i hit 400 followers!! oh my god this is so insane i never thought i would come this far and it's all thanks to you absolutely beautiful people 💗💗💗
I also want to apologize for the lack of updates. I know this is a tired excuse, but it's the truth. I've been having a really hard time balancing work, school, and maintaining some sort of a social life. I haven't found much time to write recently, nor have i had any inspiration. I want everything I put out to be 100% what it could be, as good as it can be. I don't want to put any half-assed content out.
So with that, I'm ending Online. This is the last chapter. I hate hate hate when stories like this are dragged on. Sure, I could do a sequel where i go into painful detail of Troye and Connor's lives in australia blah blah blah. But I don't want to, because I know you would get bored so fast and I don't want to bore anybody. I feel this is a good place to end it, and I hope with all my heart that you enjoyed this story. I certainly did. It was my first time writing a text/online friend story, and I was so scared it would be really shitty and nobody would read it. I've read some amazing text-based stories (my absolute favourite is No Homo by @louvinglouis, go read it omg), and I just really wanted to try it out. I still can't believe we have almost 20K on Online. Thank you so much for the undying support, hilarious comments, you all make my day. With that, please, enjoy the last chapter of Online.
I love you all so much.
Alyssa
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"So," said Kian through a mouthful of pancakes, "what are we doing today?"
JC frowned at him. "Ki, that's disgusting."
Kian grinned as he swallowed his food, already picking up his fork to get another huge bite. "Sorry. Mrs. Mellet, these pancakes are absolutely fantastic."
Laurelle, who had just reentered the dining room carrying a heaping plate of more pancakes, beamed at Kian and slid four more onto his plate. "Please," she said,"call me Laurelle. I feel so old when you call me Mrs. Mellet."
Ricky made a face as he watched his friend dig in to his second helping. "You're leaving Australia at least twenty pounds fatter," muttered Ricky. Kian stuck out his tongue at him in response as he reached for the butter.
Connor, who had been sitting at the corner of the table with Troye and watching the spectacle that was an everyday meal with his sometimes-idiotic friends unfold, turned to his boyfriend. "Yeah, what are we doing today?"
Troye pursed his lips, looking to his mother for ideas. Laurelle arched a brow, thinking. "Well, first you should set up your tent thingy. That'll be a job for all five of you. And then...hmm, I suppose you could take them to the koala park. It's not too far and I'm sure they'd enjoy that. Classic Aussie tourism."
"That's a good idea. You guys wanna see some koalas?" Troye asked the group of Americans. They all nodded and continued eating, too busy with the feast Laurelle had cooked up for them to speak.
**
"So," Ricky crossed his arms, "how exactly do we do this?"
The five of them – well, minus Kian, who'd opted out of the tent constructing by claiming his back hurt, and was lounging comfortably on a deck chair up on the back deck with sunglasses and a hat on– stood out in Troye's backyard, gathered around the tent Troye had tossed onto the ground after opening the box. Connor had retrieved the crumpled instructions and was currently scanning them for useful information.
"What does it say to do first, Con?" JC asked.
Connor squinted at the paper, bringing it closer to his eyes. "Umm...it says to lay the tents flat on the ground in the desired location and then put in the stakes."
"Sounds simple enough." JC shrugged, reaching for the pile of metal poles that would serve as stakes.
They got to work, driving the stakes into the soil with their feet to ensure they didn't slip out. Within a few hours all of the tents were set up, and all of the rooms connected.
The tent Troye had purchased featured a setup of three rooms; two bigger rooms made up either end and a smaller room lay in between. Short passages connected each room and served as doorways. Ricky was shoved into the middle room seeing that he was the only single one in the group.
Connor led Troye into one of the end rooms, holding him by the hand. The couple lay down on the nylon floor, since they hadn't brought any mattresses in yet. Connor allowed his hand to find its way into Troye's mop of chocolate curls, fingers wrapping around each tiny ringlet. The older watched lovingly as Troye's cerulean eyes fluttered shut, face set in content. Connor leaned in, ghosting his lips over his boyfriend's.
Prior to arriving in Australia, Connor had doubted the outcome of the big trip. What if once he and Troye met in person, they actually didn't love each other? What if really was only online? Troye was everything to Connor, and he couldn't bear to lose that. If Troye didn't want him, Connor would most likely fall apart.
But now, as he gazed at his lover resting peacefully, he knew he'd made the right decision. Australia was where he was meant to be.
He had Troye, and Troye had him. They had each other, and that was all Connor needed.
**
"Are we gonna get to hold the koalas or do we just look at them, like a zoo?" Ricky asked as the five piled into Troye's car. Connor was in the passenger beside Troye, of course. The other three boys were sat the same as before as well, with JC at one window, Kian pressed between them and Ricky sitting on the other side.
"You get to hold them, and you can even get a picture with it." Troye explained.
"Don't koalas have some sort of peeing problem? I read something like that somewhere." Kian interrupted, looking concerned as his thick brows furrowed together.
Ricky scoffed. "You're so weird, Lawley." Kian just shrugged the remark off.
"Yes, Kian. Koalas don't care much when they piss, and if they do happen to pee on you, you could get chlamydia." Troye explained.
Ricky, JC and Kian all made faces of disgust. In the passenger seat, Connor gazed out the window at the sun that was slowly beginning to set. Setting up the tent rooms had taken longer than they'd expected and now it was nearing the end of the afternoon. The group had made a plan to go out for dinner after the koala experience, after they'd worked up an appetite with the tents.
The sky was a clear, vivid royal blue. It was void of any clouds and the sun had been shining all day. This was what Connor pictured when he thought of paradise; he'd always been in search of a home after he moved out and he was just starting to think he'd found it.
Maybe, this whole time, the home he'd been looking for was less of a place, and more of a person.
Connor turned away from the window, a smile slowly finding its way onto his face. He looked at Troye, he looked at him and saw his future. He saw peace and belonging, safety and love, happiness and home. Connor laid his hand over Troye's, clasping it tight.
Perth, Australia may be 10,523 miles away from his hometown of La Crescent, Minnesota, but Connor had a feeling this was where he'd always been meant to be.
