Janelle stepped into Ryan's house, standing by the door and watching as he made his way into the other room. She wasn't sure if she was supposed to be following him, so she decided to just stay put and wait for him to return. She began to look around the house, biting her lower lip a little. The living room was large, with a clean white paint on the walls, hardwood floors, and all grey furniture, giving it a modern look.

From where she was standing, she could also see into the kitchen, which also had hardwood floors, but instead of white walls, it had a soft grey. She could also see that the fridge was rather large, and all in all, he had a nice kitchen that almost looked like it could belong to a professional chef, which caused Janelle to have to remind herself that he was musician.

She heard footsteps coming back into the room, and she looked over to see Ryan approaching her, something in his hands. Without a word, he got up in her face, and she looked at him, a confused expression on her features.

He ripped the object in his hands open, sliding something out of it that Janelle realised was a small bandage.

She turned her face away. "I don't need-"

He cut her off by moving her face back, so her cheek was once again facing him. He reached up, putting the small bandage just beneath her eye, where she guessed she must've had a small cut from how hard Joshua had hit her.

Ryan stepped back, before motioning towards his living room. "Make yourself at home," He Said, before adding a quiet "Please."

He turned, beginning to walk away again, this time towards the kitchen.

"Where are you going?" Janelle Asked quietly.

He turned back around. "To make some dinner." He Said. "Do you like chicken?"

"It's okay, I'm not hungry." Janelle Said.

"I didn't ask. Do you like chicken?" He Asked again.

Janelle bit her lip, shrugging a little.

He nodded. "You don't have to stand there by the door," he said. "Make yourself at home." He repeated, before heading into the kitchen.

Janelle let out a soft scoff, before walking over into the living room. She stood by the couch for a moment, before hesitantly lowering herself into it. Ryan was at least being hospitable to her, but that didn't mean she was any less upset. With anyone in her life, for the matter.

She was still in shock over the fight she'd had with Joshua, and how he'd just hit her for the first time, and she was especially upset with Abby for telling Ryan; Not to mention how Ryan came and started a fight with Joshua at the restaurant earlier.

After a day like that, Janelle was exhausted, scared, and felt like she could break down and cry at the drop of a hat; so, using her typical defence mechanism, she began to just feel numb. She didn't want to think about any of this anymore.

She wished she could just go home and have things go back to normal, only, she knew that that would be impossible. After all that had happened, being with Joshua would never be the same again, although she wanted to forgive him and run back into his arms. And at the same time, she wanted to run from him. The only problem with that was, he was the only one who had ever loved her; if she ran now, she might have to risk never finding anyone who would care for her like he did. Risk being alone all over again.

She buried her face in her hands with a long sigh, rubbing her eyes, which had small tears forming in them. She refused to cry; Not here, not in front of Ryan. If she were alone in her own house, that's one thing, but no, she was in the mansion of the Ryan Tedder, and he was cooking her dinner against her will.

Of course, to be honest she was quite a bit hungry, since the last thing she had eaten was this morning, and it was only a granola bar. She was very appreciative of him cooking something for her, even though she would rather he not go to the trouble.

She heard a soft sizzling noise coming from the kitchen, and she looking up, uncovering her face.

The house became filled with the smell of olive oil and chicken, along with some kind of vegetable she couldn't exactly determine. Whatever it was, though, the mixture of smells made her feel even more hungry, and she felt her stomach growl. She ran a hand through her hair, looking behind her to take a peek at Ryan, who was standing over the countertop stove, messing with a pan of food.

He happened to glance up at her, seemingly noticing her gaze, before looking back down at the pan. Janelle averted her eyes from him, looking down at her hands, scratching off a bit of the dark blue nail polish from her nails.

"You can come in here, you know." Ryan Said in a singsong voice.

Why would you think I want to come in there? She wanted to say, but she knew that he could tell that she was considering going in there.

So, hesitantly, She stood, stiffly making her way into the kitchen and standing by the counter, just across from Ryan. She looked down to see that the pan had two chicken breasts in it, along with some asparagus that seemingly had various seasonings on it.

"It looks good." she mumbled, and he smiled a little, not looking away from the pan.

"Thanks."

She watched as he continued to make the food in complete silence, beginning to wish she had just stayed in the living room and avoided an awkward moment like this altogether, even though, she knew it wouldn't be lasting much longer anyway since she was planning on leaving as soon as possible.

