YOOOO, so if I can get a quick thirty votes on this chapter, I'll post the next one today!!! The next chapter has a very cute, fluffy scene between Benji and Lucy. Honestly v cute.

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Mia brought out the ice cream the minute I got to her house. Instead of grabbing bowls, she grabbed two spoons and we headed up to her room. She pulled out extra blankets from her closet and we huddled on her bed with the ice cream between us. I took a small spoonful and slipped it into my mouth.

"Your mom was seriously going to crowd you in a hotel room for a week?" She asked, eating a spoonful of ice cream.

I nodded and waited until I could swallow the ice cream before speaking. "It's ridiculous, Mia. And I know it's because of this morning."

She raised a brow. "This morning?"

"Yeah, I didn't end up sleeping in my bed last night."

Her eyes widened. "What the hell, Lucy? You need to share. Now."

I smiled at her and started at the beginning with Benji. Some of it she already knew, but when I mentioned our shared night at his work and the first time he kissed me, she almost exploded. When I mentioned the party last night, she said she didn't even notice if Benji and I were together. She didn't think anything of it. All the events led up to last night and this morning waking up in Benji's arms.

"I can't believe you've been holding out on me!" She shouted. "All this time...and he kissed you!"

"Mia! Quiet!"

She giggled and leaned toward me. "I'm sorry, I'm just happy for you. Benji's really sweet and I can tell he likes you a lot."

I nodded and took another bite of ice cream. "I forgot to mention he's writing a song about me," I said casually.

"What?" She exploded, slapping my leg in the process. "A song? You inspired him to write a song about you?"

"That's what I said." I laughed. "He told me I'm the kind of girl people write songs about. That's not a bad thing, right?"

"Depends," She said. "If it's about you, it's not bad. Did he play it for you?"

"Yeah, the parts he has finished. They're so good, Mia. There's a line in it 'She dreams of a better place, somewhere in outer space', and it's perfect. That night on the tracks after you left, I lay there with Benji and we talked. I told him I wanted to live on a star." I laughed at how ridiculous it was.

A slow smile spread across her face. "He remembered."

"He pays attention and he listens. It's so weird having someone else actually listen to me besides you and Stacy. He's so easy to talk to."

"Does he know about Zoe?"

"Not yet," I answered. "I plan on talking to him about it, but what we have is still pretty new." Like two weeks new. He talked to me about his brother, but I was worried to spring all my drama on him.

"It won't change anything," Mia assured.

"It could," I murmured. "I don't want to take that chance right now. I don't want to change the way he looks at me."

Mia lightly shook her head. "I doubt anything you say to him will get him to change his mind about you."

But there's always that what if. "Can we do something fun tomorrow? Like go to the mall or something? I haven't been since...well..."

Mia bit down on her lips to keep from laughing and nodded her head.

After what I pulled on my mom that day, she'd probably never let me step foot in another mall. They're pretty harmless, unless some crazy person decides to be exactly that. I'll probably be the only crazy person there.

I just needed the change of subject.

We eventually settled against Mia's pillows and watched a couple of cheesy Christmas movies on Hallmark before we fell asleep.

* * *

The next morning, Mia's mom made breakfast.

She's like Mia, tall, blonde, and gorgeous. You'd never know she was almost fifty because she seemed so flawless. Her looks may be just that, but she's a little...out there. Mia says it's because she starts drinking when she wakes up and lost a majority of her brain cells in the process.

We sat at the table with her; Mia's dad had already left for work.

Then Mia's mom started playing with my hair. I looked at Mia curiously and all she could do was shrug. "Your hair is so pretty, Lucy. How do you keep it so soft and shiny?"

Mia was laughing quietly, until she snorted.

"Um, it's natural, I guess," I murmured. "I don't do anything special."

"It's so long," She exasperated. "I remember when I had long hair. All this shit in my hair is fake."

It was hard not to laugh at the way she said it so dully.

