piece by piece~j.d

~48~

"What are you guys doing in my house? And when are you going to get out?" Aubrey sighed tiredly, she regarded her friends wearily, pulling her fluffy blanket tighter around her. Thinking about all of her life decisions that led her to having friends that broke into her home early in the morning.

"Thought we'd pay you a nice little visit." Mila smiled, Chloe and Logan nodding along from beside her. "Plus we knew you'd be up around this time, meaning you have time to talk to us before school starts."

"Yeah!" All four girls looked at the little girl Lola and laughed as she nodded her head, her piggytails waving around enthusiastically. "Morning Aunty Aubby."

"Morning bub." Aubrey stuck her arms out and wrapped the toddler into a warm cuddle, both buried in the thick blanket. Aubrey's heart filled with joy as she cuddled Lola close, there was a maternal feeling that Aubrey always got when with children, especially the young Johannisen girl. "Do you guys want breakfast?"

"We already ate." Logan confirmed, both of the other girls nodded in agreement. "I'm sure Lola will take a yogurt if you're offering."

"Coming right up, lets go pick out which one you want." Aubrey carried Lola in her arms and walked the short distance to her kitchen and opened the fridge. "Strawberry or vanilla?"

"You get spoilt when you're here don't you Lola bear?" Logan laughed when the two reappeared, Lola with a pack of yogurt in one hand and Aubrey's hand in the other. "Do you by any chance have time to do lunch today?"

"I'm on yard duty." Aubrey shook her head and took a seat on the couch beside Chloe, pulling Lola onto her lap. "But you guys go ahead, just imagine I'm there and buy me something that I can heat up for dinner tonight, I'll pay whoever back."

"Oh we will, don't bother paying me back though. It's on the house." Chloe laughed. "You just focus on enjoying your day."

"I could really use a nap right now, it would be really good to sleep in every once in a while and make my day much more enjoyable." Aubrey groaned, resting her head on the back of the couch. "Why're you all looking at me like you want to ask me about something but don't want to upset me?"

"Well." Mila trailed off as she shared a look with Logan and Chloe. "We wanted to ask you at lunch so that we'd all have more time and you wouldn't have just woken up."

"You guys can drive me to work and ask at the end, I might just answer when you pick me up at the end of the day, if you're lucky." Aubrey bargained. "That way we all win, I don't have to drive, you guys can hang out all day and I get time to deliberate an answer. It must be important if you guys co-ordinated coming over here to just to ask."

"It is, you have yourself a deal by the way. If you and Marcus look after Lola one night next week." Logan said, adding to the deal, her and Jason were desperate for a night off and knew how much the pair adored their little girl.

"Sounds like a plan to me." Aubrey nodded and handed Lola to Logan so that she could go and get ready for the day.

~~~

"If you guys don't shut up, I will end up crashing us all into a tree on accident. Or running over one of your students." Logan complained, Chloe only turned the music up so that Logan's yelling couldn't be heard over not only the music but their singing as well.

"Chill out Logs, we're just having a good time!" Mila laughed, holding one of Lola's hand as Aubrey held the other one, she was a very affectionate toddler, not that either of the older girls minded.

"If you don't shut up we won't be able to ask Aubrey." Logan pointed out, promptly the music was lowered as Logan navigated through all of the kids walking to school, so that she could reach the car park without any accidents occurring.

"Hurry up, what is it that you want to know?" Aubrey said, unbuckling her seatbelt as they came to a stop in one of the carparks. "And make it quick so that I'm not late."

"We got reports from a certain someone yesterday that you and  a certain Josh Dunkley were spending some time together and at one point you got very close together." Mila was the one brave enough to say it. "What's going on and do you want something to be happening again? We're not trying to attack you or anything, but Baz said that he was touching your face at one point or something."

"Of course it was him, I'll see you guys later. Thanks for the lift Logan." Aubrey said, ignoring the question for the time being. "See you later Lola." She placed a kiss to the toddlers forehead before leaving the car and shutting the door behind her.

"Do you think she'll answer?"

"Who knows."

~~~

Aubrey dragged her feet on the way towards the car park where she knew the girls would be waiting for her, knowing that they would be ready to pounce on her to ask for her carefully deliberated answer.

"Aubs over here," Chloe's window was down as she called out through it. "We bought you some donuts."

"I love you." Aubrey said as she jumped into the backseat of the car taking one of the small bags that held a hot jam donut and quickly taking a bite. She didn't get the chance to eat her lunch because she was on duty and then had a meeting, making the donut seem all the more sweet.

"Have you had time to think?" Logan asked, not wasting a minute to get into the interrogation of sorts. That's how Aubrey felt it was, even if it wasn't supposed to be that way. All of the eyes watching her made her feel nervous.

"Ah your stupid question about me and Dunks." Aubrey pressed her lips together as she paused to think over what to say. "What exactly do you want me to say?"

"We just want to know the truth, we're confused." Mila said.

"Welcome to the club." Aubrey threw her head back and closed her eyes as she filtered her thoughts to find the correct words. "I don't know whether the longing I have is for what we used to have or just him. I don't know if I should give him half a chance, give myself half a chance at getting this happiness thing right."

"You both deserve to at least know, if it doesn't turn out the way you want it to, what do you lose?" Chloe said, for the second time in the day, leaving a whirlwind of thoughts rushing around her already stressed mind. "We all want the same thing for you, we're not trying to make you uncomfortable with this conversation. Just want to open your eyes a bit."

"No friendship can work if there isn't some constructive criticism, I'll update you when I think everything over." Aubrey replied and they spent the rest of the drive pumping the music and laughing the whole way home.

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