Unbreakable (Book 2 of Unexpected)

Life After You

Avi's POV

Two months, two weeks, and three days. That's how long it's been since I've seen her. Halloween was her favorite holiday and it's tomorrow. I laid silently in my bed, not bothering to pay attention to Draco as he began barking. Someone was here. I heard footsteps coming up the stairs, stopping just outside my bedroom door.

I squinted at the sudden light as the intruders opened my door and walked in without hesitation. "Come on. Get up. We gotta take you shopping for the party tomorrow night," Mitch said with a bright smile. Scott's annual Halloween party.

"I don't wanna," I mumbled as I looked up for a brief moment before hiding my face under the covers. I hadn't slept that well in the past couple months and it showed.

"There's gonna be food," Kevin said tauntingly. He always knew how to get to me.

"Not hungry," I lied, never taking the covers off my head.

"You're just saying that. The Avi Kaplan we know is always hungry," Scott chimed in as he sat on the edge of the bed

"The Avi Kaplan you know stayed with Ivy," I finally said. Just speaking her name hurt. Bad. I hadn't said anything about her in over a month, but that didn't mean she wasn't constantly plaguing my mind. Thinking back on it, I could understand why she thought I cheated. I just wish she would have given me the chance to tell her the truth about what happened with my hair and the perfume.

"It's been over two months. Don't you think it's time to get out of bed and go do something?" Mitch asked, and as much as I hated admitting it, he was right. I did need to go out. I just couldn't risk seeing something that reminded me of her. "Come on. I guarantee she's doing the same thing."

Mitch's POV

Okay it wasn't entirely true, but he didn't need to know that. Kevin told all three of us everything and we agreed that we needed to get them together so Avi could tell Ivy himself. It wasn't our place to tell her.

We ended up deciding that Scott's party was the perfect place for that to happen. There would be a ton of people so she couldn't go bat-shit crazy on him, but it was also small compared to some places so they could go off by themselves if they wanted to. So myself, Scott and Kevin chose to come here while Kirstie and Esther worked on Ivy.

Despite what she told us, I kept in touch occasionally just to make sure she was okay. She told me she was but I could hear in her voice that she wasn't. From the way it sounded she was just as broken at the bassman hiding under his covers like a toddler.

Esther's POV

"Go away!" I rolled my eyes and looked at Kirstie who knocked on the door for a third time. Ivy was being stubborn as all hell, not even opening the door even though she was right on the other side.

After another five minutes of knocking, she finally swung the door opened, giving us both a look that could kill.

"Good you're up," Kirstie said as she walked in, not bothering to be invited. I followed her in, closing the door behind me just in time to see Ivy plop back down on the couch. There were at least ten different empty containers of ice cream thrown everywhere, probably from two months ago.

"When's the last time you showered?" I asked, scrunching up my nose as I took in her full appearance. Her hair was a tangled mess as if she hadn't washed it in weeks and she was in a pair of leggings and a hoodie. Dragons don't believe in you either. Avi's hoodie.

I have her a sympathetic smile as I sat down next to her. "You need to go shower and get dressed. We're taking you costume shopping for Scott's party. You need to get out and start mingling again."

"I thought I told you I wanted nothing to do with you. Any of you."

"You did, but you haven't kicked us out yet. You're just scared Avi's gonna be there," Kirstie pointed out as she sat of the other side of her. "You don't need to worry. He's too distraught to go. I promise he won't be there. Besides. We miss you. Scott, Mitch, Kev. All of us. It'd be nice to see you again when you're not all depressed."

I nodded in agreement and attempted to smooth down her hair. "Besides you don't have a choice because We're older than you so what we say goes," I said as I stood up, pulling her with me. "Now chop chop. We've got places to be."

Avi's POV

Did I want to do this? No, but it would get them off my case for a little while. I sat on a bench silently playing with my jeans as Scott, Kevin and Mitch looked around the store for a costume for me to wear. I wanted to tell them to back off, but one, they wouldn't, and two, I didn't have the heart.

"What about Jon Snow? Oh or Daario Naharis?" Mitch asked excited, glancing over at me. Normally, I would have been too excited, but I simply shook my head. "Damn. I never thought I'd see the day you turned down Game of Thrones."

I shrugged, never looking up. I couldn't. The sound of electric razors brought me out of my world, and I looked over to find a hair salon nearby. "I'll be back." I didn't wait for an answer as I stood up and disappeared from their sight with only one thing in mind.

By the time I returned, the guys were laid out on a couple benches, probably tired of looking. I took a seat without a word as I clutched a beanie in my hand, catching Kevin's attention.

"You cut your hair..." he said, staring at me with wide eyes

"And trimmed your beard," Scott added curiously.

"You don't look like a mountain man anymore!" I looked over at Mitch who held his hands up in surrender.

"I wanna go home. I miss my bed. At least there I can drown in my sorrows without someone judging me."

"No no no no no. You're not leaving until we find you a costume," Mitch said, standing up and putting his hands on his hips.

"I already have one." I quietly stood up and slipped the beanie on my head. "I'm going at 2014 Avi," I said before turning and walking towards the mall exit.

I could hear Mitch's scoff, but I didn't care. I didn't want them to know but I was on the verge of another breakdown and preferred to be alone when it happened.

Ivy's POV

"I bet we can do something with this hair of yours," Esther said as she dragged me from store to store, looking for a costume. "Maybe Pocahontas?"

I scrunched up my nose without a word as Kirstie shook her head. "No Disney Princesses are too mainstream." We finally stopped and I took the opportunity to pull my arm free, stuffing my hand back in the pocket of the hoodie I still wore.

The only times I took it off were when I decided to shower, which wasn't as often as I should have. It wasn't my fault. Even after all this time it smelled like him. I just wasn't ready to let go yet, but they didn't seem to get the gist.

"Lara Croft!" Kirstie practically yelled as she held up a gray tank top and a pair of black shorts.

Esther immediately walked away, returning shortly with a pair of boots and gloves in one hand and a pair of leg holsters in the other. "Now just a couple of toy guns and you'll be set.

I got up and walked outside, needing a bit of fresh air while they finished shopping. I wasn't sure how long I was outside, but it didn't seem that long until they came out. "Want some ice cream?" Kirstie asked, holding a cone up to me.

I shook my head and walked towards the car. "I wanna go home."

"Why?" Esther asked. "All you're gonna do is crawl in bed and wallow."

"Exactly." I didn't say anything else the entire way back. I gave up trying to keep my thoughts from wondering, mainly about what it was going to be like seeing people I once called friends again.

A/N: Woooo Chapter 1 is up. If you haven't read my first book, Unexpected, be sure to!

~*~*~Ash~*~*~