"All right, woman," Aundrea said as she closed the door behind her, startling Aubrey and Audrina as Aubrey painted Audrina's toe nails, "you have some explaining to do."

"Who?" Aubrey looked at Drea, eyebrow raised. "Who does?"

"Not you, dum-dum. Drina."

"Me?! Why me?!" Audrina got up, toes separated by the foam divider. "What the hell did I do?!"

Aundrea smirked, shaking her head and leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. "You know, I don't understand you when it comes to matters of the heart at all. You're in love with JC, but you go and kiss some other guy?"

Audrina looked at her, confused. "What are you talking about?"

It was silent in the room as Aundrea looked at her friend, disbelief etched all over as Aubrey sat on the bed, eyes going from friend to friend, trying to read their faces to get a clue as to what was going on. Audrina snapped her gum, cringing when it made a loud click that echoed in the room.

Finally, Drea spoke. "You mean, you have no idea what I'm talking about right now?"

Audrina shook her head. "I have absolutely no clue."

"JC came to talk to you tonight," Aundrea said matter-of-factly, arms crossing underneath her chest as she studied her friend face, looking for a sign of realization. There was none, at least, that she was showing. "Walked into your part of the hallway while you were playing a game of tonsil hockey with some man -"

"Tonsil hockey? Muff, that's like, junior high slang that -" Aubrey stopped, seeing the look Drea gave her. "I mean, Audrina! You were kissing someone?! Who?!"

Audrina swallowed. She had been busted. "Oh, that."

"You kissed someone that wasn't him?" Aubrey got up, eyes wide. "Audrina, who was he?!"

"It's not a big deal, guys," she said softly, looking at them. "It really wasn't and I -" She stopped, looking at Drea expectantly. "He came to see me?"

"Yes!" She threw her hands up in exasperation, grabbing her friend's arm and sitting her down on the bed. "But who were you kissing?"

"I didn't mean to kiss him, it was a mistake -"

"What, you just slipped and hit his mouth with your lips?"

She turned to look at Aubrey, she chuckling as Aundrea grinned from in front of her. "No. I went to hug him and he kissed me. As quick as it started, I ended it. I just, I couldn't -" She stopped, defeated and sighing loudly. "I just couldn't -"

"You couldn't what? Spit it out already, woman!"

Audrina inhaled slowly, eyes fluttering closed as the face with blue eyes and dark hair graced her eyelids like a movie, tears burning as she opened them, meeting her two friends' curious gazes, "I couldn't start something with someone else when I didn't know if the other is finished."

"I knew it," Aundrea whispered as Audrina just looked down at her hands, toying with the eternity band her brother had given her, the symbolism of how the two of them would never be too far away from each other if the other needed them, that they'd be around for each other forever. Or as long as life would let them.

She wanted her brother.

"Okay!" Aubrey clapped her hands together, startling Audrina and bringing Aundrea's gaze to her. "Okay, so let's ... let's fix this. Let's continue on with this damn fairytale that abruptly was put on pause with a stupid drama. Let's get his ass in here and straighten this shit out. Let's get his fucking mind sent straight and get these two back to fuck -"

"Bree, stop," Aundrea laughed slightly, hand going to her friend's mouth and silencing her, "as much as we all want to put these two together ourselves, it's not going to happen that way. It has to happen on their terms, otherwise, it's just ... it's not going to work. They're too much of a pain in the ass to each other to have it work any other way."

"Then damnit, go talk to him!"

"No can do," Aundrea said, shaking her head, "he's already sleeping -"

"Then go wake his ass up!"

"It'd probably be best to let him blow off the steam he has -"

"Guys, stop," Audrina stopped them, getting up and pulling her clothes off of her body, pulling her tank top and pajama pants on. "I can't deal with this right now, all right? I just, I can't." She turned to look at them, sympathetic gazes burning straight to her heart. "And I can't take it when you look at me like that."

"Like what?" Aubrey looked at her, head cocked to the side as she hugged a pillow to her chest, confused. "I always look at you like this."

"No, no, you don't," Audrina said, shaking her head, "you don't look at me as if you feel sorry for me. You don't look at me like you see a child in dire need of a bandaid. Look at me like your friend. Your friend who had her life in check and suddenly, it isn't. Look at me like you support me, and that's ... that's it."

"I'm gonna always support you, Drine -"

"Okay," she said softly, reaching for her Blackberry and tucking it into the waistband of her pants. "I'm going for a walk."

"Drine -"

"I'm all right, Drea," she said softly, reaching for the door and not once looking at her friends again, their gazes hurt too much. Their gazes said everything she was afraid to say to herself, "I just need to be alone right now."

