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Asher and I ended up walking toward Central park after being kicked out of the building for being in a restricted area. I couldn't stop laughing from the time we were thrown out to the moment we ended up on the streets lingering towards 5th avenue. I wasn't able to keep my head down on earth as we walked together, laughing like old times.

"So," I asked as we bumped shoulders, well, I bumped his arm because of our height difference. "When do I get to see Brody and Quentin and Ben?"

"Well, they're kind of all over the place right now," he told me. "Ben's in California with Mia, Quentin is visiting his parents and family, and Brody is in England with his fiancé." I smiled at the thought of Brody, the hard-on-the-outside but soft-on-the-inside big brother to Asher, falling in love. He had always been so calm and collected when I was around him – and I was around a lot – but falling in love? That was kind of a crazy thought.

"Really? Who's his fiancé?"

"Her name is Kiera, she's British, and she's awesome. She was able to handle our family, which means she can handle Brody by himself. Did I mention she was a model?" He went on and on about his future sister-in-law. I grinned to myself.

"It sounds like you really like her," I replied.

"Yeah, she's not stuck up, likes to beat up on Brody, and she likes the Beatles. What more could I ask for in a sister?" He laughed, kicking a stray rock on the sidewalk. He was going to gain a sister for the rest of his life, and I had just figured out that I had a brother. I'd know that for the rest of my life, but would we act like or feel like brother and sister?

"What about the other boys?" I queried. "How have they been? Except for Grayson, because he's pretty much forced himself into my life."

"That would be Grayson for you," Asher joked. "Ben's been good. He's matured a little bit since high school. Quentin's still as much of a killjoy as he was. Nothing's really changed. They'll all be back here again by January to record some more and then get back on the road later on." There was a few seconds of silence between us.

"I have some news," I said as I sucked in a breath. I didn't feel nervous or even anxious as I thought about telling him. He made it easy for me.

"What's your news?" He sounded excited to hear it.

"Well," I started. "Turns out I'm not an only child..." The expression on Asher's face was priceless after that; it was a mixture of horror and surprise all at once. It was like I could read his mind and know that he was thinking of my divorced parents creating another me. Which was most definitely not the case. "His name is Luke, and he is twenty-four. We're half siblings through my dad and his previous marriage."

"How did you find that out?" He asked, dumbfounded.

"My mom told me. It was the same day of Mia's birthday, actually. I met him right before you guys played, except I didn't know that was him... until today." Everything that had happened in the past few days was all a big jumble in my head. It drove me crazy that I didn't know the answers. It drove me even crazier that I didn't know what was going to happen next.

"That's... a good thing, right?" He raised an eyebrow at me. I couldn't help but smile at him.

"I'll let you know when I do," I chuckled, rubbing my hands together to warm them. We had been walking for what seemed like forever when I looked back up at the sky again. Its pinkish color was fading, but the saying still came to me. "Pink at night, sailor's delight."

Asher looked at me weirdly. "What?"

"You've never heard that?" I asked. "Pink in the morning, sailor's warning, pink at night, sailor's delight. If the sky's pink at night, we'll have good weather tomorrow. If it's pink in the morning, we'll have bad weather."

"I've heard it, just not in a while. I guess it's not really a common thing in other countries," he smiled, shrugging his shoulder. "I'm going to hold you to that, though."

Like Asher, I was missing the warm weather. Don't get me wrong, I loved snow, but it was a little crazy in New York when it came to fluffy white stuff falling from the sky. It piled up on the streets and when it was plowed out of the way and stuffed onto the sidewalks, it became dirty from the cars and pollution quicker than when it first came. There wasn't as much beauty to it.

We had finally reached 5th Avenue, and I couldn't stop myself from remembering the old music store in our hometown in Pennsylvania. I first met Asher there, and no matter how much I used to want to forget it, passing by the sign in the city never helped.

"Remember Fifth Avenue back home?" I asked with a smile playing on my lips. The day we first met played out in my head and I bit my lip to keep a pleasant grin down. You'll only get hurt again, Bea... Don't fall in love with a rock star again, don't.

"Of course I remember it." Asher glanced up back at the sign as we walked in the cold air, his breath looked like smoke when it left his mouth. "You still think of it as home?" He referred to Griffin, Pennsylvania. The question caused me to wonder why he would ask it.

"Um, yeah? Why not?" I enquired.

