Ashton: a small sigh escaped my lips. Ferne was right - this relationship wasn't working.
She was looking at me expectantly, waiting for me to speak. A sad smile graced her glossy lips and her eyes were full of disappointment, but she didn't seem angry. She felt the same way I did, I could tell.
"So what do we do?" I asked. I wanted to smile back at her and let her know that I wasn't mad either - at least not at her anyway. I was mad at myself for failing yet another relationship. I couldn't seem to get it right.
"You..." Ferne began, her face lighting up a bit, "you need to tell [Y/N] how you feel about her."
I stared blankly at her for a few seconds, trying to let her words sink in.
"I- I don't...." I trailed off.
"Yes you do. You and her are the only two people who can't see it. Believe me."
"I... I..."
"Ash, I'm not angry, I promise. You didn't know. Hell, neither did I. If I'd figured this out earlier I would never have dated you, but I can see how much you like her. And I can't blame you, she's stunning. You have to tell her."
I was shocked. I hadn't expected her to say any of that.
"I wouldn't know what to say to her." I sighed.
"I'll talk to her. I know exactly what to say."
Before I had a chance to argue back she was gone. I scrambled after her, almost tripping over my feet in the process. I caught her up just as [Y/N] came into our line of vision. I smiled at her, allowing the usual happiness I felt when I saw her face to engulf me. Deep down I knew that I liked her, but I hadn't been willing to admit it. Ferne confidently strode over to her, leaving me to aimlessly wander around.

They had been talking for what felt like forever. I was desperate to know what they were talking about; the suspense was killing me.
[Y/N] pulled Ferne in for a hug - surely that was a good sign? They both wandered off, leaving me completely clueless. What happened now?

It wasn't too long before [Y/N] came back. I held my breath in anticipation as she approached me; she looked terrified. She stopped a couple of feet away from me and half smiled. She was paler than usual - it was a little worrying.
"So what were you and Ferne talking about earlier? Has she... told you?" I asked, hoping she would brighten up a bit soon.
She nodded. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, actually. What did she say?" I told her.
"Just some stuff. Actually there's something I need to do."
Confusion flooded through me as she sheepishly stepped forwards. Her nervous eyes didn't leave mine until her lips pressed against my own. It was over quickly, but that didn't mean that the world hadn't stopped turning for those brief seconds. Everything was moving in slow motion and I was almost at a loss for words. [Y/N] had trained her eyes to the floor and her face was an embarrassed pinkish colour. I smiled, knowing exactly what to say.
"Shit, [Y/N], finally." I mumbled.
"What?" She sounded shocked.
"I love you. I always have. I've been an idiot but I really do."
Her eyes widened. I prayed that she would say it back. It was all I wanted to hear.
"I... I love you too, Ashton."

Calum: I awkwardly stood in [Y/N]'s doorway. She hadn't noticed me yet, so I took a couple of seconds to admire her. I cleared my throat and she glanced over to me, smiling as she saw me.
I wandered over to where she was making lunch, unable to keep the fear out of my eyes.
"What's wrong?" She asked me immediately.
"How can you always tell when there's something wrong?" I replied, half-heartedly grinning at her. It was true. She just knew whenever something was wrong. It was weird. She shrugged, "best friends intuition I guess."
I laughed a little but my nerves were quick to takeover, sending me straight back into silence.
"So what's up?" She asked again.
"I broke up with my girlfriend."
There was a loud smash as the bowl she was holding hit the floor and shattered everywhere.
"Crap." She muttered under her breath. She shook her head and turned her attention back to me. "Why did you break up with her?"
"I- uh- sorta realised that I was in love with someone else... So I didn't think it would be fair on her to keep it going." I explained.
Her bright eyes glazed over and the corners of her mouth tugged downwards. She almost looked disappointed.
"Who?" She asked, the momentary disappointment vanishing from her face.
Now was the time I needed to man up. I had gotten this far - I couldn't wimp out now.
I stepped towards her, my heart racing. I manoeuvred between the pieces of shattered glass and eventually I was stood no more than half a centimetre away from her. I could feel her breath on my lips and I could smell the sweet strawberry scent of her hair.
I looked into her eyes for a moment before I spoke. It was easy to get lost in those dark little pools.
"You." I whispered. My mouth was dry, making my voice come out raspy and quiet.
She didn't say anything for a few minutes, which fuelled my anxiety. I hoped she couldn't hear how loud my heart was beating.
"[Y/N], please say something." I begged, unable to wait any longer.
"Me?" She said in disbelief.
I nodded, "yeah, you."
Before I knew it she was in my arms and hugging me tightly.
"I love you too, Calum." She whispered into my chest. I kissed the top of her head and breathed in her addictive scent.
"Good," I mumbled, distracted by how good she smelt, "that's really really good."

