His first day of college. Jack wasn't nervous. After all the crap he had been through over the summer, he had been looking forward to this. Other than the fact that his boyfriend-Jack smiled at that thought-wasn't here with him. Ennis had left Texas and had run straight to Iowa to make a fresh start. And the only thing that was keeping them apart was that it had been too late to apply to another college. Jack could have just said "screw college" and followed Ennis to Iowa, but that would only make Ennis feel guilty. That he had kept Jack from the opportunity of a life time even though Jack could really care less about college if he had the chance to be with Ennis.

But, of course, they had said their goodbyes and went to college.

Jack really didn't know what to major in, so he just decided to try out a few things. At the end of it all, it probably wouldn't matter what he majored in. He wouldn't use any of it. He'd just end up in the kind of life he had always been living. Preferably, minus living in his parents' house. And a boring ass job. But, since he knew his future would consist of and most likely revolve around Ennis Del Mar, it didn't matter where the crap he ended up. Anything was perfect as long as Ennis was there. Jack would follow him anywhere.

But you didn't follow him to Iowa, you ass.

He toured around parts of the campus before he headed for his dorm, checking the paper he was given to make sure he was in the right place. His things had already been brought to the dorm so he wouldn't have to worry about that. He was a bit nervous as he stopped at the door since the last stranger he had lived with was now his boyfriend. But, he wasn't an idiot. Ennis was the only one for him. He wasn't going to ruin that completely by jumping in bed with the first guy he saw. He pushed that out of his mind and walked into the dorm.

And froze when he saw his roommate. Ron Aguirre.

Ron looked up as Jack walked in and Jack wanted to hit something. There was no way in hell he was going to room with this guy. Hadn't Ron put him through enough hell the last few months? It was his fault he had gotten fired and kicked off the ranch he and Ennis had worked at even though that had been the best moment of the summer. Jack had thought he had been through with Ron. Ron was supposed to have stayed on that ranch to help out his dad since his mom had died and his sister had gotten shipped off to looney town.

"Jack Twist," Ron said. "Long time, no see, huh?" There was that grin that always made Jack uncomfortable. Jack had been uncomfortable around Ron before they had a history together.

My own damn fault. "Please tell me I'm just dreaming," Jack said, closing the door behind him. If he ended up killing Ron right here and now, he didn't want any witnesses. "Why aren't you at the ranch?"

"Dad lost the ranch," Ron said. "About two weeks after you and Ennis left." He shrugged his shoulders. "Well, sold it, really. Couldn't find any help and the place just held too many bad memories." He smirked. "Don't worry. We weren't mentioned in those bad memories." Kid never took a hint. Jack had even told him that they were done. Jack often wished it had never even happened.

But, it sure got Ennis to make a move quicker. But hadn't Jack made the first move? By getting drunk and asking Ennis to stay the night? Jack was always trying to think back and remember every single detail of that night, but it was impossible. At least he hadn't had to worry about how it felt like to sleep in Ennis' arms. There had been plenty of "stay the night"s after that.

"Believe me," Jack said. "Once your dad knows who you're roomin' with, he'll mention plenty of bad memories." He had been on Joe's good side up until the moment that it had been learned that Jack and Ron had been sneaking around together. And instead of accepting reality, Joe Aguirre had blamed Jack for the way Ron had turned out. Jack hadn't bothered to tell him that Ron had hit on him the first day he was on the ranch before Jack had come out of the closet.

"I'm pretty sure you're plannin' on not spendin' a lot of time here," Ron said. "So I can just tell him that I don't see my roommate enough to get to know ya."

"And I'll turn into some partying man whore," Jack said, wondering if it was at all possible to get a new room. But, that would probably take a lot of time if he even could. He would just have to deal with what he had. He didn't have to spend a lot of time in the dorm anyway. Hopefully Ron would keep his distance more than he had back at the ranch. He walked over to his bed and opened the suitcase that was on the bed.

"What else is there to do in college?"

"Uh, learn?" Jack asked, looking over his shoulder at Ron. "Just a guess."

Ron got up from where he was sitting and walked over to Jack. He sat down on the bed. "How's Ennis?"

