Xander expected to be greeted by Luka when the door to his new home flung open. Instead, the person he came face-to-face with was a freakishly tall, scary-looking man with sharp green eyes that pierced straight through him. 

“Can I help you?” There was no hospitality in the stranger's deep voice. His muscular stature was evident underneath the tight-fitting red shirt that he wore. He stood with one hand still on the door handle and the other arm resting on the door frame, completely obstructing Xander from looking inside like some sort of guard dog protecting its territory. 

“Uh—” Had Xander somehow knocked on the wrong door? Did he get off at the wrong floor? But he had been here so many times before, he was sure this was Luka's place.  

“Ash! That's probably Luka's new roommate,” called out a woman's voice.

Peeking out from behind the giant's side, a familiar red-haired woman welcomed Xander into the apartment with a smile. “Come in.”

“T-Thanks,” Xander said with a sigh of relief as he cautiously maneuvered past the giant, gripping the shoulder strap to his green duffle bag full of clothes and essentials. 

Entering into the familiar apartment, Xander saw a lot of unfamiliar faces. But of all the faces there, Luka's wasn’t one of them. 

“Luka's in the bathroom, he'll be out in a sec.” The older woman—who Xander now remembered as Lana—seemed to have read his mind.

“Cool,” was all he could say. 

Xander had been completely thrown off by all the strangers he wasn't expecting to meet. When he texted Luka to say he was arriving earlier than planned, the message had been left unread. That was two hours ago. Perhaps coming over early was a mistake on his part. Now Xander found himself tongue-tied amongst Luka's friends, and he had already failed to make a good first impression. 

“Let me introduce you to everyone,” Lana said, standing between the man that opened the door and another woman with short black hair wearing a blue sports jacket. 

“This is Ash.” Lana gestured to the tall man, his face still stern. 

Xander instantly recognised the name, Ash was Luka's best friend. Luka had mentioned him a few times over the years, and although they hadn't met until today, Xander already didn't like him. 

“Hello,” Ash greeted in the same flat tone he answered the door. 

“Hey,” Xander answered back warily.  

“And this is Jayne.” Lana gestured towards the short-haired woman. 

Jayne walked around the kitchen counter to come into full view, revealing her black running shorts and what looked like indoor soccer shoes.

“Hey there!” Jayne gave a friendly wave that helped Xander relax and ease into the situation. 

“Hi,” he replied with a smile. 

“We've heard a lot about you,” Jayne said with a playful smirk that reminded Xander of Luka’s teasing smile. That concerned him. 

“A lot,” Ash emphasized with his own smug grin. 

And just like that, Xander was nervous again. Stones tumbled in his stomach, grinding against his ribs. 

“All good things, I hope.” Xander tried to sound blasé, but there was a nervousness in his voice that he tried to hide with a forced laugh.

“Hmmm, maybe?” And again, Jayne mirrored Luka’s mannerisms of speaking with a sing-song tune. 

“Hey, Xander!” 

Relief washed over him when Luka appeared from behind the wall and entered the kitchen. 

“You're early,” Luka stated. 

“Yeah, I texted but I guess you didn't see it.”

“Oh! Sorry, my phone's been charging in my room all day.”

“All good.”

“Have you been introduced to everyone yet?” Luka made his way over to Ash and patted his best friend on the shoulder, indicating he would be the first to be introduced if not already. 

“Yeah, Lana already introduced everyone.” Xander turned to the older woman and gave a grateful smile. She nodded with acknowledgment. 

“Great!” Luka exclaimed. 

“We were just telling Xander how much we've heard about him,” Jayne continued to tease. 

The way his name sounded coming out of her mouth didn't quite sit well with Xander. Luka was the only person to call him that, everyone else either used Alex or Alexander. But Xander didn't know how to correct her now that introductions had been made. Would it be strange for Luka's friends to call him by his usual name, when Luka continued to remain special? He shouldn’t make it so obvious that Luka was special.

