The plan doesn't exactly start out as a plan. It becomes one, but it starts out as more of a general idea that Andrew can't help but fixate on and if he's fixating on it that just means he won't stop until he gets it done. For most of Wednesday he plots and throughout the day is when he really puts in the work with all the details. He actually makes a list of bullet points along with it. For a man whose brain seems to work on overdrive it means he truly needs a different layer of focus when he's making an actual to-do list.

When Bazzi peers over to ask about what he's doing, as he's typing away on his laptop looking focused as ever, he claims he's replying to a bunch of emails he's been skipping out on but officially needs to get to or else his manager, along with his publicist, will kick the door down and drag him into one of their offices to get it done. he continues typing.

rooftop escapades

• get rooftop. very crucial. the most crucial.

• make sure there's a thick blanket up there. mattress is ideal but also highly unrealistic. how the hell are you going to get a fucking mattress on a roof? no. thick blanket is fine. sleeping bag is even better, sleeping bag and blankets (multiple blankets. bazzi runs cold.) pillows needed too.

• food. there's some food i can get away with throwing in a bag but wine i probably can't. too obvious. also some kind of alcohol. wine? whiskey? both? both

• some kind of lighting's going to be necessary here. can't just use up phone's battery here and get stranded at 0% or hang out completely in the dark. more horror than fun, probably

• projector. for a rebel without a cause showing. mine's too big. who else has a projector? owen, tasha, lexi

• fireworks? no, no, bad idea. you'll for sure get found out and then kicked out in 5 seconds flat if people hear and complain.

Slowly but surely items start getting crossed off the list. He's got some friends who live in apartments and those apartments happen to have rooftops too but now it's a matter of privacy. He can't just set up this sort of thing and have random people hanging around. He wants full privacy here. He has to call in a favor for this one. How much will it cost to rent out the rooftop for a few hours? He gets an estimate and a little while later it's done, booked up and worth it.

He makes a change on the list

• fireworks? no, no, bad idea. you'll for sure get found out and then kicked out in 5 seconds flat if people hear and complain. FIREWORKS

Now, the added planning process begins. Wednesday night he takes a night drive over to the apartment complex so he can check everything out. The added bonus here is that there are already fairy lights strung up so he can scratch that one off the list of rooftop necessities. The rooftop is great, has perfect Los Angeles glimmering views, but shit. He should've used this opportunity to get more things up here. he drove over to grab the projector from a friend and brought it uo which was stress enough to get it all set up, so, Tomorrow. He has already claimed Bazzi for the day and clarifies that their official hangout starts at 4. They spend the morning together, they hang out in the backyard afterwards, and then Andrew heads out.

He only has a few hours to get everything else done and shit, this is not as easy as he imagined it would be. As though it would all magically work out the way he intended and he'd be done in forty-five minutes. No, he has to go back and forth from the car up the elevator to get everything in place. At one point he stop along the way to pause and tell himself he really should work on his cardio some more. Maybe push past the running hatred? A possibility. Probably not. fine, no. He shoves the large sleeping back down and opens it up so it's even wider and then piles on two more blankets and the pillows on top of it. Then, the cooler filled with some food that can stay and the alcohol near it. He forgot the speakers. Shit. But... it's fine, he makes a reminder on his phone so he doesn't forget.

• do NOt forget the fucking speakers

Driving back to make his way to his house, to Bazzi, he is actually surprised at the fact that he feels nerves poking through. He's excited to shot it off, sure, but there's a new sort of element of surprise that comes with hosting this sort of surprise. They both appreciate a good rooftop and looking at glimmering lights from above and there's a certain sort of thrill that comes along with putting something together for someone else and the thrill doesn't let up here. More than anything, Bazzi deserves it. This and even more. He wants to do something a little bit extra special among all the LA exploration, an added personal touch to the mix. The fact that they only have a few days left together has started to creep in more and more and though he tries not to think of it too much the thought keeps on falling on him at random moments. he knows he has to go home at some point but having a clear end date in mind gets to him in a different way. it's so finite.

They'll still talk, of course they'll still talk, and they've done it for a while before but there's a feeling that it won't be quite the same. Not once he has this taste of such close proximity at his fingertips, lingering throughout his days. As of late he's been able to get bazzi right up in his space and he's been enjoying it, it feels shockingly natural. The desire to keep spending time with him hasn't gone away. If anything, it's ramped up. He wants to keep making the Los Angeles experience memorable because it should be. He wants it to be colored with him in the mix, too. Sometimes he feels like for the amount he can talk, tell stories, there's something to be said about showing up. about the little things that stand out.

He pulls up to the house and makes his way inside before Bazzi can notice solely to throw in some more things from the fridge in his bag and get those speakers in there as well as anything else that catches his eye last minute. Scrabble, why not. A book, sure. Sweaters? Grab two. Double check to see if the fireworks are in there, done. Will his bag be getting too heavy? Probably. He jumps in the shower and dry his hair quickly, throwing on a pair of jeans and his shirt. "Alright, you ready to head out? Oh, and bring your camera. Just in case." And then off they go.

The idea here is rooftop night part two. This time, they're not going to be sidetracked and they will be successful. It's a must. Tonight, they stay focused. Tonight, they have to stay focused because Andrew's got things waiting. They're in the right area but further away enough so they can wander around and start perusing possible rooftop options. "Look, let's try that" Andrew points out to a fire escape that they have no way of climbing up. Then, Bastian finds a rooftop bar that looks like it has a promising way up the side. So promising, in fact, that Andrew actually gets nervous at how viable this option is and how willing Bazzi is to climb up and showcase his point.

"No." He calls out, just as Bazzi is about to climb up one more way. "It's not going to work, look up there." He has no clue what's up there. "You see that?" There's nothing. "The rust? It's a sign that it's unstable. Not worth it." Though a small back and forth ensues about the state of reliability of the ladder he ultimately manages to get Bazzi down. He breathes a sigh of relief over it. Okay, that was enough internal panic he's had to hide for one night. Best to make their way to the spot already before he has a meldtown.

They keep walking and then they hit the apartment building. "Wait, wait. My friend is going to live here. They just finished up with building it and most of the tenants can officially move in at the end of the summer. They've got a rooftop, new. Maybe that's our best bet? He's not in his place but maybe it's still open. Let's try it out, see what might happen." And he genuinely does sound like he's unsure to sell it here but then that quickly turns to certainty. "Let's try it out." He mentions to Bazzi that he's shooting a quick text to his friend to inform him of the plans (he's already done this, his friend knows, he texts no one) and then they head to the doorman to give them the name of his friend and their names as visitors. One call later, they're in.

"it's for the greater good of rooftop exploration" that and the fact that he is aware it is going to work and yet he still manages to surprise himself at how this is actually going according to plan. They get to the top level and Andrew leads the way out to the door that then leads to the rooftop... whose entrance is locked. He makes a show of trying to open it but no such luck. "Ah, fuck." He turns to look at Bazzi. "If only I had some sort of key." then, he pats his pocket and takes out the key so he can then opens the door with ease. he keeps it open for Bazzi so he can walk in first. the anticipation of everything finally being seen makes its way back, the mix of excitement and slight nerves along with it. the set up that looks a lot different than everything else the rooftop has to offer is immediately visible - blankets and pillows, projector, lights, coolor and everything else nearby.

"oh. would you look at that." he puts the knapsack down and folds his arms, leaning against the railing. he keeps his eyes locked on bazzi as the realization settles in.