When Addison heard a familiar roar and a verse from The Rolling Stones' Torn and Frayed she couldn't help but let out an exasperated chuckle. It was as if all it took to make Dylan Willis appear was to think about him. Dylan's car, the damn sleek Camaro, came round the bending track that led up to Molly's house. Dylan parked up on the grassy embankment where Brigid had parked her car earlier that evening. The music blasting out the Camaro was almost as loud as the music coming from inside Molly's house. The music cut off mid-way through the chorus, cutting off the vocals mid-sentence. Addison watched with mild amusement as Dylan climbed out the driver's seat and stopped, looking slightly startled, when he saw Addison sat on the front steps alone.

"Hey." Dylan called walking towards Addison.

"Hey there Willis." Addison said, giving him a mocking salute.

Addison was surprised to see not only Niamh but also Leo walking along with Dylan. Before Leo turned to go into the house, Dylan gripped onto his arm for a moment. "If anything happens in there, text me or call me and I'm taking you home. Remember, if you drink anything stronger than a freaking Diet Coke then I will kick your ass so hard you'll be on a train all the way back to Glasgow to live with Great Aunt Willis for the remainder of your sorry little life." Dylan said sternly. Leo rolled his eyes but gave a small nod of his head.

"Poppy is in the upstairs den I think." Addison said because she assumed that would be the only reason that Leo would be at Molly's party. "Whatever you do don't go through the downstairs den because you will get high just from the fumes." She added. It seemed obvious that Dylan would pitch a fit if he smelt pot on any one item of Leo's clothing.

"Thanks Addison, good to see you again." Leo said before hurrying into the house.

"Remember if anything happens I'm taking you home!" Dylan called after Leo while Niamh snorted loudly.

"I think he got the message there 'Dad'" Niamh said. "See you in there?" she then asked Addison. She gave her a small nod. Niamh returned the movement and gave Addison a slight smile before going into the house herself. Dylan sighed loudly as he sat himself down next to Addison.

"Got a light? Mine bust earlier I haven't gotten round to buying a new one." Dylan said. Addison handed Dylan the green lighter she had recently used to light her own cigarette. "Thanks...you know I never knew you smoked." Dylan added before pulling a packet of cigarettes out his jacket pocket.

"Yeah well, I'm a deep cavern of secrets." Addison muttered bitterly more to herself than Dylan. It really wasn't Dylan's fault that Addison felt the way that she did but she found that she was taking it out on Dylan anyway. She watched as Dylan's eyebrows shot up and instead of saying anything else, Addison reached for Molly's hip flask and swiftly emptied it of its content until it was bone dry. The strong liquor burnt the back of her throat but like always Addison ignored that and focused on the light and empty feeling the alcohol gave her.

"Are these deep, dark secrets or silly pre-teen sized secrets like you used to steal gum from the corner shop?" Dylan asked trying to lighten the mood.

"Oh, I have some cracking secrets locked away baby." Addison slurred, knowing full well that she sounded completely drunk out of her mind but she was past caring one tiny bit. She snuck a glance at Dylan and that was probably the worst thing to do. Dylan was staring at her intently; his green eyes bore into Addison making a heat rise up her neck until it threatened to reach her cheeks. The safest thing was to stop looking at Dylan Willis's damn eyes.

Addison's eyes traveled down Dylan's face. She stopped for a moment to look at the freckles littering Dylan's cheeks until her focus was drawn to the smoke filtering out from between Dylan's lips. The way those lips were slightly curved up in a relaxed smile despite Addison's bitter comment. Everything about Dylan Willis seemed calm and above everything else; he practically radiated nonchalance and maybe that was why Addison was so reluctant to get closer to Dylan, despite the pull she felt deep inside her chest whenever she was around Dylan. Dylan was so self-effacing, the polar opposite of the complex emotions constantly running through Addison, and it was so refreshing and yet terrifying at the same time. Someone so humble couldn't be around someone as tempestuous as Addison without being hurt in far too many ways. That was just one of the endless problems with having the constant thoughts that swirled around Addison's brain. Those drowning thoughts of despondency; being close to a person was always a danger because you could easily make them drown alongside you and that was the last thing Addison wanted for Dylan. Dylan didn't deserve to drown at all.

As Dylan looked at her with that easy smile, a thought flashed across Addison's brain like a red-hot poker. For a moment she wondered what exactly Dylan would taste like if Addison closed the space between them and kissed Dylan on the lips. He would taste like smoke of course, but in that moment Addison wondered about the other mix of potential tastes until she realised what exactly it was that she was thinking about. It was stupid, worse than stupid actually. It was very wrong because Dylan was...well, Dylan was Dylan; he was someone who didn't completely hate Addison. He was someone who she could sit next to in art, someone who had offered his sofa to Addison when she needed it the most.

