"Hey, Laur?" I spoke up.

"Yeah?" my boyfriend called out from the kitchen.

"Do you wanna go out for dinner?" I asked. Laurence let out a soft sigh before stepping out of the kitchen and into the living room.

"Sorry, baby, but I'm going to meet with Aaron at him and Aph's place," he said with a small pout to his voice. I sighed and leaned back into the couch.

I had grown use to this... Laurence had been spending a lot of time with Aaron recently. Now I understand how he felt when I was always around Blaze...

"It's fine," I said with a hint of annoyance in my voice. Laurence seemed to notice, as he walked to sit beside me.

"Garroth, I'm sorry..." he whispered, placing his hand on my thigh. I looked into his eyes that were filled with guilt. I sighed and took his hand in mine.

"It's alright, sweetheart," I whispered, leaning forward and pressing my forehead to his. "You go hang out with Aaron, alright? I'll be alright."

"Are you sure?" he asked. "I can cancel if you'd like, and we can go out to dinner." I smiled softly atthis before leaning forward and placing a small kiss on his lips.

"It's alright," I muttered. "Just go ahead, I've been wanting to watch this horror movie for awhile, so it'll give me the chance to do so." He nodded, still seemingly unsure. I gave him a reasurring smile.

"Alright... I'll see you later," he said. He pulled back and pecked a quick kiss on me cheek before walking towards the front door. He slid his shoes on and opened the door. He turned to face me, as if asking one last time if it was alright.

"I love you," I said with a small smile. He returned the look.

"I love you too," he said before walking outside and shutting the door behind him. As soon as the door shut, I sighed and slouched down in my seat. Honestly, I never saw Laurence anymore... I mean, sure I saw him in the mornings and for a little before he left for work. He had recently been taking extra shifts, resulting in him returning home later than usual. Most often I fell asleep before he got home. Even on the weekends, such as today, he was always running off to meet with Aaron. I'm not sure why he suddenly started acting like this. He's always been so attached to me, so I don't know why he seemed to want to be away from me as much as possible so quickly. It was odd...

Of course, I avoided any thoughts related to him cheating or anything related to that. There's no way he'd do that, I trust him. Besides, Aaron? Really?

Unless he's lying...

Aish, no way! He'd never do that, he loves you!

We've been together for a little over a year now, so I should trust him. So... why do I feel so uneasy?

I chewed on the inside of cheek in thought. Maybe I'm just being irrational. The truth is, he's not going to do that to me. I know for a fact. Laurence is a trustworthy and loyal boyfriend, so I should believe so. I sighed and tugged at my hair. I pulled my phone out of my back pocket and brought up Aaron's contact.

I waited for a few moments, and then he responded.

I scoffed.

Thank Irene...

Laurence sat on the couch in the photo. He had a carton of what looked to be Thai noodles in one hand and the other had a pair of chopsticks. His cheeks were a little puffed up as he had just taken a bite, and his eyes had met the camera. I smiled at the photo before saving it to my gallery.

I sighed and flopped back onto the couch. I stared up at the plain white ceiling, and my eyelids began to droop. I had stayed up rather late last night finishing a drawing. Yes, I draw. And I'm payed for it, too. Slowly, I began to slip into the darkness that is sleep.

--------------------x--------------------

When I woke up, he wasn't there. I even searched the house for him, but found nothing. I had slept for several hours, which wasn't the smartest choice, considering the fact that it was now the middle of the night and I definitely was not going to sleep any time soon. My sleep schedule is ruined enough as it is, but this just screwed it up even more. Anyways, that doesn't matter.

By now I had texted him and called him more times than I can count, but he hasn't answered. I've texted Aaron, but he told me he left around an hour ago. I was starting to get really concerned. No, scratch that, I was already extremely concerned. I have no idea where he is, and it's the middle of the night. I paced around the living room, every possible scenario crossing my mind. Could he have been taken? Could he have gotten lost? Could he have gotten hurt?