She walked down the hall, biting her lip as she approaching his door, hand slowly raising and resting against the wood, afraid to knock. She was afraid to face him now, afraid to even look at the man she had loved to look at for all those years. Suddenly, being in his presence scared her; suddenly, his opinion meant more to her than her fame, her music, even her overcoming her disease. He meant way too much to her for her to ruin what they had.

Her hand dropped, vibrating of her phone startling her as she looked at the door once last time before she stepped away, walking down the hallway and out of earshot of his room. Pulling the phone out, she saw her brother's name on the ID and lifted it to her ear, surprised. "Brian?"

"Hey, baby sister," he said softly, the tired, yet cheery tone bringing tears to her eyes. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," she lied, ducking into the corner of the hall where the ice machine was and leaning up against the wall, sliding down to a sitting position as she put her forehead to her knees, "just tired, is all."

"Then ... why did I get a phone call by two concerned friends at nearly one in the morning?"

"That," she said, pausing to keep a sob at bay, "I do not know."

"Don't lie to me, Drine," Brian said, voice still soft, yet she knew it was a warning, "I know you have something going on in that head of yours, otherwise you wouldn't have just up and left your room at this time of night to 'walk'. Aubrey and Drea wouldn't have called either, if there wasn't a problem."

"Someone kissed me tonight," she said, he quiet on the other line, "and I couldn't ... I couldn't do it. Not while he was here, not when my mind isn't on the right mindset and not ever ..."

"Because ..."

"Because I don't want to kiss anyone else," she concluded, breath shaky as she held sobs back, "because I don't want to close the book on he and I. Because I'm too afraid to even go back to re-read what we had because I'm afraid it has ended and I just missed that part of the story ..."

"Then," Brian chuckled, "go back to the co-author and see what he concluded the story with."

"I can't."

"Drina -"

"He saw us kissing, Brian. He already knows I was kissing someone else."

"So?"

"So? The one man I am in love with saw me kissing someone else. Does that not write a very bad story to you?"

"You need to stop comparing your life to a story, Drina."

"You're right," she mumbled, "my life isn't a story, it's a damn soap opera!" She gripped her hair at it's roots tugging gently to try and calm herself down. "Why does all this bad shit happened to me, Brian, huh? Why can I never get my life to stay on track for even a week?"

"Because ... having a platinum album and a sold-out promotional tour is the only thing you're allowed to have?"

"I'm serious, Brian," she mumbled, rubbing roughly at her eyes, make-up smearing on her skin, "I get a best selling album and then you get sick. I sell my second album better than my first and you have to get yet another heart surgery. I sell my third album and I get sick. I go on a hiatus and get pretty much back to health and JC runs. Now, it's all just falling apart. Not just one thing, but everything!"

"Audrina, you need to calm yourself down and face this as the adult I know you are," Brian coached, "get off of your butt, grow some manly parts and just say what you feel to him. We've seen the way the two of you look at each other. It's not over, Audrina. It never will be over. There's too much history, too much strength between the two of you for it to end. Just, suck up what pride you have left and go to him. I don't care if he's not there, you find him; I don't care if he's in the shower, you rip open that curtain and spill your heart out ... just not anything else; I don't care if he's sleeping, you wake him up and you say what you need to say. He's a good guy, Drina. A really good guy. He's not just gonna shut the door on you without letting you talk."

"I'll try."

"No, you'll do." Brian was quiet for a moment, Audrina thinking he had hung up, "I know you can do this. This is your future you are dealing with, love. This isn't a song that you can't figure out if you want on the album or not. This is life. Love. The man you love that you want to have a life with. Just, do it."

"Okay."

"I'll call you tomorrow."

She hung up the phone, gathering her nerves up as she wiped the tears away from her eyes as they still fell. He was right, regardless of her wanting him to be, he was. She needed to face him, get it all out in the open just so he knew. After that, it was his move ... yet again.

She walked quickly, reaching his door quickly and inhaling a shaky breath. Raising her fist to the heavy door, she knocked lightly, glancing down and seeing no lights on. He was asleep.

"I don't care if he's sleeping, you wake him up and say what you need to say ..."

Right. Stay on the right track. She shifted from foot to foot, biting her lip and staring at the numbers on his hotel suite's door. 507. 507. 507. She knocked again. 507. Fifty oh seven. Five zero seven. Five oh sev -

"Audrina?"

