After picking out Abby's dress, both she and Janelle went out for lunch, to a Japanese restaurant. Abby was talking as usual, however, Janelle was deep in thought once again, as she poked her chopsticks at a bite of sushi.

Part of her almost felt a little depressed, though she was unsure why. Things were the best they had been for her in months; she was happy, safe, and out of her unhealthy relationship. Only, she still had a nagging feeling that something was missing.

Perhaps seeing that dress had made it worse for her. She was all alone, and heaven knows when she'd actually wear a wedding dress and walk down the aisle, if the day would ever even come.

She felt lonely, however, she was still too afraid to fall in love and have her heart broken all over again. She had loved Joshua, and the fact that he didn't care about her in return really hurt her; scars like that don't just heal overnight.

She missed having the security of being in a relationship, she missed intimacy. And, although she knew Joshua didn't truly care about her, she missed being told that she was loved. If she wasn't so afraid, she'd jump into a relationship with Ryan, just for that security; She'd tell him that she loved him back, because she honestly did.

Yet, she held herself back. Why? She knew that Ryan would never hurt her, he would never be like Joshua. For the life of her, she didn't understand why she couldn't shake the feeling of fear. Was that what love was meant to feel like? Was it meant to be that hard?

Or maybe it was just her trauma from Joshua; he had caused her lines to be blurred. She didn't know what true love looked like, although she was sure it was right in front of her. She wanted to run to Ryan, she wanted to embrace him and tell him of her fears.

But something inside kept her from doing it.

With a soft sigh, Janelle finally picked up the piece of sushi, looking up at her friend, who was still speaking just as fast as she typically did, going on about who knows what. Janelle brought the bite up to her mouth, before lowering her chopsticks and running a hand through her hair.

She was still overthinking everything, and she was well aware of it. Everything around her only seemed to make her feel more stressed than she already was, and, though she wanted to be there for Abby, she wished she could just go back to Ryan's and lock herself in her room, just to be alone with her thoughts.

Seemingly noticing Janelle's troubled expression, Abby stopped talking, looking at her friend, her brown eyes full of worry.

"Janelle, what's up?" She asked softly, causing Janelle to let out a sigh.

"I don't know.." she mumbled, looking off to the side. "I just...feel a little sick."

That wasn't a lie; stress had always caused Janelle to feel nauseous, and currently, she felt as if she was about to throw up everything she had eaten that day.

She ran a hand through her hair, and Abby nodded. "Do you want me to take you home?" She Asked, to which Janelle nodded. "Okay, come on." Abby brought herself to her feet, and Janelle did as well, before the both of them fast-walked through the restaurant full of people, heading towards the doors.

Part of Janelle felt guilty for having Abby take her back to Ryan's; today was meant to be special, but her anxiety over her relationship situation had gotten the best of her. She could only hope that her friend would understand, and she knew, that being the kind person she was, she would.

The two made their way out of the restaurant and out to the car, where they both got inside, immediately buckling themselves in. As Abby pulled out of the parking lot, Janelle rested her head against the window, letting out a deep sigh and shutting her eyes.

She didn't want to think anymore. She didn't want to think about her predicament, because she knew the answers were right in front of her. It sickened her that she couldn't just make a decision. She knew one thing, and it was that she couldn't go on like this forever.

As Abby drove her back to Ryan's, she began to feel herself drift off to sleep, and she didn't bother stopping herself; heaven knows she was exhausted, especially mentally. Attempting to silence her thoughts for a moment, she eventually fell into a deep sleep, which had been much needed.

Meanwhile, Ryan was still messing with his piano, coming up with random melodies on the spot, as he stared down at the keys, a bored expression on his face. He let out a gentle sigh, before laying his face down on the piano keys, causing them to ring through the air loudly. Was he really bored because Janelle wasn't there? She had only been gone for a few hours, surely he could be away from her for such a short amount of time.

Maybe he just missed having her to talk to; for the past month, being near her had been a constant, and it seemed as though the two had rarely been separated, even when Janelle had gone back to Joshua all of those times. He couldn't deny that Janelle had been a big part of life lately, so it was no wonder he felt a sense of loneliness when she was away, even for a couple of hours.

He sighed again, bringing up his hand to play a short melody on the keys, his face still laying on the piano. He stayed like that for about five minutes, that is, until he heard the front door open, before Janelle came stepping around the piano to see him that way.

"Ryan? What're you doing?" She questioned, causing him to lift his head.

"Oh, Uh.." he chuckled awkwardly, scratching his neck. "Nothing. Just a little bored, I guess."

She nodded, before looking down at her feet. Noticing that she looked a little tired, Ryan slowly brought himself to his feet, giving her a look of concern.

"Are you okay?" He Asked, to which she bit her lower lip.

"I don't know.." she muttered.

He reached out to touch her arm, hearing her breath hitch in her throat as she pulled away.

