I drop off Melanie and then Steve. Once it's only Penny and me left, an uncomfortable silence fills the car.

When we finally arrive at her home, I reach for her hand, "Penny, what's wrong?"

"Your house is a block away from mine."

I squirm, not knowing where this conversation is heading.

"And you dropped me home every day of the week except Monday."

I cautiously say, "I did," But it sounds more like a question.

"So you gave her a lift on Monday night."

I sigh, "Are you upset that I gave Addison a ride home?"

She glares at me, her eyes sharp, "How dare you? You know me better than that. I'm not upset that you gave a stranded girl a ride home." She shakes her head, "What upsets me is that in Tuesday's drama class, you acted as if you were meeting her for the first time in years!"

I bite back whatever I was about to protest because she's right. I could have told her that day that I had met Allison the night before. But I didn't. And I know that makes the whole situation look a whole lot worse than it actually is.

"I know it looks bad–"

"Bad?" She scowls at me, water building up in her eyes, "We've been dating for over a year so I know you and you're not that kind of guy." She can't hold back the tears any longer and they begin to run down her cheeks. One after the other. She takes a breath to calm herself down, roughly wiping her wet face. When she finally speaks, her anguish makes her hushed words that much louder, "I just don't get why you lied."

I'm at a loss for words, because even I don't know the answer to that question.

The easy way out would be to say that Addison didn't want anyone to know I had caught her stealing. But I can't do that to her. Especially since that's not the reason why I hadn't told Penelope.

How do I explain to her that I'm holding on to a friendship that started out as a secret in sixth grade. How do I tell her that now, years later, I still want to stay true to the private nature of that friendship.

Because, even in my head, it sounds a whole lot like bull.

Penny sits there, waiting for me to say something. When I don't, she roughly grabs her backpack, opens the door, and slams it shut.

As she storms off into her house, I wonder why I didn't just tell her on Tuesday.

Why am I still holding onto something I shared with Addison, when even Addison has let go.

Once I'm home, I message Penny another apology. I can't call her because I still don't know what to say. I'm not surprised when I don't get a response. I wasn't really expecting one.

My frustration displays itself in a show of me slamming my bedroom door. Well not exactly slamming. I pull it back just as it's about to shut and quietly close it the rest of the way. After all, Tamara is asleep just a few doors away. I toss my backpack on the bed without even giving it a second thought. There is absolutely no way I will be able to get any work done.

Reasoning with myself that it is a Friday night, I make my way through the quiet house until I reach a locked door. I unhook a silver chain from around my neck, with a small key dangling from it, and unlock the door.

Immediately, I'm greeted by the musty scent of canvas and acrylics.

The walls are lined by shelf upon shelf, all holding different supplies. The wooden floorboards are covered in a tarp that was white when it was first placed. Now, it's masked by the splattering of tertiary colours.

I sort through a pile of sketch paper in the corner of the room, before settling on an the largest one I can find. With how shitty I feel about myself, I know I need to go all out.

I place it on the ground and grab some charcoal. Once I've got The Sound of Silence by Disturbed playing softly in my earphones, I sit in front of the empty paper and close my eyes.

'Hello darkness, my old friend'

I take a deep breath, placing the charcoal against the textured paper.

'I've come to talk with you again'

My hand glides across the paper, marring it with the first curl.

'Because a vision softly creeping'

Another wispy tendril followed by another. The song's pace quickens. Before I know it, I'm retrieving more sketch paper. And more.

I only stop when I feel a blister forming where I had gripped the charcoal pieces. I turn my hand over, rubbing the sore spot. Then I look down at my artwork.

And fail to breathe.

It takes up half the floorspace, multiple papers strewn together to give the appearance of one giant sketch.

But I'm more surprised by the sketch.

Layers upon layers of lines swirl together– a chaotic storm of thunderous waves. On the far left, in the distance, shines a lighthouse. But seeping along the ripples of the sea, is the colour red, mixing with the black of the charcoal.

