=Troy's POV=

(October 7, 2018-6:25 pm)

[Troy's Bedroom]

What else could I have done but offer my new friend a place to live? And a possible job? I knew it was way out there in the suggestions department for things. I saw how upset Hayden got when we were called for dinner by my mom. And that sadness lasted through most of the meal after Hayden told my brother and parents about what was bothering him. After my dad mentioned me joining the Marines, I realized that Hayden wouldn't have anyone if I left. I became deeply concerned if Hayden's depression might get the better of him while I was away, and I knew I could tell my dad about it, but that might betray Hayden's trust. I didn't want that. I didn't care if Hayden and I just met today; I said I was Hayden's friends, and I meant that. After dinner, I sent Hayden downstairs while I spoke with my parents what Hayden was going to end up homeless because I feared his folks were trying to get rid of him and that's why they were so unfair. My parents seemed to understand exactly where I was going because they told me to tell Hayden that if he ended up with nowhere to go, he was to come live with us. I expressed that me joining the Marines might hinder Hayden's choice, and Cole of all people, suggested that I get Hayden to sign up with me because it would allow us to stay together since Hayden's mood improved with me around, and it would get him away from Berk for a little to heal. The idea wasn't so far-fetched, so I decided to take a chance on it. However, getting downstairs; I saw that Hayden looked very upset, and panicking.

Hayden confided in me that in his haste to kill himself before; he left the safe where the gun was kept wide open in his father's home office, and also that we didn't grab the weapon out of The Cove when we left earlier. I could see how that would scare him because there was no excuse to give his old man about why the object was missing, and why Hayden took it. Hayden feared the inevitable fight, and outcome, so instead of telling Hayden that if he ended up homeless to stay with my family and me; I just straight out said to move in now. There was some hesitation and nervousness, but I got him to agree. And then he realized I'd be leaving for training soon, and he didn't feel right living here if I wasn't going to be home for a bit. Well, time to use Cole's idea then; see if I could get Hayden to join up with me.

"That's the other thing I wanted to talk to you about. Come with me," I said.

Hayden's eyes widened a little. "I, uh, I don't think the military lets you bring friends,"

"That's not what I-Ugh, no! I mean; join with me, Hayden. Become a Marine!" and that time Hayden's eyes widened all the way in complete shock. Thus far, it's been about two minutes of silence and Hayden has had no response.

"You want me to sign up for the military?" Hayden finally asked to confirm what I had told him.

"Well, only if you want to, but yeah!" I nodded in reply.

"Oh, Troy. I-I don't know about this. Look at me. I'm nowhere cut out for the military lifestyle, and I know…nothing about it. I've never even considered joining," Hayden answered nervously, sighing, and very unsure of the idea.

"That's what Boot Camp is for, Hayden; they train you for military life," I informed. "And your size doesn't matter. I'm pretty sure you meet the height and weight requirements,"

"I don't know about that. I've always been under the average for my age throughout my existence because I was born two months early," Hayden mumbled.

"Well, I make the limits, and you're not that far off from me. I'm five foot eight inches, weighing one hundred and fifty-one pounds. And the average for an eighteen-year-old is between sixty-nine and seventy inches tall with a weight of one-forty-eight to one-sixty," I enlightened.

"I'm five foot six and one-forty," Hayden looked down. Troy pulled out that was inside the first drawer on the left side of his bedroom desk, then filed through a few things.

"So sixty-eight inches tall, you need to be between one-eighty-one and one-twenty-five as the max and min requirements. You could absolutely join, Hayden," I stated while showing him the paper, as he looked a bit surprised. "Can you do basic exercises, including a few miles running?" Hayden nodded. "Then you will do fine, and I'm assuming your dad taught you how to use a gun, so you have experience there too. Why wouldn't you want this? It gives you a job, a chance to leave Berk for a bit, and you get to be part of a force that protects the Archipelago. I personally don't feel there is any job better than that,"

Hayden still wasn't sold on the idea, and I could see that on his face. "I don't know, Troy. That's a huge commitment, and stressful to be responsible for the safety of our home,"

"But you don't do it alone," I reminded.

