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Thanks Sarie12340 for letting me know that Bruno Mar's song 'When I Was Your Man' reminds her of Lacey and Carter.

A big thank you Twikkiesbabygyal for the awesome poem you posted on my facebook page! Love it! If you're interested in reading it:

Put down that razor put down that knife.

Don't let the devil take your life.

I know it hurts. I know you want it to end,

But remember God is your friend.

I know your hurt, I know your broken

But enough silent sobs let your pain be spoken.

Cry onto him and he will help you through.

Live your life he has so much for you to do.

The pain seems to hurt deep down even in a sell

but don't jump off that bridge don't jump down that well.

Lift your hands and onto him you should cry.

Let it all go cause God knows why.

Let him know your feelings and pains

And he will put sunshine in your heaviest rains.

You need to trust in him.

So drop that razor and drop that knife

He loves you and he wants you to have a life.

I absolutely love reading anything like this! If any of you have any hidden talents with designing either covers/banners, books jackets or writing any cool poems or anything, please let me see them! Even if you just think a song reminds you of any of my stories or something along those lines. Can either email me on , message me on here or post on my Facebook page! (Posting on my fb page would be funner, let's admit it). Oh and I'm alwaysssss on Instagram (laurenj_22) so you can DM me on there whenever!

Dedication: Thank you ShiningLights for the amazing cover. Love it! :)

Recap:

"Tonight was good. I hope we can continue our walks. It's the best part of my day. Call me if you want a ride home or somewhere to stay. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Okay." I smiled up at him.

"Okay."

I groaned, wanting to face palm myself. I did it again. He laughed as he disappeared through the door. Exhaling, I stood there for a few moments, making sure I was composed, before emerging out. I wandered toward the lounge, where Anna was perched, chatting to someone I didn't know. She leapt to her feet, completely ignoring them once she saw me.

"Thank God, get me away from this loser."

"That's not very nice," I laughed. I squinted at her, seeing some hickeys slashed across her neck. "Good night?"

"Yeah, yours?" she smirked, raising her eyebrows suggestively. "Lover girl."

"You can't talk."

"Touche. Let's go home, my head aches, my feet hurt and my hangover is already trying to kill me."

"I feel ya," I laughed, grabbing her hand.

I was definitely glad I came out tonight.

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It felt as though a hammer had been inserted inside my brain and was having its own party there. My mouth was drier than sand paper and my stomach was churning uncomfortably. I slowly moved into sitting position, my head hitting the roof of Anna's car. Why I agreed to sleep here after the party was beyond me. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Anna unattractively sprawled across the back seat, her make-up smeared across her face.

Scrunching my nose up, I tumbled out of the car, the fresh air feeling amazing. I gagged involuntarily and dropped to my knees. My mouth began watering and I squeezed my eyes shut, telling myself to never, ever drink again. I then proceeded to vomit my entire last night's alcohol across the newly mowed grass. Wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, I went back into sitting position and leaned heavily on the car.

Last night had been fun. I drank too much but had an awesome time, nonetheless. Clearly, since I was feeling the opposite right now. Carter's lips... A goofy smile danced across my lips as I remembered him. He had been so great. My grin widened as he was actually a gentleman and didn't give in to my 'wants' at the time.

I really should thank him.

Clambering to my feet, I realised I needed to get home. I began tapping furiously on the window, in attempt to wake up sleeping not-so-beauty from her coma. Like someone had poisoned her, she went into a fit.

"What day is it? What year? What country am I in?"

An unattractive snort escaped me as I stared at her. Her messy, red hair stuck across her face and she hastily wiped it away, genuinely looking lost. It was a little hard to believe someone as gorgeous as her woke up looking like this, although I can't say I looked a million dollars right now either. I opened the door and perched at the end of the seat, giving her a bright smile.

"Morning sunshine!"

"Woah," she said, holding up her hands. "Tone down the level of enthusiasm please. Too early to deal with that."

