Mary Jane ignores it until she receives twelve frantic missed calls from Kento almost three days later.

She's at Baked! when it happens, and she and Sabina are fighting over the last cheese tart.

They've already made up, days ago, after Adrian dropped her off in the dorms. Sabina had classes, and Mary Jane was waiting for her, sitting on the bed, tapping her foot impatiently, pacing the small room while thinking of what to say.

When the junior opened the door, Mary Jane leaps to her feet and hugs her. "I'm sorry I snapped at you. I hate it when we fight, please don't be mad anymore."

Sabina hugged her back immediately, carelessly tossing her bag on the floor. "You brat," she said fondly, the relief evident in her voice. "I was going to call tonight if you were still at Adrian's."

"I don't think you were."

"I was," Sabina argued, tightening her hold on Mary Jane. "I really was. I was...an asshole. And I'm sorry. I really am, I was insensitive." She stepped back and closed her eyes. "Slap me if you want to."

The ginger laughed. "I'm not going to slap you. Let's just forget about it, please?"

"I'll forget about the fight and the awful things said," Sabina agreed, ruffling the younger's hair. "But...about Seth...I said that he gave up on you. And that was wrong. I don't know Seth, I never did, and it was wrong of me to assume shit from his end. I really am sorry, MJ. You knew him, and I know you're hurt, and that you're still looking for him, and—"

"That's the most you've said in an apology," Mary Jane noted, lips curling into a wide grin.

The dark-skinned beauty rolled her eyes. "I was doing great until you cut me off."

"Thank you," Mary Jane told her sincerely, placing her hands on the older's shoulders. "Really. But it's fine. I'm not going to Worthington anymore. And...I don't want to keep looking for Seth."

Sabina blinked. "What? Really?"

"I guess you were right," Mary Jane said, biting her lip. "And I need to let go eventually. I am grateful to him, always, but I can't spend the rest of my life wondering what happened to him. Maybe he really did give up on me. Maybe he didn't. Who knows?"

Sabina stared at her for a moment, crossing her arms. "Are you sure this isn't because of what I said? I don't want you to do anything just because of shit I said, MJ. I'll help you look for him this time."

"No, trust me," the younger assured her. "It's...for the best."

"If you're sure," Sabina answered, eyebrows furrowed.

Mary Jane smiled. "I am."

At Baked!, almost three days later, there's still an hour left before Andy's shift is over, and Mary Jane and Sabina can't afford another box of free cheese tarts. There's only one pastry left.

"It's mine," Mary Jane insists, narrowing her eyes. "Andy said so."

"Andy isn't here," Sabina argues, narrowing her gaze as well, pulling the cheese tart towards her. "I drove her to and from Luke's place!"

"I drove her the time after that, and Andy's right there, let's ask her."

"She's dealing with customers."

"Fine," Mary Jane huffs, raising her palms. "You can have the last cheese tart. I'm not introducing you to any of Adrian's friends."

Sabina gasps loudly. "You wouldn't."

"I would."

"Fine, it's their loss, I'm a fucking catch. I need this cheese tart but I don't need a partner."

Mary Jane's eyebrows raise. "That's not what you were saying last night."

"Last night, I was tired," Sabina tells her, rolling her eyes. "It's almost finals, I didn't know what I was saying. Oh, speaking of boyfriends and finals, how are you and Adrian? Still good?"

The younger's face brightens. "We're amazing. He still hasn't replied to any of my texts this morning, though. I'll drop by tonight if he still hasn't answered. I'm sure he's busy with finals as well."

"Major?"

"Psych," Mary Jane answers proudly. "He's so smart."

"We get it, you're in love, big whoop," Sabina says, rolling her eyes again. "I'm more worried about Andy to be honest."

"Let's half that cheese tart then we can talk about how to break Andy and Luke up." Mary Jane's mouth twists into a grimace. "If they were even actually together. Poor Andy."

