Pieces of Love

Chapter 17 - Home

Cam blinks up at the ceiling, star fished out on the carpet of Lia's, no, his new room. It was a decent size, enough room to fit a queen-sized bed, two bedside tables and a dresser. He was surprised there was enough room to flop on the carpet, but he did have an arm resting partially under the bed and his foot was pretty close to hitting the wall if he wiggled around.

"You gonna help me put the rest of the clothes away?" Ollie asks as he steps over Cam's limbs.

Cam only lets out a loud sigh. He was exhausted. It wasn't even that they had a lot of stuff to deal with, but it was finding all the new places to put it all. They had limited space after all.

Oliver steps over Cam again carrying a pile of clothes. His friend was in the way, but he knew there was no way he could convince Cameron to get up and help without causing a fight.

"Why don't you go see if the girls need a hand?"

Groaning, Cam rolls over onto his stomach before sluggishly rising to leave the room, a visible pout on his lips. Oliver only rolls his eyes and continues to piece together their new room. They didn't have any queen-sized bedding of their own, so they were going to be using Lia's white sheets and quilt that had dainty little purple flowers embroidered across the bottom. It was cute, and it meant neither of the boys had to go linen shopping - a whole ordeal in itself.

"Do you guys need help?" Cam asks begrudgingly as he enters the girls room.

Both of them are sitting on the floor, surrounded by Maddy's collection of stuffed toys. They smile up at Cam, Lia patting a spot next to her for him to sit.

"Not really. You're more than welcome to help us decide which ones are going to get donated."

"Donated?" Cam frowns. He didn't realise that the move meant Maddy would have to give up on her prized possession; her teddy-bear collection.

Maddy leans over to pat his knee. "I've been meaning to do it for a while. I don't even remember where I got half of these." She gestures to the pile scattered around her.

Cam still felt bad. "Why not put them in storage for later?"

Maddy shakes her head. "I'd much rather they go to a new home to be loved by some cute kids."

And with that, she picks up a blue stuffed bear with button eyes and a little love heart patched on his stomach. "Besides, do I really want to keep the stuffed animals my ex-boyfriend gave me back in high school?"

She had a point. Cam remembered that boyfriend. He used to tease him whenever the girls called him 'sweets'.

"As long as you're not just doing this because Ollie and I moved in."

Maddy smiles, leaning up on her knees before throwing herself at him in a hug, shoving the two down to the ground with a large 'oomph'.

"No! I'm so happy you guys are here now. Plus, it means we get to keep Chickpea!"

Lia snorts, picking up the discarded bear and placing him into a large plastic bin bag that was already half full.

The rest of the day is spent putting things away and tidying up the house. Lia and Maddy duck out to donate the overstuffed bag of teddies while Cam decides to find a place in the kitchen for his very small mug collection. Oliver finishes up their room, having placed most of his books in the loungeroom bookcase rather than shoving them under the bed.

All in all, they were almost, completely moved in. It felt... strange, but not in a bad way. They both already spent so much time at the apartment that it already felt like home. Today was just a day to finally put their lasting 'touch' on the place. To officially claim it as their own.

The front door unlocks, swinging open to reveal Brandy in his work attire, one hand holding his keys and work bag while the other holds up a box of pizza.

"I'm home!" He calls through the apartment, toeing off his shoes by the front door and dumping his bag alongside.

Cameron pops his head out of the kitchen, grinning in excitement at the sight of the deliciously smelling pizza. "You bought dinner?"

Brandy smiles, wandering over to put the pizza down, a hand tussling Cameron's hair. "Yeah, thought it would be a nice 'welcome home' kind of thing."

Cam's cheeks flush pink at the affection as he quietly thanks Brandy and moves back into the kitchen to get a stack of plates ready. It's not the first time Brandy's showered him with love, but this time it felt different. He didn't have that incessant thought at the back of his mind nagging him about what his roommates would think about the friendly touches. Now, his roommates were his friends, and it meant so much more to Cam than he thought it would.

The front door opens again, this time with Maddy and Lia, a pastry box in hand.

"We brought cupcakes!" Maddy yells, throwing her boots off at the door to add to the growing shoe pile, her hair a wild mess as she skips to the kitchen, box in hand. "Oh, pizza?"

"Brandy's idea."

Maddy hums, putting the cupcakes in the fridge before turning to the large box. It was a party size pizza, one big enough to feed them all and still have leftovers for lunch. She already knew one side would be dressed in an assortment of veggies and herbs, a garlic sauce swirled across it. The other was a classic meat lovers. Brandy always said it was important to balance out the meat and cheese with something a little healthy. Not that pizza veggies were all that healthy.

"Oliver!" Cam yells, handing the plates out to the others.

Ollie comes out of the bedroom, phone in hand as he furiously types away, a frown on his face.

Cam dishes out two slices for himself and another two for Ollie, wandering over to hold the plate out to his friend. When Ollie still doesn't notice, he pushes it into his chest, blocking Oliver's view of his phone and forcing him to stop what he's doing.

"Dinner time."

Oliver sighs, pocketing his phone and taking the plate. He was dealing with one of their old roommates who had finally cracked the shits about them leaving, demanding that they pay their share of the rent for the next two months. Running a hand through his hair, Ollie lets out another sigh, letting Cam tug at his shirt sleeve to go sit on the couch where the others are already seated, stuffing slices of hot food in their mouths.

Maddy yelps as a piece of salami lands on her lap, Lia snorting loudly. Brandy chokes on his mouthful as he laughs at Lia, who in turn rolls her eyes and picks off the piece of salami from her roommate, chucking it at Brandy with a skilled throw that lands it on his face.

Cam can't help but burst into laughter, carefully trying not to drop his plate of food on his own lap, elbowing Ollie in the process.

Oliver smiles, looking over each one of his friends. He was glad they moved, despite the headache of it all. This is what home was supposed to feel like.