Simon checked his bank statement once again. Charlie's grandmother had sent him all the money Max had sent so far, and no matter how long he looked at it, the amount hadn't changed. It was clear - Simon had enough money for the first rent. 

He could finally start looking for a new apartment. 

Even though he hadn't received his pay cheque this month, he knew that once he did, he would finally be able to move out. 

It was a strange thought. Although he couldn't wait for it, it felt strange now that it was here. For some reason, he even felt a little sad about it. This apartment had brought him a lot of memories over the past half year and had become his temporary home. 

Now he was discreetly packing his things into his bags, hoping Max wouldn't notice, and moving his belongings to his friends' apartment. He still had a bunch of his stuff in their apartment, but he strategically moved it forward in the closet to make it look like nothing was missing. 

The fact that Max was so self-centred was at least good for something, since he hadn't noticed anything. 

"I hope you're not thinking about that bastard again." 

"Of course not," he immediately assured Jeff, though the opposite was true. 

"Your apartment isn't going to pick itself," Charlie warned him.  

As Simon had never lived alone before, Charlie and Jeff offered to go with him to look at the apartments. He'd lived in halls before he'd moved in with Max, and he'd lived with his parents before he'd started university. He'd never lived on his own. It was a big step, and although he wasn't sure he was ready for it, he desperately needed a change. 

"I'm just a bit worried about living on my own," Simon admitted to at least one of his fears. 

"Don't worry," Charlie reassured him at once, putting a hand on his shoulder. "We'll be with you so often that you'll long for a moment of peace." 

Simon smiled gratefully at his words. "I don't know what I'd do without you," he replied honestly. 

"Luckily, you'll never find out," Charlie smiled brightly at him. 

"Yeah, Charlie's pretty annoying," Jeff confirmed. Charlie rolled his eyes at him, patted Simon on the shoulder and then leaned against the door to open it.

It was the third building and so far Simon hadn't found a place he liked at all. He might have had high standards, but he certainly wasn't going to live in a place that smelled of cat poo and marijuana. He could handle living with a cheater, but he definitely couldn't handle living in a place where someone who wanted to buy a joint was likely to come knocking on the door. 

As it turned out, however, the third option was not the right one either. The flat looked small in the photos, but when he could barely open the door to the hallway because there wasn't enough room, he knew it would get worse the more steps he took into it. 

"Don't worry, we'll find something," Charlie assured him as they walked out the front of the building.

"Maybe you should ask Max for more next time," Jeff suggested. 

Simon gave him an incredulous look. 

"He's a student. Where do you think he's going to get the money from? Besides, if he sends me more, he won't be able to afford the rent in our apartment and I'll have to pay it." 

"Or you don't pay it, you move in with me for a while and leave him to his misery," Jeff countered. 

Simon thought about it for exactly one second before deciding that it would be too cruel and he couldn't do that to Max, no matter how much he hurt him. "I'm about to get my pay cheque. With the money from Max and the money from the bar, I'll have a nice sum." 

"Send one now," Charlie interjected.

"What?" Simon knew what he meant, he just wasn't expecting it. 

"Three flats, three losses. We need at least one win today," he explained. 

"Wait!" Jeff threw up his hands, and slowly but surely an excited smile appeared on his face. He was up to something, and it wasn't good. "How about we jazz it up?" 

Before Simon could react, Charlie beat him to it. "What do you suggest?"

"What if we took a picture of Simon and sent it first? Let him know that we know him and can find him if we want to," Jeff explained his plan. 

"That's actually a good idea." Charlie looked surprised. But then he turned to Simon and added, "He might even text you and warn you."

"And tell me what? That I have a stalker?" Simon doubted that theory. 

"Just try it," Charlie persuaded him. "Please." 

"Pretty please," Jeff joined in with puppy dog eyes. 

"Fine," Simon agreed with a sigh. They decided to go to the café where Simon usually hung out with his friends, and on the sidewalk a few shops away, Jeff and Charlie took a picture of Simon walking towards the café. 

Then they decided to move quickly to somewhere else, somewhere where Max would definitely not find them, and while they drank their coffee, Simon prepared another photo to send. 

"Should I send a picture of me first or one of his secret dates?" he asked, looking at the gallery, which still contained enough incriminating material for blackmail. 

"His first," Charlie said at the same time as Jeff said "Yours first." 

"Right." Simon laughed and rolled his eyes. "I'll start a conversation and see what he texts back." He made up his own mind in the end. 

To Max: Long time no see. 

To Max: Did you miss me?

Max didn't reply immediately. According to Simon's information, he should be at home right now, but he'd learned his lesson and knew that probably meant he was busy in a way that Simon preferred not to know about. 

"He's not answering," he announced aloud, taking a sip of his coffee. He put the phone down on the table and scanned the rest of the café. It was pretty empty in here today.

"If I were him, I'd be paranoid and check my phone all the time," Jeff declared, making Simon turn his attention to him.

"I don't think you'd ever be in his shoes," he argued. Charlie laughed and Simon frowned. "What?" 

"I'm not saying Jeff's a cheater, but he's definitely messed with a few people at the same time before," he exclaimed.

"They knew about it." Jeff pointed at Charlie and then turned to Simon. "I didn't promise anyone anything. I explained that I wasn't looking for anything serious, just regular sex partners. Basically friends with benefits," he explained. 

"Something you need," Charlie added, dedicating his words to Simon.

"Can you imagine me having friends with benefits?" he asked in a tone somewhere between amusement and disbelief. 

"Well, we're your friends. All you have to do now is get the benefits," Charlie said, equally amused. 

Before Simon could reply, his phone alerted him to a new message.

From Max: How much do you want? 

"He asked me how much I wanted." He read aloud and looked at his friends. "He took the fun out of it." 

"Then you need to make it fun yourself," Charlie advised him. 

"See, I was right." A broad grin appeared on Jeff's face. "Yours first." 

Simon returned the smile and went straight into action. 

To Max: How much are you willing to pay? 

To Max: I'll give you some motivation. 

Immediately after the last message, he sent a photo of himself taken by Charlie and Jeff. And just as he expected, Max immediately reacted. 

From Max: I told you to leave him alone

From Max: Are you stalking him now?

From Max: If you hurt him, I'll kill you

Simon laughed out loud without realising it.

"He'll kill me if I hurt him. I mean me," he explained to his friends, before turning his attention back to his phone.

To Max: You've already hurt him enough

To Max: I intend to heal his soul

To Max: If you confess, yours will be cured too 

From Max: I don't need your advice

From Max: Go to hell

From Max: How much do you want?

To Max: Are you trying to ruin my fun? 

To Max: First a picture

Without waiting for a reply, he attached a photo of Max kissing some guy in the street. Even though it was dark outside, the lamp was just bright enough to see that it was Max in the photo, and the colour of the other guy's hair made it clear that it wasn't Simon.

To Max: Now you can pay

Max didn't text back again. Simon waited and waited, and nothing. He started to write another message, but then decided against it and deleted what he had written. It wasn't the first time Max had stopped texting back and just sent the money. 

Simon put the phone down on the table and decided to pay attention to his friends. If Max didn't send the money by the end of the day, then he'd deal with it. Now all he needed was coffee and good company.

As it turned out, he didn't need to take matters into his own hands. An hour later Charlie's phone started ringing and after a few words his expression changed comically. He looked shocked and then, as he explained what had happened, he wasn't the only one.

"Holy shit," he said and then repeated, "Holy shit. Are you serious?" Jeff and Simon exchanged puzzled glances.

"Okay, okay, thanks." When he put the phone back on the table, he still looked more than a little shocked. 

"He sent $500."