Sabina looks scandalized. "How dare you propose such an idea, Mary Jane. We're her friends, we're supposed to support her, not to sabotage her relationships!"

Mary Jane isn't impressed. "You already have a plan, don't you?"

"We need a plan B," the older answers immediately, dropping the act as she reaches for a knife. "I was going to half it, anyway."

The ginger grins. "You weren't."

"You're right, you know me so well."

Laughing, Mary Jane reaches for her bag to check for another text from Adrian, but her phone lights up with twelve missed calls instead from Kento.

Her face scrunches together. "That's weird," she mutters, unlocking the phone. The last call had been almost six minutes ago.

Sabina drops half of the cheese tart onto Mary Jane's plate. "What is?"

"Kento never calls me. Didn't even know he had my number."

"That's the shy one, right?"

Mary Jane nods, calling him back. "Yeah, hold on." Kento picks up immediately. "Hey, Kento, what's—"

"MJ," the other cuts her off, sounding out of breath. "MJ, MJ, I need you to listen to me carefully. Do not tell Danny."

"What's going on?" she asks calmly, even as her pulse begins to pick up speed at Kento's frantic tone. "Are you okay? Where's Adrian?"

"I'm sorry, I can't get out of a family thing, and I tried calling you but you weren't answering, and Danny's worried, too, but I told him not to be, and there's no one else I can call, I'm actually just about to leave—"

"Slow down," Mary Jane demands, curling her free hand into a fist. "Is Adrian okay?"

"I don't know," Kento murmurs. "I was about to leave. He hasn't been answering our texts and calls since this morning, and we're worried. I don't want Danny to worry."

"I'm on my way," Mary Jane says, grabbing her bag. Helplessly, she looks at her friend.

Sabina waves her off. "Go. It's fine."

Mary Jane tells herself to thank her later, but right now, she's dashing to her car. "He hasn't replied to me at all, either."

"I really am sorry, MJ. I was actually supposed to go over to his after this, but Danny...Danny's getting anxious. And mad. Said if he didn't answer, he was going to storm over to his place."

"I can make it," she tells him, starting the car. Mary Jane's confused. She's so confused. She leaves the bakeshop and switches the call to speaker mode. "Go back to your family."

"Thank you. There's a key under the mat."

"Yeah, I know. But what's wrong with Adrian? And Danny? Tell me, Kento, I don't understand."

The other exhales heavily. "We promised him we wouldn't tell you."

And that...that makes Mary Jane's heartbeat grow loud. She can hear it past the whistling of the cars, the quiet rumble of the engine. "Tell me what?"

Another heavy pause. "Um, Mary Jane, I really don't want to tell you. Adrian is going to rip my throat out."

"I will rip your throat out if you don't spill it," Mary Jane snaps, agitated. What was he so worried about?

Kento curses under his breath. "The last time he didn't answer our texts and calls this long," Kento says lowly, "he OD'd."

The pulsing's gone louder. "What?"

She almost misses the stoplight. OD'd. OD'd. OD'd.

"We know he's done with that shit," Kento says in a rush, "we know. It's been years, and we trust him, and he trusts himself now, but we made him promise never to do that again—he said he was always going to answer his phone from then on, but now he isn't, and Danny's scared, he doesn't want to find him like that again. It almost ruined their—our friendship, and maybe we're overreacting, maybe Adrian just fell asleep, but Adrian never takes naps this long."

Mary Jane's breathing is shallow. She keeps herself focused on the road, but there's a bitter taste in her mouth, and her chest feels impossibly tight. "OD'd. Adrian OD'd?"

"He didn't want you to know," Kento answers, and it's all white noise. White noise. "It was years ago. I'm sorry, MJ. I can still leave—"

"No," Mary Jane says, shaking her head, as she takes another breath. "No, I—thank you for telling me."

She doesn't know what else Kento said, but it doesn't matter.

