Times Change, Friends Leave and Life Doesn't Wait for Anybody

Kellin woke up on Monday morning and stretched, relishing in the feeling of his bones cracking. He rolled over to see a note placed carefully on Vic’s pillow.
Gone to uni. I’ll see you later. Love you, Vic xxx
Kellin smiled and got up to get ready for work, four hours on, he was still struggling to actually throw away the note, just because it was Vic’s, and it was proof that the other boy felt the same way about him.
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Kellin woke up on Tuesday morning, lifting his head up and looking at the piece of paper resting on Vic’s empty pillow.
Gone to uni. See you around four thirty. Love you, Vic xxx
Once again, Kellin smiled as he dragged himself out of bed, stretching and slipping the note into his jeans pocket to have it close to him throughout the day.
____
On both Wednesday and Thursday Kellin woke up with Vic still pressed against his side. He didn’t have any classes on Wednesday, and had a lecture that started at eleven on Thursday, meaning that they got a bit more time with each other on those days.
Kellin slipped out of bed, writing his own note to Vic telling him that he was at work and that he’d be back later, before leaving for the diner.
____
Kellin woke up at eight to see another note lying on Vic’s pillow.
At uni again. I’ll see you later. Love you xxx
Kellin grinned lightly to himself and slipped the note into his pocket again, getting up to get ready for work.
____
On Monday, the cycle repeated.
____
And then again.
____
By the third week, Kellin had no problem tossing the short notes that Vic wrote into the dustbin on his way out, knowing that he was getting a similar one the next day. Vic and he seemed to have fallen into a… Routine. And Kellin couldn’t exactly say he liked it.
____
“Kellin come and pick up your shit!” Vic called from the bedroom. Kellin sighed and slowly made his way to their room, frowning as he looked at the various notebooks he had left spread on the carpet in front of the bed.
“For God’s sake…” Kellin muttered, bending to pick up the books and shove them into his bedside drawer. He’d been writing lyrics again, something that he hadn’t really done for a while, because whenever he did have time at home, he’d wanted to spend it with Vic. Before he had, anyway. Now, he wasn’t quite sure.
“Maybe if you didn’t leave all your crap lying around I wouldn’t need to bitch at you to pick it up.” Vic snapped.
“Maybe if you stopped bitching at me full stop we wouldn’t keep on arguing.” Kellin countered.
“So now this is my fault?” Vic demanded.
“Kind of.” Kellin shrugged. Vic had kind of been… Pissing him off lately. Sure, Kellin could take the piss sometimes, but Vic was constantly over reacting about it. He could blame it on stress from university or something, but to be honest, Kellin thought that they were more in each other’s way than anything else.
“Fuck off, Kellin.” Vic said, forcefully brushing past Kellin as he stepped out of the bedroom and to the front door.
“Fuck you!” Kellin yelled back, the sound of the door slamming his reply. Kellin growled under his breath in frustration and slid to the floor. He clutched his head in his hands and sighed. He couldn’t help but think that maybe he and Vic weren’t working out anymore. Since they’d moved in together they’d argued almost constantly. Maybe they just couldn’t live together anymore. They were always at each other, and Kellin couldn’t stand it anymore.
And so, without really thinking about what he was doing, Kellin pulled out his laptop, quickly flicking through his search results until he booked the cheapest possible flight to San Diego in a couple of day’s time. He held his breath as he entered his credit card details, still unsure of himself, but when the printer spat out his boarding pass, he knew that he was doing the right thing. Was he? He loved Vic really, with all of his heart, and that probably wasn’t going to change. But leaving seemed like the best option at this point. Rather than the two of them staying with each other and ending up resenting the other, a bit of space was probably all they needed. Some time away from each other. Kellin continued to tell himself that as he packed a suitcase, almost emptying his side of the wardrobe and haphazardly throwing the clothes in. He didn’t take anything else, mostly in the hope that, if he decided to return, it would all still be waiting for him.
Vic didn’t return until after Kellin got back the next night. He opened the door tentatively, as though expecting Kellin to send him back out, and when the dark haired boy didn’t say anything, he stepped in completely, gently shutting the door behind him and following Kellin back to the bedroom.
“Kellin?” Vic said quietly. Kellin’s heart ached at the sound of Vic’s voice. He hadn’t realised how much he’d missed the sound of the other boy’s voice. Or the feeling of falling asleep next to someone else. But that wasn’t going to be happening anymore. Not once Kellin did what he knew he had to.
“Oh, Vic…” Kellin sighed and wearily rubbed his eyes. “I dunno.”
“What?” Vic asked fearfully.
“If we’re, you know, working out.” Kellin finished pitifully, avoiding making eye contact with Vic out of fear of breaking down when he saw the hurt that would inevitably be obvious in the other boy’s eyes.
“I… I don’t know what you mean, Kellin.” Vic whimpered. Kellin felt his heart break for the other boy, but knew that if he didn’t do this now, he’d end up hurting Vic, and himself, even more.
“We’re just… I dunno, we’re not, we aren’t going anywhere. And we’re constantly fighting, like we argue every day. I don’t think our relationship’s going to move on.”
“Why does that even matter? What’s wrong with staying where we are? And we don’t fight that much, Kellin, we barely even bicker at all. Kellin, come on, don’t do this. I was stupid and angry before, I won’t do it again. Kellin don’t, please. ” Vic begged, voice thick with emotion.
“I think, maybe if we just spent some time apart-“
“How are we going to spend time apart, Kellin? We live together. You can’t just go back to your parents’ place- oh.” Vic stopped and sniffed.
“I… It’s just for a little bit, Vic. Until I, you know, figure this out?” He offered.
“You’re going back to San Diego.” Vic said quietly.
“…Yeah.” Kellin said in response. “I’m sorry, Vic.”
“When are you leaving?” Vic continued sadly.
“Tomorrow afternoon.” Kellin replied.
“Do you want me to come to the airport with you?” Vic asked hopefully.
“You have a class tomorrow afternoon.” Kellin argued gently.
“Did you do that on purpose?” Kellin didn’t reply, but it seemed that his silence was enough of an answer for Vic.
“Kellin… Are we breaking up?” Vic asked quietly.
“I… No. We’re just taking a break?” Kellin suggested. Vic didn’t respond to this, but Kellin heard him sink onto the bed and sniffle again. Kellin’s heart broke for Vic. “I’ll go sleep on the couch. I… Probably won’t be here when you wake up. I love you, Vic.” With that, Kellin bent down to pull the suitcase he’d packed earlier that day out from under their bed and drag it to the living room. He heard Vic close the door behind him as he settled on the sofa, tears leaking out of his eyes as he pulled his knees up and rested his chin on them remorsefully.
Was the fact that they weren’t going anywhere really reason enough to leave? Was he actually getting bored of Vic? He wasn’t really sure what to think, but he knew he wasn’t one hundred percent sure of his decision. He couldn’t exactly change his mind now, anyway.