The office was silent, its occupant staring, unseeing, at the world beyond the windows. Steam rose in thin curls from the cup clasped in Elliot's hand. The door clicked open and Beck entered.

His gaze jumped to Elliot, seated on the stool before the windows, and his lips twitched with amusement. He tossed his satchel aside, grabbed a cup of coffee and joined her. When she made no response to his presence and her troubled, forlorn expression remained the same, he looked at her.

"Did the window washer change his cleaning pattern again or did the espresso machine resign?" he asked.

The question went unnoticed by Elliot and Beck's forehead creased.

"Why is she being stupid?" Elliot said, half to herself.

"I always pictured the espresso machine as male, but I guess that's sexist of me," Beck said.

"I mean why would she so flatly deny being with Milo?"

"I didn't know there was anything going on with Milo and our espresso machine."

Blinking, Elliot came out of her jumbled thoughts and looked at Beck. He raised his cup in salute, the beginning of a smile curling his lips. Elliot frowned.

"I'm not sure what's more startling," she said, "you making a joke about our espresso machine and Milo or the fact that there might be, what most people call, a smile on your face?"

"Both are equally startling."

"So why?"

Beck shrugged.

"You looked like you were thinking too hard."

"You're worried if I think I'll come to the conclusion I don't need you anymore and you'll be out of a job?"

"No, I'm not worried about that," he said. "I could bring lawsuits against you for terminating the contract."

"True. Then why does my thinking elicit jokes and happiness from you?"

"Let me rephrase this, you were going to melt the glass from staring too hard and I decided to save you from having to replace it."

"You don't need to stress," she said looking back at the window, "my super powers haven't worked in years."

"That's a relief."

Elliot cocked her head at him, her eyes narrowing.

"Thinking about Cece?" he asked.

Elliot let out an annoyed sigh and sagged on the stool, resting her chin in her hand. For a moment neither of them spoke. Beck took a sip and waited, watching Elliot with mild interest. Elliot twisted on her seat and faced him.

"When it came down to it, I didn't think she would let him get away," she said. "I know what she is struggling with. I just..." She gave a half hearted shrug. "I don't know...figured she would get past it and be with Milo. Now I have a moody, writing addicted sister and an even moodier barista who botched my coffee. So I had to buy a new coffee maker and it just doesn't taste as good."

Elliot stared glumly into her mug. Beck opened his mouth but hesitated, caution halting his words. He sighed and ignored caution.

"It must have hurt a lot when your father left," he said.

Elliot looked up and met Beck's eyes, finding them open and understanding. She shrugged then nodded.

"It did," she said. "And now we live with this constant companion of abandonment. Scared to trust. Scared to let others in. With each passing day we become more odd and insular. Sure we have people like Andrew, Jay, Mia, and Ryan but how close can you be with people you see a few times a year."

Elliot ran a tired hand over her face, wiping away her lost expression and bringing in a weary look.

"I thought when we moved away that would be the end of it," she said. "I forgot we brought along our baggage."

She fell silent, staring at the floor. Beck held his peace, sensing more words inching to the surface. Thoughts bubbled inside her head until they couldn't be held back a second longer.

"Gosh dang it!" she burst out. "Why does crap like this happen? What did we ever do to deserve this kind of rubbish? I mean we are not the worst people on the planet. That's Jane from accounting and Bill in marketing, but seriously why are we damaged?"

Elliot moved her mug to the windowsill and dropped her face into her hands.

"I don't even know why I'm telling you this," she muttered. "Probably because it's too early to talk to Tristan, I'm not sure what time zone my mother is in and you already know the current state of my two best friends."

Beck watched Elliot with a look of deep concern. When a moment had passed and she had pushed her thoughts into submission, she straightened and forced her face into a calm look.

"I'm sorry," she said. "Please forget that. This is not therapy and you don't need to know the inner troubles of the McKenzie family."

