To say Linx was overwhelmed was an understatement. For there have been more changes made in his life these past three weeks than his whole life. He's pretty sure he saw a few streaks of white appear in his hair because of how stressed he's been.

First, instead of waking up to occasional screams in the morning, he's being hugged awake. Now did he mind it? No, it's actually quite nice waking up to warmth in the chilling winter weather. But was he alarmed when he wakes up and feels his movements restricted? Yes, yes he was. He's quite sure Finn and Remi already have some bruises forming from being shoved to the floor by a panicky Linx.

Another change has been Ivy's conquering of his room. It went from looking like an unused hotel room into a full-blown jungle. Ivy brought half her army of toys, all littered around like it was a war zone. She's started to tape all her colorful drawings on his depressive walls and even putting some stickers on it too. But this was the only change he's been okay with, and he'll let Ivy put a hundred more drawings on his walls if it'll make her more happy.

"Bro, your phone's been ringing fo' past minute, pick it up!" The guy next to Linx snapped at him, annoyed at having to hear the crappy piano music for so long.

That was the third change. The boys bought him a phone, so they could "be more connected" as said by Kade, and he had no clue how to use it. He fished it out of his worn-out duffel bag, it being crushed by all his items on top, and looked at the screen.

The piano ringtone kept playing and Linx was starting to get annoyed by it as well. He scrunched up his nose, wanting to throw the thing in the garbage, but he didn't. They bought this for him. So he touched the screen and slowly slide the accept button since decline didn't look like the right option, and he didn't like the cold touch of the screen.

He immediately heard louder noise come out of it and the phone clattered to the ground, it surprising Linx. Is it supposed to do that??

Linx, after living without a proper phone for twenty years, had no clue what to do. But after hearing his name being called out multiple times from the devil's device, he picked it up and held it up to his ear.

"Kade?" He heard a loud sigh of relief on the other side, it confusing Linx. Why was Kade relieved?

"Sure." He tossed the phone back in the bag and took a fresh shirt out of it. He pulled off his sweaty t-shirt, using it as a towel to wipe off any more of his sweat, and put on the new shirt. He tossed the dirty one in the duffel, zipped it up, and ruffled up his sweaty hair.

You see, Rooster doesn't have any changing rooms or a shower, so everybody just changes in the gym. Linx has gotten used to it, seeing dicks and butts on the regular, that he doesn't bat an eye at it anymore.

The stench was disgusting as well, but Linx has gotten used to that too.

Linx walked to the entrance of the building, glancing at Rose and Jazz before leaving. Rose was teaching her student, the girl only being here for the past three months. Jazz sneezed while working out, making Linx feel some pity; the man was at his job while he had the flu, he must feel terrible.

But also, Jazz was up to date on Linx's situation. Though Jazz did get a bit worried when he couldn't find Linx the morning of his escape, he's happy that Linx's situation is improving.

Linx stepped out into the nice freezing air, letting it cool his sweaty body, and looked around any familiar cars around. A gray SUV honked from across the street and Linx walked over to it, giving himself a mini pep talk before entering the car.

This was the fourth change. The boys dropping and picking him up from Rooster everyday. Linx, like all the other changes, wasn't too thrilled about it. But the boys insisted that they drive him for they don't want him to be walking in the cold weather, even though that's what Linx has been doing for the past six years.

Yet even though Linx did point this fact out, Austin said back, "These past six years we weren't there for you. This year we will be and so will our cars."Though he did forget the first couple times and just jogged back home, they have now upgraded their tactics by honking their cars so Linx wouldn't miss them.

Linx opened the passenger seat behind the driver's seat and sat down, immediately met with a ray of sunshine. Finn turned around from the shotgun seat and grinned at Linx with his perfect white teeth.

"Heey Linx! Hope you had fun at Rooster and kicked some butt in there! Though I'm pretty sure it's an illegal move to do so," It is, thought Linx, "but anyway, guess what happened at my meeting! So my client and I were just minding our own business, talking about the designs I made for their new line of clothing, when this utter bitch came strolling in..." Finn rambled about his work, filling in Kade and Linx about all the drama that he has to deal with. The two of them listened on the ten minute ride back home.

And this was another minor change. The boys have strayed away from asking Linx any specific or personal questions and have opted to just talk to Linx while he just listens. He appreciated them backing off a little, but wow can they talk. Especially Finn, who can somehow rephrase the same topic in hundreds of different ways, making conversations with him drag on forever. Linx has already stood up and left mid-conversation three times with Finn because the guy just doesn't know when to stop.

The car soon pulled up into the drive through and they all got out. Linx started to walk towards his window to enter the house but then remembered that he doesn't need to do that anymore. He won't have to worry about disturbing them no more.

