"She leaves then she lingers

If she's gonna go

Well then I'm going with her

She was sweet like honey

But all I can taste is the blood in my mouth

And the bitterness in goodbye

But she stings like she means it

She's mean and she's mine"

✰

"Since when do you want to write love songs?"

Arlo takes her bottom lip between her teeth, her eyes falling to her lap rather than looking into Beck's green ones. He was looking through her like he knew something she didn't and Arlo didn't like it, not one bit.

Sure, he knew her better than anyone else after living with her for three years, but that didn't always work in her favor.

"What if I'm tired of writing sad songs?" Arlo counters, a perfectly angled brow raised at her best friend.

Beck is standing on the balcony of his hotel room, a cigarette in his hand as he leans against the cast-iron railing, letting the ashes drift away with the wind. He looks ridiculously comfy in an oversized hoodie and a pair of shorts that looked so soft Arlo had been tempted to steal them for months.

Meanwhile, Arlo sits on the slightly elevated frame of the sliding glass door that leads to the balcony, her knees tucked to her chest as they always were. She wears a pair of light wash jeans, though the button is popped open from the huge room service meal they'd just devoured.

"Well, something had to have inspired you." Beck says mature of factly. He takes another drag of his cigarette as he looks down at her. "You don't write just to write Arlo, I know you better than that."

Arlo chews nervously on her bottom lip considering Beck was right-- she had been inspired to write love songs. She didn't want to tell him though, in fear of jinxing the progress she and Luke had made before they even had time to heal.

There was still a lot they needed to talk about but they hadn't had a chance to. Arlo barely even got a chance to look at Luke after the night he spent in her room considering the band was whisked on a flight to New York and Arlo's seat was in the front with Beck.

They had a concert in a few hours and everyone was attempting to sleep off the sleepy feeling all of the traveling they did had caused.

Arlo had been wondering for the last few hours if Luke was awake or not, but she didn't have his number any longer and she was too nervous to knock on the door of his hotel room. He'd come to her room both times he felt like talking, so she assumed that if he wanted to see her, he'd do so on his own accord.

"I saw a couple on the street." Arlo lies through her teeth. "On the way in this morning I saw this couple walking together and I felt like writing. You know New York brings up weird memories and feelings for both of us." She defends, giving Beck a knowing look.

"You're telling me." The green-eyed boy scoffs before taking one last drag of his cigarette. He snubs it out on the ashtray sitting on the nearby coffee table. "I'm sorry I've been so busy lately." Beck apologizes as he makes his way over to Arlo, holding out his hands for her.

She takes them, allowing him to bring her to her feet as they make their way inside the hotel room and slide the balcony door closed, ensuring to lock it. "It's okay." Arlo shrugs despite the fact that she had been missing her best friend the slightest bit lately.

"It's not." Beck frowns as he flops down onto the couch. He pats the cushioned seat next to him, encouraging Arlo to sit down beside him. Once she does, he drapes her feet over his lap. "How are you feeling, you know, being around him after everything that happened?"

Arlo's body stills at the mention of Luke, but she plays it off by shrugging her shoulders. "We're not really on speaking terms." She says, considering it's not completely a lie. They hadn't done much talking at all.

Beck looks at her skeptically but doesn't argue. The boy merely gives her jean-clad thigh a friendly pat before he stands up from the couch and makes his way over to the closet where his clothes for the show are hung up.

Arlo busies herself with scrolling through her camera roll and posting a few pictures from their travels on her social media accounts- all of which had been private since the band started gaining traction. There weren't many people on her accounts at all, but she still enjoyed making a virtual scrapbook of her life. It was something she could control even when her life felt like it was falling apart.

"We haven't been on a friend date in a while." Beck's voice echoes from across the room. He works to button up his white dress shirt that allows the tattoos littering his chest to show through. "What do you say we go out the next day we have off?"

"I would love that." Arlo hums in response, a small smile tugging at her lips as a million different memories flash through her head.

Considering both Arlo and Beck were heartbroken with no intentions of moving on anytime soon, the two of them were in search of something to get them out of the house. Thus, their friend dates started.

Arlo and Beck would dress up in nice clothes, taking the time to get ready even if they felt like shit and wanted nothing more than to wallow in their memories of lost lovers. They'd find a new high-end restaurant in LA every Tuesday night and spend the entire night pretending to be a lovesick couple.