Dylan was something like a friend even if Addison didn't really agree with having friends other than Brigid. Then again, she was more like a sister than anything else, she knew how Addison worked whereas Dylan had no clue. Dylan had no idea that, thanks to Molly, Addison was drunker now than she had been in weeks. That part of the reason why she was sat outside on a cold stone step was that Addison felt like she would end up screaming if she had to be around people like she did inside for a minute longer. Dylan had no idea that Addison constantly wanted to scream from the top of her lungs just so she could feel something, feel anything.

"So...we haven't really spoken much over the past few weeks..." Dylan said sounding accusatory. He probably had a right because they hadn't spoken much. Addison had tried to keep their conversations brief and about light subjects. "Are things ok at home now...you know with your brother and all?" Dylan asked. He had every right to seeing as though Addison had spent two days at the Willis's before packing a bag and going to stay with Brigid. It was probably the last question she wanted Dylan to ask her. She found it difficult lying to Dylan, she would have to tell Dylan the truth. The only other option was to walk away and that was the last thing Addison wanted to do right now. She actually wanted to be around another person. That person was Dylan.

"Um...it kind of sucks fucking ass. Mark is hardly talking to my father. Eric is acting like a pious asshole. Aaron and I are just trying to not go crazy in that house. It's been like this for so long, I'm sort of used to it. Doesn't mean that it doesn't suck though." Addison said, trailing off and staring out in front of her. The only other place to look was at Dylan and that was just too befuddling.

"But things are ok...right?" Dylan asked. "Addi?" Dylan asked when Addison gave him no reply. She would have but her brain was fogging over and becoming more saturated in the sluggish feeling the mixture that alcohol, cigarettes and her medication gave her. "Addi, are you ok?" Dylan asked and Addison had to bite back a. If she wanted to be completely honest with Dylan then no, she was feeling anything but ok.

"Addison." She said, correcting Dylan. "Addison. Did you know that no one calls me Addi apart from you? Everyone has only ever called me Addison...apart from you. I was named Addison after my mother's grandmother. My great grandmother was my mother's favourite person in the world. She always wanted to name a baby after her grandmother. When she finally had me, she was overjoyed. At least, she was, to begin with." Addison began to ramble. She was not a rambler, though she did have a smart mouth that tended to run away with itself at times. She tended to hate people that never found the ability to shut themselves up and yet here she was. Sat on a stone step, cigarette in her hand and hipflask at her feet, beginning to ramble to Dylan Willis. Dylan Willis with his worn leather jacket, smirking smile and talent when it came to art.

"I've never really heard you talk about your mum before." Dylan said.

"I don't like talking about her." Addison said. "My mother originally wanted to name us after angels, then we would be protected by our divine names and blessed in a way. My father put a stop to that though, he's not religious in the slightest. He wanted us to have normal names." Addison added.

She glanced over at Dylan, expecting to see a blank face or the fake mask of someone pretending to listen and care but instead of that, she saw bright green eyes full of intensity and understanding. Dylan's whole face showed that he was listening to Addison not because he had to but because he wanted to. It was a scary notion, being heard because the listener wanted to hear and not just to fill some sort of obligation.

"Still, did her plan work out in the end?" Dylan asked. Was it possible that Dylan had moved closer towards Addison? They were certainly sitting closer than they had a minute or so before. Could Addison have done that, shrunk the space between them?

"In what way?" Addison asked.

"Do you think you've been blessed? If so, what with?" Dylan asked. You perhaps Addison was tempted to say but she couldn't possibly because she wasn't brave or drunk enough, she wasn't sure which one it was yet and she wasn't sure which one she wanted to be more; brave or incredibly drunk.

Instead, Addison muttered, "I guess I'm still searching for what I've been blessed with."

She picked up one of the random bottles of beer she'd brought out with her along with Molly's hipflask. She took a generous swig of the alcohol inside. She winced slightly at the punching taste but the warmth seeping down her throat made her feel instantly better. Silence fell between Addison and Dylan for several minutes and a sense of disquiet began to crawl up Addison's spine.