He turned around and followed the two into the house. Linx was about to walk to his room when a hand grasped his and tugged him back. He turned around, eyebrow raised, wondering why he was stopped.

"Don't forget to take off your shoes! We don't want Austin scolding us for dirtying the floor..." Finn gave him a small smile and then hopped into the living room, cuddling Trev in no time.

Linx took them off and was tempted to carry them into his room, since he's so used to walking in his shoes around the house, but decided against it. He then went to his room, dropped his duffel, picked some random clothes from his drawer, and went to take a quick cold shower to ease his sore muscles.

By the time he was done, Linx immediately went to bed and was cocooned by his blanket. Routine made him tired, because he would always go to bed after taking a shower from a long day of training. Now whether he actually slept depended on his mood, and today he was feeling okay.

But just as he was about to drift off, three solid knocks against his door woke him up. Linx internally grumbled but stayed silent, waiting for the person to talk.

"Linx, dinner's almost ready. You should probably come out or Finn might eat all the noodles." Austin's bass voice echoed in the room. Linx hummed back and untangled himself from the blanket, letting it fall on top of a stuffed monkey.

He combed his hair with his fingers and flattened his clothes to look more presentable, and opened the door. He was surprised to see Austin leaning against the wall, looking at his phone, Linx expected for him to be at the dinner table already.

Austin put his phone in his back pocket and led the way to the kitchen.

Austin sat next to Trev and Kade, Finn being right next to Trev, while Linx sat off to the side. Finn noticed this and quickly switched seats, before continuing his conversation with Trev.

This was the sixth change, having dinner with the boys. It was probably the most awkward change to his life because he had no clue how to act around them for long period of times. He'd usually just up and leave the boys, so he never had to think about if the way he sat was weird or whether to laugh along with a joke. But since he's now going to live with the boys, he has to learn how to interact with them too.

Or not, I could always ignore this whole mess and go back to ignoring the boys. He lingered on the thought, considering it for the hundredth time already. For he wasn't so sure anymore on how he can improve his relationship with the boys, it seemed too far-stretched. Can he really laugh with them without being awkward, tell them his problems without any lies, or trust them without worrying if they'll judge him or not?

He didn't think so, for it all sounded more like a dream than a realistic goal.

Linx stopped dwelling on his pessimistic thoughts and stared to pay more attention to his surroundings. He also started to eat his noodles, instead of twisting and untwisting them.

"-don't even know anymore! But besides that, when's Orion and Remi gonna come home? Tonight's movie night, but if they're going to be dead tired I don't want to watch anything..." Finn pouted, his peachy lips puckered out.

"I'm not sure, but Remi should be coming home soon and Orion said he'll try to get out of his shift early, but I don't think that's going to happen. But I'm sure they wouldn't want us to miss movie night, so how about you go and find us something to watch, yeah?" Kade proposed and Finn jumped at the opportunity since they always criticize that his movies are too loud.

As Finn bounced to the living room, Kade peaked at Linx. He was gradually eating his food, and his hunched shoulders with cast down eyes just screamed gloom. But at least his skin looked less pale and he seemed to have gained some healthy weight too. Though his eye bags and mood don't seem to be improving, they're still making progress with Linx bit by bit.

But Kade couldn't tell whether Linx was okay with all the changes in these past three weeks. They all knew they might be jumping the gun and pushing Linx too much, but they didn't want to treat him like he was a baby. He deserves to have normal relationships and know what it's like to experience life.

Plus, if they were pushing him too much, they hope he'll give them some clue that he doesn't like it. And they're hoping everyday that Linx will give them a clue instead of swallowing his complaints.

Linx and everybody else finished eating their food and Trev quietly took all the dirty utensils away, putting them in the sink. He started to wash them while Austin joined Finn and Kade waiting at the island table with Linx.

"Do you want to join us for movie night? It'll be less crowded than last time with Orion and Remi gone..." Kade said, wishing that Linx will say yes. Last week he said no, so maybe with less people-

"No, I'm good. I'll just go to bed." Kade deflated a little but quickly cheered himself up, for he knew that he can't expect Linx to just be comfortable with them within three weeks. They might be pushing Linx, but they sure won't force him.

"Oh, okay. Well then goodnight and sweet dreams, we'll wake you up around eight thirty for breakfast, okay?" Kade and Linx stood up, both walking out the kitchen. Kade pecked Linx's hair before joining the other two on the couch. By the time he sat down and looked up to see if Linx was still there, Linx was already enveloped by his blanket.

But this time around, Linx couldn't sleep. And even though he felt really tired and genuinely wanted to sleep, his body disagreed. He kept twisting and turning, but after an eternity, he gave up and laid still.

