7.33: First Level

As weird as it sounds, I seriously almost forgot what it feels like to have friends. Ones I can actually hang out with, I mean. Not ones who are literally an ocean away.

And it’s amazing.

I’ve only known them for a few weeks, but it already seems like I’ve known them so much longer than that… We just click, I guess.

Gigi says she doesn’t believe in fate or destiny… but I dunno. It kinda feels like I was meant to go to the library that day and meet them. I know how totally dumb that sounds. I’d never actually say that out loud to anybody or anything… But that’s seriously how it feels.

They’re all just so awesome. Niko’s a freaking genius. I can’t believe how smart he is! He told me his lifelong dream is to be on that game show, Jeopardy. He has dozens of the episodes recorded, and he watches them all the time to try and memorize the answers… And I kinda don’t really get it, to be honest? But I love that he’s so into it. And if you ever need the answer to any kind of useless trivia question, he’s totally got your back.

Addy’s pretty obsessed too… but her interests are more, um… diverse, I guess? I’ve never met anybody who’s into so many different things at once. I mean, she plays video games, she reads romance novels, she listens to metal music, she knits costumes for Lola’s pet cat… She’s probably one of the strangest people I’ve ever met. But I mean that in the best way.

And then there’s Lola. I don’t think I’ve ever met anybody quite like her either. She’s this crazy mix of ultra-girly and ultra-geeky. She’s got this YouTube channel full of videos of her and her cat, Duchess. And she’s got everything — from makeup reviews to gaming live streams to these weird rants and conspiracy theories about all the Netflix shows she watches. She’s so funny!

And the best part is, they get along really well with Tam too, even though they’ve never met in person, obviously. But they added me and Tam to their Space Dementia clan, and we all play online together every Sunday afternoon (well, Sunday night for Tam).

Jasper joins sometimes too, when he can… But he’s always so slammed with school work, or going out to meet up with his uni friends. And I know Tam’s been really busy with work and DJing and stuff too… I guess it’s been super stressful for both of them.

I’m a little worried about that, actually.

Most days they both just tell me everything’s fine… but sometimes when I talk to them separately they open up a little… And it really sounds like they’re struggling.

They said they’ve tried talking about it a bunch of times (and fought about it plenty too), but it doesn’t seem like they’re really getting anywhere. And it’s so frustrating for me to see that. I mean, I’ve taken classes about family and couple therapy before. I have ways I could try to help them communicate better and stuff.

But it’s so hard from so far away.

Anyway, I know there’s no point in worrying about Tam and Jasper right now. I’ve just been listening and supporting them as much as I can. There’s nothing more I can really do about it until I see them again. And I’m gonna see them in a couple months when me and Gigi go home for Christmas.

For now, I’m just glad I can share my new friends with them a little bit. It definitely seems to make both of them a little happier, at least.

And they’re making me so happy too. Having the three of them is finally helping this place really feel like home. And it’s kinda nice that Gigi finally isn’t the only one who actually has some friends around here!

There’s this marketplace downtown she goes to like, every day while I’m at class. She always brings home little knick knacks and random crap to decorate the house with. And I guess she’s started getting pretty friendly with some of the people who work there. She tells me all about how they go out for coffee together and stuff.

We’ve actually had one of her friends over a couple times to hang out too. Lucy. She’s pretty nice, I guess. But once the two of them get talking, well… I kinda end up feeling like the third wheel. I usually end up doing school work while they chat on the couch or watch a chick flick or something.

But I’m really glad Gigi’s meeting people. After giving up so much to come all the way here with me, she deserves it. At first, I was kind of worried she’d end up stuck at home and feeling bored and lonely all day while I’m at class.

Instead I was the one who ended up feeling lonely… but not anymore.

Me, Niko, Addy, and Lola get together a couple days a week to hang out. The first couple times we just stuck around the library, but that got kinda old after a while.

I mentioned going out to a bar one time, but they’re all still undergrads — a couple years younger than me. And I forgot how high the drinking age is over here! So that idea got thrown out…

But it was pretty easy to find other places to go. We ended up hanging out at the park one time. And then down by the docks. And Lola’s apartment once too, so I could finally meet Duchess.

Then Gigi started bugging me about it though. How I’m spending too much time with my friends, and making her feel left out and stuff.

She’s really been harping on a lot of stupid little things like that lately. It’s been annoying the shit out of me, to be honest.

But I guess she has a point this time… I’m away at my classes for most of the day already. It’s not fair for me to leave her alone at home any more than I have to, is it?

So last night, I invited them all over to our place instead.

And I’ll be honest — I was pretty nervous introducing them to her… I really wasn’t sure how well they’d get along. And I didn’t want Gigi feeling left out like I do with her and Lucy.

But I had nothing to worry about.

They all got along so great. And after they left, Gigi told me she really wants them over again sometime.

It was such a relief… And I’m just so freaking happy right now. Like, seriously happier than I think I’ve been since Gigi and I got here.

Y’know, back on our wedding day, I overheard Tam and Jasper talking about how sometimes in life, you have to fight through a dungeon full of sucky shit before you can get to the good stuff.

I’ve been thinking about it a lot since then — especially after we moved here. Things were definitely starting to get a little sucky, for a while. It felt like there were these crazy hoards of zombies bearing down on me all the time. I almost didn’t think I was gonna make it out alive.

But it finally feels like after all this time, I conquered the first level… and picked up a few pretty awesome followers for my party along the way.