"It's actually almost afternoon," I pointed out, glancing down at my watch.

After my not-so-pleasant vomit, I was feeling refreshingly better, thankfully. Can't say the same for Anna, however. Sure, I still felt off and yuck, but at least I knew I wouldn't vomit again. That was the worst.

"I need a shower."

"Me too."

"Do you think I'm still over the limit?" she questioned, clutching her head in her hands, her skin turning visibly paler by the second.

"I don't think you would be. You stopped before me and it's almost 12 now, so you should be fine. You're not driving very far anyway."

"True. I'll drop you off and head home."

"Are you functioning well enough to drive yet?" I asked curiously as she staggered from the car, looking possessed.

"I'll be right."

I stared at her dubiously with a frown. She slid behind the wheel and I removed myself from the back seat and planted my butt in the passenger, where I had spent the uncomfortable night's sleep. The car rumbled to life and I immediately wound down the window. The rush of cool air around us was definitely welcomed. I rested my head back, the cool air fanning across my face feeling quite nice. I closed my eyes, deciding the sun was too bright.

We reached my house and I leapt from the car, dragging all my stuff with me. I gave Anna a salute and she stared back, looking like death.

"I shall communicate with you later, when I am functioning properly."

"Can't wait," I laughed. "Thanks for the lift!"

She cringed at the high tone of my voice and waved at me dismissively. I laughed and slammed the door shut. I wandered into my house and straight up to my room. I shed my clothes from last night and let the hot water of my shower swallow me up. The steam felt amazing to breathe in and the water running over my skin helped relax my knotted muscles. I sighed, leaning on the glass, feeling a lot more human already.

After spending longer than necessary in there, I emerged and slipped on a light, summer dress with daisies splashed across it. I let my hair naturally dry, letting it hang limply down my shoulders. I padded down the stairs and realised no one was home.

Making myself some toast and juice, I perched on the kitchen island and let myself eat. I began to feel better after that. After brushing my teeth, well, more like scrubbing them, I felt ten times better.

Now, to do what I had been planning to all morning. Visit Carter. Slipping on some sandals, with a deep exhale, I headed over next door. I knocked a couple times on the door, before slipping in. I met Miranda half way down the hall.

"Oh hi Lacey." she greeted. There was still a bit of tension between us from when I stayed here, but we'd known each other forever, so we were in the process of moving on. And by 'moving on' I mean pretending the whole 'running-away-dropping-bombshell-on-her' thing didn't happen. Unfortunately the only thing left between us was awkwardness. "Carter's just up in his room studying."

A laugh automatically left my mouth. Carter, studying? What a joke. Never in his life has Carter studied for anything and yet, much to my frustration, aces any test he sits. It has been something that has bugged me ever since we were young. He was brilliant at most things and academically, was a star student without any effort in his behalf.

She frowned at me. "He really is studying. The last couple of weeks he hardly has done anything else."

My eyebrows shot up. "Really?"

"Really."

"Huh, there you go. I just have to see him briefly, I won't distract him for too long."

"Go on up." she smiled, turning from me although the smile seemed a little forced. "He could use the break."

What on earth was he studying for? Unless he was really making sure he was really prepared for the end of year exams, I have no idea what else there could be. As ninja-like as possible, I crept up his gigantic stair case and made my way toward his room. Much to my pleasure, his door was half-open. There was no ear-splitting music coming from his room, no angry grunts as he did weights. Just suspicious silence.

I inched closer and poked my head through the door. His back was to me as he sat cross legged on his floor. Books upon books were scattered in messy piles around him. My mouth fell open. He leaned forward and began scribbling on a notepad, which was thick of his writings.

Staring at him open-mouthed, my eyes bulging incredulously. Saying I was shocked, would be an understatement. I stood there for several minutes, just watching him. He was actually studying. I didn't recognise any of the textbooks he had, so I knew it wasn't school work. Well, none of the classes we shared anyway. I doubt he would be studying this much for football...

