I hadn’t expected to miss home as much as I had.

But landing in Heraklion for the first time in four months made me relax almost instantly. And, honestly, I was surprised. Aside from Iraklis and my parents, the whole place wasn’t exactly filled with good memories for me.

Still, I had fun with my parents. Unfortunately, she had eventually decided not to join me. I supposed it made sense. This wasn’t even a relationship, or even a proper friendship. It was definitely something, but it was also new. So maybe this was for the best.

Maybe we would be able to be better this time. A part of me was afraid that we wouldn’t. That I would continue to use this relationship as I had before, constantly relying on Birgit for everything, while she wouldn’t see this as anything more than an escape from her parents.

But I also knew that I couldn’t think like that. I had to be optimistic. I would learn, not just from my mistakes as Alexander, but as Jacob as well. Joanne Goldstein.

I let out a sigh, a long, deep one, hoping that all my issues would go with it.

God, I was a mess.

I checked my phone. Five minutes past six.

I was at the edge of Koules, standing on top of the wall at the end of the pier, the lighthouse shining for the coming ships, and the smell of sea and the city infiltrating my nose.

I felt a sudden shift in the air behind me. As if something moved. I smirked. He was trying to be sneaky.

“You’re late,” I said, without turning around.

“You know, hero-in-training, I’m used to having the first word in our conversations. I don’t know if I can go on like this.”

I turned around to see Iraklis standing there. Well, standing wasn’t the correct term. He was floating.

“You’re late,” I said again. He groaned, and my smirk grew evermore. “Short-and-blonde.”

He studied me for a bit. He looked me up and down, scrutinised me. I could swear I saw his smile dip a bit, before it went back up again, stretching his face. It was almost… unnatural.

You look… different. Something happen at Atlantis?”

It was then that I realised that he didn’t know. He didn’t know anything that had happened to me. He was my best friend, and we hadn’t talked in months.

“Well, it was-it was a long four months.”

“Tell me about it,” he said, smiling, as he sat down next to me. “Exams are coming up straight as we open, and I’m fully stressed. I might not even make it to the Inter School Tournament!”

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“What?”

“I didn’t tell you but I-I kind of joined a baseball team. It’s a lot of work, but it’ll help me land a scholarship for an elite medicine program. And then I can-”

“Then you can go to even more prestigious apprenticeships with actual heroes.”

“It’s a lot, I know, but it’s the dream, right? To be the greatest heroes we can be?”

It was the dream wasn’t, it? Well, for Iraklis at least. I thought back to the Alpha Surge story. The one that made me look up to him. I never had aspirations that were as grand as Iraklis’, but I couldn’t fault him for shooting for the stars either.

I thought that my friendship with Iraklis was the one thing that I could trust not to change.

“How about WPW?” I had to change the subject. No matter what I said now, it wouldn’t help. “You watched any new matches? Mortician's been on a roll.”

“I’ve actually been kind of staying away from that,” he said. The forced smile still hadn’t left his face.

I didn’t bother with a fake smile of my own. “What?”

He looked at me apologetically. “I’ve been focusing on my studying. Making new circles, going out, that sort of thing. I guess with time the interests I had here, the interests we had, fell into the backburner.”

I didn’t like the thought. I didn’t like the idea that it would only take four months and we’d end up so detached. And yet, we’d been sitting here for barely a minute, and we’d all but confirmed that.

Except we hadn’t. I looked back up to Iraklis.

“Was that why you didn’t really try to keep contact? That and the school thing?”

He let out a sigh, but he didn’t say anything. I was right.

“We’ve always been there for one another Iraklis. Through thick and thin. Remember summer?”

He cringed slightly. “I try not to, but yeah.”

I remembered my previous life. The childhood friends I had, few as they were, and how I lost most of them in time. But I’d managed to keep contact with those that counted, at least until I fell off the deep end.

“What I learned recently is that everything changes. Sometimes it sucks. Sometimes we have to learn the same lessons again and again as we backslide. We just have to push through. And the things that truly matter, we won’t lose them. I think our friendship is like that. With things being as they are, we have to fight for it–both of us.”

I could see him trying to wipe his tears away, but failing. He even chuckled a bit. “Jesus, what happened to you? You’re like, wise and stuff.”

“Don’t know about wise, but I am pretty awesome.”

“You know, there was something…big that happened. While I was in America.”

“Looks like we both have stuff to share.”

“Yeah.” he looked at the sea. “I just don’t know if I’m ready to. Yet.”

“Me neither, honestly,” I said, looking back at him. “We can just sit here, you know. Talk about the smaller stuff. Can you believe we’re barely eighteen and feel like this.”

“The wonders of university!” said Iraklis, spreading out his arms, like he was showing me something. “Taking our dainty little baby faces and turning us into old men!”

We both laughed at that.

So my friendship with Iraklis wasn’t the same. It had changed as well, and it probably would change again in the future. I didn’t know what would happen then, and how I would handle it, but I didn’t care.

I didn’t care because we just sat there, talking for hours.

And, if only for a second, I was able to take my mind off the coming battle.