The post-Christmas period is usually full of a vague sense of sadness for me, as my favourite holiday is over and I have to face the harsh reality of a new, cruel year of existing. This year however, the only word I can think to describe it is hectic. Almost unbearably so.

The past two days has been full of an enthusiastic, caffeine-fuelled Sam and a lifetimes worth of cardboard boxes. I would say that it's been worth it though, as Sam has been more focused on this than he has been on just about anything in his lifetime. This also means that he's been spending an abnormal amount of time with me. In any other circumstance involving anybody else, I would loathe it, but with Sam it's a dream. After being so deprived of his company, spending nearly every hour of every day together is nothing to complain about; after all, I missed him.

"Hey! Elias, come look at this!" I hear, his voice muffled from within his closet and I manoeuvre my way through the maze of forgotten objects, wincing as my foot comes into contact with something sharp.

For a moment I panic, scared that I have caused Sam pain. My shoulders soon relax and I find myself rolling my eyes at my own behaviour. I forget that our connection is only one way, and I have moments like this almost weekly. In truth, my biggest fear is that one day it might become a two-way connection.

"What is it?" I ask, pushing my worrisome thoughts away for the time being as I wade through his belongings.

"I found a really old picture, come look!" He exclaims, holding the photo out to me and I take it gently. The edges are torn and worn from years of neglect; which isn't surprising.

The photo depicts the two of us, arms around each other, as well as our best friend from high school; Ash. It was taken at the beginning of our final year and fond memories start to flood my mind.

"I remember this day, it was only a week or so before Ash met Robin." I remark, remembering Ash's long-time girlfriend, who had been a welcome addition to our group.

"They're still together, you know?" Sam mentions and I glance up.

"I'm not too surprised, they're soulmates." I mumble, looking back down at the picture, smiling fondly at how happy we look.

"Soulmates?" Sam scoffs and I nod absently.

"For real?" He asks, his tone indicating his confusion.

"You only have to look at them to know. I mean, obviously it's one of those things that you either believe or you don't but, I mean those two, they were made for each other. I'm sure of it." I mutter, finally handing the photo back to him.

He holds it loosely, taking in what I just said.

"Do you think you know? When you meet your soulmate, I mean. Do you know that it's them?" He asks curiously, tilting his head to the side and I shrug. Sam nods to himself, not looking entirely satisfied with my non-verbal response.

"Maybe, I'm not sure. You might not feel anything but joy and love and all that, or you might feel a connection that binds you to that person..." I think out loud, trailing off as several unconnected thoughts suddenly leap together.

A connection that binds you to another person, why would I have felt compelled to say that. I already share a very unnatural connection with a person. That doesn't make Sam my soulmate, does it? No, exactly. Even if he were, it doesn't mean romantically. There could be platonic soulmates, I'm sure of it.

My internal meltdown is interrupted by Sam, of course, who accidentally trips over a very poorly placed box. My ankle twists in pain but it's bearable and I lean down to pull him up.

I grab his hand and steady him on his wobbly ankle, his cheeks a light shade of pink.

"Thanks, 'Lias." He murmurs as I let him go.

"Anytime." I reply,

I gaze around the room, still surprised at how many boxes Sam's clutter was able to fill. My own belongings had fit into two large boxes, a suitcase and my hockey bag. Sam has over seven so far.

"Okay, go pack your clothes and I'll finish up with the DVD's, sound good?" I ask and Sam nods, hastily retreating into his room again. I sigh and bend down, packing away stacks of DVD's and games. It's a simple enough task and I soon start to disassemble the games consoles from the TV and carefully pack them away.

"Hey, Elias?" Sam calls and I swivel around to face his voice.

His arms are stacked with very familiar articles of clothing and I raise a knowing eyebrow. He responds with a sheepish smile and shrugs his shoulders helplessly.

"How do you have any clothes left?" He asks, his voice full of wonder and I snort.

"I don't." I retort as he dumps them beside me. He goes back into his room happily and I glance at the pile, not quite sure why he has returned the clothes to me, when they will undoubtedly go missing again as soon as we settle in.

I go about folding them, my mind wondering away from the tedious task.

I should really call Ash, maybe we could hold a New Year's party in our new place, that would be a perfect opportunity to celebrate with Sam, keep an eye on him at the same time and see old friends. I smile to myself, nodding, and make a mental note to arrange that.

I finish folding and find a spare box, dumping them into it and labelling it accordingly.

I stretch my arms and sigh, glad that half of the boxes are already situated in the new apartment. I have been walking them into town whenever I have errands to run, which has made the whole process easier.

Three boxes are scattered around me and Sam's suitcase is in his room with him. It seems manageable.

The dorms look bare without Sam's clutter, but the sight is a welcome one, as it signifies the start of something new.