I leaned forward to try and see what the textbooks titled and the door creaked loudly, successfully giving me away. His head snapped toward me and I froze. Busted. He clambered to his feet almost in a panic. It was like he was caught stealing or something.

"Hey."

"Hey?" I said back but it came out more of a question, my eyes still glued to the books. "I just came over to thank you last night for looking after me but you look busy so..."

"Never too busy to talk to you."

A genuine smile stretched across my face. I dragged my eyes to him and felt a blissful sigh leave me as I took in his Godly appearance.

"How are you feeling?"

"Fine. You?"

"Better now." I walked cautiously toward him, looking down at the piles of books around him. "What's all of this?"

"Promise you won't laugh?"

"Promise."

"I'm studying."

"Obviously. Studying for what, though?"

"To become a paramedic."

His answer was even more surprising than the fact that he was studying in the first place. For a long time I always thought he would win some sport scholarship and go on to be an athlete, despite having the ability to probably become a neurologist. The fact that he was actually using his brain instead of his muscles for something was... astonishing. It made sense though, his father being a doctor and all. And he had been really obsessed with Grey's Anatomy. He even called his car Meredith after Meredith Grey, the main star of the show.

"Wow, I didn't know you wanted to be a paramedic." I replied, not taking my eyes away from the books. "How long ago did you decide this?"

"I've thought about it for a few months and the last few weeks I thought I better study up on it. It's really something I want to do."

"Good on you." I grinned, genuinely happy for him. "I'm glad you figured out what you want."

He smiled at me. "Have you given any thoughts about what you want to do after school?"

Having a serious discussion with him felt so bizarre. Usually we would be bantering about each other's feelings for each other or just in the moment type things, but an actual talk about our future? We hadn't done this for a long time.

"I'm not really good at anything."

"That's a lie." he said almost angrily, much to my surprise.

He sat back on his bed and gestured for me to follow suit. I did. We stared at each other, both not really knowing what to say.

"I think you would be good something like a personal trainer or a nutritionist."

Both actually sounded up my alley. He always knew me better than I knew myself and I had often hated the fact.

"I have thought about being a personal trainer before."

"You'd be good at it. You're fit and you're mean." he said teasingly, giving me a light shove. "Plus, you're hot. I'd want to impress you."

I rolled my eyes at him. "Oh would you now?"

"Yep."

He smirked at me and I laughed. I decided to jump straight into the deep end and address what happened last night.

"Last night was fun."

"It was." he agreed. "What are you doing tonight?"

"I don't know."

"I'm going to take you to dinner." he announced. "Let's get take away Chinese and go eat it at the beach. We can star gaze, just like we used to."

An excited grin broke out on my face. "Okay, sounds good."

"Okay."

"I better let you get back to studying..." the words still sound foreign on my tongue. "I'll see you tonight?"

"I'll swing by your place at about six?"

"Sure."

"See you then." he said, leaning forward. It surprised me but didn't at the same time. Our lips met and I sighed in pure bliss, loving the feel of his against mine. He pulled back too soon and I got up. With an awkward wave over my shoulder, I left. I leaned against the wall once outside his room, my hands trembling slightly. My body went into freak-out mode whenever he touched me.

Anna was going to be ecstatic when she hears what my plans are for tonight.

***

It was 5:59pm exactly when he turned up.

I had been sitting in the lounge room, trying not to be excited for the last hour. I had on a dark maroon dress and my favourite black, leather jacket on, which I knew Carter loved. But I wasn't trying to impress him or anything...

My hair tumbled in natural waves, cascading down my back. I had on the jewellery he bought me for my sixteenth birthday and the perfume I knew he liked. He hardly had a chance to knock before I wrenched the door open, giving him a grin.

"Hey."

"Hey Lace." he smiled, his eyes dipping low. "You look amazing."

"Thanks, you too." I blurted automatically.

