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Note: This is the final part of the series. x

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"Where do I start?"

Tyler hummed in mock contemplation as he launched himself onto the nearby couch. "Alright, so, let's start by pretending that you're not eventually gonna end up choosing Brendon..."

"Dude," you scoffed as you threw your hands up and gave him a look of total disbelief, "what's up with you and betraying your best friend?"

"Not betraying. Protecting," the singer corrected, pointing a finger at you and cocking one brow.

"Right, okay," you ran your tongue along the inside of your bottom lip and leaned back into the armchair, "Anyway, can you at least pretend to be impartial so that you can help me figure this out?"

"You don't need help. You already know who you're gonna choose," Tyler grunted as he reached behind the couch to grab a notepad and pen from the table and held it out to you, "But if – hypothetically – you didn't know, I'd say make a pros and cons list."

You apprehensively took the stationery and looked at your friend with an unsure expression. "You want me to compare them with lists?"

"Studies have shown that drafting up a pros and cons list before making a major life decision can really help put things into perspective," Tyler nodded matter-of-factly.

You raised an eyebrow in scepticism. "You really think that applies to the world of dating, too?"

"You have any better ideas?"

Skewing your mouth to the side, you sighed and resigned yourself to flicking the cap of the pen and pressing it to paper. Might as well give it a try.

Patting your head in support, Tyler announced that he was going out to get you two some drinks and grabbed his hoodie from the arm of the couch before leaving.

He returned a mere fifteen minutes later, carrying a tray of coffee. "And? How're we doing?"

You blew a raspberry and shrugged, tapping the end of the pen against the notepad. The musician made his way over to you, taking a stance behind the armchair you were sitting in and cocking his head as he read over your shoulder.

"This is just a list comparing their hotness!" (*)

You glanced down at the list in front of you. "Yeah... and?"

"'And'?" Tyler scoffed, shaking his head at you in disbelief, "I don't know what bothers me more; the fact that you're shallow enough to only look at their physical attributes, or the fact that in fifteen minutes you only managed to come up with three things for each of them."

"Hey!" you frowned defensively, "There's five things each!"

Tyler scowled at you as he ripped the notepad from your hand and proceeded to wave it right in front of your face. "You listed Brendon's lips and Josh's ass three times – that doesn't count!"

"Alright, alright," you held your hands up in surrender and winced at his sudden increase in volume, "No need to yell."

"(Y/N)," Tyler's shoulders slumped as he set the coffees down on the table. He sat himself down on the footrest of your armchair and rubbed his hands over his face, "You need to take this seriously. How do you expect me to help when you won't cooperate?"

With a groan, you flung your body over the armrest of your chair, burying your face in the material. "I'm trying. I really am," you spoke, voice muffled, "but every time I try to write something actually noteworthy...ugh! I don't wanna do this. Fuck, I don't wanna do this."

There was silence between the two of you for a few moments; you remained splayed over the chair, and Tyler pursed his lips as he tapped his foot against the wooden floors.

"Okay," Tyler finally grunted, standing up and walking over to lightly smack his hand against the back of your head, "Come on, stand up. We're going for a walk."

~

Tyler had brought you to a quaint park in the corner of the city – a beautiful one decorated with towering evergreen trees and a rippling stream flowing along the middle. You asked him how he knew about these particular grounds, and he answered that his family had discovered it on one of their vacations and that he visits it from time to time; it's a lovely place to sit and think, he said.

So sit and think is exactly what you did.

The brunette showed you his favourite spot – a couple of boulders clustered along the water's edge – and the two of you took occupancy of it.

Another silence fell, but it was a comfortable one and you felt yourself relax as you watched the water cascade over the pebbles in the stream.

"How about this," Tyler started after a little while; you turned to look at him, "You describe Josh and Brendon to me – individually, not in comparison with one another – explaining all the things you love and hate about them, and I'll draw up the list. Sound good?" he raised his brows and held his hands out hopefully.

You nodded and gave him a small smile.

"Wonderful," he smiled back, readjusting the notepad on his lap so that he could write comfortably and raising the pen, "Let's start with Josh. And let's refrain from the physical aspects, yeah?"

You stuck your tongue out at him before brushing your hair out of your face and taking a deep breath. "Josh... Wow, where do I start? From the moment I met him, all the way up until now, he's never been anything other than a total sweetheart and I absolutely adore that about him. He's quite possibly the nicest, most kind-hearted person I have ever met and he's totally unselfish. Well, I mean, he was until he went and pulled that stunt to sabotage Brendon, so I guess that's a con? Anyway... yeah, just an all-round, incredible, wonderfully pleasant person that can always find a way to brighten up even the darkest of days. He's made my life so much better just by being a part of it. And other than the sabotage thing, I can't even think of any cons."

"Uh huh," Tyler nodded, scribbling along the page, "And Bren?"

"Oh, lord. Brendon," you drew in an even deeper breath than before, closing your eyes and hugging yourself, "He was my first love. He showed me what it's like to love someone more than anyone or anything else... but he also showed me what it's like to be completely broken. And yet, despite all the heartache and pain he put me through, the sneaky bastard still managed to sneak his way back in, and I can't shake him. Then there's the fact that the two of you went behind my back to organise his not-so- surprise appearance in Seattle. Major con," you looked at your friend with pursed lips, expecting an apology of some sort, but all you got was a scoff.