To where, though, she didn't exactly know yet.

It wasn't long before Ryan turned off the burner on the stove, before dividing the food onto two plates. He lifted one up, along with a fork, and held it out to Janelle, who hesitated, before taking it from him.

"Please, sit." He gave her a small smile, motioning towards the chair beside her.

She nodded a little, setting the plate down in front of her, before pulling the chair out and sitting at the counter. She picked up her fork, beginning to nudge the food with it.

"You didn't have to do this." She mumbled, looking up at Ryan, whose green eyes met hers immediately.

"Nonsense." He shrugged. "I just guessed that after today, you might be a little hungry."

He's not wrong, she thought to herself, cutting a bite of the chicken with her fork while still making eye contact with Ryan. She looked back down at her plate, lifting up the fork to take a small bite.

She raised her eyebrows as she chewed it, rather surprised that it was as good as it was. No wonder he had a kitchen this big; this man knew how to cook.

"Is it bad?" He asked, noticing her expression.

She quickly shook her head, looking back up at him. "No, it's good." She Said quietly. "You're a good cook."

He smiled a little, taking a bite of his own food. "Thank you."

The both of them went silent again, the only sound in the room being the scratching of their forks on their plates as they continued to eat their food.

Taking another bite, Janelle decided to break the silence, although she wasn't quite sure exactly what to say.

Deciding to say the first thing that came to mind, she finished chewing her bite, swallowing it and lifting up her head to look back up at Ryan. "You really didn't have to do this."

"Do what now?" He asked, looking up at her, after seemingly being deep in thought.

"I said that you didn't have to do this." She motioned towards her plate of food.

He shrugged. "It's no big deal, I only had to make a little extra than I usually do for myself."

She nodded a little, using her fork to pick at the asparagus. "After I finish, I'm gonna call Abby if that's okay." She mumbled. "I need a place to stay, at least for tonight."

He looked up at her, wiping his hands off on a napkin. "You can stay here."

She shrugged. "I don't know..." she reached up her hand to run it through her dark hair. "I've already been enough of a burden as it is."

He was quick to shake his head. "No, no, you haven't been," he said. "I'd love to have you stay. I have a guest bedroom set up and everything."

She bit her lip, looking up into his green eyes. Did he really mean it? Surely he was already tired of her, after having to cook her dinner, and not to mention being recruited by Abby to convince her to leave Joshua. He never asked for any of this.

Then again, he did seem sincere. And if it was only for tonight, she could go back home and talk to Joshua since he'd have had time to calm down by then.

"Well," she muttered. "I have nothing to wear."

"I have plenty you could borrow."

"I don't have a toothbrush." She added.

He raised his eyebrows at her. "I have extras."

"You really want me to stay?" She Asked warily.

"Yes, I do, Janelle." He gave her a reassuring smile, and she bit the inside of her cheek.

If he insisted, she didn't see the problem with it. She'd stay the night, and then, tomorrow, she'd have gotten enough sleep to be able to think clearly about what was going on with Joshua.

"Well, okay.." she muttered, causing him to give her a small smile.

"Awesome. I'll go get the room together." He said, before stepping away from the counter, beginning to make his way over to the staircase in the living room.

Janelle watched as he went upstairs, biting her lower lip. He seemed rather eager to have her stay the night, and she began to wonder if she had made the wrong decision. She hardly knew this guy, so why was he being so friendly? Did he have other plans?

She shook off the thought. No. If he was going to do something to her, he'd have already done it. Perhaps he was only acting like this because of what Abby had told him. The pity thing came back to mind; He pitied her. It was the only explanation for this celebrity even wanting to have anything to do with her. Surely she wasn't special enough to deserve treatment like this from a famous musician.

Janelle played with her food a bit more, before deciding she wasn't that hungry anymore. Besides, she had eaten most of it, anyway.

She brought herself to her feet, hesitantly making her way over to the staircase. Once she got there, she looked up the stairs, seeing a long hallway, walls painted all white like in the living room, with about six doors that she could see from where she was standing, two of which were open, with the lights on.

Without even thinking about it, she stepped up the stairs, slowly and quietly as if she was breaking into the house. She was just curious; curious about where'd she be staying, where Ryan was, and where the bathrooms were. The last one being more important, since she realised the last time she had used the restroom was at work, and hours ago.

