"Mom, don't worry, seriously. I promise, I'll be good. I mean, it's not gonna be just Aaron and I." I pleaded, batting my eyes, which was essentially pointless as we were talking over the phone. I was currently trying to convince my mother to allow me to stay over at Aaron's tonight.

After practically rushing out of Aaron's arms, I volunteered myself in helping move the drawer back to its current position. Justin was quick to refuse my offer, stating that 'they could handle it' and how I 'should rest', but was just as quick to change his mind when his eyes fell on Danny who- unsuprisingly- had turned his 3 second attention span to seeing whether he could fit an extra large doughnut in his mouth.

The answer being yes.

It was then Danny had prompted the idea of all of us staying with Aaron for a super duper sleepover party, which were his words, not mine.

I had meant to say no, but upon seeing Danny's exaggerated pout, I excused myself to ask my Mom for permission.

And, that was how I landed where I was. In Aaron's room, trying to convince my mom to allow me to stay. I smiled as I heard her sigh defeatedly, an action she always did before giving into my requests.

"Okay, Alexis. Just be sure to go to sleep on time and no funny business, got it?" She said firmly. I smiled at the tone in her voice.

My mother had always been this kind of person, someone who lay the boundaries yet didn't force me to keep to it, but rather expected me to. She had always been there for me. We would always gossip about our favourite males from the TV series we would watch and I always though about her as my only friend for quite a long time. Despite this, I knew that there was some lines I could not cross. My mother had placed her trust in me and I could not break it, no matter what I do.

I smiled as I thought of how lucky I was to have such a mother.

"Okay, I will, Mom. Love you" I said, before saying goodbye and making my way downstairs.

Well, that was until, something caught my eye. I turned and walked over to the wall above Aaron's bed where a lot of pictures were stuck. I frowned; this hadn't been here the last time I was around. I scanned all the pictures quickly, smiling at a picture of a 7 year old looking Aaron stood with a tiny red-cheek Danny. They seemed to be on the beach because there was sand behind them and each was carrying a bucket and spade.

My eyes landed on another picture of Justin and Aaron together, looking to be around 10. They were both sat on bikes, in a countryside area, smiling towards the camera. They seemed so happy; with no worries in the world.

God, I wish I could be a child again.

My gaze fell on a picture of Aaron with his arms wrapped around Sam, a huge grin on his face. He looked to be around 16 at the time. I smiled at the look of love he had on his face as he looked at his mother. He hasn't changed much, besides getting a wider frame and a lot taller. It made me smile how, even at that age, he wasn't afraid to be 'mushy' at the mention of his mother. But, the smile was gone just as quick as it had come.

"She's gone."

Tears sprung to my eyes. Sam was gone and she wasn't going to come back. No matter what I did, no matter how much I begged, she was gone forever.

Aaron would never be able to wrap his arms around her like he once did. He would never be able to smile at her or make new memories with her. I wiped at the tears that cascaded down my cheeks. I remember what Aaron had said to me months ago.

"Do you know what it's like? To never know which dinner together will be your last? To never know when you'll get that dreaded phone call? To know that there will be a day where you won't see that beautiful face again and that she won't ever be there to see you grow up- to hold your children; to see you start a family just as she had once done not long ago? Do you know how much that kills me?" He looked at me, almost as if he was begging me to speak, but I couldn't. I just couldn't. I was speechless and no matter how hard I tried to speak I couldn't.

This was just as similar. I couldn't speak yet again, even though I wasn't asked to utter a word. My mouth was dry as I vigorously wiped away at the tears.

"Lexi, are you okay?" I heard a voice say from behind me. I didn't have to look to know who it was.

Before I could answer, a hand touched my shoulder and I looked up to see Aaron gazing at me, concern in his eyes. He was about to question me again, but stopped upon seeing the picture of Sam on the wall. He could tell why I was upset and a part of me regretted him being able to tell because now he would fall into sadness.

