Pain.

It's probably the first emotion I ever felt. Definitely the first emotion I could place with a memory. I could fill a textbook with the amount of pain my parents had shown me throughout my entire life. But heartbreak was a whole other style of it.

My heart ached. A piece of my soul felt like it was missing. My eyes were swollen, puffy from all the crying I've done the past week. Heartbreak was like someone dropping the fucking earth on your chest and expecting you to be okay. It's impossible to breathe. Like an addiction inching underneath my bones, alcohol called my name.

If it wasn't for Lana staying here, I might've fallen into another pit full of darkness. Instead, I'm stuck babysitting my heartbroken best friend because she refused to meet with her husband. It wasn't too bad. We had each other to cry with, munch on ice cream, and refrain from the sunlight.

However, duty called today. I had a twelve-hour shift at Shimmery Harmony, which I tried giving away, but no one is stupid enough to suffer through a long shift like that. Let's hope interaction with other humans could cure this ache for a few minutes.

"I'm going to work!" I shouted, grabbing my sweater from the coat rack.

Her footsteps boomed throughout the apartment. She must've worn my leather boots since that's the only thing that could explain her stomping.

"Wait, why?" Lana pouted, clutching onto the teddy bear she sewed of Declan. "I thought we were going to binge Harry Potter today and cry. I don't wanna be left alone, Ambroseeee..." she whined, pulling on my sleeve like a toddler.

Has she always been this annoying?

"I tried giving my shift away, but no one took it. So, unless you want me to get fired, I have to go." I tried weakening her hold from my arm, but she had muscles of steel when she wanted.

Lana's irises dilated into those dangerous puppy dog eyes. "Alright... Can I come to work with you, then? I won't bother you. I'll just watch you cook."

"It's a twelve-hour shift."

"What? You don't think I can sit still for twelve hours?"

I arched my brow down at her. "You can't even stay still for two minutes. It's like you have ants in your pants. Why else did you think I ditched the bed for the shitty couch?"

Lana shrugged. "Really? I thought you moved to the couch because you didn't want to share the bed unless it was with Davina. I wasn't offended. Sleeping with you isn't anywhere close to how it is with Declan. Dang, it! I miss him."

People might've thought Lana was oblivious to the things around her, but she wasn't. Lana hit the reason right on the spot. We spent the entire day yesterday watching flicks by midnight, Lana and I were having a crying session. While I wanted to be alone and admire photos I've saved of Davina, Lana needed full attention and hugged until she fell asleep in the bed. As time crawled on, tiredness sneaked up on me like a bug bite and I started dozing off.

But it was like being electrocuted; shock, jolt, awkward, burnt. After prying Lana from my shoulder, I switched to the couch since Davina and I never fell asleep there together. It felt extremely wrong to share my bed with Lana even for only five seconds. It felt wrong to do anything without Davina.

"Then why don't you turn on your phone and call him?" I thumped her head for every word for a proper impact.

Lana exhaled, her grip slipping slightly until she yanked me all the way down with her body. My back bent at an uncoordinated angle, and Lana's weight was adding an extra amount of stress. Hiccup and tears escaped from her mouth as she rolled around on the floor.

"If I turn on my phone, I'm not going to see any messages, so it would just make me sadder." It came out barely as a whisper. "He's probably living his best life without me because I was never as important to him."

Using my two fingers, I massaged my forehead because an aching migraine was starting. The question was if it was forming because I slept two hours last night or because of Lana's persistent whining?

My eyes narrowed in grievance. "How do you expect to finish your nursing degree? Are you just going to hide from him for the rest of your life?"

"Yes."

A groan fought to exit from my mouth. "Lana, seriously, your dad is going to kick my ass if I'm late! Either let go of my arm or put on your sweater."

Instantly, Lana jumped to her feet as if she was performing a dance move and snatched my sweater from the rack. "Ay, ay, captain! I'm ready for duty! I will be a good girl, and I won't cry, bother you, and stay still."

An amused grin crept across my face. "Alright."

Sparkling lights clung onto the painted moss walls. The rustic menus clashed against the golden wood tables. Heat flocked in like the wind as the frenzy calmed down from the customers. Flames ignited as the vegetables simmered in the saucepan, collecting the sweet, savory flavors from Shimmery Harmony's special sauce.

With a blue crayon in hand, Lana twirled around her seat and kicked her feet that couldn't reach the ground. She's so petite it suited her child-like nature, but it drilled deeper into the missing piece in my heart.

I wondered what's Davina was doing right now...

"Shit!" I cursed.

An excruciating pain shot up my arm like an unexpected shot. The skin on my forearm sizzled as I stormed over to the sink, drenching the burnt flesh with water. My olive complexion was splotched red as a blister grew.

"Oh my gosh, Ambrose!" Lana exclaimed.

Her eyes widened at my second-degree burn, tears coating her eyelashes when her concerned gaze met my pained expression. Surprisingly, the charred skin didn't ache half as much as the organ underneath my ribcage. In a blink of an eye, Lana pulled her sleeves up and washed her hands so she could freely touch my wound.