"And I know that, but I know nothing else about the military. The signing up, the training. Like I said; I've never considered doing this, and I know you get split up. Me joining doesn't guarantee that I'll be in the same place as you," Hayden responded.

"If we sign up at the same time, we'll end up at Boot Camp together. Everyone goes to the same place for Receiving, Boot, and MOS training; Archia Isle, the main island," I explained.

"What's all that?" Hayden wondered.

"I'll tell you everything if you're interested to know," I offered.

"It's tempting, but I wouldn't want to join for the reason of just getting away. Know what I mean?" Hayden mentioned. "I guess I'd need to know more to decide,"

"I can give you all the information you want. I've already spoken to a recruiter; I just didn't sign the paperwork yet because I know how crazy it gets after High School ends. Plus, I wanted to be home for Thanksgiving and Christmas with the family," I smiled.

"Alright, you have my attention, Troy," Hayden sighed. I beamed at his answer. Sure, it wasn't a yes to joining, but he was at least interested enough to want to know more.

=Normal POV=

Troy and Hayden sat down on Troy's bed as Troy got the folder and began to go everything he had spoken to the recruiter about. Troy went through the joining process, the different jobs, types of tests, the training timeline as Hayden would ask questions in between the segments that were being told to him. Hayden began to feel like it could be a right place for him to be in, and there was a high chance he would stay with Troy through it all. This man was his best friend, and the only one he had too.

"That's everything you need to know. The recruiter told me that he wasn't sure where I'd go after School of Infantry training, but we get assigned to our Permanent Duty Station, which doesn't mean we're there for good; just until we're needed somewhere else. Or we end up deploying," Troy remarked.

"Oh, so no pressure on joining, training, then possibly shipping out overseas immediately after," Hayden paled a bit.

"They give you at least a month to prepare for that," Troy assured.

"Still terrifying," Hayden admitted. "However, after hearing everything; the idea does sound a bit more enticing. My Godfather was in the military; medical discharge after losing his leg and arm, but he still said it was the time of his life," he smiled.

"So, is that a yes or no?" Troy chuckled.

"It's an I need to get a bunch of stuff from my house to even make this work," Hayden said.

"Well, why don't you spend the night here, and tomorrow when your parents are working; we can grab the things you want and need," Troy suggested.

"What am I supposed to tell them?" Hayden asked.

"You don't gotta say anything. Grab your stuff and leave, my friend. Why do you owe an explanation when they were gonna kick you out anyway?" Troy reminded.

"My parents might be unfair about everything, but I know they care, and if I suddenly just bailed; they would worry," Hayden sighed.

"Hayden, stop worrying about everyone else. For once, focus on you. You're eighteen; you don't need to tell them where you're going or what you're doing. Let me put it this way, like with what they told you; it's not your problem because you're an adult now. They didn't want to listen to you, so why waste your breath? Believe me; if they care, then they can prove it by looking for you. Remember, my dad is your father's boss. If your old man starts a search for you, we'll hear about it," Troy informed.

"That's true. Yeah, you're right. I won't say a thing, but I do have to inform my Godfather/Unofficial Uncle Gabriel; he's like a second father to me, and we don't have secrets. Right now, he's living on the main island and keeping busy," Hayden smiled.

"You can call him from here if you want since I assume you're not taking your mobile?" Troy questioned.

"No. I'll use whatever money I got left to get a new one," Hayden said firmly.

"Then it's settled. Tomorrow, we'll go to your place with my dad's truck and grab what you want to bring here. After that, you can call your Godfather," Troy grinned as he and Hayden connected hands.

"Thank you for all this, Troy. You've gone…above and beyond for me, and I can call you my best and only friend," Hayden admitted.

