'Cause she loves control, she wants it her way
And there's no way she'll ever stay unless you give it up
She loves control, she wants it her way
And all it takes is just one taste, you wanna give it up
— Camila Cabello, She Loves Control

A U T U M N

I had no clue how long I'd slept, but by the time my eyelids fluttered open, I noticed that in my sleep I had accidentally put my head on his left shoulder. Carefully I lifted my head and turned to see him, still sleeping with his lips slightly parted.

Even with his eyes closed, there was a frown on his forehead, almost as if he was thinking while sleeping. Just when my hand went up, trying to wipe that frown away, he opened his eyes. Those grey eyes bore in mine and a small smile slowly appeared on his lips. "Hi, luv. Do you like what you see?"

I rolled my eyes. "Keep dreaming."

"How was your sleep?" asked him as he stretched his arms and legs. I had no idea how he managed to do that in such limited space, considering he was six feet two.

"It was nice." I tried to stifle a yawn and failed miserably so I covered my mouth with two hands and gave in to temptation. "Are we arriving soon?" I checked on the window but had no idea where we were.

Frazier checked his watch and nodded. "Should be. I mean, if we're on schedule, we should be arriving in twenty minutes." He rubbed his eyes and blinked a few times, looking like a lost puppy.

Frazier frowned. "Huh? What plan?"

"You don't bring your clothes, you have no family in D.C." I shrugged. "I wonder where and what will you do."

He smirked. "I bring my credit cards, I could buy some clothes." He leaned forward until our foreheads nearly touched. "And I'm not that entirely hopeless. I have a connection."

"Uh-huh. Who?"

Frazier let out a chuckle. "William. Did you forget that my cousin lives here as well?" asked him in his British-Irish-American accent.

"Oh, yeah!" I cringed. "I forgot about Liam," I added, suddenly feeling stupid. Sometimes I forgot that he and William were cousins.

He touched my forehead using his. "And I also have you."

"I don't think you sleeping in my place is a good idea." Both my dad and brother were big fans of Tyler so if I suddenly brought another guy home along with news about our breakup, they would give him a stinkeye twenty-four-seven. They wouldn't believe me even if I told them that he had nothing to do with the breakup and that Tyler was the one that dumped me, not the other way around. They were that huge of a fan. Especially my dad who thought of him as his own son.

Frazier gave me a small smile. "Don't worry. I'll crash at William's. His house has many empty rooms."

I stole a glance at him and noticed the forlorn look on his face which made me wonder what was in his mind.

Twenty minutes passed quickly and before I knew it, we were carrying our things as we walked out of the train. "Let me carry that," I said for the sixth times as I tried to take my luggage from his hand.

Besides having long legs, Frazier had long arms as well, making it impossible for me to steal the luggage from him. "Nope."

"Why the hell not?" I stopped walking and put both hands on my hips in what I hoped was an intimidating manner. "I can carry it myself."

Sadly he wasn't the least bit intimidated. "I know you can but I want to carry it for you." Giving me a slow lazy smile, he winked.

I was about to argue when someone from behind accidentally bumped into me. I turned around to see a man wearing a black flannel shirt underneath his grey coat. He muttered an apology in a thick Mexican accent.

"Oh, it's okay," I answered him with a smile. The man stared at me a few moments longer than necessary and at that moment, I realized that his face looked familiar although I couldn't pinpoint who he was or where I'd seen him before. There was something about him that tickled my mind.

Before I could ask who he was, he slid his gaze to Frazier and said, "good luck."

I turned to Frazier and saw him nod. I couldn't suppress my curiosity any longer so once the man started to walk away, I whispered to him, "who is that?"

Frazier smiled. "My fairy godmother." He let out a chuckle and shook his head. "Or godfather since he's a guy." With one hand holding my luggage, he offered me his free hand and said, "shall we?"

I could swear I had seen that guy before but I could not remember when or where. My eyes were on the guy's back for ten more seconds before I put my hand on Frazier's and let him lead the way.

T Y L E R

I put my phone on the small table by the mirror carefully. I'd finally managed to put the tie accordingly, or should I say according to the YouTube video I'd just watched. I glanced at the screen of my phone, hoping a call or even a message would come, but again, if it did come, I wouldn't pick it up. To be precise, I couldn't. Not if it was from her.

I briefly closed my eyes and stood. These last few days had been hell and something told me that the worst was yet to come. Not to be melodramatic, I felt that nothing could've been worse than losing someone I loved on purpose, making her hate me intentionally. Of course, I only did what I had to do in order to save her from harm. Still, it didn't make me feel the least bit better.

Even knowing that the chances were small for her to forgive me once this was over, I couldn't help but hope that my story would have the same happy ending as Mario and Faith. That she and I would be reunited once more.

"Well, someone looks handsome!"

I turned to see Faith and Mario standing in the doorway, holding hands and looking happier each day. As I faced Faith, I gave her an eye roll for her comment earlier. Like a true friend, she answered me with a laugh.

