< Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Kevin opened his eyes and looked around his room. He’d been lying awake for about half an hour already and his alarm hadn’t even gone off yet. With one glance to the clock, he saw that it was only ten to seven. Sighing, he got up and headed to his bathroom to take a shower. There was no reason to put off the inevitable, he was up for the day and two hours away from leaving home to go to college. Kevin’s stomach did a few rounds of impressive somersaults as he took his time in the shower, trying to wash away his insecurities and uneasiness.

By the time he’d gotten dressed in a pair of loose jeans, a comfortable tee shirt and sandals, he’d changed his mind a thousand times. Nothing could have surprised him more than to reach the kitchen, only to find Brian, Joey and Chris still sitting there. Kevin’s eyes flickered to the clock on the stove. It was only twenty five to eight, Joey and Brian weren’t supposed to be there until eight thirty at the earliest. He was confused.

"What..?"

"You can’t change your mind," Brian said with a warm smile. He nodded as Kevin’s cheeks warmed up and he blushed. "I know that’s what you’re thinking about, and no, you can’t change your mind."

"Why are you here so early?"

"We knew you’d be having second, and one hundred and second, thoughts," Joey admitted. "So, last night we agreed to be here early. We’re going to go for some breakfast, go see Nick one last time," Kevin gasped at the mention of Nick, "and then hit the road."

"Nick?"

Chris rolled his eyes. "God, you are so thick. Of course you’re going to get one last good bye. You don’t think we’re heartless do you?"

Kevin paused, which caused for his three best friends to growl at him. They all broke into laughter and Kevin felt nervous butterflies in his stomach. "Really?"

"Really," Joey assured him. "Last night, when I dropped Nick off, I told him to expect us around nine. So if I know him like I know you, he’s up right now on his porch waiting."

All four of them nodded their heads in agreement.

"Yeah!"

They had already packed Joey’s car with the remainder of Kevin’s belongings, so all Kevin had to do was one last check of his room for whatever he might have left behind. He then locked the house up and took one last look over his shoulder at the house he’d spent the first seventeen years of his life living in.

Joey and Brian were going in one car, while Chris and Kevin would go in the other. "Did you want to drive first?" Chris asked with a shrug.

Kevin nodded. "Might as well, you can take over halfway."

They went to IHOP for breakfast, the weight of the trip heavy on their minds. While all four were excited for a guy’s weekend away at college, it was also surreal to know that they’d be coming back one short. On Sunday afternoon, Joey, Brian and Chris would be driving back to Middletown to prepare themselves for school to start.

"Okay, so we’ve got about fifteen minutes to say good-bye to Nick and then we’re on the road,’ Joey instructed firmly.


Kevin nodded. "Yeah, good. Anything more and I won’t leave."


"We know," Chris said gently.

Just as they’d suspected, Nick was waiting on the porch for their arrival. When he saw the familiar cars pull into the driveway, Nick jumped to his feet in excitement.

Nick’s stomach was fluttering wildly. He’d been so excited the night before when Joey had let him in on a secret that even Kevin didn’t know, that they would be making one short stop the next morning to say good-bye before Kevin left. That gave him all night to work on a last minute present idea, wanting it to be perfect for when they arrived. He’d gone to sleep at around four, only to wake back up at seven, afraid of sleeping in. He’d go back to sleep when Kevin left, but for right now, he needed to be there to say good-bye to his boyfriend.

Kevin jumped out of his SUV and rushed up the stairs to where Nick was standing nervously. Nick had on a pair of basketball shorts and a tee shirt that was a few sizes too big for him. He looked adorable, with his hair all sticking up at odd angles and his eyes heavy with sleep. It looked as though Nick hadn’t gotten any sleep the night before, and Kevin didn’t want to leave him behind.

"You look exhausted," Kevin whispered as he hugged Nick close.

"I was up late," Nick admitted, hugging Kevin back. "I’ll sleep when I know you’re gone."

"I’ve only got fifteen minutes," Kevin admitted.

"Eleven," a voice called from the SUV causing Kevin and Nick to giggle.

