catastrophe

Breaking away from the kiss, Izzy shifted a little into a more comfortable position.  ”I thought we said we would never do this again,” she said, laughing a little at their actions.  She straddled him on the couch, one leg on either side of his own and deepened the kiss.

"We've said that many times, I'm surprised you'd actually believed we'd stop doing this." He replied, a small laugh escaping his lips. Once their lips were reattached, he kissed her passionately with a small smile spread across his lips, from the flashbacks of when this all began.

"It’s ok, it’s ok, it doesn’t matter." Alaska whispered out, still refusing to let Caden free from her grasp. In all honesty she was sort of terrified for this moment to end; because the brunette knew she wouldn’t just be letting him go in the physical sense. That soon enough he’d be on a plane out of this place, and the chances of her ever seeing him again was slim to none. The very idea of her never seeing him again — not bumping into him every day around the house, not having him to turn to when things got bad for her, or to laugh with when things were good, hell she’d even miss painting his face full with make up and dragging him through the streets like it — the whole thing was like a nail being shoved into her chest, into her already cracked heart, forcing it to finally shatter around her. It was taking a lot of Alaska’s strength not to break down right there in his arms. Of course, she knew this day would come soon enough. With everyone. The Exchange was going to end and they’d all have to say their goodbyes sooner or later, but Alaska had always counted on the later part. It surely didn’t help that she’d wasted the last seven months carrying on their stupid argument when the anger she felt over it all had left long before. "I shouldn’t of said any of those terrible things to you that night, Caden. I didn’t mean any of them, you know that, don’t you? I shouldn’t of let my stupid stubbornness and pride stand in the way of me making things right with you. I shouldn’t of convinced myself that I don’t need you when I really do, and I shouldn’t of let given up on this friendship so easily, because it’s so important to me. You’re important to me. And I’m so sorry. I love you, I always will, no matter how far away you are. Don’t ever forget that, alright?" Eventually tearing herself away from Caden, tears almost spilling over her eyes, a thought came to mind causing her to scurry towards the stairs. "Don’t move an inch, ok? I’ll be right back." Within seconds, Alaska had ran to her room, grabbed what she needed, and returned again. Clutching to the bracelet she had given Caden at Christmas time, the one he had returned to her after their argument, Alaska handed it back to him for what felt like the millionth time, hoping he’d take it and keep it this time around. "Just, promise you won’t forget me, alright? Promise you’ll stay in touch." 

"It does matter. I was the only best friend you had that didn't leave you and I did, and God knows how much that pained you. I shouldn't have carried those handcuffs in the first place, because if I didn't, all of this would of never happened. We would still be friends and we would do so many things and everything would be ten times better than it is now. I'm sorry Alaska, I really am." Caden said, his head resting on the girl's shoulder. It was actually saddening though, the two were just now making up and now Caden was off to leave in just a couple of hours. He knew this was going to happen at some point in time but he hoped it wasn't like this, he honestly wished he wasn't craving for a new life that included responsibility because then he'd be here having more adventures with a bunch of new people and his current best friends. It pained him to let all of this go, to let go his friends and all of the memories he created with each and every single of one them; whether they were good or bad. "It's okay. I deserved it, I was a dick and I deserved all the words that came out of your mouth that night. You really deserve a better friend, I wasn't much of a good one to you back then and I wish I could change that. Although we weren't best friends back then, I still considered you my best friend still, I tried not to, but I couldn't help it. I still cared about you, even when that night when I said goodbye to you. That night, I wanted to stop myself from walking about but I didn't and I hate myself for that. I shouldn't have done that to you, I should have stayed and apologized. I love you so much, I always will and I'll do my best to check up on you once I leave. Even though I won't be here anymore, I'll still keep in contact with everyone and I'll visit every once and awhile whenever I can." Caden nodded and watched the girl scurry off and in the meantime, he wiped away the tears in the eyes before Alaska returned and noticed he had been crying. Once she came back, he noticed something in her hand and as soon as she handed it to him, he looked at it, which brought back the memories of Christmas time. He put it on, the same spot he had put it long ago. He walked over to his suitcase and unzipped the small pocket, then started to fish for the small box that held the crown necklace he had given the brunette during Christmas. Pulling it out, he opened it, and carefully took it out of the box and walked back to where he left Alaska. "I promise I won't forget you and that I'll stay in touch. I'll be sure to text you like every five minutes." Grabbing the girl's hand, he placed the necklace on her palm, "Promise me, you won't put makeup on any other guy's face or dress them up and have them make you chocolate chip pancakes." 