Surely Dylan had better things that he could be doing instead of being sat here with Addison watching her become slowly more intoxicated. She glanced over to Dylan and watched the smoke from Dylan's cigarette curling upwards. Dylan let out a small sigh before taking a quick drag of his cigarette, holding in the smoke for a moment for exhaling. The smoke bled from his full lips with a slow and free grace that sent a twitch to Addison's fingers. She wanted nothing more than to have even a scrap of paper on her so she could sketch the way the smoke seeped out from Dylan's lips so effortlessly and naturally. Insouciantly and languidly like Dylan himself. Addison pictured closing the space between them and letting the smoke from Dylan's lips seep across her own, inhaling it in before bringing her lips to Dylan's in a crushing kiss. Dylan would taste of smoke, apples, cinnamon and must; that was what Addison decided and her bones were practically vibrating with the need to find out if she was right or not.

This wasn't right, the feeling that was slowly worming itself into Addison's brain. It wasn't right at all because she could feel himself begin to care. She was beginning to care what Dylan thought of her and that wasn't right at all. She wasn't supposed to care what people thought of her because she didn't care anymore. She wasn't supposed to seek someone's approval because she certainly had none to give anyone else anymore.

"So...what's the deal with this Molly?" Dylan asked breaking Addison's train of thoughts. Addison couldn't help but sigh with relief. "Are you guys friends or something? 'Cause she's kind of...well, she's not really like Brigid is she?"

"I don't really do friends Dylan." Addison said looking away from Dylan and out across Molly's front yard. The lake was barely visible in the dark of the night but from the sound of the crickets and gentle lap of water, Addison knew it was out there.

"You have Brigid though." Dylan pressed.

"She's more of a sister than a friend. We've known each other since we were little after all."

"And you have Niamh" Dylan pointed out. "And...and you have me." He added after several moments of silence and in a quieter voice that sent a pang of something Addison wasn't sure of into her stomach.

"We're-" Addison tried to say but Dylan scoffed loudly.

"Yeah, you've said you don't really do the whole friendship thing." Dylan said acrimoniously as he looked away from Addison and flicked his nearly finished cigarette away from him.

Addison wanted to explain, she wanted to explain so badly why she couldn't really be friends with Dylan but she knew she'd never be able to fully explicate it, there was no way of telling someone that the hopelessness you felt on a daily basis caused you to not want to be close to people. She couldn't say without Dylan wanting to run a mile and no doubt call her a freak or something worse.

"Look I get it...I just don't understand why." Dylan muttered. The hurt look on his face was just too painful and Addison knew she had to get away as quickly as she could before she ended up saying something that she couldn't take back.

"I'm going back into the house." Addison said quickly trying to pull herself up from the step.

The alcohol in Molly's hipflask must have been stronger than she thought or she must have drunk more than she initially guessed she had. Not only was it difficult standing up but her head was beginning to swim with a familiar sensation. Her arms and legs were heavy like lead and her head felt like it wasn't her own. Addison knew this feeling and gladly welcomed it though she wished she could remain standing for longer than a second as it would make walking back into the house a lot easier than it was at that moment. Slowly, a different sensation reached her brain, a sense of pressure on her arm that she never felt when drunk. Looking down at her arm, Addison was surprised to see a hand holding onto her wrist. A leather sleeve covered the wrist of the owner of the hand. Of course, it would be Dylan, who else would it be?

"Are you ok?" Dylan asked. His voice was closer than Addison would have thought and she realised Dylan was close, too close, to him; their chests were nearly flushed with one another's and Addison pulse began to race from the proximity. "Addi? Addi are you alright?"

"Never better babe." Addison muttered not remotely surprised by how sardonic her voice sounded. Dylan didn't even flinch at the acerbity that soaked Addison's words.

"Yeah, yeah very funny Addi, very funny. Come on, put your arm around my shoulder and I'll help you back into the house." Dylan said.

"I can walk by my goddamn self you know. I'm not some sort of goddamn child. I don't need your help Dylan, for fuck sake." Addison shot back quickly with more venom than she'd intended.

"And yet I keep offering my help to you and you keep taking it so what does that say?" Dylan back with just as much acid in his voice as Addison did.

"It says that you're a fucking glutton for punishment and I am a goddam freaking idiot." Addison said. "I don't understand why you keep offering me your help." She then shot at Dylan not even caring how mean she sounded because it would probably help if Dylan started to hate him.

"Saying things like that proves that you are a 'goddamn freaking idiot'" Dylan said. "I care about you Addison, that's why I'm here to help you."

"Now who's trying to be the funny one, huh Dylan?" Addison said without a hint of humour in her voice.

"That wasn't meant to be a joke." Dylan quickly retorted sounding annoyed.

