I woke to a knock on my door.

It was unusual, Dad almost never woke me when he came home, so I hastily, without casting a thought to my scanty sleepwear, echoed a sleepy 'come in'.

That's how Alastair Sullivan ended up in my bed.

Well, not in my bed, but on it.

"How did you get in my bedroom?" I asked him, convinced I was in some weird dream. 

"Your Dad let me in."

"My Dad let you in?" I repeated, my puffy eyes wide. I pulled the blanket further over my lap. Even with the curtains pulled closed, the light was still blinding to my dreamy eyes. 

"Yeah," he shrugged. "He's pretty nice, he offered breakfast. But I'm just dropping by."

"What time is it?" I still didn't understand why he was here so early.

"Ten." Well, maybe not that early then.

I rubbed my eyes, my mind still foggy. Then it seemed to sink in, Alastair Sullivan is sitting beside me on my bed.

"What are you doing here?"

"I've got news for you," he said, his fingers knotting in his lap before him. "Oh, and I couldn't help visit you on, you know, Val-entine's Day."

I scowled at him as he chuckled.

"That was a joke, by the way."

"A joke I hear every year," I said, rolling my eyes. Like I was the type to find any enjoyment in Valentine's Day. "What news do you have?"

"I know who told Logan," he said. His demeanour was now a little more composed. I straightened up, still feeling a little self-conscious in my pyjamas. My hair was probably a nest after my restless sleep, and I definitely had morning breath.

But, all of that escaped my mind pretty rapidly at his deceleration. "Who? How do you even know?"

"Because she bragged about it to me this morning."

She. So it was a girl. But who? Then my sleepy mind suddenly grasped it. Who would be talking to Alastair this morning? "Lottie."

"Yeah."

"Why would Lottie-" My sentence was cut off when her incentive became clear in my mind. "She wants Logan out of the picture."

"What?" Now Alastair was the one confused.

I shook my head, of course it was Lottie. She was always trying to suggest things to me relating Alastair, like how we should act like some big couple for his parents. Coming to think of it, it made sense that she knew all about the deal. "Did you tell her everything? Or did she just know?"

Alastair's eyebrows furrowed. "You think I told her?"

"She's you're twin sister. I would understand."

"Val, I wouldn't have told anyone about the deal," he said. "Not even Lottie."

"Then how did she find out?" I pondered sceptically.

"Maisie," he said. "It must have been Maisie."

Right. Maisie was now, apparently, Lottie's new BFF. At least she didn't tell Logan directly, I guess, but it still stung to know she'd told anyone at all. Especially someone who clearly had an interest in meddling.

"You don't seem that surprised," Alastair noted.

"Well, I guess it makes sense..."

"She's spoken to you, hasn't she?" he groaned. 

I sighed, once again our conversation had taken a turn to the subject we both so carefully avoided. My reaction was enough to confirm it for him, and he leaned back a little from where he was sitting from my seat. "So she did this to part me from Logan."

"And probably to fuel her need for entertainment," he said. "I'm sorry, Val."

"Why do you need to be sorry?" I asked. "She's your twin, you can't control her."

"But..." he trailed off. When he continued, his voice was a little deeper, a little more thoughtful. "If I didn't show any interest in you, she wouldn't have gotten involved, and you wouldn't be in this mess with him."

"Alastair, if you didn't show interest in me we wouldn't have made the deal in the first place."

"Exactly."

"Don't you get it? I needed that deal. Even with all the mess it caused. It gave me an excuse to get over my whole built up reputation of being the cynical one," I said, and the more I spoke the more I began to understand. "If Logan had asked me up front I would have laughed in his face, because if I agreed then people would think I was beginning to care. If Maisie did it, well, she already knew her attempts were fruitless. I needed you Alastair, to come in, and be as confident and charming and insistent as you were."

He looked at me, his eyes narrowed slightly as he studied my undoubtedly puffy and sleepy face. I felt like I was drowning in the forest of green surrounding me in his scrutiny, but for the first time in what felt like a long time, I could breathe. 

