Hi Guys and welcome to another test chapter! So, spoiler alert, with Colony coming to an end at Chapter 15, I thought I'd upload this and get a gauge for what you guys think! Now, I think what you're probably thinking, that Ascending Chaos should come next and you're totally right but I have something to admit. Basically, I want to write something a little more real for a while so here we are!
Anyway, I'm rambling as usual, so let me know what you think! And don't worry, I can assure you that all of Colony is now fully written, so you will definitely be getting those chapters every Monday for the next four weeks! Oh, and I'm also going to try and get longer chapters out once again. With Colony, they've been hovering about the 2,500 words mark, so I'm going to start aiming for 3000 plus again!
See, I'm rambling again, so let's crack on!
"And remember, I'm only a few hours away, so we can visit each other and meet up all the time," Jo said, causing Kendall to nod into their hug.
"I know, and that sounds great" Kendall replied, before pulling out slightly to place a chaste kiss on her lips.
As he did so, his mum and Katie walked in, causing Kendall and Jo to separate as Jennifer spoke up.
"Alright, I think it's about time that we go," she said, causing Kendall to shake his head in protest.
"No, you guys don't have to leave just yet" Kendall replied, causing Jennifer to flash him a small smile.
"Honestly sweetie, it's fine. Besides, if I don't leave now, then I don't think I'll ever leave" Jennifer replied, a few tears forming in her eyes as she did so.
That immediately caused Kendall to pull her into a hug, which only seemed to worsen Jennifer's tears.
"I just can't believe that you're going to be so far away. It only seems like yesterday that you were asking me to tie your shoelaces" she cried, causing Kendall to sniffle as he tried his best to keep it together. "Just remember that if you need anything, then you just need to call ok. Whatever it is, even if it's something small or stupid, it doesn't matter. I'm here for you any time of the day"
"Thank you mum" Kendall replied, as Jennifer squeezed him a little tighter before letting go. As she did so, Katie shuffled forward and gave Kendall a quick hug.
"So, I'm going to miss you, or whatever," Katie said, causing Kendall to flash her a small smile as he hugged her back.
"I'm going to miss you too kiddo" Kendall replied, causing Katie to scoff and roll her eyes.
"I'm not a kid anymore," she said, pulling away from the hug.
Still, Kendall could see on her face that she appreciated the use of her nickname, despite how much she protested it. He knew that this was just her way of coping with him being gone.
"Come on Katie, we'll wait outside. Let the two of them say goodbye" Jennifer said, causing the two of them to leave, leaving only Jo and Kendall in the room together.
"I'm going to miss you so much!" Jo said in tears, as she launched herself into Kendall's arms. The blond was quick to wrap his arms around her, knowing this was the last time he would do this for a little while.
"I know. I'm going to miss you as well. It's going to be so weird not seeing you every day" Kendall replied, causing Jo to nod into his arms before she pulled away and wiped her eyes.
"God, your mum was right, if I don't leave now then I don't think I ever will," She said, letting out a sad chuckle as she did so. "Just remember that I love you so much and that I'm always here for you" she continued, causing Kendall to nod as he pulled her into one last hug.
"I love you too" Kendall replied before he leant down to place a kiss onto her lips. As expected, all of their passion went into the kiss, both of them wanting to savour the moment for as long as possible. Needing breath, Jo finally pulled out, now both her eyes and her lips red and puffy.
"Alright," she said, letting out a deep breath. "I'm going to go. I love you" Jo stated once more, causing Kendall to flash her a smile.
"I love you too" Kendall replied once kore, and with that, Jo left his room, leaving him completely alone in this completely new place.
Once everything was unpacked, Kendall found himself dropping down onto his bed…his new, slightly uncomfortable bed, as he began to think about everything that was going on. This was certainly a big change for him, but one that he was kind of welcoming.
Everyone talked about what an experience university would be, and he was so glad that he'll be able to finally experience it himself.
Still, that didn't help the nerves that had seemed to lodge themselves right into his stomach, acting as a constant reminder of both how far away from home he was, as well as the fact that he knew nobody.
What didn't help that either was the fact that so far Kendall was all alone in his halls, waiting for his flatmates to move in. From the number of doors in the hallway, Kendall knew that he'd have three flatmates this year, and he was really hoping that they'd be friendly.
Letting out a sigh, Kendall found himself shuffling up the bed as he delved deeper into his thoughts. If he was being honest with himself, he didn't really have a lot of friends and that was something that he wanted to change. With dating Jo throughout high school, Kendall had found that he spent most of his time with her, eliminating the need for anyone else.