"On a good note, the skin isn't broken open, so you won't need a bandage. But I advise you to wrap it since you still have six hours to go on your shift. It's the only way to prevent infection," Lana stated, a crease between her eyebrows from concentration. "Let's go ask my father about the first aid kit."

Lana's finger slipped down my forearm to my wrist until our fingers entangled. Maybe it's because my arm ached like a motherfucker, but no sparks transpired upon her touch. It was a completely different reaction than a few months back before Davina. My heart beat didn't drop. Nerves remained average. No butterflies infested my gut.

No sparks meant no romantic emotions towards Lana, right? But how could I explain the situation when I tried to kiss her? If there were no romantic feelings involved then, what pushed me into the situation? Why did I want to kiss her that day?

"Dad, where's the first aid kit?" Lana asked, searching the buzzing restaurant for him. "One second, I'm going to go see where he is."

"Alright," I responded, leaning against the amber wooden bar away from the bartender, who kept darting back and forth.

My eyes peered at the flat-screen TV broadcasting a football game for the drinkers at the bar. For this split second, as if it was the universe's way of punishing me, Davina popped on the screen in a commercial for the Competition. We had already wrapped up, but to the fans, the show was still going on.

She looked so goddamn gorgeous that day... Who am I kidding? She always was. Even in the morning with her hair representing a birdnest, she was still a stunning beauty of a human. Guilt spilled through my veins like gas in the middle of the ocean; I should've gone to her.

"I'm back!" Lana announced, catching multiple grown men's attention. She brutally dropped the first aid kit on the bar and scanned through the messy container. "How does it feel?"

I gave her a 'are you serious' look. "It hurts like a bitch. I can still hear it sizzling."

Lana's angelic face morphed into a pained expression. "Yeah. It got you good, but at least you don't have to go to the hospital. There might be some scarring." Squinting a glob of burn gel on her palm, she rubbed it on the burn. "It might feel a bit cold, but it's to counter the warmness from the wound."

"Wow! Who replaced Lana with this brainwiz?" I teased with a full-blown grin on my face.

She playfully jabbed my stomach with her elbow. "Hey! I don't always speak nonsense, you know!" With a narrowed gaze, Lana ripped the bandage with her teeth and delicately placed it upon the wound. "I wrapped it loosely since I don't want to put pressure on it. Also, we're going to have to change the bandage once we get home."

A deep, oddly familiar voice called over the counter. "Lana!" His black hair was styled in an angular fringe. A black bomber jacket draped over his shoulders as his dark blue eyes pleaded with her. "Is it true that you left home?"

Lana's eyes widened. "Dara? H-how do you know?"

"Ismael was fangirling because Declan talked to him about you. Did you guys have another fight?" Dara asked, his gaze drifting towards mine for a second.

With a permanent pout on her mouth, Lana nodded.

Dara awkwardly coughed, stealing a glance in my direction. "Where are you staying?"

Lana's cheek flooded pink along with the tip of her ears. "With my friend, Ambrose," she responded, tight-lipped and raised my hand.

As if I was a mannequin in a mall, Dara grabbed onto Lana's forearm, tugging her away into a more secluded area, but his talking was strong enough for me to hear. "D-Do you want to come with me? It's a small apartment, but very cozy."

Giggles escaped from her lips. A coping mechanism for when things got too intense for her. "Huh? What are you saying, Dara?" She playfully slapped his shoulder and pivoted around to come back to me.

However, Dara held onto her forearm, jerking her body towards him.

"I told you, right? That I was serious. I really care about you, Lana... I-I love you. Ever since I met you at that party, I haven't been able to stop thinking about you." I couldn't get a good look at Lana's expression while Dara placed her hand over his chest, his heart. His eyes pleading a million different things.

"But..." Lana swiped a lock of her hair behind her ears. "I'm still married to Declan."

Dara's indigo eyes turned darker at the mention of his name. "Then get a divorce!" He clutched Lana's petite hand tighter while I watched in total, utter fucking shock. "If Declan really cared, he would be looking for you instead of acting like everything is fine at school. What has he done for you besides make you cry?"

This dude was seriously trying to steal her from under Declan's nose. That's a whole other level of cruelty. Dara was the lowest of the low, and I couldn't be a bystander and watch this go down any longer. Grabbing my phone from my back pocket, I typed the number of someone I thought I would never need to call again. I might lose my best friend status because of it, but Declan couldn't defend himself if he wasn't here.

Several rings passed until he answered. "Hi."

I coughed, sneaking a glance that the pairing was too immersed in one another to check on me. "So... don't hate me, but Lana's been living at my apartment for the past week."

"I figured. Is she okay?" A hint of concern coated his tone.

"For the most part. I'm calling because she came to work with me today and just so happened to run into that Dara kid. They're talking right now, and he's trying to convince her to leave you and to be with him instead. I'm not sure where you stand with Lana, but if you want to fix this... Come to Shimmery Harmony."

Silence lingered on his side for far too long. "Thank you for telling me." The line died from there.

I'm starting to think Declan wasn't going to show. But I was giving him the benefit of the doubt since their house is twenty minutes away from here on a good traffic day. To keep an eye on the pair, I told my co-workers I was going on my break and ate a pie of cheese pizza, listening to them. I give props to Dara. He's trying his best to convince Lana to leave Declan, but that's like talking to a brick wall.