I paused and stared. Faith always had that same hearty, breathy laughter all of her life but what took me by surprise was the guy standing next to her who kept his eyes locked on her. The expression on Mario's face told me that he could hardly believe she was standing next to him but the look in his eyes showed his love and that he was grateful that she was.

"Would you like me to come with you?" asked Faith once her laughter faded.

I frowned. "What for?"

Now it was her turn to roll her eyes. "For the wedding, duh." She walked towards me and put one hand on my shoulder, forcing me to turn around and face her. When I did, she started undoing my tie.

"Hey, what are you doing?" My hand went to stop her but got a slap in the end. I sighed and frustratedly ran one hand through my hair, completely forgetting that I had put gel on it, and cursed myself. "It took me ages to get that done." Twenty minutes to be exact. Still, she mercilessly undid it in less than a minute.

"Yet it still looks like crap. You boys don't know how to wear a tie yet you're the ones who wear ties more often than girls," commented Faith as she did my tie with her skillful hands. I slid my gaze to Mario, expecting him to back me up, only to find him (yet again) staring at her in awe. They looked like a couple on honeymoon.

"The YouTube tutorial didn't help," answered me in my lame effort to defend myself.

https://youtu.be/xAg7z6u4NE8

Faith's eyes widened as she dropped her gaze to my phone on the small table by the mirror. "You did not just search 'how to put on a tie'", she grabbed my phone then added, "you did!" She shook her head exasperatedly. "You, dear boy, need a girl in your life."

I knew she meant that as a joke but damn did it hurt. She seemed to notice the gloomy expression on my face as she cringed and gave my shoulder a light pat. "I'm sorry. Touchy subject and all."

"It's fine." I turned around and saw my reflection in the mirror. The tie looked ten times better than before. Just like she'd said, mine looked like crap. "Anyway, what you said earlier about the wedding," I let my sentence hung as I took the brush and began combing my hair. It was proven that once the gel set, it was hard to arrange my hair, making me regret putting it on in the first place.

"Yeah, don't you need a wingman? I mean, she will be there, right?"

Faith didn't have to explain who she was referring to, my heart ached even without hearing her name. "Yeah, she's one of the bridesmaids." I honestly had no idea how many bridesmaids were required for a wedding but I knew mum would probably ask Shanelle, my half-sister from Bernucci's previous marriage, to be one.

"Then I will definitely come with you to the wedding."

I knew bringing her to the wedding would convince Autumn even more about our reconciliation, but I wasn't sure I wanted her to be convinced that I'd moved on. I'd done enough and the last thing I wanted was to hurt her even more because hurting her would hurt me. It was a two-way sword.

I shook my head. "I don't think that will be necessary."

"I'm going," said Faith stubbornly.

"But—"

"No buts, Tyler Vincent." Faith put both of her hands on her hips and stared me down, which was weird considering I was one foot taller than her. "It's my turn to help." Her expression softened as she added, "besides I already have a dress." With that, as if the decision was settled, she turned on her heels and stalked away.

I stared at her back for a while then turned to Mario. "Are you okay with this?" It was one thing to pretend that I'd gone back together with my ex but it was completely a different thing when that ex happened to be my buddy's girlfriend. I had to make sure that he was okay with the arrangement.

To my surprise, Mario raised one brow as if I'd asked the obvious. "Of course." He put one hand on my shoulder, mimicking what Faith had done earlier, and said, "Ty, she really wants to help."

I let out a deep sigh. "Man, I feel bad for ruining your honeymoon. She should be here with you, not away in D.C. with me."

Faith had been sneaking in and out of Mario's apartment whenever Nicollo, the man sent to watch over me, wasn't around. I knew if I wasn't here, living with Mario, Nico wouldn't come here and they could freely see each other without worry about getting caught. A part of me felt guilty but the other part knew it needed to be done. If I went to my friends, like Corbin or Bleu, I would only endanger them and the people around them. Mario was a safer choice.

The guy in front of me, whom I'd never seen laughing until recently, chuckled. "There is no honeymoon in the first place if it wasn't because of you."

His words still didn't make me feel any better. "You do realize that if she comes, she's going to pretend to be my girlfriend, don't you?"

Mario smiled. "I trust you." He dropped his hand to his side and shoved both hands inside the front pockets of his jeans. "And I trust that you will protect her from prying eyes, yes?"

I solemnly nodded. A noise came from the door and we both turned our heads to see Faith hurriedly enter the room, wearing a beautiful red dress that complimented her body very well. Without even looking at Mario, I could tell that he was awestruck by what was in front of him.

After seemingly regained his consciousness, he said, "are you going to go to the wedding wearing that?"

"Sì. Hai un problema con questo?" asked her with a sweet smile and one brow arched perfectly on her forehead. [translation: Yes. Do you have a problem with that?]