"Eleven," Nick whispered. He touched all of Kevin’s face one last time before pulling away. "I ...made you something." He pulled out a box that looked as if it had been wrapped in a rush. Kevin laughed which caused Nick to blush. "It’s a crappy wrapping job," Nick admitted.

"It’s wonderful," Kevin was surprised that Nick had gotten him anything. He hadn’t been expecting it and wished he had of thought to get Nick something.

"Open it on the road," Nick suggested with a grin. Kevin nodded and leaned forward to press his lips against Nick’s jaw. As much as he wanted, no needed, to kiss the blonde, he didn’t feel comfortable doing so where his parents might be able to witness it.

"They’re gone out," Nick whispered against Kevin’s cheek. They both pulled away and Nick nodded at the look of surprise on Kevin’s face. "Yeah," he explained. "The twins both had to go for dentist appointments, so dad took them, but then Leslie and BJ had to go get some last minute stuff for school and so mom figured that she might as well get an early start. They left about ten minutes before you got here."

Kevin grinned. He wasted no time in pulling Nick close and kissing him passionately, allowing his tongue to roam freely in Nick’s mouth. Now that he knew that neither of Nick’s parents or siblings would see them, he wasn’t as self conscious in showing Nick how much he was going to miss him.

"Plus I think they wanted to leave us alone," Nick whimpered as Kevin broke the kiss. He felt boneless in Kevin’s arms and clung to him for dear life. "Kiss me again."

There was no need for Nick to ask twice, Kevin pulled him close and kissed him again, fully enjoying the way Nick’s mouth moved against his and he passively allowed for Kevin to lead the kiss. It was Joey’s voice that cut into their moment.

"Three minute warning."

"That can’t have been twelve minutes already," Kevin whined. His eyes were glued on Nick’s face as he heard his friends laughing in the background.

"Sorry Kev, fifteen minutes. You’ve got less than three left."

"I love you," Nick whispered. He sucked on Kevin’s lower lip, just to remember what he tasted like.

"I love you," Kevin replied with a smile. He inhaled the sweet scent of Nick’s soap, just to remember what he smelled like.

"Call me," Nick gave Kevin a quick kiss before stepping away. If he didn’t let go of him now he never would. "Have fun. Learn lots."

"I’ll miss you," Kevin said with a nod. "Good luck on Tuesday, have fun and e-mail me."

"Time," Brian said with much regret. He knew that it would be painful for him to leave on Sunday and he could only imagine how hard it was for Kevin and Nick to say their good-byes. Thankfully, Kevin gave a sad nod and pulled Nick in for one last hug and tender kiss good bye.

"I love you," Kevin said as he climbed into the SUV.

"I love you too Kev. Have a good weekend guys," Nick called to Joey, Brian and Chris. He received waves and smiles in return. It wasn’t until Nick could no longer see either car that the reality set in that Kevin was gone. And not just gone for the day or for the weekend, but gone. For weeks and months and years. Gone, except for holidays and occasional weekends.

Nick barely felt the first few tears trailing down his cheeks, nor the trembling in his hands and legs. He stood on the porch until he heard a car pull up in front of him, recognizing it as Justin’s parents car. The tears didn’t stop, but he watched in confusion as Justin bounced out of the car, followed slowly by a half asleep Lance.

"Hello Nickolas," Lynne Timberlake called with the wave of her hand. "Behave boys." With that, she was gone, leaving Nick on the porch with Justin on one side and Lance on the other.

"What’s going on?" Nick asked. It was then he realized he was crying and he quickly wiped the tears away. Almost instantly he had Justin’s arms wrapped around him. Lance pulled firmly on the back of Nick’s tee shirt, leading them into the house.

"What’s going on," Lance mumbled. "Is that I was woken up like, fifteen minutes ago, told that I needed to be ready like, now, because Justin was on his way to pick me up." Lance yawned as he took them through Nick’s house and down the stairs to the basement. Nick laughed as he looked down to see that Lance was still in his pajamas. He had a knapsack in his hand and Nick figured it held clothes that were thrown hurriedly into the bag. Nick looked at Justin, who shrugged unapologetically.

