The stack of college brochures on your desk is getting taller by the day, a colorful tower of possibilities. Some are from schools just a few hours away, others from places halfway across the country. You flip through one absentmindedly, but your thoughts are interrupted by a familiar voice.

“Hey.”

You glance up. Kyle leans against your doorframe, hands stuffed in the pockets of his hoodie, his expression carefully neutral. But you know him too well—he’s nervous.

“Hey,” you reply, setting the brochure down. “What’s up?”

Kyle shrugs, stepping into your room. “I was just thinking… You should go to Kingsford College. It’s, like, right there. You wouldn’t even have to move far, and it’s a good school.”

You sigh. “Kyle…”

“I’m serious,” he cuts in before you can protest. He flops onto your bed, staring at the ceiling. “It’s got everything you want. And if you stay, we could still hang out all the time. You wouldn’t have to start over somewhere weird and.. and I wouldn’t have to come home to a quiet house.”

You look at your younger brother, at the way he’s trying to act like this doesn’t matter as much as it does. But it does. Kyle has always been your shadow, your partner-in-crime. And now, with the reality of you leaving looming closer, it’s like he’s trying to grasp at anything to keep things the same.

“I don’t want you to go far,” he admits, voice quieter now. “I know I’m supposed to be cool about it, but I don’t want to. It already feels like everything’s changing.”

You swallow hard, because you don’t want to leave him either. But this is part of growing up, right? Chasing opportunities, figuring out who you are beyond the places and people you’ve always known. You sit beside him on the bed, bumping shoulders. “It’s not like I’m gonna disappear, you know. I’ll visit all the time. And you can visit me. It’s not the end of the world.”

Kyle sniffs, and for a second, you think he might actually cry. But he just laughs, shaking his head. “Yeah, yeah. Just… don’t forget about me, alright?”