"I need space." Those were the words Jacky said to Ryan the night before they both left for separate colleges. Now, each of them will try to learn who they are without the other. Will their paths lead them back together?
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It felt like old times: Ryan and Monica curled up on the couch, watching "Ocean's Eleven," one of Ryan's favorites. They were halfway through when Monica said, "Hey, we should Facetime everybody."
"Who's everybody?" Ryan asked.
"You know, Peyton, Alex, Matt, Lance," Monica rattled off a few more names. She pulled out her phone. "Here, I'll just call everyone."
As the ringtone repeated over and over, Monica fluffed her hair and glanced Ryan over, making a small adjustment to his hair. "Like they'll care if my hair's a little messy," Ryan said.
Monica shrugged, then grinned at her phone. "Someone's picking up!"
Matt's face filled the screen, at an angle that made his stubbled chin look even bigger. "Hey Monica," he said.
"Hi!" she waved and swiveled the phone so he could see Ryan, too. "I'm hanging out with Ryan!"
"That's cool," Matt said, finally adjusting his phone so they weren't staring up his nostrils. He was clearly sitting in his dorm room on a futon. "What's up Ry?" Then Matt squinted and said, "You guys aren't back together, are you?"
"No," Ryan and Monica both said, almost in unison. Monica explained, "No, just hanging out. We're both in Boston. You're at Fordham, right?"
"Yeah." Matt lifted a can to his lips and took a swallow.
The screen was too small for Ryan to see, but the can looked like a Budweiser can. And it was only five o'clock, on a Wednesday. "How's college life?" Ryan asked. "Is Fordham a party school?"
"Yeah, there are parties."
"Oh," Monica said, her excited smile dimming a bit as she gave Ryan a significant look. During senior year, Matt had done a lot of drinking. It had become a ritual for one of them to always keep an eye on how much he'd had and make sure he didn't drive home. "Yeah, there are lots of parties at my school too. It's been great to get to know people." When Matt didn't immediately respond, Monica barreled onward. "How's your roommate? Do you get along? I know sooo many people who already hate their roommates. I've been pretty lucky with mine."
"Yeah, my roommate's cool. He has a fake ID." Matt shifted like he was trying to sit up more, and he disappeared from the frame. There was a pop and hiss of another can being opened. "What about you Ry? I bet you got a nice roommate. You're the nice guy."
Ryan thought he had told his friends about his living arrangement. "Yeah, I'm rooming with Pete. My roommate from the group home?"
Matt stared into the phone for a long minute. "Pete? He got into Tufts?"
"No," Ryan said carefully. "I'm living off-campus. We rented an apartment with some—" he didn't want to derail everything by mentioning that he was living with three girls— "other people, and Pete and I are sharing a room."