"I knew they were coming over this morning, Chris told me when he called last night when Joey got home. Joey called him and he called me, and I knew you wouldn’t want to be alone after they left."

"I just want to sleep," Nick admitted with a sad, forlorn sigh. He was tired, and emotional and as much as he appreciated Justin and Lance coming over to cheer him up, that wasn’t what he needed. "I only slept for like 2 and-a-half hours."

"Good," Lance yawned again. The Carters had a few inflatable mattresses lying around, and Lance remembered that the last time they’d used them, they were in the storage room in the basement. Thankfully, as soon as he’d opened the door, they were propped up against the wall, fully inflated. With a gentle tug, he brought them into the main room and nodded at Justin to move the furniture. "Because I’m not done sleeping and as much as I want to be here for you, Nick, I’m tired. Get some blankets."

Ten minutes later, a giant bed had been made on the basement floor. Nick curled up in the centre, with Lance on one side and Justin on the other. Lance fell back asleep immediately, which only caused Justin and Nick to giggle as his soft snores filled the basement. It was mere minutes before Nick followed.

Justin quietly crept to the phone that was resting on a table by the wall and dialed seven familiar digits.

~*~*~*~

They had been on the road for less than twenty minutes when Kevin’s cell phone rang. Just as he was about to answer it, Chris beat him to it. "That’s for me."

"It’s my phone," Kevin pointed out as he handed it to Chris. Their eyes met briefly before Kevin turned to focus on the road ahead. Joey’s car was a few hundred feet ahead of them and Kevin took a few calming breaths. He hated how sad Nick looked, which made leaving harder. What was worse was how much he was looking forward to getting out of Middletown and to college, where he could start new without his parents there or the expectations that everyone had on him. It was finally his turn to find out who he was without having to worry about who he was disappointing. Somehow, it felt as if he was betraying Nick by these thoughts, so he pushed them out of his head.

"So?" Chris answered with a grin.

"Asleep," Justin’s voice came throughout the line. "He was still on the porch when we drove up, so we brought him inside, Lance set up the basement and the two of them are sleeping."

"How’s he doing?" Chris asked softly. At that question, Kevin looked over in surprise as if he knew exactly who Chris was referring to.

"Upset. Depressed. All that good stuff," Justin looked over at his best friend’s form which was curled up protectively under the sleeping bag he had crawled under. He just needs some sleep and he’ll be okay."

"How are you?"

Justin shrugged in the silent room. "I’m okay. How’s Kevin?"

Chris looked at Kevin who was gripping the steering wheel tightly. "How you’d expect. It’ll be fine."

"I know," Justin yawned and looked longingly at the empty space on the mattress. He’d been on the phone until late with Chris the night before and had been up at the crack of dawn to get his room cleaned and chores done so he could go to Nick’s for the weekend. It was their last weekend of freedom before school was starting and they were going to enjoy it, no matter what anyone else thought. "I’m going to go and get some more sleep," Justin said with a quiet yawn. "Have fun."

Chris said his good-byes and clicked the phone shut. He knew that he’d have a few questions to answer from Kevin and so he was prepared.

"Is ...is he okay?"

Chris smiled. "Yeah. J and Lance are there with him. Lance made them a bed in the basement and the two of them are already asleep."

Kevin smiled. He was glad that Nick had his friends there. If anyone could help him take his mind off of things, Lance and Justin could. Just like he was glad that he had Joey, Brian and Chris to help him get adjusted to his first weekend away. They had even planned on making monthly trips up to campus, granted Kevin’s roommate didn’t mind them crashing in their dorm room, to visit.

Conversation was light, as was the traffic. They were making excellent time and before Kevin knew it, Brian had phoned to tell them they were stopping at the next truck stop to go to the washroom, refuel and take a bit of a break from driving. Joey and Brian were going to switch positions, so Kevin took the opportunity to do the same. He was admittedly curious as to what was inside the package that Nick had given him, so once they’d gotten some lunch, stocked up on junk food from the store at the rest stop and emptied out their bladders, Chris got behind the wheel of the SUV and Kevin settled in on the passenger side.

