When I woke up the next day, the day before Valentine's Day, I knew it was going to be an off day. My alarm clock failed to go off, and Paul didn't check to see if I'd awoken yet, so I was ten minutes late to school. Fortunately, I'd finished Paul's pillow the night before, but it hardly mattered since he was barely speaking to me.

          Over something stupid like not wanting to tell my parents that we were dating.

          "That's stupid," Elliot grunted when I complained to him during lunch.

          I gave a quick nod. "I know!"

          "No, I mean, it's stupid that you won't tell your parents."

          "How is that stupid?" I demanded, sending him a dirty look.

          Shrugging, he turned away from me. "I don't know."

          "You're a little shit, you know that?"

          Aspen grinned at me, elbowing Elliot in the side. "He's just in a bad mood because he doesn't have a date for tonight, isn't that right, Elliot?"

          He scoffed. "I don't need a date."

          "Why don't you two go do something together?" I suggested.

          "I have a date," Aspen said happily.

          Elliot just rolled his eyes at me. "You'd be more stupid than I thought if you actually think I could stand more than three hours with that thing."

          Grimacing, I held up my palms defensively. "Hey, it was only a suggestion. Sometimes you should think about suggestions."

          "Like you think about Paul's?" Aspen challenged with a smirk.

          I pursed my lips. "That's different."

          "How so?"

          "It's my parents," I responded, stressing the word parents. "Jesus, my dad would probably threaten to have him beaten up with his make believe gang!"

          Aspen laughed. "I doubt that. It might not be a bad idea. They're going to find out eventually, right?"

          "Yeah, and eventually is not now. And I'd like to keep it this way."

          "Just because you're scared of their reactions?" she asked. "Why? It's not like he's that much older than you."

          I let out a quiet sigh, resting my chin in my hands. "Yeah, I know. But we live together. I'm afraid they might make me move back, and I love living with Paul. A lot. He's got a nice place, and I can go to this school, and I like being able to be around him all the time."

          "Then you should tell your parents."

          "Are you listening to a word I'm saying?"

          Aspen rolled her eyes. "Of course I am."

          "Then you heard the part about—"

          "From what I've heard, your parents sound pretty reasonable," she said. "I'm sure they wouldn't have a problem with it—"

          "In Freshmen year my dad greeted my boyfriend by saying he knew ten different ways to kill him in a minute with his bare hands."

          This caused Elliot to snicker, and Aspen to grin. "Your dad sounds awesome."

          I gave her a flat look. "Did you miss the part where I said he's convinced he used to be the leader of a gang?"

          "Allie, you're just thinking of yourself. If you're in a relationship now, you have to think of the other person too," she reprimanded me.

          "I know, I know," I responded grumpily. "I do care about what Paul wants, but..."

          Aspen tutted, shaking her head at me. "Don't make excuses, Allie. It's Valentine's Day, cut the guy some slack."

          "Well aren't you pro-Paul."

          Grinning, she winked at me. "He is much cuter than you."

          A little reluctantly, I smiled back at her. She did have a point. I was being selfish, and a little bit of a bitch. But surely my reasons were sensible. Groaning, I dropped my hands into my head. "I have to tell my parents, don't I?"

          "There you go," Aspen replied, patting me on the back. "You shouldn't hide your relationship from your parents. And anyway, it'd suck if you were forced to tell them about your relationship because you became pregnant or got some STD, right?"

          I almost choked on my sandwich. "STD? What, Aspen, no, we're not... we don't even like, kiss," I mumbled, embarrassed.

          "What? How long have you been dating?"

          "Not that long, I mean, long enough that we should kiss, but he refuses to, so I don't know. I sometimes feel like we're just friends..."

          Elliot made a face. "Can you two not have sissy discussions in front of me?"

          "You don't care that Allie's not getting smooched on every night?" Aspen questioned.

          Which caused me to blush. "Aspen!"

          "I'd prefer they broke up," Elliot stated.

          I pursed my lips at him. "Are you jealous?"

          "What? No—"

          "It's pretty obvious," Aspen interjected with a smirk. "It's cute too."

          Elliot shot daggers at her. "Shut up."

          "Ooh, defensive."

          "You can just tell me if you like me," I teased him.

          Growing more annoyed by the second, Elliot crossed his arms. I grinned to myself a little. It was always fun to tease Elliot. His reactions were priceless.

          "It's too bad she's started dating Paul, huh?" Aspen commented with a fake sigh. "Now what are you going to do with this unrequited love? You'll just have to keep it inside." Leaning across the table, she patted him on the shoulder. "Poor baby."

          "What if I did like Allie?" Elliot suddenly snapped, slapping her hand away and actually sounding angry. "What would you have to say then?"

          I paused, trying not to notice how serious he looked.

