Eliza

"What have you lovebirds been up to?" My mom questions the moment we step into the house.

"Mom-"

"You know Eliza, I'm really getting tired of you saying 'mom' so downheartedly all the time. It's as if you think I can't speak, or I'm cramping your style or something."

"You are cramping my style, mom. And if you must know, we went bowling."

"Oh, isn't that where you guys went for your first date?"

"Wow, thanks for keeping as up to date with my relationship as I am, mom."

"When he's as good as a guy as Coop, how can I not?"

"Well, great chat, but we're going to go upstairs now." I grab Cooper's arm and attempt to drag him through the kitchen and up the stairs, but my mom's voice drags us back.

"And what exactly do you plan to be doing upstairs? Alone? With me downstairs, may I add."

"Oh, don't worry. After that reminder, we won't be doing anything that you're thinking of." I squeeze my face in disgust, but a smile creeps through not long after. I continue to drag Coop, and we eventually end up in my room.

"I see your room is still as pink as ever," he laughs, and throws himself on my bed.

"Hey, be careful!" I smack his leg, causing him to latch onto my arm and pull me into him. He embraces his lip with mine, and I find myself lost in the succulent taste of his tongue.

After a while, he leans back onto the bed, pulling me with him, and our passionate smooch continues. I feel him reach into the pocket on my left side first, but his hand returns empty handed. He does the same for his other pocket, but the same result occurs.

"Um... What are you doing?" I ask, once I feel that the moment has been broken.

"Looking for a condom," he replies nonchalantly as he gently pulls me up, and then sits up himself. He reaches into his back pockets, but evidently no condoms are residing in any of his pockets. "Ah, I must have left it at home."

"You say that as if you planned to bring it with you today."

"Well... You never know what could happen," he winks at me. There is a pause, as I wonder what happens from here. Do we continue kissing knowing that it won't lead to anything further? Or do we just get up and watch a movie?

It seems he answers for me, as the next words that ensue from his mouth cause a shiver down my spine. "I'm gonna ask Cooper number two if he has any condoms."

My common sense immediately leads me to believe Cooper number 2 is Theo, especially because he is the only person, and male at that, close enough to ask. Once the realisation kicks in, the problem with Cooper's last words slap me across the face.

"Okay number one, why is he Cooper number two? And number two, don't ask him," I command.

"Number one, he's wearing my clothes, so I don't see what else he should be called. And number two, why not?"

"Cooper, he's homeless. That's for number one, and number two... What makes you think he would have a condom?"

"Well, I know I carry one with me most of the time, so I would assume other guys do too."

He stands up, and heads for the door, causing me to leap up in uncomfortable terror, and attempt to grab him back.

"Cooper, no. Don't go and ask him."

"Eliza, stop worrying. He'll probably have one, and then we can get back to fulfilling your promise for me?" He kisses me softly on the lips, and then walks out of the door. "Where's his room?" He asks me, turning back around.

"I don't know."

"Eliza..." He looks ahead, and notices the door at the other side of mine. "It must be that one, because your mom's room is downstairs."

"How do you know that?" I ask, my face becoming a wrinkly carcass.

"You told me once," he quickly says. Did I? "Anyway, as I was saying, it must be that one." He continues to walk, and my heartbeat suddenly begins to beat rapidly. Partly because of what Cooper is about to do, but more because of the reason as to why it bothers me.

Theo just can't know we're planning on having sex, he just can't.

By the time my thoughts allow myself to return back to reality, I hear the heavy knock of a door, and rush forward to stand beside Cooper. The door opens after a mildly long moment, and I watch as Theo's already unimpressed face scrunches up to the picture of anger.

"Hey, Theo right?" Cooper asks, sticking out his hand. Theo looks down at it, and replies a faint "yeah." He continues to look down at it, before he finally brings out his own hand, and I watch the most uncomfortable handshake unfold between them.

"We were wondering if you had any, you know, condoms," he gets straight to the point.

"You were wondering," I pipe up.

"Whatever. You got any?" He turns back to Theo.

Despite the fact that my eyesight may be biased on what it wants to see, I cannot help but notice beads of sweat appear on Theo's forehead, as if he is desperate to get out of the awkward spot he's been put in.

"No, sorry I don't," he simply puts it.

"Oh, are you sure? I usually carry them but I don't know what happened today? But Eliza owes me a little something, so I'm going to need one ASAP," He reveals.

"Coop," I quietly say, more as a plea for him to keep quiet and move away from the door. Theo's eyes stab into mine, but the emotion behind them is a puzzle that only has a few pieces to solve it.

"I'm sure. I don't carry them with me."

"Really? Why not?"

"I don't exactly get girls," he replies, but his answer seems more directed to me as I still feel the strength of his eyes on me.

"What, at all? When was the last time you had a thing with a girl?" Now I feel sweat pouring into my forehead, and nothing quenches the desperate need to remove myself from this potentially bad situation.

