Strawberries and Stolen Kisses (boy x boy) [COMPLETED]

30.

The summer was long and Sam thought it would never end. He got the grades for Oxford and as soon as he had, his life became a whirlwind of preparing for the upcoming term. Liam was always in the back of his mind. He couldn't imagine living without him. His family avoided all topics that might lead to talking about Liam.

That was until Paige found Sam staring at some strawberries his mum had bought.

"Ok that's enough Sam. What happened? You were so happy?"

She was shocked as a heart wrenching sob left Sam's lips. She ran over to hug him as he broke down. Through his tears she eventually understood the whole story.

"Sam you know it's what he thinks is best. He just wants you to be happy and he thinks this is how you will be"

Sam glared at her through swollen eyes "I know! I know but I can't handle it! I hate him and love him at the same time"

Paige hugged him harder "To he honest Sam, he has a point. You need to have time away from each other, you're too young to be in such an intense relationship. If you are meant to be, then you will find each other again"

Sam sighed deeply and rested his head on the wall "I hope you're right."

"Lily said he got into Cambridge so that's nice" Paige attempted to make him feel better.

Sam chuckled ruefully "Great so now we can be proper rivals"

Paige slapped his arm "Right I've had enough, I'm making us some tea and we are going to plan your packing for next week"

Sam smiled as his sister distracted him. He knew in the back of his head that Liam was right but he could help but let the tears roll down his face at the idea that he would be apart from Liam for at least six years.

Sam was helped by his sister when it was time to pack for uni and she had to stop him from crying again.

Sam packed everything into his car and hugged his crying mum and sister goodbye. His dad was driving him to Oxford alone.

"Be good, I love you sweetheart" Sam's mum sobbed.

"Bye mum, I love you"

Paige messed up his hair "Skype every weekend ok! I want to know what you're up to" Sam glared at her and smoothed his hair down.

He got into the car and sighed. His dad pulled away from their house and Sam felt like he had left some of himself behind with it.

.............................................................................

Little did Sam know that Liam watched Sam's car pull away. Feeling overwhelmed, a sob wrenched out of his body. He knelt down and gave in to the pain. He couldn't even cry, his eyes were dry from all the crying he had been doing all summer.

Lily walked in to find her brother on the floor "He left?"

Liam nodded "He left" he choked out.

Lily sat down on the floor and hugged her brother, feeling him shake with the sobs that controlled his body.

"You will be ok, Liam, he loves you"

"But what if he stops. What if he finds someone else"

Lily sighed "That's why you have broken up, Liam. You both need to know what it's like without each other to know you can never be apart again"

Liam glared "that's so sadistic"

"Yeah well it's true, Liam. You're both still young"

Liam knew she was right but resented his decision anyway.

"I just didn't know you were going to do it at prom... that's so harsh" Lily was angry at him.

"Lily it's been months can you stop bringing that up!"

"Yeah well I like Sam way more than I like you so I'm going to keep reminding you" she teased.

Liam sighed "you're right but I couldn't hold it in anymore. I couldn't lie to him anymore"

Lily patted her brother's head "Stupid"

.............................................................................

Sam got to uni and was immediately overwhelmed by the amount of people there. Shoving his way through the corridors to his room, he found it was small but really cute. Sam smiled at the idea of his own space and for the first time in months, felt a sense of relief.

His dad helped him set up his room and once he was ready, Sam's dad left him to meet his neighbours.

His new group was really nice and fun to be around. He was in a group of people with different courses which was really nice because he could be around different people. He found himself inspired to write some new stories about the characters he met in freshers and smiled at the thought of writing again.

When the time came for introductory lectures, Sam found himself falling in love with his course, he could finally put his head down and forget about Liam.

.............................................................................

Liam left the day after Sam, arriving at Cambridge just before lunch. He waved goodbye to his family when he had set up his room and went to lunch with his new friends he had made from around his hallway.

Liam found himself subconsciously worrying about how Sam was faring at university and stared at his phone, wanting to call him.

Finally deciding against it, he fell into step with his new friends and found relief that they could distract him from the pain in his heart.

He loved medicine so much and found that the heavy material was perfect for him. He could throw himself into his work and this meant that by the first year exams, he was top of his class. Liam felt like he could finally find his love for what he was doing.

.............................................................................

Both boys found that whilst they were constantly reminded of each other, they also had amazing new experiences and made friends they knew they could stay friends with for their whole lives.

They only wished they could share their achievements with each other.