I walked down the steps of the main staircase of Douxie's and Claire's house with the largest smile on my face. My hair was obviously a mess and my shirt was lopsided since I flung it on without much thought as I exited Claire's room to fetch her some water. Nothing could damper the joyous mood that seemed to just pour from me with every step I took.

That was until I was welcomed to the sight of Douxie making breakfast in their kitchen.

"Good morning, Jim!" The punk kept his eyes on his bacon as I just stood there silently for a moment. "How's your day going so far, mate?" I suddenly felt out of place as I tried my best to come up with a reply.

Well, despite the fact that my brain instantly wanted to say "Great since your 'sister' took my virginity last night', but unlike my brain, I don't want to DIE just yet.

I swallowed hard as I decided to slip by him with a mindless reply.

"Good." My voice cracked a little as I came down from the last step and entered the kitchen. "How about you?"

"My morning's been lovely. Hung out with my bandmates a little before- holy shit!" Douxie turned from his food for a moment before stopping suddenly as he spotted me. "You look like you were ridden hard and put away wet!"

Oh, you have no clue.

"Are you alright? Got into another fight or something?" I gave him a sheepish smile as I tried my best to push down my sarcastic reply.

"Oh, um, kind of? I don't really want to explain it." Douxie gave me a curious look before turning to shut off the stove real quick before bringing his attention back toward me.

"Well, you don't look like you lost or anything. Have another nightmare? I really think you should think about getting some melatonin for this time of year."

"It wasn't a nightmare. I actually slept well last night."

"Then what's wrong with ya mate? You've got marks all along your collarbone."

"Oh?" I felt a slight blush take over my face as I placed a hand over my slightly exposed collar. "I guess I was bitten by something when Claire and I were out last night." I gave him a lopsided grin as I could tell the punk was getting suspicious of me.

"Good morning!" We both snapped our attention toward the new voice joining us to see Claire entering the kitchen with a bright shining smile. Her hair was a little natty with the lack of her normal hair clips, but it was adorable how her hair started to cause a small halo effect around her head. Yet the baggy shirt that was obviously too big for her was resting on her left shoulder but falling off completely on her right made it rather obvious she snagged it without much thought.

Wait. If that's my shirt-.

I glanced down to my chest to see that the shirt I grabbed was most definitely not mine. It was riding up around my abdomen and the fact that my collar was exposed was a bit more understandable. The v-neck of Claire's plain white t-shirt exposing the top of my chest as the sleeves were slightly constricting against my biceps. Once I brought my gaze back up toward Douxie, I was welcomed with a knowing smile as his eyes seemed to plan out my murder as Claire came closer to us.

Oh God, I'm done for.

"How is ya doing mosquito?" I looked over toward Douxie as a dark smirk took over his face. "You look joyous."

"I'm wonderful." I felt Claire's arm slip around my abdomen before letting her head fall onto my shoulder. "How are my favorite boys?" I glanced down at Claire that was leading into my side up toward Douxie to see that the two found siblings were having an unspoken conversation with one another as I just stood there like a dumbfounded bystander. From what I could tell though about how Claire's arm tightened around my waist, that she was daring her fellow punk to say something about the new development. I just kept glancing between both of them as I wrapped an arm around Claire's shoulders.

"We're doing well." Douxie looked up to me with a lopsided smile that had an eerie hint to it. "Right, Jim?" I just gave him a nervous chuckle as a small smile appeared on my lips.

"Yeah, totally." My mouth suddenly went dry as I saw the punk narrowed his eyes at me. "Totally fine."

"Douxie," Claire's voice came out softly yet stern as I glanced down at her. "Stop fucking with my boyfriend."

"Don't make it obvious you fucked the bloke, then!"

"Don't be looking into it then!" I looked between the two of them as I felt Claire snuggle further into my side.

"Do I get a choice in being apart of this?"

"You're basically apart of the family now, mate. Even more than before." Douxie's features softened a little bit as he looked up toward me. "Even though the thought of you fucking my sister is still rather weird to me, I guess I'm going to have to get used to it." I nearly choked on my own spit at that point as Claire just hummed happily in reply.

"Thank you. Being nice isn't that hard, now is it?"

"Trust me, I've already had the leg-breaking conversation with him so you've got nothing to worry about." I looked down toward Claire who was giving me a curious look.

"Is that true?" I just gave a small shrug in reply as I tried my best to keep the woman from jumping her adoptive brother without hesitation.

"It wasn't anything I'm not used to though, so don't worry about it." I just felt Claire wrapped her other arm around my waist as she gave my abdomen a small squeeze. I watched her turn her attention toward Douxie and she let out a small childish reply.

