A/N: Thanks to Bluebell140 and pumpkinking5 for your reviews :) I love hearing from you guys, even if it's just a line! Sorry about the wait for this chapter, but it's a bit longer than the others...

Disclaimer: I don't own HSM or any of its characters

"So," prodded Chad. "Are you coming?"

"I told you I'd think about it Chad." Troy sighed as he shut the folder he was writing in. Rolling his eyes, he grabbed the next patient folder, and scanned it quickly.

"Come on man! It's tradition!"

Troy shook his head in amusement. "Sorry man, patient with a seizure. Gotta go."

He waved the folder at Chad before heading to the nearest cubicle. He took a history from the patient and completed a quick examination before looking for an intern to report to.

The Emergency Department was bustling as usual, and it was all hands on deck. Troy and the other final year medical students were rushing around and doing the basic examinations on the patients, reporting the important information to the senior doctors. It was hectic, but Troy was loving it. He felt like a "real" doctor, talking to patients and making notes in the charts. It was so different to the few weeks he had spent on placement so far during his degree, when he had followed doctors around quietly, feeling more like a piece of hospital furniture, rather than part of the medical team.

"Mr Bolton? Have you seen bay 5?" Dr Jones, one of the residents, asked.

"Yes, Dr Jones. Bay 5 is Kirsty James, 15, presenting with a tonic-clonic seizure on the background of long standing epilepsy."

Troy sighed as he sank into a seat in the cafeteria, and smiled at his new friends who were already seated at the table.

"What a morning," Chad said as he sat beside Troy. "ED is insane!"

"I must have seen 20 patients in the space of 5 hours!" Troy shook his head.

"Meanwhile, we spent the morning in the general medical ward doing urine tests on everyone. It seems that there's an outbreak of urine infections!" Kelsi rolled her eyes.

Troy and Chad laughed, and were swiftly met by Taylor's glare.

"Just you wait," she threatened. "I hope you guys get to gen med when there's a gastro outbreak."

The boys guffawed louder, and even Kelsi joined in.

Taylor cracked a smile herself, and changed the subject. "So Troy, how did you like the match on the weekend?"

Troy shrugged, repeating what he had already told Chad that morning. "It was better than I expected. It got pretty exciting at the end."

"No kidding. Chad was screaming at the TV, and was literally standing on one foot, hopping around," smirked Taylor.

"Yeah well that's better than someone trying to assess Rooney's thigh laceration through the TV," Chad nudged Taylor affectionately.

"Hey, I'm a med student! What do you expect?" Taylor protested.

"So, has Chad invited you to watch Sunday's game with us?" Kelsi asked Troy.

Troy rolled his eyes, "Yeah, like a hundred times. I don't know guys. I'm watching enough soccer already when I go down to watch the home games."

Kelsi pouted. "Come on, Troy, it's like a tradition!"

"That's what I said!" Chad smirked victoriously.

Knowing they weren't going to let him off, Troy exhaled noisily. "Fine, I'll be there."

His three friends cheered, excessively in his opinion, and Troy could only grumble good-naturedly. It was nice to have people who genuinely wanted his presence at a social event.

It was that thought that filled Troy's mind when he made it back to his apartment that night. While he was being honest about not wanting to watch too much soccer, he was never actually going to refuse their offer to get together on a regular basis. He had come to Manchester wanting to get away from people, and had told himself that he was happy being alone for a year. The truth was he didn't really want to get away from people, just his friends and family. He was sick of the pitying looks they gave him, and the way that they treated him like he was made of glass. Most of all, he hated looking over his shoulder, trying to avoid Melissa like the plague. She was always part of his group of friends, and while they thought she was a bitch for what she had done, they were still her friends. It had become a huge strain on the whole group, trying to look after Troy and Melissa, who had needed their help just as much as him. With Troy being such a downer all the time, and all of them walking on a tightrope around him and Melissa, parties and catch ups had become more than awkward. That's when Troy had taken to drinking by himself. His friends still invited him to everything, even when Melissa's presence was guaranteed; they really didn't want to take sides, but Troy knew that they had much more fun when they weren't playing referee or babysitter.

Troy's pocket vibrated, and he pulled out his cell phone. Chuckling dryly as he saw the photo that lit up the screen, he accepted the call.

"Hey dude, I was just thinking about you."

"Aw, I'm touched. Missing me that much huh?" came the jovial male voice through the phone.

"Nah, just thinking about how glad I am to not have to see your ugly face," Troy joked.

"Ha ha. Seriously though, how's England man?"

"It's great Aaron. Really, the hospital is awesome. I'm on Emergency at the moment, and I'm actually doing stuff! How's Mass Gen?"

Troy could practically hear his best friend smile through the phone, "It's unreal. I was in the operating room today and saw an appendectomy. I got to anaesthetise the patient!"

"Whoa! Can't believe we've almost made it. We're almost doctors!"

"I know right? But tell me everything about Manchester! How's the city? How are the bars? Please tell me you haven't locked yourself in your apartment and studied for the last 3 weeks." Aaron said it teasingly, but Troy could detect the real concern in his voice.

"Haha no man, I haven't. The bars are pretty cool. My friends from the hospital have been showing me round." So he had gone out with them once, and their other interaction was thus far limited to the hospital. Aaron didn't need to know that though.

