Asher nervously ran his fingers through his hair as he took a deep breath to calm his nerves. Shifting so that the bouquet of flowers sat in his arms, he rang the doorbell, hoping that whoever was behind the door was the one person he wanted to see.

"What are you so nervous about?"

Asher closed his eyes in annoyance at the voice coming from behind him where Tristan stood smugly with his arms crossed. Sometimes he hated how similar his brother was to his younger self.

"Why did you insist on coming here with me?" Muttered Asher, blatantly ignoring his brother's question.

Before Tristan could respond with a snarky reply, the door swung open causing both brothers to turn their heads.

"Asher, dear, what a pleasant surprise," Alana's mother, Amanda, exclaimed. She quickly masked her surprise with a kind and welcoming smile. "And I see Tristan's here as well."

"Hi Mrs. Sommers," greeted both boys.

"Hello, boys, why don't you two come in?" She asked, opening the door wider. Both Asher and Tristan trailed in through the door and into the comforting home. They had been over to the Sommer's residence multiple times before and were both familiar with the layout. It was almost as if this was their second home.

"What are you doing here? Is Celine here, too?"

Tristan's grin quickly formed into a smirk as soon as he heard a familiar voice. Kimberly looked up from her seat on the couch and immediately, her expression fell when her best friend wasn't within the group. Instead, she narrowed her eyes at the boy who chose to constantly annoy her and never seemed to leave her alone.

"Can't I come visit my favorite girl?" Asked Tristan, the smirk never leaving his face.

"Favorite, my ass," she muttered under her breath, which was heard by everyone in the room. "I bet you say that to every girl."

"Language, noodle," Amanda scolded, giving her daughter a 'be nice to the guests' look.

"You know you'll always be my favorite, noodle," Tristan used the nickname her family called her, which further annoyed her.

"Whatever," Kimberly muttered, grabbing her phone from where she threw it onto the couch before standing up to leave the room.

"Why don't you and Tristan go hang out like you used to when you two were younger?" Suggested Amanda, giving her daughter another look.

"I-" Kimberly began to protest but was cut off, much to her irritation.

"I would love that, Mrs. Sommers," smiled Tristan, sending Kimberly a sly wink which made her scoff. She began her trudge up the stairs while grumbling under her breath with Tristan's towering figure trailing right behind her with an easygoing smile. "Let's go, Kimberly."

"Make sure to leave your door open, noodle!" Called out Amanda with an amused smile.

"Mom!"

The protest in her voice echoed through the house, causing both Amanda and Asher to let out a small laugh.

"I'm sorry for dropping by so suddenly," Asher apologized, giving Amanda a sheepish smile.

Amanda shook her head, giving Asher's arm a small pat. "You know you're always welcome here," It was then she noticed the beautiful bouquet in Asher's hand. "I'm assuming you're here for Alana?"

Asher rubbed the back of his neck, his face turning slightly red due to embarrassment. "I- These are actually for you. I remember how much you love lily flowers."

He handed the beautiful bouquet to Amanda who smiled knowingly. She took it with a happy glint in her eyes.

"Oh, they're beautiful. You didn't have to, dear, but thank you." she gave him a smile before sending him an apologetic look. "She's not here, right now. She actually moved into her new apartment yesterday."

"Oh," he muttered quietly, nodding his head. He wasn't surprised that she didn't say a word about moving. Sure they had been spending some time together, exchanging hellos and even having occasional meals together. He was trying his best, yet still, he knew it wasn't enough to completely gain back her trust and completely revive their friendship.

"But come and sit down with me— let's have a little chat," offered Amanda, gesturing Asher to take a seat on the grey plush couch. Asher nodded simply and took his seat, watching as Amanda walked to the adjoining kitchen.

He watched silently and observing, something that he had always preferred doing. He watched as Alana's mother moved gracefully around the kitchen, putting the flowers into a crystal glass vase, before grabbing a glass off the shelf and pouring a fresh glass of her fruit smoothie that she had just made.

He couldn't help but think that Alana was definitely a younger version of her mother.

Beautiful with a heart of gold.

He thanked Amanda as she handed him the glass, before taking a seat next to him. There was no awkwardness between them because, in Amanda's eyes, Asher was the same 8-year-old little boy she had met, but only now he had matured into a handsome and hardworking young man.

"How are you and Alana?" Amanda was the first to break the silence as she asked the question on her mind.

He let out a small sigh before answering her question. "I'm not sure, Mrs. Sommers."