"Always do." he winked with a playful smirk. "You ready? I already ordered our food, it should be ready by the time we get there."

"Oh good, I'm starving." I replied gratefully, whisking the door shut behind me. He already knew exactly what I would eat anyway, so there was no point waiting for me. I was one of those annoying people that hogged the menu and looked at it for ages, but end up ordering the same thing they always do.

Immediately, his warm hand found mine and I let out a breath I hadn't realised I had been holding. Walking at night with him honestly had become my most favourite part of the day. I just loved being with him, despite everything we have been through.

We walked in silence for a while, but it was a comfortable one. I let my eyes sweep around and inhaled the cool, night air. I rolled my neck back so I could star up at the amazing stars. They contrasted perfectly against the dark sky. I loved star gazing.

"Carter, the paramedic." I breathed toward the sky. I'm glad Carter was leading me otherwise I probably would have ran head first into one of the electrical poles by now. "It has a nice ring to it."

"You think so?"

"I know so. You would be a great paramedic. You're intelligent, good with your hands, indifferent to blood, list of qualities needed for the job goes on really."

I glanced over at him to see him grinning. A small dimple appeared on his left cheek and I felt my own lips stretch into a smile at it. Reaching up with my vacant hand, I ran my fingertip across it. He came to a stop, facing me. He leaned down and softly kissed my own cheek, before he stepped back and tugged at my hand again.

"Let's pick up the pace or your rice will be cold."

That successfully got me moving. We made our way towards the restaurant. I rested against the park bench as Carter disappeared to go get the food. I smiled up at the sky. I looked into the window, waiting for Carter and a slight gasp left my lips. My eyes narrowed. Mercedes was there, at a table. I was so close that my forehead was literally pressing against the glass now and I think I was scaring the little boy to my right. But I didn't care in that moment, my eyes were fixated on her. The guy with her... I knew that neatly clipped hair cut from anywhere.

She was having dinner with Aiden.

Why were those two dining? I turned my back on them and focused on returning my breathing to normal. They always had that flirting tension between them, makes sense they would possibly pursue their 'thing' once Aiden and I finally ended.

"You okay?"

Maybe it's just a friendly dinner? A voice whispered in the back of my mind.

I shouldn't care though, Aiden was free now and could be with whoever he wants to be. It's just a shame he can't see her for who she truly is. He could do better. Well, he could have done better than me and look how long he stuck around.

"Er-Lacey?"

Maybe she would be a better person with him. Yeah, good, be optimistic Lacey.

"Lace?"

"Huh?" I asked, effectively coming out of my whirlwind of thoughts.

"Never mind," he laughed, resting a hand on the small of my back. "Let's head to the beach, shall we?"

"O-oh, yeah." I stammered slightly.

The smell of Chinese food washed over me and my mouth watered involuntarily. I picked up the pace, eager to demolish that fried rice.

"Slow down hot stuff," he laughed, jogging after me.

We successfully made it to the beach without any other shocking, or rather, disturbing revelations. If he was happy with her and she was happy with him, then I suppose I should be happy. I'm not really friends with either of them anymore, so it's none of my business. Even though I promised Aiden we would remain friends. I was contently happy with Carter right now and that's all that mattered. Those days of being meddled by them were behind me and I only wanted to move forward with my life.

I collapsed down onto the sand, Carter following suit. I savagely rummaged through the bags and grabbed my rice. He smirked at me in amusement as I shovelled a mouthful in without taking a breath.

"I'm hungry." I said, still with my mouth full, in defense.

"Clearly."

We ate in silence mostly and it wasn't until I was almost finished my food that I confessed what I saw.

"Did you see Mercedes when you got our food?"

He tensed automatically at the mention of her. "No?"

"She was with Aiden."

Slowly, he put down his fork and glanced over at me. "Are they a thing now?"

I shrugged in attempt to seem nonchalant. "Probably."

"What do you think about that?"

I almost smiled at his seriousness. He eerily reminded me of Dr. Marez.