I cleared my throat before speaking.

"Hey, don't think about it. I'm sorry for reminding you." I apologised because I knew how much he loved his Mother and I remember how his state had been after her demise.

He shook his head, a small smile on his face.

"It's not wrong to think about her. I'm not gonna smear her memories by moping every single time somebody mentions her. She wouldn't want that." His voice was quiet as he looked at the countless pictures of Sam on the wall.

He gestured towards the wall, looking towards me.

"My auntie gave me this idea. After Mom was gone, she told me to remind myself about the good times I had with everyone, including Mom. People come and go, but memories stay." He muttered, seemingly deep in thought.

I put a gentle hand on his shoulder; his eyes stayed fixated on my hand as I spoke.

"Is that what you think? That people come and go? That.... I'll come and go?" I hesitated before bringing up myself, but I wanted to hear what his response would be.

Without missing a beat, he nodded his head slightly, taking his gaze off my hand that still remained on his shoulder.

"I know, it seems very pessimistic, Lexi, but I don't know how else to think of it. Mom's gone, Avalon had left; you were about to leave. Let's face it, even my Dad left me. It's harsh, but it's the truth. There is no such thing as consistency." He said simply, shrugging his shoulders.

I was about to respond on how wrong he was, but I couldn't think of anything wrong about what he had said. His Dad had left him at such a tender age, no doubt scarring him indefinitely. What's more, the love of his life- Avalon- had also shoved his trust in the dirt and left him to get 'hot and heavy' with another guy. To top it all off, fate snatched away his only source of consistency- Sam. And, then, there's me: the girl who had also served as support to his theory on numerous occasions. I was hell-bent on leaving, not knowing the consequences I was leaving on the male, in front of me. Or, on anyone, for that matter.

I shook my head, smiling at Aaron.

"So, you're gonna be living alone here then? You sure, you can't call your Aunt over?" I questioned in a bid to change the subject. Shockingly, it worked and I grinned widely when Aaron let out a slight laugh.

Aaron's aunt had moved back and had wanted to take Aaron along, but Aaron had refused, so tied to the memories of this house. So, although she was his main financial caregiver, he stayed here.

He folded his arms across his chest and raised an eyebrow.

"Lexi, I'm 18. You know, I'm perfectly capable of taking care of both a household and myself, you know." He nudged me teasingly before continuing.

"And, if I fail of taking care of these things, I always have Plan B." He said, his face alit with a beautiful smirk.

I laughed slightly before folding my arms, in the same manner.

"Oh, and what's Plan B, might I ask?" I urged, poking his arm with a finger.

He laughed before moving closer to me. I backed away slightly, but he was too fast.

And, I wasn't exactly trying to get away

He stopped when he was right in front of me, his body looming over mine. His blue eyes pierced into mine as he tilted his head to look at me, smirking as he spoke.

"To marry a beautiful girl who would help me."

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

"Aaaarroooon! Jusstiiinnn!" Danny whined, for the umpteenth time. I covered my ears yet again when I saw Danny's mouth open, but to no avail.

They could probably hear him all the way down in Korea

I glanced at the males to whom Danny was referring, to see them continuing their conversation, a nonchalant expression on their face. It was clear that they were habituated to Danny's incessant moaning, but I wasn't.

And, evidently, neither was Avalon who was sporting a huge scowl right now.

I tutted before moving towards the boys.

"Guys, please listen to him. He's been whining for 8 minutes now." I complained to which Danny smiled, nodding his head exaggeratedly.

Heck, I think even Avalon was agreeing with me, right now.

A thought that was confirmed when Avalon moved closer towards the boys, folding her arms.

"Yeah, guys, it's just one little truth and dare game. Let's just play it." She said, in a high pitched tone, clapping her hands together excitedly.

Aaron and Justin turned to each other, seemingly having a silent conversation with each other, before turning back to us.

