There's a knock on my door.

I sigh and drag my feet down the stairs, wondering who it could be. I can't think of anyone, and I doubt it would be Jake. He would just climb through my sliding door.

I pull the door open and frown. Ace is standing in front of my house, his hands wrapped around a bunch of flowers. He smiles and I put my hand on the door, ready to slam it in his face.

I don't care what he says. He planned to hurt me, just like Jake. Jake may have done worse to me, but what Ace did still sucks.

He puts his foot in the way to stop the door from closing. "Wait! Al, Jake asked me to give this to you. He says he is so sorry," Ace tells me.

I glance down at the flowers. I nod, taking the white roses from him. "Where is he?" I ask. "Why are you here and not him?"

"Um, he's at the movies." Ace awkwardly scratches the back of his neck, frowning.

"With Candace," I whisper and nod in understanding. I turn and look at the trash can on the sidewalk by my house. "Oh look, it seems like Jake actually is here," I say, referring to him being the trash can. I walk to the trash and throw the flowers in. "Hey, Jake, thanks for the flowers. Thanks for trying, too. Maybe if you cared enough, you would know I'm allergic to roses... And bullshit," I say to the trash.

I walk back towards my house, too embarrassed to look at Ace in the eye again. This is so embarrassing. Maybe I should just stay in my room for the rest of my life with no human interaction, that way I won't keep making a fool of myself.

"Thanks for trying, Ace. I'm sorry you had to see... that," I say, my voice breaking.

My face scrunches up in pain and Ace grabs my wrist, turning me to face him. I close my eyes, ashamed of what he probably thinks of me. I'm so pathetic.

He wipes a few stray tears off my face."Al, it's not your fault. You're perfect. Jake is an idiot for not treating you like a princess. You're beautiful. You're smart. I..." He goes silent.

I open my eyes, wondering what he is going to say. "You...?" I whisper.

He puts his hand on my cheek and shakes his head. "I don't get why anyone would try to hurt you. If I knew Candace was in there, I would have gone over and slapped him myself because he's an idiot for choosing her."

"Wait, you..." I frown. "You didn't know she was there?"

His eyes widen and he looks away, not saying anything. "I did."

"For someone who is wanted by the police, you're really bad at lying."

"I'm not- That's not why I came here. I wanted to check if you're okay."

I smile. "Have you ever been in love, Ace?" I whisper. Ace is silent, until I hear him whisper a quick 'no'. "Good. Don't ever fall in love," I say and step away from Ace. "It's not worth the pain."

I turn to go inside and I'm about to close the door but I notice Ace's shoulders slouching and his mouth turned down slightly.

"Are you okay?" I ask.

He looks at me. "Me?" He seems shocked that I asked. "Nobody has ever asked. I don't know. What's okay? I just nod when people say they are okay. I have no idea what it is," he explains.

I laugh and pull the door open. "Do you wanna come in?"

"I'm not hiding from the cops. You don't have to be nice to me, Al..."

I nod. "You've been nice to me. Plus, I don't really want to be alone. It just makes me think more about..." I close my eyes and take in a deep breath. "I mean, I don't mind."

"Do you have food?"

I laugh. "Yeah."

"Nutella?"

"Of course."

"I love y- Uh, Nutella. I love Nutella." He chuckles and walks closer to my front door. "Are you sure...?"

"Just come before I change my-" He runs into my house so fast he accidentally trips.

"Ouch," he groans from his position on the floor, and then he turns to lie on his back. "I'm twenty, Al. I'm getting too old for this shit."

"You're twenty? I thought you were eighteen or whatever."

"Nah, but I'm still as gorgeous as I was two years ago, if that counts." He winks.

"You're acting cocky but you literally just tripped on nothing and you're now lying on the floor."

"True," he admits. I roll my eyes and give out my hand for him to take. He takes it and I pull him up, but accidentally stumble forward and my body ends up pressed against his.

For a moment we stay frozen, with our bodies touching and our faces only millimeters apart. "I'm..." I forget what I am going to say. "I'm, um..."

He smiles, and holy shit. I never noticed how gorgeous his smile is. How gorgeous he is.

"Hi, Um. I'm Ace."

I burst out laughing and shake my head. And the dad jokes have arrived. "Let's just get food and go upstairs before you carry on with your dad jokes."

I walk to the kitchen and hand Ace a few snacks and I carry the rest and we make out way to my bedroom.

"What do you wanna watch?" I ask.

"I'd say you, but that would be creepy, so I'll just say we should carry on watching Stranger Things," he says and steps into my room. I put all the food down and grab my laptop. "But this time don't fall asleep. I know I'm comfy but then I can't fangirl about Mike and Eleven with you. Okay?"

I laugh and nod, then climb into the bed. Once we're comfortable and have a fair amount of food on our laps, we start the series and I lean my head on Ace's shoulder.

Maybe I don't need a boyfriend. Maybe I don't want Jake. Maybe I have Ace to watch Netflix with and eat. What more do I need?

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T w i t t e r : xPineappleGirlx

I n s t a g r a m : laylzk

S n a p c h a t : laylz_k