Hello Munchies! Happy Friday!

This is a super rushed chapter, sorry! I have an exam in literally 6 minutes and I'm ✨panicking✨. I'm uploading this during a zoom call #rebel aha I'm so quirky 🤪. 

Lmao I'm not okay. Anywayyyy's I hope this chapter is satisfactory.  Ummmm tomorrow's update will be 10x better I promise. 

OKAY BYE! I GTG FAIL THIS TEST 😙✌

Third Person's POV

Mila got ready for dance at a sluggish pace. Her mind was foggy and all she could think of was how her life had gone to shit in less than 24 hours. 

There was no coping for her. The only coping mechanism Mila had was to make herself so busy, she never had time to think. 

A heavy feeling of sadness settled in her empty chest as she went through the monotonous routine of getting dressed. 

She stared in the mirror dressed in black leggings and a sports bra. Shaking her head, she pulled on a long lavender waffle knit shirt. Concealer covered up the marks on her neck. 

By the time she stepped out of her dorm, Lena's car was already gone. She didn't blame her, Lena had explicitly told her to rest. 

The more Mila rested, the worse she felt. 

Breaking into a run, she headed off to the studio. 

By the time the brunette reached the dance studio, she was breathing hard as sweat formed on her hairline. 

"Mila?" Lena asked in surprise, her mouth dropped open as she passed her in the corridor. 

Mila gave a small nod before rushing into the small studio room. 

Today there were no classes from Adam and no duetting with Ajax, which she was very grateful for. 

It was just Mila today in the back room. The one day of the week where she could do whatever she wanted. 

Dance was one thing she channeled all her emotions through. And she would do exactly that. 

Lena had made sure nobody found out about what happened to Mila without her permission. Not a single word was said by her and Ajax simply didn't show up to dance today. 

To say Lena was concerned would be an understatement. 

Mila should be resting, she should be crying her eyes out. She should be emotional. 

But instead, the brunette was acting like nothing ever happened. 

Lena immediately understood she was trying to bottle everything inside and hoping it would go away. There were too many emotions so it was better to feel none at all. 

She so badly wanted Mila to talk to her, especially after seeing her run rom Ajax's flat with tears on her cheeks. 

At the same time, Lena wanted to give her space. Some time to breathe without being bombarded by everyone's questions. 

After having an internal batter, she decided to call Ajax. 

"Hey shithead."

"Lena?"

"Who else? What's going on between you and Mila?"

Silence. 

"What did you do?" I demanded. 

"I fucked up really bad," he sighed.

"Meet me at Ben's in 10 minutes."

Lena quickly checked on Mila, peeking in through the window in the door. She was in the middle of a routine and she found herself pausing for a moment to watch her. 

She was always blown away by the amount of control Mila had over her movements. 

"I could never," she snorted, grabbing her things to leave the studio. 

Ajax was already waiting for her as she hurried into the restaurant. Ben was sitting beside him in the little booth. They both had grim expressions on their faces. 

"Spill," Lena demanded and they launched into a detailed recount of what happened. 

"And that's why," Ajax sighed, "We're not talking."

The sound of a harsh slap sounded as Lena's hand connected with his cheek. Ben stood up  immediately, placing a hand between the two. 

Lena stood, anger clear in her body language as Ajax kept his gaze low. 

He didn't say anything. 

He deserved it. 

--------------------------------------

One week later...

"Bye Adam!" Mila waved, the smile slipping off her face as soon as she turned away. 

Dance was the only sense of stability in her life at the moment. 

When she wasn't at dance, she was asleep. Or simply laying in bed staring up at the ceiling. 

Never in her life had she felt so alone. So numb. 

"Don't forget the choreographies for competition. I haven't seen you and Ajax practicing," Adam had reminded her, a stern look on his face. 

With competition coming up in 3 weeks, the pressure was mounting. There was a sense of dread that filled her knowing she would have to start dancing with Ajax again. 

Her eyelids were heavy with sleep as nightmares plagued her nights. She didn't know who to turn to. 

Instead, Mila played music to get her mind off of things. Sometimes she would dance in the little space she had in her living room. 

Everyone had been constantly asking if she was okay, noticing her mood. Everyone except one person. 

Ajax. 

She hadn't even seen him since last week. Not even at dance. 