"I mean, I guess it could be. But I don't see it that way anymore, you know? I don't think anything is permanent anymore. Home is too permanent," he explained, glancing at me every now and then.

"You would think that," I told him. "You're never in one place at one time. I think home is where all your memories are with the ones you really love." I thought of how he had only moved there to start a band, and his mom had gone downhill, so it was an escape for him. Not a permanent home.

"Yeah, I guess," he agreed to disagree. I wasn't liking that side of Asher; the side where he didn't want to argue his point or even try to prove that he's right. It wasn't him. "Why are so insightful?"

I pursed my lips and raised an eyebrow at him. "Huh?"

He laughed at my idiotic response. "You look way deeper into a situation than anyone I've ever met. Does it ever get old?" The slight annoyed tone matched his hard expression. It was much different from his happy one when we were on top of the Empire State Building.

I shrugged. "I don't know, I guess someone has to be." I wasn't quite sure what kind of response he was looking for.

"It would have to drive you insane to think that much, though. I would've already killed myself..." He trailed off in deep thought. My feet froze to the ground underneath me, keeping me in place while Asher walked. He realized I had stopped and turned to look at me, looking as dumbfounded as I felt.

My heart was beating in my chest from his simple, yet vulgar words. Realization hit his face and he stepped toward me, but I stepped back.

"How could you say that, Asher?" I was feeling all the emotions I used to in that moment. I thought, a long time ago, that I had finally rid myself of those thoughts and feelings. Apparently not. I turned to walk away and hopefully forget that guy I once loved for being so kind and loving to me was gone forever.

"Wait, Bea," he pleaded as he grabbed my wrist to twist me around to him. I reluctantly allowed him to, though I mostly blame it on feeling weak for some reason. "I... I can't keep myself happy, Bea. When I'm not happy, I'm angry, and when I'm angry, I hurt the people that mean the most to me." His eyes, I swore, boring a hole in mine. I looked away and pulled my hand out of his grip.

He stepped back from me and placed his hands on the back of his head. I stared at the back of his head while remembering the conversation Grayson and I had earlier.

"Since you stopped talking to him, Bea," he said accusingly. "It broke the kid in two. I don't what he would've done if he didn't have the band," he added matter-of-factly.

I stared at Grayson. "He's the one that stopped talking to me."

"Same thing," he argued, letting his head roll over to look at me. He was the most difficult person ever. What did Ellie see in him?

"No, not really," I argued back. "He broke my heart, too, Grayson."

"Look, Bea." He sat up in his seat and flattened his palms on his thighs. "All I'm saying is that Asher has barely smiled or been in a good mood. Last night was the first time he even showed any emotion. Even if it wasn't a happy one. And I don't think you were the only thing that made him that way."

I laced my fingers together and held them on my lap. "What do you want me to do about it?" I asked calmly. I leaned my head back against the seat, feeling exhausted from my lack of sleep. Five in the morning was not a good time to go playing hide-n-go-seek.

"Fix him." Two simple words. I don't know why it bothered me so much. Those two words were a lot coming from someone like Grayson, a guy who usually didn't think that much into things, let alone think about other people.

"How am I supposed to do that?" I asked quietly, looking at him.

"Like he did with you, remember?"

I did remember. The long phone calls in the middle of the night when I felt the pressure of my life weighing down on my heart. The times he wiped my tears and told me I would be okay. The moments he was quiet and listened to me spill my guts – better than any therapist could've done, honestly. And the love he gave me when I felt like one else had for me.

"You're a smart girl, Bea," Grayson added. "I'm sure you can figure it out."

I didn't want to be that girl that let him walk away. He made a mistake, so what? He didn't ditch me when I needed him the most. He helped me become the person I was – the best person I tried to be. It was Asher that made me want to live, Asher that made me want to love the world. People like him that made me appreciate the things God has given me. I couldn't just watch a person like him give up on those things. It would be wrong, and selfish, and so many other things.

Asher dropped his hands and dug in his pocket for a cigarette and lighter. He was still turned away from me, but I could see him put the cigarette between his lips and hold the lighter to the end of it. I walked forward and pulled the cigarette out of his mouth, holding it in my hand.

"I'll never give up on you, Asher," I said before throwing my arms around him. His eyes were glossy but not a single tear would fall. He hugged me back and it was like we were the same Bea and Asher all over again.

