Randall decides to give you a key to the apartment.

Later, after he'd both showered and changed, the two of you played some Call of Duty for an hour or two, before you once again had to make your way back home. He apologized again for keeping you waiting outside and mentioned how the next several days at work would probably be the same as today. What with all the extra work he was having to get used to dealing with, getting back here on time was probably unlikely. But he suggested, rather than you getting a later bus or having to once again wait outside, why doesn't he just give you your own key.

"Really? Don't... don't you need it for anything?"

"Nah. Who else comes round here anyway?" he shrugged, sneering slightly, "It's not like my dad is banging down my door all the time (this being one of the few times he'd actually mentioned his father since you initially come round). Besides this means that you can let yourself in whenever you want. Can play on the XBox or whatever until I get back. What do you say?"

"Sure. Yeah. That's a pretty good idea. But... I mean, you don't mind me just letting myself in whenever?" He may still just by the same Randall underneath, but he was also an mature, adult woman, and you knew that some people really liked their privacy.

"It's only for when I'm not here, dude. You can still knock," Randall chuckled, obviously thinking you were getting a little ahead of yourself. He wasn't giving you an open invite to just walk in anytime you wanted after all. "And besides, we're still best buddies ain't we? "What's mine is yours" as they say... "

Taking the key from him then, you happily smiled, "Cool. Thanks, dude." Still thinking it a pretty big deal anyway (even if he wasn't).

In your eyes, it was almost as if the apartment was some sort of secret retreat to get away from the world. A home away from home if you will. Much more than it had ever been when your Auntie Joan had lived there. Back then it was just a neat place you would only occasionally visit, and would never really stay for long. Now though, with a key, you could come and go as you please (with the proviso that you knocked first of course), play Randall's video games on his much bigger TV, lounge around on his much comfier couch. And even, if you really wanted, have a snooze in the spare bed. It was pretty much the bachelor pad the two of you had always dreamed about owning. Albeit, with a bachelorette instead of a bachelor.

That being said, and although he had given you a spare key, you didn't actually get a chance to use it over the next several days. Randall was a little too swamped with work to meet up, having to pull a few late nighters (much to his chagrin), and had actually managed to get home early on the Friday, so was back before you.

On the Saturday though you had arranged to do some shopping with your mother and brother, so weren't entirely sure if you'd get a chance to stop in at Randall's or not. And had left your plans rather vague. Somewhat miraculously for your family however, you had managed to get finished up relatively early, and excused yourself, telling them that you were once again going to "meet up with some friends". Making your way out to Randall's, still not particularly happy about lying (though you supposed technically Randall was a friend), you then sent him a text to tell him you were on your way over.

You arrived there before you'd gotten a reply however, and you wondered for a moment if you might actually get the chance to use your spare key - there being a rather long pause after you'd knocked.

When the door did finally open, you got somewhat of a surprise. Finding not at all who you'd been expecting on the other side. It was Aisha.

"Hey... You're Tim, right? Jo's nephew?" she asked. Her presence making you feel suddenly rather panicked. She isn't supposed to be here...

"Uh... yuh-yeah," you nervously stuttered.

"I thought I recognized you. It's been a while. I'm Aisha."

"Yeah, I remember." How could you forget?

Flashing you a jaw dropping smile, looking just as cute as you remembered, she then apologized for keeping you standing there, saying, "Come on in. Jo's just in the bathroom." 'Jo' presumably being Randall.

"Hey, look who I found at the door!" she called out as you followed her inside, well aware of how awkward this was about to become.

You and Randall had never had to deal with anyone else while the two of you were together. It having always just been the two of you alone. What the hell were you meant to say now? How were you supposed to act? You really had no idea...

"Who's that?" you heard Randall's chipper sounding voice ask a moment later. Followed soon after by the sight of him walking through the door, freezing on the spot as soon as he saw you. "...Oh. Oh, hey. Hey, Tim," he awkwardly mumbled, looking just as panicked as you felt. Obviously having the exact same thoughts running through his head that were now going through yours.