So much for keeping this conversation in safe waters.

"I'm sorry for barging in here," Alastair said suddenly, and he straightened up from his spot on my bed. "I shouldn't have come, I should have waited a little longer for you to at least get up."

"No it's fine," I insisted as Alastair started heading for the door. After the eye contact we'd shared, he was now completely avoiding even looking in my direction. "Alastair, you don't have to go."

"I have things to do anyway," he said. "But if you want to hang out later, let me know."

I then remembered my Valentine's Day plans. "I have to see Maisie."

"Well, I'll see you around then I guess," he said, scratching the back of his head.

"Thanks for telling me," I said, in an attempt to stall him even a little bit longer in the hopes of clearing some of the tangled web that had developed in my mind. "About Lottie. At least I know who it was now."

"Yeah," he said, his voice flat. "It's okay."

I slipped out from under my blanket to follow him out of my bedroom as he headed for the front door.

"Sorry again," he said. "For barging in."

"Alastair, it's fine," I repeated.

He gave a half smile. "See you later."

I went through my morning routine a little numb once he'd left, my mind still filtering through my conversation with Alastair. Maybe it was because it had happened so early, but it contained dream-like qualities. I was still surprised that Lottie had been the one to tell Logan, and picturing her seeking him out in order to tell him made my fists clench with rage.

Confronting Lottie was slightly appealing, but I was never one for confrontation. Also, the confidence that radiated from Charlotte Sullivan scared me slightly, I would probably melt to the floor at one of her elegant chuckles at my expense. I had a feeling she was the queen bee back at home, the Sun in a solar system of socialites. She definitely had the manipulation skills.

And for her to spin it, completely for the benefit of her intentions for Alastair and I, wasn't only manipulative, it was unbelievable. For her to go to such lengths, just for whatever plan she had in her mind, was scary. The thing is, I wasn't even on her bad side, or I didn't think so. It made me scared for people who were.

When I was changed, and freshly stepped out of my front door, it hit me that I was going to see Maisie. It made me both hopeful, terrified and a little annoyed. She'd told Lottie in the first place, after all. But still, this wasn't about me. I knew if I wanted to make things up with Maisie, I needed to suck up any issues I had with her. I knew that she was hurting more than me.

I didn't knock on her front door, I was well aware that if she was as bad as her mum had said that she was, she wouldn't open up. Maisie didn't open the door on a good day, half because she was lazy and half because she didn't deem her 'around the house' outfits as appropriate. Today, I doubted she would even leave her bedroom.

Her house, as her mother had said, was empty. I didn't miss a post-it note on the kitchen counter though, reading: pizza in fridge. I made my way up the stairs, my footsteps heavy on the carpet, in order to at least give her some notice that I was here. 

I was nervous. She could still be angry, or she could be even worse than I imagined. I took a deep breath and knocked on the door before I could think about it any further, worried that if I did then I would turn around and run home again.

There was no answer. So, biting my lip anxiously, I turned the handle and pushed the door forward.

The room was dark, save for the light of a laptop screen illuminating the ghostly girl before me. Her head was clad in a set of headphones, and her clear blue eyes darted up in surprise at my entry. When she registered my presence, a pained look appeared on her face, showing me how hallow her cheekbones had grown and how dark the circles beneath her eyes were.

"Valerie?"

"Hi, Maiz," I said, unsure.

She blinked a few times. "I... I don't know what to say."

"It's okay," I said, and suddenly all of the emotions I'd been keeping since we'd stopped talking became so heavily present. I stepped forward and sank my weight onto her fluffy duvet, in a manner similar to Alastair this morning.

She stared at me for a few more moments, maybe not believing I was truly there. I felt exactly the same, being near her after going so long without her. The smell of her bedroom brought warm memories and I found a sigh of relief building in my chest. "I missed you, Maiz."

"I missed you too," she said, and I saw her eyes were filling with tears. "Oh, Val, I've messed up so much."