Beck would buy her flowers, for a girl like Arlo deserved to have flowers brought to her, and Arlo would book him tattoo appointments. It seemed unorthodox, but tattoos were sort of Beck's passion and he loved finding new ways to incorporate his memories and feelings into art that would be inked onto his body.

It was simple, but the friend dates kept them sane.

"Do you want any more tattoos?" Arlo asks, her eyes wandering over the last bit of Beck's chest as he buttons his shirt. His chest was almost completely full and she wondered if he even had any more room. "If not, I might have to steal your idea and buy you flowers."

Beck lets a genuine laugh slip from his lips as he finished getting dressed. "I could use a nice bouquet of pretty flowers." He sends her a wink, amusement filling his system as she rolls her eyes and hops off of the couch.

"Depends on how mean you are to me." Arlo counters, sticking her tongue out at her best friend as she passes by him on the way to the bathroom.

Beck follows her, beginning to fix his hair in the brightly lit bathroom as Arlo touches up her makeup with what little products she had in her purse. "Seriously though, can you help me with that song?"

Beck nods, seriousness written across his face. He loved to joke with Arlo and give her a hard time, but he also knew when enough was enough. He'd learned when it came to Arlo being open with her feelings, it was rare enough to eliminate any chances of joking.

"Lay it on me, babe." He nods, taking his phone out and beginning to record a voice note just in case they spewed out something that could be used later.

"Well, uh, I don't have a melody." Arlo begins playing nervously with the sides of her phone case as she opens her notes app and shows him the messily scrawled words. "I was wondering if you could help with that. You know I'm not very good at the musical side of things."

Beck nods, his eyes scanning over the lyrics.

When he and Arlo wrote songs, they had a system. Arlo had always been amazing at coming up with lyrics and hiding meaning between seemingly simple lines, but the girl didn't have an ounce of musical talent. Meanwhile, Beck had all the musical talent in the world but sucked at writing lyrics. So, they fit perfectly.

"Demons hide behind my back, And I can see them, one, two, three, four, Leading me to do their dirty work, Won't let them knock down my door"

Beck hums the lyrics under his breath, furrowing his brows at the words in front of him. "Is this about James? The way he was forcing you to do his dirty work?"

Arlo's throat feels tight as she nods. "Just this lyric, though. The rest of the song is about someone else." She explains, encouraging him to keep going.

"Oh, the stupid truth is I'm so bad for you, Oh-no-no-no, I can't take it, Oh-no-no-no, I won't break your heart again"

✰

Arlo can't believe how crowded the venue is as the big black van the entire band is shoved into rolls to a stop.

Due to construction going on in the city, the back entrance of the venue is inaccessible, leaving the band no choice but to enter through the front- exactly where all the fans are. There are lines from where fans had been camping along the sidewalk and it seemed even more had shown up at the news of their arrival.

Arlo and Beck share a wide-eyed look as the security seated in the front of the van step out of the car, allowing for the screams of the fans to infiltrate the area. Arlo's ears were already ringing and she hadn't even gotten out of the car.

Meanwhile, Calum, Luke, Ashton, and Michael seem unaffected. They'd seen more than enough of the scene in front of them throughout the years- hell, this crowd was nothing compared to some of what they'd seen.

Arlo's seat is across from Luke and due to the way she's facing him, her eyes have no choice but to find his.

Ironically enough, his blue eyes are already on her.

Luke can see the nervousness shining in her eyes as clear as day. Arlo had never done well with crowds even when they were dating, so he's sure that now is no exception. He bitterly reminds himself that if things were different, she'd be tucked securely under his arm where he could shield her pretty eyes from flashing camera lights and whisper soothing words in her ear.

The blonde flexes his jaw, allowing the last of his bad mood to seep from his system as he prepares to be in front of hundreds of fans. He loves his fans, really he did, for they were all he had when he lost Arlo and felt purposeless, but he couldn't help that he was pissed.

Seeing Arlo walk out of Beck's hotel room giggling at something he said was not the way he planned to start his day.

Beck had always sort of pissed him off- not because he was a bad guy, but because he seemed to know Arlo so well. Hell, when Luke found out that they'd been living together for the last three years he nearly burst a blood vessel.

Beck was simply who Luke wished he could still be for Arlo. But, if things went the way he planned them to, that would change soon and Arlo would be his girl again.

And this time, he had no intentions of letting her slip away.