Luke: I felt awful. I was breaking up with this girl, this really great girl, and all I could think about was the time. I was already late. I wondered when she was going to start the car again. Hopefully [Y/N] would understand. Hopefully she would do more than understand... I shook the thought from my head and tried to concentrate.
"Luke, you're in love with her. All day you've been saying that you couldn't be late for her again. She's all you're ever thinking about."
My words got stuck in my throat.
"I-" I began, my voice useless.
"I should never have dated you in the first place. I could see how much you loved her even then."
"But I..."
"I know you didn't know, Luke. It... It's fine."
"I'm sorry," I whispered, hardly daring to look her in the eye.
"I know you are. You need to tell her." Her voice was soft and forgiving and it made me feel worse. I looked up at her, surprised to find her smiling.
"She likes you too, Luke." I shook my head, not dating to believe her.
"She does. Come on, I'll take you to her place."

I kissed her forehead and thanked her before I jumped out of the car. I was so late.
---
I didn't bother knocking before I walked in. The house was dark, but I could hear [Y/N] shuffling in the living room. I stood before her, my heart beating wildly. Her eyes were red - she had been crying. I wanted to punch myself when I realised her tears were over me.
"[Y/N] I'm so sorry I'm late. Well, really late. But I've got some news. I think you'll like it."
I breathed, sitting down next to her.
She looked at me expectantly, waiting for me to speak. It was now or never.
"I broke up with my girlfriend."
"What?"
"Babe I've got a confession to make."
I wiped my sweaty palms on my jeans and took a deep breath.
"I'm in love with you."
Her beautiful eyes widened and my heart pounded. I willed my hands to stop shaking.
"Wait, Luke, what?" She whispered, disbelief etched into every word.
"I've only just realised, I'm so sorry, but I do. I love you. Shit, I really do."
I couldn't fight the urge to kiss her anymore. I pressed my lips to hers, savouring every second of it. Her lips tasted just as I imagined them to, but so much better.
"I'm sorry, I just... I needed to do that. Please say you'll give us a chance. Please." I whispered onto her lips.
"Luke, slow down. What happened?"
"She noticed before I did. I kept saying how we had to be back in town before seven so that I could get to you in time. And then she just pulled the car over and outright told me that I was in love with you."
"She wasn't mad?"
"No. We had a really long talk, which is why I'm so late. We talked about why I'd never noticed before and it's basically because I'm an idiot. I didn't want to have feelings for you because I was terrified of losing you, but that just proves how in love with you I am. But shit, [Y/N], I don't wanna deny this anymore. Please give me a chance."
I really wanted her to say yes. I needed to kiss her again.
"Of course I will you idiot. Now kiss me again."

Michael: I gritted my teeth as a tear slipped down [Y/N]'s cheek. Why was I being such an asshole to her? I should be listening to her complaining about how little time I spend with her nowadays. I should not be thinking about how nice her lips looked and how much I wanted to kiss her. I have a girlfriend for fucks sake. I tried to clear my head.
"You're just jealous. Get a grip [Y/N]." I shouted, turning and leaving angrily. If I stayed any longer I didn't know if I would be able to keep my lips off hers. I needed to get out.
She had every right to be pissed at me - we were supposed to be best friends. I shouldn't be treating her like this.