"What ‘cha got?" Chris asked, just as curious as Kevin.

Kevin tore open the wrapping paper to find that Nick had put his present into a shoe box. Upon opening the shoe box, Kevin was dumbfounded on what was there. There was at least half a dozen CDs, all burnt and labeled with Nick’s scratchy handwriting. There were pictures, and as Kevin leafed through them, it was of all of them, all that summer. Random pictures of the whole gang, pictures of the couples, and ones that Kevin hadn’t even realized that had been taken. Everything had been wrapped in one of Nick’s favourite tee shirts, one that as Kevin held it to his nose, still smelled exactly like Nick, which caused for Kevin’s pulse to race. There were other odds and ends, fun little things that made Kevin smile.


The CDs were all burnt, mixed CDs put in different ‘themes’. There was one of Nick’s favourite songs, one of Kevin’s favourite songs, a few of cheesy love songs that Nick wanted to dance with Kevin to, fun dance songs for Kevin to listen to as he got ready to go out. Chris reached over to grab onto the CD of Kevin’s favourite songs and slipped it in the CD player. On the back of each picture, Nick had written a funny story or caption, making Kevin blush and smile. This present of reminders of home, was much better than anything anyone could have bought him. Nick had managed to perfectly capture just what he needed.

"Your boyfriend is pretty cool huh," Chris asked as he took a big bite of licorice. He grinned as Kevin smiled at him.

"The best."

"Second best," Chris argued.

It was late morning when they finally arrived on the campus of UCLA. Kevin had directions of how to get to his residence, and what to do when he got there. Thankfully, there weren’t an abundance of cars as Kevin figured that people wouldn’t be showing up until the late weekend, opting to spend one last hoorah at home with their friends and family.

"I have to go to Blackton Hall where the housing office is. They have everything I need," Kevin announced to Chris who was driving and to Joey who was in the other car. They pulled up in front of Blackton Hall to find a small line up waiting. "You don’t have to come in."

Chris shrugged. "My legs are fucking cramped yo, I need to get out of that car."

Joey and Brian agreed. Besides, the campus was beautiful and they’d never seen anything like it before. Within a half an hour, Kevin had all of the forms he needed filled out, his keys in hand and directions of how to get to where he had to go next.

An hour and four stops later, he was finally ready to move in. He was rooming with a freshman from Cincinnati, Ohio. Andrew (Drew) Lachey. Andrew (Drew), was scheduled to arrive sometime on Saturday, as per his housing information. Kevin had the room to himself until then. Their room was in Ashtonbury Hall, room 525, and yes, the service elevator was surprisingly free for the next hour, so they could use that if they’d like.

It took two trips up to get all of Kevin’s belongings into the surprisingly spacious room that he would be sharing with Andrew (Drew). Because he’d arrived first, Kevin decided to take his pick of the room, opting for the bed by the window. If his roommate felt strongly about not having the bed Kevin picked out for him, he’d willingly switch, but for the most part, Kevin would rather be by the window. By dinner time, the four of them had pretty much put everything away and had Kevin’s side of the room just how he wanted it. It would take time to have things perfect, as he was certain he’d pick up things along the way to personalize his room further, but for the moment, everything was great.

"So," Joey asked as he rubbed his stomach. "What now?"

Brian was looking at the package that Kevin had received from the welcoming Kiosk downstairs and noticed that inside was a bundle of pamphlets and leaflets of all of the campus restaurants and bars, as well as local ones that weren’t too far from campus. He held them up and grinned. "This one, O’Tooles, looks pretty good. It’s on campus, it’s a pub so you don’t have to be of age to get in since they serve food. Lets go there, it looks fun."

Kevin shrugged. He didn’t care where they went or what they did, it was all exciting and new and he felt his whole body tingling with excitement. "Whatever you guys want. I just have to call and let Nick know we got here okay." Minutes later, Kevin was waiting with the phone next to his ear, listening to it ring.