Sam clatters in with his hockey bag draped across him, lugging his suitcase behind him. I take it from him easily and he picks up a box, handing it to me, before picking up two of his own. I lead the way out of his dorm, leaving him to bid his room a quick goodbye.

I wait for him outside, meeting his wide smile with one of my own.

"Ready?" I ask.

"Yes." Sam breathes, nodding furiously.

Thankfully the journey between our dorms and our new flat is only a ten-minute walk and I delicately nudge the door open, balancing a box between my side and the wall, before regaining my hold and entering swiftly.

Sam drops the boxes to the ground with a flourish, groaning melodramatically and I wince, glad that I am holding the game console box.

I take Sam's things to his room, leaving them in the centre before retreating to my own room. I hadn't had time to settle my things, so I take the time now. I cover the bed in my sheets; which is an exhausting task in itself, before hanging my shirts up and tucking away the rest of my clothes into a chest of drawers.

A loud sigh halts my movements and I turn towards the door, seeing Sam, arms folded against his chest, leant against the door frame.

"I really don't want to unpack." He complains, falling onto my bed and I roll my eyes.

"There's really no excuse for you to do that anymore." I remark, tilting my head towards him in indication.

"And why not?" He demands, propping himself up on his elbow with a face full of outrage.

"Your own bed is 10 feet away." I state and he rolls his eyes, flopping back down onto the bed.

"That's no reason not to." He argues and I merely hum in response, unpacking my books and stacking them on the shelves.

I place my laptop onto the desk, plug in my speaker system and take my share of DVD's down to the living area. I stack them neatly in the shelving and glance happily at the gleaming piano in the corner. I have to admit, that's what had convinced me that this was the flat for us. I'm pretty sure Sam is just humouring me.

I meander back to my room, not bothering to glance at Sam, who is still sprawled in exactly the same place.

"Eli?" He asks and I hum, my attention still semi-focused on how to work the blinds.

"Can you believe that this is real? That this place is ours? I can't." Sam states and I look over this time, smiling at how blissful his expression is.

"I'll tell you when I can." I respond and he smiles even wider.

"So, the real question is, what's for dinner?"

I roll my eyes at him, but laugh nevertheless.

_

Sam has gone home for the weekend which has left our new apartment feeling very empty. He is endlessly falling over or tripping into walls, clattering and cursing under his breath all the while, so the silence I'm currently living in is eerie. I try to minimise the time we spend apart. I get anxious when I feel his pain and I have no way to immediately speak to him- I could call I suppose, but it's not as direct.

I had decided to take the time to catch up on the hobbies that I have neglected to take my mind off it and have already finished two books and learnt a new piece on the piano. I sigh and lean back in my chair, gazing out the window and humming along to the music in the background. I have to have some sort of sound, the silence really has been driving me crazy.

My eyes flick to the date on my phone and I decide that I might as well crack on with organising this party. I decide against using social media and decide to just text the people I want to come. I message our old school friends as well as Alice, whose number I didn't know I had. I ask her to invite any friends of Sam's from his Spanish class and she replies instantaneously, seemingly thrilled with the idea.

I browse the internet for party supplies, feeling entirely too lazy to venture outside, and order a plethora of streamers, balloons, plastic cups and a twister mat. The twister mat was an impulse buy, but I reckon Sam will actually use it which is far more worrying. I sit back feeling very accomplished and glance down at my phone again just as it begins to ring.

That's creepy.

It's Sam calling, obviously, and I answer it immediately.

"Hey Sam." I say, pushing the loudspeaker symbol so I don't have to hold my phone. My hand absently fiddles with the arm of my glasses which is tucked behind my ear and I find myself smiling as I hear his voice reply to me through the speaker.

"Hey Elias, how're things?" He asks, although he sounds tired.

"Good, strangely quiet without you clattering about. How's Mama Rivera?" I ask and Sam laughs.

"I'm sure you're revelling in every moment of silence," He remarks and I shake my head fondly, thinking about how wrong he is.

"She's good, although she hit me with a newspaper when she realised you hadn't tagged along with me. I swear that woman loves you more than me." He continues, muttering curses in Spanish under his breath.

I laugh openly at that, laughing even harder when I hear his mother's voice in the background, no doubt yelling at him.

"Aw, I miss you too, Camila!" I speak loudly, smiling to myself as I hear her wrestle for the phone.

"We all miss you, Eli! The girls have been asking about you!" She remarks, her heavy accent no longer a problem after so many years.

"Unbelievable!" Sam exclaims, his voice muffled but still insulted. I bite my lip, smiling as I picture his facial expression right now.

"I miss them too, how could I not? You're my second family." I insist and Sam's mum hums in agreement.

"We had your father round for Christmas, the poor soul. He was very happy to have seen you, even happier when I fed him three slices of chocolate cake!" She tells me and I laugh quietly, although not entirely believing her.