          Aspen blinked at him, her words failing her for a moment. Then she laughed. "You don't have emotions, of course you don't like her."

          Elliot set his jaw, shoving away so hard from the table his chair fell over. "You're a bitch."

          "Elliot," I started, surprised at his tone.

          "Forget it," he interjected roughly, tossing his backpack over one shoulder. "Everyone says guys are insensitive, but it's really girls."

          With that he turned his back on us and walked away. Aspen turned to me, her expression bewildered. I'm sure my own expression matched hers. "What was that...?" she asked slowly.

          I stared after Elliot for a moment, taking in his words. Was he finally sick of our teasing? He usually didn't care. "Rough day?" I guessed uneasily. There was no way Elliot actually liked me... he didn't act like it.

          But then again, I was basically the only girl Elliot socialized with, so how would I know how he interacted with people he liked?

          "I think he might actually like you," Aspen said quietly, voicing my thoughts.

          "It can't be," I responded. "I mean..."

          Aspen bit her bottom lip, setting her eyes downcast. "I shouldn't have teased him."

          Nodding in agreement, I rubbed my forehead. "Wow, today sucks. If Elliot really likes me, what am I supposed to do about it?"

          "Do you like him?" Aspen asked.

          I frowned at her. "I'm dating Paul."

          "That doesn't answer my question."

          "I mean, he's my best friend, of course I like him," I replied evasively.

          Aspen raised an eyebrow. "That's still not a straight answer."

          "I might have had a little crush on him earlier," I admitted begrudgingly. "But that was before I started actually noticing Paul, you know? Elliot's just a friend... I thought I was just a friend to him too..."

          "Apparently, he doesn't think that."

           Groaning, I slapped my hands onto my table. "Why are boys so frustrating?"

          Aspen smiled sympathetically. "There's part of their job descriptions. Just like girls are bitches."

          "I'm sure he didn't mean that, Aspen," I told her. "I'd be angry too if someone made fun of me for liking someone."

          "Yeah, me too. I feel like a jerk."

          I smiled wryly. "Me too. But worse, because it's me were talking about, and I basically just friend-zoned him."

          "But you're dating Paul, so that's a good thing."

          My food didn't seem appetizing anymore, so I pushed it aside. "I don't wanna lose my best friend. What if me dating Paul makes him hate me?"

          "Then he wasn't a very good friend to begin with," Aspen said simply.

          "He's a great friend though," I argued. "A little meaner than others, but he means well, and he went through a lot of shit thanks to me."

          Aspen let out a low whistle. "That's right. I guess we should've noticed he had a crush on you. That's so cute though. He wanted to protect you."

          "Not helping," I pointed out.

          "Hey, I'm not going to help you. That's three of the guys that I liked that like you. What are you, the main character in a crappy romance novel?" She snorted.

          I rolled my eyes at her. "No. Anyway, Kyle some kind of blackmail from Olivia, and with Elliot I'm the only girl he talks to and probably the only girl he knows, and with Paul...I don't even know."

          "Yeah, he's way too cute for you."

          "Very funny," I said, flicking a piece of chip from the table at her.

          She grinned. "Things will work out eventually, Allie. Just talk to Paul. Talk to your parents. And talk to Elliot."

          Crossing my arms, I stared at the tabletop moodily. "Why does it have to be me?"

          "Because you basically created the problems."

          "I did not—"

          "Yeah you did, by being so damn irresistible," she cooed, reaching across the table to pinch my cheeks.

          I pulled back to avoid her attack. "Still not helping. I'm going to go wallow in self-pity because two of my closest friends are upset with me."

          "Okay, have fun."

          Deciding to skip fifth period, mostly because I wasn't in the mood to deal with anyone. So instead, I headed to the piano hall to slip into one of the practice rooms and play for a while. Fortunately, the one at the end of the hall, where I'd practiced for Winter Wonderland, was unlocked. I sat down on the piano bench and splayed out my fingers on the keys. Soon, my hands started playing A River Flows In You.

          The beautiful sound of the piano effectively calmed me, and I focused on hitting the right keys and keeping the rhythm instead of my problems with Elliot and Paul. At least for a few moments. But that was all I needed to clear my head.

          I could understand why Paul wanted to tell our parents. He didn't like lying to his— and I didn't like lying to mine either, but I was afraid. And maybe my fears were stupid, but I still thought they were reasonable. Perhaps if I started with my mom, things would go over better. She was the sensible one. My dad was great, but sometimes he was stubborn.

            Grimacing at the thought of telling my dad, my fingers slipped, and I played the wrong keys. But instead of sounding harsh and incorrect, they added to the piece. Curious, I started to add a few extra notes that weren't written on the sheet. I grinned a little as recomposed a few sections of the piece, adding and crossing off notes and chords as I went. Even if I doubted my abilities as a pianist, I at least knew I was good at recomposing.