She jumped, blank stare from her face washed away as she stared at the groggy man standing in front of her, clothes wrinkled, eyes red. Had he been cry - no. He wasn't like that. "J-Jace, I need to talk to you."

He stood there, hand scratching the back of his head for a moment as he took in her form, it probably a mess in his eyes, though she wasn't disagreeing with him. But he had seen her at her worst, and this ... this may be close. "Okay," he said softly, voice raspy as he opened the door wider to grant her entrance, "come in."

She hesitantly stepped forward, following him in and shutting the door behind her, standing in the foyer as he crossed the room into the living room, sitting down on the couch and eyeing her expectantly, she stumbling forward and standing across the room from him. "I'm sorry if I woke you, I -"

"What did you want, Drina?"

She cringed, he sitting with his arms resting on his thighs, arms dangling between his legs. "I just, I -"

"I was sleeping, you know. And we do have about eight hours of soundcheck and then a show to put on, so come on, out with it."

"All right, I -" she stopped, looking away and taking a breath, "Aundrea said that you saw me tonight."

"And?"

"And I was kissing someone."

"Well, what does that have to do with us having to talk?"

"Why are you being so cold?" She looked at him, hurt. She had come to explain herself and he was being a smartass about it. "I came here to tell you that what I had done was a mistake and -"

"What you do is none of my business," he said, holding his hands up, "it hasn't been my business for two years, why should it be now, right? I think you made that perfectly clear."

"Huh?"

"You lead me on, making me think that you still care about me, and then you go and just get up on some guy? Yeah, you really don't care."

"What?! I never -"

"I thought that I was the bad guy in this. The bad guy who left you and broke your heart, but I guess the roles reversed."

"How the hell did I break your hear -"

"I shouldn't have even answered the door."

"Would just just let me fucking speak?!"

He stopped, lifting his head to meet her gaze, wide-eyed. "Fine."

"He kissed me. I felt nothing and I pulled away because I didn't want to be kissing anybody that wasn't you. I've been in love with you since the moment we started dating and I haven't stopped. It's never going to be anyone else in this world except for you, okay? There isn't anyone else I want to be with than you. There isn't anyone out there for me but you. Kissing him felt wrong and I felt like I was cheating on you even though we aren't togther and I - I just couldn't do it. He was this sweet, amazing guy ... but he wasn't you!"

"I'm nearly thirty two, Audrina. Stop feeding me horseshit."

She stepped back, it a blow to her stomach. "Excuse me?" Tears threatened to fall down her face again as his tired, aggravated eyes met hers once more. "What are you talking about? This isn't ... horseshit, I'm telling you the truth."

"Well, the truth ... set me free."

"I don't understand, I -"

"I can't do this anymore, Audrina," he said softly, "I can't ... I can't be in this hot and cold thing with you. I care about you. I care about you so much that I'd do anything to make sure you were okay, but I can't just let you be feeling one thing one moment and want nothing to do with me the next. It's not right for either of us. I think, that some part of me is going to love you, and that part of me died when I saw you kissing him, but the other part of me knew that this was going to happen sooner or later and you witnessed it happening to me. We're moving on, and we need to do that. That's why I left a voicemail for Johnny to bring in a replacement for the remainder of the tour or to just let you do it yourself. You don't need me, you never did. Musically or emotionally."

She choked back a sob, hands gripping her chest as she looked at him. "I never needed you? God, JC, if there ever was a time I never needed you then I don't know where I'd be right now! I love you, okay?! You're the only person who makes sense to me, even when what we have doesn't. I. Love. You. I love you! There isn't anyone else that I think I could ever love because they won't ... they can't be you! They aren't you! I tried so hard to move on from this, but I can't. I can't, unless you move on with me."

"I am moving on with you," he said, her stomach flipping as she saw the tears form in his eyes, "just not the same direction."

"Jace -"

"Audrina, I don't deserve you, okay? You wanted a life together, and okay, I could give you that - but I couldn't give you the marriage, the babies that you wanted. You wanted me to love you, and I did. God, I loved you. You're the first woman to make me cry, to make me realize that this world is a good place when you have someone beside you. But it all had to end sooner or later, right? You wanted what any woman wanted and I couldn't give it to you. I wasn't ready for it and I don't think I'll ever be ready for it -"

"Then give me the life you want because I'd give up mine to be with you ..."

He swallowed the lump in his throat, knowing the two were lying to each other point blank. He was willing to give it to her now, and he knew she wasn't willing to give it up. She couldn't be ... could she?

"I'm not letting you give that up, Drina. I'm not letting you give up what you've wanted for so long because of some stubborn ass. You'll find someone. You'll find someone who deserves you and wants to make those babies, make that life with you ..."

