I nervously knock against Axel's door as I patiently wait for him to answer. I hear footsteps and then the door swings open and he pulls me inside. Axel tugs me into a light hug, but I tightly squeeze his body which makes him groan with pain. When I let him go, Axel laughs and then pokes my stomach with his middle finger.

"Hm, I'm not sure if I'm happy you've come, I think you might have broken a rib or three." He chuckles.

"Naw, baby, you're okay." I kiss his cheek and walk down the hallways.

"We're performing new material tonight and I'm scared. Do you think you could squeeze the nerves out of me?" Axel teases.

"Well, I'm sure I could try for you." As I go to wrap my arms around him, Axel throws me over his shoulder and continues walking to the lounge room.

"How do you like that?" he shouts.

"You know what, Axel," I yell. "I'm not going to help you." His bony shoulder digs into my stomach uncomfortably which leaves me feeling slightly annoyed.

Axel booms with laughter while I smack his butt. My palm stings for a moment, but it doesn't faze me much. I slap his other butt cheek which earns me a few grumbles of annoyance. Axel swings me back over his shoulder and I land on the couch with a bang.

The pain in my stomach subsides, but I worry over the chair.

"So we're breaking the couch now too?" I wink.

"The railing in your bathroom fell off the wall," he explains. "I did nothing to it."

"I suppose pigs fly too?" I giggle.

"Shut up and listen to my music," he says.

"Fine, fine, play me your songs." I happily smile.

I reposition myself on the couch so that I'm sitting upright and leaning on the arm rest. He takes the free space beside my feet and gets comfortable.

"It's a song called Second Hand Embarrassment," Axel explains, "and to save myself the embarrassment, I won't sing the lyrics." He grabs the discarded guitar that's leaning against the coffee table and rests it across his knee.

"You know that lyrics are what makes the song, right?" I pout.

"It's actually the tune," he corrects. "When you're trying to remember the lyrics, you're humming the tune of the song."

"What about the lyrics? That's how people connect to the music."

"Lyrics are just lyrics without the music."

"Hm, just play the music then." I roughly poke his shoulder.

Axel strums his fingers over the strings and then quickly falls into a song. He quietly hums to the tune which makes it sound better. At the end of the song, Axel looks at me expectantly. I bite my lip and shrug my shoulders. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to say, it sounds good to me.

"You were amazing," I say.

"Anything I should fix?" he questions.

"I have no idea," I honestly answer. "You might want feedback but I'm just here to listen to you play." I cheekily grin. I wouldn't pass up the chance to hang out with Axel and hear him play. Music is so much better live and he's doing a pretty good job at it.

"Okay, I'll take that as a compliment then." He smiles. "Can I teach you to play?"

"I'm not really good at this kind of stuff," I admit.

Axel shrugs his shoulders and then gets into position. He slides the guitar onto my lap and then wraps one arm around me.

"Okay, put your fingers here and here." Using one hand, he moves my fingers onto the strings and in place. The strings feel weird under the pads of my fingertips. Once the cord is right, his fingers cover mine and then presses down. I strum my free hand over the strings and a different note plays. I smile as we slowly change to another note.

"Try it yourself," Axel encourages.

He moves his hand away and I try to play the note myself. As I press down and strum, it doesn't sound like the note he was playing. Slightly disappointed, I shove the guitar in his direction.

"I give up," I say.

"But you didn't try," he points out.

"We all have talents," I explain. "Mine isn't playing the guitar."

"What's your talent then?"

"Giving up?" I laugh.

"No, be serious now, Ava." He lightly bumps into my shoulder.

"Well then." I bite my lip. "I haven't figured that out."

"That's okay, you know, being lost."

"Are you sure?" I question. "Most might frown upon it." As Axel ponders on the question, I look at my fingers and play with my shirt. He gently grabs my hand and tugs my attention to him.

"They frown because they are afraid, they scowl because they are envious, and they –"

"But." I jump in.

His hand squeezes mine, "Don't be one of those people, Ava. Dare to be different because you are extraordinary."

"You sound like one of those cheesy romance movies," I note.

"Maybe it's something you need to hear? I'm not going to fix you, Ava. I think you're capable of doing it yourself. You just need someone to tell you to keep going." He grins. "Always keep moving forward because that's the only way things will get better."

His words hit home in a good way. Sometimes it's good to be reminded of a lesson, even if you already learned it. In many ways, he's right. Things won't get better unless you pick yourself up and dust the dirt off. Otherwise, you'll just wallow in your own despair and never move forward.

People are so scared of change or moving on. You could never leave your past forever, but looking into the future isn't a bad thing, even if it scares you. Every day seems scary and somewhat miserable without Ivan, but it's a new day with new possibilities.

Axel returns to playing his guitar and by the third song, he slowly starts singing along. The song sounds even better paired with the lyrics. If I close my eyes, I can almost imagine the roar of the crowd, the thumping from the drums, and the riff of the guitar.

"This is fantastic." I grin.

Once Axel has finished playing his music, I help him pack away the guitar before flopping back onto the couch. He lays beside me and wraps his arm around my waist.

"Do you feel better about the gig?" I ask.

"Hm," he murmurs.

Axel hides his face between my back and a cushion. I try to squirm away, but he holds on tighter. So tight, it almost feels like payback from my greeting crush.

"What are you trying to squeeze out of me? Because I'll fart soon." I laugh.

He immediately stops squeezing my body and I take a deep breath. As I wiggle around, my phone slips from my front pocket and falls to the ground with a thud. I lean over the side and scoop it up. When I check the screen, Axel jolts upright and scrambles off the couch.

"Is there something wrong?" I ask.

"I'm going to be late if I don't get ready now." Axel runs into his bedroom and I quickly follow. As I approach the doorway, I find Axel pulling off his shirt. He throws it onto the ground with his other crap before turning to face me. My eyes land on his spectacular chest muscles and I grin happily.

"Should I wear a black or white shirt?" he asks.

"Hm?" I shake my head.

"I'll just wear the black and white one." He grabs a t-shirt out of the draw and tugs it on. Once he's dressed in a pair of black jeans and a belt, he puts on a pair of vans and then sprays himself. I subtly inhale his perfect scent.

"Okay, I'll let you go then." I smile.

"Thank you for coming around and I'm sorry I have to kick you out." Axel frowns.

"No worries." I shrug. "I hope you have a good night and slay your gig, okay?"

"Same for you." He grins. "Let me know if I need to rescue you from your ex."

"Thank you for that." Axel and I quickly hug before I head to my car. As I trek back to my car, a dreaded feeling pools into my stomach. Now I have to get dressed to go socialise with people when I'd rather be in my bed right now.

"Oh boy." I frown. "This could be disastrous."

As I get into the car, I quickly start the engine and head off. I've had a good time spending part of the day with Axel, but I'm nervously excited to see Blake tonight. I might need to call for his help because I know I'll end up regretting something if someone doesn't keep me in check. I can't rely on Kyle when he's team freakin Blake.  

How do you think Blake's party is going to go?