When she arrives at Adrian's place, there's another car parked out front, but she doesn't care, doesn't give it another glance, before she's running up the staircase and ringing the doorbell.

No immediate answer. Mary Jane rings it again, twice, and slams her palm against the wood. "Adrian? Adrian!"

When there's nothing once again, Mary Jane's about to bend down, snatch the key from under the mat, and let herself in, the worry crashing over her in waves, but then there's noise from the other side of the door, and it's opened by a woman.

Mary Jane straightens.

"Hey," the blonde says, blinking. "He's not here. Is it an emergency? All that banging sounded like it was something important."

"I—" Mary Jane doesn't know what to say. The blonde is gorgeous. "I—yeah, um, where is he?"

"He went out," she says in response, face carefully neutral. "Sorry, but who are you?"

He's fine. He's okay.

But then Mary Jane registers her question, and her eyebrows draw together. "I'm his girlfriend," she answers quietly, heart twisting painfully, achingly slow. "Who are you?"

"Oh!" the blonde says, opening the door wider. "You're Mary Jane?"

"I—yes."

She sticks her hand out, mouth curling into a grin. "Hi! I'm Sydney, I'm the annoying older sister."

Mary Jane releases a shaky breath, willing herself to calm down, as she gives Sydney a hesitant smile back and a shake of the hand. "Hi. Nice to meet you."

"Come in!" Sydney says, pulling her inside. "My brother never gave you a key? What an idiot."

"Uh, we haven't been dating long," Mary Jane says distractedly as she's ushered inside. She's been here countless of times, slept over countless of times, knows where the plates go, the glasses, the knives and the cooking oil and baking soda—but it's the first time she feels unwelcome. "I don't expect him to give me a key just a few months in."

Sydney pats the space next to her on the couch. "Please, I think he just doesn't want to scare you off. So, how'd you two meet?"

There are bulky bags near the door. Mary Jane stares at them. "I—sorry, but did you come all the way from Faircoast?"

The blonde's eyes light up. "Yeah! It was a long drive—believe me, my ass is numb. Seth was surprised, though, so it was worth it."

"He didn't know you were coming?"

"Nah," Sydney answers. "We try to see each other as much as we can, and I wasn't supposed to come today, but my meetings were postponed to a later date, and I didn't have work tomorrow, so I figured, why not, right? Seth was actually asleep when I came in, and then his phone was dead—wait, I think he was actually on the way to your place. He was saying something about you, I don't know, he was rushing."

"Oh, maybe I should head back," Mary Jane says, frowning, as she pulls out her phone. Sending a quick text to Kento, telling him Adrian was fine, she asks, "Did he say why he left?"

Sydney shrugs. "If he did, I didn't catch it, he was really in a rush. Hey, did you know there's no food in his fridge? Seth's an idiot, he still doesn't know how to take care of himself. He forgets to eat sometimes, you know?"

Mary Jane's lips curl up as she pockets her phone. "Oh, yeah, I get it. I have to remind him, too—"

Wait.

"Will you be heading back? My brother might be worried when he sees you're not home, and you know, his phone is dead, but you're welcome to come back for dinner tonight!"

Mary Jane twists around to look at Sydney. She whispers, "What did you say?"

Her eyebrows raise. "What?"

"What did you say?" Mary Jane repeats.

Sydney blinks. "You're welcome to come back for dinner tonight."

"No," Mary Jane says, fighting to keep her voice calm and steady, sure she misheard. "Before that. Before you said that he forgets to eat sometimes."

"I—uh, Seth still doesn't know how to take care of himself?" Sydney says, confused. "Oh, yeah." She claps her hands, features drawing together. "Sorry, old habit. Adrian still doesn't—are you okay, Mary Jane? You look a little pale."

It's loud, loud, loud.

Before she can open her mouth, there's shouting from the hallway, and it's Adrian's voice, and it's too fucking loud. "Sydney! Sydney! I told you to—"

Adrian opens the door, and his gaze instantly falls on Mary Jane.