"Hey," I said, shifting closer and pulling her into my chest, removing the headphones so I could stroke her blonde locks away from her face. Her hair was oily, and she smelled a little funky, but it only made me pull her closer. Even physically, I could see how much pain she'd been in. "It's okay, it's okay."

Her sobs were so frail that it even made me tear up a bit. I had missed her so much, I missed her goofy grin and her optimistic comments and sayings and the way she helped me through everything. She made the scary things no big deal and the little moments count, never letting them flit away.

Even with everything I needed to confront her about, we spent the next hour or so hugging and crying and telling each other how sorry we were. I was so glad that my reception with her didn't go terribly, that she didn't cast me out or yell at me or say anything horrible. Now that I knew the power Maisie had to hurt me, it made me feel as if I had to keep my guard up to some degree, at least until we'd sorted through our issues.

"Can I turn your light on?" I asked. Her laptop screen had dimmed, whatever movie she was watching forgotten. 

I think I saw her nod in the dark, so I stepped up and found the switch on the wall. When her room was illuminated, I saw that nothing had changed. Not even the photos on the wall of her and Dan.

"What are these still doing up?" I asked with a forced smirk. If I didn't make this light-hearted and encouraging, it was going to get depressing pretty fast.

Maisie's frail shoulders shrugged.

"Come on, let's get them down."

As the first few photos were peeled from Maisie's pastel pink wall, we began to talk properly.

"I'm sorry I couldn't return your calls," Maisie said meekly, as she lingered on a photo of her, Dan and me at the Sandy Cove Fair a few years ago. I watched as she folded it over, cropping Dan out from beside us.

"I get it," I said, because to some degree I did. "I just, I felt so alone, Maiz. The whole time I was worrying about you."

"I know."

I took a deep breath, "And you went to Port Elizabeth, to see Lottie."

Her face grew darker. "I know. I just didn't know who to turn to, Val. I know you would have forgiven me in a second for the awful things I said that night, but I just couldn't face it. I was so angry with myself, and paired with the grief this..." she ripped a photo away rather violently. "This asshole, I just needed to deal with it one day at a time, you know?"

"So you were just going to go away to school in Perth and never speak to me again?" I asked sceptically. The hurt in her expression reminded me that I needed to go easy. She was still a mess.

She shrugged. "I didn't know what the solution was, I just know that staying in here is the best thing I can do."

"So you can pretend it never happened?"

She shrugged again.

"The thing I hate about it all," I said as I began to gather the printed photos from the ground where we had dropped them. "Is that I could have been here for you. I should have been here. I'm supposed to be your best friend."

"Best friends don't say things like I said to you."

"Maisie, you were fighting with Dan, you were so upset. I understand."

"No, Val," she shook her head frantically. "I just, I feel so bad about it. Because I probably messed things up for you two. I know that what you're doing with Logan is important for you, and I know deep down, even if you won't admit it yet, you care for him."

"What I was doing with Logan," I corrected. 

"You ended things?" she looked surprised.

I shook my head, "He did. A certain someone told him about the deal."

"Lottie." Maisie's face contorted. "Val, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to tell her. I knew she would do this. Jeez, she told me she wouldn't."

"Why would you think that she would tell?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.

Maisie hesitated. "I know she's trying to push Alastair and you together, so he can earn more trust with their parents."

"And you still told her."

"I didn't know she would lie to me!" Maisie threw her hand up to her face. "I just keep screwing up more and more."

I took a deep breath, reminding myself that I needed to be calm. I couldn't get pissed at her, not if I wanted to repair our friendship before we left. I needed to be accepting.

"No, Maiz. I'm glad you at least admitted to it."

She sat on her bed and was quiet for a moment. "So you and Logan are over?"

"I think so," I said. "We haven't spoken in a while."

"How about you and Alastair?" she asked curiously.

"Speaking," I dismissed. I wasn't ready to go into all of that just yet. "But I need to hear about you, Maiz."

