Carmen:

"You can totally get over it in a couple of months."

"Thanks." I muttered, grabbing the cereal box from Jesse's outstretched hand.

"If you didn't want to end it then why did you?" She challenged, moving forward to jam her spoon in her bowl of cereal.

"It wasn't the same anymore."

"Obviously it's not the same, you are both in completely different situations. But I get it, things were going to change even more drastically. Better to end it now before the jealousy and whatnot."

I didn't answer, moving my spoon around the bowl without an appetite.

I hadn't heard from him anymore. I mean, did I expect to?

I did. I don't know, he didn't put up a fight like I imagined he would. And that was disappointing. But maybe it was better, it's not like he could do much from another country.

My phone rang next to me, it was Zach.

"Hey, uh, are you gonna be here soon?"

"Um yeah, what's up?"

"There's something here for you. Look, just get here as soon as you can? I don't know what to do with them." He laughed nervously.

"Oh ok, bye." I hung up and dropped the spoon in the bowl, clearing my spot. "Gotta go, guess there's something waiting for me at the office."

"Alright, I'll see you later." Jesse smiled up at me from her phone.

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I walked into the headquarters and greeted some of the people whose names I remembered. Making my way to the office, I almost bumped into a flustered Ella, who clapped her hands down on my shoulders. "Honey you're so lucky!"

"What do you mean?" I asked slowly.

"Come in, come in! Honestly if my boyfriend did this I would...."

Her words were lost on me as I stepped into the office. The ceiling was no longer visible, covered in a sea of red, white strings bouncing lazily. I stepped up, curiously grabbing one and pulling it down. A bright red heart popped free, swaying side to side. I looked at it and then let it go, walking slowly to my desk. A small white envelope lay neatly on top of my keyboard, and when I opened it and read the little note, my stomach dropped.

What did I do wrong, besides love you?

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Van:

"Get aggressive! I don't know Van, you aren't getting into the song as much and we need you lads to do a top job on this performance. BBC 1 radio isn't gonna give you another chance if you mess this up."

I let the guitar fall back, standing up and heading to the back table, grabbing a beer from the cooler.

"Listen Martin, I think we as the performers know what to do." Bondy muttered. I didn't bother to respond.

I wondered if she'd gone to work yet. If she'd seen my note, my surprise.

Would she call? Who knows. But she couldn't just ignore it, or ignore me.

I took a giant gulp and set the bottle down, fixing my guitar. "Alright lads, let's do it one more time for Martin." I smiled dryly at our makeshift manager, standing in my spot at the makeshift stage.

"One, two....."

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"Class job fellas! My god I keep forgetting you recorded that without any tweaks or editing. Honestly it's been a while since I heard of an act with as much rawness as yours."

"Might kind of you. We're so honored to be here with you in the studio, thanks for having us." I scratched my chin, hoping my smile was sincere enough. It was like being in a daydream, talking to the person I'd listen introduce all my favorite songs.

"So you're about to drop the album and then go on a full tour is that right? Are you nervous, excited?"

"We're used to that touring life. Drove around in a van for three months just trying to get as much playing time as we could." Bondy spoke up. I couldn't help but laugh at the memory, it seemed like years ago compared to where we were now.

"Van, tell me, where did the band get it's name?"

"It's a funny story, when I was younger my parents...."

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"Amazing! A hit, they liked you boys fine." Martin slapped us each on the back as we strolled out of the studio. My hands were trembling a bit, had they been like that this whole time? I jammed them in my jacket pockets, smiling at Martin.

"Alright fellas, how about we go out for some drinks? Never realized how thirst inducing being on the radio could be. Van you should be the thirstiest considering you did most of the talking."

"They kept directing all the questions to me, out of my control." I shrugged.

"That's the price you pay when you're the singer. Watch, Van's the only name they're gonna remember."

I rolled my eyes, following the guys outside to our van.

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Carmen:

"I don't know what to do with them." I crossed my arms, looking at the mass of red heart balloons. I still gripped the note in one hand.

"I'll take care of them, if you want." Zach looked at me, shrugging and eventually smiling a little.

"But, what are you going to do with them?" I asked defensively.

"Leave that to me."

He began grabbing the strings, pulling balloons out of the office. I felt an odd tugging at my stomach, the desire to tell him to stop, that I would take them, clawing at my throat. But I let him pull more balloons until the ceiling was bare.

"There, now the entire building looks a little more festive. Call it a late Valentines decoration." He left the door open and I could see outside into the rest of the offices, the red balloons now strewn throughout.

"Ok, good. Thanks." I attempted to smile.

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I looked down at my phone, going to my contacts. My finger hovered over his name and then a throat clearing made me snap up.

"Sorry, that sounded kind of gross. I think I'm coming down with something." Zach smiled apologetically.

"No worries."

The door slammed open and Ella burst through, clutching a sheet of paper and panicked. "Zach I need you to pull up the campaign we made for Spring."

"What's"-

"Do it please!"

I watched as Zach hunched over his computer, pulling off his cap and running his hand through his hair while Ella hovered over him. She leaned down and squinted, then shut her eyes and let out a groan. "Shit."

I tuned them out a bit after a while, going back to looking at his name. I stood up abruptly, stepping out of the office and heading towards the bathroom. I was this close to pressing his name when my phone began vibrating with another call.

"Hello?"

