When I woke up, it took a while to adjust my vision. I almost fell off the bed in shock at the sight of Daniel in front of me, sleeping peacefully. Our legs were tangled together while his left arm was wrapped around my waist. I had my neck resting on his extended left arm and my hands rested on his shirtless chest. If anyone were to walk in here right now, they'd probably get the wrong idea. It was an intimate position with our faces being too close together. I couldn't help but stare at the features of his face.

Last night I allowed Daniel to sleep at mine only because it had gotten late. I let him rest on my bed while I continued to paint before deciding to check up on him. He had taken his shirt off because he thought it was too hot and soon passed almost immediately after on my bed. I didn't want to sleep on the couch. I thought I could sleep in the same bed but put some space between us and it would be ok. I was way wrong but I don't regret it. I couldn't help the smile that spread across my lips. I may be happy now but I was still scared at what he'll say when he wakes up and realizes what happened last night.

I wanted to stay like this longer before we'd have to part. I had to go over to Evelyn's to meet up with Kylee and Ruby for the girls day sleepover, which is now going to be awkward with Daniel there. I didn't want Evelyn questioning me again about whether I have feelings for him or not. I continued to stare at his tattooed chest but then I noticed that there were a few bruises that looked fresh. They were turning a worrying shade of purple and blue. I was afraid if I even touch it, it would hurt him. Who would do this to him? How did he even get these?

"I can feel your eyes admiring me." I immediately looked up with wide eyes from staring at his chest to see him smirking but with closed eyes. My cheeks heated up.

"How long have you been awake?" I questioned. Daniel opened his eyes to finally look at me.

"An hour now maybe" he shrugged. I whacked his chest lightly for making me think he was asleep. Daniel threw his head back and laughed. Since I hadn't taken my hands off his chest, I could feel the vibration from it. 

"Why would you make me think you were asleep if you were awake?" I demanded.

"Because it was cute to see you get lost in thought while staring at me" he teased. 

"Daniel!" I whined. 

Daniel laughed again at me. We stared at each other with a smile. He brushed a loose strand of hair that fell in front of my face, behind my ear. Our peaceful moment between us was interrupted by my phone buzzing a couple of times to indicate that I got a few messages all at once, most likely from Ruby. Daniel rolled his eyes as I untangled myself from him to sit up and grab my phone. I was right, it was Ruby letting me know in five different messages to wake up and get ready so I can head over to Evelyn's since it was already one in the afternoon. I didn't know we slept that long.

"I have to go to Evelyn's today and you have to leave here," I said. I stood up and grabbed my hair tie from my nightstand to put my hair up in a ponytail.

"Can't we spend more time together today instead?" he asked. 

"No, because I have to meet my friends" I replied. Daniel sighed and stood up to grab his shirt off from the floor and put it on. I contemplated asking him about the bruises on his body. "Hey Daniel, how did you get those bruises on your chest? Were you in a fight again?" I questioned. Daniel looked down at himself then at me.

"Something like that," he said with a nonchalant tone. I frowned. He was acting like this wasn't that big of a deal when it is. Someone hurt him. 

"How bad is it?" I demanded. 

"It's not that bad, there's only a couple of bruises but they don't hurt, plus I've had worse" Daniel shrugged.

"How could you act like you don't care about your own wellbeing?" 

"Because it's only bruises."

"And what if next time you get into a fight, you get more than a bruise? What then? Your excuse will be that you've had worse?" I argued. I don't think he was getting the picture. He could have been lucky to only get a couple of bruises and not a broken rib or something. It's dangerous yet he didn't seem to care, like it was nothing but a usual occurrence when it shouldn't be. He stared at me until a smirk appeared across his lips. 

"Does someone care about me?" Daniel teased. I scoffed, looking away.

"Don't go off-topic Daniel, I'm serious," I said, trying to be stern but faltering. Daniel strode across the room to stand in front of me.

"And I'm being serious, I'm fine, I promise I'll be fine, don't worry too much about me" he reassured me. I searched his eyes for the truth before nodding.

"Ok, I trust you" I mumbled. He smiled and kissed my forehead.

"I'll head out now," he stated. 