"I'm sure he was, my fond memories of your desserts don't do them justice." I say and she giggles through the phone.

"Oh, Eli, you're too kind! Oh, look! Girls, Eli's on the phone!" She spouts and I smile, shaking my head.

"Are you kidding?! Mama, give me back the phone! ¡Él es mi amigo!" I hear Sam mumble from across the line, chuckling as his sisters argue back.

"You know what? How about I facetime you instead? Then I'll be able to see my beautiful girls." I suggest, my smile growing as I hear them squeal.

They all agree and I hang up, opening the facetime app instead and pushing Sam's name. I look at the camera image of myself and push my hair back slightly, pleased to find I look okay today. I prop my phone against the wall so that I don't have to hold it, the screen changing just in time.

Sam's twin sisters pop up onto my screen, both grinning largely.

"Wow. You two are more gorgeous every time I see you, Emma is that a new haircut? It suits you very well." I remark, laughing as she blushes faintly, nodding in response.

The twins look very much like Sam, sharing the same physical attributes as their older brother. Emma is the youngest, a little more reserved than her twin.

"And Victoria, is that a new shirt? The colour compliments your eyes perfectly." I add, not wanting to stir any conflict between the girls.

"Thanks Eli! It was a present for Christmas!" She states and I nod.

"How're your ballet lessons coming along?" I ask, my head tilting to the side slightly.

"Amazing! Emma's decided she really likes it which is great because I didn't want to do it without her, and look! New tutus!" Victoria exclaims, holding up a bundle of netting in joy. My eyes flick to Emma, who is smiling softly. I wouldn't be surprised if Emma was merely pretending for the benefit of her twin. She's selfless and very good hearted.

The camera shifts and moves and I get a view of Camila, Sam's mother.

"Eli! It is so good to actually see your face. Are you taking care of yourself? You look very thin Cariño, and pale!" She rambles and I nod along.

"It's good to see you too, I almost mistook you for Sam's third sister." I state, cheesy I know but she still blushes and attempts to scold me for telling 'wicked lies' but it's half-hearted at best.

The camera is suddenly wrenched from her hands and moves quickly through the familiar surroundings of Sam's family home. A door is shut and suddenly Sam's face is peering back at me.

"Rude." I say and Sam rolls his eyes.

"If you're done charming my family, I'd actually like to talk to you."

"I'm afraid I wasn't even remotely close to being done, take me back to them." I insist and Sam laughs, rolling his eyes again.

"You're an idiot. I'm holding you hostage up here, so deal with it." He says, getting comfy against the headboard of his bed.

"Oh lord, this truly is the worst kind of torture." I say dryly and Sam gives me an unamused look.

"Very funny. How're you really?" He asks, his eyebrow quirking up and I lean back in my chair, sighing.

"I'm fine, Sam. A little bored, perhaps, but fine." I insist and he nods approvingly.

"Good, your source of entertainment shall return soon." He says reassuringly and I snort.

"Thank goodness."

"None of that attitude young man." Sam quips and I hold up my hands in surrender.

"So, your family seems glad to have you back." I remark and he sighs, shaking his head at their antics.

"I swear they'd rather adopt you than keep their own blood relative. My aunt's wedding is in a few months and she insists that you come." He mumbles, and I laugh, shaking my head.

"They love you plenty, and I'd love to go." I state and he agrees begrudgingly.

"I came out to my mum yesterday." He says suddenly and I sit up further, intrigued.

"And?" I ask.

"She rolled her eyes, threw her slipper at me and said that if I had wanted to keep that a secret I shouldn't have had so many posters of Zac Efron in my room when I was thirteen." He mutters, his head in his hands as I laugh heartily.

"Don't you dare say a word, Elias." He whispers hatefully but I just keep laughing.

"Oh, that's gold. What about your sisters?" I ask and he shrugs.

"They couldn't care less. They asked if you were my boyfriend and looked very pleased when I said no." He grumbles, his frown deepening and I smile sympathetically.

I clasp my hands together and shake my head, still chuckling slightly under my breath.

"Well, if it's any reassurance whatsoever, I'm not interested in your sisters." I state and Sam glares at me.

"If I could hit you right now, I would." He utters as I smile cheekily.

"Well, all things considered, it could have gone a lot worse. You have an amazing family, Sam. They have your back." I say, pulling my arm up over the back of the chair as I gaze at his image on the screen; which by the way, does his real appearance no justice.

"True, very true. I'm not entirely sure I want the entire uni knowing but it's nice to not have that weight on my shoulders." He reasons and I nod in comprehension.

"Should I feel honoured? That I was first to know you're a flaming homo?" I ask, laughing to myself and he raises his middle finger and hangs up on me.

I go to stand up when I receive a text from Sam.

I laugh under my breath and type out a response.

Good, because I do.