He started to breath through his mouth for breathing through his nose was starting to get more difficult. A migraine formed as well, making him slightly dizzy in bed. He closed his eyes and hoped for sleep to take over, but it only made him realize how thirsty he was. Linx tried to ignore his thirst but just ended up coughing from the dehydration.

He really didn't want to get up though, because if he couldn't tell where up and down was while laying down, he doubted he could while standing up. But his coughing worsened and he couldn't take it anymore.

He opened his eyes and located his duffel by the door. He closed his eyes again and counted to ten, trying to get more motivation to stand up. Once he counted to twenty-three, he tossed his legs over the edge and sat up, his blanket wrapped around him to keep his chills at bay.

He stood up and immediately regretted it, collapsing back onto the bed. His back hit the mattress causing another round of coughing. Once he didn't feel like his lungs were about to be coughed out, he tried to stand up again.

He fell again, but towards the ground this time. Luckily, he was used to being thrown to the ground, so he automatically put his hands out to stop his head hitting the floor.

Uuuuuugh, was all Linx could think.

He started to crawl forward, eyes closed to lessen his migraine, and eventually made it to his duffel. Linx quickly opened it up and reached for his metal water bottle, screwing it open and letting the water down his throat.

Too bad there was no water.

His mouth was met with nothing but air because he already drank all the water back at Rooster. He grabbed his other two plastic water bottles and both met the same fate.

He exhaled with frustration and laid on the ground, done with his situation. He tried to slow down his breathing, for each breath he took scathed his throat. He then tried to hold his breathe, and he managed for a few seconds, before the mucus buildup was too much and he had to cough. Another round of coughing started, with a few sneezes added, and he got his motivation back.

He had to get to the kitchen.

Linx unfortunately forgot that his bathroom existed, and he still didn't know how to use his phone so calling someone for help was out of the question.

So he pushed himself up, using the wall as support, opened the door and started to hobble down the hallway. Loud explosions and screams were heard once he got to the flight of stairs, aggravating his migraine even more.

Eyes closed, he started to walk down and concentrated on his balance so he wouldn't fall down. Linx didn't seem to notice when all the noise stopped and a pair of arms steadied him at the end of the staircase. He did however notice when he couldn't feel the ground anymore and was floating in the air, then laid down on something soft.

He was soon propped back up and a glass of cold water was presented to his lips. Linx has never drank water that fast in his life before, his throat soon feeling refreshed. He leaned against his support and his body was starting to shut down, when yet another coughing fit emerged. Something soft was quickly shoved to his mouth and he coughed into that. Once it was over, his body melted down and he didn't feel like moving for another century.

But he still couldn't fall asleep, his worsening migraines guaranteed that. So he opened his eyes and was instantly stabbed by the lights. He closed them again, and through his eyelids, he saw the brightness of the room dim suddenly, so he tried opening his eyes back up. He wasn't stabbed by the light this time and managed to get a good glimpse of what was going on around him.

He was laying on the couch, with Kade in front of him and the other three now where to be found. The soft thing that was given to him was just his blanket, which was now slightly damp. Finn soon walked out the kitchen, carrying a tray filled with a plate of cut up bananas and a cup of tea. He placed the tray on the floor and handed Linx his tea. He sipped his tea and that's when Linx realized Kade's mouth was moving and he wasn't listening to anything.

"-hear me right? Should we take him to the doctor right now-"

"No, he should rest first and then we'll take him to a doctor tomorrow." Linx almost dropped his tea when he realized that the thing that was supporting him from his back was Austin and not the couch.

"Okay, we'll do that then. But we first need Linx to start responding to us to know if he's in pain or in need of anything-"

"I'm listening." Linx whispered, but it was heard loud and clear. Relief washed over Kade, Finn exhaled a long breathe, and Linx could even feel some of Austin's tension being released.

"Thank god, you had us worried there for a second. Do you need anything else? A thicker blanket, more tea, anything?" Kade asked, wanting to ease Linx's discomfort as much as possible. Linx nodded, but stopped himself from talking when he saw Trev walking in.

Trev gave Linx two pills of aspirin and put a hot towel against Linx's forehead, as if Trev was psychic and read Linx's mind. Linx nodded to Trev and swallowed the pills with his tea, relaxing because he knew that his migraines would improve now.

"Go to sleep Linx. If you need anything, we'll be right here." Linx felt Austin's rumbling voice and Linx nodded. Normally, Linx would've never slept in front of someone or let them take care of him, for all the times that he had done so weren't met with a happy ending. But right now he couldn't give a damn about how the boys were treating him and whether when he wakes up he won't be in a dumpster or in a strangers house.

He just closed his eyes, and for the first in forever, he slept in comfort.

_______