Avalon paid no heed to this and continued.

"You still love me and you know it!" She screeched.

Aaron dragged a hand through his hair in frustration.

"I don't love you, Avalon. How can I when I love Lexi?" He shouted.

Everything stopped for me there.

Aaron froze in his tracks, having realised what he said.

But, I couldn't concentrate on anything over the beating of my heart.

"Are you guys done yet?!" Danny whined, a hand covering his face with his eyes. He was never one to prefer the violent video games and Aaron smirked from where he was sat on his bed.

"Maybe. Maybe not." He drawled teasingly and Danny let out a louder whine, making Aaron laugh. It was Justin who put an end to it who stood up from the bed, putting the controller away.

"Stop whining or I'll turn the console back on." He said bluntly and it put an immediate stop to Danny's whining as he peered out from behind his fingers. When he saw that the TV was now off, his lips pulled into a grin and he clapped his hands together, the sound echoing against the walls. Aaron could only smile as he watched Justin's glare intensify at the sound.

"Great! Let's go eat then; I'm starving!" He said cheerily and it was then that Aaron spared a glance around the room, hoping to lock eyes with the familiar brown, but she was nowhere to be found. He could have sworn, when he had begun gaming, that she was there. Now, however, it was only the boys, along with Avalon who was stood leaning by the door, busily scrolling through her phone.

"Where's Lexi?" He muttered more to himself, but the rest of them heard of them, looking around also.

"She's probably in the bathroom or something. Let's get her so we can go eat together!" Avalon finally spoke, smiling widely and Aaron nodded, knowing that Lexi had to eat. Yes, she was officially cured, but there was still a risk of reoccurrence. He had to make sure she was healthy this time and not neglecting her body like she typically did; that was his responsibility.

They walked out together then with Danny still complaining about how he'd have nightmares due to the game and Aaron could only laugh as he heard the familiar head slap. He was about to further tease Danny or rile Justin up but, before he could speak, Avalon interrupted him.

"Is Sam's door usually left open like that?" She asked curiously and his head snapped up in response, looking to the wide-open door with a frown. He held in the emotional turmoil that plagued him; the one that brought back the memories of walking past her room and seeing her in there, reading a book. Or, her smile as she wished him 'good morning' in the kitchen. He held it back because he knew there was nothing he could do to change it; she was gone and those moments were only distant memories now.

He dismissed the thoughts as they waded towards her door and he felt his body still as he saw the sight: the very sight of Lexi having tears in her eyes as she held to the tattered remains of something. It was with a few seconds of processing that he realised what it was and his heart clenched painfully as he recognised his mother's most treasured possessions.

Torn into shreds.

"Oh my god." Avalon whispered, edging slowly into the room. She looked towards Aaron, tears in her eyes, but he couldn't turn to her. His main focus was what was in front of him: the torn blanket and his Lexi crying. How could he focus on anything else if he was seeing this?

He felt the destitute emptiness within him then; he had been meaning to hold it back, but just looking at what was in front of him brought it back like a crashing wave. His mother was gone; she had left him. Her warmth was never to caress him again; never to lighten his heart. She was, in all senses, away from him and it tore at his heart, clawing at his mind like an ugly beast. It hurt him in ways he could not imagine to know he would not be able to see her again.

The thought was enough to stir his lifeless form forward and he could only take the tattered pieces on the floor, putting it together as thought it would fix anything, but nothing would fix this. She was taken away from him cruelly and- now- so were here memories. There was nothing left. He would have delved further into the dark thoughts had he not heard Lexi let out a sob and he snapped his gaze up, his heart clenching further. He felt the worry fill him at the sight of her, but couldn't ever fathom an expression due to the emptiness within him.

He watched as her glassy eyes went wide at his sudden approach, but he wasn't going to let that stop him and he continued his voyage towards her, until they were a finger-space apart.

He felt his eyebrows furrow in anger and his fists clench as he watched her breathe heavily through her tears. He felt angry to see her so distraught and he involuntarily dragged a hand through his hair before looking her in the eyes, again.

He moved his hand towards her, wanting to wipe away her pain. He watched as she clenched her eyes shut in a way that worried him more. So, he tried to extinguish his concern by wiping away the tears that were cascading down her face in endless streams. She opened her eyes at this and he felt himself melt at her gaze, stroking her cheek before speaking.