She sighed, stretching her slender fingertips out before her. "Well, we're over."

I nodded, putting the pile of photographs on the nearest surface I could reach. "Want to tell me over some pizza?"

She shrugged, and I managed to coax her down to her kitchen where I put the boxes of pizza in the oven, grateful for both something to eat and something to distract us.

Dan hadn't contacted Maisie since their argument, and he hadn't called her either. So they were effectively over, a clean cut. The only problem with that was the fact they'd been together for almost three years, which for high school terms was a long time.

"It's not just him I've split from," she said through a mouthful of ham and cheese pizza. "It's his family, it's our friend group and it's his dogs. I miss his damn dogs."

I stifled a laugh. "He wasn't at the beach the other day. It was quiet without everyone, people were either away or not coming."

"Well, no way I was going to leave the house," she said.

"Because, as you've proven, the best way to handle a break up is to lock yourself away, right?"

Maisie gave me an apologetic look. I was glad our friendship was like this. I was the logical one who wasn't afraid to speak the blunt truth when it was needed, and she was the one who took us away from reality with her goofy jokes and playful activities. She was the sunshine, and I was the rain. We balanced each other out.

She asked about Logan, about the night I'd gone back to his and everything else she missed out on. We steered clear of Dan and Mallory as we talked, and also brought up a lot of comical stuff to avoid our conversations growing too serious.

I had missed her so much that I found my anger dissipating, and I think she even forgave me for not trying harder to talk to her. She explained that her mum was worried, but she was still too scared to try and contact me because of what she'd said. She felt too guilty. And Lottie had been enthusiastic in inviting her away, which she couldn't turn down.

"You know," Maisie said as I was telling her about the surfing Alastair and I had done yesterday afternoon. "You talk about Alastair a lot happier than you talk about Logan."

"That's because Logan's a dick, remember?"

"Boys are dicks in general," she said, rolling her eyes. I never thought that Maisie would say those words, it was as if somehow, over the summer, our roles had reversed. "But seriously. Have you considered Alastair properly? Since the start of the summer?"

I knew exactly what she meant by considered. It was a question she had probably wanted to ask for a while, and I thought to myself for a little while. I hadn't properly, and I don't think it would be a good idea if I had. "Maisie, the summer's almost over."

"I know but..." she trailed off. "Don't be mad, but I always secretly hoped you guys would at least connect."

I smiled at her romanticism. "You've hoped that I'll end up connecting with lots of boys. How many times has that worked out for you?"

I stayed with Maisie for as long or possible before I had to leave for my shift, which I had been dreading because it would be with Mallory, who was now terrified of me. I wasn't showing any indifference towards her, mostly because it was work, and also because I saw her as a little naive and innocent, and I doubted her and Dan would be in contact after everything that had happened. Still, she had a guilty conscience.

As I walked through the esplanade a twinkle in a shop window caught my attention. It was a souvenir shop, and even though I was already running a little late I decided to wander inside.

I hadn't been in it for a while, it was full of trinkets and keyrings and postcards, but none of those was what sparked my interest. On one of the walls, was a small collection of snowglobes. Each had their only little unique design, a little lobster or a jetty stretching out to the sea. But it was a particular one that struck me, a little design of two people surfing between a large wave. Surfs up in Sandy Cove was printed along the bottom.

I took one and brought it to the counter. If Alastair wasn't allowed snowglobes when he was younger, maybe he'd be allowed them now. And the meaning it had between us, with the little surfing people who were covered in glitter with a little shake of the globe, made it unavoidable.

In my mind, I daydreamed that we were inside the snowglobe, in a little bubble of our own like Alastair had suggested. It was like a little chunk of paradise, even with the swirling gusts of glitter that didn't quite fit with the scene perfectly.

At least he'd have a piece of our paradise to take with him.

AN: I may not be updating or very active on wattpad for a little while as I have my summer exam next week, but thankyou as always for reading and I'll be back soon! :)