When I got home later in the evening, I was in a hell of a good mood and hadn't thought about Nathan once. But the sight of Jess smirking and some tulips on my bed reminded me of our fight and the good mood faded. I groaned and read the note attached which said, 'sorry for being a jerk. Lots of love, Nathan', and then a few kisses.

My mom used to put tulips everywhere in the house. Now I hate them.

"So I think Nathan wants to talk," Jess said casually.

"No. We're on a break," I said stubbornly. "We talked this morning and decided we should both have some space after he acted like a dick and accused me of cheating."

Jess gasped. "He did not."

"He did."

"You didn't, though, right?"

"Of course not," I answered hastily, and then blurted out the next words without thinking. "I mean, cuddling with another guy while sleeping doesn't count, right?"

She stared. "Luke?"

I winced. "Yeah."

She laughed and I frowned. "It's not funny. I feel really bad about it."

"How did it happen, though?"

"I don't know– I was in bed, he comes in and says that Michael is snoring and could he share with me and I let him. I woke up in the morning and I was hugging him like a fucking teddy bear."

Jess laughed again. "Wow. Did he smell good?"

I shot her a look. "I don't know, I rolled away and fell off the bed before I could take a good whiff."

This made Jess laugh harder. "You should feel proud. I bet not many girls can say they've woken up in Luke Hemmings' arms."

I rolled my eyes. "That aside, what do I do about Nathan?"

"Personally, I'd say he's just a dick and you should– okay, that's not that helpful. But it is my opinion." She sighed loudly. "If you still have feelings for him, then, I don't know, go talk to him and get back together. He'll probably ring you or come over soon. Or if you want to get it over with, you go to his dorm. That way I don't have to deal with him."

"You really don't like him, do you," I said dryly.

"Sorry. I think George is rubbing off on me. But hey, he's your boyfriend, so..." She shrugged.

"Yeah. Okay." I exhaled loudly. "Ugh. Fine. I'll be back in a few minutes, hopefully."

"Sure, unless you and Nathan decide to have a little make-up sex." She wiggled her eyebrows and I flipped her off as I made my way to Nathan's dorm.

When I reached his door, I composed myself before knocking. There was some muffled noise inside before his roommate, Kyle, opened the door with an annoyed expression on his face and no shirt on. A glance at the room behind him showed what he had been doing as a girl sat on his bed looking flustered. I felt my face go red.

"Nathan's not here," he said lazily. "So you can leave now."

I frowned. "Well, I'm so sorry for interrupting but maybe you could tell me where he is?"

Kyle scowled. "I don't know. Check the flower store. He seems to spend a lot of time there buying you flowers."

I huffed. "I'm serious."

"So am I. Go away." Without warning, he shut the door in my face. What a dick. I began to turn away when the door reopened and Kyle appeared with a nasty smirk on his face.

"Check room 209." The door was slammed again. I stared at it for while. Room 209? Maybe he had a friend there and was visiting. But as I made my way to the dorm, and uncomfortable feeling grew in my stomach.

I reached the room and knocked. There was no answer. Kyle was probably messing with me. He'd never really liked me because he thought I was always at their dorm, but it was usually more Nathan at mine. I was about to knock a third time when the door swung open and a girl with short blonde hair appeared wearing nothing but and oversized button up shirt.

"Impatient much?" she scoffed. Then she got a good look at me and I got a good look at the shirt. I recognized the shirt. She sure as hell seemed to recognize me because her eyes widened and she said quickly, "Sorry, I think you've got the wrong dorm." She tried to shut the door but I wedged it open with my foot.

"I don't think so," I said coldly. I looked her up and down. That was definitely Nathan's shirt. I knew because of the small hole in the shoulder. I'd worn that shirt a lot before and would recognize it anywhere. "Mind if I come in?"

"Uh, yeah, I would, I'm doing this thing–"

"That 'thing' wouldn't go by the name of Nathan Foster, would it?" I questioned. On the exterior I was cool and composed and in full bitch mode, but on the inside, I was just begging this to be a coincidence. Nathan couldn't have cheated on me. Even if we were on a break. Although who knows how long this had been going on? I hadn't seen that shirt of his in a while.

