Man, I fucked up this time. I couldn't even get a damn job at a fast food place. My hands in my palms, I sighed yet again. Now I had nothing to do, and next to no source of income. I had no job, I lived in a nothing town and did nothing all day. Sometimes I wished I could go out and go on adventures some more, but somehow that didn't seem as appealing as it did when I was younger. Nowadays, I spent my time just puttering around. I felt like an old man. Oh well, at least vacation was in two days, I was already completely packed and ready to go. Now all I had to do was to wait for two more days to go by.

…Which was hard. It also sucked due to the fact that N would be coming too, but at least I had convinced my mom to get us separate hotel rooms. I had begged long and hard;

"Mom, seriously, I need my space. I can't keep sleeping with him; he kicks me in his sleep and wakes me up all the time!"

"You know I can't afford to give you money for two separate rooms; you already sleep in the same bed and share a bathroom, I think you can survive."

"This is a vacation. I need to enjoy myself! How can I do that when I get no sleep at night?"

"You will get plenty of sleep, trust me; you'll know when you have sleep deprivation."

"Still, rooms aren't that expensive, and I have no money to pay for my own!"

"It's your own fault for not getting that job…"

"It's not my fault I apparently am not qualified to flip burgers." I had growled. "C'mon mom, please?"

"You know he has nightmares every night. Imagine how he would feel if there was no one to wake him up from them?"

I ignored the stab of guilt in my gut. How did she know this anyway?

"He'll wake himself up…"

"Black, that's cruel."

"C'mon mom. We'll stay in rooms next to each other, if I hear him yelling I'll just bang on the wall 'till he wakes."

She sighed, then frowned. After she had thought long and hard, she nodded.. "Fine, I'll give you the money for N's separate room; but you owe me."

"Great, thanks mom!"

She didn't look pleased at all, and I tried to ignore it. I also tried to ignore the guilt I felt thinking that I would be leaving N alone with his nightmares.

After I had explained to N that we were going to Nimbasa city for a festival with Cheren, Bianca and her family, N looked pleased that we were going to Nimbasa city, but not as pleased that my friends would also be coming. He didn't know them well, and referred to them as weird. Packing was another story; he didn't have anything to pack. I had realized that up until then, he'd been wearing my old clothes which were all terribly small and tight on his skin. I decided that when we got to Nimbasa city I would take him to get some clothes of his own with the last of my money, since there was no place here that really sold decent clothes. He was thrilled that I would "waste" money on him. I just shrugged it off. N wasn't very thrilled at the news that we would be given separate rooms. When I told him, he said nothing; he looked away for just a moment, almost appearing to be hurt.

I almost jumped in surprise when my room door opened and N trotted in. I glowered over at him from where I was laying on my bed. "Ever heard of knocking?"

He was wearing a pair of my old pants, big surprise, but had no shirt on. There was a towel on his head from where he dried his hair. He never had any shame waltzing around the house half naked, which I found utterly annoying because every time he was shirtless I would look at him a few seconds longer. Maybe it was all scars that covered his torso and back; after all, he did have a lot. It looked incredibly painful.

"Sorry…" He mumbled.

"Can't you throw a shirt on or something already?" I told him after he spent several minutes brushing his hair with my mom's old brush.

"They're all dirty…"

"Check the dressers. Aren't there any left?"

"Nope. Your mother said she was washing them, though."

"Whatever..."

"It doesn't matter. In reality, clothes offer no real protection." He commented wisely as he sat down on the bed, continuing with his hair.

"They keep you warm."

"The cold wind always finds cracks within the threads." He replied without looking at me. Today was not one of N's good days.

I swear; N had become creepy lately. After a few weeks of him being in a state of misery, he returned to his old self, the person I knew from my journey. He was hard to read most of the time, and most everything out of his mouth was polite or were intelligent words of wisdom. He had figured out everything in the house, and though he was still very innocent, at least he didn't ask what everything was anymore. When he left the house, he was still nervous. His composure changed when he was outside the safety of these walls, and I found it the oddest thing ever. I swear, why do I always seem to attract weirdos?

I decided to get on my laptop, which was infested with viruses from N's little internet exploration. It took forever to wake up, then pop-ups all over the screen. I wasn't the best with computers, so I just dealt with it. I wasn't sure what to do now, since I already checked my messages a little while ago. I went on Facebook and commented on some stuff, then browsed YouTube; I swear my life was such a brilliant thrill. I couldn't wait to get out of this place, but then what would I do. My body froze as I stared at the screen with a glazed look. What /would/ I do? I was almost eighteen and had no career path planned out. Hell, I wasn't even sure if I should go to college or not. I guess I should probably think about this, or perhaps discuss with Cheren. Maybe I could go to college with him.

That just raised another problem, would N even be gone by then? What if he decided to go to college too? What if he never left ever again? /Shit, he needs to leave already!/ I thought to myself, standing up and shutting my laptop. N was sitting on my bed, still perfecting his hair. I swept past him and headed downstairs intent on getting some food, which would hopefully put my mind at ease for now. I headed into the kitchen, only to stop in the doorway. John and mom were embracing in the kitchen, I hated when I accidentally walked into things like this. It was awkward and I didn't like interrupting this kind of thing. I backed away around the corner hoping they hadn't noticed me, but N somehow silently followed me and came up behind me. He watched my mom and John from around the corner, until they started kissing that is. I grumbled and pushed past N, going back towards the stairs. It got awkward, I'd hoped they'd stop hugging to I could grab some food, but obviously this was going to become something else so I left before I could be noticed.

…Only N wasn't following me. Instead he continued watching with a distant look on his face. I rolled my eyes, grabbed his arm, and yanked him away from the doorway. "God, stop invading their privacy."

I dragged him back to my room, where again I felt trapped. It was too late to go anywhere, and suddenly I was thrust back into my boring room. Why, oh why? N just slipped past me, appearing like a ghost. He was pale, and his face was twisted with pain.

"…You okay?"

"H-huh? Oh, just… just remembering I guess." He replied in a quiet voice.

I didn't question it. Rather, I plopped on my bed and turned on the TV. I stared at the screen flashing before me, not even sure what I was watching, but it was funny enough. N watched with me after awhile, sitting on the floor next to me, huddling his knees up to his chest.

"This show is so indecent." He said at one point, but I ignored him entirely. It wasn't long before mindless drivel took its toll and I slipped into slumber on the floor.