Adam highly disapproved of having windows in the Crossing Oak's "Strong Trunk" gym. He was decently fit, his "after" slightly more improved than his "before." However, he wasn't one hundred percent comfortable with being under speculation during the excruciating middle. It was not appealing.

He slipped in his card, welcomed with a green beep, and entered. He dumped his bag by a treadmill—a pleasant warm-up before the torture he subjected himself to—pausing when he saw movement in the kickboxing room. Madison. She looked...not so welcoming striking the punching bag with focused intensity. There was clearly something on her mind. Approaching her could end badly, but this was his one chance to introduce himself. At the Green Tea Lounge, she never went beyond the stage, at least not during his shifts. When she wasn't performing, she usually kept to herself, and her band. And Nate. He just wanted her to know that she had major support in the building. And that he existed.

He cautiously entered the room. If she hit that bag any harder, she would bust a hole through it. He wanted to maintain a safe distance. "I can actually see the steam pluming from your nose." Madison snapped around, her eyes set on fire. She took a moment, catching her breath. Adam quickly added, "I didn't mean to interrupt. I just...I'm a huge fan."

The fierceness on her face melted into a polite smirk. "Thanks..." She waited for his name.

Right. Without his badge, he was no longer identifiable. The glasses to his Clarke Kent. "Adam. Bartender at the Green Tea Lounge." Her smile wilted and she looked away. It was definitely something he said. "So, I came in here to warn you that the ceiling might cave in if you continue to pummel that poor punching bag."

Her laugh wasn't the uproarious burst Adam hoped for, but it was enough for him. "Sometimes I don't know my own strength." She smiled, warm and real this time. It made Adam's heart do things it shouldn't be doing, but it was out of his control. There was something about her that drew him to her. If there was ever a moment where he believed he'd finally have the chance to find out why, it was now.

***

Nathan admitted it. He was stubborn. He was confused. He was upset. But mostly, he was hurt. He hadn't spoken to Maddie since the show, which was rare for them. They never ended the day without saying goodnight.

Her decision sprang up from nowhere. He thought they were in a good place. The right place, at the beginning of the dreams they dreamed together. Now everything was changing and it scared him because even though their future was always uncertain, they at least knew which direction they were headed. Without Maddie, that pathway they spent years to define was crumbling before his eyes. He was losing his way.

That morning he lay in bed as all sorts of assumptions jumped out at him, and he realized he was running away from something that hadn't happened yet. Maddie had her reasons for wanting to leave the band, but she never actually said she would. Nathan's reasons to stay might cause her to see she'd be making a mistake. He had to talk to her, and this time he'd make sure to listen.

He knew she'd be at the gym. It was routine. Usually, they'd do their morning workout together, but seeing as though they weren't speaking he never got the wake-up call.

When he arrived, he saw her in the kickboxing room, right where he knew he'd find her. Only, she wasn't alone. Nathan's skin burned as she laughed with some guy he didn't recognize. He told himself it was nothing. Probably a fan who discovered her for the first time last night. As much as he wanted to believe they were inseparable, he saw the loose string in their ties. Maddie was pulling herself apart from him, unraveling everything and attaching herself to this new world she designed, and Nathan couldn't patch up the gnawing hole in his stomach telling him that he had already been replaced.

***

Thanks for reading! Stay tuned!

-Love Charly