Now, without her, however, Kendall knew that it was going to be different and the last thing he needed was to isolate himself from everyone, especially because of the distance between them. Sure, they were only a few hours away by train and while Kendall did want to visit her, he knew that it was going to be difficult.
For one thing, his class schedule and workload were probably going to keep his busy enough, but on top of that, he also had to work as much as possible, in order to have the money necessary to live here, let alone visit her.
Kendall knew that his mum had spent pretty much all of her saving getting him this far, so he wasn't about to waste the opportunity, nor was he going to rely on her for money.
Rolling over slightly, Kendall stared out at his room, taking in his new living space once more. The room was…roomy, with definitely enough space for him to live in. A desk sat against the right wall, with a couple of shelves above it, while his double bed was situated against the left wall. The en-suite was situated to the right of the door and was something he was very grateful to have. After sharing a bathroom with Katie and his mum for most of his life, Kendall was grateful for the privacy.
Pushing himself off his bed, Kendall headed to his door, stopping under the doorframe as he surveyed the rest of his apartment. To his right was another room, room A as the halls called it, and to his left were two more rooms, C and D, placing the blond in room B. Opposite room c's door was the door that led out onto the main corridor for the building and right at the end of their hallway, past room D, was their kitchen.
Heading into the room, Kendall began to survey the area once more. The kitchen was fairly sized for four people, consisting of a small kitchen area as well as a seating area with two two-seater sofas and a TV. From what Kendall could see, the whole flat would share a fridge-freezer, a hob, an oven and a microwave, causing Kendall to wonder how difficult it would be to have multiple people cooking at once.
Still, one of the benefits of moving in first was getting to choose his cupboards, something that brought a small smile to his face.
With that, the blond found himself heading back towards his room, this time sitting at his desk. While he was waiting for the next person to move in, he might as well listen to some music and play some video games.
After all, the blond knew no better way to pass the time.
About an hour passed before Kendall heard the flat door open, causing the blond to quickly jump up from his chair as he made his way over to his room door. As he did so, he was greeted with the sight of a guy walking in, causing a small smile to grow on Kendall's face.
As the blond went to speak however, he was quickly aware that he didn't know what to say, causing him to say the first thing that came to mind.
"Hey, I'm Kendall. I'm in room B" Kendall said, acutely aware that the letter B was stuck to the door behind him.
"Hi, I'm Logan. I'm in room C" Logan replied, flashing Kendall a small smile before he disappeared into his own room.
With that, Kendall found himself retreating back to his desk, giddy with anticipation that someone was finally joining him. However, as the blond sat back in his chair, he realised how awkward the whole situation had become. Kendall found himself listening in to what Logan was saying to his parents as the three of them began to move stuff into his room, and Kendall was unsure as to whether he should offer to help or not.
After a few minutes of internal debating, Kendall found himself heading back to his doorframe, and as he peeked out, he was greeted with the sight of who he assumed was Logan's mother moving a box into Logan's room. As she headed back out, Kendall spoke up.
"I was just wondering if you wanted any help or anything?" Kendall asked, causing Logan's mum to turn to him, a smile on her face.
"Oh, thank you sweetie, but I think we're fine" Logan's mum said, now making her way away from the flat door and to Kendall's room's door. The blond took a step back as she approached, allowing her to peak her head into his room. "It's amazing how similar all these rooms are. The only difference with Logan's is that the bed is on the right wall and the en-suite and desk are against this one" she said, causing Kendall to let out a little chuckle, unsure of what to say. "I'm Joanna by the way. It's nice to meet you Kendall"
"Likewise" Kendall replied, unsure as to whether shake her hand or hug her. Instead, the blond opted to do neither, waiting for Joanna to speak up again.
"I have to admit, Logan's a little bit nervous about this whole thing. This is going to be a big change for everyone" Joanna stated, causing Kendall to chuckle once more.
"I know that feeling, I'm a little nervous about myself" Kendall replied, causing Joanna's features to soften slightly as she smiled at him.
"Then, I'll tell you exactly the same thing I told him. You're going to love it here. University is such a great time in your life, and you need to take the time to appreciate it. It is going to be stressful sometimes, but when you come away from it, you'll only remember the good times, so try to make as many as you possibly can" Joanna said, causing a small smile to grow on Kendall's face as she leaned in. "I also keep telling him to get a boyfriend, since that will make the whole experience better, but he won't listen to me"
"Muuum, seriously?" Logan whined from in the corridor, causing both Kendall and Joanna to let out a laugh. "We've only just met, don't scare him away" Logan continued, causing Joanna to wave her hand at him.
