(Ben's POV)

I breathed in the familiar scent of lilacs and gunpowder as Erica tightened my tie. I inhaled sharply when she looked up at me with that familiar, radiant smile.

I leaned my forehead against hers and felt closer to her than I ever had before. "You ready?" I asked her. She nodded and took my hand.

Mike was forcing us to go to another one of his parties, and the only bad news was that Joshua and Ashley were going to be there. (Josh was buddies with the wide receiver on the Rams.)

I greeted other celebrities with small nods and drew closer to Erica when I saw a famous heartthrob wink at her. My posture stiffened and I had to remind myself to keep walking.

When I finally found Mike surrounded by a crowd of his teammates, he had a wild look in his eyes and a strange flush upon his face. He cheersed me with his beer bottle, and said: "Gllllaaaaad you could, ehm, make it." In a heavy slur.

"Mike, buddy, ya good?" His usually neat blond hair was a mess, little spikes going everywhere. His eyes brightened with that weird look again and he shouted: "I WANT JELLY BEANS!!!" My eyes narrowed in confusion as I pursed my lips. "Jelly Beans?" I asked. He nodded, and slurred "THE LIME ONES! AND I ALSO WANT GUMMY FIRETRUCKS!" I sighed and turned to Erica.

"Lovey, can you let me and Mike have a moment? I have to sober him up." She nodded and answered "Alright, B, I'm going to go talk to Zoe. She told me she would be here." Mike's eyes widened comically. "ZOOOEEEE? I LOOOOOOVE HER! BUT NOTHING WILL COMMEIN MY WAY OF THE HALL OF FAME! NOT EVEN FEELINGS!"

I hoisted Mike over my shoulder like a drunk sack of potatoes. "C'mon Mike, time to sober you up." I carried him to his kitchen and gently set him down on his couch. I poured him a glass of water, and put two Tylenol next to it for when he woke up with a hangover. I tucked him under a home-knit blanket that my mother had knitted for him and whispered "Night bud. Feel better in the morning." His eyes opened slightly, and he asked: "Ben, what do you do when you love someone but shouldn't get distracted?" I smiled softly, and answered, "If you love someone, then you'll be willing to do anything for them."

His eyes opened a bit wider. "Do you love Erica?" He asked quietly, having sobered up just a bit to hear this important revelation.

I closed my eyes and whispered "Yes. I love Erica."

Mike's head fell back onto his pillow, and he started snoring softly.

I smiled sadly at his drunken form and went to find Erica. Someone's arms grabbed me and spun me around. I found myself face to face with none other than Ashley Sparks. "Leave me alone!" I growled. "I have other plans..." She smirked, and I felt a sinking feeling of doom. In the corner of my eyes, I saw Erica walking in our general direction. My eyes darted from place to place, looking for an escape, like trapped prey. Her smirked widened and her eyes narrowed into a predatory look as she also spotted Erica, and she dove in for the kill. She pressed her lips against mine, and no matter how much I struggled, I couldn't escape her arms, made strong from hours spent in the Gymnastics Studio.

I could hear Erica's gasp and fought even harder to wriggle our from Ashley's grip, but it was no use. Erica has already stumbled away.

(Ashley's POV)

What was that feeling? I released Ben, and he glared at me, but I felt a tingling within my stomach. Wow. I had never noticed before, but wow, that hair! It was thick and sandy brown, and I wanted nothing more than to comb my fingers through it.

This physically pains me to write. My stomach hurts.

He ran after Erica and I went to find Josh. "Oh, Jooosh!" I sang. He ran his hand through his mane of dark hair. "Yes?" He answered, trying to appear suave. I grinned sadistically. "We're over."

(Erica's POV)

I gasped and stumbled backward as if I had been sucker-punched in the gut. There was Ben, with Ashley Sparks's arms around him, pressed extremely close together.

I ran away, a tear tracing down my cheek. I had seen enough. I found myself on a balcony of some sort, as I had been running aimlessly, and sat myself down dizzily onto one of the chairs. "Stupid. Stupid to let down your guard, stupid to think for once someone would like you for more than your looks." I muttered. I sat there, just me and my tears for a few minutes before Ben burst onto the balcony. "Lovey-" he started. My eyes flashed with anger. "You do not get to call me lovey!" I spat. He recoiled.

"You don't get to come here and act like you were the one wronged! I wasn't the one who made out with Ashley Sparks! As far as I can recall, that was you!" I shouted. I continued on with my rant. "You just live in your perfect little Hollywood world, not giving a damn for anyone else, and clearly not interested in how I feel! So why don't you leave me here to cry, and go rejoin your perfect little Hollywood world, which clearly I am not a part of!"

Now his eyes flashed angrily, and with a dangerously low voice, he answered "You think I live in a perfect little Hollywood world? You have no idea what I worry about! You don't have to worry about your family, worry about them even making their next paycheck! And you don't have to worry about trying to keep my entire family, my cousins, parents, 6 siblings, and grandparents afloat! They rely on me completely! If I didn't work my ass off to do well in Hollywood, I don't even want to think of what would've happened to them. My father tried to keep the entire family afloat with his fishing business in Gloucester, but that's a hard living to make!" 

I answered icily "Spare my feelings and walk away now."

He clenched his jaw in anger, squared his broad shoulders, and walked away from the balcony.

I remained with my head in my lap for a good ten minutes before I stiffened my shoulders, and wiped away the tears. I was Erica Hale. I did not cry over men. I stood determinedly, and left the party, deciding to walk back to my old place rather than driving home with Ben to our current place.

I felt like something inside of me was broken, but there was no way in hell I was going to let anyone see that. After getting my heart broken twice, it was time to put a wall up.

A wall of ice.