I followed him towards the front door without replying. I bid farewell when he left. He thanked me for looking after him while he was 'lightly buzzed' last night. He didn't mention the kiss so maybe he forgot. I don't know whether that was a good or bad thing if he did. I didn't even know if I'd see him at Evelyn's but either way, I couldn't talk to him because she would be there. I guess that's a good thing because I shouldn't be. I huffed as I put a new shirt over my head.

"Why do you make it so hard to stay away?" I mumbled to myself as I stared into my mirror.

I grabbed my phone, putting it in my pocket and running out of the house to Evelyn's. Ruby was the one to greet me when she threw open the door with a wide grin. She squealed, pulling me into a hug. I laughed, wrapping my arms around her in return before entering. The three had been baking some brownies in the kitchen so I went to join them. Evelyn was blasting her music from her phone as she put the ingredients into a mixing bowl. Kylee sat on the counter with her head in her hands, looking annoyed probably because of the song choice. When they noticed me, Kylee was the first to run up and throw her arms around me. I stumbled back. I'm not used to her hugging me, it still comes as a surprise most of the times.

"Oh, thank god you're here! You can save me from the torture that is Evelyn's music choice and her singing that accompanies it!" Kylee exclaimed with relief. I laughed as Evelyn glared. 

"Fuck you, my singing is pure perfection" she retorted. 

"Yeah sure," Kylee mumbled sarcastically. Evelyn rolled her eyes but smiled and hugged me after Kylee let me go. 

"You took your sweet ass time getting here, what took you so long?" Evelyn questioned as she went over to continue putting the ingredients together.

"Oh yeah sorry about that, I woke up late" I replied. 

Ruby and Kylee narrowed their eyes at me with suspicion. I avoided their stares, going over to sit on the spot where Kylee had previously taken up. Ruby and Kylee know I'm lying but I didn't want to tell them, it was embarrassing to cry then later on go back to kissing him again. They'd probably scold me while giving me disapproving looks. Either way, I couldn't talk about it because of Evelyn. Plus today was all about Kylee so we could have a girls day, have fun and take her mind off of her trash ex so she can move on from him. Though I don't know what Evelyn has planned for the day considering she was the one that wanted to come up with the activities for us to do. 

"Have you eaten yet?" Evelyn asked.

"Nope" I shook my head.

"Great, we are going to make pizza after this" she grinned. 

"Even though I told her we should have done it before making the brownies," Kylee said. Evelyn stuck her tongue out at her. 

"Can you take over mixing Harmony?" Evelyn asked.

"Sure" I nodded.

I hopped off the counter and took the wooden spoon from her to start stirring the batter together. Kylee was quick to grab Evelyn's phone when she left to go to the bathroom to shower. She changed the song to something of her liking from Evelyn's playlist before leaving it on shuffle. I heard the front door open and we all turned our heads at the same time to see Daniel walking by but he paused at the kitchen entrance to stare at us. I looked away, pretending to be engrossed in what I was doing instead. I could feel Ruby and Kylee's eyes on me as Daniel's retreating footsteps echoed throughout the room.

"Spill" they both demanded simultaneously. I frowned and tilted my head.

"Spill what? I'm confused" I acted clueless though I knew what they were referring to.

"About Daniel!" They practically shouted. I was quick to shush them, hoping that Daniel didn't hear them because that would be embarrassing. And if Evelyn heard, she'd be livid.

"Seriously guys? Any louder and I'm sure the whole neighbourhood would have heard you" I hissed.

"Then tell us everything" Kylee demanded. I sighed. 

I hoped that they would drop the topic and just let us enjoy the day Daniel free, well, kind of since he still lives here. I didn't want to talk about my dramatic 'love life' that includes Daniel and feels nonexistent when I have no boyfriend. Today isn't supposed to be about me. But Kylee kept insisting, saying that she found Daniel and I's 'relationship' amusing to which Ruby agreed with her. I eventually caved in and told them everything from last night, to this afternoon when we woke up. I even told them about the conversation I had with him. I didn't mention the bruises on his body that I saw this morning. It wasn't my place to say when he probably didn't want me blabbering about it to everyone.

"Seduce him into speaking so that you know if he firstly remembers last night and secondly, what he thinks about you" Ruby recommended. 