"So how long have you been here anyway. It seems like you've already got everything set up" Joanna asked, causing Kendall to glance back at his room self-consciously.
"I've been here for about two hours so I've had the time. Mostly, I've just been waiting for the next person to arrive" Kendall replied, causing Joanna to nod along.
"And where are you from originally?"
"Oh, I'm from Duluth, Minnesota" Kendall replied, causing Joanna's eyes to widen slightly as she turned her head back to the corridor.
"Logan, sweetie come here!" she shouted, causing Kendall to hear a slight groan from Logan's room as well as the dropping of a box before Logan made his way over. "Kendall's from Duluth! How mad is that, we're from Minneapolis" Joanna stated, causing Kendall's eyes to widen.
"Really? That is mad" Kendall replied, already feeling slightly more comfortable knowing he's from the same state as someone else.
"At least we don't need to worry about Minnesota winters here" Logan stated, causing Kendall to let out another chuckle.
With the conversation coming to a natural lull, Kendall spoke up. "Well, I better let you get back to unpacking," he said causing both Joanna and Logan to nod.
With that, the two of them headed back to Logan's room, while Kendall sat back at his desk.
As he did so, he heard Joanna speak up through the wall. "He's really nice. I think you'll be good friends" she said, causing a small smile to grow on Kendall's face.
He was already off to a good start.
It was about 45 minutes later when Kendall heard Joanna and Logan's dad leave, causing the blond to shuffle in his seat slightly, wondering if he should go and chat to Logan. That internal debate ended quickly however when he heard a knock at his door.
Spinning around in his chair, the blond saw Logan stood at his door with a small blush on his face.
"Hey, so sorry about my mum. She can be a little…chatty sometimes" Logan stated, causing Kendall to let out a soft chuckle.
"It's alright, she was really nice" Kendall replied with a smile, seeing how Logan shifted his weight at the door. "You can come in" Kendall spoke up once more, causing Logan to flash him a smile as he dropped down onto Kendall's bed.
"Is that Skyrim?" Logan asked once he spotted the game Kendall was playing.
"Yeah. I've just started a new game. Have you played it?" Kendall asked, causing Logan to shrug, a small smile on his face.
"Only for about two hundred hours or so" Logan replied, causing Kendall to let out a soft chuckle. "It's one of my favourite games actually"
"Really, same here" Kendall replied, already feeling a lot more comfortable. "It's one of those games I play when I feel nervous. Like, I know exactly what to do, so it relaxes me slightly"
"I get that" Logan replied, nodding his head as he shuffled on Kendall's bed to make himself more comfortable. "So, what course are you studying?" Logan asked, the brunet already finding it a little easier to engage in conversation with the blond.
"Geography, what about you?" Kendall asked, causing Logan to let out a sigh.
"I'm pre-med, so I'm studying Biology" Logan replied, causing Kendall to blow out a breath.
"Wow, I remember doing that at school, and it was difficult, so you must be super smart" Kendall stated, causing Logan to blush slightly as he chuckled.
"I wouldn't say super smart. I'm just lucky cause a photographic memory so it makes it easier"
With that, the two of them continued their conversation, finding it easier and easier to converse with each other as time went on. They discovered that they actually had a lot in common, and as they spoke, that caused a smile to grow on Kendall's face.
His first friendship at university was looking to be a successful one.
Thirty minutes later, the two of them heard the flat door open once more, causing them both to poke their heads out of Kendall's room. As they did so, they were greeted with the sight of two girls walking in, one who had a red streak in her hair and was carrying a guitar case and the other, who's hair was in a brunet bob carrying a box.
As they got through the door, they split up, with the girl with the guitar case heading down to room D, while the girl with the bob passing Kendall's door to room A. As she passed Kendall's door, however, she paused and looked in, seeing the two boys staring right back at her.
"Hi, I'm Camille!" she said brightly, flashing both of them a smile.
"Hi, I'm Kendall"
"And I'm Logan" Logan replied, causing Camille to let out a soft giggle.
"So, who's got the horror of rooming next to me?" she asked, causing Kendall to raise his hand into the air. "Oh, bless ya. You're gonna have to listen to me practising my lines in the mirror all day" she continued, before adjusting the box in her arms.
"You need a hand?" Kendall asked, causing Camille to shake her head.
"I'll be alright. I've just to put this down. Let me get unpacked and we can chat" she stated, causing both Kendall and Logan to nod.
