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.

_____________________________________________

"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.

He could feel all their stares on him but couldn't find himself to look up, especially not at her. He could feel her staring at him, almost as though she was waiting for him to look up at her yet- right now- he was finding the carpet to be a more interesting sight.

Had he actually just confessed right now?

Right now, in front of everyone, he had just so callously professed his feelings in a way that he hadn't even anticipated. Of course, he knew he had held something deep for her, but he hadn't been able to pinpoint what to call it or- rather- he had been afraid to label it 'love' in the fear that it would ruin things between them? All the people he had ever said he loved had left him in some form or another; why would Lexi be the exception?

She had even tried to leave him at one point which had made him recoil further away from his true emotions.

That he was utterly and shamelessly in love with her.

He knew it was insane and sudden. Perhaps, she would refuse his admission, but he didn't care. He had never felt something so true; so fitting so much so it shook him to his core. It stained his mind like a print, moulding him until all he knew was her and that his heart belonged to her only.

A small whimper arose then and Aaron looked to see Avalon gazing at him with a shocked expression. Her manicured hand was covering her mouth and a single tear streaked down her cheek. He found that it didn't upset him like it once did. She backed away slightly from him before opening her mouth to speak.

"What did you say, Aaron? And, remember, choose your words carefully." She threatened, her voice low. A small whimper escaped her mouth at the end of her sentence as she wiped her tears away with the back of her hand. He couldn't help but find the whole situation to be farcical now. Was she really crying after having just ruined one of his most treasured possessions? His life was truly becoming a comedic sitcom and he briefly wondered why he hadn't thought that before with all the time he had invested in her.

He broke out of his reverie when he heard footsteps, looking to see her moving closer, a heartbroken look on her face. She wiped the tears off her face again before crossing her arms across her chest.

"Answer me, Aaron. You owe me that much at least." She sobbed, a mixture of sadness and anger on her face and he suppressed the incredulous laughter. A comedic sitcom, indeed. He opened his mouth to argue back, but Danny spoke first, scoffing from his place at the doorway, an angry smile on his face.

"Owe you? You owe him a blanket, bitch." Danny's voice boomed, yet again, across the room and Aaron could tell he was growing increasingly angry. There was not much that upset Danny; he was typically a carefree and happy individual. That is, until someone hurt his loved ones. Aaron had known him now since birth and, needless to say, the amount of times where Danny would get physical with those who messed with anyone he cared about was intangible.

And now, he was incredibly angry; of course he would be. Sam had been like a mother to him also. He has every right to be angry.

Aaron had expected Avalon to act as though she usually would in the years he had known her. In the past, she had despised conflict and had recoiled when anyone had shown even a fraction of anger yet this wasn't the case now. Instead of her typical behaviour, she let out a cruel laugh before continuing.

"I'd rather you not talk. I mean, I lose enough brain cells by just looking at you. Who knows how many die when you open that mouth of yours?" She retorted, a sickly sweet smile on her face. She raised an eyebrow at him mockingly and he couldn't help but feel the anger rise at the words she had spoken about Danny; about his brother. He opened his mouth to argue, but Danny had already beat him to it, leaping towards her, a string of curses leaving his lips. Yet, before he could make contact with her, Justin had taken ahold of him, his glare fixated on Avalon.

Avalon, however, paid no heed or care to any of this and a smile stretched across her lips. It made him see red and then, suddenly, he couldn't control his anger. It was him that had brought her back into their lives and now she was insulting his loved ones? His anger pushed him forward as he looked to the look of hurt of Danny's face and then he turned back to Avalon.

"Let him go." Was all he said and he felt his rage be soothed when her smile diminished, being replaced by a look of shock. He only turned back to Justin nodding in confirmation.

"Do it. Let him go. I mean, she seems to have a lot to say about Danny from a distance. Let's see if she's quite as vocal when they're face to face." He threatened, his voice deep and low. Deep down, he knew Justin would never do such a thing, but he still reveled in making her smile drop. Still, his anger wouldn't relent even more so when she scowled at him.

"Pretty words from someone who can't stay faithful." She retorted back, flipping her hair back and the anger combined then with the incredulity of her words, making him laugh in frustration.

"Me? I don't know the meaning of faithful? Jesus, I remembered you cheating on me, but I think I forgot how fucking delusional you were." He shouted in sheer honestly. She was truly insane and he wanted nothing more than to be out of her presence. The girl he had once pined over and now the mere sight of her was making him angry. It was strange how things changed with time.

Avalon gasped dramatically, placing a hand over her hand in a way to show her feelings were hurt. More tears streamed down her face and he found it only irritated him. For him now, her tears felt like a tool to use to garner his sympathy and he couldn't take it anymore. He didn't care to.

"Just what am I delusional about, Aaron? The fact that you told me you loved me? The fact that gave me a single rose every Friday because that was the day you met me? The fact that you took me to dinner every time I heard my parents argue or how you bought me a new phone, after the old one broke, because my voice was the last thing you wanted to hear before you fell asleep? Is that what I'm delusional about?!" Avalon's voice had raised dramatically from a whisper to a full-blown scream, at the end of her sentence and he grimaced at the grating nkjse. It was with a quick processing of her words that he realised what a stupid and blinded kid he had been and- even now- how blind he was being. Too blind to notice how wrong his past was and too blind not to see what the present had put right under his nose. He felt her warm gaze and it fuelled him further.

