Nick felt like a hobo.

He surveyed the living room; contained in two boxes were his worldly possessions minus his guitar and on the floor were his sleeping bag, duffel bag, and a pile of dirty clothes.

He owed Cypress and Orion big time for letting him stay at their place while he figured out what he was going to do for a new residence. He needed money for that. He could try his hand working in a cafeteria, or maybe as a bartender. He was a pretty good bartender. He just didn’t feel like begging for more funds from his family and breaking the news to his father that he had quit the fraternity. He could only imagine how that conversation would go–like a car wreck.

He thought of his options as he did some stretches in front of the TV. There was a soccer match on that he was watching but it was currently playing a commercial. He almost was touching his toes when he heard a knock on the front door. He figured Orion or Cypress would come down and answer but then a few minutes passed and he heard more knocking. So, he went to investigate.


It was a dude dressed in a casual vest and tie. He had shaggy brown hair and eyebrows so thick that Nick’s first thought at seeing them was that if he ever got cold, he could use those eyebrows to knit himself a pair of mittens. That is if he could actually knit.

They regarded each other with puzzlement.

“Hello,” Nick said to break the silence.

“Hi, I’m here to see Orion...and you are?” the guy asked, giving Nick a long, considering look up and down.

“I’m Nick Hart,” Nick stuck out his hand in greeting. Nick was always down for making new friends.

The guy took it and shook hesitantly, “Cain Nova.”

That name rang a bell, but Nick couldn’t remember where he heard it and in what context.

“Come on in. Orion is upstairs,” Nick pointed up the stairwell. He noticed that he hadn’t picked up his plate from dinner so walked over to grab it and wash it. He already had made a mess of the living room. He was being a bad guest leaving his dirty dishes lying around.


“Nick Hart, you’re the guitar player then?” Cain asked from behind him. It startled Nick slightly because he had assumed that Mr. Eyebrows had gone up to see Orion since that was the whole reason he was there.

“Yeah, I play guitar. How did you know?”

“They mention you from time to time,” Cain smirked, and gestured above them to indicate Orion and Cypress, “So what are you doing here tonight?”

“I’m being a hobo,” Nick laughed and began to explain his predicament.


Cypress should have been doing homework. Keyword: should.

Instead, he was lounging on his bed and listening to music. He had downloaded a handful of songs and was deciding which ones he should play the next time he was in the SSU radio station. Every Wednesday, Cypress hosted a campus radio show that played new and local music. He loved it. Coursework was another matter—he often felt like it was the most tedious and useless thing.

Why was he even at university? He’d had three years to figure out what he wanted to do with his life and still hadn’t picked a major to the annoyance of his adviser and his parents.

His grades weren’t the best either. If he dropped out, though, what kind of message would that send to his family? His parents were highly respected in the science and medical communities, their fieldwork and accompanying journals had gained them academic notoriety. Their disappointment in him would be crushing if he told them how he really felt. His younger brother, Cedar, was at the age he could start filling out college applications but if Cypress decided that university wasn’t worth it, his actions could jeopardize Cedar’s future. Cedar had always been one to trust Cypress’s judgment, after all, Cypress had virtually raised his little brother because his parents were too involved with their research.

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Orion, who had flung open his bedroom door without warning and entered without pants on.

Cypress wasn’t even phased, it was an all too common occurrence.

“Dude, can I borrow one of your shirts? All my good ones are dirty,” he pointed in the general direction of Cypress’s wardrobe and clean laundry he had yet to fold.

“How about you do your laundry so you can wear your own clothes,” Cypress dismissed the request and shut his eyes to continue listening to music.

“I don’t have time to! I’m going out with Cain tonight—”

Cypress’s eyes snapped open, he ripped off his headphones, and sat up with a frown, “He doesn’t care what you wear!”


“But I don’t want to smell funky!” Orion sunk to the floor with an exaggerated pout and grabbed Cypress’s leg beseechingly, “Please? I promise not to get your clothes dirty.”

Cypress closed his eyes again in frustration. He hated the thought of Orion making out with Cain while wearing any of his clothes but Orion was his best friend and he looked kind of pathetic laying on the floor and begging like that.


Cypress stood with a curt nod and Orion’s smile returned; he pulled himself up and opened the doors to Cypress’s wardrobe while Cypress leaned against it and pointed out which shirts he could borrow.

