A/N: Drake/Josh going off to college. Drake is acting weird. Josh can't figure out the new Drake. Slash.
This is an unauthorized work of fiction. Drake & Josh is owned by Nickelodeon.
What you are doing is screwing things up inside my head
You should know better you never listened to a word I said
Clutching your pillow and writhing in a naked sweat
Hoping somebody someday will do you like I did
When it gets cold outside and you got nobody to love
You'll understand what I mean when I say
There's no way we're gonna give up
And like a little girl cries in the face of a monster that lives in her dreams
Is there anyone out there cause it's getting harder and harder to breathe
"Harder to Breathe" Maroon 5
From the window streamed blue light. Sunrise, Josh told himself. He climbed off his mattress and slipped into shorts and sneakers. Ready to run, he smiled while doing a few stretches. Feeling limber and awake, Josh tiptoed past his sleeping roommate. Josh had to maneuver through the loft carefully. The chore of packing for University left the floor and furniture littered with books, inventions, and instruments. Half-filled boxes pile high along the walls and couch. After making it safely and quietly to the hall, Josh pulled the door gently until it clicked shut.
Outside the morning air was refreshing. A few cars passed and a few birds sang, but it felt serene and looked beautiful. Josh quickened into a jog, turning out of the driveway. Focused on his breathing, Josh pounded the asphalt at a steady pace. He had grown to enjoy the strain his body underwent each morning. This daily activity strengthened his lean, flexible, and agile body. In the thin cover of dawn, Josh found usually sought peace.
But Josh had trouble clearing his head this morning. His body reacted robotically, one foot in front of the other, as his mind thought over preceding weeks. Josh remembered the state of his bedroom. Our bedroom, he corrected, though it doesn't feel that way right now. Josh found trouble trying to connect with Drake lately. They were around each other all of the time, but Drake tended to disconnect from conversations and activities.
Josh spent the last month studying, packing, and daydreaming about State. Drake, on the other hand, hasn't been himself. Drake… Josh pushed himself harder as the hill steepened. Lazy. Selfish. Jerk. Drake hadn't lifted a finger to pack. After a long day of ignoring everyone and zoning himself out of reality, Drake stayed out late and slept in. Josh was frustrated at the void that had grown between them. But he didn't know what to do.
As Josh made his final turn, a string of trees blocked the rising sun. He shivered in the shade and tried to push away feelings of abandonment and loneliness. Drake and Josh had both been invited to pool parties and barbeques, but Josh respectfully declined each one. I can't goof off my last month of High School. What will the University think?
Josh was saving his energy for a pre-Frosh U-prep week hosted by the SGA and Greek Life at State. My friends at home will always be here for me no matter what. I need to focus on networking at school.
He tried not to worry about what the week away from Drake would be like. It could only make things better. Josh thought, distance makes the heart fonder. Or was it, out of sight out of mind?
Drake hadn't made any attempt to get to know the faculty or clubs offered at State. Josh recalled how Drake spent his time preparing for University: skipping chores, staring at the teacher blankly during class, ditching school for girls, watching free movies at the Premiere. Yeah, quality lifestyle. Josh wished that Drake would take school more seriously now that they were graduating.
Drake had turned inward, yes. But Josh didn't understand or realize that he was preparing for college in his own way. Looking forward to college life meant separate dorms, new roommates, and thousands of people waiting to one-up him. A profound emptiness filled Drake at the thought of leaving High School. He walked around like a zombie and found it hard to smile.
And I can't remember the last time he and I stayed up to play Rock Hero or Left 2 Die. Josh finished his run with a bit of light stretching on the lawn. Touching his toes, he sighs, I don't even know Drake anymore.