I could tell that this new popularity made Sam a little uncomfortable since he wasn’t used to being in the spotlight, but I knew he would come to love it.

As for me, I was spending my semester tutoring. I got to exercise my love for teaching, and my grades had never been better. I was maintaining steady A’s in all of my classes, and these classes I was taking now geared towards education were actually fun for me.

I also quit swimming and was much more relaxed, and took up something I actually enjoyed—running. Spring was here and I could run outside and smell the fresh mud and dirt that the constant rain had stirred up.

Me and Sam had plans to move in together, once the semester was officially over. I had just taken my last exam, and soon I could move all my stuff out of my apartment with Jake. I had never been so happy and excited in my life!

Sam appeared in the doorway with some kind of hidden smirk on his face. His eyes were dancing with joy, but he had that nervous energy coming off of him.

“Sam, what is it?” I asked, keeping my pencil to the paper.

“I just got an email,” He said, “Well, a couple of emails to be exact.”

“Oh?” I asked, looking up at him.

He had my full attention. I could smell the winds of change coming. I braced myself in case they were cold.

“There’s some emails in my inbox offering me grants to study in Europe! And I was offered a fellowship in London studying under Fiona Gabon!”

“Woohoo! I shouted, “Oh my god Sam, that’s great!” But then my face fell as the realization struck me. “But… that’ll mean you’ll be in London for a year?”

“That’s right, maybe more.” He said happily.

I was a little perturbed by how this didn’t seem to bother him. Had he even thought about us? How this would affect us? Did he even care?”

“We still have to get the logistics planned out and everything,” He continued excitedly, “But this is exactly what I wanted!”

I pulled away from him, staring at the ground.

“Oh, and I forgot the best part,” He said, watching my expression. “Everything for my significant other is covered too! Food, rent, and spending money!”

I brightened up, unable to believe what I just heard. “Really?” I asked, my world brightening a little.

“That’s right!” He said, “You can come with me too, if you choose to. This is an opportunity I can’t give up. And if you don’t want to come…” He said, his smile fading away, “I will do long distance with you. As long as it takes, and… and I’ll fly back once a month at least, and…” He was watching my face carefully, studying it.

“I’ll come with you!” I said, a great smile spreading across my face.

We kissed and hugged, and jumped up and down and celebrated together.

“But what will I do about getting my degree?” I asked.

“Well,” He said, “I was thinking about it, and since you just switched majors, you have all these general credits built up, right? Like English, writing, humanities…”

“Mhm,” I said, looking into his hazel eyes which were now calculating an answer. If there was anyone that could solve a complex problem like this and make things work, it was Sam.

“Well, you could probably transfer your credits over, to go to a college in London. I have some contacts at Oxford; it’s only an hour drive away from the city.” He paused, “Would you be interested in going there? I know I’m asking for you to give up a lot…”

“Yes, yes, a thousand times yes! If we can make it work,” I said, my eyebrows coming together. What will happen? What will that look like?” I asked, fishing for more reassurance.

Well, you and I will be together every day,” He started.

“I like it already.” I said, nuzzling my nose into his chest.

“And we’d have a fabulous flat downtown, near where my residency is. I’ve seen pictures.”

“But, I thought you were short on money?”

“Room and board is covered under this type of residency. And I got a bunch of grants on top of that to cover anything extra.”

I smiled, my fears put to bed. “And what will I do with my time?” I asked.

“You’ll be a student at Oxford while you finish up your education degree. It’s the best college in the world, you know. It’s a straight shot to success.” He said.

And just like that, the future vision of me, the fear that I’d been holding onto of ending up just like my brother evaporated from my mind.

Everything would be okay.

“I love you so much, Sam.” I said.

“I love you too, Evan. I can’t wait to go on this adventure with you.” He said in his deep voice.