Replying with "Hi... Auntie Joan", you found the words unconvincingly tumbling out. Having had no practice calling him anything other than his own name.

"I wasn't expecting to see you today," Randall continued, glancing back and forth between both you and Aisha, who had now sat herself down. "I thought you had that 'thing' with your mom."

"Yeah, sorry. I got finished early. Didn't you get my text?" You had after all given him some warning.

Randall's reply however indicated that he clearly hadn't. Presumably having been kept too busy chatting to Aisha to notice. "Text...?"

With neither of you prepared and Aisha simply sitting there on the couch observing this weird exchange, you decided the best course of action was just to get the hell out of there. Come back later perhaps when she was no longer there.

"Maybe I should go then," you said, pointing back towards the door, "if you're busy..."

Aisha wasn't having that though, telling you not to leave on her account. "We were just blathering away anyway. It's not like you're interrupting anything important. Besides, I haven't seen you in such a long time. Your Aunt is always telling me about how you're doing." Presumably your Aunt Joan had. Your real Aunt Joan. Not the one that was standing there now, staring awkwardly. "Come on, grab a seat," she smiled, patting at the cushion next to her. Ordering Randall then to "go get the boy a drink."

Giving you a little shrug, indicating to just try and wing it as best you can (Aisha obviously not being all that easily swayed), Randall then replied, "Coming right up!", and proceeded towards the kitchen to get you a soda. You meanwhile, with no other option, took a seat near Aisha and were soon being grilled about nearly every single aspect of your life. School. Your family. Relationships. How sorry she was to hear about your friend who'd died - Aisha being the kind of woman who could talk till there was no air left in the room. And talk she did, forcing you and Randall to act out this strange new dynamic. No longer where you equals or best friends who hung out together and talked crap about everything and anything. Now you were Nephew and Auntie. He was your elder. Your mother's sister. You had to be respectful and him ever so slightly patronizing... Though thankfully he did do a much better job than when the two of you had just been messing around.

As uncomfortable and unpleasant as it was keeping up this charade, you had to admit that you were equally as perturbed by his interactions with her. Randall now treating Aisha like she was his best friend instead of you. Laughing away at her jokes and playing along that he knew all the references she brought up (while most of the time it was clear he did not). He did a good job of faking a lot of it though. A conversation about a clothing exhibition Madelyn was putting on... the ins and outs of someone called Veronica's divorce... the type of shoes that would best suit a specific style of dress, all being topics that Randall actually looked like he was engaged in - while you were slowly starting to fall asleep.

What did wake you up however was reference to all the mess you'd made of '"Jo's nice and clean apartment", Aisha being under the impression that all of Randall's stuff - his XBox, DVD's, CD's etc. all belonged to you - and that you'd been the one who'd left them strewn around every time you came to visit.

"Uh... yeah. Sorry about that," you told her, going along with the ruse. "I just thought It'd be best to leave them here, rather than having to drag them back and forward all the time."

"I thought that might be what it was. Well, either that or your Auntie Joan had suddenly developed some pretty weird tastes after that bump on the head."

This was obviously meant as a joke, though it took a second for either of you to respond. Overcompensating with laughter after giving each other a knowing little glare.

"Anyway, I better get going," she then announced, pulling out her phone and flicking quickly through her schedule. "I've got to meet Dierdre and Ron later. It was nice to see you again, Tim."

"You too," you told her, as the three of you all got up and made your way towards the door.

"And you just keep an eye on that Auntie of yours. She's become way too much of a recluse recently. We need to get her back out into the world." This unbeknownst to her was presumably a reference to the fact that Randall had been spending most of his time with you rather than your Auntie's friends, and it kind of started to dawn on you what exactly your father had meant when he'd talked to you about him last week.

"I'll uh, I'll try my best," you replied, looking knowingly towards Randall.

Giving him a hug, and telling him she'd "see you later, babe", Aisha then headed out the door, leaving the two of you alone. The both of you letting out a simultaneous sigh of relief. Glad to be finally able to drop the act that you'd being keeping up for the best part of an hour now.