My room seems different than before. What was once a playful world of magic is now nothing more than a childhood memory. I sigh and start pulling down some of the old Pokemon and Hatsune Miku posters that once filled my room with joy and adolescent wonder. Within a few moments I already hear my door open, a thick musky scent of smoke and alcohol emanating from the door way. "Well love," the thick british accent and the terrible smell soon reminds me who it is "You ain't stayin' around anymore?" "Look Murdoc," I growl whirring around to be faced with the tall zombie like man, "It's not my fault that I found something I want to do that isn't playing guitar." I pull out a briefcase and begin packing my clothes. I'm moving to the states, to become more educated in one of their colleges. "'Ave ya' told the others yet?" He sits on my bed, lighting a cigarette. I glare at my hands as they twitch, then shove a handful of shirts in "No... If I told Russel he won't let me go and if I tell Toochie..." I stand for a moment. 2-D will probably find my sister again and complain to her about how reckless of a friend I am. "Toochie will probably zone out and forget about me as a whole." I quickly lie, knowing how much of an airhead 2-D can be. Murdoc laughs under his breath, like he knows something. As the smoke seeps from his chapped lips, he looks up at the ceiling. "Nah, 2-D'd probably just whine and bitch and moan until we found a way to get you back. You two are closer 'an anythin' I eva' seen. It's almost like you two are lova's." I turn to him, my eyes squinted into a glare, shining with a hatred. "We aren't lovers!" i shout at him violently, rejecting the thought of it. Murdoc jolts a bit in surprise, quickly recovering with a wide smirk on his face, his cigarette finding its way back to his lips. "Well, when you deny it like that, I'd say you actually wanted to be that buffoons lova'." he stands up, his hands pressed firmly into his pockets. Patting my head he mutters "And, with that face full of blush, you ain't got nothin' to say abou' it." he chuckles wickedly as i feel my warm cheeks. I shoot him one more nasty look and he exits, I'm sure imagining me and Toochie as a couple. "A-as if!" i slam my fists into the briefcase, a loud snap coming from the metal frame. After a moment, i realize my knuckles are in serious pain. Pulling them up i notice shards of metal in my knuckles, blood dripping down my hands and fingers. I bite my lip and sigh, walking into the bathroom, trembling furiously. I stare into the mirror and look at myself. The girl I see is not me. I don't know who she is. She is a mimic of me, a simple reflection of my physical body. She knows not of my mind nor my conscious being. Her violet hair and green eyes are mine and she has stolen my figure. I shake my head, looking away from the invalid reflection of myself, and quickly turn on the hot water, sinking my knuckles into the fluid. Pulling out the metal shards from my knuckles, I notice the large gaping holes in my hand and cringe as water enters them. I bring my hands away from the water and pull out the rest, pain surging through where they once were. "Hey Noods, are you a-" 2-D's voice comes from the hallway, not too far from me. "Noodle!" he notices my hands and quickly takes them in his, observing them, his black eyes wide with fear "N-noods are you okay? what happened?" he looks at me worriedly and I pull my hands back, pulling out the last few pieces of metal and putting them onto the pile with the other shiny silver shards. "Nothing. I just got a bit angry at Murdoc, and i broke my briefcase." pulling the bandages from one of the cabinets he thinks for a moment. "Briefcase? Why was that out?" I glance back at him, wrapping the first layer of gauze over my left hand. His blue hair is shiny and messy as usual, and his face is unshaved and scruffy. I decide not to let this lie go on for too long. "Look, Toochie, I..." I stammer, wrapping the third and fourth layer over my hand "I'm... Going to college, in the states." My gaze stays at my hands, as i finish my sixth layer, cutting off the gauze and starting on the next hand. "Noodle, what... Why?" his voice lower to a soft growl like sound. "You and I are best pals. We do everything together." His eyes fill with tears, and my own eyes widen. "N-no! We're still friends Toochie! I-I promise we always will be! Oh shit, Please don't cry!" I take his bony shoulders into my tiny hands and my heart begins to thump rapidly in my chest. Shit, I made him cry, my absolute worst nightmare. After a moment of tears he wraps both his arms around me, holding tightly. "Pl-please don't go! I-I don't wanna be left all alone here!" He begs, his hand running through my hair as he cries. I stand, surprised, my face burning red. Finally I wrap my arms around his arched back, feeling his bony spine, letting a stray tear fall down my face "T-Toochie... You aren't alone. You have Murdoc and Russ, and they're always-" "But they aren't going to be as cool as you!" he interrupts angrily. "They're not gonna teach me Japanese, or how to play guitar, or how to speak properly... They aren't going to be the perfect friend I've always needed..." I let another tear slide down my face, and another. I find an absence of words. His grip becomes tighter on me, holding me closer. "T-toochie..." My mind races. What do I say? 'Thanks for being there for me, now I'm going,' ? He releases the embrace and I let out a sigh, wiping away his tears. "I'm leaving in two weeks... Maybe, we can do something before then so that we don't ever forget one another." He stares at me, grinning slightly, wiping his nose. "Y-yeah... I think that'd be n-nice." he admits gently, the bags under his eyes larger than usual. I smile kindly as he wipes away my tears. "M-maybe we'll see that new zombie movie thats out!" He exclaims childishly. I laugh and nod, his hand slipping away from my face. "Yeah, Maybe we'll see the premier of it, if we're lucky!" He nods and his smile grows wider. "Yeah! And then we can walk home and be all goofy like when you were twelve! Making fun of all those couples on the street!" His laugh is loud and adorable, like a child has been sucked into the body of a full grown man. My grin grows wider and I continue nodding at his adolescent ideas. Finally after concluding the night plans, he pulls me into one last warm embrace. "This'll be the best night ever!" I, once more, am surprised by his expression but wrap my arms around him once more, in joy this time. When he lets go, he rushes off to his room and I sigh, still smiling widely. "So, you still believe you ain't into the sucka'?" Murdoc laughs viciously from the sidelines. I growl, not even looking over. "It's just a friends night out, okay? Nothing more, nothing less." I finish wrapping up the bandages and step out, holding my knuckles. "Oh yeah, a li'l friends day out. More like a 36 year old and a 23 year old, out having a li'l date. Face it kid, he's older than you by a mile stone, and just because he's dumb, doesn't mean he ain't realized you've grown up." I glower at him "2-D isnt like that, he'd never hurt me, he'd never hurt anyone like that." He smirks and puts his cigarette out on the ground. "Im not sayin' he'd hurt you Noodles. I'm just sayin' that he notices things in that empty room of an 'ead he's got. He's noticed you've grown from that little twelve year old girl in the fed ex box into a young lady." He stares at the wall before him, "It's hard to imagine, for all of us... You're finally growin' up, and... And we can't hold your li'l hands no more and show you the fireworks, or show you how to draw." Murdocs voice becomes a bit more melancholic than usual and i stare at him. Are they really gonna miss me that much? Do I really mean that much to them? "But, anyway," He cuts himself off from the sadness and chuckles "Have fun on your date with shit for brains!" He strolls down the stairs and i glower angrily at him "It's not a date!" This time, I feel my face grow red, and i decide not to hide it. So what, I'm in love with my best friend? It's no big deal... It's not like he likes me back in that way or anything. To him, I'm his best friend and I'm fine with that. If that's what he thinks of me as, I will forever feel honored. I slowly stroll into my bedroom, the thought of 2-D's smile and his warm body against mine makes me smile giddily. I walk into my room and lay back on my bed, wanting to relive that moment forever, even if only in my mind.