"Hello?" The one word caused for Kevin’s stomach to drop out. He smiled and turned his back to his friends.

"Hey."

Nick’s pulse was racing and he’d been hoping it was Kevin. "How are you? Are you there? Was the drive up okay? Are you tired? How long have you been there? ..." Kevin knew the questions would keep coming until he said something. His laughter caused for Nick to chuckle.


"Slow down, slow down."

"I’m sorry, I’ve just been so excited for you all day. J and Lance showed up when you left, but we went back to sleep because I was super tired, but when we woke up we went to the mall and got banana splits., and I got some last minute stuff for school. But then we came home in case you called when you got there. When did you get there?"

Kevin laughed at how hyper Nick was. He could just imagine the blonde moving back and forth from foot to foot, dancing and shimmying his hips while his light blonde hair stuck up at all angles and his cheeks were flushed with excitement. "We got here about two and a half hours ago, but we had to go to about four different buildings so I could check in and do all my administrative stuff. Then we moved everything into my room and set it all up. We’re just about to go and get something for dinner and I wanted to call you before we headed out."

"How cool is it there?" Nick asked. He hoped to be able to visit Kevin sometime in the near future, if not just to see his boyfriend, then to check out what a real college dorm was like. "Are there a lot of people?"

"Not yet, it’s still early. My roommate isn’t moving in until tomorrow. It’s going to be crazy."

They talked for a few more minutes. Neither wanted to hang up, but Kevin promised that he would call Nick again soon, and gave Nick his and Andrew’s telephone number to the room.

"Take care," Nick said softly and with much emotion. He closed his eyes and his lips curled into a soft smile. "I love you."

Kevin grinned and let Nick’s words wash over him for the thousandth time that day. "I love you too Nicky. Talk to you tomorrow."

They both ended the call, people on their respective ends mindful of the high levels of emotion in the room. Once he had gotten himself under control, Kevin turned around and smiled at his friends. "I’m so hungry dudes, lets go eat."

"You want a minute?" Joey asked as he flipped through the limited channels that Kevin’s television received. If Kevin wanted cable, he was going to have to call the cable company and they would send someone by to hook it up. It was something that Kevin decided to wait to see what his roommate thought, and hence only received three channels right now.

Kevin shook his head. "Nah, I’m okay. Let’s go." Armed with a small map, they headed out of Kevin’s dormitory and decided to walk to the campus restaurant. It wasn’t too far and truthfully, the four friends were excited to see the campus. Conversation was easy and light as they wove their way past the other students that had arrived early. Kevin couldn’t help but notice just how different things were at UCLA than Lincoln High. There were the obvious differences, such as this was college and that was high school, but there was the other issue that now Kevin was the Fresh Meat. Where he’d gotten used to being the big fish in a very small pond, he was the small fish in what looked to be an ocean.

A few people caught their eye, Joey even going so far as to not so discreetly point out a group of four girls walking just ahead of them, all in shorts, tank tops and their bleached blonde hair piled high atop their heads. Looking at how awestruck they were, Kevin assumed that they too were freshmen and felt a shiver course through his body. The girls turned around to giggle and wave at them.

"We should invite them to dinner with us," Joey suggested with a grin. Chris and Brian rolled their eyes, both smacking him in the arm.

"Uh, Mandy?"

Joey snorted and rolled his eyes back. "Uh, just being hospitable."

Kevin’s mind was already on Gretchen and how her first few hours would be for her in New York. He would have to remember to e-mail her when he got back to his room to give her an update of UCLA and how beautiful everything was here. Kevin turned his attention to his friends, laughing at how they were play fighting and how the girls were watching them with extreme interest. "I vote that dinner’s just us tonight. Maybe tomorrow night we can hang out with other people, but right now I just ..."

Chris nodded and threw his arm over Kevin’s shoulder, "I agree. This is our weekend."

Joey and Brian waved to the girls who watched them head forward longingly. It was only minutes later when they found O’Tooles, which looked surprisingly busy for it being the first day of moving in. Kevin led everyone inside and found an empty table near the back. Once they had settled in, a perky waitress approached the table smiling at them.

