Having got into his pyjamas, Kayne jumped into bed and grabbed his phone, checking his messages.

There was one from his aunt Margaret about her leaving the county on a last-minute cruise with her new boyfriend, Richard. It was still early, but he seemed like a good person and was happy they had met. It was nice to see Margaret finally meet a decent man. She had always struggled with finding one that wasn't a waste of space.

He sent her a message wishing them a good holiday and moved on to the next one.

It was from his friend Paul, who had been his best friend since they were young as they went through the same boarding school. Paul had since moved to New Zealand but never lost contact, even if they had not met up for many years.

Checking the time, he knew his friend would be up given the time difference, so he called him over social media, and it wasn't long before Paul appeared on camera.

"Hey man, how's it going?" Paul asked with a smile.

His usual easygoing smile seemed to take up the entire camera as he ran his hands through golden locks on his head, looking like some kind of hippy surfer.

"Not bad. You up to much today?" Kayne replied with a nod.

They went through some introductory small talk before they ended up on his earlier run-in with the thugs as he explained the situation.

"You're as thick as two short planks sometimes. Why didn't you just call the police?" Paul asked, shaking his head with an exasperated expression on his face.

"I figured they would just throw a few insults out, and then that would be it. I wasn't expecting an hour-long game of fucking hide and seek in an abandoned factory. How was I supposed to know?" Kayne said, giving his friend a grim smile.

"For such an intelligent guy, you sure make some stupid decisions at times. You won't do anything about planning for your future, but antagonising the local hoodlums, you jump in feet first. They were obviously out looking for trouble by the sounds of it." Paul said in a disbelieving tone.

"Well, they nearly found trouble, didn't they?" Kayne chuckled.

"Oh yeah, I'm sure you'd have given them a good shoe in, all five of them," Paul joked, rolling his eyes.

"I remember when we tried kickboxing, you were about as much use a chocolate teapot." Paul continued, chuckling to himself as if remembering something.

"I only went because you dragged me to it. I just didn't see the point. It's not like I needed to learn it." Kayne bit back defensively.

"Yeah, tell that to the earlier you, Van Damme," Paul teased.

"Alright, you're right, as always." He replied, holding his hands up in mock surrender.

"Dam straight."

There was a few moments of silence as the pair gathered themselves before Paul spoke up again.

"You should think about moving over here."

"I told you before I'd think about it, and they wouldn't even let me in any way. I have zero skillsets they want." Kayne replied with a sigh as they returned to this conversation.

He loved his friend, and as much as he wanted to meet up and hang around in person, he just wasn't sure a move across the globe was what he wanted. It seemed like too much of a big risk, and as a creature of habit, he preferred his quiet life alone.

"Yeah, but you have the money. Just open your own business here, buy your own restaurant or fast food franchise; we both know how much you love your food." Paul said as he rubbed his fingers together, pretending to rub money between them. Paul then moved off camera momentarily and returned with a drink, punctuating his speech with a sip.

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"Perhaps." Kayne noncommittally replied.

It was a viable option.

"Well, why not just take some time off and spend a few weeks here? I think you'd love it, and you could probably use some time off stacking shelves and fighting bandits." Paul quipped, causing him to smile.

"Yeah, maybe you're right. There's no harm in visiting, and it has been a while since we met." He said as he tapped his chin in thought, mentally trying to picture his work rota to work out availability.

"See, I'm always right, and you know it. Come on, it'll be great. Sarah has this friend I think you'd get on with." Paul enthusiastically said as he grinned and winked.

"I haven't even agreed, and you're already setting me up."

"Naturally, because I'm the best wingman in the world." Paul joked, gave a big smile, and splayed his arms out.

"Alright, I'll think about it."

"You always say that. What have you got over there that you don't want to lose?" Paul said as he put the drink down he was fiddling with.

"My aunt, for one." Kayne quickly answered.

"Please, we both know she's loaded and spends half her time galavanting around the globe on her travels."

That was true. Margaret was a frequent solo traveller, well, until she met Richard. He never saw the appeal of going on holiday alone, but others did.

"Look, for real. When are you going to get your shit together? You're in your early twenties now; all you do is work a dead-end job and stay home. How is that any kind of life?" Paul asked seriously, his easygoing smile vanishing, causing him to feel a little defensive.

"That's what most people do, right?."

"No, most people work to be able to live, go on holiday, go out with friends, pull birds. You do none of that." Paul said as he listed things on his fingers.

"I've been out a few times." Kayne said, feeling a little deflated.

"Yeah, in how many years?"

He didn't reply as he knew his friend was right. The pair just sat in silence for a time, not saying anything.

"Look, I'm not trying to be a dick; I just want you to be okay. I don't care what you do. Just do something, stay there, move here, move to another planet. I don't care as long as you're happy. Whatever you are doing now isn't living; it's just existing."

Silence hung awkwardly in the air between them for a few moments.

"I know, it's just... I don't know." He admitted. He was unsure of why he'd got into such a downward spiral.

"Life just seems a little pointless, you know? I mean, you spend a third of it working, another third sleeping and the rest is probably spent worrying or doing pointless stuff, then you die."

"Come on, man, it isn't that bad. You'd see that if you came out here and actually enjoyed yourself. Maybe you just need a change. Besides, what would you do differently if you could live forever? You'd probably just hide in your room still." Paul said, sounding exasperated.

"Well, imagine the possibilities, the things you could see, the long-term goals you could chase." Kayne answered, thinking through all the things he'd do in that situation

"Yeah, I guess you always did have a thing about wanting to live forever. Invisibility is still the superior superpower, by the way." Paul joked, lightening up the mood and turning the subject away from the heavy tone it was taking.

"Yeah, right, you just want it to perve." He said, smiling at their continuation of a decades-old argument starting up again.

"All I'm saying is, it would've got you out of your situation earlier. You'd be hide and seek champion." Paul countered.

"So would living forever, they'd have got bored eventually, or I'd have outlived them."

"I guess you got me there."

"Look, I'm going to get going and do some chores. Let me know what dates you're free, and we'll sort something out and try not to get into any more trouble. You're not immortal." Paul said, sounding a little worried.

"No, but I'm fast."

"That's what she said." Paul spat out, ending the call before he could get a retort back.

He put his phone down and smiled at his friend. Maybe Paul was right, and he'd just got himself into a mental quagmire that he needed help getting out of.

He flicked the TV on in his room and decided to stay up late binging TV shows. Tomorrow was a night shift, and he didn't want to sleep too early and end up tired for work.

Perhaps a trip somewhere else is what I need.