"Kai, honey? We've gotta go soon, you know! You almost ready?"

Kai heard his mother's voice coming from downstairs. Unfortunately, today was the day – the day they would move away to some faraway town away from everything he'd ever known.

His dad had found a better paying job in another state, which meant they were forced to move. Forced to move away from the place he had been born, where he had made all his friends, and where he had built his entire life. All because his dad just had to get a new job.

"Yeah, I'll be down in a minute," he shouted back, maybe just a little too loud. In any case, everyone – and the neighbors too, probably – heard him and his annoyed tone loud and clear.

Sure, he understood that this could be better for them, as his parents had explained to him thousands of times by now. Although they'd be moving away, he would make new friends, and maybe being in an entirely different environment would be good for him. And they'd have to worry less about money, which meant more time to do fun things with each other.

Those were some of the arguments his parents had told him over the course of many, many conversations. He couldn't care less. This was unfair, especially since this all happened right before he was to start his final year of high school. Cruelly being torn away from his friends and classmates who he'd known for all these years, how could they justify that?

Kai stared at his reflection, tugging at the sleeves of his hoodie. His hair, a dark brown so dark it was nearly black, hung messily over his forehead, annoyingly falling right in front of his eyes every time he moved his head. He pushed it back with a sigh, only for it to fall right back into place. Of course it did. He really needed to get a haircut sometime soon.

"You've got this," he muttered, forcing a smile at the mirror. His voice cracked slightly, betraying him. "New town, new people. I can do this."

His brown eyes studied his reflection, searching for any hint of confidence, but there was none to be found. He felt like he could cry, yet he tried to shake it off with a weak laugh.

"Who wouldn't want to be friends with someone as amazing as me, right?" he said, forcing his tone light. "I'm simply irresistible."

The mirror wasn't buying it, and neither was he.

"...But I don't want to go," he whispered, voice dropping low. "I don't want to lose them, and I don't want to be alone."

He felt a sting behind his eyes but blinked it away quickly.

Kai nearly got lost in thought when the sudden sound of his mother's voice from downstairs snapped him back to the reality he had no choice but to face.

"Hurry it up, will you? Lisa's here to say bye!"

"I said I'll be right there!"

Kai let out a sigh as he looked at himself in the mirror for the last time and finally went down the stairs. He caught his mother taking down some family photos in the downstairs hallway that were still hanging there and putting them in a plastic bag.

"Oh, my. Are you actually putting our oh-so-precious family photos in a plastic bag? I thought you'd be more careful with them, seeing how you think they're so special and all that. All those memories we've built up over the years, here in this city."

His remarks came out sounding a little ruder than he'd expected; it was a snide remark. He wasn't the only one who thought so because he soon heard the commanding voice of his father, a tall, burly-looking man who, despite his age, still had a full bush of hair.

"Don't speak to your mother that way, you hear me?"

"Sorry, dad. I'm just frustrated. You know why."

Kai didn't feel like starting another fight with his parents over the move. It had been decided and it was happening – no way to get out of it now. 

"I know. We understand how you're feeling, Kai. Your mother and I also made a lot of memories here. It's the first home she and I got together, after all." 

His dad was trying to be sympathetic, and Kai knew he was right. Maybe he shouldn't whine so much about the whole move.

"Lisa's outside, right? I'll go say bye to her, then," Kai said as he quickly put on his shoes and jacket and went outside, where Lisa was waiting for him.

Almost as soon as Kai had gone outside, he was enveloped in a tight hug. 

"I can't believe this might be the last time for a while that I can hug you like this, Kai," the petite dark-haired girl said, "I'm really, really going to miss you."

"I'm gonna miss you too, but... some air, please?" Kai could hardly breathe with how tightly Lisa was hugging him. She released her grip, and Kai could breathe normally again.

"We'll keep in contact, right? You better text me every. single. day. If you forget, I will actually call you, and I know how much you hate phone calls!"

