I look to where Aaron's at on the bed, his eyes move from the sketch pad in front of him to my face at that same moment. "Are you drawing me again?"

He smirks and flips the page, "no...how's the essay?"

"I hate this prompt. I feel like I'm lying whenever I start to write."

"You're an avid movie watcher, and you can't find a character to compare yourself to?"

"Who would you compare me to?"

"Maybe Daisy from Gatsby."

"Daisy?"

"Where'd you get the lamp?" He nods toward the red lava lamp on my nightstand. "I thought you weren't allowed to have one."

"It was a gift, and my mom hasn't seen it yet. Why am I Daisy?"

"I would've given you one if I knew you could keep it. Who got it for you?"

"A friend from school. Why'd you say I was Daisy?"

He chuckled. "You go around to everyone telling them how badly you want a lava lamp until somebody budges?"

"Something like that. So, Daisy, why?"

"You know he came to my store, right? I rang it up."

What's it called when you accidentally breathe in a bunch of air like you're about to say something— but you have nothing to say...so you stare...and stare...and stare.

"It's-" I shake my head, "just a lamp. No big deal, he was being nice."

'For all the gifts I never got you,' he said.

"Must be great to be his friend then."

Yes, and I could've shown my gratitude with less tongue...but

"I'll give it back."

"Daisy had two guys. One who loved her, and one who didn't want to see her with anybody else. In the end, she made a stupid fucking choice and somebody got really hurt."

"How many exams do you think you will have to take?" I push my books aside.

He chuckles, "All of them."

"I doubt that."

Leo lays on my lap and looks up at me. "Kind of feels weird that school is out soon."

"Why?"

"It's been a crazy year, that's why."

To think, I barely knew you when we walked through those doors in September.

"What do you want to do this summer?"

"You," he smiles.

"And what else?"

"This." He smiles again. "Then a few parties, we can go to concerts, I can take you to club sixx, we can watch movies, and hang out outside when it cools off— just fuck up my sleeping schedule."

"It's already messed up." And not because I come over late from time to time.

"I know, I'm tired."

"You can go to sleep."

"Will you leave if I do?"

"No, keep laying on me."

He sits up and takes his shirt off before laying down again, his arms around my waist.

"I can stay awake if you want, so you won't be bored," Leo mumbled, his eyes already shut.

"I'm doing homework, I'm not bored."

"Boring."

It's not, really. Not that I'm ecstatic about my British literature class, but I like that there are poems left behind from the creative minds before us.

My only issue is having to try to understand them. For one, it's in old English, and secondly, what right do teachers have to tell me whether or not I understood? Unless Dante Gabriel Rosetti and Robert Browning tell me themselves what they mean in their work, then I'm perfectly fine assessing my own understanding.

And then there's the Leo factor. If I don't force myself to do homework before I see him, I know he'll distract me too much to comprehend anything.

I can't even blame him...he's just laying here and I feel distracted.

It may be because of how he's wrapped his arms around me, it makes me think he used to sleep with a teddy bear. Now, I imagine he cuddles his pillow when he has no one to hold.

The hair he brushes out of his face has completely covered his eyes. I wisp it away, and then play in his hair. All the yellows and golds thread through my fingers...I remember that he likes when I do this.

Well, now I wish you were awake.

His lips point naturally down when he's relaxed, not in a frown or a pout, but in a way that shows his face was sculpted to make you stare. I stare often. He's so lovely.

The door opens and my heart drops like I've been caught.

Isabel looks at us and smiles. "Hi, honey."

"Hi," I smile back.

"I was going to tell Leo I brought home muffins. Would you like one?"

"Sure, thank you."

I inch toward the edge of the bed, cautiously moving away so he doesn't stir too much.

"Mm," he complains anyway.

"I'll be back," I kiss him on the cheek.

"Fast."

"Okay," I laugh and step out of the room.

Isabel set a plate on the counter for me with a glass of milk on the side.

"Is he coming out too?" She asked.

"No, he's tired."

"How long has he been sleeping?"

"Not long now."

"He likes to sleep at the most inconvenient times," she sighs in annoyance. "What if you wanted water and he was just holding you there?"

"It's okay, I told him to so that he would know I didn't leave."

"Smitten, you two are," Isabel jokingly rolls her eyes. "I take it everything's going well then. Leo doesn't let me ask."

"Yes, we're great." It helps that we make up fast.

"If he ever does anything, you let me know."

"I love the idea of telling his mom on him," I admit, "but I don't think I'll have to."

"Do your parents like him?"

"...they're protective, but Leo is growing on them, especially my father."

