"Alfie, stop!" I giggled, lightly hitting Alfie at his sides as he continued to tickle me. "Seriously- I'm gonna break this bauble." His eyes wandered to the gold bauble that sparkled when the fairy lights were on. He looked back at me with a cheeky look, leaning closer. Our lips met and they were about to press, I turned my head so his lips brushed my cheek.

"That's so rude!" He joked, sitting up and taking out some of the tinsel from one of the many cardboard boxes. Usually, I would put up decorations with Becky but she went on a secret trip and wouldn't tell me where. So I invited Alfie over to help me.

"So, Beck sent me a text this morning," I started, glancing between the tree and Alfie.

"Yeah..."

"She told me that my friends are coming home for Christmas."

"That sounds fun. Are you spending Christmas with them?" He asked me, innocently.

"Well, I promised my parents they could have me for the new year if I could spend Christmas with my friends. The thing is...Luke is one of those friends." I said, biting my lip in anticipation.

"As in broke-your-heart-Luke?" He asked while continuing to carefully decorate the tree with beautiful colours.

"Yeah, but it's not like he still has feelings for me. We're just friends. Anyway, his bandmates are my friends too and I haven't seen them in so long."

"Are you asking my permission for you to hang out with your friends?" I shrugged and looked down awkwardly. "Oh princess, it's not my place to decide what you do. I trust you."

As soon as he said 'princess', my mind immediately thought of Luke. It reminded me of the little pet names he would call me that made my heart flutter every time, even when he used them in text messages.

"Are you okay?" I felt his hand patting me on the back like a stranger. I shuddered and nodded at him even though something felt wrong.

Alfie was spending a lot of time with me and, don't get me wrong, he's a lot of fun but I don't feel anything. I didn't get butterflies when we spoke or nervous when he touched me. It felt like I was being thrown into the deep end and there was no way of getting out.

-The next morning-

I lay stiffly while Alfie's breath tickled the back of my neck. If there was one thing I had learnt about him it was that he sweats in his sleep...a lot. He likes to intertwine your legs too, so you feel the stickiness on you and it made me gag.

A sudden knock at the door made my heart jump for joy. Becky was coming home today and I would have done anything to get out of that boiling bed. I carefully manoeuvred out of bed without waking Alfie up before shuffling to the door. I swung it open as quickly as I could.

"Becky!" I squealed, immediately attacking her with a hug. I squeezed my eyes shut as her arms snuck around my waist. "How was your trip?" I asked, letting go of her.

"It was amazing. Actually, I brought something back for you."

"You didn't have to!" I gushed as she reached behind her for something. A tall figure appeared out of the hallway to our apartment, holding her hand.

"Ashton!" I screamed, leaping at him like a maniac. "Oh my god. What are you doing here?"

"That's where I went. To see the boys." Becky looked at me while biting down on her lip.

"Without me?" I sounded genuinely sad, even though I had no intention of doing so. "Why wouldn't you invite me or even tell me?"

"Look, they're here now!"

"Wait...all of them?" Becky nodded at me. And sure enough, like a scene out of a cheesy movie, my three other best friends walked into my apartment.

"Stop, I'm going to cry." I whimpered, fanning myself like a drama queen. Tears sprung to my eyes. "That was too many happy surprises for one morning." The boys all awed me and gave me a group hug.

"Looking good, Gabs," Michael commented, wiggling his eyebrows and whistling. I looked down to see a long t-shirt, again.

"How come every time you guys come over I'm in an oversized t-shirt?" I complained, tugging at the hem to try and bring it further past my bum.

"What's going on?" Alfie grumbled, stumbling into the room.

"Shit..." I cursed under my breath. Everyone looked over at him. He was just in his boxers which made him go bright red. "Guys, this is Alfie, my..." I struggled to find a word for what he was to me. Were we friends? Friends with benefits? Partners? Oh god no. "We're dating." My eyes automatically wandered over to see Luke's reaction but there was nothing. No smile, no flash of hatred. No laugh, no frown. Nothing.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Luke." Luke politely held out his hand for Alfie to shake.

"So you're the famous Luke."

"Shut up, Alfie," I warned him.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Well, it's just that Gabbie told me all about how you broke her heart on our first date." He shrugged like he didn't even know what he was saying. Luke looked over his shoulder, back at me.

"Alfie! Fucking hell, shut up." I ran over to him, hitting his arm.

"Sorry, Gabbie," Luke mumbled.

"Luke, we don't have to do this here- right now. Or, you know, ever." I awkwardly laughed. He sighed and nodded, walking back to the other boys.

"Alright, well let's get this party started," Becky yelled like a teenager on a Friday night.

That was one hell of a night...