Addison barely spoke to Dylan all week. That was quite difficult as they sat next to one another in art. At several points during the week, Dylan had tried to talk to her but Addison kept her earphones in her ears and had her music up as loud as it could go. After some of the drunken memories from Molly's party returned to her, Addison found it nearly impossible even look at Dylan without remembering some of the more embarrassing things she had said or her face reddening. If there was ever a reason for her to quit getting drunk then those drunken rambles would have been very good examples.

"Addi...Addi...Addison." Dylan huffed on Friday afternoon when they were halfway through an art class in which Addison had done pretty much nothing but try to act like Dylan wasn't sat next to her. Addison carried on ignoring him and listening to the music pouring out her earphones. A scrap piece of paper was chucked onto Addison's sketchpad covered in Dylan's handwriting.

Addi just talk to me. Sure you were drunk and made an ass out of yourself but you weren't that bad.

Addison looked at the note several times before moving it out the way and carrying on with the drawing she was working on.

"Addi...Addi...Addi, I know you can hear me." Dylan said. Addison sighed and pulled an earphone out of her ear and turned to quickly glance at Dylan. It wasn't the greatest of ideas because the open look on Dylan's face, without a single hint of the anger Addison expected, as he looked over at Addison was incredibly distracting even if Addison was trying to ignore him. "Ok...um...look I was wondering...are you busy this afternoon?"

"Yes." Addison shot back without even stopping to think.

"Really?" Dylan asked making it sound like he didn't remotely believe her. Stupid dick...

"Fine, I'm not busy. Why are you asking me?" Addison asked.

"It's just that I'm not sure about what to put in my art portfolio and I need to send one off soon for applications. You're the only person I've really spoken to in this class and you know what you're talking about when it comes to art and stuff like that-"

"Dylan, what exactly are you asking me?" Addison asked.

"Would you help me put my portfolio together?" Dylan asked quickly now refusing to look at Addison. Addison's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "It probably won't take long and, to be honest, you're only the person who has seen my artwork so I couldn't think of anyone else to ask. Like I said, it really won't take long so it's not like you'd be at my house long but I know that Niamh and my mom would want you to stay for dinner-"

"If I say 'yes' right now and even agree to stay for dinner if Niamh and your mom badger me enough, will you stop babbling?" Addison asked and she really couldn't believe that she was agreeing to this. Brigid was going to have a fucking field day. Dylan just nodded his damn head and gave Addison such a smile it was actually ridiculous. Instantly, Addison wanted to back out but something stopped her, she really wasn't sure what it was and it made her more nervous than the thought of being back at Dylan's house, maybe even in Dylan's room.

---

"Shotgun!" Niamh cried that afternoon before they had even reached Dylan's Camaro.

Dylan snorted loudly and shot Niamh and smirking smile. "Nice try ginger but guest gets shotgun." he said. He gave Addison a wary smile. Surprisingly, Addison returned the wary smile.

"Since when has that been the rule?" Niamh asked with a pout.

"Since Addi won't try and force me to play Disney soundtracks or anything from the Billboard charts...or The Raincoats" Dylan shot back just as quickly.

"Well excuse me for being the only person in this family to appreciate the work of Stephen Swartz." Niamh said huffing loudly. "And there is nothing wrong with The Raincoats!"

"I think I could write a very long list of things wrong with The Raincoats." Dylan muttered to Addison. Even though she was still trying to ignore Dylan as much as actually possible, while still going to the Willis's house, Addison couldn't help but smile while Niamh muttered darkly under her breath about Dylan's lack of musical taste.

"-sitting and having to listen to Mick Jagger for the millionth time." Addison heard Niamh grumble as she climbed into the backseat of the Camaro with a smirking Leo in tow.

---

The Willis household was just the same as it had been the last time Addison had been there, apart from the lack of Eleanor Willis who was at work according to Leo. Dylan seemed nervous as he led Addison upstairs towards his room. Addison had several ideas of what Dylan's room could potentially look like but when Dylan opened the door she was surprised by the sheer neatness of the room. Everything was so neat it made Addison's room look like it had been hit by a hurricane. She wondered for a moment if Eleanor cleaned Dylan's room for him because wasn't that what mothers did? They would care for their children and run after them with vacuums and sarcastic comments; they wouldn't run off and abandon their children. Addison shook her head, no she wasn't going to think about her mother, not when she was currently alone with Dylan.

The posters that lined Dylan's walls were of countless films, many of them old sci-fi or fantasy films, and bands like Led Zeppelin, The Ramones or The Beatles. As with the rest of the house, there were also endless photos with the largest one was next to Dylan's bed, one of Eleanor holding a happy looking two-year-old boy. Addison assumed it was Dylan.

"Neat." Addison said looking around the room.

"Huh?"

"Oh the room...it's very neat." Addison said realising just how stupid she sounded. Dylan shot her a smug smile as he too glanced around the room.

"Oh well you know, 'tidy room, tidy mind' and all that." Dylan said with a shrug.

"Must be why my room looks like a shit storm." Addison said. Dylan chuckled and shook his head at Addison's remark but didn't say anything.

Addison took this opportunity to look round the room some more. A small bookcase next to Dylan's bed was full of books, graphic novels and 'Making Of' or 'Art Of' books from various films. Addison also noticed several art books she had at home. The most well-read looking one was a book on the work of Caravaggio. As Addison picked up the book, she could feel several loose pages and noted how the spine had been broken over and over again.

"Caravaggio?" Addison asked in surprise.