"Mine." I chuckled as Douxie just rolled his eyes at us.

"That's adorable despite the development I now know about and did not need within my mind." He turned toward his food once more and put his bacon onto a plate he already had out with a couple of other things on it, but I couldn't make it out. "Now I'm going to go eat my food before my need for it is betrayed by the thoughts of my best friend railing my sister." He gave us a small wave as he now headed toward the dining room kitchen table. "Get your own food, ya fucking hound dogs." My face only flushed in reply as I felt Claire loosened her arms around my waist.

"Don't take him personally." I gave my attention toward Claire as she moved so she could stand before me. "He's just being a dick as always."

"I can understand, honestly." I chuckled a little bit as she moved her hands from around my waist so they were around my neck instead. "Having people that are like two siblings to you be in a relationship together? It must be really weird for him." She just shrugged at that as I wrapped my arms around her.

"But it doesn't feel weird to you, right?"

"Not at all." I smiled as a bright, loving smile took over her lips.

"Good." She pulled me close before leaving a small peck on my lips. "It's a bit too late for you to just walk away now, anyway." I pressed my forehead gently against hers as my smile just widened in reply.

"I wouldn't want to even if I did have the chance." She just giggled in reply before our lips met once more.

"IF YOU TWO ARE GOING TO EAT EACHOTHER INSTEAD OF BREAKFAST, THEN GET A ROOM!" I just smiled against Claire's lips as the familiar feeling of her left hand leaving my neck told me enough what her reply was to the older man not too far away from us. "You forget who owns this place, little lady!" As if to say she didn't care in reply, she wrapped her arm back around my neck and pulled me closer to her.

Not that I'm complaining.

I tightened my arms around her waist as I just let out a soft chuckle against her lips.

I don't think I could ever complain, really.

Once I got home to my own place I share with Toby, I could instantly feel a change in the energy that usually resided within it.

Normally, it was buzzing with Toby's excited energy. The feeling of pure joy just filling your skin as you heard the sound of his budding laughter filling the house or something along those lines. It was one of the many things I enjoyed about living with my best friend.

But today though, it felt different.

It was as if there was a damper of some kind of the usually friendly and welcoming energy that resided here. Like something had shifted in his mood for the day and you could just feel it as you entered the front door.

"Tobes?" I called out as I shrugged off my jacket and hung it up on the small spot of jacket hooks we had lining the entryway's right wall. "Are you home?"

"Yeah!" I slipped off my shoes as I heard Toby's footsteps heading toward where I was in the house. "Can I meet you in the living room? I've got something I wanna talk about."

"Sure thing!" I picked up my shoes and placed them in a try sitting under where the jackets hung before slipping away into the living room. I took a spot on the couch but I felt rather uneasy as I heard Toby's footsteps in the distance.

Something's wrong or at least something is going on with him. He's normally energetic as fuck when I get home from Claire's or from work. Always jumping at the opportunity to hang out brainlessly after a long day of work or just enduring what the world had to offer.

He's off his game today. There must be something on his mind or something.

I shrugged a little as I leaned back into the couch cushions.

No biggy, right? We've been through hell together. Whatever he has on his mind won't change that.

"Cool," I looked over toward Toby's voice as I laid my arms across the back of the couch. "You're already sitting." I gave him a curious look as hit flaming red hair was a mess and a nervous feel was just seeping out of the ginger's every move. He made his way toward the coffee table before me and sat down on it as we just looked at each other for a moment. His green eyes were frantic. As if he wasn't sure if he wanted to be sitting here or not, in all honesty.

"Tobes?"

"Yeah?" I watched with an amused smile as his right leg started bouncing anxiously.

"You're nervous about something. Just blurt it out, dude." Toby let out a soft sigh as his leg just continued to bounce nervously.

"I'm sorry, this is just," I watched as he took a deep breath before letting it out slowly. "This is just a big development for me." I got increasingly curious as I dropped my arms from the back of the couch so my hands were now in my lap.

"What kind of development?" I gave him a confused look as I leaned forward with my hands now on my knees. "What do you mean, dude?"

"Darci and I," Toby now put his hands on his knees.

"You and Darci?" I chuckled a little as Toby just gave me a soft smile.

"We want to move in together." I gave him a surprised look in reply before a large smile danced across my face.

"Really? That's great, Tobes!" Toby just smiled in reply as he suddenly seemed relieved out of nowhere. "Where did the idea come from?"

"Well, Darci is graduating from uni soon and she's already got a job lined up with the police force as their new Forensic Science Technician and she was saying about how she wanted to get an apartment in town but not being able to afford it at first. I just kinda," Toby gave a small shrug as he gave me a large smile in return. "Jumped to the idea? She's all for it though so that's good, right? Like, I guess she's been thinking about moving in together, but wasn't sure on how to bring it up."

