AN: I'm so emotional after writing this. It's like someone ripped my heart out and I had to write about it. UGH.
There's still an epilogue left. That will take some time, though. It's going to be long and cover a lot of ground. I'm also working on a McSwarek Christmas oneshot and that will probably be out before the epilogue. Keep your eyes out!
Enjoy this... If you can. Let me know thoughts and maybe let me know some things you'd like me to cover in my epilogue. I'm not quite sure how far out I'm going to go, so anything is fair game in this early stage of writing it!
"No," Andy sighed, trying to keep her voice down. "Come on!"
"Andy," Traci hissed before breaking out in a laugh. Andy held up her hand in apology and fell back on Chris's bed. She watched as the rest of her friends joined her—one by one—before Traci was left standing triumphant.
The five of them had made up a drinking game early in the school year and played it every chance they got. If you asked any of them to explain the rules, they wouldn't be able to, but they all knew what to do at each turn of a card. It took Chloe almost four nights—innumerable games—of watching to get the hang of it. She just came in second, though, after Andy came in dead last.
"It's not fair," she muttered, looking at Chloe's glowing face and Traci's triumphant fist in the air. "How is this fair?" She asked, turning to look at Chris next to her. He just laughed and took a sip of his beer.
"I'm going to get fired before I even start," Traci laughed, settling onto the edge of Dov's bed. "It's quiet hours, we're drinking, and I'm supposed to be the person who stops all of this next year."
"The door is closed, everyone is being quiet—except for Andy—and you won't get fired," Gail promised.
As of some miracle, the six of them—now including Chloe—had all finished their finals on the same day. Traci and Andy finished early Thursday morning, while everyone else was done by dinner time. The majority of students had finals through Friday, so quiet hours were still mandatory in the dorms and the library, but everyone needed to pack and they all wanted to get one last night in with each other before they headed off in different directions the next day.
They finished packing as soon as they got back to their rooms and quickly shuffled together in Chris and Dov's room to end the year right. It was getting late, though, and Andy could see her friends getting tired. She kept checking her watch; Sam was picking her up and they were bringing the rest of her things to his place until they drove back to Toronto together on Sunday.
"Jerry's here," Traci announced after checking her phone. Everyone let out a collected sigh and stood up. It was the end of an era. Freshman year was over.
Traci moved her way around the room, hugging everyone and saying goodbye. Andy was the last one she hugged and they both lingered a little. In the short amount of time they'd known each other, they'd become the best of friends. Traci was the best friend that Andy ever had. Everyone she knew in high school had practically fallen off the face of the planet. The only person she saw and spoke to was Tanner and that's only because they live right down the street from each other and she went to school with his brother.
"Bye, Trace," Andy said, a tear forming in her eye. She blinked it again and smiled.
"Bye, Andy," Traci said, steeling herself to leave with a deep breath.
The first one of them was gone and Andy and the rest of her friends sank back to the beds they had just been sitting on. Gail curled against Chris's shoulder and Chloe laid across Dov's bed with her head in her lap. They sat in silence, getting ready to say goodbye to Andy because they knew Sam would be there any minute to pick her up.
"Okay, guys, this is crazy," Andy said suddenly. "We're going to see each other this summer. Hell, we'll even make our way up to Timmins to visit Chris. This isn't the end of the world. We're going to be living on the same floor next year."
"Andy's right," Dov nodded. "This is just the end of the year, not our lives or our friendship."
Everyone nodded until Andy's phone rang. It was Sam.
"Hey," she answered, locking eyes with Gail who smiled at her. "Are you inside?"
"I'm knocking on your door, McNally," he said and she could hear the smile in his voice. He was excited to have her to himself for the weekend, even if it meant summer break was upon them.
"I'm next door," she explained. "I'll be right there."
She hung up and stood with the rest of her friends. Despite what she and Dov had just claimed, it still sucked. Saying goodbye sucked. She didn't want to do it. She didn't want to go home. Like with Traci, they all hugged her tight and said their goodbyes, promising to call and text and Skype. She only hoped they meant it.
As she closed Chris and Dov's door behind her, she saw Sam leaning against hers with a smile. He nodded her over and she collapsed against him, burying her face in his neck as she willed herself not to cry.
