{Chapter 2}
Moving Into the Future

*.*.*

I see this life like a swinging vine,
Swing my heart across the line
In my face is flashing signs,
Seek it out and ye shall find.

Old but I'm not that old
Young but I'm not that bold
And I don't think the world is sold
I'm just doing what we're told

*.*.*

"The new school year brought with it change and each of us were moving into the future, separately at first. But soon we would be reunited and would find together what we were missing, we just didn't know it yet."

*.*.*

The neighbourhood was quiet, it was the middle of a working day and so its inhabitants were either at school or at their job, the only disturbance to the picturesque scene came in the form of an approaching large automobile. The delivery van pulled to a stop outside an empty house, and a large, balding man stepped out of the driver's seat. Craning his neck, he could just about see the arrival of a car on the horizon, and stepping around his vehicle and opening the back he removed the first box of many.

Alex, it read in an untidy scrawl. As he began shifting more of the boxes, the car neared, eventually stopping, pulling up into the driveway. A man, his wife and their baby stepped out, glancing around, they smiled slightly. "Can you believe we're back here?" The mother queried, before walking around the car and opening the back doors as to awaken her eldest child. It was moments like this, Mrs Nichols mused, that she missed the most. He always looked so peaceful, so free when in a deep sleep, it reminded her of the boy he'd once been.

The boy who he'd hopefully be again.

Four years ago Alex had been happy, he was silent and guarded but he was happy. She'd been able to tell, seeing him with his friends and on that final day... His girlfriend. The girlfriend that she'd never known about, a look of melancholy flashed across her face, perhaps even then things seemed to be going wrong. But four years ago this was his town was his home, and hopefully it would be once more. Originally they'd hoped for the same house they'd had before, but the family it had been sold to hadn't moved, nor had any plans to do so. Because of this they'd found a new house, it was in a posher area, surrounded by posher people and good influences. Something Emily Nichols desperately required right now.

The house was large, towering above the car, and painted a pristine white. Surrounding the front garden was a green hedge, full and fresh and positive and uplifting and nice and... Breathe. Yes, breathing was important, she chuckled.

The ghost of a laugh was enough to begin to rouse her teen, his shaggy brown hair falling in front of his eyes as he shifted slightly. "Alex," she murmured "we're here, welcome home".

Stepping away from the car Emily travelled the short distance to the front door, pushing it open and walking briskly to the kitchen. The room was generic and cold, however she had no doubt that in time it would become more like their home. Laying the box on the counter she began to make her way back, slower this time, observing her surroundings. The place had potential, that was for sure, and Emily could almost picture where objects would go. A vase over there on a table, a painting over there, a photograph over there - no, there! A new house, a new interior, a new start.

Glancing at her watch she noticed that it was nearly one o'clock already, leaving her vastly behind schedule. She'd hoped to have shifted the majority of boxes by now at least, though she supposed it wasn't the end of the world. After all, Alex was off school and wasn't starting until the next day, and her husband's and her own new jobs would be beginning on Monday. Plenty of time! Widening her eyes, Emily Nichols lengthened her strides towards the door, pausing slightly to allow her son through first and hurried to fetch more boxes. She knew Alex wasn't at all as enthusiastic as herself at the move, yet found herself feeling for the first time that maybe he would be soon. Once he found out where they were, once he found his footing, even when he heard about his other dear little friend... Oh! Upon arrival she'd been supposed to call Betty Barrett, a woman who despite a few odd tendencies had grown on her through their sons' friendship. A woman who was to arrive in a few hours.

*.*.*

Alex Nichols stood in the kitchen, leaning casually against the side of the counter. The box he'd lifted had been left on the table, his father's messy scrawl had labelled it 'kitchen', and grabbing it, Alex had headed to the only room he had managed to suss out so far. Not that it was very difficult. It was pretty simple to navigate the house it seemed, each wall held gaps without doors and flowed into the next, at least on the ground floor. Great for newcomers, but privacy was obviously nonexistent.

Not that it really mattered, his parents weren't going to give him any anyway. It wasn't his fault that he didn't fit in at his last school, it wasn't his fault that the students were a bunch of boring stuck ups, it wasn't his fault that he never even tried. Except... No. He wasn't going to go there, he hadn't wanted to move, hadn't wanted to leave and yet had been stuck in New York. The city of dreams, and for him, the destruction of them. Was he glad they'd moved once more? Yes. But that didn't make it all the better again, now he was in a new town, with new people and new horrors. Or new bores, nothing happened in small towns anyway.

Passing his phone between his hands, he debated texting his old friends, maybe updating them on his change of location. Maybe not. It was really none of their concern and he doubted they'd care either way - what difference could it possibly make. Shaking his head slightly he shoved the phone back in his front pocket and headed out of the room.

Walking back through the lounge and dining room, Alex passed by his mother, she was talking quickly, using hand gestures wildly.