"Loki isn’t the only one who’d enjoy that! It’d be a fun time all around!" The girl grinned as she folded her legs under her on the couch, a giggle escaping her as the dog jumped on her. "I really like him." She stroked the dog softly, snuggling deep into it’s fur. She scoffed jokingly, "Be sure to tell him he’s the lame brother also. Then, he’d be bloody pissed. He’d tell me to piss off for good." She laughed and shook her head. "Hey, if you don’t could I come visit you and your wife and children and Lokie, and Loki’s wife and children someday?"

"I agree!  It's always fun with you around." He responded, a huge smiling spreading across his face. Caden watched as the girl snuggled up against Loki and smiled. He closed the door of the cage and plopped himself back on the couch, "Would you really want that though? It seems to me like you have something against Hunter." He nodded in response, "Of course! But what if you don't know where I live? I wouldn't want you getting lost, that'd be terrible and I'd be at fault."

She laughed then, moving some hair out of her face.  ”That’s the real question, isn’t it?  Because your personality is absolutely amazing, so really everyone loves you.”  She bounced on the sofa from his next words, “No way?  Really?  Oh my God, okay we’ll get them.”  She paused for a moment, “And even though you’re technically my slave, I’ll make it better by getting one myself.  They have to be matching and cute, because I don’t want anything ugly on my body, okay?” Jumping up from the sofa, she looked at all his stuff again, “Are we just going to leave everything here?”

"It's not as amazing as yours though! You're so kind and sweet to everyone, it brightens everyone's mood." He admitted. "Yes, really. We have to do this, before we leave, okay? We made a deal and a deal cannot be broken no matter the situation." He nodded with a bright smile. "Yay! That way, you'll be able to remember me too. I agree, we can't have anything hideous on our body because then we'll have it with us forever unless we decide to get it off; which we should't. But the real question is: What matching tattoo are we getting?" Caden looked at his belongings that were on the floor, "Yeah. I don't think anyone would really go through my stuff, besides there's not much to take or see. Though, we should take Loki along, I don't think he'll enjoy sitting in his cage for hours." 

"I’ll name it Loki Jr. Then, I will never ever forget you or your beautiful dog. Canwe have one last cuddle with him. I would enjoy that a lot." She felt herself starting to smile and looked over at the dog that was wagging it’s tail excitedly, without an inkling of how its life would change forever now. "Go ahead, Hunter needs to hear the truth sometimes." She joked along with him, a laugh filling the room. "I’ll definitely let you know. Maybe you’ll come back, Caden. I hope you do."

"How cute, I believe Loki would love that. And of course, let me take him out of his cage first." Getting up from the couch, he walked over to the dog cage and bent over to unlock the cage. The dog came running out with excitement then ran towards Caden, jumping all over him then onto Bo. "He really likes you." He said, with a smile on his face. "I'll be sure to add some awful comments too, so that he won't talk to you ever again. Kidding, I'd never do such a thing." He said with a comforting look on his face. "We'll just have to see."

"Hey!" Izzy pointed her finger at him.  "My clumsiness is a part of me.  And it’s definitely a part that you love, so shut up.  Some people just should not leave their crap laying around when they know that I fall about two times a day.  That was really just rude on your part.”  While she was speaking, Izzy stretched out her feet and flexed her toes, making sure it was all good, before falling silent.  She was unsure whether she would see Caden again, despite his words.  And honestly, him leaving sucked.  He was one of her best friends.  Before she could think better of it, Izzy lunged across the couch, nearly upsetting his coffee, and gave him a bruising kiss.