Sam's living room was packed with Andy's things. It wasn't that big to begin with, but now it felt like they were all suffocating. They spent most of the weekend in his bedroom with the door only open enough for Boo to come and go as he pleased. They just didn't want to see the mess that had taken over his tiny apartment. They also didn't want to be reminded that she was leaving in a couple of days.
"I guess I should give you these back," Andy announced on Saturday night as she came into his room after rifling through her things. She was holding a (pretty sizeable) pile of his clothes and she had a look of regret mixed with guilt etched across her features.
"Huh," he said, pushing himself to sit up in bed. "I've been wonder where all of my clothes went."
Andy sighed and piled them neatly at the end of his bed, dividing them into piles of t-shirts. sweatshirts, and even a couple of his flannel shirts. Sam just laughed. He knew things were missing from his drawers and closets, but he never cared—he had plenty of shirts that she never touched—and he never really noticed how much was gone.
"I did keep one sweatshirt and you're just going to have to deal with that," she said, sliding her hands into her back pocket with a smile and he shrugged.
"I would have insisted if you didn't do it yourself," he said honestly. "Which one?"
He shuffled to the clothes and started sorting through them to see just which ones she'd been keeping captive.
"The one you gave me on campus right before Jerry's bonfire last fall," she said, rising to her toes before settling back onto her heels. "The one you wouldn't let me give back in case it got cold."
"If I remember correctly, it got cold," he smirked and she smiled. "Good choice."
"I thought so," she laughed.
Sam pushed his clothes to one side of the bed and pulled on her hand until she fell down beside him, laughing louder. He leaned over her and kissed her slowly. They'd made a habit in the last twenty-four hours to revel in each touch, each embrace, each kiss. They would see each other over the summer, but it wouldn't be on a regular basis. Sam was slightly convinced it wouldn't even be on a semi-regular basis. They'd do their best, but three jobs between the two of them was going to be difficult to plan around.
When he pulled away from her kiss, he rested his forehead against hers for just a second and pulled back completely, looking up at his ceiling. He felt her hand on his face, rubbing against stubble on his jaw, and he looked down at her with a soft smile.
"I'm not going off to war, you know," she reminded him and he laughed, rolling his eyes. "We're going to be fine… Right?"
The uncertainty in her question made him think about the week he spent in Scarborough without so much as a call to her. He remembered the fight they had when he got back and how much she had hurt him—how much he had hurt himself in the process. Sam knew where his head was at when he ran away for that week. He also knew where it was now and he knew that he would miss her, of course, but that he'd be there—waiting for her—whenever they could find their way back to each other. He wasn't going anywhere.
"We'll be great, Andy," he promised and she smiled, sitting up to kiss him again.
"The worst case scenario," she said, pushing away from him so she could settle under his comforter on her side of the bed, "Is that I won't be back until your birthday. I wouldn't miss that for the world."
"It's not a big deal," he laughed, standing up to put his clothes away. "I want you to come, but it doesn't have to be for my birthday."
"It's your twenty-fifth," she gasped, like it was the most insane thing he'd ever said. He was chuckling as he climbed into bed next to her. "That's a big deal. That's a quarter of a century. It's twenty-five."
"McNally," he laughed, pooling the blankets at his feet. He didn't understand how she still slept with blankets up to her chin when it was finally starting to get warm in his apartment. "It's just another year, just another age."
"No," she insisted and he rolled his eyes. All of a sudden, she was straddling his hips and holding onto his shoulders. "It's twenty-five. Huge deal, man."
Sam held onto her hips and pulled her flush against him. "Whatever you say, dear," he whispered and she smiled triumphantly before circling her arms around his neck and kissing him.
Andy sat in Sam's truck with her feet on his dashboard, Boo's head in her lap, and a smile on her face. His backseat and the bed of his truck was packed tight with her things. Despite not wanting to go home for the entire summer, she was really looking forward to seeing her dad and sleeping in her bed. But, then, Boo sighed and shuffled closer to her and she remembered—again—how hard it was going to be.
She looked over at Sam as he drummed his fingers against the wheel in silence. When he felt her looking, he flashed her a smile and gave Boo a quick pat on his back. It all just made Andy even sadder. In a couple of hours, she'd be home alone while her dad worked and Sam and Boo would be sitting in his apartment without her. She started work early the next morning or she would have stayed another night with them.