Instead of giving her some bullshit reply, he decided, instead, to be truthful. "I know I'm not good enough for her, but I'm selfish, Mrs. Sommers— I'm not willing to give up on her just like that. The one thing I regret every single day is not being there for her when she needed me the most. But I'm trying to do my best to be there for her now. And I know I'm probably too late now and can't help but keep wondering what I can do to show her that I'll always be here for her from here on out."

His sudden confession surprised Amanda since he was never one to share so much at once. "You will never be too late, Asher. I think one thing that I've learned throughout the years is that life is too short to keep holding onto things that we should've or could've done. There will always be things that we will regret because everyone makes mistakes, Asher, but taking the time to repent on those mistakes is probably the harder part."

Asher nodded, taking in Amanda's words of wisdom as she continued.

"And I know my daughter, Asher. She's stubborn and heavily guarded for good reasons, I would say. And ever since what happened 6 years ago, she's even more cautious. Yes, it'll take some time, but what you're doing right now is a good pace for her to ease into the idea of having someone genuinely care for her."

"She is pretty stubborn," he chuckled, running his hands through his hair. He remembered how difficult it was getting her to try new foods at her favorite restaurant when they were younger. She was so adamant about ordering her usual that when Asher finally convinced her after a good 20 minutes to try his dish, she ended up liking it more than her usual. Of course, he couldn't say no when she wanted to switch their dishes.

"I just wish I could do more for her," He continued. "I mean, I want to, but I don't want to push her to the point where she feels overwhelmed."

"Oh, trust me, dear, I know she's slowly starting to enjoy the time you two are spending together. She's slowly erasing those bad memories and replacing those with the good ones, instead. Sure, it'll take some time, but just keep being there for her and supporting her," Amanda advised, causing Asher to nod slowly. "Plus, I've also known you since you were a child and I know you are not one to give up easily."

Asher nodded, feeling a bit more reassured. The fact that he was currently pouring his heart out to Alana's mother should be considered an awkward conversation, yet he couldn't help but feel a sense of comfort and support.

It seemed like as of recently, he had been asking for advice from people around him— from his boneheaded brother to Alana's own mother. He was taking the words to heart, wanting to be patient and become someone worthy of Alana.

"I won't give up. Especially when it comes to her."

★ ★ ★

"I don't know what I want to do with the flowers— like do I want a color that matches the theme, or should I go wild and choose something that'll pop out?"

Marianne sighed through the phone just as Alana entered the grand doors that connected the building to the private underground parking lot. She had just gotten out of a meeting regarding the concert she was planning to hold in a couple of months and desperately wanted to curl up on her couch with a well-deserved glass of wine. Even her tight lace top and jean shorts were beginning to cause her discomfort, having been in it all day.

It was a casual meeting, the first of many more to come in terms of perfecting what Alana wanted to showcase to her fans. They had just begun the planning process, her team discussing the different possible themes with follow-up tasks to create design boards regarding each theme for the next meeting.

"Maybe you can have them match with your theme," suggested Alana, waving a quick 'hello' to the security guards who rotated through shifts to keep trespassers from entering. One of the reasons why she had chosen this apartment, besides the fact that Marianne had suggested it to her, was the tight security, which ultimately made her feel safe.

"I feel like if you choose a color that stands out too much, you might regret it clashing with your dress. Those are just my thoughts, but what does Jay think?"

"Jay is literally useless," exasperated Marianne, causing Alana to chuckle when she heard a distant 'hey' yell from behind through the phone. "Just get whatever color you want, babe. Do whatever you want, my ass," Marianne mimicked her fiancé's voice. "He's been absolutely no help at all— he was only excited to go cake tasting and even then, he wanted to get them all. Like who wants 50 fucking flavors mixed in one cake?"

Alana laughed, pressing the up button on the elevator. "I mean at this point, I don't think you even have to ask for his opinion at all."

"Tell me something I don't know," grumbled Marianne. "Anyways, thank you for being helpful, unlike someone," She could hear Jay's protests through the phone, causing her to laugh. "I'm going to let you go— I know you had a long day."

Alana hummed in agreement. "Of course— as your maid of honor, I'm supposed to help you with this stuff. And I seriously can't wait to take a long relaxing bath and then just curl up in bed with a glass of wine while watching the Bachelor."

"Oh, shit, I forgot that the new season just came out. Alright, babe, I'm going to make Jay watch it with me— I'll text you later," Marianne promised, but before Alana could say her goodbyes, Marianne continued. "Oh, and before I forget, you're welcome."