"Well, Mom, we're going to head out now." Mia stood up from the table, dragging me with her.

"But you didn't finish your breakfast. Where are you going?"

"Just to the bookstore," Mia answered. "We'll be back in a few hours. You know what it's like when you get me in a bookstore." She laughed nervously and we backed out of the room as quickly as possible.

Mia grabbed her purse from the bottom of the stairs and we bolted out the front door and into her car. She backed out of the driveway and we were on our way. "I love your mom." I laughed.

"I love her too, but she's so touchy. She does the same thing to Caleb too, that's why I can't have him over."

"Are your parent's still fighting?"

"The complete opposite actually. It's very...nerve-wracking."

"Well it's better than them fighting I suppose."

She nodded. "True. So, are you going to see if Benji wants to come to the mall?"

It took me a second to take in what she just said because it was out of the blue. "No, this is a day for us."

Mia groaned. "Just text him, dumbass. This is the perfect time while your parents are gone. You won't have to worry about being caught."

She did have a point.

"I'll text Caleb," She added. "It'll be a party."

I pulled out my phone and opened up my message thread with Benji. As I started to type, I had no idea what to say. Instead of asking out right, I asked him if he was awake.

He responded two minutes later.

For you? Yeah.

I bit the corner of my bottom lip to keep from smiling, but it wasn't working.

Would you want to meet me at the mall? I'm with Mia and we're on our way now.

I hit send and let go of the breath I was holding.

The three dots showed up on the screen a second later and then his message appeared.

Sure. Give me about thirty minutes and I'll be there.

Can't wait.

I put my phone back in my pocket and sighed.

* * *

Within the thirty minutes we were at the mall, Mia already had two bags hanging from her arms and one on Caleb's. He didn't seem too bored though. He kept up with Mia easily even though I was struggling.

"Are you coming with Mia?" Caleb asked and I didn't realize I wasn't paying attention to anything they were talking about.

"Hm?"

Caleb looked at me and raised a brow. "To my parents' Christmas party tonight. I invite you every year."

"Oh, right." I laughed nervously. "I can actually go this time."

"So you'll be there?"

I lifted my shoulders and shrugged. "Not sure. I don't want to impose or anything, Caleb."

"Are you kidding? You're my friend too."

Mia emerged from the dressing room in another cocktail dress. A black one that reached her knees with thick straps. "What about this one?"

"It looks good, babe," Caleb answered.

"You've said that for the past three dresses, Caleb." She settled a hand on her hip. "This one or the red one?"

While they were talking, my phone buzzed and I plucked it from my pocket. Benji's message telling me he was at the entrance lit up the screen and I couldn't help but smile. I told them I'd be back, but they were too busy talking about the color of Mia's dress to notice.

I walked out of the store and headed towards the mall entrance. To get to the entrance Benji was at, I had to walk through the food court and that wasn't a good idea. My stomach rumbled at the smell of food. My stomach doesn't know how to cooperate sometimes.

Benji stood near the directory, looking up at the glowing map of the mall. He turned the same time I approached and he smiled effortlessly. "I see you've discovered a new place," He teased and wrapped an arm around my shoulders to pull me against him.

"Thought we could use a change of scenery." I let out a laugh.

He slipped his hand into mine, our fingers intertwining together as we walked back to the place I left Mia and Caleb at.

"How are you today?" I asked and gave his palm a small squeeze.

He tightened his fingers around mine for a moment. "Today's been good so far. My parents came home this morning and when I got home, Tyler was already up. I showed him part of the song I was working on and he loves it." He threw me a proud smile. "So I'd say today is going pretty well. How'd you escape today?"

I broke into the story of what happened when I got home yesterday, including the showdown with my mom. Benji just shook his head and smoothed his thumb over the back of my hand. "I thought it was getting better, but it's only getting worse."

"Can I ask you a question?" He asked softly.

"Sure," I replied.

"Where is Zoe?"

