So just saying I'm not dead. I literally have so much to do this year you have no idea. School and outside classes and volunteering and stuff like that is keeping me away from writing fanfiction and recording for YouTube. I don't like it very much.

This was supposed to be part of my many college applications but I read the instructions wrong and now I have to write another one. Fun times. So for this thing I had to write a short story and I thought to myself- 'Why not add a bit of Poofless?' Well, you're the lucky ones who get to read the result.

Preston's POV-

Ding. Ding. The bell in the kitchen of the smelly Italian restaurant I worked in rang for at least the millionth time that day. Ding. Ding. Ding.

"Preston! Get the customer his food right now or I swear I will-!" My boss called out, his voice fuming with anger.

"No worries, Mr. Aceti! I got it!" After replying to the grouchy man, I groaned and picked up a plateful of spaghetti that had been recently placed on the messy counter. While I walked over to a young blonde man in a business suit, my eyes wandered towards the large clock hanging on the wall. I sat the plate down on the table and received no acknowledgement from the man, who kept his eyes glued to his vibrating cell phone.

Once the clock stroke nine, I raced to the kitchen, pulled off my stained apron, and checked out my card. The longer I stayed in that dump of a restaurant, the longer I'd be away from my nice comfy couch. Less time for YouTube, that is.

No one questioned me as I slid on my heavy coat and hurried through the crowd of hungry people into the pouring rain outside. The droplets bounced on my hood as began my five block walk to the little apartment unit I resided in. I couldn't call it my home. For four years the word home had become a blur. Ever since my parents kicked me out- I couldn't reminisce about the past. That was over and done with. If the people in my life didn't want me around, I had to face reality and move on. And that's exactly what happened.

There was only one person who cared about me in that small town. Rob. He'd been my best friend ever since I could remember. Rob and I would play on the swings and ride our bikes around the streets. We'd do our homework together and complain about our boring teachers. Then we would laugh about whatever dumb thing we'd done that day. On the weekends, I would call him up and we'd ride our bikes down to the arcade and play video games until curfew. My parents would yell at us for being late, and it didn't bother us too much at the time. We were kids, and we thought we were unstoppable.

However, as I got older, I realized my parents were against change and I could not get them to understand my confused feelings, so I tried to avoid them as much as I could. That's where Rob came in. I could trust him with anything. When we were together, everything was so much better. I considered him my home. But soon after I turned 16, I figured out I had fallen in love with my best friend.

I made the mistake of revealing this to my sister. She was the one who told my parents about me being gay. It was my sister who eventually convinced them to send me to boarding school in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of kids who would ignore me in the hallways and push me into lockers and beat me up until I laid on the floor with bleeding lips and broken noses… I had never gotten to say goodbye to Rob.

As I grasped back onto reality, I wiped away tears and continued the trek to the old apartment complex that began to appear in my peripheral vision.

The rain continued to beat down on my jacket as I walked alongside the variety of stationary cars in the parking lot. I suddenly spotted one I'd never seen before in front of my unit. Navy blue Kia Forte. Who would drive that car in the middle of Texas? And what would they want with me?

A few feet away, I noticed a figure in a black rain jacket leaning against the wall next to my door, almost awaiting my return. I argued with myself whether or not I should confront this mysterious unexpected visitor or wait until he or she leaves. On instinct, I reached the foot of the stairs and slowly climbed the stone steps one by one, trying not to make eye contact with the figure.

I hit the second floor of the complex and lifted my head to finally get a glimpse of the figure's true identity. Upon seeing those familiar deep brown eyes, my jaw dropped and I was speechless. Tears came to my eyes and I didn't bother to wipe them away.

"Hey Preston," his sweet voice resonated through my mind again. He found me. My best friend actually found me.

"R-Rob? How did you-?" My voice shook in awe and I kept my sight locked on his.

His hand wiped through unkempt wavy brown hair. "I've been looking for you for four years."

"R-Really? I-I didn't think you would-" I couldn't even speak an entire sentence. The only thing on my mind was Rob and the fact that we were together once more.

"Why wouldn't I? You're my best friend. You left me without saying goodbye."

I gasped. "It's not my fault! I tried to but my parents-!" Rob stepped forward and placed on single finger on my lips. From the way he stared down into my eyes, I could tell he was nervous as well. He lifted his shaking finger and reassured me the same way he did four years before.

"Don't worry. I know it's not your fault. Your sister told me everything. The only thing that matters right now is that we're back together again." My heart melted in my chest.

After a few moments of listening to the rain pouring down on the covering over my front door, I sighed. "Rob, I have to tell you something I should've said four years ago."

"Yes?"

I blurted out what I had meant to say all this time. "I'm in love with you."

Instead of being upset as I'd expected him to be, he smiled and chuckled to himself. He began to tear up himself and wiped a droplet from his eye. "Why did you have to be the one to say it first?"

"Wait… that means that you…?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Me too."

"You're-?"

He completed the sentence for me. "Bisexual. I never told anyone either. I didn't want to end up like-" Rob paused and looked away. "I'm sorry."

I sighed. "It's okay now. I'm over it."

He took a deep breath and exhaled. "No, I'm sorry for not being there for you when you needed it the most. I should've told everyone about me too. I should've been with you at that boarding school…"

"Don't say that." I cut him off. "What's happened is done. You can't change the past. I may have gone through hell and back alone but it's over now. Now that you're here at least."

A couple seconds later, he spoke up. "I'm gonna stay here for a while, okay?" I nodded and leaned my head on his shoulder. While Rob wrapped his arms around my torso, he let my tears fall onto his jacket. As long I stayed in his embrace, I never wanted to let go. On that dark night, I had finally found my home with Rob.