"I'm sorry I was such a dick," he whispered in my ear. I giggled at that, the way he said it with such seriousness contradicted its meaning.

"It's okay, Asher. Everyone makes mistake, you're not the first one." I didn't let go of him as I spoke into his chest.

"Yeah, but I've been a dick for past couple years of my life," he told me.

"Let's change that, then." I smiled up at him and we started walking towards our temporary homes.

*****

My bed felt way too comfortable the next morning. That was how I knew I would be woken up sooner than I wanted to be.

Asher was kind enough to bring me home the night before, the night that I decided that I had to help him fix his broken heart. Being forced out of the Empire State Building, and walking and talking for what seemed like forever, was exhausting. I practically jumped into bed after taking a hot shower.

As I looked at my buzzing phone and the time it read, I knew it was too early. Seven-Thirty was too early for anyone to be awake. Okay, so that was a little over-dramatic, but come on, I was running on about four hours of sleep for the past week. Who was calling me?

I sat up slowly and grabbed my phone, not opening my eyes to see who it was. It was Saturday morning and I didn't have any classes. Why did my sleep always have to be interrupted?

"Hello?" I asked groggily. It sounded more like a grumble.

"Good morning, sunshine." Asher's voice rang through my eardrum. My eyes popped open immediately and I threw the covers off my legs. I half expected him to pop in through my closed bedroom door any second.

"Asher? What?" I couldn't get a sentence out without wondering what I was really saying. His voice threw me off guard. It was deeper than usual, which meant he had just woken up.

"I called you as soon as I opened my curtains," Asher said, humor in his voice. I was more than confused.

"Why?" I pushed myself up off the bed and headed to my curtains. As I pulled my curtains back, I saw the first of many snowflakes falling from the sky. A smile spread across my face then, eyes following the white flakes until they hit the pavement below me.

"I thought you said we were going to have nice weather today?" Asher asked, and I could imagine the grin on his face and the crinkles in the corners of his eyes.

"What's so bad about snow?" I sat on my window sill and stared out at the alley down below my window. I could barely see the corner of the street in front of the building, but I caught glimpses of the many people trampling over the beautiful snow on the sidewalks. They had no other choice but to walk all over it, but I still hated it. It was the first snow of the year in late November.

He chuckled. "Snow causes power outages, power outages lead to no electricity... no electricity leads no Wi-Fi... You know, the basic things we need to survive."

"Um, I'm pretty sure there's a lot more to living than Wi-Fi." I rested my forehead against the frozen glass and exhaled, a small circle forming on the window.

"I'm just kidding, I love the snow. I mean, who doesn't love white fluffy stuff falling from the sky, covering up all the dirty things?" I heard music playing in the background. It was scratchy and not very clear which made me think it was a record player. I glanced back at my own, the one he had gotten me those years ago, wishing there was a record sitting on it. We had one in the living room as well that was used every once in a while.

I had a hard time placing one on mine anymore.

"I love it too, for that reason." I laughed to myself.

"Well, I just wanted to let you know you were wrong for once in your life. I'll let you get back to sleeping," he told me. I wrapped my arms around myself and shook my head. I would never get back to sleep now.

"Okay," I replied. "I'll talk to you later, then. Bye."

"Bye." Although he said it, it took us a second to hang up. I could still hear the scratchy music playing in the background, recognizing it to be a Green Day record. And then as soon as he came, he was gone.

I held my phone in my hand for a minute longer before finally tossing it onto my bed. I lost sight of it in my blankets somewhere and stood up to jump onto the bed. I wrapped myself in the blankets and wished I could stay in the comfortable warmth of them forever.

"BEA!" I heard Grayson's booming voice yell throughout the house. I groaned, covering my head up and hoping he would go away if he thought I was sleeping. My door opened and in came Grayson. His footsteps grew closer and closer until I felt his weight on the side of my bed.

My covers were ripped off my body and I immediately felt like punching him in the throat. Somewhere in the room I heard my phone hit the hardwood floor. I glared at Grayson. He frowned and hopped to his feet to find my phone.

"I will hurt you if my phone is broken," I threatened. He gave me an apologetic smile as he handed my phone to me. It wasn't cracked or scratched, which Grayson had better be thankful for.

"Sorry," he said, propping himself up on my bed. "But, I think you need to go help Asher."