As it were, though, their time together was coming to an end. A weekend without her friends had been hard enough, but now she'd have to go even longer without them and without Sam and Boo.
"Hey," she said, running her hand down the back of his head. "This sucks."
Sam laughed and nodded, looking at her quickly. "Yeah, McNally, this really sucks."
She nodded and scratched his scalp for a second before letting her hand fall to Boo's body. He looked up at her with his actual puppy dog eyes and she wanted to cry. It was like he knew he wouldn't see her for a while.
"Is Boo going to be okay?" She asked, her eyes still on the dog even though he was falling asleep again. "Like, without me around? Do dogs handle that kind of thing well?"
"I don't know," Sam said, but it sounded like he did know and that Boo would not be okay. "I mean, I don't think he'll take it well, but he'll be okay. We both will."
"What if he thinks I'm never coming back?"
"Andy, he'll be fine. I'll make sure of it."
"You'll be working," she reminded him. She really didn't want to fight about it, but the more she thought about it, the more it ate away at her. "Two jobs. He'll be home all alone all day."
"It's the same as when I'm in school," Sam said, his voice soft. "Boo is going to be okay. He'll get used to things after a couple of weeks, I'm sure of it."
"Okay," she sighed. She ran her hand over the length of Boo's back and listened to his steady breathing. As her hand neared his tail, she felt Sam's fingers slip around hers. She smiled to herself and squeezed his hand. They stayed that way until they pulled up outside of her house.
Her dad was waiting for them on the front porch with Ronnie. He stood as soon as he saw the truck stop. Andy got out of the truck, genuinely excited to see him, and met him with a hug. Boo was jumping up the back of her legs and Sam had to whistle for him to settle down. When he trotted back for the truck Andy pulled out of her dad's embrace and moved on to give Ronnie a quick hug.
"Welcome home, Sweetie," her dad said and Andy smiled before looking back over her shoulder toward Sam and Boo.
Sam had already started unpacking his truck onto her yard and Ronnie raced over to help him. She watched them a moment longer before turning back to her dad. "I missed you," she said and he smiled, pulling her into another hug.
With the last of Andy's things settled back into her room in her house, Sam leaned against her bedroom wall and watched as she and Tommy moved effortless around her bed as they worked together to put things away. Ronnie was long gone and Sam was waiting for Tommy to leave for work so he could have a minute alone with Andy to say a proper goodbye.
She was right—she wasn't going off to war—they'd be able to talk and text and see each other. It just wouldn't be what they were used to and he wasn't looking forward to it. Finally, Tommy stretched his arms over his head and announced he had to go. He hugged Andy and stopped in front of Sam.
"Don't be here when I get home tomorrow," he said, holding his hand out. Sam bit his lip, shook his hand, and nodded. "Good. Have a safe drive home."
"Thank you, sir," Sam said and as soon as he was out of earshot, both he and Andy broke out in laughter.
"I can't believe he finally said something to you about that," she said, settling between his feet with her forearms against his chest. "So, you've got to go?"
"I should go, yeah," he nodded and she sighed against him, resting her forehead on his shoulder. Her arms snaked their way around his waist and he buried his face in her neck and hair.
"I love you," she whispered. He could feel her lips against his skin as she spoke and he held her tighter.
"I'm going to miss you," he promised and she nodded. Slowly but surely, they detached and he kept his eyes trained on the floor. Her hands held onto his and she tugged him away from the wall.
"I'll walk you down," she said and Sam nodded. He whistled once for Boo and he jumped off the bed to follow them down the stairs toward the front door.
When they got there, Sam held onto the door knob and watched as Andy said goodbye to Boo. She kissed his head and ruffled his ears, he licked her cheek and nudged his nose against her palm. Finally, she stood up and surprised Sam by cradling his head between her hands and pulling him toward her.
He pulled at her hips until she was right against his body. His hands roamed her hair and back and the tops of her thighs as low as he could reach. He wanted to feel as much of her as he could before they went their separate ways. Even if it ended up being just for a couple of weeks, it was still too long. They would be fine, he knew, but that didn't mean it would be easy.