The Graduation

Chapter 7- Home Sweet Home

29th of May, 2023

8:54 am

Boxes were stacked to the ceiling in almost every room, Jordan was staring at it in dismay. A cry came from the bedroom upstairs and followed by the sound of boxes falling to the floor. Jordan sprinted up, taking the steps 4 at a time and making it to the bedroom in record time. The door clanged as he burst into the room, eyes searching for the redhead amongst the boxes. A pile of bedding sat in the corner, a muffled moan sounded as an arm appeared from beneath a navy sheet.

Jordan hurried over and grabbed the limp arm, pulling the disgruntled expression of his girlfriend from the soft engulfment of fluff. Dix's face appeared, surrounded in a halo of auburn hair and glittering eyes, their colour dissolving from a blue on the outer edges to bright green on the inside. He couldn't help but marvel at her beauty. As long as he and Delucia had been together, Jordan still got transfixed by the unique eyes that stood out on light skin. He would play a game when they were together at night, laying in bed and talking, where he would try to memorize their pattern.

Dix stared back at the blond boy's handsome appearance, his mouth twitching in an upwards fashion as he suppressed what was probably a peal of laughter. She took his firm but gentle hand in hers and let him pull her out of the heap. She fanned her face as a small layer of sweat had collected on her brow from the warmth of the blankets. Jordan looked around the room, at the jumble of clothes that covered the floor, the half-assembled bed, and the fallen over the mess of boxes that had come crashing down next to Dix. Grinning, he looked into her eyes again and excitedly whispered "we have a house", in a way that made it feel like an amazing secret. Dix smiled back, Jordan's energy infectious.

Jordan reached a hand into his pocket, pulling forth a small box, that was too large to be a ring box (Dix mentally heaved a sigh of relief at that) but small enough that Dix assumed it wasn't home to any food that Jordan may have been carrying around. He held it out for her to take, which she did, carefully running a finger over the engraved lid. Happy moving day! was etched in golden paint and Dix carefully undid the simple clasp. Lifting the lid back slowly, her eyes widened at the beautiful gem before her. It was blue, with shocks of green running through it and was surrounded in a cage of silver wire which just made the stone shine brighter. It was strung on a simple chain that matched the silver wire but was even finer in size, the links were intricate and seemed to flow as Dix ran them through her fingers.

Jordan's face gleamed with excitement at his girlfriend's happiness. He reached over and carefully lifted the chain from Dix's gentle clutch, fastening around her neck with not too much difficulty (an impressive feat for Jordan). The necklace rested on Dix's chest, her eyes stood out brighter, bought out by the colours in the gem-like Jordan needed more attention drawn to her breathtaking eyes. Dix smiled, and Jordan placed a finger under her chin, lifting her eyes to meet his before gently leaning in for a kiss.

"I love it, so so much." Whispered Dix, glancing down at the gem, which she could just see when she tilted her head down and puffed out her chest. Jordan laughed, and Dix peered up, through her eyebrows. "What?"

"Nothing, nothing. You look amazing." Dix rolled her eyes, before pulling a face, eyes inwards, nose up, and eyebrows crooked. Jordan responded in turn, crinkling his brow and pouting his lips, before sticking two fingers behind his eyes to make them stick forward.

Laughing, Jordan rushed towards her, wrapping his arms around her waist and spinning her around. He only stopped when her feet began to knock things off the towers of boxes in the room, and he was so dizzy he was worried he would accidentally place her down on her head.

10:12 am

A knock at the door sounded but Jordan and Dix just lay in the middle of their still box filled room and didn't move. Another rap and a voice called out "guys, we know you're in there". That was Kaiden's voice. Someone else spoke, "Imma use my key if you don't hurry up". Bear. "Ok, we're coming in, everything better be pg." Alex. A ruckus of laughter sounded. Declan.

In burst, their friends, chuckling at the mess of the place which they'd seen a few weeks prior before the couple moved in. "Ahhhh, I like what you've done with the place. Very... chaotic." Declan chuckled and strolled over to Jordan, who was too hungry to attempt a comeback. He held out a hand and hoisted the blond boy to his feet. Alex was helping Dix up next to them, and Bear and Kaiden were holding cups of coffee behind them all, waiting to return to the lounge. The group tumbled back downstairs, enjoying a quick tour on the way, mainly consisting of a reminder of where the toilet was and where the unpacked boxes were. To sum up, the toilet was covered in throw pillows and towels, and the unpacked boxes were, well, everywhere.

"Want food." Moaned Jordan as he settled on an upturned bucket, the contents of which, mostly plastic containers and a few other kitchen things, were now scattered across the floor in the corner of the room.

Alex and Bear shared an eye roll, before Alex responded, "Well, Jordan," she spoke in the voice you would use to explain how to work out 2+2 to a particularly confused child, "you know there is this magical thing called food. You eat it and it makes that feeling go away."

Jordan rolled his eyes, chucking a stray, thankfully empty, bag at Alex, who deftly caught it and threw it back. "We forgot food, and most practical cooking supplies, we don't even have a saucepan. We do have a lot of containers though, Dix's family thought they were disposable enough for us to take."

The group laughed as Jordan grumbled to himself. Kaiden reached for his ComTDC and ordered pizza, though it was far too early, from a nearby store.

12:07pm

Several empty pizza boxes were spread out across the floor and crumpled napkins were overflowing the old plastic bag that was replacing the missing bin - turns out it was placed in the fridge for some reason. Jordan was sighing happily, a full stomach always made him feel a bit sleepy and was one of the only times he sat still.

Dix was forcing herself to start unpacking some boxes in the kitchen, Declan was by her side and Alex was moving some of the heavier boxes from the entryway to their designated rooms. Dix found her mind beginning to wonder, thinking to the future. The house was beautiful, with several large bedrooms, 2 living areas and a study. Dix knew they would only need it for a few years, with the move into the palace and her Queenship growing closer with every passing lesson, banquet celebration, and visit to the different areas of Medora. She also knew that Jordan was trying to get a job, as much as he joked, he had applied for some decent positions, mainly in publicity fields, such as a reporter.

Declan suddenly spoke, breaking into her thoughts. "Dix, are you ok"

Dix turned to look at him, "what?"

The boy looked slightly uncomfortable and started speaking hurriedly, unsure if he had insulted Dix or not, "I mean, becoming queen after we had a war that tore the country apart has got to be difficult, on top of the new house, and the press stalking your every move. Your life has got to be pretty challenging. And well, you're always so on top of everything. You're always 'ok', I just want to make sure you're actually ok and not just 'ok'... ok?"

Dix smiled gently, grateful for the thought of her friend, "I'm really ok. I mean the war was hard, obviously, but having you all here makes me feel less alone, plus, I mean if Alex can get through each day, I should be able to. And Jordan has actually been really supportive about the whole 'not a moment's peace' thing, He's always making sure I'm ok and being very polite and dignified in front of the cameras. I think he's going to do really well actually, I just don't know if I can put him through all that every day of his life."

Declan sighed, and Dix, wrapped up in her speech, glanced up. She'd almost forgotten he was there. He didn't say anything, but he just reached out, pulling Dix into a tight embrace. He was warm and solid. A friend.