Clay couldn't sleep. George was so close, all he had to do was walk a few steps down the corridor and he'd be at George's door. George was so close and yet he'd never felt so far.

When Clay had spotted him standing there, soaking and swaddled, he'd felt his heart shatter. George's eyes were still softly red raw, a testimony to just how much he must of cried. He was wet through, head to toe, and his hair was dampened to his forehead. He had looked so spaced out, so far away, as he stared at Clay. Almost as though he was staring straight through him. The way he shook as Nick guided him away made Clay's skin crawl with the need to just hold him and make everything okay.

But nothing was okay. Not a single thing. And it was all his fault. Clay had fucked up and he had fucked up badly.

This never would have happened had he been more careful. Had he fought a little stronger, tried a little harder, cared a little more, maybe George would still be his. Had he not been such a coward, so afraid of what Damien may have done, then he would have just been able to announce that he wasn't attracted to Keres at all. He would have been able to talk to George anyways, disregarding Damien's wants. He would have been able to save George so much hurt and confusion. He would be able to walk from his room to George's, lift the covers and slide into bed behind him. He'd be able to curl against him, press a kiss to his shoulder and whisper 'I love you's into his skin until he fell asleep. He'd be able to sleep at all in the first place.

Across the hall, another room was left just as restless.

"You still up?" Nick whispered towards the ceiling. The words hung in the air for a moment before they were joined by a soft shuffling, Vincent turning to lay on his back as well. The action pressed their arms together warmly as Vincent hummed an affirmation.

"Just.. thinking." Vincent supplied by way of explanation. Nick turned his head to take in the side of Vincent's face.

"About?" He prompted, bringing the arm that wasn't pressed to Vincent's up under his head. Vincent turned to meet Nick's gaze.

"I explained myself to you but I never... never apologised." Vincent responded quietly, trying to figure out whether Nick's wide blown pupils were because of him or the lighting. "I should of... I don't know, tried harder? I should have fought Damien, I should have found a way to talk to you. I shouldn't have let him control me, let alone the whole band."

"I should have stood my ground and made Clay see reason. I should have convinced him not to see Keres that day, maybe then he would have been able to call George and explain before anything happened that they were being put up to it. Keres is a good person at heart and she has nothing but good intentions, I don't regret becoming her friend, but I regret not trying harder to get Clay to talk to George first." Vincent sighed and Nick admired the way his long eyelashes rested on his cheeks for a moment before rising again. Vincent's hand tentatively reached for Nick's and clasped it.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry for ignoring you for a week, I'm sorry for letting this happen to you and to George and I'm sorry for not trying harder." Vincent whispered into the slowly decreasing space between them. He felt Nick's warm breath fanning over his lips and it took every piece of his self control not to stare.

"I forgive you." Nick replied. He didn't quite have the self control Vincent had and he watched, mesmerised, as Vincent's tongue grazed over his bottom lip.

"You shouldn't." Vincent breathed shakily, having realised exactly where Nick's eyes were fixated.

"And yet, here we are." Nick murmured, letting his gaze slowly trail from Vincent's lips up to his eyes. The request was wordless, and the answer just the same, but both boys heard it.

The shift it took was minute, just the barest tilting of heads, before their lips brushed. A brief second passed before Vincent pressed forward to seal the kiss more solidly. Nick moved the hand beneath his head to the side of Vincent's neck, body tilting to face him more. Vincent followed suit, body tilting and unoccupied hand resting on Nick's hip.

Neither were really sure when acquaintances had become friends and when friends had become something more but it seemed the most natural transition for the two. Laying side by side, hands clasped and lips pressed together just made sense for them.

A dozen slow, sweet kisses later and the two found themselves struggling to stay awake. They eventually drifted off, nose to nose, hands clasped and arms around each other.

Though this room had found its rest, next door were wide awake and sobering.

"Are you alright? You look like you want to be anywhere but here right now." Ophelia stated gently, watching a small, tense Keres.

"I'll be fine." Keres murmured back, ignoring the urge to curl her knees up tighter to her chest.

"I don't believe that for a second. What's wrong?" Ophelia asked, sitting up against the headrest and watching Keres patiently. Keres watched Ophelia from the corner of her eye, wishing she'd just go to sleep.

"Is it because of the kiss? If so, I'm here to support George as his friend, not fight his battles for him. I'm not going to try and suffocate you while you sleep." Ophelia promised, still patiently waiting for Keres to sit up and join her. Keres rolled onto her back and Ophelia decided that was close enough.