The girl flushed. "Of course not."

I clenched my jaw. "Look, whatever your name is, I think I've got a right to know if my boyfriend's been cheating on me."

"My name's Isobel, and technically you guys are on a break, so–"

I shoved past her to see Nathan, shirtless, standing in one of the corners looking just like a deer caught in headlights. His expression was guilty and his arms were folded. There was even a bit of regret on his face, too.

Neither of us spoke for a while. I was waiting for him to actually confess. Finally he spoke.

"Noelle, I'm... I'm so sorry," he said softly, taking a step closer causing me to take a step back.

"Sorry for cheating on me or sorry that I caught you?" I said bitingly. He winced and took a deep breath.

"How– how did you find out?"

"Kyle." When he didn't say anything else, I said quietly, "How long?"

"Just today, I swear–"

"Bullshit." I glared at him until he caved.

"A few weeks?" he said tentatively.

"More like a month," Iso-whore added, helpfully. Note the sarcasm.

"Would you fuck off?" I said through gritted teeth.

"Well, this is my dorm, so–"

I shot her a withering look and she rolled her eyes before grabbing her clothes and leaving the room.

Nathan and I stared at each other for a moment; him pleading, me willing him to shrivel under my death glare. At last I spoke again. "You are such a dick."

"I told you I was sorry! It's just–"

"It's just what? Are you going to say you didn't mean for it to happen? What, did you slip and accidentally put your dick inside her? Is that how it happened?"

Nathan flinched. "Well, no. The first time I was completely plastered, I swear. And the other times... I didn't expect me and her to click, but we did." He rubbed the back of his neck. "She's not just a booty call. I still love you, Noelle, but I like her too."

"I literally do not give a flying fuck about how it happened," I snapped. "I don't care if you two or soulmates or whatever bullshit you believe in. I don't care if you were drunk every time. You cheated on me." I held back tears. I was so mad. With each word I saw more and more remorse on Nathan's face. "And then you go ahead and fucking accuse me of cheating? What the fuck is up with that? You are such a hypocrite as well as a dick."

"I know it was wrong, okay? I feel awful, but you have to understand that I like her–"

I shut him up by slapping him. I sort of regretted it after but I wasn't thinking too much about that. "Do you really think saying any of that is going to make me feel better?"

Nathan looked a little stunned by me slapping him, and he didn't say anything. Maybe he'd realized anything he said would just make it worse. I shook my head at him. I was done.

"You know what? Fuck this and fuck you." I spun around and exited the dorm, leaving his shocked face and lying ass behind. Only then did I let one tear escape but I wiped it away. There was no way I was crying over him.

I walked purposefully back to my dorm and marched in, ignoring Jess's surprised face. I rifled through my drawer until I found the fake ID that I never used, because I never really went out in LA to drink.

"Noelle?" Jess said hesitantly.

"He's been cheating on me. For a month," I said brusquely, pulling on a sweater and ignoring her sharp intake of air. "I'm going out. Don't wait up."

"Noelle, wait a second–"

"I just need to be alone. And outside," I told her. "I'll be fine." Not waiting for her to answer, I left the dorm, slamming the door shut behind me.

I wasn't thinking where I was going. I wasn't thinking at all. I just got in my car and drove. It probably wasn't the best idea, driving around the city at ten o'clock at night but I really didn't care. I just wanted to get out.

I ended up at some bar where no one looked twice at my fake ID, and I drank. I drank until Nathan cheating on me felt like something I should laugh about, until I couldn't remember the name of the barman who kept flirting with me. I talked and laughed with random people whilst not really knowing what they were saying. The room was swaying – or was I? I couldn't really tell.

Without knowing how I got there, I was wandering the streets, waving at random people in the dark and singing 'Boulevard of Broken Dreams' to myself, because that song matched how I felt right now.

