"I don't recall giving you permission to follow me home," I said after Jace got out of his car. "I didn't know you had stalker tendencies, Mr Leighton."

"Oh, I sincerely apologise! I shall head back home at this instant," he replied.

"No, it's okay. Since you're already here, I shall invite you for tea inside my apartment. It must've been an extremely long and tiring journey from Brooklyn. Follow me," I chuckled. What are you doing? Why are you inviting your ex into your house, Belinda?

He's a friend, I chided my conscience.

He turned around and laughed, "Thanks, Belle. Also, I don't think this counts as stalking. You knew I was following you. I thought you were leading the way!"

"Well, you know where I live. Are you sure you never drove past my apartment building in hopes of seeing me along the streets?" I asked cheekily. He shook his head. I narrowed my eyes. "Are you sure about that?"

"Yeah, of course. Why would I do that?" he replied.

I guffawed out loud as I opened the door to my apartment. I could tell that he was telling the truth. I put down my bag and said, "Take a seat. Make yourself at home. You're not allowed to stay the night for obvious reasons."

"Why would I want to stay the night?" he asked.

"I don't know," I muttered before drinking some water. I placed down the cup and continued, "I'm just setting some ground rules."

"Okay," he chuckled. He looked around and commented, "This place still looks the same."

I frowned. "Of course it does," I replied. "I still stay here. How much can my preferences change in five years?"

"Right," he said, nodding. "Would you mind if I walked around?"

"Of course not. I did say you could make yourself at home. Besides, you've seen every inch of my apartment. It wouldn't make much of a difference," I replied, shrugging.

He wandered around my apartment and I followed behind him. He entered my room and gasped, "Isn't that the friendship ring I gave you almost six years ago when I asked you to become my girlfriend?"

My eyes darted to my table. Sitting there was a miniature version of the friendship bracelet I'm wearing now. I look at it from time to time to reminisce about my short-lived relationship with Jace. "Yes," I said. Blue for unity, white for purity, pink for love, his words echoed in my mind once again. I shook it off.

"I thought... I thought you threw it away," he mumbled.

"I didn't," I replied, picking up the ring. I raised it at eye level and continued, "When you broke up with me, I was heartbroken. I didn't hate you. This ring symbolises our love. I loved you so much I couldn't bear to throw it away. Pathetic, isn't it?"

"No, not at all," he replied. He took the ring from my hand and said, "Almost six years ago, I promised you that I will replace this ring with a real one. I didn't get to do it because I broke up with you. But I did buy a ring."

I raised an eyebrow. "What?"

He took out something from his pocket. "As soon as I had enough money, I bought this. I didn't expect to see you again, of course. I bought this to fulfil the promise I made. I hope that I will get to give it to you one day."

I looked at what he was holding in his hands. It was a ring box. "You're not going to propose to me, right?"

"No, I'm not," he laughed. He opened the box and a diamond ring sat snuggly inside. "This is a friendship ring, not an engagement ring. I bought this for you a few months before we met again. Today, I'm giving it to you."

"I can't accept this. Give it to your future girlfriend," I said.

"You have to. I'm fulfilling my promise. I already broke one of my promises by breaking up with you. I don't want to break another one," he replied. "Take it. Please."

I accepted the box and placed it on the table. Why am I accepting gifts from my ex? "Thank you," I muttered. There was a moment of silence between us. Gosh, I feel so tensed up. So much for trying to stay as friends.

"Five years ago, I screwed up. I knew it was the end. I knew there was no way we would be together again. I tried so hard to forget you since the damage was done but... I couldn't," he said. "I love you, Belle. I've never stopped loving you and I will always love you."

I looked directly into his eyes. My brain and my heart are fighting once again. Should I run into his arms and tell him how much I still love him, or should I tell him to know his place? "I tried so hard to forget you too," I whispered.

"Can we stop trying and start afresh?" he asked.

"I don't know," I replied. "Can I trust you?"

"Yes," he said. "I'm no longer that little coward who's scared of getting hurt. I'm no longer that little boy who only thought of himself. It's been five years. I've grown up. I know I will treat you better than I ever did. I love you, Belle. I love you. I love you so much."

That was such a speech. I held his hand. "Please don't hurt me again."

He took the ring out of the box and slid it into my left ring finger. He lifted up my hands and said, "I'm holding your hand now and I will never let you go. This ring shall be a reminder of my promise." He kissed my cheek.

"I think you missed your target, Jace," I replied.

"What do you mean by that?" he asked.

I blushed. Oh, me and my dirty mind. "I mean this," I said before pushing myself forward, crashing my lips onto his. Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God. I wrapped my arms around his neck as he deepened the kiss. Oh my fucking God.

"Is this a 'yes'? Do you want to be my girlfriend again?" he asked.

"Yes. It's always been a 'yes'. I want you to be my boyfriend again," I replied.

He smiled and kissed me. It felt like we had never broken up. It felt like we were back at the balcony in his house. It felt like our first kiss all over again. Memories of our times together flooded in my mind and tears streamed down my cheeks.

He broke our kiss and asked, "Are you okay? Was it terrible? Did my kissing turn rusty from not doing it for the past five years?"

I burst into laughter. "No, it's great. I just miss this so much. I miss us. I miss being with you. I miss you so much. I can't believe we're back together again. Oh, God. We're boyfriend and girlfriend again after five years of no contact. What?"

"I guess this is fate," he replied, sitting on my bed.

"Maybe it is," I said, climbing onto my bed. I straddled him. I could feel his boner. He blushed when he realised that I had noticed. He opened his mouth to say something but I placed a finger on his lips. "No, the rule still stands. No sex."

He understood what I meant immediately and smirked. Six years ago, when we first started dating, we made a set of rules to draw a line between us. We didn't want to do anything that would ruin our relationship. We agreed not to have sex for my sake.

"So, we're making out even though we just got back together," he chuckled.

"Yes, we are," I replied and pushed him down.

***

A/N:

Gah, why do I keep doing this to myself? *shuts eyes very tightly*

Anyway, progress! We see progress! They're finally together again! Huzzah, huzzah! Someone open the champagne!

To celebrate, let's give these two a ton of orange stars ;)

I hope you're enjoying the story so far!