With that, Camille disappeared into her room briefly before heading back out as she began her unpacking process.
As she did so, Logan also spoke up.
"I should probably continue unpacking mine" he stated, flashing Kendall a small smile before disappearing back into his room, leaving Kendall alone once more.
With that, the blond dropped back down into his chair, trying his best not to listen in to the conversations between Camille and her parents, and the girl at the end of the corridor with hers.
A couple more hours passed with Kendall in his room before he heard a soft knock at his door. Taking his headphones off, he turned to see the girl with a red streak in her hair stood there.
"Yo, I'm Lucy. I was just wondering if you wanted to head into the kitchen and chat? Get to know each other?" Lucy asked, causing Kendall to nod.
"Yeah, that sounds good" Kendall replied, placing his headphones onto his desk as he pushed himself up from his chair.
As he did so, he noticed Lucy knocking on Camille's door and asking the same thing, causing him to quickly gather that this was a whole flat activity. That caused a small smile to grow on Kendall's face as he headed towards the kitchen, where Logan was already situated, scrolling through his phone.
"Hey," Kendall said as he walked in, causing Logan to flash him a smile as he pocketed his phone. "I've just got to Windhelm"
"Planning on joining the dark brotherhood, are we?" Logan replied, causing Kendall to nod as he dropped down onto the sofa.
"Best way to get that coin" Kendall replied, causing Logan to let out a soft chuckle just as Camille and Lucy walked in.
"You two sound like right geeks" Lucy stated with a chuckle causing Kendall and Logan to smile at her. "Besides, we all know that you go to the Thieves Guild in Riften first to get the enchanted hood" she continued, causing Camille to shake her head.
"I have no clue what you're talking about" she replied, causing Logan to shrug.
"It's just a video game. Perhaps we could play it sometime?" Logan asked, causing everyone in the flat to nod with agreement.
Already, Kendall found himself relaxing a little bit more, finding something in common with all of them.
"So, what are you guys studying?" Lucy asked, causing Logan to mention that he was pre-med and taking Biology and Kendall to state that he was taking Geography. "And you Camille?"
"Oh, I'm doing performing arts" she stated a shy smile on her face. "I've always wanted to become an actress and I thought this was the best way to do it" she continued, before covering her face in her hands. "Sorry, this sounds really stupid. A lot of people judge me when I say that"
"Nonsense, don't be ridiculous" Lucy said, reaching out to place a hand on her shoulder. "Besides, I'm taking music for exactly the same reason. I want to be a famous musician and I thought this was the best way to come about it" Lucy continued, causing Camille to pull her hands away from her face.
The blush there was real but Kendall could see that she was settling into her own, knowing that she had their support.
"So, I have to ask, why Geography?" Camille said, causing Kendall to shrug.
He'd gotten this question a lot from his family, with many people being under the misconception that it was just studying maps and the like.
"I don't know, I just found it really fascinating at school, so I decided to continue on with it. Like, learning about natural disasters, nature and society and whatnot" Kendall shrugged. "It's just really interesting"
"If you say so" Lucy shrugged, causing Kendall to let out a soft chuckle, relaxing further into the sofa.
As the night continued, the four of them furthered their conversation, ranging across all kinds of topics, from where they were from, to what type of music they listen to. The topic of partners came up, causing Kendall to admit that he had a girlfriend, but besides that, none of the others were 'tied down' to quote Lucy.
Still, Logan told everyone that he was gay and Lucy stated that she was a lesbian and Camille stated that she was up for experimenting, causing the blond to feel a weird wave of comfort wash over him.
He was unsure as to what it was for, but he put it down to the general acceptance that the group had for everyone. The four of them must have stayed up chatting for hours, but when they all started to yawn one by one, they knew it was time to call it a night.
Climbing into his new, but uncomfortable bed, Kendall began to reflect on the day he'd had, realising that if he continued like this, he certainly was in for a good time, much like everyone had promised.
So there we have it! I'm going to do a university story, cause I've just graduated and I'm not ready to completely let go of it yet! So anyway, Kendall's sharing a flat with Logan, Camille and Lucy and the four of them seem to be getting on well so far! We'll just have to wait and see who else Kendall meets on this adventure!
I'm also going to put this out there now, this is going to be based on the UK's university system, which is basically all focused on one course with different modules to study. It will probably become a lot clearer as the story goes on!
Anyway, let me know what you think and I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy! I will see you on Monday for the next chapter of Colony, but until then,
TTFN 😀🏫