"How did it go?" Rob asked, as soon as I walked through the door. I was happy to see Alice sitting next to him on the sofa, smiling.

"Great," I grinned. "He loved the drone!"

"Awesome, so when will you be going again?"

"Well, he might be coming to live with me soon, so I kinda need to look for somewhere else to live," I said, sitting in the armchair opposite them.

Rob's eyes widened.

"Why do you need to find somewhere else? Can't Liam live here?" He asked.

"There's no room here," I laughed.

"Don't be stupid, I'll go back to my dad's."

I frowned at him. It was so nice of him to offer to move out again, but it wouldn't be fair on him, or Tom for that matter.

"Thanks, Rob, but you literally just moved here. Maybe your dad doesn't want you to move back in anyway," I laughed.

"You could always stay with me," Alice said quietly.

Rob's eyes widened again, and I felt uncomfortable being in the middle of this conversation.

"Really?" He asked her, sounding confused.

I wasn't sure whether he wanted to move in with her, as they hadn't been together for very long. However, I knew that he was in love with her.

"Yeah, I mean, why not?" She asked, looking more and more nervous with every word. "You pretty much live there already, it would just mean you wouldn't need to keep coming back here for clothes every couple of days."

I sat there, watching them silently, trying to work out how this conversation would end. I wanted to interject, and reiterate that I would move out, but I wasn't sure it would help at this point. Rob still looked shocked by Alice's offer.

"Okay," he said, after a few more seconds of staring at his girlfriend in disbelief.

Alice and I both grinned as he agreed to move in with her.

"Okay?" She asked cautiously.

"Let's do it," he smiled. "Let's live together."

She put her hands either side of his face, and kissed him. I smiled at how sweet they were, then went to the kitchen to get alcohol, letting them enjoy their moment.

When I got back to the living room, they had stopped making out, and were chatting excitedly about living together.

"We don't have champagne, so this will have to do," I said, holding out a cheap bottle of red wine.

I poured us each a glass of wine, then we put a movie on. We didn't really watch it, as we were discussing when Rob would move out, and I told them both a little more about Liam.

"So, when are you seeing Larissa, Ivy?" Alice asked, a while later. "She said that she text you."

"Shit!" I said, feeling the colour drain from my face. I forgot that Larissa had text me before I went to see Liam.

"What?" Rob asked.

I ignored him, and stood up. I called Larissa's number, and walked into the kitchen so I could talk to her in private. There was no answer, so I tried again.

After a few rings, the phone went to voicemail, meaning she had hung up on me. I opened my text conversation with her and started to type.

'

I sent the message, then decided to add another message saying '

I went back to the living room, and sat with Rob and Alice again.

"Did you speak to her?" Rob asked.

"There was no answer," I sighed. "Maybe I should go to her house."

"You can't!" Alice blurted out, nervously.

"Why?" Rob and I asked at the same time.

Alice's eyes met mine, and I thought I noticed a hint of guilt in them. It was like she had said something she shouldn't have. I kept looking into her eyes, waiting for her to respond.

"Brandon's moved in now," she almost whispered. "I'm sorry, Ivy."

"She chose him..." I said, staring past Alice and Rob.

"Ivy, I don't know what happened. She told me yesterday that she wanted to talk to you, and that she missed you," Alice said, trying to judge my reaction. "But then, she text me a couple of hours ago to say Brandon has moved in."

I nodded slightly, then excused myself. I pulled on a hoodie, then went outside to smoke. I lit a cigarette, and slumped down to the floor, against the door.

I wasn't sure how I felt about the news Alice just shared. I was obviously sad, but I also felt surprised. When Larissa text me, asking to see me, I had convinced myself that I still stood a chance with her. My mind had wandered to the possibility that she had already ended things with Brandon, and wanted to be with me.

I felt stupid for not calling her when she texted, or giving her an actual reason why I couldn't see her. If I had told her about going to see Liam, maybe things would be different.

I tormented myself for a few more minutes, before deciding to go to Larissa's house. It didn't matter that Brandon would be there, I only wanted to talk to her. I was sure I could get her away from him for a few minutes, if he was really there. Larissa may have told Alice that, knowing that she would tell me. Maybe she wanted me to be jealous.

I got in my car, and started to drive to Larissa's. I was practising what I would say to her, in my head, as I drove. I hadn't spoken to her for a few days, and I was getting more nervous as I got closer.

I parked my car a few doors down from Larissa's house, as I needed a few minutes to compose myself before I could see her. I looked in the rearview mirror, and thought that my appearance was adequate. I checked Larissa's drive, but Brandon's car wasn't there. Maybe I was right, and she was just trying to make me jealous.

Finally, I made myself get out of the car, and walk to the front door. I took a few deep breaths before knocking loudly. I waited for a few seconds, before I saw Larissa coming to the door.

My heart started to beat fast, and the butterflies were fluttering around in my stomach, as I saw her. She looked surprised when she opened the door, and I couldn't work out if it was a good surprise or a bad surprise.

"Ivy... what are you doing here?" She asked.

"I needed to see you," I said, staring into her beautiful green eyes.

She smiled slightly, but I could see that she was sad. She moved aside from the door, so that I could enter the house. She shut the door, then walked into the kitchen, followed by me.

"I'm really sorry about earlier, I had to-"

"It doesn't matter," she interrupted.

She was standing against the kitchen counter, and I moved closer to her. I wanted to kiss her, or hug her, or even just touch her. I had missed her so much.

I could tell she was on edge. She shifted uncomfortably, as I closed the gap between us. I put my hands on the kitchen counter, either side of her waist, and stepped close to her. Our faces were only inches apart, but only for a second.

I leaned in, and kissed her softly. Her lips parted as they met mine, and our tongues slid against each other's, slowly. I felt the familiar electricity shoot through my body, like every other time we had kissed.

"I missed you," I whispered, when she back away slightly.

"Me too," she whispered back to me. "But I can't do this, Ivy."

"Why?" I asked, taking a step back.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" A loud voice said from behind me.

I spun around to see Brandon, staring at me, angrily.

"Brandon, I-" Larissa started to say, but was cut off by her boyfriend.

"What the fuck are you doing to my girlfriend?" He yelled, walking toward me.

I wasn't sure what was going to happen. Brandon looked like he was going to hit me, but I felt quite confident that he wouldn't hit a woman. Although I was also quite confident that he'd never seen another woman make out with his girlfriend.

"Larissa, what the fuck is this?"

"It was... I-I didn't-" she stuttered.

"I kissed her, she pulled away," I said, defending her. "And now I'm leaving."

I walked straight past Brandon with tears in my eyes. As I left the kitchen, I turned to see Brandon still glaring at me. Larissa was looking at me too, and I could see that she was also holding back tears.

The look in her eyes made my heart hurt. It was like she was conflicted. I knew she had feelings for me, but she was still with Brandon, and now I had ruined any chance of getting any time alone with her.

I got into my car, and slammed the door shut, then cried into my steering wheel for longer than I care to admit.