"And dads are supposed to be the tougher ones. It's a myth."

"And sometimes it's not the parents at all," I sigh. "There are other people making judgments as well."

Isabel leans against the counter with concern on her face. "Who's judging you, sweetie?"

"Perhaps, that was the wrong word," I try to laugh it off.

"What's he done?"

"It's not him," I look down, feeling bad that I brought it up. "Some of his friends aren't particularly fond of me, but he told me not to think anything of it. I'm trying not to but...he loves his friends, and I don't want to drive a rift between them."

"Which friends?"

"Well...it's just one, but I feel like I shouldn't say."

Isabel grabs the phone from its post and starts dialing.

"Danny?" She says and puts in on speaker, glancing at me as if looking for confirmation.

"Yeah, mom?"

"Where have you been? Why haven't I seen you?"

"I'm home."

"What's going on with you and Leo, huh?"

"Nothing."

"Then why don't you come over for dinner, I'm making hamburgers." The line goes silent. "Daniel I expect to see you this evening. You better come have a hamburger."

"Alright, I will."

"Okay, bye, sweetheart."

"Bye."

Isabel smiles proudly. "All fixed."

"Thank you," I say sheepishly.

"Danny's easy. If he's against you, it's a family thing. He doesn't have many people out there for him besides us."

Oh...

Leo walks out of his room rubbing his eyes. "Why'd you take her from me?"

"Why are you napping this late? You won't be able to sleep tonight," Isabel replied.

"Neither will you if you're eating all these muffins," he takes one out of a basket.

"They're for Mr. Krakowski," she takes it back and hands him another from the box she got mine. "His children never come by, it makes me sick."

"He has kids?" I ask.

"Three, but you'd never know by the way he sits in his house alone with no visitors." Isabel grabs the basket and heads to the door.

"You talk to him, though," I say to Leo. He's such a kind old man, there are so many people without parents or grandparents, and yet he's stored away in an apartment where no one goes to see him.

"Yeah, he likes me."

"You're so sweet," I put my hand on his thigh.

He brushes me off to try and hide his smile. "You think everyone's sweet."

"Not like you."

Leo grabs my face and kisses me quickly. His hands come down, and I wrap my arms around his neck. He checks to make sure the door is still closed before kissing me harder, and I laugh a bit until he moves his lips to my nose and cheeks.

"Who did you tell him I was?" I question when I feel his breath against my neck. "You called me your..."

"Oh," he pulls back, "Eleana."

"Who is that?"

"A lady he met in Greece when he was young. He was in love with her, but he had to leave, he was in the navy. She wanted him to stay, but he couldn't— and when he called to see about her a couple years later, she married someone else."

"I don't want to be her..."

"You are her because he's still in love with her, even with everything that happened, he never stopped being in love with her."

"That makes it worse," I shake my head.

"Hey, he let her go. If it were us, I would've had no problem with fucking up your marriage."

"Leo," I laugh.

"I'm not the bigger person, that guy would need to find a new wife because you'd be with me."

"And you're so confident you'd be able to steal me back?"

"Yes, because if it were the other way around, you could steal me. Krakowski married someone else too...but he still talks about Eleana. I don't even know his wife's name."

"Who was on the phone?" I asked.

"Mom," Danny says before lying back on the bed next to Mandy.

"Aw, setting a play date for you and Leo?" She teased.

"Shut up," Danny chuckled,"...yes."

"Good," I huff. "You're fighting like girls, and I'm tired of hanging out with you one at a time."

"It's been a week," he scoffed.

"And how do you think Zach feels? His parents being separated and all."

"We're not his parents."

"Eh," I shrugged.

"And if you didn't want to hang out one at a time, why'd you come here?"

"Same reason she came here," I point at Amanda and she lifts up a bottle of whiskey while laughing.

"I'm not carrying you to the van," Danny said to her.

"You're throwing me out?"

"You can't stay here when I go by Leo's. I don't know when I'll be back."

"Ugh," she rolls her eyes.

"...Have you slept here before?" I said in confusion.

"Hasn't everyone?"

"You were in the bed?"

"Duh."

"You were in the bed?" My eyes widened at Danny.

"I'm not going to let someone kick me out of my own bed."

"You guys are so fucking."

Amanda sucks her teeth. "Why is that all you think about?"

"Don't try to turn this on me. You both sleep in your underwear, how does that work?"

"Because it's not like that," Danny said in defense. "We made out before, it was bad, not doing it again."

"It wasn't bad because of me, by the way."Amanda looks at him, "It was you."

"How when I told you you were gross?"