She made her way into the hallway, stepping down while tip-toeing, hardly getting anywhere with each step. As she set her foot down, she heard a creaking sound come from the floorboard, causing her to bite the inside of her cheek.

She began to wonder what she was even doing. Perhaps she should just go back downstairs and wait for Ryan to come back.

She bit her lip anxiously. No, she couldn't do that now. She'd have to go all the way back down the stairs, without making any noise. She had already come this far, there was no sense in going back to the kitchen now.

Just go in there and talk to him, she thought to herself. No, you can't do that. That would be awkward.

As she sat there by the one of the doors and pondered what to do, Ryan suddenly came around the corner, jumping back when he saw her.

He put his hand over his heart, and she looked at him worriedly.

Holy shit, did I just give him a heart attack?

"Ryan, I-I'm so sorry!" She spluttered out, before he began to laugh softly.

"Janelle, you gave me a heart attack.."

"Really?" She Asked worriedly, her eyes widening.

He chuckled a little. "No, I'm just teasing you." He said. "Do you need something?"

She bit her lower lip, looking down at her feet. "I, Uh...was wondering if you have a bathroom?"

"Nope," He said. "There's an outhouse outside."

He said it with such seriousness that Janelle stared at him for a moment, before realising that he was only joking. She let out a soft chuckle, and he laughed a little, before motioning into the room he had just come out of.

"The guest room has one," He said. "I also got you a T-shirt and a toothbrush."

Janelle smiled a little, brushing a bit of her hair behind her ear. "Thanks, Ryan." She Said. "You really didn't have to do all this."

"Believe me, I want to." He gave her another reassuring smile. "I'm going to change for bed. Just call if you need me, Okay?"

Janelle nodded, before Ryan turned, heading down the hall to another room with the light on. He went inside, before shutting the door, leaving Janelle standing in front of the guest room door.

She hesitantly stepped inside of the room, looking at the bed, where a T-shirt with a print of some band lay, folded neatly. She made her way over, picking up the shirt, before looking over to see the door to the bathroom open. She bit her lip, going over and stepping inside. She shut the door, looking down at the counter, where a brand new toothbrush, still in the box, sat, beside a tube of toothpaste.

Janelle smiled a little, before she looked up into the mirror, seeing the small bandage just underneath her eye. Her smiled faded when she saw how red her cheek still was. She never thought that Joshua would be capable of that, even with his anger issues. She thought he had changed, but she was beginning to admit to herself that she was wrong. So wrong.

She sighed, before pulling off her shirt and jeans, slipping the shirt from Ryan over her head. It was long enough to go down to her knees, which she was glad for. She took a deep breath, realising that the shirt had a fresh smell, like it had just been washed. Which she was also glad for.

She stepped away from the mirror, before quickly using the bathroom. Afterwords, she brushed her teeth, as she ran her hand through her hair since she didn't have a hairbrush.

When she finished, she stepped out of the bathroom, looking over at the door to Ryan's bedroom. The light was now off, and the door was open, so she guessed that he had gone back downstairs.

She made her way down the stairs herself, looking out towards the kitchen, where Ryan, who was now in a pair of sweatpants, was shutting off the lights. She looked over at the digital clock in the living room, seeing that it was just past nine. She didn't typically go to bed this early, but after the day she had, she knew she definitely needed more sleep.

Ryan looked up, noticing her standing at the bottom of the stairs. He left the kitchen, making his way over to her and giving her a friendly smile.

"Do you need anything?" He asked.

She shook her head. "No, thank you."

"Are you sure?" He Asked. "What about a glass of water?"

She chuckled a little. "No, I'm okay." She Said. "Thank you."

"Okay, then." He said.

They both went back up the stairs, and Janelle stopped by the guest room door, looking at Ryan, who had also stopped.

"Thanks again, Ryan." She mumbled.

"It's no problem." He Replied. "I'll just be in there if you need me."

She couldn't see herself going into his bedroom while he was sleeping if she needed anything, but she nodded anyway. "Thank you." She Said. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." He gave her a small smile, before they both went into their rooms.

Janelle shut her door, before turning off the light and going over to the bed. She pulled back the covers, then hesitantly lowered herself onto the soft mattress. She laid down, pulling the covers to her chin and burying her face in the pillow, letting out a long, tired sigh.

Her mind had been racing, but now, her thoughts began to settle, as she began to feel herself drift off to sleep. It wasn't long before she fell into a deep sleep, surprisingly comfortable in the foreign room.