"I'm not even sorry about that. I love Josh more than life itself, but Team Beebo all the way, dude."

Rolling your eyes, you continued. "He's the most headstrong, confident person I know and he'll stop at nothing to win me back. Still not sure whether that's a pro or con. I wish I could say that he puts my feelings first like Josh does, but after how he left me...I'm not so sure that that's true. Although he has been trying tremendously hard to make up for it, I'll give him credit for that. I've always loved the way he can walk into a room and own it, and his charm is what made me fall in love with him in the first place." You stopped talking and focused on the rippling water for a little bit before you turned to Tyler. "Is that enough for you to go on, or..."

"Yup," he folded his arms over the paper and smiled, "Perfect."

"Alright, then can I see the list?" you held out your hand in a request for him to hand it over.

"Sure, but it's no use," he shrugged simply, passing over the pad. You tossed him a perplexed look and he began to explain what he meant. "Subconsciously, you already know who you're gonna choose, (Y/N/N). You have all along. You weren't even aware of it, but during your description of Brendon, you mentioned the words 'love' or 'loved' four times. Four. You know how many times you mentioned them while talking 'bout Josh? A whopping zero."

You opened your mouth to speak but nothing came out – you just sat there mouthing random syllables like an idiot.

Tyler smiled cockily and gestured to the pad. "There's no pros and cons list. Just two noteworthy facts. The only ones that matter."

You love Brendon.

You don't love Josh.

~

You had hoped that being apart from each other – as well as apart from you – for the past couple days would allow both guys to cool off and regain some semblance of composure so that all hell wouldn't break loose when you were all three reunited.

But of course that wasn't the case, and right from the moment they laid eyes on one another, the bickering began. You didn't intercept at first, deciding to just let it run its course. But then things started to escalate too much too quickly, and you jumped in.

"Josh, you know that I consider you one of my best friends," Brendon said as he took a step forward so that he was only inches away from the drummer, "but if you come between me and my girl, I won't hesitate to kick your ass."

Josh let out a light scoff. "I don't need to come between you and (Y/N)," he said calmly, raising his brows before hardening his face, "You already did that yourself."

Brendon's eyes narrowed and his jaw clenched simultaneously; you could see his right hand twitch slightly, as if he was debating whether or not to throw a punch at the man in front of him.

Josh's body language surprised you. Everyone who knows him knows that he's not a fighter; he's usually the mediator, the guy who prevents fights from happening, not one that's involved in them. Yet, when faced with a pissed off Brendon, he didn't back away or even try and calm his fuming counterpart down; he stood his ground, muscles tensing and face hardening as he stared at the singer as if to say Go ahead. Hit me. It scared you, honestly – this was a side of Josh you'd never seen before. Which is why you knew that you needed to put an end to this – once and for all – before someone did something they would regret.

"That's enough," you huffed, struggling to squeeze yourself into the tiny space separating the two band members, "Stop it. Both of you."

With a great amount of effort – and a mean frown on your face – you managed to shove both of them apart.

"This needs to end," you said softly, avoiding their gazes and looking down at the ground instead, "I don't want you to fight. I know that you both want me to be happy, and I think I know who it is that makes me happiest," you took a deep breath and turned to face him, "You."

His eyes widened in shock, but only for a moment before relief spread over his beautiful features.

"Really?" he croaked, a hint of moisture building behind his eyelids, "(Y/N), don't fuck with me."

You wheezed slightly, holding your hands outwards and shrugging as you stepped up to the taller human. "Really," you whispered, reaching up to caress his cheek, "I choose you."

A hurt-filled sigh sounded from behind you but you didn't get a chance to turn around, since your choice gripped your face tightly and smashed his lips against yours in a loving kiss.

After pulling away, he chuckled in disbelief as he dragged his lips along your cheek to whisper in your ear. "Thank you."

Nodding faintly, you pecked his lips once more before turning around to console the other male. Apology written all over your face, you took slow steps over to him before throwing yourself onto him in a tight hug; he exhaled heavily as he wrapped his arms around your back.

"I'm so sorry," you sniffed, burying your head in the crook of his neck.

"It's okay," he assured, though the crack in his voice told you that it really wasn't, "I said that I would respect your choice and..." he breathed in your perfume before pulling away, "I am. No hard feelings," he locked gazes with the other musician and they exchanged a short nod, "I wish you guys all the happiness."

"Thank you," you murmured, reaching up to peck his cheek.

With a sad smile, he stepped back and gave a slight wave before heading for the door, leaving the two of you alone.

You felt strong arms wrap around your sternum, and you hummed contently as you leaned back into his chest.

"I love you so much, you know that?" he spoke, pressing kisses to the side of your face; you spun around to face him.

"I know," you smiled, leaning up for another kiss, "And I love you, too. But if you walk out on me again, Urie, I swear to God-"

Laughing, he pulled you into him and kissed you even more fervently than before. "I've been hung up on you for eleven years, babe. Believe me, I'm not going anywhere. Like, ever. You are the love of my life. The best thing that's ever happened to me. My sunshine. My only sunshine. The only thing that matters. I'm going to spend the rest of my days loving you, and-"

"Brendon," you cut him off with a tiny shake of your head and a short chuckle, "Eleven years."

He smiled smugly. "Right back to your place?"

"Right back to my place."

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Thank you for reading x

(*) Lists can be found in My Writing Corner.