Every thought was interrupted by the front door clicking open. I snapped my head towards the door, and there stood Laurence. He seemed... tired.

"Where were you?" I asked before giving him any chance to talk. He bit his lower lip and stepped inside, shutting the door behind him.

"I was at Aaron's place," he started. "I fell asleep on his couch and just woke up a few minutes ago."

"Aaron said you left a few hours ago," I said, my voice stern. Now I was angry at him. He just lied straight to my face. This piled on top of the concern I had felt earlier only made me more frustrated.

He opened his mouth to say something but only closed it, finding immense interest in his shoes. I sighed and dragged my hands down my face.

"I ask again, where were you?" He sighed and looked up to meet my eyes.

"I can't tell you," he said. I furrowed my eyebrows and crossed my arms over my chest.

"You can't tell me?" He nodded. I scoffed and looked away from him. I wanted to look anywhere but at him right now. "Why not?"

"I just can't," he said. I huffed and gained the strength to shift my eyes to look at him, sending him somewhat of a glare.

"So, when I ask you if you've actually been with Aaron the entire time for the past few weeks, will you say 'I can't tell you?'" I asked. Laurence raised an eyebrow, and he did nothing but stare at me for a few seconds. Then, a small smirk spread over his face. He chuckled. "I'm not laughing." He only let out a small giggle and ran his fingers through his hair.

"You're totally jealous," he said.

"What?"

He laughed and walked towards me. He took both of my hands in his and intertwined our fingers.

"That whole time I have been at Aaron's place," he said. "I promise."

"Then where were you tonight?" He gave me a soft smile.

"Well, I was going to wait until morning... But I'd be willing to show you now if you're that pestered by it."

"What do you mean?" I asked. He chuckled. He let go of one of my hands to reach into his front left pocket. He pulled out a box that was layered in a velvet material. He opened it and revealed a pair of rings. Each one were bent in a way that made them look similar to a heart. I gazed down at them as Laurence pulled them both out and held out one of them. I opened my free hand and he pressed the ring into my palm. I brought the ring closer to my face so I could get a better look at it. On the underside of the band, it read the word 'Promise.'

"Is this-" I was cut off.

"It's a promise ring." I looked up at Laurence, my eyes shining. He smiled. "The reason I've been around Aaron so much recently is because I've been asking him for advice." I raised an eyebrow.

"Advice?" I asked.

"Yeah..."

"What about?"

"Promise me you won't thing it's strange?" he asked. I smiled and held up the ring.

"Promise." He smiled.

"I've been asking him about...boyfriend advice," he muttered. I 'dawed' at this and wrapped my arms around his waist, pulling him close to my chest.

"Boyfriend advice?" I asked.

"Yeah... I've felt bad recently because you've done so much for me and I feel like I need to do more for you," he said. I noticed the hint of sadness in his voice. "He gave me a lot of things that I feel like are going to help me a lot." I tightened my grip around him, resting my chin on his shoulder.

"Laurence..." He lifted his head to meet my eyes. I leaned forward and pressed my forehead to his. "You don't need to ask for advice about something you're already perfect at." His cheeks flushed and he smiled, his eyes darting away for a few seconds.

"I just fee like I need to do more," he said.

"Laurence, look at me." He did. "There is nothing more you need to do. You have no idea how happy I am to say that I have the best boyfriend in the world." He chuckled at this. "I mean it. If only you knew how much I brag about you." His chuckles stopped, but he grinned. "The fact that you even tried to improve what doesn't need improving just proves that." He didn't let me speak any more, as he leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine. I smiled against the kiss and shut my eyes, leaning forward a bit. After a few seconds, he pulled away.

"I love you," he said. No matter how many times he said it, it still made my hear flutter.

" I love you too," I replied. He smiled and lifted my hand, opening my fingers. He slid the ring that he was holding onto the finger it belonged.

"Promise?" I smiled and slid the small piece of jewelry in my hand onto his own finger.

"Promise."