"Oh cool. So you've made new friends? We've been replaced? How could you Troy?" Aaron's attempt to conceal his pleasure with sarcasm was not lost on Troy, but he was happy to play along.

"They're pretty cool, Aaron. This guy Chad is hilarious. He's as crazy about soccer as we are about basketball. He and his girlfriend Taylor are med students too, and I hang out with them, and their friend Kelsi. She lives across the hall."

"So you and Kelsi... Is there something there?"

"Nah man, she's dating this guy Jason. He's an intern at the hospital. Internship seems brutal. Next year we're going to get completely wrecked."

"Can't wait," Aaron sighed. He paused for a second before continuing. "Are there any ladies in your life?"

It was Troy's turn to sigh. "Aaron, you know I can't. I'm not ready."

"How are you really, Troy?"

"I'm fine."

"Troy... I know you got the invitation."

"Aaron..."

"We told her not to. I can't believe she would."

"Aaron, I..."

"She said she couldn't not invite you. Even after everything. You were her best friend."

Troy couldn't take it anymore. "Aaron! I don't want to talk about it. I can't talk about it. I can't even think about it."

"Troy..."

"I can't fathom why she would think I'd go. Really, as if I would go and watch her get married to that guy. What the hell?"

"I don't know man. I don't know."

There was a silence as both men reflected on the events of the past year.

"Look Aaron, it's getting late over here. I gotta crash. Thanks for calling though."

"Sure man. Have a good day. Keep in touch."

Troy knew Aaron wanted to push him further, but he was glad that he didn't. He didn't know if he could ever be okay, but for now he really didn't want to think of that woman. And yet, that's all he could ever think of.

If Troy thought that the fans at Old Trafford were intense, he hadn't watched a proper game with his new friends. He had seen them shout and curse during the first game at the pub against Everton, but this game against Southampton was a whole new level. He was sitting on Taylor and Chad's couch drinking beer and eating chips and dip, enjoying a Sunday afternoon with his friends, and it really was enjoyable for about 15 minutes. Chad and Jason were admiring the skill of the United team, as they were completely dominant. Then in a moment of madness, the opposite team scored.

"What is this shit?" Chad roared. "Not again."

Even Kelsi and Taylor palmed their face. Luckily it was only seven minutes before United equalised.

"That guy is really good," exclaimed Troy. "He scored last week too right?"

"Yeah, Van Persie," grinned Jason. "We just bought him too. A stroke of genius."

At half time, the group discussed the match, and season so far, and Troy surprised himself by joining in. When Jason and Chad began analysing tactics and formations, that were way over his head, Taylor and Kelsi taught him about the players on the teams, and their basic strengths and weaknesses. He didn't take it all in, but it definitely helped him enjoy the second half more.

They weren't enjoying for long though, as the other team went 2-1 up. The typical curses ensued, with even quiet Kelsi yelling at the lack of defence. The annoyance and anger slowly morphed into nervousness as time ticked away. At first it was just Chad and Jason exchanging glances, but then it turned into anxious muttering.

"Come on. Come on."

"Shit, shit, shit."

Chad who was already clad in his Man United jersey rushed into his bedroom and retrieved a matching scarf.

"Uh oh," Taylor whispered to Troy. "That's Chad's emergency scarf."

"Why is this so bad?" Troy asked her quietly. "Why is this worse than Everton?"

It was Kelsi that replied. "Everton are hard at their home ground anyway, even if it wasn't our first match. Yeah it sucked to be behind everyone else already, but they all have to go to Everton eventually. This team, Southampton, is just up from the lower division. By the time the other clubs face them, they may have clicked into top gear and win 4-0, 5-0, like we were supposed to."

"They did well against City on opening weekend," hedged Jason.

Chad threw him a sharp glare. "This is ridiculous. We can't even score. Some attack. Bloody hell, come on!"

Troy leaned back with ten minutes to go. He wondered if he should head home now before the crowds filled the streets and built up traffic.

"Well it's still pretty early in the season right? Maybe we can win the next few and catch up."

"Whoa there, Troy. It's still early in this game!" Chad spluttered.

"It's a 90 minute game right?" Troy asked, scrunching up his eyebrows. "And it's like the 81st minute."

"There's added time too, for injuries and substitutions," Taylor pointed out.

"So what's that, an extra 3-4 minutes? I wouldn't call that early in the game."

Jason shrugged. "It's Man United, we've done it before."

"Damn it, hurry up!" shouted Chad. "Shit corner, Nani! Oh.. OH!"

The room broke out in screams, and Troy swore he could hear loud mumbling through the walls.

"Phew, that was close," breathed Troy, once they had calmed down. "Okay, you guys were right. They scored!"

"Haha Troy, you have so much to learn. It's not over yet. They're going for the winner!" Chad crowed in excitement.

Troy shook his head, but sure enough, within 4 minutes, United had won the game.

"He scores when he wants," sang Jason and Chad.

"That was insane! That was awesome! Did you see that?" Troy cheered.

"Yes, Troy," giggled Kelsi, "we did see it!"

"Oh my god," Taylor repeated over and over again.

Troy couldn't wipe the grin off his face. He was here in this unfamiliar city, surrounded by people he had only just met, watching a team he didn't follow win at a sport he hadn't cared about, and yet he was the happiest he had been in over a year.

Hope you guys liked it. Let me know! Also I'm sorry if there are typos, I was rushing to post it!