I'm so sorry for not updating in forever!

Alison's POV.

Luke seemed off. He hadn't commented on any of the movies we watched, instead preferring to gaze quietly at the screen, his mind somewhere else. He would reply to my questions seconds after I asked them, quickly snapping out of whatever dream he was in. I had no idea what the issue was and how I could help.

I wanted to. I really did, but Luke would play it off that he had dozed off or was thinking about how his parents where going. I was slightly doubtful of this as we had even gone through his favourite movie and yet he still did not pay attention.

Something was bothering him. Something big.

The man who pestered me to such ends. The man who would always have a cheeky grin on his face. He was gone. And I've been noticing this. Slowly the man I once knew began to fade away. Luke barely cracked a joke and even if he did the familiar painful swirl would still remain in his eyes. But I was determined to bring him back for both mine and his advantage. I was beginning to miss the non-exisitence calls at two in the morning asking whether I wasn't wide awake and sobbing.

"Luke?"I asked, hesitantly placing my hand over his, gently.

We were craddling our mugs of hot chocolate in our hands, as we talked in hushed voice that very afternoon. We were seated in small cafe, wrapped in heavy clothing that kept us from the pelting raining outside. He tore his eyes from the window that was splattered in raindrops.

I took note of the dark bags under his eyes and the defeated look in them.  He looked as if he had given up on something. Permanently. But what?

His raspy voice pulled me out of my thoughts,"It's real cold."

I only nodded in response. Again a heavy silence fell between us. This was very unusual for us as Luke would constantly be yabbering on about the hot girl he had met at the mall or the latest action movie that had came out.

"You okay?"

He avoided his gaze, nodding curtly,"Yeah I'm good."

Feeling a bit infuriated at his vague answers, I huffed, crossing my arms over my chest and leaning against the slightly cold plastic chair. I fixed him with a heavy stare as I raised my eyebrow.

"Really?"

His eyebrows furrowed,"I'm okay, Alison. Chill."

I sighed, slamming my hands against the table, glaring.

"No, something is up and I want to know what."

I knew I was being extremely nosey and I should wait for him to tell me himself what was wrong, but I couldn't help but being slightly fed up of his distant attitude.

He grunted,"It's nothing."

I scoffed, laughing sarcastically.

"It's something alright Andrews. You're acting like a complete dick."

A flash of hurt passed his expression, and he looked up at me with angry eyes.

"You have no idea what I'm going through!"he bellowed, leaping to his feet, his body shaking.

My own anger began to rise and I threw my hands up,"Then tell me!"

He seemed to shrink back, a forlorn expression etched on his face. He opened his mouth and at that very moment I knew he was going to spill his secret but then he closed it again, changing his mind.

"I..I.."

I can't help but curse in frustration. I was so close to understanding why Luke had seemed different when a piece of him had successfully persuaded to do the opposite.

I slammed a five dollar note down on the white table, shoving my chair backwards and standing up. I was aware of the irritated glares we were getting from other customers, and the manager who was watching with a frown probably debating whether or not to ask us to leave.

Luke watched me with curious yet dejected eyes as I made my way to the door. With my hand still on the doorknob, I twisted my hips, making sure my face was masked in annoyance and anger.

"Talk to me when you're ready to open up."I snarled.

And with that, I pulled the glass door open, slamming it behind me, running down the streets as the rain slowly swallowed me up.

________________________________

Luke's POV.

I wanted to tell her. Tell her that I loved her. Tell her that she was the most beautiful woman I had ever laid my eyes on.

But I couldn't. Not in fear of rejection.

As much as I told myself that she did like me too, I knew it was complete opposite. She didn't. Not one bit. She viewed me as a sibling, and never in her dreams would we end up together. And it hurt to know that I could never live up to her expectations as the love of her life.

Do you know how much it hurts to watch the woman you hold higher than any, direct their anger at you? To hear them call you a dick was simply unbearable. To watch as their eyes narrowed at you. To see the hate swirling in the depths of their eyes as they looked at you.

It was cruel. A cruel way to break a person from the inside-out.

For the past few days I've been trying not to notice all of Alison's traits. I was trying distance myself from her before I caused myself even more hurt, if that was actually possible. And it was hard. She was suspicious already and I didn't want her to know anything more. I didn't want to see the pity and apology in her eyes when I would confess. Anything but sympathy for my unfortunate action of foolishly falling in love with her.

But I don't regret falling in love. I don't regret the countless sleepless nights that consisted of my strangled sobs. I don't regret the painful stabs at my heart every minute. I don't regret my love for her. I had been given the opportunity to love and that was all I needed. I found the feeling to care and want a person so much that you would even sacrifice your life for them. I had found love. Unrequited love it may be.