            About an hour, the newly rendered edition of A River Flows In You was ready to go. Taking a deep breath, I placed my fingers back to the keys and began to play. To my great pleasure, it sounded incredible.

            "That's beautiful, Allie," a voice commented from behind me when I finished playing through the piece.

          Startled, I jumped, my hand smashing down on the E-B notes. Twisting around, I locked gazes with Paul. He stood by the entrance, leaning against the closed door. "T-thanks," I said after a moment, a little embarrassed.

          "I don't think you could use that for Nationals though," he continued, coming to stand next to the piano bench. "But you recomposed that nicely."

          "Thanks," I murmured, keeping my eyes glued on the piano keys.

          There were a few moments of awkward silence. "Paul," I started at the same time he said, "Allie."

          I smiled a little. "Go ahead."

          Sighing, he rubbed the back of his head, leaning against the piano top. "I've been thinking about what you said, and what I said... and I realized I was kind of only thinking of myself," he admitted sheepishly. "I did mean what I said, but I can also understand what you're saying."

          "I've thought about it too," I told him. "I'm just worried, you know? What if I'm not allowed to live with you anymore?"

          Nodding, he tentatively reached out to take my hand. I scooted over so he could sit next to me. "That's probably the most reasonable thing."

          "Paul—"

          "I didn't say I'd be okay with it," he cut me off, grinning a little. "I'm pretty sure my parents won't care, but I realized that your parents are different. You're younger. You're not even a legal adult yet."

          I made a face. "I will be in a month. My birthday's in March."

          "I know, but still. I do want you to tell your parents, but I don't want to jeopardize our relationship. So I'm sorry for getting mad at you. I know, I'm kind of a dick."

          "You're not a dick," I told him with a laugh. "You were right to be angry. I guess we were both being kind of selfish. So, I'm sorry, too. And you're right, and I don't want this to be a relationship we feel obligated to hide, either. I want to let everyone know. I'm not lying when I say I really like you..." My cheeks warmed a little as I said this, but I didn't break gaze with Paul.

          He smiled warmly at me, green eyes bright. "Apology accepted. And hey, I really like you too, Allie Cat."

          Sitting up straighter on the piano bench, I leaned toward Paul a little bit, ready to go in for a kiss. Paul brought his face closer to mine too, and I closed my eyes, expectant and ready. After three seconds of nothing, I opened my eyes again, to see Paul blushing and moving away from me quickly.

          "Paul," I protested.

          "I know, I'm sorry," he muttered, refusing to make eye contact with me. "I just..."

          Shaking my head, I scooted over on the bench again, putting a little more distance between us. "No, it's okay."

          "Sorry," he apologized again.

          I smirked at him. "Usually it's the girl who says no, isn't it?"

          "Oh, shut up," he said playfully, shoving my shoulder lightly.

          "You still too embarrassed to kiss me? Come on, nobody's that bad when they first kiss. And I mean, if you really want to, you can kiss your pillow."

          He gave me a flat look. "Really, Allie?"

          Laughing, I readjusted myself so I was leaning on his shoulder. "I'm glad you're not mad at me anymore."

          "I wasn't mad at you," he responded, slinging his arm around my shoulder. "Just a little bit irritated."

          "Still... Elliot's mad at me now and that would've just sucked," I sighed.

          Paul ran his hand through my hair in a soothing motion. "Elliot's mad at you? Is that possible?"

          "Apparently... he, um... he might like me, or something," I murmured, pressing my face into Paul's shoulder.

          To my disbelief, Paul laughed. "Wait, you're seriously just realizing this now?"

          I pulled away and frowned at him. "What?"

          "I thought it was obvious."

          "You did?"

          He nodded. "Anyone could tell he liked you... poor kid."

          "Yeah, well, Aspen and I were teasing him, and he got pissed and left. So I screwed that up."

          "It'll be fine Allie," Paul promised me, giving my hair a quick ruffle. "You and Elliot are also great friends, so things will work out."

          Grumbling under my breath, I kicked at the piano pedals. "You don't know that."

          "No, I don't," he said in a serious voice. "But I'm trying to be a supportive boyfriend."

          Then he laughed as I aimed a kick at his shin. "Shut up, Paul."

          __________

          Excited because I FINALLY know what I'm going to do with this. Phew, I literally thought I'd be stuck for forever. Another short chapter, but I have a 44 hour work week, so I literally go to work and go to school and sleep. But next week it will be normal again! I hope... we don't have enough workers right now...so blah.

But anyway. Please vote! It means a lot to me, honestly! And your comments. I read them all, and I like to have feedback! Thank you! :)