This is the last chapter for this story, but I have been brainstorming ideas for a new fic. Don't worry, my friends, I don't have any plans to leave you any time soon.
Thank you all for reading while I tried to give these characters the story arcs they deserved.
"She was brilliant," Adam swooned. He was clutching a bouquet of vibrant wildflowers that were just right for Imogen. "She was so kickass, and she made everyone cry. Holy crap did you see that?"
"It's okay, buddy." Eli placed a calming hand on Adam's shoulder. "We did not go suddenly blind in the middle of the performance."
Adam swatted Eli's hand away, only wasting one second to scowl at him before scanning the theater lobby excitedly.
"Don't hide behind the sarcasm, mister. You wept like a baby." I poked his side teasingly. Eli shrugged, a wily smirk on his face, but he didn't deny it.
It was no surprise to any of us but Imogen when she landed the lead in the spring musical production, Spring Awakening. Adam had been a little wigged when he found out Imogen would have to expose some of herself on stage, and they had a big blowout fight that had lasted most of January. They didn't make up until Imogen planned an elaborate Valentine's Day scavenger hunt that involved her dressing up like some character in a video game and leading Adam around campus. The final clue led to a generous gift card for the local video game, movie and music exchange, tickets for the Blink 182 reunion tour, and a heartfelt letter explaining why she loved acting and why she really hoped Adam would come around so she wouldn't have to choose between two things she was passionate about.
Later, Adam told me that he had lost his virginity that night.
Suddenly, Imogen popped up beside me, squeezing my sides and kissing my cheek. Her bright stage lipstick left a stain on my skin. "Hi, friends!" Her face quickly shadowed over, though. "Could you tell I was flat during the opening number? I was so nervous, I swear I croaked."
Adam practically raced to her side to give her a quick smooch on the lips. "You were perfect. I was blown away." He handed her the flowers, and Imogen squealed, clutching them. "And did you see the review in the school paper? Everyone loves you."
Imogen bounced in place, pleased. "You guys really liked it?"
"It was tolerable," Eli teased. When she pouted, he amended. "Honestly, Imogen, you were phenomenal. There's a reason you're the youngest leading lady in fifteen years. "
"The story was a little weird," I admitted. "But I thought you handled it really well. You definitely have a great presence."
She let out a deep breath, looking relieved. "Oh thank any and all higher beings. I know you three would never lie to me; you'd never pass up an opportunity to rag on something."
"Zing," Adam chuckled. "So, can we get a celebratory dinner or something?"
Imogen cringed. "Well, since it's opening night and all, the cast is having a big party. And we're allowed to invite other people, but we usually don't. It's a bonding thing."
"No problem," Adam was unperturbed. "I'll just third-wheel it for the night." He bumped his hip into Eli's. "You have a good time, my dear."
Imogen gave him a kiss so indiscreet that it made Eli blush and look away, and then she was gone, bouncing through the crowds of people and fielding praise for her work.
"So what's the plan?" Eli asked. "Bar hopping? Dancing? Grand theft auto?"
"My mom is coming out for brunch tomorrow at ten." I reminded him, rolling my eyes. "Can I request a quiet night in?"
"Pizza's on me!" Adam declared, already heading for the door. He stayed a few feet ahead, ordering the pizza and then humming random tunes from the show under his breath, as we walked back to his and Eli's room.
"Are you nervous for bunch?" Eli asked in a low voice.
"Do you even have to ask?" I teased him. "The butterflies are threatening to take up permanent residence in my belly."
My mom and I had been talking again for about a month.
It had been Dr. Dawes's idea, really. I had passed Women's Lit with flying colors—which was a much needed boost to my ego after getting a 79 percent in my Physics class—and she convinced me to take the follow up class. Which was also taught by her.
Even though we hadn't heard back from any of the journals Dr. Dawes had sent my essay out to, she insisted that it deserved to be read—namely by my mother. After weeks of mulling over the idea, and hours spent talking Eli's ear off about the pros and cons, I sent mom a copy of the essay with no pretense or explanation.
"I'm sure it'll be awkward at first." Eli nodded, not one to sugarcoat things. "But now that everything is out in the open, you guys can sort through things and get back to normal."
"I hope so…although I now think normalcy is an imperfect concept. Life is always moving, and it's our job to move with it or get lost in the current."
"I can't wait for you to no longer be taking a philosophy class." Eli smirked at me, smoothing my hair back affectionately. "Did I tell you that you look gorgeous tonight?"