"And yet I'm going to take it as one because that would be so much easier." Addison said almost as if she wanted to get a rise of Dylan by saying that. She actually wouldn't have minded at all that because at least Dylan would leave her alone. Dylan sighed with annoyance but didn't make any movement that showed he was going to leave Addison there by herself, mores the pity.

"Come on; let's get you inside where you'll cause less damage or just pass out." Dylan said moving so Addison was leaning against him. Addison tried to push him away but Dylan clung onto her tightly.

"I can walk by myself Dylan." Addison snapped. She was having a small battle inside her head over whether or not she should kiss Dylan full on the mouth just to get it out of her system. See not only what Dylan would taste like but also how it would feel to have Dylan Willis's tongue in her mouth. It would not take much for Addison to just close the space between them and push her tongue into Dylan's mouth. The mere thought of that sent a shot of desire up through Addison's veins.

"You can barely stand by yourself Addi, so I'm going to carry on helping you despite your 'sparkling' personality." Dylan pointed out and Addison swore under her breath because Dylan Willis had to be right didn't he? Fucking Dylan Willis with his leather jacket, his smile and his damn caretaker mentality. Dylan Willis who always had to be right no matter what. "Come on, I'm going to take you back into the house." Dylan then said moving again ever so slightly so Addison was fully leaning on him, it was a good thing Dylan was a few inches taller than Addison was and clearly strong enough to support her frame, otherwise Addison would most likely have fallen on her ass.

"You're stronger than you look" Addison mumbled drunkenly. "You could probably bench press me without breaking a sweat...if you're into that sort of thing of course" she added before her brain could even catch up to the words tumbling from her mouth.

"Wow, how much have you actually had to drink?" Dylan asked with a bemused expression on his face.

"More than a little but less than a lot." Addison shot back. Instead of saying anything, Dylan just chuckled because that was probably the easiest thing to do in that situation. Addison was mere centimetres from Dylan, it really wouldn't take much to close the space between them and kiss him. She knew Dylan would taste like smoke, his lips would be new and searching and he would make Addison feel truly alive. Those thoughts alone were intoxicating. It wouldn't take much, she could just pull Dylan in closer and they would be together. It was so tempting...so easily palpable if she just let into what she wanted....what she craved.

"Addison?" Brigid's concerned voice filtered down to Addison's brain. Looking upwards, she saw worry etched onto Brigid's face. "Christ, are you ok? How much have you had to drink?" Brigid asked. Addison tried to shake her head to show Brigid that she was fine. Brigid held up her hand to stop Addison before she could do anything. "Don't even try that with me Harper. Come on, I'm taking you back to my house. You can sleep this off until tomorrow morning." Brigid said.

"I can help-" Dylan tried to say.

"Oh, I think you've done enough already don't you?" Addison heard Brigid snap at Dylan as she started dragging Addison towards the car. What Brigid meant by that was beyond Addison and she was going to tell Brigid not to snap at Dylan, that was more her job and even then it was only mockingly, but the fierce look on Brigid's face told Addison that even when drunk it was not a good time to say anything to Brigid. Brigid would probably make Addison sleep off her hangover in the old workshop that was at the end of Brigid's garden and seemed like a breeding ground for spiders.

"Brigid I don't know what you're-"

"Just leave it Dylan and let me get Addison back to my house ok?" Brigid snapped. Addison vaguely wondered what on earth Brigid was actually talking about. Without Dylan's help she was actually finding it difficult to stay upright. "Get in the car Addison, though if you throw up then so help me Jesus I might just kill you." Brigid said towards her in a firm voice but it managed to be friendlier than the one she'd used on Dylan.

"Would you make me sleep in the old workshop with all the spiders?" Addison Mumbled.

"Oh that would be a given, now get in the car and don't even think about changing the radio station because I cannot deal with classic rock right about now." Brigid said before she turned back to glare at Dylan. "I really don't know what you thought you'd achieve by getting my best friend drunk but obviously you didn't manage to accomplish it so just stop right now with whatever it is that you are doing. You claim that you two are friends. If you are then you should try taking care of her." Brigid snapped at Dylan.

"I do care Brigid." Dylan snapped back.

"She's been through enough without having some punk ass layabout from detention waltzing in and acting like her friend. This could all just be some secret shitty agenda to fuck my best friend over. Now just back off already before you end up causing a load of damage I'm not able to fix!" Before Dylan could say anything, and before Addison could correct Brigid on her drunken state and how it wasn't Dylan's fault in the slightest, Brigid climbed into her car and gave Dylan one last fleeting glare before her car engine roared into life thus clearly ending Addison's evening...if she was able to actually remember any of the evening when she woke up.