I look down at the red oils, not knowing when I'd even grabbed them from the cupboard.

Breathe.

But I can't. I'm drowning in a sea of memories.

Were his last moments painful?

With a quick shake of my head, I jump out of it. In two steps, I'm outside, locking the room.

I hurry back to my own. The tightness in my chest relieving only slightly with each stride. I grab my phone from the bed, needing to talk to someone. I scroll to Penny's name in my contact list, but I don't click the call button. She hasn't replied so is obviously still mad. And for good reason.

I drop my phone onto the floor and switch off the light. Maybe all I need is sleep.

***

"What's going on with you?"

I look up at Steve who's sitting across the dining table from me.

"Mate, we're supposed to be studying." I emphasise as I point to the pile of books in front of me.

"If I wanted to study, I would've gone to the library," He replies, smugly pointing at the one notebook he has open to an empty page.

I shake my head, trying to focus back on my schoolwork.

"So?"

"So what?"

"You know what."

"Steve, I really do wish we were teenagers in some book or tv show. I really do. But, alas, we are not. And you know what that means?" I raise my eyebrows expectantly, "It means our grades actually matter."

"True, but you know what else?" He leans back, placing a pen behind his ear, "I can be quite an annoying little bugger when I want to be. And the joke's on you if you think I'll let you study without answering my question."

Knowing he's right, I finally put down my pen. "Nothing's going on with me. I just really want to study."

"And that explains why you keep checking your phone for notifications?"

I'm just about to reach for my phone and drop my hand back down. If I tell him about the fight I had with Penny two days ago, he'll want to know why. And since it has to do with the girl he likes, I really don't want to get into that awkward situation.

"It's Penny, isn't it?"

I try to keep the surprise out of my voice but fail miserably, "How'd you know?"

"Melanie was radiating with anger when I mentioned you yesterday."

I guess there's no way out of this. He's going to find out something's wrong tomorrow at school anyway.

Rubbing my face, I admit, "We had an argument. Penny and I."

"That's not like you guys. What happened?"

He was right. In our entire fourteen months of dating, we had never fought. Sure, there were obviously little disagreements every now and then but we made sure they never lasted for more than a day. It's also why I was beginning to get nervous, checking my phone nonstop, hopelessly waiting for a text from Penny. Sadly, she didn't reply yesterday. And the only two texts I got today were from Trip and Steve. Trip's was an invite to his birthday bash next weekend. Steve's was to come over to 'study'.

So much for that.

"I don't know. I did something stupid."

Steve looks curious but gratefully doesn't press any further. Instead, he gives me a reassuring smile, "Don't stress, I'm sure you'll both get over it by tomorrow. That girl loves you."

I manage a small smile in return, but I'm not too sure things will get back to normal in one day.

Just then, Steve's phone vibrates with a message. He picks it up immediately. A bit too quickly. As he replies to whoever it is, a lopsided grin forms on his face.

"Addison?" I guess.

His smile deepens, "Yeah, I'm persuading her to go to Trip's party next week. She doesn't want to."

"As in go with you to the party? Like as a date?"

He spares a mischievous glance my way before looking back at his phone. Still texting.

"Well, not really. But if she thinks of it as a date, then I'll have no problem with that."

I hesitate, "Why don't you just ask her out?"

"Don't laugh but," He puts down the phone. Finally. The first thing I notice when he turns to me is how happy he looks. "I'm scared she'll say no."

I laugh, "Dude, half the girls at school would die to go on a date with you."

"Addison is different. She's way out of my league."

"Go for it, it's better to know if she feels the same way."

I say it because I know it's what he needs to hear. But I can't help the little pang of jealousy that pierces through me.

I finally decide to turn off my phone after checking it one last time. It doesn't matter though. I have no new notifications.

***

Hey guys! This update was super delayed and I'm so sorry to have put Damien and Addison's story on hold for so long! Finally came around though :)

Drop a like or comment and I'll update soon!

- Jane xoxo