"No" I immediately shut down that suggestion. There was no way I was going to 'seduce' him as if I have that much confidence to do that. I'll probably end up doing something that would end with me embarrassing myself. I wasn't going to take the risk just because I wanted answers. I'm not that desperate, I'll find out some other how.

"I got nothing, sorry, maybe just try talking to him" Kylee suggested. I sighed.

"Yeah well that might not be so easy" I muttered as I got back to stirring.

"Why do you say that?" Ruby asked.

"I'm trying to avoid him" I answered truthfully.

"Well I know he's an ass for what he did but that's hasn't stopped you from talking to him before, why are you trying to avoid him now?" Kylee questioned. And now they were back to being suspicious again. 

"I just thought that I needed some time to figure everything out and to trust him again if he wants to actually make an effort so that I can forgive him" I explained. 

They were both silent, analyzing me to see if I was telling the truth before nodding. Soon Evelyn came downstairs just as Kylee was putting the brownies into the oven. Ruby was licking the chocolate from the wooden spoon. The rest of the time together consisted of collecting the ingredients to make a pizza for each of us with different toppings. We had to play a YouTube cooking tutorial so we could follow instructions since none of us knew how to. We just wanted to try home cooking and Evelyn thought it was a fun idea for us to do altogether.

Ruby took Evelyn's phone to start playing music by Hailee Steinfield to which we all started singing along to. It was lucky that Evelyn's parents weren't home since from what she told me, they went out on a date, which they do every weekend. I find it cute that they go on dates every week, it keeps the romance alive when they're both constantly busy with work. I hope to do that with my future husband. Both Evelyn and Daniel are still unhappy with their parent's marriage. Daniel tolerates it whereas Evelyn just ignores it or gives Mariah a hard time by being, well, herself since she can be quite stubborn a lot of the time. I've discussed with her about giving Mariah a chance, to ease up on her but even I can't stop her behaviour though I wish I could.

"You know what we should do now?" Evelyn said as she washed her hands in the kitchen sink. We just finished making each of our pizzas and put it in the oven. 

"What?" I asked.

"You should get rid of everything to do with Axel, starting with deleting his contact and photo's," Evelyn suggested to Kylee. Kylee looked hesitant, she didn't look like she wanted to. She glanced at me and I shrugged. I couldn't make the decision for her. It was up to her on what she wanted to do. She knows what's right, she's smart.

"It's up to you Kylee," I said. It took a minute before she nodded. She then went to get her phone out of her bag and we crowded around her by the living room couch. 

"Delete his irrelevant ass from existence!" Evelyn exclaimed.

"You make it sound like we're killing him" I joked. 

"I did in my head a couple of times" Kylee grumbled.

She aggressively pressed the delete button on Axel's contact and all the photo's of the two together and anything else to do with him. We all hugged her when we noticed she started crying. She's not the emotional type, she hides behind a wall. She hasn't even cried at any sad movies that Ruby has made us watch altogether but she must have really been in love with him. I don't know how he could do this to her when they seemed so perfect together, it was upsetting to see her heartbroken. He was truly a scumbag that will eventually get his karma in due time.

The rest of the day consisted of us trying to cheer Kylee up by eating, binge-watching movies of her choosing and drinking. Well, it was more Evelyn and Kylee who were drinking from the bottle of rosé since Ruby and I decided we didn't want to drink. I wasn't up for another fight with Evelyn about me drinking. Ruby was currently lying across my outstretched legs and Kylee had her head on Evelyn's shoulder. We were all laughing at Evelyn's impression of Axel since the others were having a go at making fun of him. Evelyn's expression immediately changed when Daniel decided to come downstairs to go into the kitchen since it was nighttime. She glared at him with hatred, her eyes blazing. 

"For one night Evelyn, don't be a grumpy pants and give Daniel that look, it gives you wrinkles" Kylee slurred. At this point, she was tipsy, probably on the edge of being completely drunk if she has one or two more drinks. 

"I am not a grumpy pants" Evelyn grumbled bitterly.

"You're the definition of it" Ruby joked.

"Why are we attacking me?!" Evelyn shouted in mock offence as she threw her arms into the air. 

