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Sebastien's Prologue

  Sebastien remembers moving to LA like it was yesterday. He can still smell Seattle sometimes, but he doesn't miss it like he thought he would.
  Leaving his family behind was one of the hardest things his younger self had to do. His family was always a safe, happy place for him, no matter what shit he was going through. They still are. They were always loving and supportive of him, even when he came out and proceeded to be the sluttiest 14-year-old in Washington. But Sebastien always needed more.
  Growing up with a lot of siblings made him feel like he was living in a McDonald's playplace in the early 2000s. He barely had space to walk, let alone grow into his own person. Sebastien loves his family more than anything, but he has always been an ambitious person. He's always wanted to accomplish things and take up space. He's always felt like the loudest, most expressive one is his family. And he only seemed to step into that role more once he had more space to do it.
  He misses his family at times, but he makes time to visit them, alongside his mother's check-ins every week. He's okay with the way his life is now. He loves the consistent busy environment and the way he finally has space to be himself and grow up.
  One of the other reasons he moved with the De Lucas was because he craved independence. He wanted to make money and get his own place and feel like he doesn't have to rely on anyone else. His ambitiousness definitely made him underestimate how difficult that would be.
  He was freshly 15 when they made the official move to LA. After a week of sharing the loft with Ben, he felt like the move made no difference. He was still relying on people to get by. He was still sharing a room and a living space with people. He just wanted, more than anything, to do things on his own and live by himself.
  But he felt like he had to help the De Lucas with the restaurant. After all, they were providing him with a place to live and food to eat. The least he could do is help them out. So as much as he didn't want to, he put off getting a job.
  He really only meant to wait a couple of weeks, but then he met someone. Sebastien wasn't really expecting to get into a relationship so quickly. His last relationship was right before they moved and he wasn't even sure how "real" it was, as it was just part of a collection of rebounds from Luka--his boyfriend for a fraction of his freshman year.
  Conner. He was attractive and captivating. He always sat at one of the outside tables, ordered a meatball sub and a diet coke, then left Sebastien a tip. It was the only money Sebastien was making right now, considering he wasn't getting paid to work at the restaurant.
  The fourth time Sebastien had served Conner, he left a note along with the tip.
  call me, cutie ;)
  Needless to say, Sebastien was easily pulled in. He called Conner that night and talked to him for hours. Ben sat up at 2am and threw a pillow at him, mumbling "shut up and go to sleep."
  Sebastien wasn't expecting a relationship any time soon and he especially wasn't expecting it to feel so serious after a few weeks. He liked it. He finally had something to do with his time. He was starting to feel content. His relationship is steady and he spends so much time at Conner's apartment that it's almost like he doesn't live with the De Lucas. It's only pushing him towards wanting to move out more, but Conner is taking up a lot of his time. He likes it, though.
  Sebastien's 16th birthday was approaching quickly and he was a bit nervous about it. He's always spent his birthdays with his family and he made a deal with his mom that if he moved with the De Lucas, he'd at least come home for every birthday. He was maybe just a little bit afraid to ask Conner to come with him. Afraid that he'd say no and afraid that he'd ruin Sebastien's time with his family if he said yes; a catch 22.
  He was laying in Conner's bed with hair sticking to his forehead and his bare leg hanging out of the sheet and off of the bed. He gently kicked his foot back and forth and glanced over to the door as Conner walked back in.
  Sebastien sat up and pushed his hair back out of his face. "Hey, Con.."
  "Mhm?" Conner hummed as he opened his dresser drawer.
  "I was wondering if maybe you'd want to come to Seattle with me for my birthday?"
  Conner stepped into a pair of pants and turned to face Sebastien, crossing his arms. "Seattle? That's kinda far. Why there?"
  "Cause that's where my parents live. It's where I'm from. I told you that."
  "Right. Yeah."
  "I promised my mom I'd visit for my birthday and I want to see them, but I also want to be with you. So I thought maybe you'd want to go with me." Sebastien explained gently.
  Conner nodded. "Okay. Yeah, I guess that could be fun. Would we like...be staying in your house?"
  "Yeah, that's kind of the point."
  "Okay, just asking. No need to get dramatic." Conner lifted his hands, as if Sebastien had just screamed at him unreasonably.
  "Sorry." Sebastien frowned. "I shared a room with my brother, Antonio, but I'm sure we could stay in my sister Amy's room since she doesn't live there anymore."
  "Yeah, that sounds more tolerable. When do we leave?"
  "November first."