"And I can bring pizza!" She seemed to be saying, "of course, I don't actually have a coupon this time but still..." It was odd how enthusiastic she appeared to be, but even his mum had already made friends. That spoke volumes about his life here. Perhaps maybe he could call Tuck or Munch later, tell them about the move, something he'd avoided before. There was a chance they could make the whole thing better, or not, which was more than likely. The move was already bad enough without adding in any of their drama, he only knew one thing for sure about this new home right now - he was not at all looking forward to it.

*.*.*

The car was still in the middle of nowhere, driving across an endless desert, no destination in sight. Betty Barrett appeared to be content nattering over the phone blaring on speaker, but Munch was bored. Music blasted from his headphones, but he could barely hear it.

He had just left his new home, just left the hours of torture and bullies, yet he couldn't say he was thrilled with the change. How could he expect his new life to be better? They'd already have friends, already have ideas as to who he was, already be judging him. He'd already been branded as an outcast.

Even if they didn't... Would they still accept him? Maybe look past his starring role to him, who he actually was. It was unlikely he mused, unlikely, but not impossible. Perhaps he could recast his image, it was a fresh start, an opportunity to recreate himself.

Before Mulberry Woods Munch had been disliked, though to a lesser extent than afterwards. Had he told his friends he was leaving? No. Often it seemed like Tuck and Alex didn't care at all about him, they didn't take any interest when his life was hell, so why would that change now? It wouldn't. That was a fact he'd quickly learned to be true.

The three musketeers were different now, distant and had deformed. They'd lost each other a very long time ago, built to break he supposed. Munch had never tried to connect with Emma, he'd seen her as a mannequin, something unreal, and never even attempted to be more. None of them had, not really, or maybe they just never said anything. It wouldn't be the first time. Maybe the distance had been a good thing, or maybe it wasn't.

Not that it really mattered, it was all in the past, and this move was his future. He'd begin school tomorrow, and if he was lucky, Munch may just be able to make new friends.

His mother appeared to have ended the call, turning towards him slightly as though to say something. He didn't want to hear it. In retaliation Munch turned the music up to full volume, aiming at drowning out his mother's words and his own thoughts, it wasn't like either mattered much anyway.

*.*.*

The school day was nearly over, students growing restless at the prospect of release from their concept of hell. Tuck found himself normal in this way, ever driven by the thought of freedom. It had been a long day and Miss Joys ever so enthusiastic notices weren't helping his exhaustion. The day had been busy, science had found him paired with Joseph, one of his less intelligent friends, and they'd started the year with a literal bang. And detention after school. Nothing much else had happened, however many students had pushed themselves right into his traps around school, a fate which though amusing, hadn't seemed as fun as last year. Nothing could beat the look on Geeky Todd's face in science. Classic.

Tuck was drawn from his thoughts by a chorus of gasps released by the females in the room, the collective chatter made it obvious he'd missed something of great importance. "Dude!" Eric Peters whispered to him, leaning across his desk in order to be more audible, "A dance, you gonna go?". Tuck rolled his eyes, Eric was just messing around, no dignified man would ever go to a lame school dance. "You're not serious bro? Only pansies worry 'bout that kinda thing, when you gonna go buy your dress?" Eric looked almost hurt by his response, Tuck smiled, he was slowly improving his acting, maybe he would be ready to be in a video before too long. "But really," Eric started, prompting Tuck to roll his eyes "Girls dig dances, I'm in for that".

Girls dig dances. True, very true. A night of romance, or getting some, of love and hormones. Maybe it might be worth it this year. "Hey, Nicole!" Eric called "Wanna dance?" The class erupted into laughter at the obvious innuendo aimed at the schools Queen Bee, who only stared straight ahead, rolling her eyes slightly. She was hot, Tuck noticed, and so it was no wonder his friends wanted her to dance with them, she was a cheerleader as well, real flexible and all that. She was sweet too he supposed, nicer than most of her friends at least.

Speaking of which, two desks across from Nicole was Emma, his old... Friend? Acquaintance? Crush? Maybe. All were right and yet all were so wrong at the same time, they hadn't really known each other but they weren't strangers, and he'd liked her but hated her simultaneously. It was difficult - their relationship, or lack thereof. Besides, he was always torn between lusting after her himself and willing his best friend to finally make his move. Alex never did.

His loss, Tuck supposed, Emma was now on the market and on his radar. They had a game they played, he boasted about their pastimes and she pretended to reject him, it was all in good fun and their interactions took him back to a simpler time and five friends ready to take on the world.

*.*.*

At least... That's how it looked to him. To Emma, well it was less of a game and more of an annoyance. "And," Miss Joy continued "before you all leave, I'd like to remind those of you on the dance committee that after school tomorrow is the first meeting".