“What? And how much is that?” Luka's voice brought Xander back to reality. 

“A lot,” Ash said again, this time with a smile directed at Luka. 

“Stop teasing the poor boy, you two,” Lana lectured. Although she was undoubtedly on Xander's side, hearing her refer to him as ‘boy’ made him feel so small and meagre. There wasn't that much of an age gap between Xander and everyone else, only four or five years. Yet, he felt like a child surrounded by a group of mean teenagers. 

“Hey, I've only ever said good things about you to them, alright?” Luka defended himself.

“Should I ask for specifics?” Xander tried to join in the conversation, but he wasn’t sure he really wanted to know the truth. 

“Like…” Luka lifted up his hand as if to count his recollections, but after a few seconds, he turned up short. “Actually, what have I told you guys about Xander?”

“You don't even know?!” Xander replied, exasperated. 

“I say a lot of things about a lot of people.”

Everyone in the room nodded in agreement. At least that was something Xander had in common with the others.

“Luka mentioned you're a vet, that's rather impressive,” Lana said, skilfully moving the conversation along in a way that didn’t make Xander feel out of place.

“Yeah. I am. Thanks,” Xander was glad she was there. “I still want to study further down the track so I can specialise in radiology one day.”

“Radiology?” Lana asked. 

“Like, performing X-rays on the animals to help diagnose them,” Xander replied with a sheepish smile, scratching the back of his head.

“Wow! That is impressive.” Lana gave Xander a friendly smile which made him feel welcomed. 

“My turn!” Jayne drew everyone's attention to herself. “Luka told me that you're a fan of Atlantic Buoys.”

At the mention of one of his favourite bands, Xander's face lit up. 

“I am! You too?” The excitement in his voice was obvious. 

“Guess you could say that,” she began. “I used to work at a bar in the city that does live shows every weekend. Atlantic Buoys performed with us a few times.”

“Really! That's awesome! Did you get to meet them personally?”

“Yup! I shared a drink with the guitarist once.”

“Geddes?!” 

“Yeah, him.”

“Cool! What’s he like?”

“Pretty chill.”

“Dang! I would love to share a drink with him one day.” Xander said. 

The absolute childish glee on Xander's face made everyone in the room smile, even Ash. 

“Hehe. Alright, now it's Ash's turn,” Jayne said, shifting everyone's attention over to the man that was standing with his hands on his hips. 

“My turn?” he asked. 

“Yeah, what's Luka told you about Xander?” Jayne asked, her use of his nickname bothering him less now, but it still didn't completely feel right to him. 

Ash brought a hand up to his chin as he thought about his answer. His stoic face shifted when he recalled something, but instead of saying it out loud, he gestured for Luka to lean closer, whispering it into his ear. 

Xander didn't like that. 

Amethyst eyes widened at whatever was said before Luka let out a little chuckle. 

“Dude, no!” he retaliated. “Don’t tell them that!”

Their closeness annoyed Xander—he especially didn't like the way Ash made Luka laugh, as if that were a privilege bestowed only to him—but to everyone else in the room, that closeness was nothing out of the ordinary. 

“Sorry,” Ash said unapologetically with a smug grin. “Apparently I'm not allowed to disclose Luka's deepest, darkest opinions about you, Xander.”

Xander really didn't like hearing Ash call him by that name. But he didn't even get a chance to retort before Jayne butted back in. 

“Ooooooh, now I'm curious.” She leaned closer as if by doing so Ash would spill the tea. 

“Guys, you're making me look bad!” Luka said, gently pushing on Jayne's shoulder. 

“But you are bad,” Ash corrected.  

“The absolute worst,” Jayne confirmed, playfully poking his cheek with her finger.  

The laughter the trio shared only continued to bother Xander. He felt so out of place, like he didn't belong there, not in that apartment, not among Luka's friends, and not in Luka's life. 

Perhaps moving in really was a bad idea.