Dara cradled her chin with his two fingers. "A marriage is two people who love and support each other. What you and Declan have isn't a real marriage, far from it. He's tough on you, judges you, and makes fun of you. A couple can't be together if they don't need the other! You need me, Lana."

Lana swallowed, her anxious gaze darting around the restaurant.

"You're wrong," Declan chimed in, his breaths ragged as if he ran miles to get here. "You're totally wrong."

"Declan," Lana mumbled, shifting her body in his direction.

Dara scoffed, holding his shoulders high as if he won the prize. "Look who's talking? You made her suffer long enough. You can't make her happy. It's a fucking miracle you got her to marry you. You don't deserve her at all!"

Declan rubbed his finger across his bottom lip. "That might be the case."

Dara stifled a chuckle, his eyes rolling to another dimension. "It isn't a might. That is the case!"

As the testosterone filled the room, I patted myself on the back for inviting Declan and made my break a tiny bit more enjoyable. These five minutes were the most I smiled in a week, and I loved every single second of it.

"I was jealous," Declan confessed, his cold, lonely eyes staring ahead at him. "I was jealous of you, Dara."

Stunned, Dara took a seat back, his mouth parted open. "Huh?"

Declan's gaze left his rival, and he sauntered towards the bar with his hand in his pockets. "Up until now, being jealous or envying someone, sorrow or suffering, I've never felt those despicable emotions we humans normally possess. But, I've changed ever since I met Lana." Lana's cheeks ranged from beetroot red to flaming red as Declan drew closer to her, towering over her.

"Those feelings hidden within me... They just overflowed. They were hard to crack and dissect, leaving me not even knowing what to do about them myself. Because of that, I lashed out at the person I care about the most and ruined everything," Declan said like he was performing a speech on TedTalk.

"So, what are you trying to say?" Dara's forehead crinkled.

"Dara, you have enough of those despicable feelings, don't you?" Declan arched his brow.

Dara scoffed, aggressively rubbing his chin. "Excuse me? Are you trying to pick a fight with me?"

With a pleased gleam in his eye, Declan smirked. "I wanted to praise you, but I'm not exactly envious either. So..." His teasing tone altered into a harsher one. "You don't need Lana. I'm the only one who needs her. For me, to be myself, it's only possible when Lana is by my side. It's all up to Lana if you want to give me one chance. I don't blame you if you have given up on us, but I wanted to make an attempt at fixing this."

Lana sniffled, her rosy cheeks smeared with tears. "Is all of this true? Declan?"

"Yes." Declan smiled his finger grazing against hers, hesitant about grasping it. "I didn't even know such emotions existed until Ambrose taught me about it."

"Ambrose?"

My eyes widened as their attention transferred to me for a moment.

Declan nodded. "He even took the trouble to phone me so I can plead my case. He has really been through all this for the last five years." His gaze lingered in my direction with a smirk. "You really are quite an admirable guy."

"That's because I'm a better person than you!" Pizza flew from my mouth to the plate from my intense protest.

She tugged on his sleeve, causing his eyes to drop on her. "Declan."

"Yes?"

"I-I." Her lips trembled, along with her troubled expression. "Do you really want me by your side?"

He slightly laughed. "Didn't I just say so?"

His reply was all Lana needed to leap over the bar and grip onto his shoulders. She stuffed her face in the crook of his neck, her legs kicking from being up in the air since Declan was about a foot taller than her. A smile rested on his lips while he caressed her head and snuggled his chin over her head.

"I'm never leaving you. I promise I'll be here until I die!" Lana protested, blended with her whiny tone.

"I'm prepared for that." Declan's eyes radiate happiness, which was such a rare occurrence. "I wouldn't want it any other way."

For a second, their eyes locked, and slowly their face crept closer together like they were about to kiss until the people sitting at the bar began clapping. Apparently, everyone watched the entire episode of Lana and Declan making up and were happy to see them find their happiness. Except for Dara, of course.

Lana and Declan giggled at each other, making my stomach twist. Love was disgusting. While they got their happy ending, I had to go home tonight to my empty apartment and try to last two minutes without thinking about her.

Davina.

I failed already.

I missed her so much.

So fucking much.

Goddamnit, the tears are coming up again, so I dropped my head onto my arms and hid it with the bar. Pickles. Burgers. Chicken. Panda. This was my coping mechanism to distract myself from crying, at least until I got home.

A hand fell onto my shoulder. "Ambrose... thank you for calling Declan." Lana gave me a side hug, my cologne radiating off of her. "But now that I'm in a better place and happy, it's time to flip your frown upside down." Lana placed her fingers at the edge of my lips, forcing them upward. "I'm going to help you win Davina back!"

If only Lana knew I was stuck in this situation because of my feelings for her...

Ahhh so one of our relationships made up!!! Hopefully they both grew and will work harder to communicate next time around 👀👀!! Are you guys happy about Declan and Lana? I wonder what's Ambrose going to do now🤔🤔...

Love ya