"I will, I will! I'll even FaceTime you! I'll let you know all about my super interesting life, Liz."

"Damn right, you will."

Kai let out a laugh as he added, "I'll even let you know all the details about the boyfriend I'm definitely going to get. Who could resist my charms?"

"Uh, all the guys at our school?" she deadpanned.

"Touché."

The two spent some more time talking about Kai's potential adventures in his new town. Lisa had managed to make Kai smile again and see this whole thing in a positive, new light. Sure, it sucked that he would have to leave almost everything behind, but now he was sure that he could actually do this. Lisa had convinced him of what he had tried to convince himself of in front of the mirror earlier.

Finally, Kai's parents came out of the house, and it was truly time to say goodbye. After promising to text her as soon as they had arrived, Kai got into the car with his parents, and they left for the airport.

After landing, they took a taxi to their new home in Pineridge. Kai thought that was a horrible name for a town, but apparently the founders didn't care for his opinion. 

Well, not like he was alive back then.

Kai looked outside the window, observing the surroundings as they passed the "Welcome to Pineridge" sign. The town itself didn't look awfully big, but there was a large forest nearby. The forest was probably larger than the town itself, he reckoned. At least the town was close to a neighboring city.

As the drive continued, Kai noticed the town may not be as small as he'd initially thought, and it actually looked pretty nice. They drove through streets with some shops he'd have to check out. There was a large library where he'd definitely be spending a lot of time, and the overall atmosphere was just... good. The place felt peaceful, comfortable.

They pulled up to the new house, and Kai couldn't help but stare.

It was... nice. It was bigger than he expected, looking like an upgrade of your average suburban house. Wide windows, definitely bigger than their previous house. There was a nice law out front with a big tree in the corner, casting long shadows across the driveway.

Kai stepped out of the car and stretched, he was feeling tired from the flight. As much as he wanted to keep sulking and wallowing in self-pity, he couldn't deny the house had a certain charm. Still, it didn't feel like home yet. 

His parents were already pulling bags from the trunk, chatting about how much bigger this house was than their old one. Kai grabbed one of the suitcases, glancing at the quiet street around them. There were a few other houses across the street, and they all looked similar - nice, neat, and a little too perfect, like they belonged in some TV show.

The air smelled fresher here, like pine trees and damp earth, probably from the huge forest he noticed on the drive in. Huh, maybe that's why it's called Pineridge?

There was a faint breeze, cool against his skin, but it did little to ease the heaviness in his chest.

Inside, the house was mostly empty except for a few essentials the movers had left. The hardwood floors creaked slightly, and the evening rays of sunlight streamed through the living room windows.

"Wow," Kai finally said, dropping the bag beside the staircase. "It's... kinda fancy."

His mom grinned as she stepped past him. "It's different, huh? But I think we'll be happy here. Even you, Kai."

Kai forced a smile, though he didn't know about that just yet. "Yeah. Maybe."

It wasn't that the house wasn't nice. It was just that it wasn't their house. Not the one with the walls where he marked his height as a kid, or the old kitchen where his mom would always burn toast. Even Kai could make toast the right way, why couldn't she?

Still, it was something. And at least there was space. He could see the backyard through the glass doors, bigger than the one they had back home, which was so small it'd be an insult to call it a backyard. Maybe he'll enjoy hanging out there... with friends that he'll hopefully get.

"Your room's upstairs," his mom added, noticing his wandering gaze. "Why don't you go check it out? Take a break. You must be tired."

"Yeah," Kai said, hauling himself up the stairs, trying not to feel like absolute crap as he ascended them.

He arrived at his new room, but he couldn't care less about how it looked empty and devoid of any personality, not now. He just wanted to rest, so he plopped down onto his bed.

He lay on the bed, staring at the unfamiliar ceiling of his new room. After closing his eyes for a little bit, he finally took a look around his new room. And as he thought earlier, there was little to nothing at all. The walls were bare, no posters, no clutter, completely lacking anything that made it feel like this place belonged to him.