"You're asking for it," Jack warned, grabbing Ron's arm and pulling him up off the bed. He hated even having that level of physical contact with him. And it was probably done on purpose since Ron loved being handled by Jack. He grimaced inwardly at that warning, nearly shuddering in disgust.

"Are you really gonna be a party pooper because Ennis isn't here?" Ron asked. "You take all the fun out of college."

"You took all the fun out of everything," Jack said, unpacking and not looking at Ron once. "Just let me go to college in peace."

"Boring," Ron mumbled then thankfully moved to the other side of the room and left Jack to finish unpacking.

As Jack unpacked, his mind drifted to Ennis. He was definitely going to tell Ennis about Ron and not keep that a secret. Ennis wouldn't like it, but surely he knew Jack wouldn't do anything. Especially since Jack mostly complained about Ron whenever he talked about him. Ennis would hear him out as he got it off his chest. Jack was looking forward to when they'd be able to call each other. Jack didn't know what would be a good time and wished once again that they weren't in two completely different states.

Ennis knew he would feel out of place no matter which college he went to. Of course, he knew that if he had gone to the same college as Jack, that feeling wouldn't be as bad as it was now.

The weather in Iowa was different than Texas. It was warm in Texas during this time. Here in Iowa, people were already preparing for the winter months. Ennis wasn't looking forward to the cold, which just made the feeling of being out of place even worse. This probably wasn't the place for him, but this was his first day. The first day was always the worst. Things would get better over time. Hopefully.

Ennis got himself signed up and went to his dorm. His roommate was on the bed making out with a blonde, who was clearly a cheerleader, judging by the pom-poms on the floor. Ennis ignored them and just went about his business. If either of them noticed him, they didn't care. Ennis unpacked then stepped out of the dorm to get a look around the campus and get away from his roommate. Hopefully every day wasn't going to be like this.

It only made him miss Jack.

Ennis wandered around for a while before heading back to his dorm. The blonde was gone and his roommate seemed a bit embarrassed for what Ennis had walked into earlier.

"Sorry I wasn't very friendly before," the guy said, holding his hand out to Ennis. "I'm Pete."

"Ennis," Ennis introduced himself, shaking Pete's hand. "And don't worry about earlier."

"It won't happen again, you can be sure of that," Pete said. "I'll have to remind the ladies I have a roommate now. I didn't have one last year. Took advantage of that."

Ennis nodded, not sure what to say. "Sorry," Pete apologized again. "I'm probably just making you uncomfortable."

"Don't take much," Ennis said. Pete laughed lightly. Trying to alleviate the tension? It didn't help. Ennis wasn't trying to make things difficult. It was just hard for him to be social. It was amazing Jack had gotten anything out of him.

He wished Jack were here right now.

"So, um, Ennis," Pete said, attempting small talk. "Where you from?"

"Texas."

"Texas, cool," Pete said, nodding his head. "I'm from Florida. Planning on moving here to Iowa. I like the place too much. Plus, I've seen more hot chicks here than back home."

Great motivator, Ennis thought dryly but kept his mouth shut.

"What's your major?" Pete asked. He was either desperate to make a friend or hated awkward silences. Hating awkward silences made more sense since it was obvious that this guy had no problem with making friends.

"Psychology for now," Ennis replied. He had chosen that because of Carrie, but didn't know if that would stick. Who knew what major he'd end up graduating in? "You?"

Pete shrugged. "I major in whatever feels right," he said. That wasn't an answer, but Ennis wasn't going to say anything about it. "I've gotta get to practice. Catch ya later." He clapped Ennis on the back then left.

Ennis breathed a sigh of relief then sat down on the bed, resting his arm on the empty suitcase. He couldn't tell if he'd get along with his roommate or not. Maybe Pete was a pretty cool guy once you got to know him. Ennis couldn't really judge him after only being here for less than an hour.

An hour that felt like an eternity. Time would continue to move slow the longer he was away from Jack. He hated this, but nothing could be changed. They would see each other again in a few months and hopefully things would be better by then. It certainly couldn't get worse.

Could it?

Ennis sighed, longing to be with Jack. He pulled out his calendar and marked the day he would see Jack again. A really, really long way away, but Ennis would have to tough it out.