“Shit!” Xander exclaimed as he stood at the front door of their apartment on his way out to work on Friday morning. 

“What's wrong?” Luka asked. He was washing one of the apples he had bought during their shopping trip last night and was startled by Xander's sudden cussing. 

“I just remembered I left my clothes on the line,” Xander explained, checking his phone to see whether he could still make it to work on time if he quickly went down to get his laundry. “I'm going straight to my dad's after work so I won't be back until Sunday.”

“I can bring your clothes in for you,” Luka offered, taking a bite of his apple with a loud crunch.

Xander's golden eyes peered at Luka suspiciously. It would honestly help him out, but at the same time, he didn't want Luka going through his clothes and making fun of him later. Then again, Luka would find something to make fun of him for later anyway. And it's probably best not to leave his clothes out on the communal clothesline the whole weekend. 

“That would be great. Thanks, Luka.”

“Don't sweat it,” Luka reassured. 

Opening the door, Xander got ready to leave for the weekend. “I'll be back on Sunday around 12,” he reminded. 

“Okay. Have fun at your parents’. Don't miss me too much,” Luka joked with a playful smile, taking another bite of his apple. 

Narrowing his eyes, Xander tried to think of a witty comeback but failed to come up with anything. 

“Don't you miss me too much!” He sounded like an immature fifth grader. 

But Luka was also immature. 

“I miss you already,” he teased with a wink. 

Rolling his eyes, Xander exited their apartment and went to work. 

***

Luka arrived at work five minutes late, but he walked in carrying a tray of coffee for his colleagues. An almond cappuccino for Ash, a soy latte for Suzie, a mocha for Layla, and a cappuccino for himself. 

“Good morning, beautiful people!” He greeted everyone as he waltzed into Ash's office with a big smile. 

“Morning,” Ash responded normally. He sat behind his desk, wearing a black pinstripe vest over a maroon red dress shirt with a paisley design. The dark colours of his outfit made his fair skin seem more pale than it actually was and made his peridot eyes stand out against his jet black hair.

“Oh, thank God you're here!” Suzie, a younger woman in her early twenties, reached both hands towards Luka—or, more accurately, towards the coffee he was holding. She wore a baby-blue ruffled blouse that matched her white pants, and her blond hair was tied into a high ponytail that would swish around whenever she turned her head. 

“Good morning,” Layla greeted with a soft smile. The older woman sat on one of the chairs with her legs crossed, wearing a black and pink business suit and heavy makeup to cover up her increasing number of wrinkles. However, whenever she laughed, the evidence of her age would show on her beautiful face. Although Layla was the oldest in the room, she was also the newest member of the team, having joined only two months ago. 

Handing out everybody's drinks, like a relief aid volunteer coming to the rescue, Luka circled around Ash's office before situating himself behind the two chairs Suzie and Layla occupied. The last one to arrive always had to stand, even if they came bearing coffee. 

“Cheers,” Suzie said, holding her cup out to Layla. She always made an effort to make the newbies feel welcomed.

“Cheers.” Layla smiled as she tapped her paper cup against her co-worker’s. 

“Alright, now that everybody's here—” Ash began the meeting. He went over the agenda, summarising last month's completed projects and touching base on what needed to be done this month. 

Partway through the meeting, he introduced their newest project. 

“We’ll be publishing a book about the history of the band Atlantic Buoys next year,” Ash said, taking his eyes off the computer screen in front of him to glance at Luka—whose ears seemed to perk up from the mention of the band.

“They're coming in for an interview at the end of November, then we'll be covering one of their live shows the following week,” Ash continued. “So I'll need someone to do the interview—”

“Oh! I'll do it!”

Before Luka could put his hand up for the job, Suzie had already snatched it right up. 

“I'm a fan of the band! I have all their CDs and follow their socials.” She was practically bouncing in her seat. “I'm more than happy to interview them!”

“That's great,” Ash said calmly. “No objections?” 

Although his gaze wasn't set on anyone in particular, his words were directed towards Luka. 

Layla shook her head, obviously uninterested in the band. Meanwhile, Luka shrugged his shoulders before taking a sip of his drink. It's not like Luka was a fan of the band; his only interest in them was that they were Xander's favourite band and they had seen them perform live together once. Luka figured he should let the actual fan interview them. 

“They're all yours, Suzie,” Luka said. 

“Yes!” The young woman clenched her fists triumphantly. “Do you think they'll sign my band shirt for me?”

“No harm in asking,” Ash reassured, typing things into his computer. 

Luka took the opportunity to ask, “Can you get them to sign something for me too?”

“I didn't know you were a fan,” Suzie said with a smile. 

“It's for my roommate,” Luka explained. “Atlantic Buoys is his favourite band.”

“Oh! He has great taste!”

***

The rest of the workday proceeded as normal. Luka responded to emails, did research before he wrote a couple of articles, and prepared social media posts for the weekend. 

When he returned home, he was greeted by silence. The dishes from the morning had been left in the sink, all the lights had been left turned off, and there was no sign of Xander in sight. 

Luka entered his quiet two-bedroom apartment, threw his keys onto the kitchen counter, and headed straight to the second bedroom. Opening the bedroom door and turning on the light, he stared absentmindedly at the eerie stillness. He had done the same thing the day Lana had moved out. 

Inhaling a deep breath of the stale air, Luka turned around and headed down to the laundry to get Xander's clothes.