"Don't worry, we'll find out who did this." He promised, his voice gentle and comforting. The need to comfort her was insatiable and he watched as her eyes widened.

"What?" She choked out quietly, through tears and he turned back to look at the mess on the floor, feeling his heart thump in sadness. It somewhat made him happier to think that Lexi was crying for Sam; that she actually cared. He turned back to her and opened his mouth to speak, but Avalon interrupted him, her voice a scarce whisper.

"Yes, Aaron, we need to find out who did this! We need to..." She had stopped now and her hand rose shakingly in Lexi's direction before she continued.

"Alexis, wha-what are those scissors doing in your hand?" She muttered quietly, but it was loud enough for everyone to hear. Her mouth was wide open and she pointed a finger towards Lexi. Aaron turned to where Lexi was glaring, opening her mouth to speak, but she was interrupted by a loud sound and Aaron turned to where Danny had banged the side of the door, an angry look on his face.

"Who cares about what she's fucking holding?!" Danny's voice boomed in the way that Aaron knew he'd do when he was angry. To others, it may seem uncharacteristic; Danny was always cheerful and happy. However, when it came to the ones he loved, Danny would often give into his temper. Aaron would typically try to calm him at times like this but, for once, he had to agree.

He nodded his head firmly, taking his gaze off Danny and onto Avalon.

"Danny's right, I want to get this fixed." He agreed and Avalon nodded at his words, walking over to where Danny and Justin stood to get a clear pan of the room.

"You're right. You're right. Okay, clues- let's look at the clues. Who was the last person in the room before it happened?" She said strategically, but Aaron couldn't think tactically right now, not when he was so distraught. He couldn't find it in himself to think so logically when it all felt like it was crumbling away.

It felt like it would drown him then, but the warmth of a hand brought him back to the surface.

"Aaron?" He heard the tear-filled voice speak and he turned to see Lexi resting a hand gently against his arm, making him intake sharply.

"I'm so sorry, Aaron. I know, you're hurt. We all are. But, Aaron, trust me. This single piece of 'material' isn't the only symbol of love or connection between you and her. No physical object can ever hold a connection that strong. You love Sam and she loves you and that's not in the blanket; it's in your heart. And, no one, can take that away from you. All those pictures on it? They're memories, Aaron. You still have them, inside your head. Sam wouldn't want to see you upset.... I wouldn't want to see you upset." She said, breathing heavily at the end, searching his eyes for some semblance of understand and he couldn't help but stare at her in awe then. Here she was, again, chasing away the darkness like a beam of light in his life. He felt happiness fill him as he placed his hand over her hand that was resting on his arm. He gave a slight smile, feeling it widen when she smiled back.

Then all of a sudden, Lexi was hauled off and he turned defensively to where Avalon had pulled her away, a menacing glare in her eyes.

"Aaron! Can't you see what's she's doing?! It was her! The scissors, her being in the room and, now, this pathetic excuse to comfort you to take the blame off herself!" She spat out before turning to glare at Lexi again.

"You're disgusting." She ground out in a way that made him see red. He opened his mouth to argue against her, but was interrupted by Lexi's voice.

"How dare you stand here and lie like that? Do you have any sense of what you just did? I know you hated me, but not to such an extent where you would attempt to frame me, using Sam's blanket?! You did this, Avalon. We both know you did. You're pathetic. I never knew how it felt to hate someone so much, until now." She finished her tirade, breathing heavily and a long silence fell in the room as everyone processed what had just been said. Not Aaron though; he wasn't processing, no. He was pulsing with a rage he hadn't felt before. It filled him, wracking his body and his fists clenched by his side.

It was taking everything for him to hold himself back but then he saw Avalon turn her glare towards Lexi, fuming with anger.

"How dare you, you hideous bitch!" She screamed, her hand flinging out towards Lexi and, suddenly, Aaron did not have control over his body. Before, her heated hand could make contact with Lexi's face, Aaron had a tight grip on her wrist, pushing her back slightly. He talked through gritted teeth, knowing it was taking everything to keep the anger at bay.

"I don't hit girls, but you're really tempting me right now." He admitted with a strained voice, turning his gaze to scan Lexi to see if she was okay.

"Do it!" Danny shouted from the side-lines, only fuelling Aaron's anger. She did not deserve his restraint.

Avalon gasped before pulling her hand out of Aaron's grasp.

"How could you defend her when you should be defending me?" She screeched, staring at him incredulously and it confused him entirely.