"Before I lived on the..." His voice fades away, almost as if he is trying to make it count convincing that the last thing he had with a girl really was before he lived on the street. But she's moved on," he continues. I look down at the floor to avoid his glare. It's baffling to me why he is even making it sound like he lost anyway, he's the one that told me he didn't have a problem with me and Cooper.

"Ah, that sucks. But I can help you to get girls. I'm like a babe magnet," Cooper continues. I roll my eyes at that, wondering to myself if I would feel jealous if I actually still loved him.

"I'm good, thanks."

"You sure? Cause I've got all the hook ups to the clubs, we can just go there and you'll for sure find someone. What kind of girls do you like?"

I look up now just to see the look on Theo's face, knowing that it would probably be a blank canvas. I'm right, but there is also a tone of bitterness in his eyes.

"Look, I'm fine, alright?" His voice snappy and stern. "I don't want a girl, and if I did, I would find her myself."

"Alright, suit yourself. But you should really carry some condoms with you everyday," he smiles, but his words sound more patronising than anything. Before he gives Theo the chance to reply, he walks back into the direction of my room, but my feet remain firm on the ground. I don't know what I am hoping to achieve from this, but maybe some words can be exchanged between us.

"Was that your great plan to embarrass me?" He eventually spits out, taking me by surprise.

"What?"

"Getting your boyfriend to ask me for a condom; trying to rub it in my face that you're with him; making fun of the fact that you know I can't buy a condom."

"I'm not trying to rub anything in your face, or make fun of anything. I tried to stop him from coming but he was insistent." I whisper, hoping that Cooper doesn't hear anything.

"Yeah, well next time get him to stay the fuck away from me. And you do, too." He slams the door in my face, but no emotions stem from that. I've become used to it now. If he didn't slam a door in my face, I'd be surprised. I walk back to my room, where Coop is back into his position of lying on the bed. This time, I don't plan to join him.

I sit on the sofa in front of the bed, and switch the TV on with the remote.

"Where did you get off to?" He says, as he creeps closer to me, and then kisses me on my neck.

"He was just asking if you want your clothes back."

"Hm. He's an angry guy isn't he?"

"What makes you say that?" I ask flatly. I kind of thought that was already obvious.

"The way he was all like 'I don't want a girl.'" He attempts to mimic Theo's voice with an extra deep tone, but it sounds nothing like him. "Like, what does he even do here?"

"I don't know, I don't know him," I reply, the cold truth causing an itch in my veins.

"He must be so bored. That's why I was trying to hook him up, get him a little something to play with." Anger rises to my less itchy veins at the extent of his pathetic words. I can't deny the fact that him talking about finding Theo a girl makes me feel terrible; the thought of Theo with another girl makes me feel terrible. But there is also something else.

"We're not toys, Cooper. We're not just objects that you can play with to make you feel better about yourself. You can't aim to find someone a girl just so they're not bored." I snap at him. "If he wanted a girl, he would set out himself to get one. I can't believe you're talking like females are just something that you can objectify and use for your own benefit. Is that what you've seen me as for all this time we've been going out?"

"No, of course not. You know that I don't see you as that, Eliza. You know that I love you. But I just thought Cooper number two or whatever might need somebody."

"Okay, please stop calling him Cooper number two. I can just about handle one of you. And yes, but I'm saying just leave that to him. There's nothing stopping him from looking for a girl. So, if he's not then that must mean he doesn't want one." My words seem to reassure me instead of him.

"Yeah, alright. But, seriously what does he do here?"

"Who cares? Unless you wanna go spend time with him instead of me?" I tease him, already knowing what his answer will be.

"Ew," he blankly says, and then turns me around on the sofa, kissing my lips. We eventually fall back into the bed again, and pick up from where we previously left off.

Theo

I prop my head off from the door, and walk dejectedly back to the bedroom I am staying in. I shut the door, and then plop my head on it, silently punching the space behind my ears. The feeling of vulnerability is strong in me at this moment, and then suddenly something happens that makes me come to a realisation I have never even considered before. Tears form at the edges of my eyes, and fall peacefully once I close my eyes tightly. With every drop, the thought of Eliza with him, touching him, kissing him, loving him. The thought haunts me; it takes me into another dimension where I desperately wish I was the one she was doing all of those things with. And then the memory of the two of them standing in front of me, mocking me to the highest extremes, knowing that I have nothing and nobody. Nothing to do, nothing to say, nobody to hold. Whilst her precious Mr Hair Grease taunted me with what he knows I don't have, all the one thing I don't have but want more than anything could do is look down at the floor, like it was going to speak for her.

I continue to rest my head on the wall, unsure of what I could actually do once I straighten myself up. All I ever do is think. Think. And yearn. And they both do me no favours.

***

The sound of incoherent sobbing injects into my ear, and it gets louder the more closer I get to her room. The door is slightly open, and the figure of a body on her knees beside the bed fills the space between the end of the door. I gently open the door, and the image becomes more clear to me - Eliza is leaning beside her bed, her head in her hands, and the sound of crying is the only sound eroding from her room.