"Dinner? Roses? A phone? You know, I should have expected you to only remember the materialistic things in the relationship. That's all you ever wanted from me, wasn't it? And, what did I do? I grovelled at your feet like a love sick puppy and did whatever you wanted me to do. Actually, after what you've just said, I've realised that all I did was give and all you did was take. Back then, I thought that was how it was supposed to be, but it's not. It's different." He ground out, now truly seeing Avalon for who she was and not for the image he had created as a love-blind child. His own admission made his eyes tepidly turn to Lexi and his heart clenched at the growing pink of her cheeks at his words.

Why hadn't how much he loved this woman realised sooner?

"It's different, huh?! You're wrong about that, Aaron. I'm not dumb; I can sense the love you feel for me. You loved me then and you still do now. Just admit it, for God's sake!" Avalon's loud exclamation made him turn to her and, instead of lashing out at her, he took the time to actually listen to her words. She had said he had loved her then and it made the same questions arise to his head as before: the questions that plagued his mind.

He had always felt something so entirely different to Avalon than he did with Lexi. With Avalon, there was a sense of comfort of being able to shirk away from reality. It was safer to not address his trauma with his father's cheating and his mother's alcohol dependency. Avalon allowed that and he reveled in the mask she provided. However, Lexi coaxed him out of that suffocating warm and into the crisp cold of reality. She made him see himself for what he truly was; she made him self-aware of all that he had become and showed him what he could be capable of if he allowed himself the chance to learn from the past.

It wasn't the same and the realisation hit him like a ton of bricks.

"You know, I don't actually think I even loved you back then. I know how it feels now and, what I felt then, was not it. There was a constant and unhealthy need to impress you. That's not love. I never loved you...."

He looked up to her with only certainty.

"And, I never will." He stated with finality and she began sobbing loudly. Albeit feeling slightly apologetic for having been the cause, he felt nothing else and just watched her, now content with the realisation of knowing why he didn't seem to care anymore. When h

Avalon had been in his life, he had been a broken person and, so, he had subconsciously used her as a distraction in order to repress the dark thoughts.

It was Lexi that had helped him get better and, with that, he found he needed no distraction anymore; no reason to shirk away from the events of his life. He didn't need Avalon anymore and he watched as she faltered slightly before clearing her throat and speaking.

"I-Is this about the cheating incident because it wasn't my fault. I'm s-sorry." Avalon spoke through tears, a pleading undertone to her voice. He didn't know what she pleading for exactly nor why she was apologising; he didn't care much for the past anymore. So, he just shook his head, the anger dissipating as he watched her blankly.

"To be honest, I don't care about that anymore. I don't feel angry about it anymore. I feel.... nothing." He admitted with honesty and he felt the weight lift off his shoulders at his words.

"I hope you're happy, Alexis. You took away everything I ever cared about." Avalon's venomous voice brought him back to the present and he snapped his gaze quickly to where she was glaring at Lexi, making him tense. He opened his mouth to defend her then, but she spoke before he could.

"No, you dropped everything you ever cared about, on the cold hard floor and I was the one to pick it up." She retorted firmly, her eyed fixed on Avalon's and he felt the warmth in his heart at her words.

But, the warmth was only replaced by anger and caution as he saw her move closer towards Lexi threateningly. His hands clenched protectively by his side as he watched her, knowing that he wouldn't allow anyone to touch her; not when he was there to protect her.

He had thought it would slightly deter Lexi but, much to his surprise, she smiled mockingly before speaking.

"Are you angry because I'm not scared of you or because your little blanket-ripping plan didn't go the way you wanted it to?" She taunted, making Aaron's heart tighten with pride.

Then suddenly, Avalon lurched for Lexi and Aaron moved just as quick, standing in front of Lexi protectively. He wouldn't allow her to face anything like that, especially when her health was still at risk.

He could only watch as Justin moved forward, grabbing her effortlessly with a single grip of his hand, a cold glare on his face.

Justin's voice came out both tired and cruel as he spoke.

"That's enough now. There's only so much Avalon drama I could tolerate." He said harshly in a way that Aaron knew Justin was already tired of her.

In response, Avalon glared at him with the intensity she could muster, making Aaron laugh. Out of all people, to try and intimidate Justin with a glare was laughable indeed.

"You too, Justin? Is that how you're all going to treat me because of single accident?" She spat out in response to his words, folding her arms.

Justin's face showed no emotion. His grey eyes looked at her, his stare cold and calculated.

"Don't tempt me, Avalon." Is all he said Aaron wondered what he was talking about.

Avalon smiled smugly, shrugging her shoulders in a way that Aaron had never seen her act.

"Try me." She dared threateningly, looking Justin dead in the eyes. She had probably forgotten that Justin was a man of his words; there was never a promise he wouldn't fulfill.

So, unsurprisingly, he nodded at her words.

"Fine." He said simply, before grabbing her by the arm and bringing her closer towards Aaron who merely looked on, confusion on his face. His body tensed when he saw the apologetic look on Justin's face, hoping that if wasn't something that would come between the two of them. After all, Justin was a brother to him too. They would never hide something too big from each other.

Not Justin, no.

"I need to tell you something. Something I should have told you before." Justin disclosed and Aaron's heart stopped then at the dampened tone of his friend's voice, his mind going erratic.

Not Justin, right?

________________________________________

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.