Ryan's POV

School. And school. And over there, school. In other words, I A M B O R E D. But I guess you've figured that out by now. Let me try something.. ahem

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

There we go. Ugh, nothing works! Even shouting for no reason is boring. Oh, wait! Something that's not boring... getting the souvenirs! I called May and April and asked them to help me. They decided on two gifts for each person.

First, we went shopping for Ella. The first thing I got her was a star-shaped locket with rhinestones, and the second thing was a wind up robot that could climb walls.

Then we got things for Julia. First, a shirt that said "Canadians can be French, too". Second, a sketchbook with a map of Canada on the front.

For Thomas, we got a moose hat with googly eyes. Next we got a deck of cards with icons drawn by famous artists.

And I saved the best for last. For Anthony, we got a mug, purposely made to look beat up that said, "personne n'est parfait" meaning "nobody's perfect". I couldn't decide what to get him next, though. 

"I have the perfect idea!" April said. She whispered something to May, whose eyes widened. She nodded vigorously. "Okay, come on!" she said, grabbed my wrist, and dragged me to a jewelry store. I realized what the were talking about.

"Oh, no, no, no, no, no," I immediately said. "Why not? You need to propose to your boyfriend. He said you've been dating for a few years, right?" April asked. I nodded nervously. "So, you two should get married!" May continued. "No, no, no, I am in no way ready for that," I said, removing myself from May's grip. 

"Okay, can you at least buy it? You'll be getting a ring from Canada! Come on, please?" They asked. "I swear, you two would be perfect recruits for 'Project OTP'," I said bitterly. "Oh, please, please, please, please," they started begging. Dangit, my weakness! "Ugh, fine!" I said.

Anthony's POV

We were sitting at a booth in <idk some cafe>, and we were laughing at Ella's jokes. Suddenly, a guy with a tan, dark hair, and brown eyes walked up to us. "Hello Ella, Thomas," he said. They both glared at him. "Hello, Darren," they said simultaneously. "And people I don't know," he continued. "What are you doing here?" Thomas asked. "Where's Ryan?" Darren asked. "That's none of your business," Ella growled.

"Okay, who are you?" Julia asked. "Why should I tell you that?" Darren asked. "Why shouldn't you tell us? You clearly have no manners," I said. Ella sighed. "He's Ryan's ex," she answered. "Oh," I said, slumping. "Yeah. Now where is he?" Darren asked. "Why should we tell you? YOU shattered his heart into millions of pieces!" Thomas said angrily. "He was right to dump you the way he did!" Ella shouted. Julia and I just looked at each other awkwardly.

The other three seemed to notice. "I dont get why you all have such a problem with me. We made a cute couple. All I did wa-" "YOU CHEATED ON HIM! YOU DIRTY LIAR! I DO NOT WANT TO SEE YOUR FACE ANYMORE! AND DONT EVEN TRY TO TAKE HIM BACK!" Ella screamed at him. People started to stare at us. "Ryan's with Anthony now, and we all know that Anthony would never do anything to hurt Ryan after their first falling out," Thomas explained. Darren glared at me. "Him? Man, I really set the bar low for Ryan," he asked. "That is offending!" I said.

"Well, does he love you the way he loved me?" Darren asked. I stood up out of my seat. "Is that a challenge?" I asked threateningly. "Yes, he does! Even more so!" Ella replied. "Well, do you love him the way I still do?" Darren asked me. "Apparently, you didn't even really love him, so I would say definitely," I answered.

"Are you for real? Of course I love him! We were the cutest couple, and I do honestly hate myself for ever thinking I loved someone else..." he said, lowering his head. "Okay, prove it then," Ella said harshly. Darren lifted his sleeve. There were tons of marks on his left arm, some of them faded, a lot of them clear. "You didn't..." Thomas started. "I get it now. You obviously don't want me around. I'll leave you guys alone if that's what you really want," Darren said, and although we did look at each other with a bit of regret, nobody said anything.

Afterwards, I texted Ryan about the encounter

A: so...

R: ?? What's up?

A: I met someone today...

R: oh? Who?

A: Your ex-boyfriend

R: Darren?!

A: Yeah. The way I understand it, he cheated on you?

R: Yes! He did! 

R: you would never do that, would you?

A: Of course not... but there's somethong more important about him I need to tell you

R: And that is...?

A:He told us that he hated himself for making himself think he loved someone else. He showed us his arm...

A: Ryan, he's been cutting himself.

R: what? You cant be serious. Hes way too self-confident.

A: I am dead serious. Just...tell me what happened...

R: okay. We dated for two years before I invited him over since my parents were out. He decided to throw a party, and I was fine with that.

R: Most of the people had left by 8:00. There was only me, Darren, and a few other people, including Ella and Thomas.

R: I walked in on him kissing some blond girl. I started shouting at him, Ella and Thomas saw what happened, and everyone else left. That's it.

A: wait, a girl?

R: he's bi.

A: oh. Duh.

A: Either way, he claims he still loves you. Of course, there's no way im letting him take you from me, but can you at least try to be friends with him?

R: No! Why does it matter to you?

A: Because I know what its like to have your heart broken by the person you love the most. Except I also know what its like for them to forgive you. He doesn't. You know exactly who I'm talking about.

R: Please dont guilt trip me. Hes the one who went and got hooked on someone else.

A: Okay, I see that. But at least just... You know what? You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink. You dont have to do anything. I won't make you. Im just saying that would be the best thing to do.

And with that, I turned my phone off.