So I haven't been talking as much as I would've liked too, neither had I smiled or laughed. Not in front of Alison. I didn't want to spend time with her anymore, knowing that I would only fall harder. But it was hard to turn down her chirpy voice asking whether I wanted to hang out or not.

But this is for my safety.

I didn't want to get more hurt. More than I already was. I already felt terrible and I could feel my once confident self beginning to falter. I knew she had noticed this too, and she was becoming increasingly irritated yet what could I do about it? Move on? I had tried. Countless times but no girl seemed to right. Every girl would be compared with Alison.

Hunter frowned disapprovingly at my state, flicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth.

"Honestly man, I am so fucking sick of this."he grunted, slamming his fist against the wooden dining table.

I had met Hunter at a local bar when I had decided to drink off my sorrow about my pitiful relationship with Alison. He had listened as I spilt my life story at him, occasionally nodding approvingly or shouting with anger. But as the night had slowly drawled to the end, my drunk self had been extremely reluctant to leave this stranger before bregudgling leaving after getting his number.

I raised my head feebly from the pillow I had created with my arms, watching him curiously.

"You."he snapped, jabbing his index finger into my back as he walked behind me chair and pulled me up by the scruff of my shirt.

"You need to get a hold of all the shit that's going on right now."

I knew he was right. My yearning for a dream was pathetic. It wouldn't help anything but my heart refused to believe such things.

"Please. Please just let me be."

I was sick of everything that was happening. She didn't love me. Why was it so hard to believe? I had given up a long time ago but the unbearable pain in my stomach still stirred. Why couldn't I move on? Alison surely wasn't the one for me. If she was she would return my feelings but even the thought was ridiculous. She probably hated me at the moment.

Hunter shook his head, running his hands through his hair,"No. I can't bear to see you like this any longer."

"What are you suggesting me to do then?"I drawled.

I was tired. Tired of my hopeless chasing. Tired of everything.

"Get a shower."he replied instantly, wrinkling his nose.

I rolled my eyes, heaving out a long sigh to showcase my absolute boredom at the pointless state of our conversation.

"No seriously, you smell worse than Edward after he hits the gym. Definitely getting him some deodorant for Christmas."

I can't help but internally agree. Edward was Hunter's best friend and he had a knack  of smelling terrible even after countless showers. Yet the guy was hilarious and was an important part of our trio, so I couldn't help but love him even if I would rather marry a dumpster than smells his pits after his gym sessions.

"But seriously, Alison doesn't know what she's missing out on. You're a good dude, and you already have countless of women lining up for you so what's the deal?"

I snorted, clenching my fists,"The deal is that I'm in love with Alison and I don't want any other girl."

How could he even put Alison down like that? Alison wasn't just some girl who anyone could stumble by and soon forget. She was one of a kind. She was everything a guy would dream off. She was perfect.

But she wasn't mine.
She wasn't mine to hold. Mine to kiss. Mine to pamper with riches.

She wasn't anything of that. No she was just the girl of my dreams who happened to be my best friend, and also didn't seem to notice my feelings towards her.

"Then why won't you move on?"Hunter yelled, throwing his hands in the air in exasperation.

My gaze flickered to the intricate texture of wood, quietly apprenticing the fade of a deep brown that was present.

"I...can't."

My voice wavered, and I blinked rapidly, desperate to remove the blurriness in my vision that was beginning to appearing.

Again he sighed heavily, irritation inked in his tone,"Why can't you? Get yourself on Tinder, find a hot chick and hit her up! It's that easy."

This time it was my turn to sigh miserably, as I looked up at my friend.

"I just feel so...guilty. Like I'm betraying her or something."

He closed his eyes, his fists clenched at his sides as if he was resting himself from shouting.

Then with a strangely calm voice he spoke,"You're really whipped aren't you?"

I laughed, yet their was no humour lining it. It was only a laugh full of dismal emotions that began to ebb, slowly disappearing into the sea ahead.

_________________________________

Hunter decided to stay with me for the rest of the day, shooting me worried glance every now or then. He had noticed the decrease of smiles that I portrayed throughout his stay. But he too had to leave the next day.

I hated that Alison had this sort of effect on me.

I felt so vulnerable. Dismal. Defeated.

Three years of yearning of a change of feeling from her had taken a toll on me. Three years of watching as she flirted with other men. Three years without the love of my life.

I was finished with it. I had enough.

As Hunter had already said, my number one priority at the moment was move on. Move from the girl who had captured my heart, but I hadn't likewise. I had tried countless times before but I couldn't bare the thought of any time away from her. But now I was drained from the sorrow that was taking over.

