you're already married and have two kids and a house with a nice porch?"

"We are not dating." Colin tries to grab the phone again, only for Sadie to yank it out of his reach. He tries again, but stops when he realizes how close their faces are.

He pulls away immediately.

"It's not just two kids, Cindy. Baby number three is already on the way," Sadie replies with an easy smile. "I'm just staying with Colin for a bit while looking for a new place."

"Oh." Cindy pauses for a moment. "So, you don't actually live there for real?"

"No, it's just for now."

"And Colin agreed to that? My brother? That idiot right there?"

"Okay, that's enough," Colin says, just as Sadie replies, "He secretly loves it, me being here."

"What part of this is enough? I have so many unanswered questions! How did you even–"

He ends the call immediately and hands the phone back to Sadie. "If she calls you again, ignore it. Better yet, just block her."

Shaking her head, she stands up and makes her way to the counter, grabbing a plate from the dish rack. "Don't you think that's going a bit overboard?"

"When it comes to Cindy, it's really not."

"As if you can actually resist her. You've always had a soft spot for her."

"That is not true."

"Uh, it most certainly is. You even took her to our senior prom just because she wouldn't stop bugging you about it."

He fights the urge to blush. "It's not like I had anyone else to bring anyway."

"You could've asked me."

She says it so casually that he almost chokes on nothing. "And why," he says, "would I have done that?"

She stops for a moment to look him in the eye, an eyebrow raised as if to challenge him. "Well, why the hell not?"

"Let me think." Colin snaps his planner shut, pretending to be in deep thought. "Maybe because you made it your life mission to annoy the shit out of me back in high school?"

She laughs at this, throwing her head back slightly. "Those were good times, if I dare say so myself."

"See? This is exactly why you weren't exactly at the top of my prom date list."

"Wait, so there was a list? Apart from, like, your sister?"

"Oh, shut up."

She shakes her head, laughing. "Would it be cringe to say I wish we were back in high school?"

He says nothing.

"I mean, I know everyone hates high school and would much rather be in college, but–but don't you ever get the feeling like everything was much simpler back then? Easier?"

"Maybe."

"I guess I just can't believe I'm that girl," she continues.

"That girl?"

"You know, the one who peaked in high school or something." She says this with a shrug, almost jokingly.

He considers this for a moment, then, surprising even himself, says, "You're not, though?" He meets her eyes for a brief second before looking away. "I don't think you're that girl."

She seems genuinely surprised to hear this from him and doesn't say anything for a while.

Clearing his throat, he points toward the paper bag in her hand. "What you got there?"

She looks down, like she forgot she was holding something in the first place. "Oh, right. I bought, um, what was it again? Chicken."

She fumbles with the bag and the smell of fried chicken fills the air almost as soon as she opens it. As if on cue, Drew and Perry thankfully choose that moment to arrive, and any awkwardness is quickly replaced by them gushing over the food..

Colin's never been this happy to see them home.

"I think it's time to ask the most important question of the year."

Everyone stops to look at Perry.

"What are we doing for Halloween this year?"

Rolling his eyes, Colin shifts his focus back on the laying out food before them. Halloween's two weeks away; and Colin's never been one for costumes.

"If you don't have any plans yet, wanna go to my college's Halloween party? I can introduce you to my friends."

"Hold up, you actually have other friends?" Colin can't help but interject.

Perry gives him a pointed look. "And for that, Colin, you are no longer invited."

He shrugs. "I didn't want to go anyway."

"Why not?" Drew asks through a mouthful of mojos. "It could be fun."

"Maybe he's still not over that time he got so drunk he couldn't even walk straight." Sadie looks him dead in the eye and a memory of that night comes to mind. "I mean, I wouldn't blame him. Who knew drunk Colin would be so–"

"Fun?" Perry says the same time Drew, who had allegedly carried him home, says, "Heavy?"

"Look, I'm not stopping you from going," Colin tells them. "I'd just rather do something else or stay at home."

"Oh, what about laser tag? I think I saw an ad or something about this place down sixth street doing a promo for Halloween."

Laser tag? Colin actually smiles.

"That sounds fun," Sadie says. "I'm in."

"Sweet." Drew pulls up his phone. "I'll check and see if we can get tickets early."

***

It rains the next day. It begins slowly at first, but it doesn't let up once it pours, painting the whole campus gray.

Colin usually enjoys the rain. Something about the sound calms him. Today, though, he finds it troublesome.

His last class just ended, and though he's made his way to the entrance of the building, all he can really do is look up at the overcast sky and curse himself for not bringing an umbrella with him. He really needs to hand in something before seven later this evening and he hasn't written anything except for his name, student number, and course code--the three things he'd typed when the assignment was given to them a week (and a half) ago.

