I sat with Rob and his friends, ignoring their conversation while my eyes kept flicking to Larissa. Liam was talking to Tom next to the barbeque. I assumed he was pestering him about working at the coffee shop when he moved here.

Larissa hadn't looked at me since I walked away from where she was sitting, but i thought maybe she was doing it on purpose.

"Have you spoken to her?" Rob asked quetly.

"Not yet," I replied, shaking my head.

"Why?"

"I'm not sure she wants to speak to me," I sighed.

"Well, Alice told her you would be coming and she still turned up, so she can't be that opposed to speaking to you," he told me, then went back to talking to his friends.

I stood up, and walked into the house to find the bathroom. I looked around as I walked through the living room, and smiled at the pictures of her with Rob. They were really cute together.

I eventually found the bathroom, and went inside to splash some cold water on my face. I looked in the mirror above the sink for a moment, trying to reason with my reflection. I shouldn't be nervous about speaking to Larissa. Not so long ago we were really good friends, then shortly after, I confessed my love for her and punched her boyfriend. Okay, it could be a little awkward still.

I quickly fixed my hair, and opened the bathroom door.

"Oh, hey."

I froze as soon as I saw Larissa standing in front of me.

"Hi," I replied. The butterflies reappeared, and my heart started to speed up.

We both stood in silence for a few seconds before she spoke.

"I uhh... I need to use the-"

"Shit, I'm sorry," I said, realising I was stopping her from using the bathroom, and stepping aside.

"The food is ready now, Ivy," she said with a small smile, then shut the door.

I wanted to hit my head against the wall for a while, but decided against it. It would have freaked her out if that's what she was when she came out of the bathroom, so I made my way back outside.

When I got back to the barbeque, Tom passed me a plate with some food on. I looked around for somewhere to sit, but all the seats were taken now that everybody was eating. I sat on a blanket that was on the grass.

Liam was sitting with a girl, who I assumed was Alice's younger sister as they had some similar features.

"Can I sit?"

I looked up to see Larissa standing next to me with a plate of food. I tried not to stare at her tanned legs which were right in front of me.

"Of course," I smiled, and moved over on the blanket to make space for her.

Again, there was some silence. However, it was less awkward this time because we were both eating.

"How are you?" I finally asked after taking a drink of my cola.

"I'm... I'm good. How're you?"

"I'm alright," I answered. "It's really good to see you."

She flashed me a sweet smile, and my heart melted.

"Ivy, I want to apologise for everything that happened," she said.

"You don't need to apologise for anything, Larissa," I frowned.

"Yeah, I kinda do. I should have been more considerate about your feelings. I know I confused you with how I was acting. That was mostly because I was confused about my feelings, and I should never have let anything happen until I knew what I wanted."

"That's not your fault, Larissa," I assured her. "When you're wrapped up in something new, it's difficult to be rational. I know you weren't trying to lead me on, and I shouldn't have been so forward all the time."

"We really went from one extreme to another, didn't we?" She laughed. "I just wish we could go back to how it was before."

My eyes flicked up to hers.

"Back to when?"

"Like, when we first met. Before all the drama," she said.

"When we first met, I fell off the climbing wall," I said, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I guess it was all drama," she laughed.

"I know what you mean though," I said. "I really miss you."

"I miss you too," she said cautiously.

I could tell that Larissa and I wouldn't be together any time soon, but I was happy she was open to being friends again. I knew that she liked me, and I could wait until she realised that.

"So can we be friends?" I asked.

"I'd like that," she smiled.

"Ivy, I'm gonna go for a walk with Dana, is that okay?" Liam asked, appearing from nowhere.

"Who's Dana?" I frowned.

"Alice's sister," he replied, pointing at the girl he had been sitting with.

"Sure, just keep your phone on, and don't be too long," I smiled.

"Thanks," he grinned.

Liam walked over to Dana, who was talking to Alice, then they both walked out of the garden.

"Your brother's sweet," Larissa said. "I'm really happy for you."

"Thanks," I smiled. "He's not living with me permanently yet, this weekend is like a trial run. They just wanna see how we get on, and then they will start to transition him here."

"That's great though, and it's amazing how you're stepping up like this," she said. "Have you heard anything else from your mum?"

"No, she- how did you know about that?"

"Oh- well- Alice told me about it," she stuttered. "Please don't be mad at her, I asked her how you were doing."

"I'm not mad, I was just confused," I laughed. "My mum came around yesterday, to say goodbye to us. I don't really understand why, because she asked me for money, but I didn't give her any. Maybe she finally realised what a horrible parent she was, and decided to give us a break."

"Yeah, maybe she saw that you and Liam don't need her."

"So... what's new with you?" I asked.

"Umm... not a lot. My boyfriend was cheating on me with his twenty one year old assistant, but some crazy girl punched him in the face and made me see who he really was," she joked, and I laughed. "So I kicked him out, took his name off the mortgage, then consequently had to quit a job that I enjoy and get a better paid job. Oh, and yesterday I had my car taken away because it was from my ex's stupid dealership."

"At the start of that story I was the hero, and now it just seems like I fucked everything up," I laughed.

"Shut up, it's not your fault," she laughed. "It's my fault for being so stupid."

"You're not stupid," I said, looking into her eyes.

She didn't break eye contact until a gruff voice interrupted.

"I'm going now, sweetie. Are you ready?"

I turned to see Tom's friend looking at us, and it suddenly clicked in my head that he was Larissa's dad. I remember Tom saying that they were good friends.

He walked over to us, while he waited for Larissa to answer him. Her eyes shifted to me for a second before she answered.

"I'm gonna stay a bit longer, Dad. I'll get a taxi home later," she said.

"I can drive you home," I offered.

"That's lovely of you," he said, turning to me. "Ivy, isnt it? I'm Jack, Larissa's dad."

He held his hand out to me, and I shook it.

"Nice to meet you, Jack," I said politely.

He quickly said goodbye, and kissed Larissa on the cheek before leaving.

Larissa and I continued to talk for a while, before Alice joined us to show us her gifts from Rob.

Over the next couple of hours, people started to go home. Rob and Alice had made plans to go to watch a movie at the cinema, so we were ready to leave also. Liam had text me to let me know he had walked Dana home and gone back to the apartment, so it was only going to be Larissa and I in the car.

I hugged Alice goodbye and fist bumped Rob, before walking to the car with Larissa. We just listened to music on the way to her house, as we had already been talking for hours.

When I stopped outside her house, she didn't get out of the car straight away.

"Ivy, thank you for today," she said.

"Larissa, do you think we could hang out again soon?" I asked. "It's been really nice talking to you today."

"Yeah, we should sort something out. Will you text me to let me know when you're free?"

"Will you reply?" I asked, jokingly.

"Good night, Ivy," she smiled, and got out of the car.

"Good night," I said.

I stared at her ass as she walked to her front door, then drove back home with a stupid grin on my face.