Our reality //m.g.c//

Twenty seven

"If it's not making you better, it isn't love. True love makes you more of who you are, not less."
~Mandy Hale

"Ava, have you listened to the new album yet?"

Sydney's voice didn't sound the way it usually did but Ava couldn't work out what was wrong.

"No...why?"

Sydney bit her lip.

"Um no particular reason. Just wondering-"

"Cut the crap Syd. What's up?"

Sydney nervously bit her lip again before she sat on Ava's bed and pulled up the album. Ava got a sneak peek at all the songs but she didn't really got a chance to listen to them all because Michael wanted it to be a surprise.

"Look so I'm not trying to be a bitch here but are you sure Mike wanted to surprise you and that's why he made you wait to listen to it?"

Ava furrowed her eyebrows and looked at her friend confused.

"What other reason would he could have had?"

"Saving his relationship would be one."

Noah popped himself next to Sydney and Ava glanced back and forth between them before realizing, they weren't joking.

"What song?"

"Look, I don't know but all this songs...some of them just don't feel like they're about you...maybe we're wrong but...I don't know."

Sydney looked generally worried so the worries started building up in Ava as well. So she took out her phone and listened to the songs Michael had written first and she definitely saw where they were coming from. Most songs were love songs and for some Ava was sure Sydney's worries were justified.

"Maybe he met another girl..."

Ava scoffed and shook her head.

"No he didn't. But I do know who this songs are about."

The two teens rose their eyebrows and gave the blonde girl an intrigued look. Despite Ava wanting to not say anything more, she felt she'd need to tell them at some point so she did.

"So Noah, do you remember when we talked about love and I told you I know for a fact I'm not Mike's true love?"

Noah nodded still visibly confused.

"Well that is because Michael fell in love with his best friend at a young age of 13 and he had loved him ever since. For a while, they were an unofficial thing but then he met me and things complicated for him."

"His best friend as in...?"

"As in Luke, my step brother."

Sydney and Noah gasped in surprise and it took them some time to get used to the thought of Michael loving Luke.

"So you think this songs are about...Luke?"

"I'm pretty sure some of them are."

"So are you gonna, you know, say anything to him?"

Ava bit her lip but shook her head.

"He's a musician so he needs to pull inspiration from somewhere so as long as he only writes songs about him, I'll survive."

"But how do you know that this is the only thing going on?"

Noah's voice was skeptical and Ava knew that he wasn't okay with her decision to ignore the songs.

"I don't. I just have to trust him."

That's when Noah had had enough and just walked out of the room. Sydney and Ava exchanged a look and then Ava went after her friend.

"What's wrong No?"

"What's wrong? I'll tell you what's wrong. What's wrong is that you tolerate love songs from your boyfriend dedicated to his ex that is still in his life all the time. Ava, this isn't...they aren't even songs about wanting to move on! They are literally about how he wants him but can't have him and on and on in that direction. You say you don't believe in love but what you're doing is protecting your love by all means even if it means that you literally turn away from shit like this. I get that you love Michael and that these feelings are something you've never felt before but...but this isn't how relationships are supposed to be. You aren't supposed to know you aren't his one true love. You aren't supposed to live in fear of your boyfriend hooking up with your step brother. You aren't supposed to ignore his love for someone else and accept it as a normality. Now I don't know if you do this because you are so in love with Michael that you can't think straight, or maybe it is because he is your first love but whatever it is, it's wrong."

Ava looked into Noah's golden eyes and they were filled with rage. He was really upset because of her and that made the blonde actually think about what she had been tolerating. She bit her lip nervously and didn't reply to Noah's monologue. Instead, she dived into her thoughts and tried figuring out at which point in her relationship had she become so attached to Michael she was willing to overlook everything just so she wouldn't lose him. Noah stepped closer to her and pulled his friend into tight hug.

"I'm not saying you have to explode on Michael now or whatever but just...don't let him use your emotions to get what he wants out of you. You're way better and smarter then that and you deserve everything in the world if bot more."

And all though Ava wasn't sure about herself deserving so much, hearing Noah be such a good friend and tell her all those nice things made her feel warm and loved. And she really needed that in the moments she started realizing her relationship was probably going downhill and into oblivion.