"I'm just going to go to bed." She said softly.

Ryan furrowed his eyebrows a little. "It's only just past three."

"I'm tired." She stated, before turning around and making her way over to the stairs.

As she went up, Ryan watched her a bit disappointedly, before lowering himself back onto his piano chair. He couldn't help but feel a little sad that she had just gotten home and already wanted to go to bed. He could only hope that she was alright. Did something go wrong while she was out with Abby?

He felt as if he should go check on her, but he didn't want to invade her privacy; that could cause her to want to leave, and he, of course, wouldn't want that. He needed to give her space, if that's what she needed.

Hours later, Janelle was still laying in her bed, staring at the ceiling as tears rolled down her cheeks. She was stressed, honestly, about everything. Her life had been nothing but chaos, and now, in a moment where she should be feeling peace, she carried yet another burden on her shoulders.

She desperately needed a job; she didn't want to be living off of Ryan forever, and she was struggling with her feelings for him. Not only that, but she was afraid. She was afraid she'd get hurt again. Falling in love would be taking a risk she didn't know if she'd ever want to take again, not after being hurt by Joshua in such a way.

Yet, she looked into Ryan's eyes, and she felt something; like she was safe, as if just gazing into those green orbs could somehow protect her. Which made her realise, she wouldn't doubt that he would, in fact, protect her, Because He already had. That would have never been something that Joshua was willing to do.

Janelle took a deep breath, reaching up and wiping the tears on her cheeks away with the sleeve of her grey sweater, before she heard a knock at the door, causing her to sit up abruptly.

She swallowed, running her hand through her hair. "Yeah?" She called weakly.

"It's me.." she heard Ryan's voice through the door, which made her smile for a moment. "May I come in?"

She wiped the leftover tears in her eyes with her fingertips, before nodding. "Sure."

The door opened slowly, and Ryan stepped in, giving her a small smile.

"Hey." He said softly.

"Hey." She Replied, looking up into his gentle green eyes.

He ran a hand through his hair, looking up into her eyes as if he was trying to read her. "I just...thought I'd come check on you," he said quietly. "To see if you're okay."

She nodded a little, before looking down at her hands, which she was currently fidgeting with.

"Are you?" His question took her slightly off-guard.

Was she okay? Not really. But she wasn't willing to admit that.

Instead, she bit her lower lip, looking up at him. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Back at Brent's, Zach, Drew, and Eddie still sat around the living room, as Brent sat in the kitchen, alone as he pondered Ryan's entire relationship situation. He was worried for him, if he was being honest. To have Ryan's heart be broken again would be devastating; he hated to have to see his friend hurting so badly. No matter how much he tried to tell himself that this was a good thing, he still had that nervousness in the back of his mind that told him differently.

Pulling him out of his thoughts, he heard Zach calling his name, and looked up to see everyone in the living room looking at him.

"Brent, I think we found her." Eddie stated, causing Brent to bring himself to his feet.

"What?" He questioned, stepping into the living room, and sitting down on the couch beside Zach.

"I was looking though Ryan's followers, and I found this woman named Janelle." He Explained, showing Brent a picture from his phone.

Seeing the familiar face that belonged to Janelle, Brent nodded. "Yeah, that's her."

Zach nodded as well, before beginning to scroll through her photos. "That's weird." He muttered.

"What?" Drew Asked, leaning in a little.

Zach looked up. "There's this recent picture of her and some guy together." He mumbled.

"Did she tag him?" Brent Asked quietly. He wasn't much for spying on people through social media, but now he was genuinely curious as to who this guy was.

"Yeah, She did." Zach answered Brent's question, tapping on the screen of his phone again. He stared at the screen for a moment, before a look of shock appeared in his eyes. "Woah.."

"What?" Brent questioned. "What is it?"

"This Joshua Guy.." Zach muttered. "His latest post is about Janelle."

"Well, read it!" Eddie urged, causing Zach to clear his throat.

"Janelle Montgomery is nothing but a gold-digging liar. She accused me of cheating and abuse, when she's the one cheating on me with Ryan Tedder, and I wouldn't be surprised if she's manipulating and abusing him. He has not yet revealed that the two of them are together, most likely because she's forced him not to." Zach finished reading the post, before looking up at Brent with worried eyes.

"Holy shit.." Brent muttered, running his hands through his hair. "That would explain why Ryan's been so distant!"

"Why wouldn't he just leave her?" Drew wondered aloud.

"You think he'd tell us, too." Eddie added.

"I knew something was up about her." Brent shook his head. "As much as I hate to, we have to do something about this.."

"Like what?" Zach mumbled.

Eddie thought to himself for a moment, before looking up, an idea dawning on him. "We should talk to that Joshua guy." He said.

Brent shook his head. "No, that's going too far." He mumbled. "We'll need to figure something else out."

And just what that was, he had no idea.