Author's pov
A week after returning from the island, moving day finally arrived.
The large moving truck stopped in front of the apartment building just after sunrise.
Jay stepped out first and tilted her head back.
The building rose high into the morning sky.
Twelve floors.
The highest floor belonged to them.
Their apartment.
Keifer walked up beside her carrying two boxes.
"Nervous?"
Jay shook her head.
"Not really."
Unlike most people, she wasn't seeing the place for the first time.
She had visited countless times over the years.
She knew the layout.
She knew the view.
She even knew which floorboard near the balcony creaked slightly when stepped on.
Back then she had only been a visitor.
Now she actually lived here.
That felt different.
Good different.
Keifer smiled.
"Ready?"
Jay looked up at the twelfth-floor windows.
"Ready."
The apartment was just as beautiful as she remembered.
Floor-to-ceiling windows lined the living room.
Sunlight poured across the hardwood floors.
The kitchen was larger than some apartments she'd seen.
There were several guest rooms, a study, a huge balcony, and a master bedroom overlooking the city skyline.
The entire place felt open and welcoming.
Jay walked straight toward the windows.
The city stretched endlessly below.
Cars looked tiny from this height.
The university campus could be seen in the distance.
Just one week.
In one week, they would officially begin university.
A completely new chapter of their lives.
For a moment she simply stood there staring.
Then she heard a loud crash behind her.
She turned around.
Keifer was standing beside a fallen lamp.
"…"
"…"
"You broke something already?"
"It attacked me."
"The lamp attacked you?"
"It came out of nowhere."
Jay laughed.
"You've been here for three minutes."
"And already I'm being targeted."
The next several hours were spent unpacking.
Or at least attempting to unpack.
The apartment quickly became a maze of boxes.
Nobody could find anything.
Jay opened one box expecting kitchen supplies.
Instead she found books.
Another box contained towels.
Another contained a random collection of spoons.
One contained exactly one pillow.
Nothing else.
Just a pillow.
Jay held it up.
"Keifer."
"Yeah?"
"Why does this box only have a pillow in it?"
He looked.
Thought about it.
Then shrugged.
"I was tired when I packed."
Around noon the elevator doors opened.
And suddenly the peaceful moving day ended.
Aries burst out first.
"We're here!"
Jay groaned immediately.
"Oh no."
Behind Aries came Ella, Freya, Grace, Denzel, Calix, Mica, Ci, Felix, David, Josh, Blaster, Edrix, Rory, Kit, Mayo, Drew, Eren, Eman, and Rakki.
Every single one of them carried luggage.
Every single one of them looked excited.
Every single one of them was talking at once.
The hallway instantly became chaotic.
Keifer looked far too innocent.
Jay narrowed her eyes.
"You knew."
"I might have."
"You knew they were moving in today."
"I may have forgotten to mention it."
"You absolutely knew."
"I absolutely knew."
Jay pointed accusingly.
"Traitor."
The entire friend group had rented the two large apartments directly below them on the eleventh floor.
One apartment housed Aries, Denzel, Calix, Josh, Blaster, Edrix, Felix, David, Eren, and Drew.
The other housed Ella, Freya, Grace, Mica, Ci, Rory, Kit, Mayo, Eman, and Rakki.
Within two hours everyone had already forgotten which room belonged to whom.
Drew accidentally unpacked into Eren's room.
Kit somehow lost an entire suitcase.
Nobody knew how.
Rory discovered the building's vending machines and immediately declared them the greatest invention in human history.
And Aries had already started inviting herself upstairs.
Three days later, the building finally began to feel lived in.
The boxes disappeared.
Furniture found its place.
Beds were made.
Pictures were hung on walls.
The apartments slowly transformed from empty rooms into homes.
Jay loved it.
Every morning she would wake up beside Keifer and walk into the living room to watch the city wake up below them.
The view never got old.
One afternoon she found herself standing on the balcony while a cool breeze drifted through the air.
The city buzzed quietly beneath them.
For the first time in years, everything felt stable.
No crisis.
No danger.
No uncertainty.
Just life.
Normal life.
The thought made her smile.
The balcony door slid open.
Keifer stepped outside carrying two mugs.
He handed one to her.
She accepted it gratefully.
"Thanks."
They leaned against the railing together.
"You thinking about university?" he asked.
"A little."
"Nervous?"
"A little."
"Excited?"
"A lot."
Keifer nodded.
"Same."
Jay looked toward the distant campus.
"So much is changing."
"Yeah."
"But I think I'm ready."
He smiled.
"I think you are too."
That evening everyone gathered upstairs.
Originally they had planned a small dinner.
A quiet dinner.
A simple dinner.
Instead twenty-two people somehow turned it into complete chaos.
The dining table wasn't nearly large enough.
People sat on chairs.
The couch.
The floor.
One person was sitting on a beanbag.
Nobody knew where the beanbag came from.
The food disappeared almost instantly.
Jay wasn't convinced everyone had actually eaten.
Half the group seemed more interested in talking.
The room buzzed with laughter and conversation.
Plans for university dominated most of the discussion.
"What if we get lost?" Mayo asked.
"We will get lost," Denzel replied confidently.
"That isn't helping."
"We'll definitely get lost."
"Stop helping."
"I give us ten minutes."
Ella rolled her eyes.
"Some of us are capable of reading maps."
"Some of us aren't."
"You're talking about Aries."
"I'm talking about Aries."
Aries pointed dramatically.
"I am standing right here."
"Exactly."
As the evening continued, conversations shifted.
People talked about classes.
Professors.
Clubs they wanted to join.
Goals they hoped to achieve.
For the first time, the reality of university truly settled in.
This wasn't a dream anymore.
It wasn't some distant future.
It was next week.
Next week they would walk onto campus together.
Next week they would begin building the lives they'd imagined for so long.
The realization filled the room with a strange mixture of excitement and nervousness.
Jay looked around at everyone.
Her friends.
Her family.
The people who had stood beside her through everything.
A year ago she couldn't have imagined this.
Now she couldn't imagine life without them.
The noise.
The laughter.
The chaos.
All of it felt precious.
Later that night everyone finally headed downstairs.
The apartment gradually grew quiet.
Jay stood near the windows looking out at the city lights.
Thousands of tiny lights sparkled below.
The world seemed endless.
Behind her, Keifer wrapped an arm around her waist.
"Tired?"
"A little."
"Happy?"
She smiled.
"Very."
For a moment neither spoke.
They simply stood together watching the city.
A new home.
A new beginning.
A new future waiting just ahead.
And somehow, despite all the uncertainty that came with change, Jay felt calm.
Because no matter what happened next week.
No matter what challenges university brought.
She wouldn't face them alone.
Keifer squeezed her hand gently.
Jay smiled and rested her head against his shoulder.
Outside, the city continued to glow beneath the stars.
And for the first time in a very long time, everything felt exactly where it was supposed to be.
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Hi lovelies. Only one person voted and they voted for this chapter, so i added it. Please do vote. It makes it so much easier to write when i know what you guys want. Anyways
Next chapter : First day of uni
I have a little mission for you all. Can you please make a list of the characters and give them a cours ti take. Cuz ik Keifer will do business with Aries but i don't know what cours to give Jay Freya Ella and the others. So please do recommend ideas so that it makes it easier for this dumb brain of mine.
Anyways
I love you until my phone battery reaches ♾️🫶🏼✨