"Another Bellini, please," Audrey orders.

"I'll have one too," I add, "and maybe a shot of vodka."

"...make that two...each," Audrey smirks at the bartender.

"We should slow down," I say half-heartedly, "we must be drinking to forget," I laugh to myself.

"Cheers to that," she says once we both get our glasses of Bellini.

"Mm," I take a sip of it, "cheers to not drinking alone."

She snickers, "I suppose I should thank you for being available then."

"I find it odd that you would need me considering who your roommate is," I tease.

"Trevor has no interest in conversation that doesn't include sexual innuendos and ego-stroking," Audrey rolls her eyes, "besides, Alison has him out grappling to be in her good graces again."

"How inconvenient," I say sarcastically.

"Really," she agrees, "can you believe Tony Milligan walked me to school? His jacket reeks of Christian Dior and maple syrup."

"Tony?" I say in surprise, "how did that happen?"

"I don't want to talk about it," she waved me off, "he's just so annoying...and weird...and obnoxious."

We don't really talk anymore, but, "He's a nice guy."

"Oh, please— you're only saying that because he's been nice to you despite your issue with Jace."

"There is no issue with Jace, and Tony is with Ethan Carey more than anyone else these days," I shrug nonchalantly, but Audrey took on a more concerned demeanor.

"He is," her eyes narrowed in thought, "what a couple of self-righteous assholes."

"Audrey," I said through laughter as a few people turned their heads at the sound of profanity.

"Why do we bother with them?" She asked rhetorically, "I want an epic romance like Princess Ann and Joe Bradley had in Roman Holiday, and that will never happen...here."

"When have you ever been interested in dating? Other than...with Ethan, but we don't have to talk about that."

"Don't fret, It's fine," she shakes her head, "Ethan is a great actor, he does really well at playing the charismatic guy. I fell for it...and him, but I wouldn't have if I didn't...crave the intimacy."

"What do you mean?" I tilt my head.

"You wouldn't understand how it feels to be me. I am on my own a lot, Heather, it's the only way to stay focused and get things done right. But— it's certainly not any fun watching as everyone around me holds hands and holds each other while I stand...alone," Audrey sighs heavily and shakes her head, "ehem," she clears her throat. "Maybe, I've had too much," she laughs it off.

"...no," I say softly, "I wish you would have told me this before."

"Why?" She scoffed, "what could you do? Even now that you've let your ex-boyfriend rebound before you, you still don't seem too heart wrenched."

"Well...I'm not," I admit, "I have a lot of things on my mind, and I'm feeling a mix of emotions— but none of that has anything to do with Jace."

"And yet, it's enough to make you drink," she challenges.

"Oh, yeah— definitely," I take my last shot.

Audrey laughs, "I've spilled my guts. It's your turn now."

"Um..." I could tell her...

But, that would be the worst thing I could do to him.

"Well?" She urges me to continue.

"Should I put this on your tab, Ms. Blakely?" The bartender interrupted.

"Oh, no, let me," Audrey reaches for her purse.

"Actually-" we hear a voice from down the bar, "put it on my tab, Gerald. I couldn't possibly stand by and watch you charge these lovely ladies."

"Aren't you a sweetheart," Audrey turns to face the man dressed in business-formal.

"I don't know how true that is," He smirks, "my buddies and I have been talking about you two from the moment we saw you. We were going to put money on which one of us could gather enough courage to speak to you...I guess I win."

"In that case, what do you have to say?" She says almost deviously.

"...Well, now I'm nervous," He chuckles, "another round of liquid confidence, and then I'll have a lot to say. How about it?" The man suggests.

"Sounds-"

"Audrey..." I say lowly to her, "maybe we should go, we're already pretty unsteady."

"Another round, Gerald!" She says excitedly to the bartender.

"I mean it," I breathe out and rest my head in my hand, "I haven't been this drunk since Zach's party, and that didn't end the way I wanted it to."

"I don't know who that is, and I don't care, Heather. Now, would you be quiet and let these men treat us," she says sternly

"No..." I stand up from the barstool, "I'm going home, and I want you to come with me." Not every guy is a gentleman with a drunk girl...though, I do know one, and he's not here.

She crosses her arms, "it's like you haven't heard a thing I've said all night."

"I have and this isn't how you find companionship, Audrey," I huff.

"What would you know?" she scowls, "I don't see you with anyone."

"And you won't, as far as I'm concerned," I say unfazed, "But, believe me, It's almost scary how easy it is to become attached to someone...and that's why I'm drinking."

"You've cleaned up...found Jesus, things are good, or so I hear," I place a pillow over my head to drown out the sound, "This bottle of Stevens...awakens ancient feelings." He gets louder, "Like father! Stepfather! The son is drowning in the-" I reach over to where Matt is sitting on the floor and snatch the headphones from off his head. "Hey!" He shouts at me.

"Hey, yourself," I huff and lay back on the couch, "I'm trying to sleep."

"It's two o'clock in the afternoon," he argues.