"You? Wait, why should I be defending you?" He asked curiously, feeling his anger subside slightly at her odd words.

Suddenly then, Avalon stormed forward, grabbing his face between her hands and he stiffened at the touch. At one point in his life, he had revelled in her caress. Even when they had broken up, he had thought about it yet now he felt uncomfortable. He couldn't even find it in himself to explain why.

"Because, us, Aaron! Us!" She shouted, tears running down her face and it only confused him further. He frowned, trying to move from her hold.

"Us? What do you mean, us? What are you talking about?" He questioned, moving slowly out of her hold. He turned to Lexi then to see if she knew what Avalon was talking about; she always had the answers. Yet, when he looked to her, she turned away, an indiscernible look on her face.

He turned back when Avalon staggered away from him slightly, before pointing at him accusingly with a finger.

"All those things you said and did? What about that. Aaron? Letting me back in? Saying you missed my laugh?Was that a lie too?" She questioned, her voice a mere whisper and he thought for a moment in confusion before the moment came back to him.

Aaron smiled at her from his position on the couch, watching as she walked into the sitting room.

"Justin's complaining about how Danny won't shut up. God, I'm so glad I'm not in that car." He said, showing her his phone. She laughed as she looked down at the text and he couldn't stop the shudder that went down his spine at the musical sound. He had to look away then, when her beauty was too overpowering, looking to the ground, lips pulling into a smile.

"God, I missed that laugh." He said, sitting back into the sofa as he revelled in her presence. It made him unfathomably happy to know he would be able to hear that laugh for years to come.

He raised his eyebrow slightly at the incredulity of her words. When had he said it was about her? He couldn't stop from showing his annoyance as he spoke.

"I wasn't talking about you. I was t-"

"Save it, Aaron!" Avalon cut him off and Aaron scoffed in anger, but Avalon ignored this, wiping the tears that rolled down her cheeks. He spared a look to Lexi to see if she had felt that too, but she wasn't looking at him, frustrating him all the more.

"That's just so typical of you, Aaron! To string a girl along!" Avalon shrieking pulled him out of worries as she poked a finger at his chest.

He groaned in frustration at this, not wanting to entertain the ridiculous conversation, but he had to or else what would Lexi think? He had to clear all misunderstandings so Lexi didn't think anything otherwise.

"When, Avalon? I said it at the beginning and I'll say it again now: I want nothing more than friendship. I acted with you like I act with all my friends and you know that." His voice boomed, making Avalon recoiled slightly, but he didn't care at this point. He didn't know why, but he had to let Lexi know what had actually happened; he needed his name to be clear in her eyes. He had thought Avalon would relent at this point but instead, much to his dismay, she lurched forward, grabbing him by the collar of his top and pulling him closer.

"I know what you want, Aaron, even if you don't know what you want! Years ago, you told me you loved me, you jerk! Where's that love now, Aaron! Where!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, making his anger increase. He tore her hands away from his shirt, feeling out of place with her touch and physical proximity.

"I don't love you, Avalon, not anymore. And, love? You're gonna preach to me about love? You don't know the fucking meaning of the word. You didn't know it when you left me and you don't know it now." He said exasperatedly, moving away from her. He wanted nothing now then to be away from her, he couldn't even explain why. He had been miserable about losing her, but now he wanted nothing more than for her to leave him alone. However, Avalon paid no heed to any dismissive expression he was giving and continued.

"You still love me and you know it!" She screeched loudly, making his ears ache. Had she always been this loud? Her accusation made his heart pulse in anger and he lurched forward without thought.

"I don't love you, Avalon. How can I when I love Lexi?" He only realised what he had said after a silence fell.

Everything stopped for him there.

Having realised what he said, Aaron froze. He hadn't even known he had felt that way, never mind actually confessing. It was just so instinctive; it felt right for him to say. Yet, still, he couldn't placate himself now, not when Lexi was still silent. He tried to turn to look at her, but couldn't quite find the courage.

For once, Aaron was shy.

____________________________

Avalon paid no heed to this and continued.

"You still love me and you know it!" She screeched.

Aaron dragged a hand through his hair in frustration.

"I don't love you, Avalon. How can I when I love Lexi?" He shouted.

Everything stopped for me there.

Aaron froze in his tracks, having realised what he said.

But, I couldn't concentrate on anything over the beating of my heart.