I found myself in this shabby little pub full of people who looked like they wanted to knock me out cold. And I wanted them to.

I woke up the next morning with a dull ache running through my entire body. I needed some painkillers. As I stood up the throbbing in my head increased and I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. A split lip and a black eye - not too bad. I ran my finger over my lip and winced. It hurt a hell of a lot more than I thought it would.
By the time I got to Elena's house I was feeling a bit better. Well, physically anyway. Mentally I was falling apart, but hopefully I could fix that. I had a reason to be here. It was time to sort things out. Time to sort myself out.
She greeted me with a smile that soon dropped when she saw my appearance. I shuffled into her apartment and let her fuss over me for a few minutes before I told her to stop.
"Elena." I said quietly, not wanting to meet her eyes. I could tell that she knew why I was here.
"Why this time?" She asked, surprising me a little. I looked into her eyes. They were steely and cold but for some reason that comforted me. After I didn't speak she pointed to my injuries. "Why, Michael?" Her voice raised an octave, making me wince.
"Because..." I couldn't bring myself to say it.
"Because of her again, right? You had another stupid fight with the girl and then when you couldn't feel anything you decided the only thing you needed to feel was pain. So you went to a bar and you caused a fight."
This wasn't the first time this had happened.
"I'm going to make this really, really easy." Elena said in a softer tone, "I can't stand to see you like this, and I know it's because of me."
"It's not-" I tried to interrupt but she wouldn't let me.
"Not directly because of me, but because of me you can't be with her. So this is it Michael. Break up with me, because I can't do it myself. It's what's best for both of us."
I looked at her, hardly knowing what to say. There were tears glistening in her eyes but she was attempting to smile at me comfortingly. I didn't deserve that.
"Mike," she whispered after a while and I nodded. This was it.
---
I updated my Facebook when I was on the tube. I had gotten on a random train and I wasn't really sure where I was going, and I didn't really care.
Three hours later I found myself outside      [Y/N]'s house. I stood there for a few minutes, contemplating whether I should knock or just leave. As I was about to turn to go, she burst out of the door, running straight into me.
"Hey, were you going somewhere? I can come back later." I said quietly. She glanced at the bruises on my face but didn't say anything. She knew better than to ask.
"Why are you here?" She whispered. I wasn't sure if it was possible for a person to sound fragile but she did, and it broke my heart.
"I needed to tell you something. If I'm not wanted I can go."
"No- sorry. I was on my way to find you. I saw Facebook, are you alright?"
Despite everything, I laughed. How could she still care about me after everything?
"I'm fine, [Y/N]. I can't believe that you still care even after what I said yesterday."
"Michael I care about you more than anything. And nothing you can say will stop that."
I couldn't stop myself as I grabbed her shoulders pulled her lips onto mine. Everything seemed to slow down. All of the angry voices and the bad thoughts finally just shut the hell up. My head was finally peaceful, if only for a few seconds. I didn't want to pull away, because that wasn't nearly enough, but I had to. I had to see her reaction.
Nerves wracked through me as she gazed into my eyes. Words suddenly started spilling out of me. "I think I said what I said last night because I knew you were right about me neglecting you. But the thing is... Well I didn't do it because I don't care about you, I did it because I do. I've been trying to avoid you to stop myself feeling like this I mean... I had a girlfriend. It was wrong of me. But I had to break up with her because I realised that I can barely go a day without seeing you, let alone the rest of my life. So... I'm sorry. [Y/N]. If you don't want this then can we at least be friends? Please?"
I sounded desperate but I didn't care. I needed her.
"Michael... I do want this. I've always wanted this. Just friends isn't enough."
That was all I needed to hear to send the happiness coursing through me. I felt lighter somehow. In seconds I had my lips back on hers.