"Too early for me to have to listen to you and Weezer," I turn away from him and the sunlight coming through the window.

"The Offspring, then?" He says to be annoying.

"Keep talking and I'll bust the other side of your lip," I threaten. He apparently took a basketball to the face in gym class or wherever, that's what he gets for pretending to be an athlete.

"Whatever," Matt says lowly, not bothering with a comeback.

I hear him put the Walkman down on the coffee table, and I expect silence from that point on. Yet, as soon as I begin to relax again, the sound of Angela giggling fills my ears.

"What now?" I groan to no one in particular, she's in Jordan's room after all.

Matt laughs in amusement, "wait for it—" I furrow my eyebrows as he puts a finger up and side-eyes the hall that leads to the bedroom, "and— there it is," he says once we hear moaning.

"Fucking hell," I sit up, "let's get out of here and go to your place or something."

"Mine?" he says in surprise, "no, I don't want to."

"Then you can stay here and listen to those two go at it," I shrug and head toward the door. "I'm starving, and your mom makes a good breakfast."

"You can't show up without me," Matt says doubtfully.

"Oh, yeah?" I challenge, "watch me."

"I hate you, you know that," he sighs, but gets off his ass to come with me anyway.

"Like I care," I scoff and laugh.

"We're out of here, Jordan!" Matt yells out of what I guess is courtesy.

"I think he's a little too wrapped up to say goodbye right now," I give Matt an odd look.

He snickers, "...wrapped up."

"What're you? 12?" I shake my head and go to unlock the van, honking the horn to rush Matt once I'm inside.

"Can't we just stop at Johnny's instead?" He complains as he hops in on the passenger side.

"Why are you hiding from your hippy parents?" I know I slept at Jordan's because I was too high to deal with Val last night. I didn't even expect to see Matt there too.

"Shut up, they're not hippies," he tries to defend them as if you don't have to pass through beaded curtains when you walk into their house. There's a bunch of that colorful tapestry shit all over the place too, but I wasn't surprised after I met his parents.

"Sure, Matt. They both look like they're straight out of Woodstock."

He didn't argue, his attention was already too occupied with staring out of the window. His mom and dad being hippies made him a really happy guy— normally, cracking stupid jokes and laughing at them even when no one else is.

But, all of a sudden, he goes through fits of being down and broody, and I figured that was my forte.

He didn't even try to play Marilyn Manson or any of that crap he listens to, and he didn't say anything stupid. It's so out of character that I'd let Zach convince me he was replaced by an alien.

"Try not to insult anyone when we get inside, okay?" Matt says just to bitch as he gets out of the van.

"I've been coming around here for like 8 years. If I was gonna take a shot at someone, it would have happened already."

He ignores me and quickly climbs up the stairs as if he's trying to lose me. We're only about a 6-minute drive from Madison street, If he gets any further on my nerves, I'll get Leo to deal with his bullshit. I'm no fucking empath, you need to have some goddamn spine or you'll be swallowed by this shitty place.

"Ma—" he calls out as we pass under the beads, "where are you?"

"Right here, Matty," she says from the kitchen, "Oh, look at you," Mrs. J walks over to him, "You're always hurting yourself," she gives him a kiss on the cheek. "And you, Danny," she moves toward me, "stop being such a stranger," she kisses me too.

"I'm not doing it on purpose, I swear," I chuckle.

"You better not be. I know where you live," she warns jokingly.

"Yeah, what smells so good?" I ask since the house smells like a bakery.

"I made muffins," She smiles and turns to place them on the counter. "Gluten-free, of course," she pats Matt's stomach.

"Mom," he sighs, "I'm not allergic to gluten."

"It makes you drowsy like it does your father," she claims.

"Are these blueberry?" I ask in intrigue.

"These two are blueberry," she points, "these two are mixed berry, and these two are banana nut, Matty's favorite."

"They all sound great, Mrs. J," I compliment.

"There's some freshly squeezed orange juice in the fridge. I just made it this morning, " she offers. "Both of you go wash your hands, and then you can dig in."

"I don't want any," Matt mumbled under his breath before wandering off into the living room.

Fucking asshole.

There's nothing not to like about this place. There are family photos on the walls, and they've even pinned up old drawings and scribbles done in grade school. He's such an ungrateful prick.

"Danny," I hear my name whispered when I walk down the hall toward the bathroom.

"Spence?" I look to see him standing in his room.

"You sellin' stackers?" He asked quietly.

"Steroids?" I furrowed my eyebrows at him, "I don't mess with that stuff."

I'm not going to sell something that shrinks your dick rather than get you high. I don't see why people think it's worth it to juice.

"I've got money if you know someone who does," he pulls out of a roll of cash and shows it to me.

"Yeah— what happened to your hand?" I see when I notice how swollen it looks, especially around his knuckles.

"Oh, you know how Matt is," he shrugs, "he can really piss you off."

"You hit him in the face because he pissed you off?" I narrow my eyes at him.

"It's what brothers-" He's cut off by a right hook to his face, and I watch as he stumbles backward from impact.