Alana scrunched her eyebrows in confusion. "What do you mean 'you're welcome'?"

"Don't worry about it, you'll thank me later," From the sound of her tone, Alana could tell that Marianne was most likely up to no good.

"Marianne Emma Pierce, what did you do?"

"Oh, nothing that you won't thank me for later," giggled Marianne, causing Alana to groan. "Anyways, I love you and I'll text you."

"What are you-"

Without waiting for Alana to finish her sentence, Marianne abruptly hung up, causing Alana to stare at her phone with disbelief. With a shake of her head, she patiently waited for the elevator doors to open, wondering what Marianne had done.

Alana quickly scanned her apartment card against the small screen inside the elevator and typed in her code that would evidently take her to the floor of her apartment. She had just finished moving in officially yesterday and was absolutely in love with the amazing job Aurora had done.

Instead of having to commute from her parents' home in Eastwood to the studio, she now lived at the heart of Downtown Los Angeles in a modern floor-through apartment building. Each floor was its own apartment, offering those who lived there, the luxury of having the entire space to themselves.

To get to her floor, which was actually two floors below the penthouse, tenants had to swipe their apartment card, similar to an ID card, and input their personal codes. She had originally wanted to purchase the penthouse, but apparently, there was already someone occupying that level.

Feeling the weight of the day crash down on her, she leaned back exhaustedly against the railing, scrolling through her phone as the elevator doors began to close. But before she felt the elevator door move, the doors had opened back up again, revealing a familiar figure.

"Princess?"

Her head shot up with surprise as her eyes widened at the sight of Asher. And boy, was he a sight to behold. Instead of his typical suit that he had often been seen wearing, he was wearing a more casual outfit— a pair of ripped jeans with a leather jacket over a plain white t-shirt. He looked younger with his hair messily styled, almost like he had been running his fingers through his dark brown locks.

"Asher?" She breathed out as he stepped into the elevator. "What are you doing here?"

"I live here," he replied, taking his card out from his back pocket before quickly scanning it and typing in his code. "What are you doing here?"

"I, um, just moved here," Alana said quietly. He stood next to her as the elevator slowly climbed. Her heart was beating quickly and she was confident he could hear the loud thumping in her chest. Because of the confined space that they were in, she could faintly smell his intoxicating cologne, which was starting to cloud her thoughts. That, and the fact that he was leaning against the adjacent railing, staring straight at her.

Asher nodded his head in realization. "Oh, your mom said something about you moving."

"My mom? She never said anything about meeting you," Alana tilted her head in confusion as her eyes met his.

Asher looked away with slight embarrassment, his cheeks and ears slightly turning red. Alana looked at him, still with a confused expression, wondering why he was embarrassed. It was a feature that she loved teasing him about when they were younger— the fact that his ears turned red easily whenever he was shy or embarrassed. In all honesty, she found it cute and endearing.

"Ah," he rubbed the back of his neck, as his head quickly tried to come up with an excuse. "I was dropping Tristan off at your parents' house to hang out with Kimberly earlier and your mom was home."

Alana made an 'O' with her mouth as she nodded. It made sense that Asher would have been caught by her mom— the older woman had always been one to chat everyone up.

The elevator dinged, signaling that she had arrived on her floor. Slipping her phone into her back pocket, she gave Asher a small smile.

"Well, this is me— I guess I'll see you around, neighbor."

Asher nodded, returning the smile with one of his own. "I'll see you around, princess."

Taking a deep breath, she quickly walked through the open hallway that led to a small waiting area with floor-to-ceiling shelves, containing all of her shoes. Beyond that, was another open hallway that led to her living room and the rest of the luxury apartment.

Alana tried to calm her still racing heart from the surprise encounter that she had not expected. She silently cursed inside her head, which was mainly directed at her best friend who had been the one to suggest this apartment to her. This was probably what Marianne had meant when she said Alana was going to thank her.

Oh, that girl was so dead.

★ ★ ★

Thank you guys so much for the 50k reads! I hope you enjoyed the chapter and thank you always for the love and support. I love reading your comments, so please continue to let me know what you think because your opinion matters 100%!

Also, some exciting news-- I'm planning to open an instagram account for my writing soon and it is actually currently in the making. One of my closest friends is an amazing illustrator and she's going to be helping me with graphics and other fun little illustrations that I can't wait to show you! I'll be making an announcement on my profile with the instagram handle in a couple of weeks (hopefully), so please stay tuned!