Axel's POV❤

I had a hard time with myself watching her walk to my room. I should probably be sad about losing my hot, high-profile girlfriend, but truthfully I felt relieved. Tiffany wasn't helping my issues, our relationship was vain and just a ticking time bomb anyway.

Sighing I stared at her swaying hips, her movements made my breath catch every time my shirt rode up over her ass. I mentally face-palmed myself for friend zoning her, not once but twice. But maybe it was for the best, either way, now I have to live with it.

I turned to the fridge to get the eggs, diced veggies, and lean mince. Breakfast of champions, healthy and nutritious, I thought proudly to myself. I looked to my room again, wondering what's keeping her.

I slowly walked to see what the holdup was. I wasn't all too comfortable with a girl in my room. There were too many painful memories in the form of photos boxed up under my bed. The only reason I still held on to them was that my parents were in them. It would kill me if Melia ever saw the ugly me.

She was sitting in my chair stroking my blanket. "Are you going to name it after you finished petting it?" I asked her playfully. What could she possibly be thinking about so intensely? Then it hit me, Gabriel Aims.

She blushed, placing the blanket on the chair as she stood up. "I couldn't help myself," she said with a small giggle in her voice.

"Get your clothes,'" I said, looking down my nose at the dirty heap on the floor.

She nodded then very carefully picked it up, pulling a face as she followed behind me. After breakfast we sat at opposite ends of the sofa, waiting for her clothes in the dryer. We both pretended to watch some random sitcom blaring through the T.V. but in truth, I was watching her nervously chew her thumb. Her head was clearly occupied by something other than the mindless sitcom.

I poked her foot that she absent-mindedly rested against my thigh, the contact at first bothered me but strangely it became more tolerable up to the point that I didn't even mind it anymore. She looked up at me, pulling her thumb away from her mouth. "Yeah?" she asked.

"What's on your mind? Tell me before you chew your thumb off," I asked genuinely interested.

She looked at her hands fidgeting with the hem of my shirt, thank goodness she decided to put on a pair of my shorts. "I don't know, I guess seeing Gabriel sort of messed up my head... It sounded like he told you about me," she said.

I sighed, guess I was right. He was on her mind. "Yeah, he told me about what happened. He regrets it you know," I said to her thinking it a good idea to clear my friend's name. What were the odds that I would end up meeting my best friend's romantic mistake? I remembered her words, 'small world', indeed it was.

I watched her process my words. "What did he mean earlier, with what he said?" she asked the dreaded question.

"He told me that you were the one that got away, he is still hung up on you I guess," I told her with a straight face, offering the truth. The spark of hope that lit her beautiful face unsettled me, was she still hung up on him too?

I knew this girl was damaged from the first time I laid my eyes on her. Now I know that it was one of my best friends that broke her. The one girl I actually found tolerable, fuck my life.

She spun around on the sofa and actually laid her head down in my lap, I was shocked. I couldn't move with her head so close to my crotch, why is she doing this to me? It was awkward, I was awkward, not knowing where to place my hands, too scared to even breathe.

I stared down at her with wide eyes, still holding my hands awkwardly in the air. She seemed oblivious. "How did you become friends? Do you think I should talk to him?" she asked staring down at her fingers as she rubbed patterns on the scatter cushion she held captive on her stomach.

"I, uh, I don't know. Do you want to talk to him?" I said unfocused. She lifted her eyes up to meet mine, staring up my nose it felt like to me, how is she so comfortable like this?

"What's wrong?" she asked innocently, "is it too hot? I can move if you want, because honestly, I don't know how you stand the heat in that hoodie of yours, I am burning up," she rambled, and all I could think was please keep your head still.

I swallowed hard. "Yes, please," I said with closed eyes unable to take it anymore, "Please, move," I asked again, gently.

She immediately sat up but she just crossed her legs as she sat right next to me, staring at me knowingly.

"Thank you," I breathed out, inhaling for the first time in what felt like ages.

"You are broken just like me, aren't you?" she said, her words trickled down my spine like ice water.

I sighed, swallowing again. "Yes, in a different way but broken nonetheless," I said in surrender, there was no point lying to her. She already knew, she called me out on it before.

She nodded with a smile. "You know I have already seen you without that hoodie, twice actually. It's okay, I promise not to touch you and trust me you have no reason to be shy," she said, to my astonishment. How did she manage to sum me up so quickly?

I stared at her, I was feeling a bit hot, sweat clung to the small of my back but there was no way in hell I was taking off this hoodie. "Thanks, but I am not there just yet," I answered truthfully.

She shrugged, relaxing back into her corner of the sofa, moving away. I instantly relaxed, feeling grateful. The cat was out of the bag. Yet, I felt like this was the first step in rehab, this friendship might just be the best thing for me.

"Yes, talk to Gabriel," I said suddenly. Maybe she could heal in the process as well, put him behind her. There was no way Gabriel would pursue her again, she was just not his type, not then and definitely not now. He was and still is an arrogant jerk, but I owe him a lot for being such a good friend to me, and I want her to move on.

Move on to where? To me? I thought about it for a second then pushed it back down, quickly.

"Okay," she said, completely trusting my judgment.

Please don't look at me like that. I thought silently.

The dryer beeped signalling that it was done and I knew there was no more reason for her to stay. She rather quickly stood up to fetch her clean and dried clothes. The moment she left, I missed her warmth emanating from the corner of the sofa. I liked the idea of her occupying that spot.