(did you mean it, could you feel it? when you broke into my head. Did you fake it, just to break another stranger in your bed. Was it worth it perfect when upped and left me cynical.)

Over the next few days, Alex had tried everything in his power to get me back, whether it was flowers, cards or calling at my house. Each time I sent the flowers back, ignored the calls or binning the cards. At this point, I didn't want him to do the cliche things, and I told him this when I passed him in the street as he chased after me. He needed to prove to me that he was really sorry, not impress me the way he would usually get girls, I wanted to be able to know he really meant, and that he would never do it again. The one thing I really wanted was for him to do the things he did when we were teenagers. The late night trips to the harbour, the drives at midnight around Baltimore where we'd end up in a deserted all-night diner eating something extremely unhealthy, or that time...

We were driving down Division Avenue, in Lutherville Timonium. I didn't know why Alex had brought me here, I mean, it was 3am and we were on one of our midnight rides in his beat up car. He eventually slowed down infront of a two-story house with a 'for sale' sign in it's front yard, I looked at Alex confused. "Alex, why did you bring us here?" I asked suspiciously. He looked at the house and smiled, a glint sparkling in his eye as he answered. "One day, this house will be ours. When we make it, I promise I will buy us this house so we can grow old together here, raise our kids and just be us. I swear." He took my hands at this point, placing something cold in my palms. I was too speechless to say anything, my eyes were still locked in his, he took his hands out of mine and I slowly looked down, seeing a silver ring shining in the moonlight. "It's a promise ring." He began, "it's to show you that I will never leave you, I will never love anyone as much as I love you. I swear down." Tears began to fill my eyes as he held it up into the light and I saw an engraving on the inside of the ring. 'I got a story it's almost finished all i need is someone to tell it too maybe, that's you.' It was our song, our song in a ring. Something that would stay forever, words couldn't describe the happiness I felt at this moment. I looked up at Alex and smiled, "I love you." He took the ring and put it on my finger, smiling at me too and he replied "I love you too."

I put the ring box in my pocket, not putting it back into the drawer of memories that had stayed out since that night, everything was neatly organised and placed inside it, and I would spend nights looking through the pictures, remembering how much fun I'd had. I didn't look at them with sadness anymore, now I looked at them with joy realising they were the nest years of my life, but it was time to move on. Tonight, I decided to do something different after looking through the photos. I decided to visit Alex and finally talk to him about things as grown ups.

I walked down the street, Alex's hoodie clinging to me in cold weather of the night as I walked down Pool Road and approached his house. The lights in the front room were on, which gave me a good idea that he was still awake at 1am, seen as I knew Rian had gone to visit Cass in Florida. I walked up the path to the door, but before I had time to even knock, he opened the door and just looked at me, a flicker of hope passing through his eyes. Finally, I could see my Alex back and at peace with everything. "Come in."

I walked into his house, finally looking at it properly. The main difference was that it was actually tidy, but it was also very...mature. The walls were a jade-green colour, and everything looked new. I could understand why it was like this though, I mean, he's on tour most of the year on a dirty, smelly bus, why shouldn't his home be the complete opposite? Alex went into the kitchen and turned the kettle on, getting two cups out of the cupboard and placing them on the side before turning to me. "Seen as you're here to talk, want some margarita?" He asked, and I was taken a-back, it's as if he knew I would come round to talk, he knew me too well.

I nodded and walked over to the couches where two dogs had taken up one between them, happily snuggled into each other sleeping as I sat down in the couch opposite. Alex brought over my margarita and placed it on the wooden coffee table before turning the TV off. "So, where d'ya wanna start?" He asked calmy, sitting cross-legged facing me. It was weird that still, after all these years we still unconsciously mirrored each other. I took a sip from my drink and then began, taking the ring out of my pocket and handing him it. "I remember the night you gave me this. I never threw anything that you gave me out, or any pictures." I sighed as he examined the ring before looking up at me. "I can tell, I mean, you're wearing my hoodie afterall, oh. That reminds me. Do you still carry that strand of photos from the booth with you?" He asked. I nodded, taking it out of my jeans pocket and holding it infront of him. "Look at the edge." He said, pointing under the last picture. For the first time ever, I noticed that the bottom wasn't really the last picture. The last picture had been ripped off.

Alex got up and left the room for a moment, coming back with his wallet and sitting back in the position he was earlier, handing me the wallet. "Here, look inside." I took the wallet, opening it up and looking through before I came to the little pocket that holds a picture, which is when I saw it. The last picture. The one I didn't remember.

It was Alex and I, just like the one of us just looking into each others eyes, but there was something different about it. I looked closer, trying to figure out what it was, and then I saw it. The difference was so minute, but it was still there and it made the picture show so much more emotion than the ones I had. The difference was we were holding our hands up, the grip looked unbreakable, and I could see why he took it. Love crashed through me like a tidal wave, overwhelming me as tears filled my eyes and I realised he's never stopped looking for me or hoping I'd come back. Alex took me into his arms as I sobbed and just held me, soothing and rocking me until I began to calm down. He wanted nothing from me at this point, he just wanted to be there for me now.

After around twenty minutes, I eventually calmed down enough to be sit back out of Alex's arms but all I could think about was that memory...

"Alex, why are we doing this?" I laughed as he dragged me into a photobooth outside Hot Topic. We'd decided to skip the afternoon of lessons today because we didn't really want to do math, and Alex came up with the idea of coming to Towson Town Center and just...hang. Alex put a few quarters in the hole and sat me on his lap in the white box, holding me tightly on his lap as the first flash went off unexpectedly. "Right then." I said, "Lets do some funny faces." I grinned and stuck my tongue out and assumed Alex done the same as the next flash went off, and changed my face each flash until Alex pulled me to face him and we just looked into each others' eyes smiling as a flash went off. Just before the final flash, he took my hand and held it up, squeezing it softly as his grin widened, not taking his eyes from mine. After the flash, he went "I love you Jen." I blushed, but the smile on my face went wider as I leant in to kiss him. "I love you too Alex."

I shook my head, not trying to shake the memory but realising I didn't want to have a relationship with Alex as his girlfriend, we needed to just be friends. Unfortunately, Alex didn't know exactly what was going through my head, as he leant in closing his eyes. I shuffled back, not realising that it would end with me falling on the floor hitting my head on the wood. Within a flash, Alex was by my side trying to help me up and he lifted me back onto the sofa, lying me down and putting a pillow under my head. "Sorry..." he whispered, sitting on the coffee table watching me concerned. "I'm fine. Seriously." I said sitting up, feeling light-headed as I got up but began to focus quickly after blinking a few times.

I turned to Alex, looking at his concerned face, taking it in my hands. "We can't do this Alex, we can't go back to like we were straight away. We need to be friends first, and see of it will develop into something more that way. We can't jump into what we had like we did before, it hurt us both more than anything." I whispered stroking his face, wiping the tears that were forming from his eyes as he nodded. "I'm going to New York tomorrow, to start writing for the new album. Maybe the time apart will help us both think." He suggested and I nodded. "I wanna stay in contact with you while I'm out there, I mean, because after New York for a few days I'm back out in L.A. so maybe we can call and skype. Like friends." He added.

"Good idea." I smiled before kissing his forehead and heading for the door.

I took the handle in my hand and turned to look at Alex once more before leaving. "See you soon Alex." He turned and looked at me, forcing a smile but realising this was necessary. "See you soon Jen."