Vikk's P.O.V.
I was waiting for the light clatter of a stone to hit the window, just as it had every night in the weeks before, but this night was different. This night, my room was empty. Boxes thrown onto the grass full of my clothes, personal belongings, treasures. Everything except my furniture was gone, all moved to Lachlan's house, and tonight was the night I would finally slip and leave this old life behind to start anew.
There had been some fear that a member of the Sidemen would walk into my room and see everything gone, but they never did. They seemingly didn't care enough to check up on me and for once I was incredibly thankful for it because it meant I could pack up and leave without them ever noticing.
A clatter startled me out of my thoughts. There was Lachlan. standing on the lawn below my window, motioning for me to jump. It was a second story window but I grabbed my last backpack, grabbed ahold of the tree and swung myself down into his arms where he held me tight and bundled me into his arms.
"Jesus Vikk, you're freezing. Do I have all your jackets?" I nodded, teeth already chattering.
"I didn't really think about it." I mumbled. "Everything's gone, so I didn't think about keeping behind a spare set of clothes. Don't have any hoodies either."
"Alright, let's go then, my cars down the street." He said, keeping his arms around me. "God, I can't believe the night's finally here. We've been talking about it for months now and we can finally get you out of here."
"Yeah." I breathed. My eyes were already slipping shut. I was exhausted, the mental strain of the last few weeks had drained me of any energy I might had left and now he was practically carrying me down the street away from that toxic environment, I just needed sleep.
"It's alright Vikk." Lachlan whispered, setting me down in the front passenger seat of his car. "Just sleep. It's all going to be okay now."
And with that, my eyes slipped shut.
-------------------------------------------------
It took me a long time to get used to living in Lachlan's apartment. For the first few weeks all I did was eat and sleep while I tried to get all of the negative emotions out and realise that I was safe. I was safe, Lachlan was here and I was out of the place that led to my depression and self hatred. After that, it was a long process of relearning many habits that I had picked up.
For one, I didn't have to ask Lachlan to do anything. He didn't care what I did around the house, when I made lunch, when I went to bed, when I was recording, as long as I was looking after myself. He didn't have to know what I was doing at all times.
Finally, I felt free. I didn't feel crushed by the weight of the responsibilities on my shoulders put there by the Sidemen, I could work on my career at my own pace without feeling like I wasn't doing enough. No one forced me to up my numbers constantly, I got to do what I wanted. Lachlan never stuck his nose into my business.
"Come on Vikk!" Lachlan called excitedly for me, bouncing just outside me office door. "Let's go! We're gonna miss it!"
"Alright, alright!" I laughed, pulling a jacket around my shoulders to follow him down to his car. "Calm down babe, we aren't gonna miss it."
He only laughed as we finally climbed into our seat, my younger boyfriend practically bouncing. This had been planned for a few weeks now and he was really excited, even though it was just watching the sunset. We had dinner packed up in a basket, a picnic blanket and some warm jacket so we could watch the sun set over the horizon in our local park, and then just spend some time together under the moon. Already it reminded me of the night we spent together in my garden, but this was a lot more romantic.
"Come on, come on, come on!" He giggled, tugging at my free hand while I held the basket of food in the other. "It's already setting!"
We sat on the grass after spreading the blanket out, Lachlan reaching out to dig into the food. It was only when I snuggled up to him, tucking my head under his chin and stopping him from moving. He just hugged me back, twinkling blue eyes staring up into the now orange sky. The two of us sat in silence, watching as the sky turned from blue to orange to black. The wind blew cold but neither of us cared, curled together, food long gone and now with hot chocolates from our thermos clutched in our hands.
"I love you Vikky." Lachlan whispered, arms tight around me as he gazed at the full moon shining above us. "I'm so glad it ended up this way."
"So am I." I mumbled back, leaning back into him. Then I paused. "I can't believe you thought I was homeless when you first met me."
"Hey! I didn't really have any context babe, you were soaking wet, crying and miserable in a public park. You looked like a lot of the other youth I deal with, so really it was a sound assumption." He said indignantly, but he was still giggling. "I'm kinda glad I assumed that though, cause at least it got you talking."
"True."
I sighed quietly, happily, because it was a strange series of events that led to this situation. Lachlan working with the homeless, my utter mental breakdown, a phone number on a piece of paper. Months of conversations, meeting up in the dark, our first kiss under the light of the moon. It sounded like a fairy-tale- at least after the first few months. He helped me escape my tormentors and gave me a new life.
"I wish I could freeze frame this moment forever." I said quietly. "I want it to be this peaceful all the time."
"So do I." Lachlan breathed. "It's a beautiful moon tonight."
I leaned up and kissed him, closing my eyes. He kissed me right back, lips soft.
"I love you." I whispered.
"I love you too." Lachlan said back. "To the moon and back."
