The costumer's voices sounded distant and fuzzy in Miguel's ear drums. He was staring at the waitress picking on her nails behind the counter. Even though Jenny wasn't there, he could feel her negative energy still there.

He didn't want to see or talk to Jenny since he was still conflicted about how to act around her, yet it felt weird to not see her there. Despite being a very unstable woman and spending nights out doing whatever she usually did, she never skipped work or class. She was a bit like Nicole in that sense; he supposed. They both had their issues and their erratic way to cope with them, but their career was more important that healing the hangover.

A few months back, Miguel would find excuses for Nicole's obvious developing alcohol problem, but never for Jenny's similar way of life. It was a matter of principle. She hated him; he hated her. It was his job to judge her every action and add it to his "Reasons I hate Jenny" list. But now that they were in this grey area, he allowed himself to see her as a whole.

A long time ago, when they first met, she'd confided in him some of her struggles. It was a week into the first year of university. He had sat in front of her, and Juliana urged her to start a conversation with him. They eventually became close, taking part in study groups and whatnot.

He found himself in her. She had raised herself, as he had. Her mother wasn't present to love or to restrain her. In his case, it was his father. He didn't have a supportive father figure as a kid, growing attached to the neighbour instead. Which he found funny, since so did his mum.

The clock ticked four p.m., and he got up, leaving his empty mug and plate on the table.

He was almost out when he spotted Juliana and joined her. She was startled to see him, but tried to keep calm. It wasn't effective, as he noticed right away how nervous she was. He had got used to those reactions from her. It was flattering at first, then annoying, and now he was mad just by looking at her. It didn't matter how hard he tried to forget how she ruined his friendship with Jenny, the build up anger he had once directed at the brunette was still there.

"M-Miguel! Hi. How are you?"

"Where's Jenny?"

She blinked, and her smile fell off. "I don't know. I haven't seen her in a while."

He rolled his eyes. They were living together and still didn't see each other. That made no sense to him. Nicole and Carolina did everything together while still having their separate lives.

"Hasn't she been home?"

"Oh, she has. I hear her coming in and out of her bedroom. But I haven't seen her."

Miguels sighed, realising she wouldn't be any help. It was obvious Nicole wasn't there because she had left to New York with Andrew, but Jenny should've been there. He asked himself why he cared at all. There was no plausible answer.

"Okay. Thanks."

He started walking away, but she called out his name. For a moment, he considered just walking away, but he didn't want to be the beast Jenny saw him as.

"What is it?"

She stared at the floor again. If she thought shying away would make her look cute, she was wrong. Nothing about Juliana was mildly attractive to him, especially since she'd met Lúcia. No one could make him feel what his girlfriend could.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

He rolled his eyes once more. "Not that it matters to you, but I'm going to work."

"In the car shop?"

"No. The yogurt shop across the street."

Her confused expression was enough to annoy him even more. It made little sense she could be so gullible to not understand his sarcasm. It made no sense that the girl was at fault for her hatred for Jenny.

"There is no yogurt shop across the street..."

He didn't bother replying.

🖤🤍🖤

It was pitch black when they arrived in New York. Nicole was leaning against the elevator's wall, half asleep. Only for a stop did she force her eyes open and followed Andrew to the corridor, holding his arm and stumbling on her own feet.

"Are you okay?" he asked, taking her suitcase from her sloppy hand.

"Mm." She nodded.

He took her to the door of his apartment and took his keys out, letting her support her weight against him. A small smile played on his lips from seeing her so vulnerable and cute. He would've never thought she'd let him see her that way.

"Don't worry, you'll be in bed in a minute."

She nodded once more.

"Mr Whittmore!" a high-pitched voice broke the silence.

His head snapped to look at the woman walking towards them, and even Nicole opened her eyes a little to gawk at the intruder. The light of the hall made everything yellowish, but she could see the silhouette of the woman. She was shorter than them, wearing a grey suit and carrying a bag of groceries in her right arm.

"Mr Whittmore!" she called again; this time closer.

Nicole giggled against his neck, making him shiver. "Mr Whittmore," she mocked. "Oh, Mr Whittmore."

He hushed her and turned to the woman, letting his girlfriend laugh with the walls. He didn't see her take the keys and try to open the door herself, trying key after key, but he could hear her muttering stupid jokes to herself just fine.

"Mrs Collins, what can I do for you?"

"I can't believe my eyes. It is really you!" she exclaimed. "I haven't seen you in months. The boys have been heartbroken since you stopped answering the door. What happened?"

"Yeah, I forgot to tell them. I've been studying overseas. I'm only here for Abby's wedding and then I'll be off again."

The brunette nodded. "That's great. The boys will be thrilled to know that you're back."

"Yeah, well-" he started, but Nicole interrupted him.

She walked between them, pushing him back. "Look, lady, it's nice to meet you, but we're going to sleep. So go away or something. Goodnight."

Before Mrs Collins could reply, she pushed Andrew inside the apartment along with their bags and closed the door in her face. They stayed there, lost in the darkness of his home, only the light of the city shining through the panoramic window on the opposite wall.

"Where's the switch?"

The room lit up, revealing her touching the wrong wall. She straightened up and looked around, staring at the room in astonishment. Even though way smaller than his living room in the mansion, this one could easily fit her whole flat in. She urged to lie on the black sofa staring at the enormous window that conveyed the entire wall. Everything was in shades of black and white, from the dining table on her left to the coat hanger on her right.

"Can I sleep on the rug?" she asked, laying on the grey carpet at the sofa's feet and playing with it as if she was making an angel.

Andrew walked up to her, oblivious to the reason behind her reaction. He was upset about the way she had talked to his neighbour, but kept it to himself. Their first night in New York couldn't be spent arguing over such petty things.

"If that's what you want. I'm going to the bedroom. Goodnight."

She raised her head, trying to look at him, but he had already turned his back on her. His change of behaviour made little sense to her. Minutes before, they had been almost cuddling in the hallway, and now he was getting away from her like he didn't care.

"Wait up!" she complained and followed him, more awake now.

His bedroom was down the hall. A king-size bed took most of the space, covered in a navy-blue duvet. He put their bags beside the wardrobe and stared at her.

"Were you not going to sleep on the rug?"

"I was joking. What are you mad about?"

He shook his head. "I'm not."

"Okay. Then why are you being so cold?"

"Nicole-"

"If I did something, you can just tell me, you know?"

He sighed. "Look, I'm not mad. I just don't like that you're already being rude to people when you just arrived."

She nodded. "Okay, I'm sorry. I'll wait a little longer before being rude then."

He rolled his eyes. "I'm serious."

"I know. And I am sorry. I won't make it hard for you and the people you're acquainted with. I promise."

He exhaled, leaning his forehead into hers. "Why don't I trust you?"

She shrugged. "Because you know me. But I swear I won't be mean."

Andrew smiled and pressed his lips to hers. He could have stayed like that forever, but she had other plans. Nicole climbed onto the bed and told him to turn off the light. He did as instructed and laid by her side, pulling her close to him.

*keeps posting unedit chapters liek it's nothing* Okay then.

So there you go, the beginning of the New York bit and also the beggining of the end. Let's bring in a lot of drama and wrap this up in real quick. You're gonna love out our NY characters. Especially Maya (who remembers Maya being mentioned in previous chapters raises the arm!)

Thank you for stopping by xx