Layton's p.o.v

It had been a few days since Kiandre's and my scandalous rendezvous and the thought of it still gets me hot under the collar. I had been preparing to take my state wide tours of law schools. Jamie and I had been dreaming of doing this together since we were kids, make a road trip of it and maybe get some things off our bucket list, but sadly some dreams don't come true.

Luckily I had another companion, Cassidy who would be joining me and he promised we would have a great time. Rose had gone on vacation with her parents while Kiandre had picked up some full day shifts at the café.

Cassidy was a whole lot of fun, there was never a dull moment with him around. Whenever some college guys would sneak a wink at me he would give them a death stare, I wonder if that's something Kiandre had gotten him to do and when frat girls would invite him to their parties I would say he's gay and not interested- hey I got my girl Roses back!

End of p.o.v

Back at Lightwood Heights, a week since Layton and Cassidy left on their road trip

At the café

"Hey Jacobsen, I'm back, knew I'd find you here" Rose exclaims at the counters

"Hey I thought you'd be gone for the whole break, can I get you something?" Kiandre delighted to see a familiar face

"Caramel Latte please, yeah well I told my parents I wanted to come back early and spend some time with you guys. Don't know how many moments we all got left together"

"Coming right up" luckily there weren't any other customers in line so the two friends could catch up

"What do you mean by not knowing how many moments we have left together" a confused Kiandre asked as he hands Rose her latte.

She takes a sip before answering "it's just everyone's plans for next year are different and we probably won't be in the same places, we have to make the most of the rest of this year. Have you decided on what you're doing and where?"

"I've been looking at a few colleges that offer excellent mechanical engineering programs, but it's not a straight cut answer. It's July and we have until September to send out our applications. I'll just have to see how things go between now and then" he warily answers

"Have you spoken to Layton about any of this?...." Rose was interrupted when a group of hipsters entered the café and Kiandre had to get back to work. She wrote on a serviette "The Mez lounge tonight at 8pm - Rose" and left it at the till for Kiandre to find

At The Mez lounge that night

Kiandre finds Rose seated at the bar, it was one of the many here family owned. She offers him a beer as the two get ready for a chat.

"What's up Rose? You seem on edge?" a concerned Kiandre asked

"It's just that, Layton and Cass wouldn't understand this- they know what they want to do with their lives but you and I are still on the fence. I know Cass would want me to go with him wherever he decides is the best college for him but I don't know if that's the life I want. I'm scared of the change, I'm scared of saying goodbye"

"Change is sometimes necessary for growth, it doesn't have to be a bad thing, just look at the new opportunities life would be presenting you, I'm scared to, I think we all are, been scared means you deeply care about something and because of that, you will find strength, a solution, you will make things work in your favor. Remember you're Rose Monroe a fucking badass"

Rose wipes away a tear "Thanks Jacobsen, you were the prefect addition to our group, even your two minions but I'll never admit to saying that"

"Are you ever going to call me by my actual name?" jokes Kiandre

"No this is our thing now. And on to the other reason I invited you here, our lovers are currently in Brixham, their second to last tour destination, it's about a 6 hour drive from here. I was wondering if you would get a few days off work and we could join them up there and do the last tour together."

"Did you just say 'lovers' that was cringe Rose, but yeah let's do it, I miss my Bellissma"

"Great we leave tomorrow at 4pm I already booked the tickets"

"Tickets? You said we would drive"

"No I said it was a 6 hour drive from here, yew I'm not a road trip kind of person"

At Brixham in Cassidy and Layton's adjoined bedroom the following evening

"So are we going to address the elephant in the room?" Cass muted the television

"Why are you referring to yourself as an elephant Cass?" jokes Layton

"Come on, humor is your defense we have been friends for 10 years Lay, what's going on with you and Jamie?"

"You picked up on that huh"

"It was kind of obvious well to me, I didn't want to say anything in front of the others. I'm sure you didn't need to be bombarded with questions and comments"

Rose and Kiandre had got a keycard from reception and slowly opened the bedroom door, neither Cass nor Layton had noticed

"Jamie told me he loved me, you know as more than a friend"

Kiandre flung open the door

"What did you just say?"

Cass and Rose tried to calm Kiandre down to no avail

"When did this happen? Why didn't you say anything? Is this the reason you've not spoken about him in weeks?" question after question was thrown at Layton she didn't even get a chance to answer

"Oh god, do you love him to?" Kiandre's eyes became glossy

"What, no, not in that way. I love you, only you and I didn't say anything because I didn't know what to say 'hey Jamie loves me oh and told me to leave him alone for a while', what could any of your'll say or do to fix the situation- nothing right?"

"We would have been there for you" Rose places a hand on Layton's shoulder

Kiandre turns away and then faces Layton once more

"This had to have happened when you went to confront him, you told us to leave without you because Rick was letting you drive the car. If you were upset Rick would have seen that, so you chose him to comfort you over me- your boyfriend or your two other best friends over here am I right?" Kiandre was back to angry now

"Go easy on her man" says Cass

"No, Cass how would you like if rose was crying in some other man's arms"

"It wasn't even like that, we didn't even speak about what had happened for heaven's sake we ended up at a farm feeding animals"

"What was I even thinking, I'm not even your second option, first you go running to Jamie- which I understood but now Rick. I guess I'll never be good enough for you after all"

Kiandre huffs and walks out of the room. Layton gives chase

She catches him by the arm of his leather jacket

"Wait, Kia I know I was wrong, but please never doubt yourself because of me. I love you Kiandre. If I came back to the hotel room that day and broke down in front of you all, you might have taken that the wrong way, like I wanted to be with Jamie and I wouldn't have been in the mood to convince you otherwise"

"I guess I can see your point but I'm not happy about your actions" Kiandre balls his hand into a fist "Man I really want to punch something"

"Kiss me" Layton murmured

"I'm too angry to, I might hurt you, just give me a moment Layton"

'Layton' as soon as she heard that and not the usual 'Bellissma' she was deflated and walked away, back to the room. Kiandre saw her drooped shoulders and briskly caught up to her. He pushed her against the wall, lifted her, wrapped her legs around his waist and finally kissed her with such vigor that she was left gasping for air.

He finally put her and brought her hand to his lips gently kissing it and whispering "Bellissma" luckily no one was in the corridor to witness that

As the two enter the room, Rose and Cass come in for a group hug. "We are quite resilient bunch, I knew we would be okay" whispers Rose.

The rest of what was left of the college road trip tour went with smooth sailing. At their final stop the gang went to a sorority party - if they all ended up at different places next year, at least they went to one college bash together.