I blushed, pleased. "You know you can't just give me a compliment to divert my attention. I'm totally going to take that class on Pragmatism in the fall."
"Mhmm," Eli chuckled. "You still love me."
"You're lucky you're cute." I responded cheekily.
"Gag," Adam called over his shoulder.
We were approaching their building, so Eli and I dropped our conversation and our hands. We tried to keep all PDA to a minimum when we were hanging out, just the three of us. Adam claimed not to mind, but we still didn't want to alienate him.
"So what should we do?" I asked once we were in the room. Over break, Eli and Adam appealed to the housing department and got a new room big enough for two. Now, instead of the impossibly crowded collage of Eli's photos, there was an eclectic collection of posters—Adam and Eli's tastes wildly different but oddly complimentary.
"I'm down for some mindless entertainment," Adam offered. "Want to stream Twilight and make fun of it?"
"I've never wanted anything more in my life!" Eli laughed, already getting out his laptop.
"I'm going on a drink run. Want to come?" I asked Adam.
He jumped up from the futon. "Yup yup!"
"Orange soda?" I asked Eli. He nodded.
As we walked down the hall toward the vending machine, Adam sighed wistfully.
"What's up?" I asked.
"Can you believe this is going to be the last week of our first year of university? Then we'll have finals…everything just went so fast, you know what I mean?"
"Yeah. It seems like just yesterday that I was wiping your bloody face." I laughed, but I felt the weight of the year tugging on my mind. So much had happened. I was such a radically different person that it was dizzying to think about.
"Oh, hush," Adam shoved me lightly, and then quickly pulled me in for a big hug. I returned it, burying my head in his shoulder. "Promise me we won't grow apart during the summer."
"Of course we won't! We survived winter break, right?"
Adam pulled away, and I was surprised to find tears in his eyes. "That's different. It was shorter, and your dad only lives thirty five minutes from my house."
"Well, I'll be spending at least half the summer with him," I reassured Adam. Since my mom and I hadn't made amends in time for winter break, Dad had invited me to spend the break at his new apartment. It had been a little weird at first, but my dad was really trying hard to do the right thing. And it helped that he decided to also break off his affair even though his marriage was in the process of being terminated. "And Eli will be with me a lot, probably."
Adam took a deep breath, nodding. "You're right. I just…this year has been good. I'm happy, I'm out, I have a wonderful and accepting girlfriend, two best friends. I don't want to lose any of it."
"As if we would let you fall out of touch. You're too precious to let slip away." I promised, holding out my pinky for a promise. Adam let out an exasperated sigh, but went with it anyway.
"Pizza guy came while you were gone." Eli greeted us at the door, holding up the two boxes as proof. "I broke into your sock drawer money stash." He grinned at Adam ruefully.
"You found it again?" Adam threw his hands up in frustration as we all settled into the futon. "I can't win. I thought if I hid it in the most cliché spot, you'd never think to look there."
"You won't be able to fool the master of mind games." Eli bragged, pretending to buff his fingernails on his shirt.
"Can we save the smack talk for the horrible acting and even worse characters?" I attempted to referee.
Adam and Eli stared each other down playfully for a few moments before Eli got up to play the movie. Adam grabbed an entire box of pizza for himself and dug in. I grabbed one of the paper plates Eli had set out, and took two slices.
"To friendship," Adam toasted, his mouth full of food.
"To friendship," Eli and I both repeated, knocking our bottles against Adam's.
I leaned back, a huge smile in my face. Maybe my first year at university hadn't gone exactly as I had planned, but I knew there was no way I could have predicted Adam or, least of all, Eli. No matter what happened to me, my boys would be by my side.
"I love you," I whispered low in Eli's ear. He turned, the smile on his face suggesting that I was a goddess in the flesh.
"I know. But thanks for the reminder."
"I owed you one."
He chuckled and pulled me close to his side.
Life was hard to navigate. There were blunders and tragedies and mistakes, but you also got the chance to build a family that made all your endeavors—good and bad—worth it. You got the chance to surround yourself with people who would tell you the hard truth and praise you when you deserved it. And, if you were lucky, you found people that you could love deeply and unconditionally.
Sitting between Adam and Eli, it was clear to me that I was the luckiest person in the world.
So what if normal was an imperfect concept and life was fleeting? As long as I had my chosen family, it was clear that the measure of all my good deeds and stupid mistakes was nothing compared to the fulfillment of sharing shenanigans and bad movie nights with the best friends I had ever had.