Caden let out an obnoxious laugh, "Please, I don't love that part of you at all. I don't love any of your 'parts'. Just your baking." Wiggling his eyebrows, a cheeky smile spread across his face, "Speaking of your baking... Maybe you could fix me something to eat, before I leave. And it's not my fault, that you're so clumsy! So you can't blame it on me." He wrinkled his nose once again when he saw Izzy's toes, though he knew his were ten times worse, considering men's feet are quite hideous and that he haven't cut his toenails in a week or so. Sitting in silence, he sipped his coffee, the temperature of it was getting warmer rather than staying hot. He stared at the blank T.V. screen and sighed quietly to himself, he knew the longer he stayed and spent more time with his friends, the more he wanted to take back what he said and stay. Putting his coffee aside, he turned to see what Izzy was doing but as soon as he turned, he felt her lips on his, which surprised him. Instantly returning the kiss, he pulled her closer towards him and rested his hands on her waist.

Alaska had known the answer before she had even voiced her question but it did not stop her heart from dropping when the boy responded. Staring down at her hands as she fiddled with them anxiously, she couldn’t bring herself to look him the eye as she spoke again. “By the looks of all your stuff, I’m thinking you’re going for good right?” Once again, Alaska didn’t really need for Caden to say it for her to know what was coming.  All at once she felt the pain from Caden’s absence from her life that she’d been suppressing and ignoring for the past seven months hit her like a brick and wall and without even so much as a second thought Alaska was pulling him into her, hugging him as tightly as she could, almost afraid to let go. “I’m so so so sorry, Cady. For everything.” 

Caden could tell how Alaska was feeling from the looks of her expression that was painted across her face. He didn't think today would be as painful, but he thought wrong, and oh how he wish he could take it all back, but it was all too late. He nodded at her question, he wanted to say something but there was a lump in his throat that refused him to speak, so all he could do was nod. It was a surprise at how long he went without being Alaska's friend, usually he was quick at apologizing because he understood his mistakes, but he just couldn't when it came to the girl. He soon felt her arms around him, he froze for a second, not knowing how to react, but his instincts kept telling him to hug her back, and so he did. Caden couldn't remember the last time he hugged Alaska, but he was glad he did, because knew that this was going to be the last hug he'll get from her. "I'm sorry too. I'm sorry for yelling at you and punching you and walking away when I shouldn't have. I'm sorry for being such a dick towards you. I'm sorry for not being there for you when you needed me. I'm just sorry for all the terrible things I've done to you and I wish I apologized sooner."

She sat quietly, nodding along to his words.  It was strange, hearing someone that was leaving the Exchange for the reasons that she left home - family, commitments, but if that was what Caden wanted she wasn’t going to stop him.  When she felt his arms around her, she hugged him back with as much force she could muster.  ”I’ll miss you too.”  She said, her face over his shoulder.  ”I’ll miss you a lot, actually.”  She admitted with a small laugh.  Pulling away from him, she shrugged.  ”Honestly, I’m good with doing anything with you, just for fun.  And since you’re leaving, I think you should choose.”  

"I know. I mean, who wouldn't miss me?" He joked, hoping it would lighten the mood between the two. Feeling sorrow wasn't his type of his thing, he was used to a different sense of surrounding, he wanted this feeling to end but he knew it wouldn't, since he was in fact, leaving for good. "Well since we did a make a bet and I kind of cheated, I could be your slave for the last few hours I still have. And maybe we might have time to get that tattoo, it would a good thing, because then I'll never forget you and stuff."

