piece by piece~j.d

~46~

Josh was sat between Adam and Marcus, his head was in his hands as he stressed about a lot. He knew that the first time he and Aubrey saw each other would be an awkward occasion but to him it felt worse, she looked in a rush to get out of there and as if she would much rather stay away. He knew they ended in a rather ugly way but he didn't think it was that bad, he thought they'd at least be able to hold a conversation, he wasn't used to being on the wrong side of Aubrey.

"Chill out, it wasn't going to be perfect the first time you saw each other, you're going to stress yourself and you're a wreck when that happens." Ads said, he rested a hand on his shoulder to try and reassure the boy.

"Plus you know her, Aubs is to going to hate you forever. She's not like that, especially not with you." Marcus said, he had seen the pair being together first hand many times, he knew how close of a bond they had and them disliking each other wasn't something he thought possible. Obviously it just proves that things change.

"She wasn't like that." Josh corrected, his baby blues facing the ground as his hands wrung through one another. "It's just weird how drastically things can change."

"Just remember it doesn't have to be permanent, you can win her back. Even if it is just friendship." Marcus said, clapping his hand to the back of Josh. "If you really want that friendship you can get it Joshy, you'll be okay."

"We'll see."

~~~

Aubrey sat on the couch taking big mouthfuls of chocolate ice cream, sitting beside Mila as One Direction blasted through the speakers and they both sang along dramatically. She wasn't as bad as she was when the heartbreak first occurred but she did feel like she was falling back many steps.

"Unpopular opinion, you and Dunks could be friends if you tried." Mila spoke up, everyone had been soft with Aubrey for a long time, being nice to her about the difficult topic. It seemed now everyone was turning away from that path.

"Why're we all acting like he hasn't done anything?" Aubrey asked, a little bit more then slightly offended. It was frustrating for her that all of a sudden people seemed to be disagreeing with her side of things, her brother and best friends had all decided that they would take the stance that the pair should repair some sort of bond.

"We aren't, but at the time that it all happened you were hungover, confused and there was a lot of emotion. I'm surprised you guys didn't fall back together quicker, I think you just both made decisions that you wouldn't have normally made if you'd had the clarity of a clear and calm mind." Mila pointed out. "Would you go to a little gathering that Baz was going to invite you to?"

"Who's going to be there, other then Dunks of course." Aubrey asked, she was almost ready to just give in and do what other people were telling her to do, quickly getting sick of what others were constantly saying. Though her bit of stubbornness wasn't letting that happen.

"Bonti, Ads, Jaydo, I'm no really sure but enough people." Mila shrugged. "Jamarra was telling me about how a couple of the boys were invited."

"Why would I do all of this? For you guys? Because everyone else wants it to be less awkward for themselves?"

"Because we were all there when you were getting along and we know how good you were for one another. We just want you both to be happy and we're trying to get you there." Mila said softly, Aubrey rolled her eyes, she understood what they were trying to achieve.

"I'm old enough to look after myself. I'm not going to that damn party."

~~~

Aubrey sighed as she was led into Adam's house by Marcus, she wasn't trying to fight him. Her stature against his stood absolutely no chance at all.

"You'll have a good time Aubs, I can almost promise you that." Marcus stated, he pulled the door open and motioned for her to walk in first. "You can always spend all night with me."

"How lucky am I?" Aubrey drawled sarcastically, happy that there was enough noise to show there were people in the house, but the sound wasn't overwhelming. "If I want to leave you have to promise to take me home, normally I'd ask Bailey but I haven't spoken to him for awhile."

"I know, don't worry. When it's too much, we will go home." Bont smiled and they both walked into the slightly packed kitchen. "Hey guys."

"Bonti, Aubs, nice to see you both." Jayden said, they both replied with their own niceties. "Make yourself at home."

"Hey Aubrey, how're you doing?" Ads questioned, he offered her a glass of water which she graciously accepted. She was aware of the baby blues that were staring her down, but came to the decision that she'd deal with that a bit later.

"Good, enjoying teaching and all of that. Footys going good." Adam nodded at the statement. "It's really fun to watch. Have you seen Baz here?"

"Don't reckon he's here yet, I'll let you know if I see him before you do though. You'll be all good if I go now?" Adam asked and Aubrey nodded. "I'll catch you around."

Aubrey stood there for awhile, watching as some of the boys, friends and partners all interacted. There was a part of her that longed for things to back in time where she would have been right amongst that crowd, not feeling like an intruder.

"You don't have to just stand there." Josh spoke, he was hesitant in his approach but decided to just go for it. The worst that could happen would be for her to get angry and them to not talk for a more extended period of time.

"I don't know where I stand with some of these people, especially not with you around." Aubrey knew she was probably being a bit harsh with her words, but it was how she felt.

"They haven't picked sides and you know that, they're all fine with you." Josh said, ever the nice guy. "I'm sorry by the way, about how it all went down."

"That's really fucking great Josh, but regardless it happened and you haven't said anything about it until now when you've had ample opportunity to contact me." Aubrey spat venomously.

"I didn't know when you'd want to hear from me. You were the one that was angry." Josh desperately tried to get her to see his point of view. "I would have messaged you straight away, but I wanted you to calm down."

"You didn't try at all and I get that I didn't either. But I'm not trying to save us now like you are. You're a bit late." It took all of Aubrey to be angry at him, she looked at the pain in his eyes and knew how genuine he was being. She could read that there was no lie, but as much as it hurt her she had to put herself first.

"I don't want it to be like this, I hate walking into a room with you and feeling like an outsider."

"Me neither, but I don't know what you expect from us. We crumbled when we needed to be the strongest."

i had an operation on friday and i am in PAIN
but saints got a...scrappy win so i'm happy :)