Worthwhile: The Sequel (A Jonah Marais Fanfiction)

Chapter 1

"Never before have I wanted to say so much, but said so little; felt so much but stayed so silent."

One month later

"Thanks for helping me out." The curly haired UCLA freshman said as she picked up the boxes containing her boxes.

The brunette smiled at the younger girl, "This was the least I could do."

Her grey eyes danced around the small house that the freshman had just rented. Towers of cardboard boxes decorated the wall of the room. A lot of work was left to be done. Except for the paint job and the setup of the furniture, pretty much everything was left.

The brunette organized the books on the book shelf while the ombré curly haired girl stocked her kitchen.

"Esther, you need to get covers for these." The brunette called out.

Esther Frantzich hummed in response then proceeded to play music. 'Apocalyptic Crush' was the first song that came on. The grey-eyed girl let out a sigh but her lips turned up into a soft smile.

"This song is by one of my favourite singers of all time. She's like the best. You must have surely heard of Winter Addington." Esther teased.

Placing the books on the shelf, the brunette chuckled, "I sure as hell do know her."

Esther laughed at her own joke, feeling accomplished after she succeeded on getting a good response from the world-famous singer, Winter Addington, whom she considered as an elder sister.

Lately, Winter had been much more quiet than she usually was. It was difficult to make her smile or laugh anymore. She was no longer the bubbly singer who loved to talk, sing and joke around. She only spoke when she was needed to and answered mostly in fewer words. She spent her days cooped up in her studio and bedroom, writing and producing songs. A solemn expression was plastered onto her face at all times.

The only thing that felt alive were her stormy grey eyes that would light up solely at the thought of a tall, messy brown haired band member.

He lived in her mind free rent. There wasn't a second when she wouldn't think about him. It was crazy considering that she had never felt this way for no one. The littlest things would remind her of him. However, instead of turning into an emotional wreck every time he crossed her mind, she found solace in the thought and memory of him.

Her tender fingers danced across the title of 'The Great Gatsby', reminding her of her copy of the same book. It wasn't just any book. It was one of the books that he had bought for her on their first date. Her soft smile grew into a wide one.

"Did you find a roommate?" Esther's question pulled Winter out of her momentary daze.

Winter looked up from the title of the book she held, "Still finding. I need someone I can trust with my house."

Esther laughed, "And doing it under the alias of Ava Honeycomb helps?"

Winter shook her head as Esther made fun of her fake name, "I do have someone coming over tomorrow."

"That's great!" Esther exclaimed.

Winter simply smiled and got back to organizing the book shelves.

Esther looked over at the brunette who was now humming along to her own song. The freshman was worried about the well-being of her best friend. She knew how much the breakup had affected her. In addition to the heart break, Winter's closest friend, Makayla, had moved to New York with her fiancé.

Winter was lonelier than ever.

So, Esther suggested Winter to get a roommate. That way there will be someone to keep an eye on the changed pop star and she would have someone to take care of the house in her absence.

Finally, Esther let out, "How are you holding up?"

Winter accidently dropped the pile of books onto the floor. She crouched to gather the fallen books, tucking her hair behind her ear.

She didn't except Esther to ask her that question. Softly, she said, "Apart from the constant feeling of emptiness, I am marvelous."

Sarcasm. Something Winter had resorted to after he left. She had learnt to cover up her feelings using aggressive sarcasm.

Esther flinched at the comment. Her heart tightened upon listening to the response. She hated that her brother and Winter had parted on bad terms.

She hated that they parted at all.

For all she had hoped and wished for ever since the day she saw the renowned brunette on her doorstep, hand-in-hand with her brother with the most serene smiles on both their faces, was them to be endgame.

The universe had a twisted way of ruining plans and dreams.

"I didn't mean to hurt you." Esther confessed.

Winter pressed her lips into a thin line, "I know."

Short answers. Just when Esther had started to believe that she was making progress with Winter, the latter had pulled her guard up.

Silence settled in the atmosphere. The two girls continued to work without saying another word. By the end of the day, they were exhausted and almost done with the moving. Excluding Esther's personal belongings, they had set everything up.

They were chilling on the couch in the living room when Esther spoke up, "Are doing anything on the weekend?"

Winter tore her gaze from her phone and answered, "Not really."

The freshman clapped excitedly, "Sleepover at my place. No excuses."

Winter had full plans on canceling on the younger girl as soon as she said sleepover. However, taking into consideration how excited she looked, Winter gave in.

"I will be heading back now. Give me a call if you need something." Winter stood up..

Esther nodded and accompanied her to the door. When Winter stepped out the door and waved her goodbye, Esther couldn't help but say, "You realize you need to let go of him..."

Winter sighed.

Then she said something that made Esther's heart break completely.

"But how do you let go of the person that felt like home?"