Half Hearted

Chapter Fourteen

| Teresa |

When I got back from work, I prepared myself for the worst as I unlocked the door. But when I opened it I saw Oria alone, watching her favourite series - Gossip Girl. "Hey," she greeted, not taking her eyes off the screen. I had to agree with one of her tastes; Nate Archibald was very, very attractive.

"Is Ash not here?" I asked, locking the door and putting my coat away. She shook her head.

"He's probably still with his friend."

"What if his friend's a girl?" I teased, taking a seat on the couch beside her.

Oria shrugged, "doesn't matter."

Wondering why her mood was so low, I continued watching the show.

It went on for about fifteen minutes until I heard her sobbing beside me.

Wrapping my arms around her, I cooed, "what's wrong? What happened?"

"Steven's leaving," she whimpered, snot most likely dripping down her face and to my shoulder. I cringed, reminding myself that it was a time for comfort and not for sanitation.

"When did he tell you?" I asked.

"He just called, telling me he won't come to school tomorrow."

Her hiccups caused us both to shake, and we stayed quiet until she asked me to help her get up and go to her room. I did, and she laid down, crying herself to sleep. I didn't know how to comfort her, as I was always awkward in these situations.

So I did the only thing I could do.

"Hello?" He picked up fast.

"Hey, Steven. Could you get over here, fast, please?" I begged. From his side of the call, I heard voices all around.

"I-uh I kind of can't right now, I'm in this meeting with my dad," he whispered.

"Please," I tried being serious with my voice. "She's crying. Really bad."

Steven paused, "how bad?"

"Alice bad," I told him, remembering the time when Oria's mom passed away. It was the worst we'd seen her.

I heard some shuffles, and Steven apologizing over the line. Then I realized he must've put his phone in his pocket forgetting to hang up. Hanging up the phone call myself, I held an ear to Oria's door and still heard her soft sobs.

A part of me felt guilty. All this time I thought Steven had meant nothing to her, so I hid so much about him. And little did I know, she actually did care. A lot.

Half an hour later, I jumped when someone knocked on the door. I prepared myself to see Ash, but was met with Steven instead - who didn't bother with the greeting. He went straight to Oria's room, knocking at her door calmly, as opposed to what he'd just done at the entrance. "Oria? It's Steven."

I walked towards him, and I heard her croaking from within. "Just a minute, I'm still changing," she lied.

He looked at me, and I shook my head, knowing she was already in her pyjamas. Steven opened the door and revealed Oria, frantic to wipe her face from the horrid effects of the running makeup. "You look fine," he teased lightly, making his way towards her. He turned around and gestured me to go away, so I did, closing the door behind me.

The nosy part of me wanted to grab a cup and eavesdrop on their conversation. They were two of my best friends; I wouldn't have wanted them to break apart.

Sighing, I headed to my own room and thought up of ways to cheer her up. But then I thought of nothing, as it was Steven's fault to begin with.

So then I became frustrated with myself.

And with the frustration, I seeked to social media for funny memes to cheer me up. Until I saw Ash's face pop up on my newsfeed. It was a picture of him and a bigger guy, with a beard as long as Gandalf's - or Dumbledore's. Whichever fandom overruled.

The caption read, 'Back with Peter, hope no one missed me too much.'

He was smiling in the picture, and they looked to be at a hotel room, taking a selfie. I looked at the date, noticing that the picture was taken half an hour ago. And then I thought, wait, why am I still following this guy?

So then I unfollowed him to my heart's content.

| Ash |

Peter talked him through the 'getting back' process, and he found himself relaxing at the thought that it wasn't as bad as he thought it was going to be. The only thing that scared him now was accidentally running into Cheryl.

"So I'm going to have to pose naked for my first shoot back?" He asked Peter, who was now unpacking his belongings, as well as some of Ash's that he took from back home in London. Like a parent, he knew what Ash needed the most.

"Do you have a problem with that?" Peter questioned, moving on to the boxers and briefs. Ash fast walked to where he was, and grabbed his white boxers from Peter's hands.

"No," he defended, although not entirely lying. He really didn't mind the thought of being naked in front of the camera. He'd been with so many girls his genitals had already felt exposed to half the population.

"Anyways, where's that girl you were talking about? Oria, was it?" Ash nodded. "Let's go pay her a visit and thank her. Get her on our good side for now."

Ash shrugged at Peter's suggestion, and the two of them took a cab back to the apartment building. When he knocked on the door, he was met with Teresa's stern face. For a second, Ash felt curious and concerned. What had happened? But in the next fleeting second, he pushed past her and looked around the place. "Where's Oria?"

"Not in the best mood to talk right now," Teresa sighed, not bothering to put up with his attitude anymore. She was tired. And getting mad at Ash would only drain her energy more. Instead, she acknowledged the new presence in front of her. "Hi, I'm Teresa. You must be Peter?"

Peter nodded, holding out his hand and shaking hers firmly. "Ash's manager, yes. So this is where Ash has been staying, huh?"

He nodded, still trying to look around for any sign of Oria. Then Teresa shut the door and sat them down on the living room couches by force. She told them why Oria acted up, and explained that her and Steven were making up. Peter nodded in sympathy, while Ash felt no hint of sadness whatsoever.

He used her as a distraction; he hadn't intended to have emotional strings attached to her in any way.

While they were sat down, Peter explained Ash's situation. Teresa sat up, "if you're not going to stay here anymore, could you at least help in putting this mattress back to the storage room?"

Ash gave a bitter chuckle, "you wish."

Peter shook his head at the model's actions, then stood up, "I can do that. It's the least I can do for taking care of him all this time."

"She never even took care of me," Ash muttered under his breath, loud enough for Peter to hear. Teresa was already at the kitchen, taking the pillows and blankets to the storage.

For a while, Peter really did question Teresa. What made Ash despise her so much? But it was in a certain moment - a moment when her back was facing Ash, and he was staring at her with only a look that Peter recognized - that he realized what this backlash was all about. It were as if Ash was a little child again, growing and ignoring his feelings.

A light bulb went off in Peter's head, and a thought screamed inside him, it's my turn to take charge now.