It's just us, now.

Eight.

One and a half years ago...

"Heya, Nicholas, right?"Jon asked, leaning over the counter at the register for the plant nursery, Blooming Buds. Nick had been a regular at the nursery since Jon got his job there, so the young man saw him almost twice a week,

"Just call me Nick."The bearded man corrected.

"So, uh, you must really like plants, huh?"Jon asked with an easygoing grin, "You seem like you'd be here everyday, if you could."

"Yeah, probably."Nick agreed as he wandered over to the counter to speak directly with the other, "Don't you like gardening, too?"

"Eh, kinda? Plants are nice."Jon shrugged, he then laughed at Nick's expression, "You can really tell I'm new here, right?"

"Oh, yeah. It's pretty obvious."Nick chuckled, "I've been going here for years, I knew you were a new face. The makeup and the outfit made you stand out."

"I still honestly can't believe they hired me."Jon admitted, "But the owner, Mrs. Isle, didn't even bat an eye at my appearance. Her wife stopped by, too, and didn't even seem to notice."

"She's a bit crazy, but this nursery is really nice, and it's way more affordable than other places."Nick nodded with a small laugh at his recollection of the owner.

"Well, Nick, looks like we're gonna be seeing a lot of each other."Jon says with a small laugh, leaning his elbows onto the counter as he extended a hand out.

"Looks like."Nick says, shaking his hand with a grin.

14 months ago...

"Hey, Jon!"Nick greeted cheerfully as he brought up a pack of tomato seeds and a new gardening shovel to the counter, "You doing alright?"

"Doing good, Nick."Jon nodded as he quickly checked out his items and put them in Nick's own reusable bag that he brought along during his shopping, "Broke another shovel?"

"Unfortunately..."Nick sighed regretfully, he grabbed his bag back once he had paid and said, "Hey, Jon, there's a fair in town and I wanted to know if you wanted to go? This is kinda embarrassing to say, but, uh, I've never actually had a friend before who I'd want to invite to hang out."

"Aw! So I'm the first friend?"Jon asked rather excitedly, "Hell yeah I'm going!"

"I'll message you the details."Nick grinned, proud of himself for inviting a friend out for just about the first time.

"Man, I haven't gone out to a fair for fun ever in my life!"Jon informed giddily, "I can finally enjoy it rather than work there."

"You worked for a fair?"Nick asked, though he wouldn't be too surprised by the answer considering Jon's general appearance.

"Not exactly, it was a circus."Jon said, speaking quieter now, "But, now I work here!"

Nick didn't press, due to Jon's reaction at the mention, and simply nodded while he began to leave the nursery, "Then I'll be seeing you later, Jon."

"You too, buddy."

9 months ago...

Nick wasn't doing well, financially speaking. He had money for food and general things, but his rent was beginning to get a little tough. He thought working from home, making his own apartment part of his office, would help him out when he first started out, but with work being low he wasn't quite sure anymore.