"That's cool! Do you guys need any help at all? Like apartment hunting or anything?" Toby just tilted his head at me as I gave him a curious look in reply. "What? Did you think I wasn't going to like the news or something?"

"I just thought you wouldn't like being alone in this place." Toby glanced back and forth beside him as he gestured out toward the house. "This is a fucking three-bedroom house you fucking bought for you, me, and Douxie with the money you saved up during high school. It's gonna be pretty silent dude when I move." I shrugged a little as I gave him a reassuring smile.

"Dude, you're moving in with your long term girlfriend. It's was going to happen sooner or later! I'm happy for you dude!"

"What are you going to do with the extra space then? Got any ideas? We did turn the room that was supposed to be Douxie's into a spare room instead." I shrugged as I leaned back into the couch cushions.

"I have no clue, honestly. Maybe I'll make your room my gym instead?" I gave him a smirk as he just reached over to nudge me in the shoulder.

"How about you instead of replacing me with a gym, you'll just add someone else you love in?"

"What do you mean by that?" Toby gave me a look that silently asked me if I was stupid or not for a moment before speaking with a smile.

"What I mean is," Toby sat back up straight as he placed his hands back down onto his knees. "How about you ask your girlfriend to move in instead?" I gave him a shocked look as he just gave a small laugh in reply. "What? What's so shocking about that question, dude?" I swallowed hard as I felt a soft blush taking over my face. I reached up and scratched the back of my neck with a nervous smile.

"I just," I gave him a soft smile as I dropped my hand back down into my lap. "Isn't it too soon for that kind of stuff?"

"Oh yeah. Forgot. You guys haven't even had sex yet. Moving in might be like jumping the fence after realizing it was electrocuted." Toby laughed wholeheartedly at his joke as I just looked at him with a blushing face in reply. Suddenly, his laugh came to an end as he noticed I wasn't laughing or glaring at him in reply. "Wait a second." Toby gave me a curious look before a sudden realization seemed to hit him. "NO FUCKING WAY!"

"Tobes."

"BRO! YOU GOT FUCKING LAID!" Toby was laughing like a hyena at this point as he wiped a joyous tear away from his right eye. "Fucking finally dude! Douxie owes me twenty bucks!" I gave him a confused look as he just shrugged in reply. "Him, Mary, Darci, and I had a betting pool on when the two of you would get together, which Mary won, actually. But soon after, Douxie and I started a betting pool on when the two of you would decide to-."

"Nope." I got up onto my feet as I started to leave the conversation. "Not talking about my girlfriend's adoptive brother making a bet on when we were going to-. Just no. Nope. Fuck that." I started making my way to my room as Toby just laughed at my reaction.

"Aw come on, dude! I'm so happy for you!"

"Fuck you and your sarcasm!" This just caused Toby to just continued laughing in reply.

"Love you too, Jimbo!" I just smiled in reply as I slipped away into my room. Once my door closed softly behind me I started to let the question my best friend asked me to set in.

"How about you ask your girlfriend to move in instead?"

I sighed as I leaned against my bedroom door before sliding slowly down onto the carpet flooring.

Living together? Already? Isn't that, too soon? It makes sense, but, it seems also seems a bit much. I love her, that's true and I want to spend as much time with her as I possibly can, but we've just started getting into a rhythm that works for us. We just started dipping our toes into the water together on the deeper end of the relationship pool.

So wouldn't moving in together be like diving headfirst into the deep end in comparison?

I snapped out of my thoughts as I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I pulled it out without a thought to see I got a text from Claire.

C❤: You forgot your work shirt at my place. I can drop it off in a few and hang out a little bit if you're up to it? Let me know.

I smiled as I started replying a "yes" to her without a second thought.

But we haven't been normal with anything else so what's the difference, right?

"You're doing what?"

"Toby and I are moving in together! We haven't found an apartment yet, but we're working on it." I smiled as I leaned back in my computer chair in from of my desk. "I kinda feel bad about it though."

"Why do you feel bad about it? Isn't it exciting? Moving in with your long term boyfriend? It kind of feels like a Nicolas Sparks novel, honestly." I snickered a little bit to myself as Darci just gave me an annoyed look through the computer screen.

"We both hate those fucking books because they're unrealistic."

"Exactly." I gave her a smirk as she just rolled her eyes at me.

"ANYWAY! You sarcastic bastard," I just smiled in reply as I let her continue. "I feel bad about it because of Jim."

"What about Jim?" I increasingly became worried as I leaned forward so my elbows were supporting my body weight on my desk. "What's making you feel bad?"