Emma rolled her eyes. For the last two years she'd been forced to plan the various dances with her friends, but this year she hadn't signed up, after all she might not even go. The dances had never really been much fun but at least she'd always had a date, this year she didn't. It was as simple as that. After the last fight she and Brian, her on and off again boyfriend, had had, Emma was over romance. Last semester she'd nearly flunked her classes due to the soap opera of a relationship she was in and that was not a mistake she was making again.

Looking around the class, Emma noticed that no one seemed as though they'd grown up yet, still in the immature high school phase. It was too early for commitment, only for mistakes. And jealously. And lust disguised as love. And Emma? Well she'd had enough of that. She had decided to welcome in the new school year with a new her, a no-boys-no-matter-how-cute-or-popular her, and in all honesty, hadn't seen much that was a threat to it. Yet.

"Class dismissed" Miss Joy's voice echoed through her thoughts, and Emma stood, quietly gathering her things. "Ems!" Emma looked up to see Nicole hurrying around the desk "Hey!", smiling exasperatedly to herself Emma lifted her bag onto her back and turned to wait for her friend. "Not that I don't like talking to you," Emma began "but shouldn't you be badgering the dance committee already?". Rolling her eyes, Nicole smiled back at Emma, it was common knowledge that sometimes she could get a little... Enthusiastic about the dance. "I am," she grinned, "I saw you forgot to sign up again this year, and so me being the amazing friend I am, signed you up!".

Emma wasn't even sure why she was so surprised. It happened last term, and the one before that, Nicole could be slightly blind sighted sometimes when it came to her peers, but she at least always meant well by it. "Actually, Nicole..." The girl in question had already whipped out her phone, and was typing away furiously, muttering to herself as she went. Emma paused, she'd seen Nicole in this state before after all. As nice as she was, when she got something into her head, Nicole had a laser focus, and a temper to match. It was one of the things that Emma most liked her for, so often the schools queen bee would be a complete stereotype, yet Nicole was just... Normal.

Mostly at least.

And besides, the committee would look good on her college application - one more year couldn't hurt. Right? Besides, Nicole was not one to have on your bad side and, well, friends made sacrifices for each other. Tomorrow she'd worry about it, but today she was free.

Glancing at her friend, Emma was surprised to see she'd slowly fallen behind and now Nicole was out of sight. Well, she mused, that had sorted out that. Shaking her head slightly she followed the flow of her peers out the student entrance and into the sunlight.

Day one of school was officially complete.

*.*.*

"Smile," Betty grinned at her son "I promise you you'll get on with my friend's son". Munch remained silent, looking glumly at the ground as he fidgeted slightly, feeling uncomfortable standing outside a mystery house where he'd be forced to spend the rest of the evening. Betty's optimism wavered slightly but she tried to remain upbeat, she and Munch hadn't even arrived at their own home yet, instead going straight to their old friends. Her smile becoming slightly strained, Betty just hoped that this surprise would bring back some of Munch's joy and help him acclimatise, as much as she just wanted to get settled in his happiness was more important to her.

Ringing the doorbell, Betty fired off a quick text to her husband to check on his progress unpacking and slipped the phone away, straightening her posture and trying to bring back her earlier confidence. She needed this to work. She needed him to feel better.

The door began to open and Munch looked up, only to meet familiar eyes. Surprised, he froze slightly, trying to work out what was going on as his mum walked past him into the house, conversing with Alex's mum. "Alex will be down shortly," she shook her head, a small smile gracing her face, "he's unpacking". Turning towards the stairs she called out for him to come down, to which he replied with the affirmative, meanwhile Munch took a step forward dumbfounded. Alex? Alex was here? How? Why?

Taking another step forwards, he was aware that he may look slightly gormless but he was still in shock at the whole situation. "Munch?" looking up towards the stairs, Munch saw his expression mirrored. "Alex," he stated, with more assurance than he actually felt "hello".

Alex slowly descended, internally reeling, both overjoyed and nervous to be back in the company of one of his closest friends. Staring at each other, though, there was an undeniable awkwardness as both raced to try to find something to say. Something funny, or... or smart, or just not lame.

Leaving the stairs and coming to a stop, Alex found himself fidgeting slightly, his arms curling around himself in a somewhat defensive gesture. "How... How have you been?" Alex winced as the words echoed between them, lame it was then. "Fine, I guess. You?" Munch was unable to meet his eyes either, and his words had a defensive, slightly frosty tone to them.

Betty and Emily looked between the two with grins just slightly too wide, "Alex," Emily started "Why don't you take Munch upstairs? You can show him your room while you catch up". Alex nodded and turned, gesturing for Munch to follow him and quickly ascended towards his partly unpacked room.

It was great that they were together again but something was different. Alex only hoped that they could solve it soon.

So, it's been a while. Again. But there will be updates and hopefully they won't be too far off in the future. Thank you so much for continuing to read this story despite it's inactivity and I'd love to hear your feedback.

Continue to be wonderful - Rx