"Well, join the Marines and you'll make a lot more, but I'm honored to accept the title of Only Best Friend," Troy chuckled. Hayden smiled with a nod. The rest of the night was spent talking, and gaming a little while planning when they could go to the recruiter to start things. First thing first was Hayden getting all the documents he would need. Hayden decided he would do this, there really was no reason not to. Hayden was going to join Archipelago Islands Marines Corp.

. . .

[Haddock Residence]

(Monday, October 8, 2018-10:50 am)

As planned the night before; Hayden and Troy took Dustin's truck to the Haddock Household around 10:30 am when Hayden was sure his parents would be gone. It took twenty minutes, but they arrived. Together, Troy and Hayden packed up as much of Hayden's room as they could for one trip. Hayden had gotten two, large buckets for his clothes, then everything else went into cardboard boxes. Hayden left behind his computer and bedding since Troy assured Hayden there was an extra set at the house he could use. Hayden got his art materials, and anything else he didn't want to leave behind. Once that was taken care of and loaded into the bed of Dustin's vehicle; Hayden ventured into office, opening the safe, and surprised to see the gun there.

"What the hell?" Hayden blinked as Troy looked at him.

"What's wrong?" Troy asked.

"The…gun is in here? I had left it at The Cove yesterday, so who brought to my dad?" Hayden wondered. Then again, why should he care? Hayden ignored it as he fished through the files to get his birth certificate and social security card. However, Hayden did notice his cell phone and the money on the top shelf. Rolling his eyes, he decided to take $200 back from it since he wouldn't be staying through all of October at this house, why pay rent? Hayden closed the safe and span the dial before grabbing his stuff and setting it on the desk while he went through the file cabinet to get his medical records since he knew they were updated when Hayden said he'd be going to college back in May.

"Got everything?" Troy asked.

"Think so," Hayden nodded with a smile. "Oh, I gotta get Uncle Gabriel's number since I'm not taking my phone," he remembered quickly. Hayden went through his father's contact cards, finding Gabriel Forger's, then writing it down on a piece of paper and stuffing it into his jeans. "Alright, now we're good,"

"Let's get a move on then," Troy chuckled. "We'll stop at the store to get you a new phone," Hayden nodded, agreeing with the idea as they left the house, but not before Hayden dropped his key to the door on his father's desk. Moments later after locking the main entrance, Hayden and Troy were gone.

. . .

[Raseri Home]

(1:20 pm)

It took some time, but Troy helped Hayden get settled into his new room, which for now, was in Troy's. Dustin and Rachel brought down the spare bed, dresser, and nightstand while Troy and Hayden were out. Rachel didn't have work today, so she was happy to make the boys lunch around 12:30 pm. The room was set up close to that of a college dorm's, but it worked for both Troy and Hayden. When all that was taken care of, Hayden set up his new phone, which was just a prepaid that cost him $68.72, plus the cheapest plan of $35 for unlimited minutes and texts. Hayden could use the wifi for the web. Hayden needed to save what he had left to pay the phone every month until started making a paycheck from the military.

"When do you boys plan to sign up?" Rachel wondered.

"We decided to wait until November, to give Hayden and I a chance to prepare for the ASVAB test. Oh, and get into shape for the physical portion," Troy replied.

"Seems like a wise decision," Rachel smiled at them with a nod.

"I can't thank you and your husband enough for letting me move in, Mrs. Raseri," Hayden told her.

"Oh, think nothing of it, dear. And call me Rachel!" the woman laughed a little. Hayden bowed his head, understanding. Later on, Hayden planned to call his Godfather/Unofficial Uncle and get him up to date on everything that has happened since the last time they talked, which was at Hayden's graduation party. Unfortunately, Gabriel Forger had two jobs and lived almost forty-five minutes away on the main island, Archia Isle, so getting to see or talk to him was hard. However, Hayden couldn't not tell his uncle what was going on; they were too close for that.

"Ready to live your life, Hayden?" Troy asked after Rachel had left the room as Hayden looked over at him with a smile.

"I'm ready," Hayden replied assuringly with a nod. Yes, Hayden was ready to live his life his way.