"Jim and Toby have always been," Darci gave a small shrug as she continued. It was as if she couldn't come up with the right word to express their relationship at first. "Close. They've never really been apart from one another. Jim is all Toby really has and vice versa." Darci paused for a minute as she rested her chin into the palm of her right hand. "Now that I think about it, honestly, despite them having so many people to rely on over the years, it was as if they would only ever truly lean on each other when they needed something. Douxie is their best friend outside of each other, sure, but it wasn't on the same level that Toby and Jim were always on. Yes, they still had family members and stuff. Jim's family basically adopted Toby when his grandma passed away after nearly 150 of living on this earth." She stopped for a second as she seemed to smile at a distant memory. "But it was always like they were each other's true family, ya know?" I smiled as I knew exactly what she meant.

The two of them have been friends since they were children. Jim had told me the story of how they first met, actually. It was the day right after his dad left. The day that Toby first came into Arcadia to live with his grandma and that very first moment he got out of his grandma's car and Jim was just standing there, watching them move his stuff in, Toby had smiled and greeted him without hesitation.

Jim told me then that it was as if he understood why exactly the world decided that his dad needed to leave. It was so he could have space for Toby in his life. His brother. The guy that taught him rather quickly how it felt to be a normal kid again.

The person that truly saved him from himself before he even knew what was happening.

"So you feel as if you're separating them in a way."

"Kinda? I also feel as if I'm backstabbing Jim in a way." I tilted my head a little as she continued. "Did Jim ever tell you why he and Toby have such a big house? Especially for two full-time workers straight out of college?"

"No, not really."

"Well, it's because it's been something Jim, Toby, and Douxie were planning since high school. Jim and Toby more than Douxie because by the time that Merlin got sick, he already decided what exactly he was going to do after that, but I digress." I nodded along as I already knew that part of the story rather well.

Especially since I wouldn't be sitting here right now in a house I would otherwise have no place in if it wasn't for Merlin and Douxie. I would honestly be out in a ditch somewhere.

I shivered at the thought as my brain tuned back into Darci's voice.

"So as you know, Jim's been working for his mom and his uncles since he could lend a hand. So working for approximately ten or so years by the time you graduate high school and having no real clue what you could do with the money besides building a Vespa with your uncles leads you to have a pretty penny by the time you start college."

"Completely understandable."

"So when we were juniors in high school, Toby and Jim decided that they were going to get a house together. Be roommates like they always wanted to when they were kids. Prove to their families that they didn't always have to support them. That they could worry about themselves more after we graduated."

"So this was a childhood dream of theirs that they decided to make true to make their families feel better?" Darci just laughed a little at my reaction as she just leaned back in her dorm's wooden desk chair with a smile.

"You do know who we're talking about, right? Two boys that always been worrying about their families and each other more than anything else in the world."

"But what makes you feel bad about that? Jim's always said to me that he's known that you and Toby were serious. I don't doubt that he's been rooting for the two of you to just have a place of your own."

"I just-." She let out a soft sigh as she just reached up and scratched the back of her neck. "I just feel horrible about it. Jim's never been alone his whole life. He's always had someone around to lean on and that someone has nearly always been Toby. I guess I just feel like I'm ripping away a support system from him." I gave her a soft smile in reply as I took in the worried look of my best friend since our freshman year.

Just like her boyfriend. Always worried about others than her own happiness.

The hell do they put in the water here for this kind of shit to be a reoccurrence?

I laughed a little to myself as I spoke once more.

"I can always ask him about it though if you want me to?" I picked up Jim's work shirt for Blinky's shop that was laying on my desk with a smile. "I need to meet up with him anyway since he forgot this here again."

"Are you sure?" I picked up my phone that was sitting on the opposite side of my desk with a smile. I typed out a text for him as I already hit sent with a smile.

"Done and done." I turned my screen toward Darci as she gave me a smirk in reply.

"Are you sure you don't just want to see your loverboy again already?"

"I plead the fifth." I laughed a little at myself as I slipped my phone into my leather jacket I was wearing. "I've been meaning to talk to him about something that's been on my mind anyway, so it works."

"Really?" It was Darci's turn this time to tilt her head a little in confusion. "What is it?" I smiled like a fool as I bundled up Jim's shirt with a smile. My mind fluttering back to when Douxie and I were talking engagement rings and places of our own.

"Let's just say," I smiled as I covered my cursor over the end call button. "It has a lot to do with your worries."

"No fucking-." I ended the call before she could even reply as I felt my phone buzz in my pocket. I already knew it was a yes by how quick the reply was for him.

Time to rip off the bandaid, Claire.

I smiled as I got up from my desk after powering off my computer.

And this time, you're going to enjoy it.