"What?" Dylan asked looking over to where Addison was nodding. "Oh yeah, I mean I love a shitload of modern stuff but I really get a kick out of the baroque style. I sort of got into his stuff a few years ago. I'd kill to go to France and see his work."

"At the Louvre?" Addison asked and Dylan nodded his head. "My father took us a few years ago."

"I'm pretty jealous, I've never been to France."

"Well, my father had a business trip there so he decided the whole family should go to Paris. I think he was concerned with what would happen if he left us in the country alone so he took us with him. Mark spent most of the trip drinking wine, Eric spent most of it in the hotel room with a migraine and I was in charge of not letting Aaron out of my sight." Addison said with a wince. Just the memory of that trip gave Addison anxiety.

"That sounds... very eventful." Dylan said warily.

"Yes it was...there are many reasons why we have been banned from ever returning to the Eiffel Tower and all of them are to do with Aaron." Addison said. Dylan's loud laugh filled the room making Addison smile. "You laugh, but I'm shocked we're even allowed back in France."

"Man, I'd love to go but I get nervous flying and shit like that and Niamh's made me watch Titanic too many times for me to ever even look at a ferry." Dylan explained. "If there was ever a time for trans-warp beaming to become a thing that is real, it's now." Dylan added with a smile and Addison couldn't help but smile back because sometimes Dylan really was a nerd. "So...I guess I should show you my portfolio seeing as it's the reason I dragged you here. I've got to warn you though, it's pretty shitty." Dylan said moving a few things on his desk so he could pick up a sketchpad. He handed it to Addison with a nervous grin, which did not make Addison's stomach jolt; well that's what she told himself at least.

"Dylan I've seen some of your work in class so I can assure you it won't be shitty at all." Addison said trying to sound nonchalant as she took the sketchpad from Dylan and opened it to the front page.

The first drawing was one of Leo and Niamh. The pair of them had clearly fallen asleep while being surrounded by Star Trek: The Next Generation DVDs. Niamh was sprawled out across most of the sofa, her hoodie swamping her as it was two sizes too big. The pissed off expression on Leo's face, even while he was asleep was priceless as it was clear Niamh taking up most of the room on the sofa despite her being several inches smaller than Leo.

The sketchpad was full of Dylan's photographic sketching from Lisa resting her feet up on her desk during detention, Eleanor laughing as she baked in the kitchen, Niamh looking like she was in the middle of some crazy dance in the den and one of Brigid and Addison smirking into their Bowen's coffee mugs. What they were laughing about at the time, Addison couldn't remember but the pair of them looked so happy that it filled her with lightness.

"I...I hope you don't mind that I sketched you and Brigid." Dylan said scratching the back of his neck. It made Addison smirk at how often Dylan did that when they were around one another.

"No, it's ok...Dylan these are really good." Addison said looking through the rest of Dylan's sketches and marvelling at their quality. There was one of Eleanor and Niamh that was so realistic that Addison could practically hear the laughter coming from their mouths. Addison really couldn't help but smile at Dylan's skill, he put himself down so much over it when really he had no reason to.

"Are you sure?" Dylan asked making it sound like his life depended on Addison critique.

"No, I'm just lying to you in order to butter you up." Addison said acerbically. Dylan sighed loudly, trying to take the sketch pad away from Addison as he did so. "There's really good ok? I don't know why you were so worried about your portfolio not being good enough." Addison added making sure that she actually sounded sincere as she looked through some of Dylan's other sketches. Dylan was talented, there was no denying that. While Addison went for more of an abstract approach with her work, Dylan's sketches and drawings had much more of a photographic quality to them; they were incredibly realistic and the shading was of very good quality. "You're really talented Dylan." Addison then said smirking slightly when Dylan's cheeks pinked making his faint freckles become more prominent.

"I guess it's because I've never really shown them to anyone apart from you, I only got into art a few years back. I sort of took it as an A Level on a whim to see if I was any good." Dylan said. "It's worked out for me so far though...well I guess it has anyway." Dylan added slightly under his breath. Addison glanced over at Dylan's sketch pad then back at the boy himself. Dylan looked back at her and frowned slightly. "So...are you going to tell me why you spent the week ignoring me after Molly's party?" Dylan asked with a voice full of frustration.

"How do you know that I was ignoring you?" Addison said trying to sound blasé.

"I might claim that I'm not the brightest bulb but I'm not stupid Addi, it's been freaking obvious that you've been ignoring me as you practically run the other way when you see me in the hallways and the only sound you've made in art all week was when you sneezed on Wednesday; you've been ignoring me, admit it."

"Look I apologise for being drunk the other night...well I apologise for being an idiot when drunk." Addison said. Brigid may have had a point when she said, several times, that an intoxicated Addison was, in Brigid's own words, 'kind of a bitch'.

"If anything, you were more cynical and contemptuous than idiotic." Dylan pointed out. "Although we did establish that I keep offering you my help despite you being a dick about it." Dylan added after a moment of silence. Addison looked back at Dylan and there was so much she wanted to say but she found that she just couldn't. There was too much weight in the words she could potentially say and she was terrified of Dylan realising that, despite how hard she tried, she was seriously falling for Dylan.

"I don't say I'm sorry very often but I am." Addison said, feeling her face growing red as she spoke. "I shouldn't have pushed you away after the party." She added in a small voice.

"Why did you?" Dylan asked.

"Um...I...I don't know." Addison said even though she knew why. She knew why she had pushed Dylan anyway. She couldn't say it out loud.