The silence remained for a few days. The separation lingered. People grew iffy on the situation and watched from the sidelines. Leo ended up getting the recording, and Laurance and I felt the greatest amount of shame within us to realize just how horrible we were. We really didn't believe them when they said it was a set up.

Emily hops over to me and sits across from me at my table. I'm at the library trying my hardest to focus on the book work I have for homework for math class. I'm struggling greatly, and my mind is wandering all around.

"You feeling any better yet? Has Vylad talked to you at all?"

I ignore Emily's presence to continue to focus more on my book work. I've given it a lot of thought since I saw that recording, and I can't believe I listened more to the side of me that wanted to keep a friend I hardly knew rather than listening to what seemed more likely to be correct. I blindly followed what my brain craved for.

"You're silent. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"You could leave," I mutter under my breath. I don't dare look up at her. I know that she's shocked from the gasp she made. I can barely believe myself that I even said that. She asks me what I'm talking about, and I can't help but blow up at her. My emotions are such a mess right now that it's a little overwhelming. "I know you locked her in the closet, but yet I believed you."

"What? Y/N I never-"

"Bullshit!" I cry out, shaking my head and slamming my book shut. People look my way in surprise at my sudden outburst in such a quiet area. I lower my voice down to an appropriate level before continuing. "I saw it on video. Laurance saw it on video. I just can't believe that I believed you over her. Over my own brother."

"I-I don't know what to say," she admits, looking down at her hands before she gets up. "I have no words."

I insist that she leaves and we don't speak again. She doesn't seem to favor the idea, but she obliges and leaves the area. The rest of the hour is just me sitting alone in silence. My math has become something I could care little about. This isn't due until tomorrow anyway. For now, there's other matters I care about.

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

I walk into the house. My guitar is set down beside the entrance near the stairs. I'll pick it up when I walk upstairs to my room.

Vylad walks in from the back of the house with a soccer ball held to his chest. He's sweaty and covered in dirt. Mom would scold him for tracking it through the house because of his cleats.

"Vylad." I say, trying to get his attention before he walks up the stairs. He stops but shakes his head and continues to walk up the stairs anyway. "We need to talk."

"I need to shower."

Vylad walks away from me and up the stairs. I grab my guitar and walk up the stairs to my room. Perhap he'll want to talk with me after he bathes.

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

I'm sitting on my bed plucking notes against my guitar to pass time. They're mindless and make no sense together. I can't put my mind together to make sense out of anything anymore.

Vyald comes to my open door and knocks gently on it. I nod my head to tell him to come in. He hesitantly sits on the foot of my bed and faces me. "What is it you need to talk to me about?"

There's a bit of silence between the two of us for a moment before I clear my throat. I try my best to explain what happened when they left. Vylad seems anxious regarding the topic as he fidgets in his spot. He looks down at his feet to avoid looking in my eyes.

He seems like he believes me, and it's almost like I'm pitied when I state my reasoning for why I did what I did. It's obvious he doesn't agree with me on my actions, but he doesn't scold me harshly for choosing them.

"I don't agree with what you did, Y/N. You know that. You really did hurt Alex when you chose Emily over her. And you even fought against me when I insisted that Emily did it. I understand that you wanted a friend, and that meant a lot to you, but you can't go blindly with a false reality against something you know is right."

I nod my head. Regret fills me once again because I know he's still disappointed in me. Though, I now know that he's forgiven me for my actions.

"Will you and Alex consider rejoining the band?"

"I'll have to talk to her about it."