He'd told himself he'd get a head start and complete it ahead of time only to end up falling asleep and forgetting all about it until their professor posted a reminder earlier this morning.

"If you're heading home, we can go together."

Colin turns to see Sadie stepping right next to him. She pulls out a folded umbrella from her backpack.

"You go ahead," Colin manages to say. His throat feels dry, but he fights the urge to clear his throat. "I'll just wait for the rain to let up."

"You sure?" Sadie asks him. Her eyes flit over to the overcast sky. "Doesn't look like it will let up anytime soon though."

The smart thing to do would be to accept the offer. Instead, he says, "It's fine." Like a real idiot would do.

She opens her umbrella then turns to him with a small smile. "Come on."

Colin doesn't move. He tries to come up with something--anything--that could get him out of this situation, but before he can even open his mouth to spew some half-baked excuse, she reaches out to grab his wrist. Her hands are cold and the unexpected contact catches him off guard.

She tugs at him, forcing him to step closer into the safety of the umbrella with her, his eyes fixed on the slender fingers wrapped around his wrist.

"Do you always have to be so stubborn?" she says, finally letting go as they step into the rain. "Or is it only when I'm around?"

Colin huffs. "I'm not stubborn."

The reply makes her raise an eyebrow, a hint of a smile playing on her lips. "Hmm."

The umbrella isn't made for two people, but Sadie does her best to shield them both from the rain, holding it up to his height, but every time she tries to move closer to give him more coverage, he subtly inches away.

"Move closer," she says. "Your shoulder is getting wet."

"I'm fine," he insists, but this simply makes her roll her eyes. She adjusts her hold on the umbrella again, and Colin realizes it must be difficult to hold it up, what with him being taller than her. Before he can think too much into the gesture, he grabs it from her. "Let me."

She resists at first, refusing to let go, but when Colin gives it another tug, she reluctantly drops her hand.

"Thanks," she says, which he doesn't acknowledge with a response.

He tilts the umbrella to her side, angling it so that she's well covered from the rain at the expense of his left sleeve.

At this point, checking in on her during her classes has become part of his daily routine. He knows her class schedule like the back of his hand. She hasn't caught on (or so he hopes), and he intends to keep it that way for as long as he can manage.

It's not always easy to stay silent though.

She'd missed one of her classes two days ago. There's no way to know if she attended her other classes that day because they overlapped with his. He couldn't really confront her, though, so it's mostly been eating him up inside.

"By the way," she breaks the silence, "I've been looking around for some time now and I think I may have found a place to move into."

The words take a moment to sink in, but when they do, he almost stops in his tracks.

"I'll check it out this weekend to see it for myself," Sadie continues when he says nothing. "Hopefully, if all goes well, I can move out by next week."

"Next week?"

"Sorry it can't be sooner. Also, I promise I'll pay back my share of the rent for the past weeks. I'm just slightly short on cash now since I'll have to pay my advance and deposit too, but I promise you, as soon as I'm settled in—"

"You don't have to worry about that."

"Yes, I do," Sadie says. "I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't helped me out, Colin. I owe you a lot."

"I said it's fine."

"Not with me."

"Well, it is with me."

"I just have to make it up to you somehow."

"If you really want to make it up to me, then just–" He cuts himself off, biting the words back because there's no way in hell he'd ever admit them out loud. Not to her, or even to himself.

"Just what?" she prompts when he doesn't continue.

Get better, he almost answers. And stop making me worry about you all the fucking time.

"Just move out as soon as you can," he says instead.

Out of his life and out of his thoughts, all of which seem to revolve around her now. When he wakes up until he goes to bed; when she's around and when she's not. It's driving him crazy and she has no fucking idea.

She even looks up at him now, a playful smile on her face. "That's a little harsh, Colin. Won't you miss me even just a little bit?" She nudges him with an elbow and he actually jumps at the sudden contact.

She laughs, clearly amused.

"Relax. I'll let you know when everything's been sorted out, and you'll get your room back all to yourself."

Would it be weird if he asked her where she'll be moving into? If she'll be living there alone or not? Will it be close to campus and is the area secured?

Yep, definitely weird, he decides, so he says nothing. Besides, he can almost see the apartment building now, and he hopes they could just walk the rest of the way in silence, however uncomfortable.

Clearly, though, she has a different idea. Just moments before they reach the building, she says, "Hey, Colin?"

Huffing, he replies, "What now?"

"Nothing. I just... I just wanted to say that I probably will."

"Will what?"

"Miss you."

The words hit him like a sucker punch.

She steps out from beneath the umbrella and into the cover of the apartment's sloped roof. With a smile, she turns back to face him. "Just a little bit."