Andrew had been sitting on The Bookmark's sofa for a couple hours. The environment was much more interesting in the winter, and he loved spending his afternoons there. He'd been teaching Liz how to play chess, making the usual cheeky comments at Nicole, and drinking his coffee.

"You can't do that," he said for the umpteenth time and put her king back in place.

She groaned and held her head in her tiny fists. That game was not as fun as she had expected. Nicole hadn't let her draw on the floor with chalk to play hopscotch and she had to settle for the games the shop had.

"I'm done with this." She sat back, holding her banana milkshake tight and sipping on it with a scowl.

Andrew smiled at her reaction and leaned back, too. He loved being with Liz and doing those child things she did like colouring books and whatnot. It was late for him, but it was nice to know what kids did that he never got the chance to do. It wasn't as frustrating as he thought it would be.

"We could use my sharpies to make the lines of the squares for hopscotch," she said.

"No!" a voice said from the counter before Andrew could open his mouth.

They both looked up at Nicole and her sharp gaze on them. She was putting a fresh load of muffins in the vitrine, but stopped to scold them. In most days, she trusted Andrew with the kid, but she also knew he didn't think ahead like she did.

"Why not?" Liz whined.

It was Andrew who replied in a quiet tone. "Because if you step on one, you'll fall and hit your head on the floor."

She stared at him in betrayal, her eyes shining with revolt. Nicole was always warning her, but Andrew played with her. He wasn't supposed to be screw her over like that.

"I won't!"

"You don't know that," Nicole said.

Andrew kept quiet, annoyed at himself for not noticing the problem before Nicole spoke up. If they had done as Eliza was suggesting, it was possible she would've got hurt and it would all be his fault.

"You're such a killjoy!" she yelled, turning to Andrew. "Can we play that game on your computer?"

He nodded and pulled it out of his bag. Liz sat on the floor on his right. They were both facing Nicole, who continued her task in silence..

"I'll be Fire boy," she told him, and he nodded as the game loaded.

Andrew was staring at Nicole, balancing his half-full mug of now cold coffee between his hands. He drank it all and got up while Liz was still complaining about the cafe's Wi-Fi.

He leaned against the counter with the mug hanging between his fingers. Nicole didn't stop what she was doing, glancing at him only once.

"Do you want a refill?"

"Yeah. What are you doing tonight?"

She took the mug from his hands and made his coffee. It still made little sense to her how he ingested so much caffeine, and yet it didn't seem to affect him that much.

"Studying for tomorrow's exam."

"So I can't convince you to have dinner with me?"

She shook her head. "I'm going to spend the night with some friends from my course. We're ordering take out and spend the evening studying."

"Sounds fun," he said, not meaning it.

She put the mug back in his hands, rolling her eyes at his sarcastic tone. He knew she preferred eating out with him rather than studying, but she had little choice.

"Do you have many exams this month?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Just two this week. I'll be free in the week we leave."

"Yeah..." He looked at his shoes. Being with her for an entire week straight was all he wanted, but coming back to New York was worrying, and he had only Abigail's word about how their father wouldn't interfere.

"Did you change your mind?"

He shook his head. "No. I already bought the tickets. Can't wait to go."

The bell ringed as another customer walked in. They both looked at the door to see Miguel with his hands shoved inside his pockets, walking towards them. He wore a t-shirt despite the cold outside, his brown jacket tossed over his shoulder.

"Oh dear, are only you two here? Am I interrupting your date?"

"You are," Liz replied, forcing him to notice her. "They are having a moment. Let them be. Come watch with me. Sit here."

Miguel smiled at the audacity but did as told. He sat on the ground next to the petite girl, arms crossed, and looked at them as if he was watching a movie.

"Are you serious?" Nicole asked.

Miguel shrugged. "I'm only doing what the kid said."

"I'm not a kid."

"What the grown-up lady said."

Andrew couldn't help but find it funny. Eliza was the sweetest girl ever, and he loved the way she was so direct and opinionated. He could've found annoying all the times she tried to pair him up with Nicole, but in ways she was helping him with all the nonsense and unwanted commentary.

"We are not having a moment!" Nicole complained, and Andrew smirked at how triggered she was. He guessed it had something to do with the fact that Miguel was there.

"Oh, come on! Who do you take me for?" Eliza asked. "I know you were about to kiss."

"We were not!"

"We should've been, though," Andrew added. The blonde glared at him, annoyed that they were now three against one.

Miguel shook his head. "No, please do not kiss in front of me."

Liz punched his shoulder with all her might, as if telling him to shut up and stop ruining their chances. Miguel looked at her and pouted, rubbing his sore shoulder. Maybe that face worked with Lúcia, but for sure, it didn't work with Liz.