"Hey newbies, how’s it going?"

All four teens smiled warmly at the waitress. Her demeanor was friendly and put them at ease almost immediately. She had long brown hair which was pulled back into a messy pony tail and her brown eyes were soft and kind.

"Good," Kevin answered as he accepted the menus and handed one to each of his friends.

"You all starting next week?"

Kevin nodded, Chris, Brian and Joey shook their heads. "No, just me. My friends just came up to help me move in."

"Awesome, what residence are you in? You can tell a lot about a person by the dorm they’re living in." She gave Kevin the once over with a critical eye as if trying to figure out by looking at him, where he was living. When she’d made her assessment she smiled. "Okay, tell me."

"Ashtonbury Hall."

By the way her face broke out into a grin, Kevin figured she’d guessed right. "I was torn between Ashtonbury and Williamson." It was Kevin’s turn to smile.

"Williamson Hall was my second choice."

Brian, Chris and Joey watched as Kevin talked to the waitress with ease. Their eyes all locked in what was a comical three way gaze, yet neither said anything. If Kevin had been worried about coming away to school, he’d worried for naught, because he was the type of person who made friends effortlessly, not to mention had people falling all over him at the snap of a finger.

"Jock?"

"Football."

The waitress extended her hand to shake Kevin’s. Kevin accepted her hand graciously. "I’m Jordana."

"Kevin."

Jordana smiled and quickly looked over her shoulder. When she focused on Kevin again, she was still smiling. "I live in Ashtonbury too, I’m a second year Physical Education Major. I play basketball."

Brian’s smile nearly lit up the table. "I play basketball." Jordana’s attention focused on Brian and her smile intensified. He nearly forgot about a certain someone named Rachael back at home from the way she was looking at him.

"Oh yeah?"

Brian blushed which caused the rest of the table to snicker. "Yeah, I’m Varsity Captain this year at school, my LAST year of high school of course."

"Listen, I’ll be right back. Some of my orders are up, give me a second." Jordana was off in a flash to deliver other orders to their rightful tables. Less than five minutes later, she was back. Her attention focused on Brian and she smiled. "So, where are you looking for next year?"

"UCLA now," Brian admitted with a blush. Jordana laughed while the others at the table snorted.

"Awesome, we have the best sports programmes here. Definitely give us a thought, plus Kevin’s here so you’ll know people when you come next year."

"For sure," Brian nearly drooled. They gave Jordana their orders and found themselves alone once again while she went to punch them in and serve her other customers.

"She’s hot," Brian breathed. He looked at the expressions on his best friend’s faces and shrugged noncommittally. "I mean ...if you like.."

"If you like beautiful, brunette, sexy college girls," Joey finished. Brian nodded.

"Yeah."

The whole table burst into laughter.

As they were leaving, Jordana stopped the gang by the exit. "What room are you in?" She asked Kevin with a smile.

"525." He answered. Jordana’s grin amplified.

"I’m just down the hall in 540. If you need anything, just come down and let me know. It’s always great to have a friendly and familiar face, especially next week when things are insane." She then turned to Brian and smiled. "How long are you guys visiting for?"

"Till Sunday," Brian answered with a blush. Jordana grinned. "Cool, maybe we could shoot some hoops tomorrow or something."

"Definitely."

Jordana nodded, she motioned toward the kitchen and shrugged. "Okay, well I’m sure I’ll run into you guys tomorrow, and if not, I know where to find you now. I should get back to work, enjoy your first night at UCLA Kevin and friends."

Now that night had fallen, there seemed to be more people wandering around the campus. Kevin felt a sense of freedom that was both exciting and nerve wracking. He was happy to be there, on the edge of his life, looking down at all of the possibilities for the upcoming year, but at the same time, he longed for the stability and comfort of routine. He took a few calming breaths and decided to just relax and let whatever would happen, happen.

"Where do we want to go and what do we want to do?" Joey asked as he looked around at the dozens of people around them.

Chris shrugged. "The possibilities are endless."

End Chapter 9


Chapter 10 >