She stood, collected her mug and moved to the couches. With a sigh, she sank down and stared at the notecards, unable to redirect her train of thought. Beck slowly followed and sat opposite her. Elliot could feel his eyes on her and sense where his mind was taking him. Eventually when her thoughts didn't clear and Beck didn't speak, she looked up. His expression was quiet.

"You're not damaged, Elliot," he said.

She gave a shrug that voiced her disbelief.

"You're human," Beck said.

"Then being human sucks."

Beck laughed, the sound teasing a smile from Elliot.

"Yes, it does," he said. "It's hard, scary and no end of trouble, but what you're facing isn't abnormal. And it doesn't mean you're damaged."

Elliot leaned against the arm rest, crossing her arms.

"Then why does it feel like I am?" she asked.

"Because you're hurting," he said. "You're dealing with emotions that you probably haven't faced. The situation with Milo and Cece just brought them to light."

Elliot stared at him, baffled.

"How do you know all of this?" she asked.

"I listen."

Elliot let out a wry chuckle and rubbed her eyes.

"Look at me," she said, "getting counseling from the staff."

Beck smiled and Elliot dropped her hand, meeting his gaze. Her face fell and she looked down at her hand.

"How do I get over it?" she asked, her voice quiet. "How do I get Cece over it?"

"You face it," he said. "You face the pain of being abandoned. You face all that you went through and how much it cost you. Without doing that, it will be hard to move on. For Cece, she needs to face her fear. If she doesn't do that then she will never get past it."

Elliot nodded and looked up. She made a face.

"Just so you know," she said, "I didn't plan on the day starting out this dramatic. In case you were wondering."

The edge of Beck's mouth curved into a wry grin.

"How did you plan for the day to start?" he asked. "The revelation that you are secretly pregnant with my brother's baby and Cece is really your adopted sister?"

Elliot scoffed and waved away his comment.

"Please, nothing so dramatic," she said. "Just a run in with my two lovers and one of them ending up stabbed while I run away with the remaining one to Havana."

"You never did treat Javier with respect."

"He should have known it was a summer fling. Nothing more."

"His mistake."

"A deadly mistake at that."

Beck smiled and Elliot felt the knots in her shoulders, her troubled thoughts had caused, easing away.

"Thanks, Beck," she said.

His smile shifted to a smirk.

"For what?" he said. "Keeping your secret and hiding the body for you with Cece."

"I always knew I could count on you."

"You can, Elliot," Beck said, his voice losing the joking tone.

She smiled.

"I know that now," she said.

**************

Elliot and Beck stepped from the office building as the sidewalk was flooded with workers heading home. He looked at her.

"The cafe?" he asked.

Elliot shook her head.

"I'm going home to drag my sister out of her stupidity and force her to fix things with Milo."

Beck nodded.

"I can walk with you halfway then."

They crossed the street and fell into the well worn path, that hours of walks had carved out.

"Beck, do you believe everyone's view on relationships is so closely tied to their past?"

"Yes. Because your past defines how you view the world. My view of relationships is different from yours because I was raised in a home with both parents."

Elliot looked at him, curiously.

"What is your view on relationships?" she asked.

"They are hard work," he said. He gave a careless shrug, looking off. "Any relationship based on sex has no real base because there is no level of respect. Despite what the world believes, just love will not make it work, you have to learn to understand the other person, learn to put up with their flaws. A relationship, in any form, is meant to be taken seriously."

He looked at Elliot, giving her a self mocking smile.

"It's easy to see with that view of relationships and my personalty how I have had very few girlfriends," he said.

"I don't think your personality is that bad."

"You do remember how we met, don't you?"

Elliot laughed.

"I've gotten so used to you being you, I've forgotten what a pain you were."

"I haven't stopped being a pain," he said. "You are just immune to it now."

"So you need to find a girl who is immune to you then."

"How many girls do you think would stick around that long?"

Elliot narrowed her eyes.

"Depending on how often you go out in public and how good you look when you do...I would say a couple weeks. Tops."

Beck smiled.

