(Erica's POV)

The dinner with Adam was pretty average. Good food... not as good company (He was rather boring.) But an alright time in total.

He was polite and had perfectly polished manners, but he didn't really engage me in conversation.

We just didn't have that spark. However, my need to get over Ben was the top priority, so I just went with the flow, and when Adam asked me out on another date, this time to Cody's Karaoke Bar, I accepted.

It was going to be tough because Cody's was the first place where Ben and I had truly connected. The first time there were sparks and the first moment that actually made me consider if there was anything there.

Adam was a nice guy, and he seemed to really like me, which made me kinda feel bad, and guilty.

I was just following Zoe's advice, and hoping it would work. But could you ever truly get over someone you love? If Zoe was able to get over Mike, did that mean she truly loved him?

I felt bad for Mike. It seemed as though Zoe was kind of stringing him along in the beginning, and liked him for his looks, not his personality. Was that the same way Ben perceived me? I hoped not. I hated how guys usually saw me, as some type of conquest, or something to make them feel good about themselves.

I hoped Ben saw me I saw him, as a person, and not as some object that was to be used. When I looked at him, I didn't see his looks, I saw the light in his eyes, and the spark in his personality, and the way his eyes twinkled when he was teasing Mike or me.

The point was, I had formed an emotional connection with Ben, and I really didn't know if I could get over him. But I was going to try, and if I had to date this boring as dirt guy, so be it.

(Ben's POV)

I had fallen back into a bad state; not as bad as I had been before because now I had Ever, but still not great.

I know I had said to Mike that it didn't matter, that I really just wanted Erica to be happy. But now I was being selfish, because it really did bother me, and I really did care.

Because, at this point, I was in too deep, I had fallen and fallen hard, and now I was stuck. I had become a fly, stuck to a strip, with no chance of getting out.

And it always was going to be her and me in my mind, even if it wasn't in real life. And I had to get her back. I just needed to figure out how.

I scrolled through Adam's Instagram, figuring I could figure out a plan from there because he posts literally everything about his life on Insta.

Aha. He and Erica are going to Cody's next weekend. Cody's was the place Erica and I had formed a real connection, where we had shared a moment over my music.

Even if it was crappy pop music that had no feelings that went with it.

No, if I was to win her back, I had to play from the heart. BOOK OF LIFE YASSSSSS! MANOLO AND MARIA ARE LITERALLY EVERYTHING!

I had to play a song that really meant something to me, something that resonated with the feelings that were reverberated throughout me whenever I thought of her and Adam Berns together.

A song that expresses my jealousy, but also showed how much I truly cared for her. So I set to work, scanning through all of my Spotify playlists until I finally found the one I wanted.

Then, I headed to my piano to start practicing. For hours on end, I played chords, my fingers flying across the keyboard, and just really feeling the music.

But when I stopped practicing, I thought: What if, after all of this, she truly never loved me at all, and I'm just wasting my time?

I collapsed onto the couch with a sigh, wallowing in self-pity until a small form clambered up onto the couch and rested her little head on my chest.

"Don't be sad Unca Ben. It's okay." And she slid her little hand into mine, my bigger hand enveloping hers.

A tear slid down my cheek, because this child cared for me, and I cared for her. This child was there for me when others weren't, so young in age, but so mature at the same time.

And it was her presence, the feel of her tiny hand in mine, that told me that it was going to be okay, and I got shot down, it wasn't the worst thing in the world.

Because if Erica didn't care about me, I still had Ever, and Mike, the two people who were there for me more than anyone else, who supported me, who boosted me when I felt down.

And I felt like a father or an uncle to Ever. I felt a protective urge over this little human who placed her trust in Mike and I, who had been through so much, yet her spark wasn't diminished.

For the first time in a while, I felt like things were going to be OK.

(Mike's POV)

I smiled at the sight of Ben sleeping on the couch, Ever curled into a protective ball on his chest, her tiny little hand holding onto his. She was so little, only four, yet somehow, she was healing us.

I found my camera lying somewhere around the house, and I snapped a photo of them. I knew Ben would need it so that he would remember that there were people in this world who cared about him.

"Thank the Gods that you came into our life, Ever," I whispered, a gentle smile creasing my lips. She really was helping us, and we were doing the same for her.