"Lachlan, wake up," Natalie said, trying to shake Lachlan awake.

"Why is he so tired anyway? I mean, you're wide awake," Mitch asked. I got out of the car and started making my way to the trunk.

"He was awake for nearly the whole flight; I was asleep for the most of it," she explained. Mitch walked over to me and unlocked the trunk.

"Maybe now his sleeping schedule will match up with Australia's," Mitch joked. I grabbed my suitcase and backpack out of the truck and made my way towards the front door. "Jerome should be home, just ring the doorbell!" Mitch yelled as he started helping Natalie and the still asleep Lachlan. I nodded and faced the door. I rang the doorbell and I could faintly hear slow footsteps approach the door.

"Hey, look! The Vikkstar I ordered finally came in the mail!" Jerome greeted.

"That would be $150," I replied, holding my hand out. He rolled his eyes and pulled me into a hug.

"Welcome to the US!" he said, pulling back. "I'll show you to your room so you can put your stuff aside."

"Are there enough rooms for everyone to have their own?" I asked as we walked upstairs.

"Well, originally, we were going to have it so that you and Preston would share a room and Rob and Lachlan would share. That would leave an extra bedroom just incase someone surprise visits or someone brings someone over or whatever. We changed it up since Lachlan brought his girlfriend. This is your room by the way," he answered, pointing to a doorway. As I walked in, he continued, "Lachlan said he's fine with sharing a room with his girlfriend and I think Preston and Rob secretly want to sleep together - you know, Poofless - so they'll be sharing. You get a room to yourself."

"And what about recording?" I continued. I put my stuff neatly against the wall and sat down on the bed. Damn, I was tired. I didn't exactly remember when the last time I slept was.

"Five of us can record at once, in his own room. You, me, Mitch, and Lachlan all have our own rooms to record in. Preston and Rob will have to take turns or do videos together or something," he explained.

"I still can't believe that I'm seeing the whole Pack in real life again…" I mumbled. My eyelids were getting heavy.

"I'm going to leave you here to pass out," Jerome said, closing the blinds and leaving the room. I let my back hit the bed and my eyelids close.

I woke up at night. I had no clue how long I slept - hell, I didn't even remember what time I landed in the US - but it was definitely nighttime. I doubted that anyone was awake, That is, until I heard things falling from downstairs.

As I made my way towards the kitchen, a smug look found its way to my face. I had escaped conversation with Mitch. My insomnia did something good for me for once. My self-destructive behaviors were not something I was ready to talk about, especially after what happened with the Sidemen.

When I found my way to the kitchen, I saw Lachlan picking up plastic tupperware from the ground. He was trying to shove the tupperware into an open cabinet. It was adorable how rushed he looked. He was probably scared of anyone waking up because of the mess he made.

"Lachlan? What are you doing?" I spoke up. He jumped and turned around, accidentally knocking more tupperware onto the ground.

"Geez, Vik, you scared me," he breathed, putting his hand on his heart. "I was looking for a cup and then this happened…"

"Only you can pull this off," I mumbled, shaking my head.

"Hey," he said, pointing at me a finger at me, "that is completely true." I smiled. At least he could admit it. I just started picking up the tupperware from the ground.

"How have you been? You were asleep last I saw you," I asked after cleaning everything up. I opened up the refrigerator to look for a small snack. I felt a bit guilty about looking through someone else's kitchen, but I was almost sure that they wouldn't mind. I grabbed a cheese stick and turned to Lachlan. "Want anything to eat?"

"I've been fantastic!" he exclaimed, spinning around in circles with arms spread out. He almost knocked over a bowl next to the sink.

"Do you want anything to eat?" I repeated, trying my best not to laugh too loudly. He quickly shook his head.

"Nope, I ate a little while ago. I can't sleep," he answered, bouncing on his heels.

"How much sugar have you had?" I sighed, putting my hands on his shoulders, trying to get him to stop bouncing.

"None," he chirped.

"Then why are you so hyper?" I whined.

"Dunno," he shrugged.

"Ugh, I don't think you'll ever adjust to a normal sleeping schedule," I told him.

"Neither will you, by the looks of it," he pointed out. That was a fair point. "So, have you met Natalie?" He grabbed my arm and dragged me to the chairs next to kitchen counter. That hurt. A lot. And somehow he didn't notice my blood stained sleeve. Damn, I was ruining a lot of my t-shirts.

"Yeah, I think you guys would be really cute together. I mean, I don't know, you were asleep when I met her," I lied, sending him a fake smile.

"Really? That's a relief," he said, letting out a deep breath.

"Why is that a relief?" I asked, confused.

"I thought you wouldn't like her or something. I mean, if you didn't like her, I would've broken up with her straightaway, even though I really like her-" he explained at a hundred miles per hour.

"Slow down before you run out of breath," I suggested. He took a few deep breaths. "Do you really value my opinion that much?"

"Of course! You're, like, my best friend; I'd like to believe that, in situations where I can be blinded by my own opinion, you'd have my best interests at heart. If you thought that I'd only get hurt dating Natalie, I'd take that to heart and break up with her," he responded, a small smile on his face. A frown fell onto my lips as I thought about how out of reach he was. There wouldn't be a world where I had a chance with him. I was me and he was him. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I mumbled. Yup, that was totally believable.