"Loki was the best cuddler around the house. Now what am I gonna do?" She joked slightly trying to lighten the mood. She sighed at the thought of the other boy, not wanting to do much of anything with him at the moment. "Hunter’s too much of a baby to skydive with me.Maybe if you ever come back? Or maybe I could come see you if we come to America soon?" She looked up at him hopefully, knowing that this may not be the last time they see each other.

"Maybe you'll find your very own 'Loki'! And then you'll have a better cuddler than Loki, maybe." He smiled. "I think I'm going to tell Hunter you called him a baby before I leave." He joked, one of the things Caden always did. "We could totally do that, but you'll have to inform me when you guys get here, okay? Because if you don't then, we won't be able to skydive and hang out."

He may have mumbled, but Izzy heard him loud and clear.  ”Shut up,” she said, shooting him a glare.  ”If someone had not left someone’s crap lying around, I wouldn’t be in this mess.  If my toe swells up, I am blaming you, no exceptions.”  She wrinkled her brow at his rambling, but her expression quickly smoothed out when she realized what he was saying.  ”Oh.  So just like that, huh?  Well alright.  Bye.  Nice knowing you.”

He couldn't help but chuckle when he noticed Izzy had heard him, "Well you wouldn't be hurt, if you weren't so clumsy. Or, you could have watched where you were going and everything would have been fine. So, you can't blame me for this, the blame goes to you." Caden wasn't sure how he was suppose to feel when he heard Izzy's response, but he just followed along. "Yep. It was nice knowing you too, hopefully I'll see you in the future, maybe? Who knows?"

She looked over at him sadly, “I’m gonna miss you and LLoki around the house.” She then turned her face away from his, “I’m not a great person. I think you’re just required to say that, to make the process of leaving easier.” She sighed and then spoke as quietly as possible, “You never took me skydiving for my birthday.” 

"I'm going to miss you and he'll miss you, too." He replied sadly. "You are, though. I'm not just saying that. Everyone is a great person, including you." Remembering the plan that the two had, he felt guilty in the pit of his stomach, and said, "I'm sorry. Maybe you can do that with someone else. Like Hunter maybe. Just pretend he's me and everything will be fine."

Walking down the stairs, head titled to the left in the hope that the damn water that had been stuck in her ears for what felt like years now would finally trickle out, Alaska was intending on heading straight to the kitchen to carry on her search for a syringe, but the sound a dogs bark pulled her attention into the living room, the sight causing her come to an abrupt stop. Someone was definitely leaving, and judging by the amount of bags all over the place, it didn’t look temporary. When Alaska caught sight of who looked to be the owner of it all, she felt her chest tighten. “Caden?” Alaska’s voice was soft as she approached him, asking a question she didnt really need the answer to, “Are you leaving?”

Turning his head towards the direction of the voice, he looked up and noticed it was Alaska who approached him. He was slightly surprised to see her before he was off to America again, but at the same time he was relieved; he had unfinished business with the girl. Caden wanted to make things right between the two before he left, he couldn't bear the thought of having him and his former best friend not being on good terms. He knew he should have done this earlier, but he didn't really have the guts to do it. "Yeah, I'm leaving." He answered quietly.

His response wasn’t comforting.  She was hoping that he would laugh and say something that would somehow make sense of their surroundings, but she nodded and followed his directions.  Sitting down next to him, she turned to look at him from the side.  ”Tell.”

"Okay well..." He began, but stopped, leaving his words to trail for a moment before starting back up to what he was about to say. He laced his fingers together and placed them on his lap before saying, "I'm going back home. To start a new life. Get a job and all that crap. I wanted to stay for much longer but, I just, I just couldn't, you know? I'm getting older and I think it's time for me to do something different than traveling. I don't know what, but hopefully something better. I enjoyed being here, I really did, but I've been here for a long time. A year and a half, to be exact. I'll miss you though, Lissa. I really will." His voice with sorrow and a hint of pain. Pulling the girl into a tight hug, he held onto her for a few minutes before letting go. "I still have a few hours to spare before I have to leave. Is there anything else you want to do?"