Not to mention the oodles of time I already spent with her. I was foolish to believe that I could possibly move on from her in her presence that lasted many hours of each day. I needed time away from her. Time with other girls.

Our fight had given me a chance to experiment this.

I didn't have to achieve her apology. I didn't need to. If I were too, I would have to explain my feelings towards her, and I wasn't exactly willing to do so. She didn't return them, so what was the point?

Time. Time was vital for moving on. At the moment that was I was doing. It had already been three weeks since our last encounter and I wasn't looking forward to another. The less I see of her, the quicker I would forget. Hunter had already tried to persuade me to sign up on dating sites, yet I had turned the offer down. I had always believed that love would find you, and dating sites were not an appropriate option. Love was patient. It would come slowly.

I knew that whatever was left between both of us, had to stop to help myself move on. As selfish at may be, I was thoroughly sick of my pitiful state and I was eager to see my cheerful one as soon as possible. So I had drawn to a concussions that I would cut off all our ties, soon.

Alison hadn't called nor texted during the whole span of three weeks and neither had I. A part of me was slightly disappointed at her lack of communication. I had also kept at home, not wanting to face her or the idiot who seemed to have captured the eyes of many female staff.

There I sat on the long leather couch, drumming my fingers against the armrest as I gazed glumly at the current ad that was being played on the wide screen. I had been feeling extremely lazy during my stay at home, and I had run out of ideas of what to do.

It was only then I did hear the sharp raps that rung through the air. My eyebrows furrowed together as I looked back in confusion at the front door. Someone was knocking stubbornly.

I wasn't expecting anyone.

Either way, I heaved myself of the couch, muttering profanities as I made my way to the door. It was a Sunday morning for heavens sake! Who seemed so desperate to talk to me?

"What?"I snapped harshly, pulling the door open with a renewed anger.

But as I gazed down at the figure who had been previously been knocking, my eyes widened in surprise but I was quickly to mask incredulous expression on my face, and I glanced back down emotionlessly.

"Oh, it's you."I mumbled.

Alison rolled her eyes, her words dripping in sarcasm,"I'm glad I delighted you with my presence Mr Andrews."

I stayed silent, feeling immensely uncomfortable at the thick tension that settled between us.

"So..."she drawled, tucking her ankle behind her foot,"I've been meaning to talk to you."

I raised an eyebrow. She hadn't bothered to talk to me for three weeks and suddenly now she did? But I too had done the same thing, and I couldn't possibly blame her for a mistake I had done.

Deciding to resume my silent attitude, I watched her with deadpan eyes, not betraying any flicker of emotion. A surge of frustration crept by her face as if she irritated at my distant behaviour.

And there we stood for maybe minutes, our eyes gazing into each other, mine with slight curiosity at what she had to say and hers annoyance at me.

Feeling extremely bored at our silent conversation, I cleared my throat, looking down at her expectantly and successfully ignoring the pleads of my battered heart.

"Well?"

She looked slightly taken back at my harsh demanour, but quickly recovered, her eyes narrowed at me.

"Quit the act Andrews. Stop acting like such an asshole."she snarled.

I felt my own anger arise. How dare she expect me to so delighted to see her after three weeks of no speaking and her harsh words at the cafe? And yet she still remains defiant that I was the one at wrong, and she was completely innocent.

"Oh so I'm an asshole now? Another insult to add to your list Williams?"I retorted, my voice surprisingly calm and steady.

I wasn't exactly willing to openly insult the love of my life as itching as it may be.

"Trust me Andrews, I've got much more. Keeping acting like a dick and maybe yours would actually become bigger."she snickered, her lips pulled back in a mean smirk.

I flushed, clenching my fists angrily at my side, and I moved to close the door.

"I'm sure you have much better things to do than bother the residents of this apartment, Miss Willaims? Please get the fuck out of here if you wouldn't mind?"I said pleasantly, smiling forcefully.

She snorted and rolled her eyes,"Well obviously I have better things to do than hang with your boring, old ass but your dear friend Hunter demands that I make up with you."

Hunter. Oh how I would ring his neck the next day. Alison must think of me as a pathetic, miserable best friend who was deeply missing her. But then I was reminded of the earlier discussion I had with myself. The less I would see of her, the easier it would be for me to move on. And this was perfect opportunity to fulfil it.

"Talking about making things up."I interrupted as she opened her mouth again, my tone now serious,"I've been thinking everything over..."

Her harsh attitude fell away as she awaited my answer, and her tone too was surprisingly kind,"And?"

"I don't want to pursue this friendship."

Her face fell.