My phone had been vibrating quite a lot in my pocket and I eventually looked at it, seeing I had some missed calls from Jess, George, and... Nathan. I wrinkled my nose. I was mad at him for some reason but right now I couldn't remember what that reason was. I was too busy enjoying myself to ponder over something that would make me upset. I probably should have called Jess or George but as I scrolled through my contacts my finger landed on someone else's name. I didn't think twice before pressing 'call'. It rang a few times before a low, smooth voice answered.

"Noelle?"

"Luke? Luke! You answered. I didn't think you would answer. But you did." I laughed to myself.

There was a pause. "Are you okay?"

"Peachy. Are you?"

"I'm... I'm fine, snowflake, but–"

"Oh, shit, have I interrupted? Are you with your pals? Ashy, Mikey and Cally? Are they doing good? Tell them I love them."

He sighed. "Are you drunk?"

"No. Maybe. I'm not sure." I looked around me, the world spinning slightly. "It's all dark."

Luke laughed softly. "No shit. It's nearly eleven at night. Where are you?"

"I don't know. Where are you?"

"At home. Are you at a party or something?"

"Nooo," I said, dragging it out. "I told you, it's dark. I'm outside and the stars are really pretty. Like you."

Luke snorted. "Thanks. But are you telling me you're just wandering LA, completely pissed, at night? That's not safe–"

"Wait. I see a sign. It says boulevard of broken dreams."

Luke snickered. "Funny. Now seriously, Noelle–"

"Is that a bear? Nope, it's a bush. That scared me. Are there bears in LA?"

"I don't think so. You need to look for a sign. I'm coming to pick you up."

"You don't have to do that. I'm all good out here," I reassured him. "It's kinda cold, though."

"That would be because it's February," Luke informed me.

"Oh yeah. Wait, I see a sign. Rochester Avenue. That would be where I am."

"I'm coming to get you. Stay there," he told me firmly. "I'll see you in a bit."

"Okay. Love you."

Luke laughed. What a beautiful sound. "Yeah, sure. Bye snowflake."

He hung up and for a moment I kept the phone at my ear, not really knowing why. I scanned the landscape around me. The street had a few people wandering up and down, but there were no shops or restaurants, just houses. I found a bench and dropped onto it, clasping my hands together and smiling widely at people passing by. There was one guy who slowed and looked me up and down but I sent him a glare that really should have shriveled him to the ground. Unfortunately – because I'd really wanted him to shrivel – his eyes only widened and he kept walking.

After a while, a car appeared and pulled up next to me. I didn't realize it was Luke until he opened the window and grinned at me.

"Glad to see you haven't wandered off. Get in."

I obeyed, stumbling slightly. Luke pressed his lips together. Once I was strapped in and the door was shut, he set off.

"UCLA right?" he asked, glancing over at me. I nodded. The car was quiet for a bit until Luke broke it. "Can I ask why you're drunk and wandering the streets of LA?"

"No, you can't ask."

Luke raised his eyebrows. "Okay. Then can I ask why you drunk dialed me?"

I shrugged. "Don't know. I wanted to see you."

"I'm flattered snowflake, but–"

"Ssh," I interrupted him with a frown. He sighed, and then he spoke again.

"Where are your friends? Were you not with anyone?"

"No. I wanted to be a-alone. You know?"

"I guess," Luke said slowly. "Getting drunk two nights in a row probably isn't the best idea."

"It's a brilliant idea," I argued. "Life is so much better when you're drink. No, when you're drunk."

Luke tugged on his lip ring with his teeth and my gaze zeroed in on his lips. Man, I wanted to kiss them. I satisfied myself by reaching over and running my finger over the cool metal, then tracing a line along his bottom lip. I would so not be doing this sober. Luke looked over at me sharply as I withdrew my hand. "What the fuck, Noelle? Don't do that while I'm driving."

I smiled at him. "Why?"

"Because it's distracting. And it'll make me crash or something, and I'd quite like to get you home in one piece," he answered, returning his eyes to the road and speeding through an orange light turning red."

"Naughty," I chided him. One corner of Luke's mouth turned up in a grin.

"It was orange," he defended. I huffed and rested my head against the window, letting my eyes close shut. I was suddenly exhausted, and pretty soon I was lulled to sleep by the noise of the car and the knowledge that Luke was beside me.