I chuckled while the others laughed loudly. I noticed from my peripheral vision Daniel stare at me when he paused by the stairs, clutching a plate of leftover pizza we didn't eat before going to his room again. Ruby nudged my side making me turn to her. She smirked and wiggled her eyebrows. I rolled my eyes, ignoring her. Everything went back to the usual joking atmosphere among us but it didn't last long with Evelyn's now drunken state. Once she's drunk, she starts blurting random things out and sometimes, depending on the person, she can offend someone because sometimes she'll blurt out truths or starts mocking them.

It's how she's always managed to get into trouble, like the time she bad-mouthed a cop and almost got arrested. That would have been the second time she got arrested if she didn't get away quick enough. Tonight is no different. Just when I thought she could forget about Daniel since he still lives here, she started to talk about him just when he had appeared back downstairs to put his empty plate in the sink. She made sure to be loud for all of us to hear, specifically Daniel.

"You wanna know what's funny? Daniel, there is such a manwhore and I bet you it's because of his issues with the fact of his father being dead" Evelyn slurred. My eyes widened. 

My mind tried to register what she just said. I looked towards Daniel who stood frozen at the stairs with one foot on the bottom step and his left hand on the railing, looking down. He was clutching that railing with clenched knuckles, it almost turned white. His other hand was curled into a fist. He was ready to punch something but he's holding his anger back. Evelyn had gone too far. She's has spoken many insults at Daniel that he's had to deal with, too many to count, but this was crossing the border. Bringing up a serious topic like that was horrendous of her to do. She may be drunk but she meant it.

"Evelyn!" Kylee hissed as a warning.

"What? I'm stating the truth, he's a fuck up and a disappointment to his deceased father and his mother" Evelyn argued, continuing to throw insults at him.

"How about you shut the fuck up" Daniel sneered. 

"Aw, are you hurt? Is it because you know I speak the truth? No one is going to love you with the way you act, going around from women to women, being a dick to others, a heartless bastard" Evelyn provoked. That hit Daniel hard. He directed his fiery glare at Evelyn. "I remember when I told you this the day after Harmony's birthday, you could never get someone like that to like you for real because you will never change, you would eventually break her heart that's why I told you to leave her alone to move on with her life instead of corrupting her." Daniel looked at me, his lips turning into a frown. The guilt in his iris' shined through. I felt like I was hyperventilating at the revelation of Evelyn's words.

I don't know if I heard her correctly but I'm pretty sure she just admitted to talking to him the night after my birthday. How could she? Why would she do that? Wait, it must have been because she knew I was with him the night before. But now I'm wondering if that influenced Daniel's choice of action the following Monday after my birthday. Evelyn had no right to intercept my life and ruin it by telling him to stay away while also scaring him off. My blood was starting to boil. Every time when I think she'll prove me wrong and just once stay away and let me be, she does the exact opposite and does something to mess it all up, causing trouble for me. Before Evelyn could start spitting out more insults, I decided to speak up.

"Evelyn, shut up!" 

Evelyn stared at me dumbfounded with her mouth agape while I glared at her. I've had it with her. Enough was enough. "Why? What, are you sticking up for him?" she snapped. 

"Yeah, I am since you're being an even bigger bitch than your usual self" I shot. 

I was beyond furious at her behaviour tonight. I hated the thought of Daniel with other girls and when she talked about it, I won't say it didn't hurt but I don't care about that right now.  I'm sick of her always butting into my life and doing something to negatively affect it. She could have left it alone but she had to just speak up in order to 'protect me' but it led to me feeling like absolute shit after. The fact that she would also purposely try to hurt Daniel and throw around insults as if it was nothing was annoying. And It wasn't her place to act like she had the right to reveal something so personal about his father that he probably didn't want anyone to know. He doesn't deserve to be treated like rubbish, especially by Evelyn. Even if she is drunk, it doesn't make up for her acting like an irritating brat.

"And what? You're trying to be the big hero? How pathetic, we all know you're weak and fragile, a total prude, which is all because of your abandonment issues because of your father considering he constantly ignores you unless he needs to yell at you for being incompetent and pathetic" Evelyn taunted.