"Eliza?" I softly say, shutting the door behind me.

"Leave me alone," she replies, but doesn't turn around.

"What's wrong?"

"I said, leave me alone."

"I can't, not until you tell me what's wrong." There is silence in the air as she doesn't reply, but the sound of her sobbing also stops. "Eliza-" I probe.

She slowly lifts her head up from the bed cover and turns to me. What I can only assume is mascara, or maybe eyeliner is strewn down her face, and rests on either side of her chin. Her eyes almost look as if they're bleeding with how red they are, and her hair is done up in the most messy bun. But weirdly, she still somehow manages to look like the most beautiful girl to ever walk the planet of Earth. And seeing her with tears all over her face, and in such a vulnerable position makes me want to hold her so tightly that whatever has hurt her - or whoever - can never touch her again without getting through me first.

"Whats wrong?" I repeat, as I walk towards her, and delicately pick her up. I seat her on the bed, and I take my own seat right next to her. She looks into my eyes, and through the puffiness and red I can see devastation and heartbreak resting in her pupils.

She sniffs and makes a short gasp for breath before she says "Cooper broke up with me." I try my hardest to hide my lack of sympathy at Mr Hair Grease being out of the picture again, but to prevent her from getting any more upset, I speak like I am truly sorry for her.

"That sucks," I say blankly. "Why would he do that?"

"He told me that back at college, he has a girlfriend. And they got into an argument, which is why he decided not to stay there for his week off. And when he saw me, he saw that as an easy opportunity to get back at his girl, so he pretended like he wanted me back, and wanted us to try again. But really, he just wanted to use me to piss his girlfriend off. But they made up, and he told me that he doesn't need me anymore." The last syllable she speaks is interrupted by her erupting into another crying fit. My mind becomes a hazy mess as I try to comfort her by taking her hand into mine, but all I can think about is finding that asshole and inflicting damage onto him that would make him go back to college and never return back to Manhattan. My veins become increasingly hot, I can feel my bones getting softer, and my brain melting. My entire body becomes a wreck as I try to hide my incessant need to find him and teach him a lesson. It only slightly comes back to normal when I notice Eliza looking at me, as if she is waiting for me to respond to something.

"Huh?" I ask.

"What's wrong with me?" She cries.

"Eliza," I place her guarded hand closer to my chest. "Eliza, there is absolutely nothing wrong with you. He's the one with something wrong with him. He's a jerk, for what he did for starters, but for ever thinking that he would be happy or satisfied with anyone but you. 'Cause I know I wouldn't. I couldn't ever imagine in this world having a better person to know than you. You're kind, you're intelligent, and you're so beautiful."

"Theo, stop."

"No, I won't stop. You deserve to know the truth, seeing as he won't tell you it. You're amazing, Eliza, you really are. If it wasn't for you, who knows where I would be right now? I could be in hospital right now, or lying in a ditch somewhere, dead." I see her wince at my words. "You saved me, and I can never thank you enough for that. But you've shown me your inside and outside beauty, you've honestly got the best qualities anyone could have and if he doesn't see that, that's his loss. But I see it, and I've never seen it in anyone before. That's why I love you."

I feel my heart miss a tremendous beat as I take in the last words I just said. And it seems the same effect has occurred on Eliza as she stops sniffing completely, and looks up at me. "What?" She squeaks.

"What?" My brain instantly tells me to say.

"You-you love me?" I remain as still as ever, unsure of what to say. "Please Theo, I've already had one boy lie to me, I don't need another one." She removes her hand from mine, and brings it next to her other hand.

Her words cut through me, and I take a deep breath, as I finally pluck up the courage to tell her the truth.

"I love you, Eliza." I admit. "I'm in love with you, and I want to be with you. I don't want you to be crying over some jerk who doesn't love you, because I know I can and will love you more than he ever could. And I just want you to give me that chance."

She stares at me for a moment, before I notice tears running down her eyes again. My heartbeat increases, as I think of the worse possible scenario. "Eliza-" I begin.

"I love you too," she cries. "I do. I love you," she repeats, like it's the first time she's admitting it to herself.

"But, Cooper-"

"With him, I've known him for so long. I feel like there was just an attachment there that I needed to get over. But with you, I can't stop thinking about you, Theo. Ever. And all I've been hoping for is for you to tell me that you feel the same."

"I do feel the same. I promise," I speak, and I see a smile form on her face at the same moment when one forms on mine. We both lean towards each other at the same time, and our lips join together in the most ardent embrace. The sound of the door knocking suddenly interrupts us, and we break away, but my eyes remained close, hoping to return back to our moment.

The door continues knocking, and I finally open my eyes. I look around me, and realise that I am now laying on the bed in the room I have been given, and Eliza is nowhere to be seen. I gulp intensely, and jump up instantly to find out if maybe it's her at the door. It is.

"Eliza," I breathe, hoping she is willing like me to return back to our kiss.

"My mom told me to tell you dinner's ready."