"Okay." They both said in unison, with a heavy sigh before getting up and sitting on the wooden floor where Danny was ushering them to go.

Avalon smiled sweetly at me before making her way over to sit next to Aaron. I sighed at her antics. Sitting next to someone didn't mean a guaranteed key to their heart. Sometimes, girls and their drama could be so pointless.

I smiled at Justin as I sat down next to him. Not surprisingly, he didn't offer a smile back, but rather chose to nod his head in acknowledgment, before turning to glare at Danny.

Danny sat down on the other side of me, a glass bottle in his hand. He cleared his throat before speaking.

"So, pretty basic. We spin the bottle and whoever it lands on will be asked to pick Truth or Dare. Got it?" He said, in a commanding tone. It was pretty clear that Danny was getting joy, for the first time, for finally being the one in control. But, that didn't last long and Justin pulled the bottle off him, spinning it to which Danny whimpered in protest.

The bottle spinned for a while before stopping, landing on me.

I sighed in defeat.

"Truth." I said, firmly, smiling as Danny opened his mouth to speak, but he was interrupted.

By a female voice.

"Can I ask, guys?" Avalon asked in a sickly sweet manner and, when her plea was met with silence, she continued on with a smile.

"Who was your first kiss, Alexis?" She asked, looking at me in a condescending way.

I blushed as I thought of the memory.

I raised my hand to his face and pushed the hair out of his eyes. He watched my every movement. I brought my face closer to his and our breath mixed together.

"We should stop, but I don't want to" I whispered and, with that, I closed the gap between us.

Aaron tensed at first, but then kissed back. Hard. This was the most passion and lust I've seen coming from Aaron and I liked it. I liked it more than I would like to admit.

Suddenly, Aaron rolled around, changing our position, so that he was now on top. He feverishly kissed back, his hands going inside my shirt and touching my bare back. I gasped as I felt his cold hands on my warm back.

I coughed, clearing my throat, feeling embarrassed for letting my memories run wild. Moments like that were over now. Anything I felt for him was gone.

Well, in the process of going

All eyes were on me and I gulped, not knowing what to say. Avalon tutted, putting a hand to her face in mock surprise.

"Oh, you haven't been kissed? Aww isn't that just so cute?" She said, in a means to embarrass me. I let her win this time and turned away from her.

My eyes caught Aaron as I did and I couldn't decipher his facial expression. He seemed somewhat... angry? Before I could go in depths with my analysis, Aaron spoke.

"It wasn't someone else, was it, Lexi? It was me, right?" He asked, his voice deep yet unsure.

I gaped at his words. That, I did not expect from him. Now, all eyes were definitely on me. My gaze turned to Avalon, in particular, who seemed consumed both with anger and shock. She clearly didn't think someone like Aaron would kiss someone like me.

She turned towards Aaron, a look of betrayal on her face, as if she had any justifiable reason to be jealous. Fortunately, Aaron paid her no attention. His eyes were fixated on me, waiting for an answer.

I wanted the ground to swallow me whole, but after a second of seeing that wasn't going to happen, I nodded timidly to which Aaron sighed.

He shook his head with a smile before turning to Danny.

"You can spin it, dude." He tapped Danny on the back to which Danny squealed, pulling Aaron into a bone-crushing hug.

Justin sighed in a tired manner, his grey heated eyes set on Danny.

"Keep wasting precious time and I'll take it off you again." He threatened, bluntly. Danny let out a horrified squeal before snatching up the bottle and spinning it at the speed of light.

As if God was pulling the strings of the game, the bottle front landed, facing towards Aaron.

"Truth"

Danny smiled, clapping his hands like a circus seal.

"My turn to ask! My turn to ask!" He shouted, his eyes alit. And, yet again, the silence acted as a prompt and Danny spoke.

I should have known I would have regretted this

"Pick, Aaron. Avalon or Alexis?

_________________________________________