Alicia hesitantly knocked on the door, Roy right behind her. Ian answered, his face in a half frown.
"Did y'all really have to bring this bullshit here?" Ian muttered, crossing his arms.
"I came to apologize." Alicia mumbled, scratching the back of her neck.
"If we're not all making out in 15 minutes, I'll be mad." Ian joked, making her smile. She walked past him and towards Joba's room, stopping at the doorframe and knocking on the open door.
Andrea looked up at her, eyes swollen from crying. She could see that her best friend had been crying too.
"I know you need a break, but I was a total bitch. I'm sorry." Alicia mumbled, crossing her arms nervously.
"I'm sorry for cancelling, that was a shitty thing to do. I promised you that we'd go out last week and I should've kept my word."
"I'm really happy for you guys, I just got hurt because I miss you, Andrea."
"I love you." Andrea said, standing from the bed and hugging her best friend tightly.
"I love you more, I'm sorry." Alicia whispered, hugging her back just as tightly.
"Also, you're not the issue Joba. I'm sorry I dragged you into this." Alicia said, looking up at him from the hug.
"It's cool, I get it. No hard feelings." Joba shrugged with a smile.
"I see hugs, I'm assuming y'all are good now." Roy said, emerging through the door.
"Roy! We haven't seen you in forever." Andrea smiled, pulling away from the hug and bumping his fist.
"I've been with Enya until she left back home." Roy shrugged, half smiling.
"I love this reunion, but I have someone else I have to talk to." Alicia mumbled, waving before walking over to Romil's room. She watched as Matt said his lyrics out into a microphone, eyes closed as he nodded his head to the beat. Romil smiled at Alicia, waving her over.
She leaned against the edge of the desk, nodding her head along with Matt and Romil. The beat was really fresh and she really liked the way it sounded. Matt finished up his verse, visibly surprised when he opened his eyes and saw Alicia.
"Oh, hey." He smiled, sliding off his headphones.
"Hey." She giggled, putting her hand on Romil's shoulder.
"Can I steal him for a second?"
"Only if you listen to something for me. I want your opinion." Romil nodded. Alicia agreed and walked with Matt down the hallway to his room.
"What's up?" Matt asked, laying down on his bed. Alicia flopped down next to him, turning to face him.
"How are you doing? Did you talk to your ex?" Alicia wondered, putting her chin in her hands.
"Yeah, I told her I didn't want to get back together. She's pissed, I think she's talking shit on Twitter but whatever." Matt mumbled, ruffling his hair.
"That fucking sucks, I'm sorry."
"Nothing that can be done about it now. You okay? Your eyes are really red."
"Andrea and I just got in the biggest fucking fight. It was ridiculous. We're good now, though." Alicia laughed, shaking her head.
"What happened?"
"She cancelled on me to hang out with Joba, so I guess it kinda brought up some unresolved feelings and I was honestly total bitch. I'm surprised she forgave me. Also, I totally dragged Joba into the argument and that was really fucking unfair to him. I feel like shit."
"Well, y'all love each other and are practically family, families fight. Joba's chill, he'll understand how you feel."
"Yeah, he was really nice about it. I honestly don't deserve that but I'm glad we're not on bad terms or anything. That would be kinda awkward. But she keeps bringing something up and it's kinda bothering me."
"What is it?" Matt asked, raising an eyebrow. Alicia sighed, sitting up and leaning her back against the wall.
"She thinks that I secretly like you and that I'm making up excuses to not realize that because I have commitment issues. Like yes, my track record isn't exactly the best, but that's just how I am. I know it's cause she cares, but it makes me feel bad."
Matt swallowed nervously, scratching the back of his neck. He had feelings for her, but he didn't want her to just be a rebound. She deserved more than that, and his breakup was still really fresh for him.
"It's not true anyways, I keep telling her we're just friends. I get she wants me to be happy or whatever, but I don't know why everyone is acting like girls and guys can't be just friends." Alicia mumbled, tucking her hair behind her ear.
"Whatever, just ignore it. If you stop paying attention to it they'll probably just leave it alone."
"I haven't told her, but this guy from work, Tony, asked me out to get drinks tomorrow. I haven't decided if I want to go."
"Oh, well, is he nice?" Matt asked, looking down at his hands awkwardly. It was killing him to not stop her right then and there. Truthfully, he had no reason to feel like this. He wasn't ready to tell her how he actually felt.
"He's nice, yeah. I've known him for a few months. I just don't know if I want to go out with someone for work, you know? What if things go south? I'll have to see the guy every day."
"I mean, drinks isn't that big of a commitment. How bad could it be?" Matt joked, making Alicia giggle.
"Maybe Andrea will ease up a little bit if she sees me actually going out and not rotting away in my room." Alicia shrugged, falling back next to Matt.
They stared at the ceiling, a million thoughts racing through both of their heads. Matt broke the silence, turning his head to face her. She met his gaze, her hands resting at either side of her torso.
"I'm glad you're back."
"We had a bit of a bumpy start, but I'm happy to be back."
There's so many things they wanted to say to each other, so many feelings hiding behind protective layers. Matt didn't want to hurt her, and Alicia didn't want to ruin what they had. But they both felt the exact same way. She would rather try and distract herself with someone else to avoid the way she actually felt about him. Matt needed time to deal with his own stuff. The timing was just completely off for the two of them.
"I think I should go check out what Romil wanted me to look at." She smiled, standing from the bed and walking out of the room.
Matt rolled onto his stomach, hiding his face in his pillow and groaning loudly. Everything felt wrong to him. He felt helpless and had no idea what to do.