The one person she was staring at her phone for. Waiting for him to text.

It was stupid. Naïve. Useless. 

There were so many ways to describe it. Just waiting. 

On top of the stress of competition and everything that had happened, her parents were constantly trying to contact her. 

She blocked them across all social media platforms as well as deleted their numbers from her phone. 

"Why am I so pathetic?" Mila asked herself, staring at the cracks in the paint of her beige ceiling. 

She sat there, wondering what would make her feel better. 

Even dance couldn't fill the emptiness in her chest. 

Mila wasn't religious at all. Her parents were, but she never saw the point. 

So for the first time in years, Mila found herself asking God for help. 

God, please help me. Help me get through this. I can't do it alone. Just make it stop hurting. Make it go away. Make everything go back to the way it was. 

No matter how hard she tried to keep the sobs from escaping her lips, she couldn't. For the twelfth night in a row, Mila found herself crying again. 

A knock at her door almost went unnoticed by the brunette. 

She quickly tried to calm herself, harshly wiping the tears off her cheeks. She used her fingers to fix her hair as she ran to the door. 

After practicing her smile in the mirror, she opened the door. 

"Hi," she greeted Lena and Ben standing outside. 

"Move," Lena commanded, pushing her way in.

"May I come in?" Ben asked, rolling his eyes at the blonde's behavior. 

"Of course," she mumbled, moving aside. 

"Sit," Lena stated, pointing to her bed. Mila hesitantly sat down, watching her friend anxiously. 

"What's going on?"

"That's what we're here to find out."

"Huh?"

"Mila you're not okay," Lena sighed, her authoritative façade dropping.  

"I'm fine?" Mila said, furrowing her brows in confusion. 

"You've been through something really traumatic. It's okay to feel," Ben said softly, sitting on her desk chair. 

"But I feel okay."

"No Mila. You want yourself to feel okay. It's been a week and you haven't spoken to anyone about anything."

"I don't understand what you guys are trying to do. I'm perfectly fine so you can leave now," Mila said, not making eye contact as she stood up. 

"No. You're hurting yourself. I know you're strong, but even strong people need help sometimes," Lena spoke, desperately trying to convince her friend to open up. 

"I know what I'm doing. I've been through worse, I'll be okay," she waved them off. 

Ben didn't know what to say. He wasn't very good at things like this, but he knew she needed to talk to someone. 

"Stop it!" Lena shouted suddenly, scaring both Ben and Mila. 

"Stop trying to block me out! Why don't you want to talk to me? I'm here for you and I want to help you!" she cried, tears forming in her eyes. 

She was frustrated and tired of squeezing information out of Mila. She hated seeing the usual bubbly brunette like a zombie, devoid of life. 

It was silent as Mila stared at the ground. 

"I'm sorry," she whispered, a single tear falling down her cheek. 

Ben was thoroughly confused as Lena launched herself onto Mila, pulling her into a hug. 

Girls. 

He was even more alarmed when Mila began full on sobbing.

"Shhh, it's okay. Let it out," Lena said, sending a small thumbs up to Ben. 

Now it would be easier to get Mila to talk. 

By the time they had gotten her to vent her emotions and thoughts, an hour had passed. 

"How do you feel?" Ben asked, a small smile on his face. 

"A bit better," Mila admitted. 

"Thank you so much guys. I owe you."

"Shut up," Ben and Mila blurted simultaneously.

Mila chuckled, her heart feeling lighter than it had in a while. She was sad to say goodbye to her friends even though Lena was right next door. 

"Keep an eye on her alright?" Ben said to Lena as she unlocked her door. 

"Of course," she nodded. As Ben descended the stairs, he bumped into someone. 

That someone being Ajax. 

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Ben whispered, grabbing him by the arm. 

"I came to talk to Mila. What are you doing here?"

"I just spoke with her. I think you should hold off on talking to her."

"Why?" Ajax demanded. 

"Because she's not emotionally ready. What you did really hurt her Ajax."

"I know. I wish I could just turn back time."

"Talk to her tomorrow during dance," Ben suggested and Ajax nodded. 

Mila looked up from her window at the sound of car doors shutting. 

Her heart sunk as she saw Ajax's car pull out of the parking lot and drive off.