"I just... i was the one that kissed Clay. I'm the home wrecker. I'm not part of the band or one of George's friends - not that he knows at least - I'm just... I'm the spare. And I know it's going to make George uncomfortable to be around me, I shouldn't be here but I guess... I guess I wanted to apologise to George myself." Keres ranted. Ophelia gently tugged at the shoulder of her bed shirt.

"C'mon. Up." She instructed, continuing to pull until Keres was sat against the headrest beside her. "Why did you kiss him? Because he's hot? To spite George?" Ophelia asked, words harsh but tone kind.

"No I... I kissed him because he was panicking." Keres explained and Ophelia nodded before giving her a confused look. "I know! It was a stupid thing to do! I was panicking too and it was the first thing I could think of doing to snap him out of it!" She exclaimed quietly, tired of the overwhelming guilt she was left with over this.

"No, girlie, it's okay, I get it. Instinct, right? You just wanted to make him calm down, got it." Ophelia assured, shuffling slightly closer. "And you're here because you regret it and want to apologise to Gogy?"

"Every single second I regret it. Every single one. I'm here to apologise and explain, if he'll hear me out. I don't think I deserve him hearing me out though." Keres replied, aware that Ophelia had moved closer but feeling no urge to move away.

"You have the same right to be here as everyone else then." Ophelia assured, bringing up a hand to count the reasons on her fingers. "You mentioned that you're George's friend in some way. You've done something wrong that you regret that affected George. You want to apologise to George and make things right. Isn't that what everyone else is here for?" She asked, gently jostling the girl with her shoulder, not really sure when they became pressed shoulder to shoulder but figuring she may have shifted too close unintentionally.

"I just... I wish I could go back in time and stop myself. I regret it so much it hurts. The band say that it's not my fault, that it's because of what I've been through that I reacted like that and that I shouldn't beat myself up over it but just because I've been through trauma doesn't mean I should be able to get away with kissing my friends boyfriend, especially since I knew. I knew and I still did it. I just wish I could go back in time and fix it all..." Keres was on the verge of tears and didn't realise the way she was beginning to press into the smooth skin of Ophelia's bare arm.

"Look at me." She instructed carefully and Keres did as told. "Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone has regrets. But no one can change the past." There was a moments silence where Ophelia considered herself before deciding it was necessary. "Do you want to see my biggest mistake?" Keres watched her in surprise for a moment before slowly nodding.

Ophelia turned her back on Keres before carefully pulling up the back of her vest. There, tangling up her spine from the base of her back all the way to the base of her neck, was a long, dark tattoo. There were black vines, Keres managed to make out, and splashes of colour littered the vines in the shape of intricate flowers. Nestled in behind the marking was a gnarly, silver scar.

Keres reached a hand out without thinking, fingers hovering just above the inking. She looked up at where Ophelia was watching over her shoulder, silently asking for permission. Ophelia nodded and Keres traced her fingers in a feather light touch over the swirling design.

She then moved to gently, ever so gently, circle around the outside of the scar. Something buried deep in side of her wanted to lean forward and press her lips to the mangled skin but she was quick to chase the thought away.

"We all make mistakes and we all have regrets but if we spent our whole lives dwelling on them, we'd never get anything done. Let yourself live and breathe. Shift your focus from what you should have done back then to what you can do now and what you will do in the future." Ophelia pulled her vest back down, shifting to lay back flat on the bed. Keres shuffled to join her, arms pressed again.

"There's nothing to find in the past, you've already been through it. Appreciate what you have now and work towards what you want in the future. Don't let anyone, past or present, stop you." Ophelia finished, taking a chance and sliding an arm beneath Keres' head. Keres curled closer and Ophelia counted that as a win. After a long pause that Ophelia definitely didn't almost fall asleep during, Keres spoke again.

"Thank you, Ophelia." She whispered gently, cheeks a soft pink.

"It's no sweat, baby. I'm still a little drunk so I'm hoping at least a bit of it made sense and sounded cool." Ophelia admitted. Keres giggled and Ophelia decided that that was her favourite sound.

"Don't worry, I think you're cool." Keres reassured, letting her eyes begin to fall closed. She felt safe with Ophelia so close, arm beneath her like a pillow.

"Nice."

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Sap6d and some girlies bonding and getting to know each other a little :)

Feedback is welcome and appreciated!!

Yours, Dandelion.