I still have no idea what it’s even about. The Remi hate came out of nowhere. The day before our fight, he ran around the couch, pumping his fist and chanting #TeamFomi. I’m the one who told him to chill—it’s not that serious. Chase responded with, “You’re so cute when you’re full of shit. Like a baby kitten.” He scratched the air, using his hands as claws. Ten minutes later, he was blaring audio of an entire litter meowing.

Since the sun’s down and it’s peak avoidance time, I expected him to be out for the night already.

I unhook the tour glasses, dangling from the neck of my shirt, and toss them on the counter with the keys and then add my wallet.

After a shower, I grab my guitar and notebook, unsettled beneath my skin in a way I can’t explain. It happens a lot. The only way it seems to calm is working on music or wandering around. Not aimlessly, per se, but similar to when I’m writing a song. I don’t know where it’s going, but I know when it gets there. I’m where I wanted to be once I’m there. Until then, I follow different melodies, see if a path leads the right way.

It’s why Wanderer screamed at my soul. And now they’ve incorporated more lax tour options for these final weeks of the beta testing. Which means if someone wants to see what it’s like to cross the Charles Bridge or poke around outside of museums and art exhibits, I can get paid for simply walking around.

As I pass Chase’s room, the door’s cracked ajar. I sigh, stopping in the hallway outside of it. My fuck it seems to reverse itself.

“Have you graduated from the mime program yet?” I call.

Shockingly, he doesn’t answer, so I nudge the door farther open. Light spills in, and he’s scrolling on his phone in bed. He acknowledges me with a tic in his jaw.

“Is this your newest tactic to avoid me? Sitting in the dark? Or are you taking up spelunking next and want to acclimate to cave-dwelling?”

Nothing.

“Dude, what do you want from me?” I ask, the entire ordeal exhausting. “You were mad I wasn’t going out with you enough, but that can’t change if you won’t even be in the same room as me.”

The blue glow off his screen catches the irritated shake of his head.

“You’re acting like I don’t get it, but I don’t even know what the fuck it is, Chase.”

We’re supposed to be above this petty bullshit. Beyond holding grudges and expecting the other to flail around until they land on the correct answer. Instead, he’s icing me out and acting like I’m not even here.