My throat went dry and my words got lost. The question I was avoiding, but I can't lie to him and I don't want to. "She's in a mental health center in Jacksonville."

"Shit, I'm sorry." He stopped abruptly and brought me in front of him. With the slight bend of his finger, he tilted my head back to look at him. "I know this isn't the place to talk about it, I'm sorry."

My lips curved into a small smile. "It's okay. I'm just not used to talking about it." I shrugged.

He only smiled a little. "You're tougher than you look."

I laughed and leaned into him. "Is it the height or the baby face?"

Benji's smile widened. "All of it."

I wanted to reach up and kiss him, but even on my toes I couldn't reach him without him meeting me halfway. "We'll talk soon."

He leaned forward and kissed my forehead before lacing our fingers again. We headed to the store Mia and Caleb were at and she was paying for the red dress. I guess they finally decided on a color. They already fight like a married couple and it's oddly adorable.

Benji and I waited outside of the store while they paid and a few minutes later they came out.

"You must be Benji," Caleb said and offered Benji his hand.

He smiled and grasped Caleb's hand, giving it a firm shake before dropping it. "And you must be Caleb."

"I love your band's music. It's so great to finally meet you."

"Thank you. It's great to meet you too."

Benji lingered close to me when we started walking again. Mia was on my other side while Benji and Caleb walked side by side, talking about music. We headed back to the food court and Mia bought us a slice of pizza. I would've paid for my own, but if I used my card my parents will know I was here. This is what I get for not carrying cash.

Caleb and Benji got a slice too and we found an empty table to sit at.

"Are you guys doing anything tonight?" Benji asked as he wiped his hand on a napkin.

"Christmas party at my parents'," Caleb answered.

"Oh," Benji said. "What about after? Tyler decided this morning we were going to have a party. He wants to show our song we finished. Which is weird, because it's one song."

I laughed. "Maybe he's just looking for an excuse to throw a party."

"Probably. It wouldn't be the first time either."

"We can be there after," Caleb piped in.

Benji smiled. "Great."

* * *

At the end of the day, I walked with Benji to his truck while Mia walked with Caleb to his car. We agreed we'd meet up at her car in a few minutes, which was just an excuse so I can spend a few minutes with Benji. She knew because when the guys weren't looking, she wiggled her eyebrows at me.

Benji leaned back against the driver's side and lightly tugged me towards him. We were blocked because Benji's truck was tall and he was parked next to an SUV. The only way we could be seen is if people walked by, but we were near the edge of the lot. I think we're in the clear at least for a few minutes.

I lifted myself on my toes and tugged at Benji's sleeve.

He only smiled and met my demands. He tucked his hand into my hair and his lips closed over mine. I curled my fingers around his sleeve again and our bodies pressed together. Benji's smile echoed over my lips and I tugged him closer.

I was the first to pull away because I felt like my head was going to explode from the lack of breath. Kissing Benji literally took my breath away. "I guess I should go." I breathed and leaned my head back to look up at him. The way the light hit his eyes made them glow with a vibrant green.

"I'll see you tonight." He pecked my lips again.

I nodded and stepped back. "See you tonight."

I walked across the lot in search of Mia's car. While I walked, I started to ponder. When that happens, I get nervous. Part of me feels like I shouldn't have told Benji about my sister being in a mental hospital. She wasn't crazy, she just needed help. She needed help that mom and dad couldn't give her.

My mom thinks she can help her, but she can't. And because of that, my mom feels like it's her fault she ended up there in the first place.

But it's not my mom's fault Zoe is there. I'm the one that told on Zoe, but it's not my fault either. No one wants to see their sister on the path she was going on. If it weren't for me, Zoe wouldn't be here at all.

I saved Zoe's life.

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It's short, I'm sorry. BUT, the next chapter is super long!!! If I can get thirty votes quickly, I'll go ahead and post the next chapter ASAP!!!! SO VOTE AND COMMENT PLEASE AND I'LL LOVE YOU FOREVERRR!