"Nah," Mario moved towards her and put his hand on her hips. "It's a shame that I wasn't invited to the wedding. I would definitely steal you for a dance or two." He dropped a kiss on her forehead and then headed to the door. Just before he closed the door, without Faith knowing, he gave me a look, one that told me to keep those prying eyes away from her.

Barely able to hold my laughter, I dipped my chin in acknowledgment of his request.

A U T U M N

"Okay, no more bullshit, little sister. Tell me, who the fuck is that guy?"

I rolled my eyes for the tenth time this afternoon and let out an exasperated sigh. No matter how many times I had told Steven that Phraser was just a friend, he still didn't believe it. "He's Liam's cousin. You've met him before, remember?"

This finally got his attention as he stopped looking at Phraser like a hawk hunting its prey and turned to face me. "I have?" His brow scrunched and his dark brown eyes narrowed in thought. "When?"

I took a sip of the chilled lemonade and swallowed. "Around last year I think. You dropped me off at Cas' place and he was there." I doubted my brother would remember something that happened last week, let alone a year ago.

We were quiet for a while as we were drowning in our own thought. I let my eyes scan the room, watching people trying their best to match their moves with the beat. My eyes caught his grey eyes staring at me the whole time. When our eyes locked, he winked and I rolled my eyes.

"I still don't like him," commented Steven, making me aware that he was watching us both.

The tone in his voice made it sound like I needed his approval. "Well, you don't have to like him." I shrugged.

He put one hand on my shoulder and looked at me from his lofty height. "Seriously, what the hell is going on between you and Tyler? Why isn't he here?"

"I've told you multiple times, we broke up." I drank the rest of the lemonade in one go and set the empty glass on the long table behind me. "He'll be here. I mean, it's his mom's wedding, he has to be here tomorrow." I honestly didn't know whether he'd be here or not since we didn't talk anymore but assuming that this was his mother and father's wedding, it was highly likely he'd be here. Even though he wasn't here right now at the rehearsal.

"Why? Did you two fight because of that guy over there?" he asked, scowling at Phraser who was talking to Liam and Cas on the other side of the ballroom. "You did, didn't you?"

It was true that Phraser was one of the reasons we argued that night but he wasn't the reason why Ty had left. No one would move to his ex's house after a fight unless they had been fooling around the whole time. I decided to leave the question unanswered.

"Why? You and Ty have dated for more than two years, I always thought that you two would always be together, get married, and have kids," said Steven as if I hadn't thought of that. I always dreamt that Tyler would be my one and only, that he'd be the one for me, yet we didn't last long. Perhaps the old saying was right: nothing lasts forever.

I snapped. "Do you think I wanted it to end? I wasn't the one lying, I wasn't the one making shît up when I was actually meeting my ex." I let out a long exasperated sigh and grabbed a glass of champagne off the tray, ignoring the startled waiter.

I knew I'd told myself that I'd stay away from alcohol and that alcohol doesn't mend a broken heart yet right now, I felt that alcohol would be the only thing that would calm me down. Maybe I'd become an alcoholic. I cursed under my breath as I swallowed the bubbly drink, letting the coolness soothe my troubled mind like iron on a disheveled laundry.

I wanted to finish it, I felt that it would bring me satisfaction if I drank the whole drink but I also knew one glass led to another and before I knew it, I would be too drunk to count the glasses so I put the glass next to my previous glass on the table behind me.

Steven has been horribly quiet. I turned to see his jaw clench and his hand form a fist. "Did he?" His eyes met mine and his voice was icy cold as he added, "Did he do that to you? What else did he do?"

I shook my head. I remembered what Ty had said a week after we'd met. I'd been curious about his exes and asked him about his past. A memory from the past came to light as I let my gaze wander aimlessly at the crowd of people in front of me.

"What did she do?" I asked.

Ty shook his head. "I don't want to badmouth her."

"Why?" I felt the need to ask. After all, it didn't take much for me to list down bad things about Ashton or Joe, things that broke my heart and ruined my trust. Yet, here he was, refusing to tell me what his ex-girlfriend had done that broke his heart.

Ty shrugged and gave me a small smile. "Because at some point she was my everything. It just doesn't feel right to mention bad things about her, no matter how true."

Someone touched my arm and I blinked back my tears before turning to see who it was. Steven's brows taut in the middle of his forehead, forming a straight stubborn line, and I knew trouble when I saw one. "I'll make him pay. I'll make him pay for every tear spent crying for him." He kissed the top of my head and rushed towards a figure wearing a tuxedo standing twelve feet away from us before I had a chance to stop him.

© All Rights Reserved 2018 AgathaRoza

a/n: so, what do you think, my angels? Are you loving #Marith / #Fario as much as I am? ♡ I will publish the teaser in a minute (maybe I can even be persuaded to publish a full chapter, who knows, I am quite in a good mood today despite only sleeping for 3 hours last night! after all, if you, my angels, are happy, I am happy) loads of pizza, agatha x