"MJ," he breathes, eyes wide. "Hey. What are you doing here?"

Mary Jane is surprised she's still able to answer him. "You weren't answering your phone. We were worried."

Adrian stares at her. Swallows hard. "My phone was dead when I woke up, and I couldn't find the charger, and then my sister came, and I was on the way to yours—"

"She's a sweetheart," Sydney asks cheerfully, standing up. "I don't know why you didn't tell me about her earlier."

Adrian doesn't look away from Mary Jane.

"She called you Seth," Mary Jane says. "She said, 'Seth still doesn't know how to take care of himself'."

Adrian's chest rises and falls rapidly. He steps closer to her. "Mary Jane."

"Why did she call you Seth?" Mary Jane asks, blinking, taking a step back. Switches her gaze to Sydney, whose eyes are wide, looks as confused as she feels. "Your name is Adrian, right?"

"Um, I'll leave you guys alone," Sydney murmurs, turning around to head for the hallway.

Mary Jane stares at her boyfriend. "Right?"

Adrian's eyes darken with what Mary Jane can only name as defeat. "My first name is Seth," he finally tells her, after a long pause, and Mary Jane's chest tightens. "And my second name is Adrian."

"Your first name is Seth," Mary Jane repeats quietly. "Your second name is Adrian."

It's silent for a heartbeat. And then, "Yes."

Oh, God. No. No.

Mary Jane stumbles back a step. Her next breath comes shaky. "You. You're Seth."

Adrian—Seth—stays silent.

Mary Jane has to hold on to the staircase to keep herself steady. She's been looking for him for two years. Two years. And he's—he's—"You've been lying to me. This whole time," she whispers. Stares at him through hooded eyes. She wants to beat her chest, rip out her lungs. It's so hard to breathe. "When—when did you know?"

"MJ—"

So that's how her name sounded on his lips before. Seth's lips. That's how it sounds.

"Mary Jane, listen," Adrian says. Pleads. Takes a step forward with his palms outstretched. "I didn't—I didn't want you to know. I'm not—I'm not that guy anymore. I'm not Seth anymore. He's long gone, he's dead."

"You're the same person," Mary Jane answers calmly, even as she feels the water burning at the back of her eyelids. She's breathing, but she doesn't feel like she is. Maybe she's drowning? "You're the same fucking person, Adrian."

He visibly flinches. "I didn't want you to know because I'm not that person anymore, MJ. And I'm ashamed to have been that person."

Mary Jane shakes her head. "N-no, you—you lied to me. The whole fucking time. D-did you think I was stupid?" she rasps, gripping the railings. "Maybe you thought I was. God, I was asking you about Se—you!"

"No, no, I—"

Mary Jane feels the fury burning around her throat now, and it's clogged up, and she's trying, trying to keep herself afloat, but her mind's going into haywire, and she can't process all of the speaking bodies inside her head and they're all so fucking loud.

"The moment," she whispers, looking at him, "I decide to let go, and forget about him—you—you do this shit to me and it fucking hurts, how could you...how could you even look at me and not feel any guilt? Shame?"

Adrian's eyes are wild, and he curls his fists, as if Mary Jane's slipping through his fingers. "I'm sorry, MJ, I'm sorry."

Her chest burns. "You were g-gone for two years."

"I know."

"It was you who told me you were going to leave your troubles behind," Mary Jane murmurs, and her hands are shaking, shaking, shaking, "and I didn't know I was one of them."

"You weren't the reason why I left," Adrian argues loudly, defensively. "I—fuck, Mary Jane." Adrian takes a long, shaky breath. "I—I went to Worthington for stash," he says slowly. Painfully. His face twists in a grimace, and every word looked as if it pained him. "I was always there for fucking stash, I was addicted and I didn't know how to stop it until—until I—"

Mary Jane digs her nails into her palms. "Until you OD'd? Until Danny had to find you unconscious?"