"I don't want it," she shook her head, she not even caring about the tears now, "I don't want it if it's not with you."

"I'm sorry," he said, shaking his head, "I just can't let this happen. I can't let us happen." He got up shakily, licking his lips and walking to the door. "It's just best if we both go to bed and forget this ever happened, okay? Just, go to bed and forget that we ever happened."

"How the hell can I forget that? I fell in love with you, I lost my virginity to you! You just want me to forget both of those? That not fucking possible!"

"You have to. I'm going to go to bed and pray to God that it happens for me and for you. We have to move on. We have to -" He stopped, heart stopping as her mouth pressed to his frantically, tasting the salty tears from the two of them. God, how he had wanted this all along. But he knew it wasn't right. She needed so much more than he could give her, and he knew there were plenty of men that could give it to her without thought. He loved her, and it was the best to let her go. His hands shot up, gripping her upper arms and pushing her away gently and out the door. "Good night, Audrina."

"JC, wait -"

He shut the door, closing his mouth tightly to keep his crying to a minimum. It was like that 'Butterfly' song ... 'Spread your wings and prepare to fly, for you have become a butterfly. ... If you should return to me, we truly we were meant to be ...'

Freezing in his spot, the words registered in his head. She had returned to him after he let her go. He had ruined it.

Not even moments after he shut the door, there was a knock again.

"Drina, please ..."

"It's not Audrina. JC, open the door."

He looked through the peephole, stepping back in surprise as Aundrea stood there, gazing back at him as if she knew he'd be looking. "Drea, please."

"Open the damn door, Chasez."

He opened the door, crying out as she barreled her way in, slamming the door shut and jamming a finger into his chest as he cried out in protest. "Damn, Drea, what the hell was that for?!"

"What the hell are you doing?! She came here to tell you she wanted to be with you again and you just basically throw it all back into her face?! What the fuck kind of drug are you on?! Meanwhile, little over an hour ago, you're being a stupid little pansy with that dumbass guy kissing her and weeping the story of a lost love! Seriously, what the fuck are you thinking?!"

"I can't let her get hurt again by me, Drea. I can't be responsible for that and I -"

"So what the hell do you think you did to her just now, asshole?! She's crying her heart out because we all know that the two of you are supposed to be together and that you were too dumb to say anything about it! And finally, she grows the balls you are supposed to have and says something and you just kick her where it hurts?! Are you fucking insane?!"

"I guess I am."

"You are pathetic." She stepped up, JC stepping back at the little form in front of him. Suddenly, he felt shorter than she was, it a big feat to withhold as her fist wound and socked him in the face as his voice cried out in shock and pain. "You are worthless. I swear to God, if I see you even look at her, I'm going to give you a repeat to the other eye and then I'm going to rip off your dick."

He stepped back, nursing his eye and staring at the empty space that she had been in incredulously. What the fuck?! "Aundrea!" Pausing, he knew it was worthless to call the little firecracker back, because in all honesty, she'd probably hit him more than once more and he'd deserve every hit.

But how was he going to explain this?

He shut and locked his door, walking into the bathroom and opening his already swelling eye. For as small as she was, she had a hell of a right hook. That was probably why she did, to protect her tiny frame from the larger men who tried to hassle her.

But he didn't do that!

... He just ruined a perfectly good ending to something that hadn't been so perfect.

It was beginning to bruise already at his cheek bone, she busting open his skin with the ring she wore on her middle finger, blood slowly trickling down his face. "Argh," he groaned, running cold water and splashing it on his face before reaching for a towel and wetting it, placing it on his cheek and going to the fridge to find ice.

Once he situated himself on the bed, plastic baggie housing ice cubes on his eye, he leaned back, not-swollen eye staring up at the ceiling. How was he going to explain this? He couldn't even explain it to himself. He loved her and thought, if she comes back, even though she knows what I am not ready for, it'll be fine. But she didn't. And try as he might, he tried to move on. It failed, and he found himself being along side her while she worked on her album, falling more and more in love with her all over again. He wanted her and Lucy was his decoy to make her jealous. He knew it worked at least slightly, and it was where he wanted her. But he never intended to hurt her. He wanted to be able to love her freely and openly, to be the musical couple that everyone remembered from so long ago; the devoted boyfriend who loved his girlfriend so much that he stuck by her even with all the problems she had. Then, he had to go and bust her already broken heart into a million more pieces, only to have his face shattered by her firecracker of a friend because he was an idiot.

Seriously, why did anyone want to be with him?