~~~~~~~~~Third Person POV~~~~~~~~~

Ringing the doorbell, she waited outside the door for about a minute before Will opened the door. William was the youngest of the three kids here, energetic and way too smart of his age. Still, he was good company.

He smiled at the sight of her, opening the door even wider so she could walk inside. "Hello!"

"Hey, Will. Is Noah here?"

"He's in his room."

She nodded in understanding, gently ruffling his hair before continuing her way. Once you knew where everything was, it was easy to travel to the rooms you wanted, though sometimes it did seem like a maze.

Soon enough, Iv reached the bedroom down, raising a fist to knock. Once away, that shiver of fear covered her body for a second, it had been so long since she last entered this room.

Biting her lip, she stood her ground and gave the door a soft knock. Not long after, it opened, revealing a familiar green eyed face. "Oh, hey, you're here already?"

"Will opened the door for me."

"Yeah, our new doorbell's not audible in the second floor.." He let out a small chuckle, then opened the door a little more, letting her step inside.

The room was just as she remembered it; a lot of space, and a lot of green. The bed was placed in the far back wall, and there was a small living room area in front of it, along with the door which led to a huge balcony. Honestly, the room alone was a house of its own!

He closed the door behind them, rubbing the back of his neck with a small shy smile. "So.. it's been a while since last time you were here.."

"And who's fault is that?"

The response immediately ended that conversation, his eyes facing the floor as he gripped his sleeve. Noticing the sudden change in behavior, Iv let out a heavy sigh. "Sorry, that's- ... that's what I want to talk to you about."

"Huh..?"

"I know I've been acting really bitchy with you lately, what you did still bothers me. But there has to be a reason for you to do what you did, so until I know that reason, it's pointless for me to hold a grudge against you. For that, I'm sorry."

His eyes were a little wide from the shock, he definitely hadn't expect to hear an apology, especially not from her. Still, a small smile then grew on his face. "You were never one to apologize so easily."

"It hurts just saying it."

They both chuckled a bit at her response, the first genuine laugh they had shared for a long time.

It felt.. nice..

Iv then stuck her hands in her pant pockets. "Anyway, that's basically all I wanted to say. Oh, and can you go to my place later? I need to discuss something with you, Lola, and Vic."

"Yeah, I'll let you know when I can."

Nodding in reply, she walked back to the door. It was such a simple act, yet it felt like a boulder had been lifted off her shoulders. Is this the power grudges had?

She thought about it as she reached for the door handle, about to open it, when..

"Alexa."

"Huh?" She turned around as she heard Noah speak, seeing him with crossed arms, hands gripping his sleeves as his bangs covered his face.

"The reason I left you guys was because of Alexa."

Not the answer she wanted to hear..

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "We figured as much."

"No, I didn't choose her over you. She made me leave you?"

"Made you?" With an eyebrow raised, she took a few steps away from the door. "What do you mean made you?"

He didn't reply right away, biting his lip as he sat on the edge of the bed. "When we started going on, things were actually going pretty well between us, but.. after a few months she started putting all this rules on me.. I couldn't go anywhere without her knowing where, I couldn't go out with friends.. And because she knew how close you and I were, she basically forbade me from ever speaking to you again.."

"... and what would she do if you disobeyed her..?"

There was hesitation was he lifted his arm a little, waiting a few seconds before lifting up his sleeve, revealing a bunch of old scars. "At first it was only yelling, but then she started getting physical.."

Her eyes widened a little, a pit of anxiety forming in her stomach. "W.. why didn't you say anything..? We could've helped you..!"

"I know, that's why I didn't.. I didn't want you taking care of another mess I caused.. You always save me, one way or another, I just.. felt like a burden to you.."

She understood what he meant. Even back when they first met, whenever he was getting bullied by older kids, she'd always step in to save him. She always thought she was doing favor, but it did have its downsides when it came to his self-esteem.

Weakness was what he felt, she knew that.

"Then.. what happened in the end..?"

"I broke up with her.. I knew she'd get angry again so I invited her hair to do so, that way if she tried anything, someone could see or hear it.. Thankfully my dad was here at the time, and he was able to kick her out before anything bad happened.."

When he finished his explanation, his fingers began to fiddle with the end of his sleeve. "D-... do you still think my dad could be responsible for all this..?"

"... actually, no.. I think there's another possibility that surpasses that one.."

He looked over, a little surprised by her response. There were a few moments of silence, neither saying anything to the other, the large room completely silent.

That is, until she walked over, sat beside him, and wrapped her arms around his torso in a tight embrace. His cheeks grew pink at the action, a little confused to why she was doing this.

"I'm.. I-I'm really sorry for all that.. I should've realized something was wrong, I..-!"

"It's not your fault.." He replied, arms wrapping around her as he buried his face in her head. "I just didn't want anyone to know.."

They stayed like that for a while. Maybe they thought it could make up for their lost time, or maybe they both simply needed someone to rely on in times like these.

Whatever the reason may be, whatever anger, whatever sadness had been left unresolved between them, it was long gone.

At least now they had a chance to restart.

Thanks for reading!!! 'Till next time!!!

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