Adrian fixes her with a dark gaze. "Yes. Until I was nearly about to lose everything because I was fucking stupid enough to get addicted to drugs because I couldn't stop—I tried stopping. When I was rushed to the hospital...I was about to lose my family, and my friends, and everything—and they gave me another chance."

"You OD'd," Mary Jane repeats quietly.

"Yeah, I fucking OD'd!" Adrian shouts, and his voice breaks, and it sounds so raw. Did Mary Jane sound the same? "Understand why I couldn't have just told you? Why I left?"

"You know I would've tried to help you, the same way you—"

"You don't owe me shit."

"You were my friend!" Mary Jane yells, finally stepping forward to push his chest. Adrian loses balance, and his eyes are wide. "You were my friend and I was—I didn't know what to do and I've been looking for you for two years. Two. Years."

Adrian pauses. Looks at her. "MJ."

"And you never tried to explain to me! Never responded to me! Fucking blocked my number! I've been messaging that stupid number for years, I have it memorized in my head!"

Adrian shuts his eyes. "MJ, I'm sorry."

"And then you had the nerve to lie to my face!" she screams, angry. Furious. Her tears burn hot against her skin, and her nails cut the flesh of her palm. "When did you know? In my dorm room, when you saw the Station Twelve flyer?"

His jaw tenses as he tears his gaze away. "Yes."

"That was months ago. That was months ago, Adrian."

"Fuck, MJ, I'm so sorry."

"If you didn't want me to find out, why the fuck did you have to bring him up?" Mary Jane sobs, clutching her shirt. "Why did you have to say that you knew him? You?"

Adrian's eyes are so...empty. "Because I wanted to see why you kept the flyer. And why you wasted your time looking for me."

Mary Jane looks at him, and all she can feel is the astounding weight on her chest. Shoulders. Heart. "Your addiction was one thing. That, I can understand. Why you didn't tell me. But why did you lie, Adrian?"

"I wanted you to know me," he murmurs. "I don't...I don't think about that part of my life anymore—don't even want to. What I was, what I'd become, what I'd almost become—it tore me up, and I went to rehab, and I didn't want to be Seth anymore, and...I wanted you to know me. When I met you, I was there because I wanted to remember what it felt like to be alive....and I did. I felt—feel that with you."

"Stop," Mary Jane breathes, closing her eyes. "No. You don't—you don't get to do this to me after this."

Adrian freezes. "Mary Jane. MJ."

"Stop it, stop calling me that, I hear your voice on the phone," she says, staggering backwards. "I—don't want to see you right now."

Adrian's eyes fill with panic. "Wait, wait. MJ, wait—"

"I'm sorry I wasn't there when you were struggling, and I'm sorry I didn't know," she says, cutting him off, and her throat is scraped dry, cheeks wet. "I'm sorry I kept asking about you."

"MJ," Adrian says, stepping forward to grab her wrists. His eyes are pleading. "I don't care about that—can't we fix this? Please, I'm sorry, let's talk about this."

Mary Jane ignores his words. "I'm glad you're better," she tells him quietly, looking up to meet his gaze. "And I'm really glad you threw that life away now. I just—now, I just don't think I can do this."

"Mary Jane, please—"

"Fucking stop it, it hurts, I hear his voice!" she shrieks, and she sounds so broken. A broken record. Songs on repeat. She pushes him away. "Our whole relationship was based on a lie, Adrian, how do you think that makes me feel?"

If she isn't so blinded with anger, maybe she'd see just how painful the expression on Adrian's face is.

"Don't wanna lose you," Adrian whispers, mouth trembling, fingers shaking. "Please, I'm sorry, Mary Jane."

It's so hard to breathe. In an even voice, she says, "Tell Sydney it was nice meeting her, but I'm not coming back for dinner. Maybe you should tell Naomi you aren't dead, too."

She turns on her heel and leaves.