"You just summed up the length of all my relationships."

"At least you get the girl to stay for your looks. My looks only get me the date. Then I start talking and the guy is waving down the waiter for the check."

"Not a lot of boyfriends then?"

"You heard what happened to Peter Edwards. I figured I couldn't really do that to anyone else," she said. "I might get tried for mental abuse."

They entered Beacon Hill and stopped, their paths splitting.

"Good luck with Cece," Beck said.

"Thanks. Stick around the cafe and you'll see how it ends," Elliot said.

Beck gave a nod.

"I'll do that."

They turned away and headed in opposite directions. Elliot walked down her quiet street and climbed up the gray stairs. When she pushed open the front door, she was greeted by silence. She dumped her purse on the entryway table and made her way up the steps. She stepped into her room and grabbed a pillow before making her way to Cece's room.

The faint sound of tapping keys slipped beneath the door. Elliot twisted the knob and swung the door inward. Cece raised a nerf gun and Elliot jerked the pillow up in front of her face in reaction. Five muted plucks sounded as five yellow foam bullets hit the pillow and dropped to the floor. Elliot lowered her shield and a sixth nerf bullet bounced off her head.

"Should have counted," Cece said.

Elliot tossed aside the pillow as Cece turned back to her computer. Her hair was knotted on the top of her head and she wore a baggy, faded pair of jeans and a gray college sweater she had had for over eight years.

"Cece," Elliot said, hands on hips. "You are going to talk to Milo."

"I did talk to Milo," Cece said, without turning around. "You were there with Beck. There is nothing more to do."

"That is not the end of the story. You haven't lost him yet."

Cece stopped typing, but didn't turn around.

"What's the point, El?" she said, quietly. "I'm a broken person with a cracked heart."

"That's poetic and way too dramatic and all but I don't care. You are going to talk to Milo and fix this. He knows what you are and still the idiot likes you!"

Cece spun around, her face looking tired and drained.

"He might have but not now. It's the end, El. The book is closed."

"No! It's not. There still another chapter."

"You've been writing romance too long," Cece said.

"That may be true, but I don't care. You are making it work with Milo. I know its a novel thought that we can actually get past the crap we have faced in the past, but its true."

Cece crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair.

"I think we have gone a bit far with the story analogies," she said.

"Never! They always work," Elliot said. "Come on, Cece. This is your plot twist."

"El, I told you it's over."

"Then we are rewriting the scene."

Elliot cocked her head and nodded.

"I think you are right, too many analogies."

"Told you."

Elliot waved it away.

"It doesn't matter," she said, "because you're going to talk to Milo."

"What makes you think he would even still talk to me?"

"Because he loves you and still wants you."

"Why do you care so much, El?"

"Because unfortunately I love you too. And although I would love to became an old maid with you and own eight passive aggressive cats that scare us, I want to keep Milo as a best friend. Forever."

She pointed to the door.

"Now go get a shower and put on something that doesn't make you look like you jumped out of a trash can."

Cece didn't move.

"El-"

"Now! Or I'll tell Ms. Newett who stole her tomatoes!"

Cece's eyes went wide with shock.

"You wouldn't?!"

Elliot narrowed her eyes and gave Cece a fierce glare.

"Just watch me."

Cece's face softened, the beginnings of a smile coming to her face. The smile never made it all the way as she glanced down at the floor then back up at Elliot, uncertainty in her eyes.

"Do you honestly believe he will talk to me again?" she asked, the barest hint of hope in her voice.

Elliot smiled.

**********************************************************************

Watermelon! (Gosh who doesn't love a good watermelon, they are the best. Any fruit is the best really.)

Okay people! This is the moment of truth! I know what I am about to ask you will be difficult and really it might split this little rag tag team but I believe this decision needs to be made.

Who is the best looking out of these guys? Now! Decide! For Narnia! (Sorry that last one just slipped out)

Oh and ⭐️💬🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️

Grant Gustin

Dylan O'Brien

Or Cole Sprouse