"Carmen!" Jesse yelled. "Shit shit shit, do you think you could come to the apartment?"

"Jesse, what's wrong?"

She was struggling to keep her voice calm, but I heard the tears in her voice. "I-I think someone broke in."

"What?"

"I came by to get my laptop for class and the door was wide open. I just called the cops but I haven't even bothered to check if anything's gone. God, do you think you could come right now? I'm kind of really really scared."

"I-Yeah of course, I'll be right there." I hung up and moved quickly, going back to the office. "Hey would you mind if I leave for a bit? It's an emergency."

Zach and Ella stopped talking for a second. "Sure, everything good?" Zach asked.

"Um, that's what I'm wondering. I'll be back later." I grabbed my bag and strode out of the office, down the stairs and out the building to my car.

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I was disturbed the whole drive, trying to maintain my speed. What if this had been a robbery? It's not like I had wads of cash hidden under my mattress or something, but the thought of some stranger going into my room and going through my stuff made me feel sick. You never really thought of these things until after they happened.

"Jesse?" She was standing in the middle of the living room with her arms crossed, a police officer scrolling something on her notepad and then looking up at me.

"Are you the roommate?"

"Yes." I stood next to Jesse, who looked paler than usual.

"Alright, well the place is cleared, now it's just about damage control. I'll let you look around and make a report if anything was stolen."

I threw open the door to my room. My clothes were spilled out onto the ground, makeup open and crumbled on my vanity. I felt my throat tighten and immediately felt the rush of helplessness as I stepped forward. I drew my eyes to my bedside stand, where I'd left my laptop the night before. Gone.

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"They took my laptop, and a couple of pieces of jewelry." I walked back into the living room to see Jesse with her hands on her face, looking at the ground. "And about four hundred dollars." She shook her head and kept her eyes to the ground, drumming her fingers on her legs. "So what are you gonna do to catch whoever did this?"

"Everything in our control. Luckily your apartment building has cameras, more often than not they don't." The police officer said in consolation. She turned to me and I told her what had been taken from my room. My laptop, some jewelry, and that was it.

"I don't get why they didn't take our television too." Jesse said dryly.

"Maybe they didn't have time to. Maybe they heard something and got scared." The police officer said. "Alright I'm gonna go file this report and then I'll send someone to come have another look around. Do you ladies feel ok with staying here, or would you rather leave me a set of keys and maybe go stay at a friend's house or something?"

Jesse and I looked at each other. "I think I'd rather go stay at my boyfriend's . Carmen, we can't stay here right now, what if they decide to come back?"

I studied my hands. "Yeah I know."

Truth was I completely blanked on figuring out who I could go to. But then I thought of someone.

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"Hey Zach it's me. I'm sorry I don't think I can come back today, it's been crazy."

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah....no not really."

"Do you need anything?"

"No, it's just been so weird. Someone broke into my apartment."

"Oh God. Are you ok? I'm on the way, if you need I could stop by and"-

"No no. Really, thanks, but I'm not even at my apartment. And there's not really much to do about it anyways."

"Ok, if you're sure. Where are you staying?"

"With a friend. I gotta go, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Alright, take care of yourself."

"Who was that?" Katherine asked, leaning against the doorway. I looked at my phone.

"My coworker...boss....well coworker."

Katherine slumped next to me, checking her nails. "That's so scary about someone breaking into your apartment. Like I would never want to step foot in there again." She paused, studying her carpet. "Have you told Van yet?"

I moved my phone between my hands, looking at her wall now. "We aren't together anymore."

"What? Since when?" Katherine didn't mask her shock.

"I don't know, Sunday?"

"The day you got back from seeing him? What happened?"

"Katherine I don't really want to talk about it."

"But Carmen"-

"We had issues ok? And I couldn't deal." I responded harshly. Trying to lighten the mood I took a deep breath and spoke again. "Listen I have class early tomorrow before work, so would you mind if I turned in?"

"Of course not. Last door to your left." She stayed sitting, and I felt her eyes piercing my back as I followed her directions after grabbing my things.

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Van:

"Call me, come on then." I let the phone drop back onto the bed, tapping my fingers against the sheet.

"Van, someone for you." Benji peeked at me from the half closed door. I slid off the bed and walked towards the living room, stopping when I saw the head of wavy brown hair.

"Abby?"

"Van." She smiled at me. All the guys seemed to wander away, leaving just us two in the room.

"What do you need?" I asked stiffly.

"I need you to forgive me and talk to me already." She brought her hands together and then dropped them on her knees. "I've been mad bored. None of my friends act the way you do."

"That's because there's only one of me." I responded.

"So come on then, how long are you going to drag this out? I'll talk to your girlfriend for you if you want?"

"Do not. Don't. That would be damn stupid. Besides, there's no need for that anymore." I rubbed the bridge of my nose, crossing my arms.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know if I have a girlfriend anymore."

She stood up, inching closer to me. "How come?"

"It's a long story."

"Did she end it?"

"Abby."

"She'd be bloody mad if she did." She turned away and walked forward, snapping her fingers. "Let's go out."

"I'm not going on a date with you, I want her back." I said harshly.

"I didn't mean it like that you arse. I just meant let's grab a drink or something. Come on, it's just a harmless drink."

I studied the wall behind her, taking a deep breath. I could use a distraction. "Fine."