"Really? Well, now you've pissed me off."

"Need some help there, Mr. Krakowski?" I ask when I see him walking up to the building with a box in his arms.

"Oh, thank you, Leonardo," he responds enthusiastically as I already begin taking the box from him.

"No problem," I shrug, "get the door, Zach."

He nods and holds the door open for me and Krakowski.

"You're such great boys," Mr. Krakowski compliments the entire way up the stairs. "My sons had to go to military school for manners like yours," he chuckled dryly.

"Is that so?" I said with no particular interest.

"They were rowdy," He sighed as he unlocked his front door, "I was too, you know?"

"What changed you?" Zach chimed in.

"I became a sailor, Zachary," Krakowski smiled, "it was the best time of my life."

"You should tell us about it sometime, " I set his box down near his shoe rack, "See you-"

"I'd love to!" He smiles, "come in, come in," he motions the two of us further into the house, "look in that box, I hope you like Pepperidge cookies. They have been my favorite since 1946."

"...how old is he?" Zach whispers to me.

"I'll get the iced tea. You boys just have a seat right here, and I'll be back."

"You see what you get us into," Zach punches me in the arm.

"I didn't know he'd make us stay," I punch him back, "just let him tell his story, and then we can get out of here."

"It's gonna take forever," he sighs and moves to pout on the couch.

"Yeah— well, eat the cookies," I pass him a pack and sit next to him.

"Here we go," Mr. Krakowski announces as he comes back into the room, his hands shaking as he holds the tray of teas.

"I'll take this," I quickly stand to take it from him before it spills all over the carpet.

"Yes, help yourself, Leonardo. I have plenty," he takes a seat on the armchair across from the sofa.

"Uh— thank you," I speak up first when I see Zach munching down the snacks.

"Of course, I'm delighted," he says graciously, "and speaking of my days on the water fills my heart up so much, boys."

"Oh, yeah?" I say rhetorically to give him an opening to start with.

"I've seen the world," he nods, "I was merely 22 then." Mr. Krakowski reminisces, "Though, it was when the ship ported in Greece that I felt life, if not for the first time."

"Can you speak Greek?" Zach says with furrowed brows.

"Just a spoonful, Zachary, but I didn't speak a lick when I arrived in Crete," Krakowski explained. "It was my dear Eleana who taught me the modern language."

"Eleana? She sounds pretty," I commented.

"She was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen...and as I said, I've seen the world," he smiled adoringly. "My Aphrodite...the sight of her by the sparkling Mediteranean...well, it was almost enough to drive a man AWOL."

"But you left?"

"I had to, we were only there for 2 months," he said sadly, "and we made the most of the time we had. Oh, we could have lived in that sea with all the time we spent there. She used to smile and wipe the water from my eyebrows...and then I'd kiss her and she'd laugh as she hugged me tightly."

"You loved her," I pressed my lips together and looked at him empathetically.

"Every bit of her, yes," Krakowski answers, "I love the way she sang when she cooked...and the way she slept wrapped around me...and that she had to smell every new flower she saw."

I laughed lightly and smirked, "that's sweet."

"Eleana was always as sweet as berries," he said endearingly, "even when she was angry with me and throwing things. I would just kiss her face, and she'd be calm like the rain."

"The rain?" Zach said skeptically.

"Greece is full of it in the off-season, but Eleana didn't complain. More to water the flowers with, she said. She was so happy, so full of love...and I only hated her one time."

"How could you ever..."

"She cried right before I boarded the ship again to leave. The days leading up to my departure...she was completely fine. She said that we shouldn't dwell, because it would ruin everything," He shook his head, "I knew she was right, so I stayed strong, and she stayed stronger. She only had to pretend for one more minute...but she just couldn't. Eleana fell apart in my arms, and it broke me into a million tiny pieces. I hated her for it...as my memory goes, I have yet to forget. I can still hear her begging me not to go...and I can see her running away after I said that I had to."

"I'm so sorry," I tense up as Mr. Krakowski's eyes start to brim with tears.

"That was a long time ago, Leonardo," he sighed, "so much has changed since then."

"Why didn't you go back for her?" Zach questioned, "If you loved her, you should have gone back."

"Sadly, she slipped right through my fingers...I didn't tell her to wait, and I shouldn't have expected her to," he replied. "I sent letters...postcards...and flowers from every country I visited after Greece. She never responded...and when I called to see about her, I was told that she had recently been wedded."

"My God," I drew back at the thought of how that must've felt.

"You're both so young now, you still have that gleam in your spirit. I learned that it's not hard labor, grit, or warfare that makes a man, " he said humbly, "I think it's when that gleam is put out. Mine was loss with Eleana...nothing hurt me after she did. So, I suppose I became a man."

"No, " I disagree, "I don't believe it could all end just like that." Why would people jump into these things if it scars you so badly?

"I knew it would from the beginning...," Krakowski admits, "I was a fool for falling in love, but you can't help it even when you try, so I didn't, " he breathes out, "and still...I had to let her go, because that's just how it ends."