Calum and Ashton exit the car first, immediately beginning to wave to fans and attempting to stop for pictures before security informs them that it wasn't safe to. Luke frowns at the idea of not being able to stop when the fans had obviously been waiting out in the nasty weather for hours, but there wasn't much he could do to fight security, even if he did hire them.

Arlo is ushered out of the car next and before Luke can help himself, he follows right after her. Even if they were in a grey area, that didn't change the fact that he cared immensely for her and it made him nervous for her to be in this type of situation and so far away from him.

Beck and Michael trail behind, but they're the last people Luke is worried about. He can see the recognition on the fan's faces as they see Arlo and he isn't sure if that unsettles him or warms his heart. Obviously, blurry pictures of her had been taken on tour, but nothing clear enough to identify her.

Despite what she thought, the fans loved Arlo when she was dating Luke. They related to her and once their love story of meeting in a bookstore hit the press, everyone was in love with their love. She never believed that though and Luke wasn't sure why.

As the screams of the fans increase in volume and they attempt to get closer, Luke can practically feel the way Arlo's body goes rigid next to his own. They were surrounded on all sides by a giant crowd and while he was used to it, she surely was not.

Luke doesn't think twice before slipping his hand into her own.

Arlo flinches in surprise at the sudden touch, but once the familiar feeling of his skin and that damn indention on the side of his finger that she'd fallen in love with three years ago register in her mind, she relaxes completely.

Subtly, Arlo turns her head to face him, her brown eyes sparkling as she sends him a heart-stopping smile.

And Luke's heart certainly stutters in his chest.

How could it not? When the love of his life was finally holding his hand after three long fucking years. He was on cloud nine and suddenly, he can't think about anything but making things right with her again. Her simple touch was that powerful.

Before they know it, everyone makes it inside the venue.

Arlo wasn't sure why Luke slipped his hand into her own, but she did know that she didn't want to cross any boundaries. So, once they're safely inside, she draws her hand back. Luke's expression doesn't seem to change and his eyes don't even flash to her own.

After inhaling a shaky breath, Arlo continues on walking down the hallway towards the dressing rooms, only to be stopped by Beck. The rest of the band walks past them and Ashton makes sure to shoot Arlo a comforting smile as they make their way into their own dressing room.

"I really hate to ask you to do this." Beck begins, his green eyes shining with guilt. "But we're running late and I'm barely going to have time to get ready and I just really need a drink to ease the nerves. That's a huge ass crowd."

Arlo's brows furrow, but she nods nonetheless. "How am I supposed to get it though? You know I'm not legal yet." She points out.

Beck quickly reaches into his back pocket and retrieves the lanyard with his ID on it that gives him access to all of the venue. "Just show them this." He says, frantically looking over his shoulder at the team waiting in his dressing room.

"Okay, go get ready rockstar." Arlo rolls her eyes playfully before gently nudging him in the direction of his designated room.

Arlo begins making her way down the back hallways of the venue in search of the VIP bar with no idea that Luke Hemmings was planning on finding her. Unfortunately, the VIP bar was the last place he would look.

The blonde walks frantically through the halls of the venue, trying to catch sight of the little brunette that took up every inch of his mind. He knew she wasn't in Beck's room, for the door was open when he passed and she wasn't sitting in the empty seats of the venue as she used to either.

Luke was frantic because he was finally ready to get things off of his chest. Although it made him sound more like a jealous prick than anything, Luke wanted Arlo to know that he couldn't stand not being hers any longer. He wanted her to know that it killed him to see her with Beck, no matter the fact he knew they were just friends.

He wanted her to be his again.

A solid fifteen minutes must pass of Luke walking around with his heart in his throat, searching desperately for her. The VIP bar is the very last place that he has to check and although he's pretty sure that Arlo wouldn't be caught dead in there, he decides to check.

He really wished he hadn't.

For, Luke's heart is sent dropping straight to his stomach as he finds Arlo. Only she isn't simply sitting at the bar ordering a drink.

His girl is behind the bar, talking happily to an eerily familiar blonde girl that Luke hadn't seen in years. Arlo, the girl who represented everything good about his life and the new person he'd made himself is talking to the green-eyed snake that represented Luke's old life and everything he hated about himself.

His saving grace and the bane of his existence were laughing along like they were best friends- like they'd met before and it feels fucking awful.

Arlo was talking to Molly.