Nicole sighed, looking ready to punch Andrew too, just because of the amused expression painted all over his face. She asked Miguel if he wanted to order something and disappeared into the kitchen to make it.

"Someone is feisty today," Miguel commented.

Andrew sat by Liz's right side with his legs crossed. "Isn't she always?"

The other snorted. "You got a point."

Eliza was still mad, looking between both boys with a deep frown. The game was forgotten now, lighting the screen with colourful graphics.

"Is it that hard for you two to just be together?" she demanded.

"Us?" Andrew gestured between himself and Miguel. "It is. I don't think he likes me much."

Miguel chuckled. "I don't dislike if that's what you think. But I don't love the fact that Nicole wants to be with you. The other guy's ass was easier to kick."

Liz rolled her eyes. "You guys are pissing me off! I just want Andrew and Nicole to date."

"But we are," said Andrew before taking a sip of coffee. "It took a while, but we are."

The girl blinked and then jumped to her feet, staring down at him with her hands clasped over her mouth. She stayed like that for a few seconds, which almost made the boys laugh.

"Since when?"

Andrew shrugged. "Officially? Last week."

"Last week!" she exclaimed, and then rushed to the kitchen, leaving them alone.

Miguel looked at Andrew with an unreadable expression. "You mean it's for real now? It moved past the getting-to-know-each-other phased?"

The green-eyed boy shrugged. "Yeah. The big difference is that I get to call her girlfriend, but we're still going slow."

"It's a big difference for her."

"I don't really see how. It's just a label. It shouldn't cause this much distress. We're the ones who define what it means."

Miguel looked at the wall, silent for a moment. Perhaps he was thinking if he was the right person to have this conversation with Andrew, or if he should just mind his business and keep quiet. After all, Nicole was the one who should verbalise her feelings.

"It's not as simple as that to some people," he ended up saying. "Being in a relationship is more complex than just two people liking each other. And to someone like Nicole, it can be suffocating. To Nicole, it's akin to being trapped in a room. Once the 'girlfriend' label is used, the door closes and she'll never be able to peek past again unless she opens it completely. And it's not like she wants to visit other rooms – she's quite comfortable where she is – but staying has consequences. She'll have to keep her corner clean, so she doesn't get thrown out, but she also must keep herself entertained in it. When you only get to see through a window, there are a lot of places you have yet to explore, and the only way to find out is to walk out and watch as the door closes behind you. That's why she likes the corridor. The corridor doesn't have responsibilities, and even better, the freedom of doing whatever she wants. Even if you present to her the most beautifully alluring room in the world, she'll want to stay in the corridor, no matter the temptation."

Andrew didn't respond. He was still assimilating what Miguel had meant. Every day, he tried to understand Nicole better, and every day, he thought he was succeeding, but having failed to see what her best friend told him made him question his previous accomplishments.

It hurt him the most, the realisation that he wasn't letting her see past the window either way. He always focused on her and her pain, and ended up not seeing how she was always asking about him. From the very first day they both sat in the cafe with warm drinks, she asked his plans and why he was there. And on every date she asked about family, about dreams. He always gave short answers to anything related to his past, shutting her down too quick. He shouldn't have. Not when she shared all her sorrows with him.

"I'm the worst boyfriend in the world."

Miguel hit him in the back of the head. "Don't say shit like that, asshole. There are women being abused as we speak!"

"Right," he muttered.

The door to the kitchen burst open and Eliza came out, singing at the top of her lungs, and pulling Nicole by one hand. The blonde was balancing a fuming plate with something brown on it, but it was hard when Liz kept pulling harder.

"We need to throw a party," the girl announced. "A Finally Together Party."

Nicole rolled her eyes and handed Miguel the plate with little courtesy. She went back to cleaning tables, ignoring the other three.

"She's such a buzzkill," Liz complained.

Seconds later, she was drawing the plans to the party in her notebook despite the couple's protests. Andrew didn't mind it that much, though.

Welcome back to a completely useless (unedited) chapter than I 100% regret writing but I'm posting anyway cuz if I had to write it you have to read it. Yay

I'm sorry I've been MIA. I'll be honest with you, I've had better weeks. I got like one last exam next week and after that I'm going to spend my days writing to finish Boundless and start to edit some stuff.

I hope you're enjoying it so far. I enjoyed writing so far (not this chapter). Please spam the comments so I know you're liking it (if you're disliking don't bother, just hop off. I am negative enough on my own, I don't need another hater. Plus if you dislike it and made it so far you have literally no self love)

Also, I am so excited cuz Chain of Thorns is almost being released! I already pre-ordered my copy and I am ectastic. If I go MIA again after the release date, you guys know what happened.

Thank you for reading xx