“So is this a date? Is he finally your boyfriend, or what?” Cypress asked, trying to not let disgust seep into his tone.

“Cain doesn’t do exclusive relationships…” Orion’s smile faltered a bit as he picked out a teal shirt from the wardrobe. Orion may not have been aware of the full extent of Cypress’s dislike toward Cain, but had least picked up on the fact that Cypress wasn’t very receptive to discussing anything pertaining to the guy; so he found it odd that Cypress had even asked, “…but yeah, I’d consider it a date.”

This. This was why that cocky bastard was the literal worst. Cypress’s anger boiled within at remembering the fact. Cain had been stringing Orion along for at least two years and never committed to anything. He showed up when it was convenient and then could go for weeks without calling, and his behavior only heightened Orion’s anxiety.


The first time it happened, during their second year at Sim State, Cypress found his best friend in bed, huddled into a ball and hyperventilating. Knowing that Orion was best comforted with physical contact, Cypress pulled him into a hug and held him while trying to distract him from his fears of inadequacy that were causing such a violent panic attack.

“Think of your favorite song,” Cypress had suggested. Orion was shaking in his arms, and his breathing was shallow and erratic, “Envision the notes in front of you and how they sound.”
Orion shakily took a breath and then began to hum. It was the melody for his favorite Pink Floyd song and Cypress joined in. Eventually, Orion's breaths established a steady pace and normalized, as they hummed together.

So that had unfortunately become a routine for them in those awful instances in which Cain ghosted for too long. Cypress hated Cain for it. It would have been better if Cain never returned or contacted Orion again. Yet Cain always ended up coming back like some unwanted boomerang and Orion always forgave him.

Orion pulled Cypress’s shirt over his head and thanked him, then went back to his room to find a decent pair of pants. A moment later, Cypress heard him leave his room to go downstairs. Cypress followed; he needed a smoke anyway.


When they entered the main room, they found that Cain was already there and having a lively discussion with Nick.

“Seriously, though, none of the Twikkii Tidals can score if their life depended on it,” Nick bemoaned. Cain nodded in agreement. It was soccer talk, probably related to the current program they could hear, floating over from the television.

Orion walked up and slipped his hand into Cain’s, “Are you ready to go?”

Cypress crossed his arms, and only Nick saw his leveled expression of loathing aimed right at Mr. Eyebrows. Now he remembered where he’d heard about Cain. Cypress had complained about the guy when they had gone to the bookstore pick up new course materials for last semester.

“Where are we going?” Cain asked.

“Um…” Orion was caught off-guard. He didn’t know he was supposed to pick a place.

Loathing in Cypress intensified.

An idea struck Nick on how he could start repaying his friends’ generosity.


“I know a place,” Nick said with a smile. He put his arm around Orion’s shoulders and motioned Cain to follow. They walked outside.

“There’s this great jazz bar in downtown Scandalica City and I can get you in for free,” Nick winked at Cain. He had no interest in Cain, but felt that the guy would be more susceptible to his suggestion if he charmed him a bit. If there was one thing Nick was a pro at, it was charming others.

“You’re..uh..going with us?” Orion seemed reluctant at that prospect.

Cain looked thoughtful about Nick’s offer, “Sure, that sounds awesome, sign me up.”

Nick threw his other arm around Cain’s shoulder and was solidly separating the two lovers as they walked to down the street to the nearest bus stop.

Cypress’s lips broke into a small grin — Orion probably wouldn’t be pleased that his one-on-one time with Cain was being intruded on, but was too polite to tell Nick off. Cypress was glad that Nick had intervened. He was glad that there was a high probability that Nick’s self-appointed third-wheeling would make the night very unromantic and more of a bro-fest. Did that make Cypress a bad friend?


He made his way to the back porch and pulled out a cigarette. It was a bad habit but he smoked as a means for stress relief—something he’d never really dealt with as a teenager. It came in waves as a young adult. At least tonight he’d be less stressed about leaving Orion in the company of his shady, flaky, non-boyfriend.

He lit the tip and looked at the night sky, then took a drag.

That was the main reason that Cypress hadn’t up and left Sim State yet—Orion would be a mess without him.



***Author's Note***
My back up game files have been retrieved and are safe now, so I put this week's chapter up a day early to celebrate!