"I'm not stupid, Vik. You're obviously not fine. Tell me?" Lachlan said, looking me dead in the eye. His clear blue eyes made my breath hitch; something about them scared the living shit out of me, but I still found them to be his best physical features.

"It's stupid…" I mumbled. What was I going to tell him? It was too late to say it was nothing, because it sure as hell doesn't seem like nothing. Maybe I could say, 'Hey, I'm kind of in love with you, but you're kind of dating someone else. By the way, it's mainly your fault that I'm planning my death as we speak.'

"Tell me, please? It's not stupid if it affects you this much. I want to help," he continued, grabbing my right hand and playing with my fingers. He didn't notice anything. But what was he doing? Whatever it was made me feel like I was going to projectile vomit butterflies.

"I'm gay," I blurted. "I haven't told anyone besides my parents." His whole body froze. Fuck. I made a mistake. I shouldn't have told him that.

"Are they okay with it?" he asked. He started rubbing the back of my hand with his thumb. I wanted to cry. Was he trying to lead me on?

"Yeah, I'm very fortunate to have an accepting family. I came out to them in high school, but I think they had a feeling I was gay for a while before that. Now you know, too," I told him, truthfully.

"I have absolutely no problem with that, okay?" he promised, looking me in the eyes and holding my hand in both of his.

"I don't doubt you," I replied, giving a small smile.

"I'm glad. You know, if we're being honest here, I've dated a couple guys myself," he admitted. I was completely taken aback.

"Seriously?!" I whisper-shouted.

"I don't think that I'm supposed to tell you, but… I dated Preston a while back. It was a mutual break up, though. I mean, we lived on opposite sides of the world. He liked Rob anyway- oh, shit," he said, covering his mouth with his hands. His hands were so warm, and now it felt cold.

"Poofless?" I mumbled. A small giggle bubbled from his lips.

"Oh, well. Now you know. But just imagine if Poofless became canon! It'd be so cute!" he squaled, bouncing in his seat. He was way too adorable for his own good. I gave a hesitant smile.

"They're rooming you know," I said.

"I can't tell if that was a good or bad decision," he laughed.

"Seriously , though… Wait, are they together?" I asked.

"I don't know, actually. If they aren't, this'll be that extra push to get them together," he joked, wiggling his eyebrows. We both burst into laughter.

"Shut up," a weak voice said. Lachlan and I looked at each other, then simultaneously looked towards the nearest door: Mitch's office. The two of us walked over to the doorway and peeked inside. Mitch was sat with his legs crossed in his chair and his head rested on his desk.

"Mitch?" Lachlan whispered, reaching to poke Mitch. Mitch lazily swatted Lachlan's hand away.

"Get a room so I don't have to hear you guys fuck each other," he mumbled. I covered my face with my hands. That was not what we were doing (though I think we all know that I wish that was what was happening).

"Why aren't you asleep in - you know - maybe your room?" Lachlan giggled, poking Mitch again.

"Fixing computer… recovering files…" he murmured. I took a deep breath and dropped my arms to my side. "What time is it?"

"Three AM," Lachlan replied after glancing at his phone. Mitch sighed and groggily sat up.

"I have to pick up Rob from the airport in forty-five minutes," he said. Lachlan turned to face me and grabbed my shoulders.

"We need to come up with a Poofless plan!" he whisper-shouted, dragging me by my arm. He pulled me upstairs and stopped in front of two doors. "Which is your room?" I pointed to the one on the left and he dragged me in. It took him a few seconds to find the light switch.

"Poofless plan?" I asked.

"Yeah! They're not together yet, so we'll get them together!" he exclaimed.

"What if they are and they haven't told us?" I told him..

"Do you really think that Rob and Preston would be the kind of people to keep their relationship a secret? They'd want the whole world to know," he pointed out. I shrugged. That was true.

"Where did this come from anyway? You just went full out fangirl all of the sudden," I sighed.

"Poofless just needs to be canon, okay?! It just needs to be!" he shouted.

"Quiet down!" Mitch sang from downstairs. Lachlan was way too excited to let anything damper his mood. He just lowered his voice and continued.

"Brainstorming, go!"

"Wait, let's just get some things cleared up first. Preston still likes Rob?" I asked. He nodded enthusiastically. "Does Rob like Preston?" He shrugged. "And what if he doesn't?"

"I don't know, actually… That'd kill Preston, wouldn't it?" he said with a frown. "What does it even feel like to be in an unrequited love situation? Not saying that Preston is in love, because he never said-" He suddenly stopped. I knew what it was like to love someone who didn't love you back. What's this?" He grabbed my left arm and stared at the blood stains.

"Nothing, it's nothing," I snapped, pulling my arm out of his grip.

"Vik…" he sighed. I knew that he understood. He knew why there was blood on my sleeve. I already had Mitch on my case, I didn't need Lachlan on it too. He slid my sleeve up a tiny bit. I didn't stop him. It wasn't far enough to see any of the words I had written on that arm.

"Whatever, you better not tell anyone," I grumbled.

"Vik," he said, "I'm not going to tell anyone. That is, only if you explain yourself."

"Fine."