"You started thinking about Leo. That is not my fault, freak."

"You know what? Both of you get out of my house. I'm taking you home."

"Fine with me," she grabs the bottle.

He snatches it back. "Mine."

"Do you know how much sugar is in that?" I push away the strawberry, whip cream topped drink she wants me to try.

"It's better if you pretend there isn't any," Natalia replies.

"But-"

She stops me from speaking by smooshing some of the cream on my mouth.

"See," Natalia laughs as she licks it off of her fingers. "It's good."

I narrow my eyes at the mess she's made before deciding to lean in and share it. Her lips clean the whipped cream from mine, making the amount of sugar on our tongues a perfect delicacy. We shy away from the PDA, and I nod. She's right..."It's good."

Natalia wipes the evidence off of her face."You can treat yourself every once in a while."

"What do you think I'm doing with you? You're a lot healthier than whipped cream."

"Just as tasty, I hope."

"I'll have to check again," I smirked— and almost stole another kiss from her...but I couldn't. He saw me.

"What's wrong?" She turns to see who caught my attention.

"Tony..."

"...oh."

"I should go say something."

"Okay," Natalia nodded.

"I led him on over and over again and suddenly stopped because I'm with you-."

"Audrey," she laughs, "go."

I suppose it's my lack of trust that leads me to over-explaining in fear of not being believed.

Though, I pray I won't have to give too many details to him.

"Hey," I say as casually as possible.

"Hi, Audrey."

"You're having coffee late."

"I'm not having coffee. There's a lemon sponge cake here that I've been craving."

"Alison likes that too," I raise an eyebrow at him. Rumor has it, they're besties.

"I know, she's the one who showed me."

"That's cute...you two are-"

"Friends," he says before I can assume anything else. "She's my friend...and I'm not doing anything to risk that."

"What if-"

"You don't have to do this."

I shrink back..."Do what?"

"Check in on me. I realized you were using me as a crutch before the second kiss."

"I wasn't-"

"You didn't like me. You liked that I was nice to you even when you weren't nice in return. That's how you want the world to work," Tony over-explained...not to be insulting...even if I deserve it.

"That's not how I want the world to work. I'm practicing being nicer."

"Complements of her," he motions toward Natalia...and it makes me feel guilty.

"I'm sorry."

He shrugged. "You're out of my league."

"Everyone's actually."

"She's really pretty."

"So is Alison."

"So is every girl I meet."

"You're just desperate for love."

He scoffed through laughter. "Says the girl who kissed me."

"To be fair, you are one of the best catches around. I'm mean, not stupid."

"Thank you," he says genuinely, like he needed the compliment, and I say 'you're welcome' by opening my arms to him.

"...Is this a trick?"

"No...hug me, we're friends."

"You two fight, and I get punished as well. You're not seeing him, so I don't get to see my other son. How am I supposed to know if you're okay?" Mom says sternly.

"I'm okay," I sighed.

"What's the real issue? I know it's not all about her." She crosses her arms, "He's stubborn, is that it?"

"No, he's not as stubborn as you think. He's iffy all of a sudden, and he didn't use to be iffy. He gets a girlfriend and now he's iffy."

"Iffy about what?"

"Stuff, I don't know."

"Stuff," she rolls her eyes. "If you won't tell me, tell him."

I nodded, grabbing my plate and grudgingly carrying it to his room.

"Hey," I announce my presence.

"What's up?" He said in surprise.

"Fuck you."

"Fuck you."

"I don't have to like her."

"I didn't say you did."

"You never like the girls I get with."

"And I never fight with you about it. So what's your deal?"

"My deal is you were never the type to worry about whether or not you should help your friends out until now. If you ever fuck us over I bet my life it will be because of her."

"I'm still selling for Matt! I never stopped, and I told you I wouldn't. I don't fucking get why you're mad."

"Because you thought about stopping! You fucking hesitated!" He gets quiet because he knows I'm right. "Tell the truth, when you told her you'd stop, you meant it when you said it and just changed your mind when Matt was going to let you out. You felt bad, that's why you're still selling."

"So what if I did? Same fucking result, right? I'm still in, I was never not in. How are you pissed?"

I huff and break eye contact. "Alright, man, whatever." I should hit him.

"You're not going to let this go, are you?"

"It's gone."

"We're cool?"

"Yeah."

It stays quiet...because, in the end, I'm right. And the fact that I don't feel like looking at him has got to be weighing on his chest. We're cool, but it's not enough.

"I'm sorry, Danny. I'm not gonna fuck anyone over, you know that."

"Okay," I throw him a bone. "I know that."