"I just got off the phone with him. Is something wrong?" I retorted, playing around with my phone. There were no text messages on my screen. He would have told me if something was wrong, wouldn't he?

"Yeah, and he's texting me. I just got here not long ago because I'm supposed to take Ellie out. He just doesn't sound great, Bea." Grayson looked and sounded like the concerned best friend I knew he was. I got up out of bed and glanced at myself in the mirror. My hair was down and ratted, my pajama pants and shirt looked like they had been slept in, which, was exactly what happened to them.

"Okay, okay, I'll go check on him," I muttered as I searched for some presentable clothes that would be comfortable and warm.

"He didn't want to leave the condo today. I don't know if he was just tired or..." He trailed off and pursed his lips, averting his eye contact with me. I didn't understand anything. He sounded fine when he spoke to me on the phone. But then again, I used to put on a smile every day yet still feel sad. It was a normal thing for anyone to do – a habit for most.

"I'm going," I said hurriedly, throwing all the things I wanted to wear onto the bed beside Grayson. "You can get out now."

"Thanks, Bea," he murmured before closing the door behind him and leaving me to get dressed.

The walk to Asher's condo was cold but also shorter than I had thought. The wind wiped around with snow flurrying, making it harder to see. I wasn't able to get a cab due to the loads of people trying to get one in front of me. I figured with my heart beating as fast it was and all the adrenaline coursing through my veins, I would be able to get there in a matter of minutes. I texted Grayson to get the directions, which he sent me in a jumbled mess. Nonetheless, I found it on the tenth floor of a very big, very tall, building.

I must have knocked two and a half times before the door flew open and a calm-looking Asher stood in his flannel pajama pants and white t-shirt.

"Bea?" He asked, eyebrows furrowed. I crossed my arms over my torso and stared at him.

"Are you okay?" I blurted out. Asher scratched the back of his head and stood back so I could enter his condo.

"...Sure?" He replied awkwardly.

"It's just that Grayson... Never mind." I turned away from him when I felt my face heating up as I took in the large condominium I was standing in. The whole place was very open with the kitchen, dining room, and living room not separated by any walls. There was a large window over-looking the snow-covered city.

"Grayson did what?" Asher asked as he yawned. I wasn't sure why, but the dark circles under his eyes seemed to be getting bigger and darker by the day.

"Nothing," I replied, not wanting to accuse him of being hopeless and heartbroken. I easily learnt in my earliest college classes that you cannot confront someone for being depressed. Many, but not all, people don't want to think of themselves that way. It was all a big jumble of information in my head.

"I should go, then." I tried not to think about the wind biting at my exposed skin outside. The snow was still falling and it was not stopping any time soon. Asher stepped in front of the door before I could get to it, a look of concern on his face.

"You can't go home in that weather, Bea." His tone reminded me of being scolded like a child.

"Yeah, but, I don't want to smother you..." I said reluctantly. I hated to admit it, but I liked spending time with Asher. I knew I shouldn't, but I wanted to.

"You aren't smothering me," he scoffed, crossing his arms over his sculpted chest. "Just hang out for the day. If it's better by tonight, I'll get you a ride home. Deal?" He stuck his hand out for me to shake.

I thought about it for a second, pursing my lips tightly together. I finally shook his hand. Asher took my coat and tossed it over the back of a bar stool, leading me into the large living room that was directly in front of the huge window.

I guess I was snowed in with my ex.

______________________

The song in the video I added is Maybe by Secondhand Serenade. I thought it was a good match for this chapter. 

One day late... So sorry about that. I wrote about 3/4 of this chapter in two days and it probably has lots of mistakes... ugh. Editing will be done eventually. 

Let me know what you thought about this chapter, please? What was your reaction when Asher said those things to Bea earlier in the chapter? Why do think she really wants to nurse his broken soul? 

Thank you sooooo much for reading. I love to see that other people are getting something, whether it's enjoyment or something deeper than that, I want you to let me know! Those things make my day! 

  On another note: (CAUTION: MAY BE SPOILERS) I watched the mid-season premiere of The Walking Dead last night and I'm almost positive I have gray hair. Carl almost gave me a heart attack. Actually, I was pretty speechless for that whole scene. It was a great episode. I was super happy when Maggie saw Glenn, too. Do you guys watch The Walking Dead? If you don't, what are your favorite shows?