"Evelyn shut the fuck up before you get yourself punched, and by that, I mean by me you goddamn bitch" Kylee growled.

"God, how is it that you're an annoying bitch when you're drunk and sober?" Ruby muttered. 

I remained mute, almost numb at her words. It hit hard. I could feel the pang in my chest more intensely than I ever have. I've never mentioned anything about my father. I only lie and say he's busy or on a business trip. She didn't know the half of it but she was correct and it hurt to hear it out loud. I don't know how she found out but that didn't matter, what mattered was that she used it against me in order to gain a reaction and it worked, she got what she wanted. The smug smirk on her face said it all.

"Fuck you Evelyn" I spat. I narrowed my eyes at her as I held in my tears, my vision becoming blurry. 

I will not let her be right about me being weak and fragile. She will not see me cry. I stood up before sprinting upstairs, past Daniel, and into the bathroom, slamming the door closed. That's when I finally let the tears run down my face as I sobbed. It felt like I couldn't breathe, it was as if my throat was closed up. I could hear the muffled voices of Daniel's shouting and Kylee and Ruby both arguing with Evelyn. I covered my ears, closing my eyes shut, wanting it to be quiet. I fell to my knees, resting my back against the bathtub. I uncovered my ears to then cover my mouth to stop the uncontrollable sobs.

I hated that she got to me, I hated myself for letting her get to me. It was the one thing that always managed to hit a nerve. I never mention anything about my father because people can use it against me to hurt me. Oh god, who was I kidding? She was probably right, I am fragile because here I am, crying on the floor of a bathroom toilet. It's my fault, I let her words hit me where it hurts. She meant those words, the drinks helped her voicing it. Drunk people speak truths that they've been hiding, that's why it's dangerous.

I could still hear the muffled voices of the shouting match going on downstairs. It felt all too familiar. It wasn't helping with my anxiety. I wanted it all to stop. I wanted to go home and curl up in blankets to hide away from the cruel world. But I also wanted to be strong though that felt like a near-impossible task. I kept wiping my tears away but they felt neverending. I tried to stare up at the ceiling to see if that would stop my tears but it didn't work. My breath hitched at the sound of a knock at the door. Shit, I hope it wasn't Evelyn there to pick another fight or to apologise because she was forced to. My worries washed away as soon as I heard the familiar urging voice of Daniel's from the other end of the door.

"Open up Harmony, please." 

I got up from my spot, sniffing and wiping the tears from my cheeks as I walked to the door. I opened it up for Daniel to immediately step inside and shut the door behind him, locking it. He then cupped both my cheeks, using his thumb to brush the remaining tears away. I felt more relaxed staring into his eyes. It helped calm my nerves.

"How are you feeling?" he asked. 

"Like shit" I mumbled. Daniel sighed and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me into his chest. I clutched his shirt, closing my eyes.

"I guess we both got hit by her words huh?" he muttered against the top of my head. I nodded in agreement.

"I knew that she usually tends to say things to hurt others when she's drunk, I just didn't think she'd go that far as to say that about us," I said quietly, my voice wavering.

"I know love but you know she's wrong, right? You are not weak nor fragile, you are none of the things that she said, you are better, fierce, brave, sexy, something she will never be" Daniel stated. My lips instantly curled up into a smile and I went onto the tips of my toes to kiss his cheek. 

"Thank you, Daniel, I appreciate that, and I hope you know that what she said was total bullshit because to me you are the exact opposite, you are kind-hearted, someone who cares and I imagine your parents, both of them, would and are proud of you because of who you are today," I declared. The corners of Daniel's mouth twitched up. He leaned down and kissed my forehead.

"You are too kind for your own good," he muttered. "So you're not upset about what she said about me being with other women?"

"Oh no, that killed a little when she mentioned that but that's not you now....right?" It was a question rather than a statement. He nodded.

"Not anymore, Evelyn got to me and I ran away but ended doing the very thing that she wanted to protect you from, I know you still don't trust me because of the stunt that I pulled after our last kiss but I meant what I said last night, I'm going to make it all up to you, I swear" Daniel vowed. I can't believe he remembered our conversation last night though his words reassured me, it was good to hear that he was going to try.

"I trust that you will" I smiled.