❝ H O M E ❞

Addilyn is startled out of her thoughts as a chair clatters and is pulled up next to her. Much to Mr. Quackington's disliking, a boy around her age fills it, offering her a kind grin.

"Thought I'd come see for myself who the talk of the base is," he chuckles, offering his hand. "I'm Liam."

"Addilyn," she introduces herself, forcing a timid smile in return.

"A beautiful name for a beautiful lady."

It wasn't that Addilyn had anything against Liam. In fact, he seemed quite sweet and she could use a friend to rely on other than Uncle Dave while she was visiting. But, she found herself distracted by all the thoughts of Corbyn and didn't want another boy around her at the moment.

She wanted to go back in time and change the day she left. She wanted to just stay in bed, cuddled into Corbyn's side until the others woke her up. But she couldn't change the past, and Corbyn most likely already moved on.

"What're you thinking about?" Liam questions, ignoring Mr. Quackington's attempts to bite him as he scoots closer and slings an arm around her shoulders.

"Nothing," she lies, attempting to smile more sincerely as she glances up at him.

Addilyn had to admit, Liam was rather handsome. He reminded her of Erin, one of Carson's friends she once had a crush on when they were younger. He was the type of person she could see herself being with. Except, he wasn't Corbyn.

"Are you really going to lie to me?" He raises an eyebrow, leaning in close enough for her to be able to smell the peppermint gum in his mouth. "It's not very nice to lie to a new friend."

The girl frowns, tilting her face away from Liam's as her pet all but mauls the guy's arm. Before she can respond, a loud war cry resonates throughout the cafeteria and he's sent flying backwards.

"WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, ASSHAT?" Aurora yells, punching him in the jaw. "THERE'S THIS THING CALLED HAVING SOME DAMN RESPECT, FUCKING LEARN IT!"

Landing one more good punch, the angry brunette pushes herself to her feet, casually dusting her hands off as she turns to Addilyn.

Addilyn glances around, half expecting someone to carry Aurora out, only to find them all standing around in stunned silence.

"Go outside. Now," she declares, pointing to the door. "You have a Blondie to fix."

She can't even process everything that's happening as she's being shepherded out the door by Aurora. Mere moments ago, she was daydreaming about Corbyn and now the boy was supposedly only a few feet away.

She wanted to run out the door and jump into his arms; she wanted to completely erase the past seven days without him from her memory. But at the same time, she wanted to crawl under one of the tables and hide until he left. She had put him through enough pain and the fans were clearly happier before she came into the picture.

A door slams, jolting Addilyn out of her thoughts and she glances around to see the cafeteria door shut behind her. Panicking, she yanks on the knob, not wanting to face reality, yet it won't budge - almost as if a strong force the size of a teenage girl was pressing against it from the other side.

"Addi?"

She freezes, slowly prying her fingers away from the door and praying to whoever is above that she could just disappear. If she turned around, she wouldn't be strong enough to walk away from the boy she loves again.

"Addi," Corbyn murmurs, terrified he was imagining the girl as he takes a hesitant step forward. His voice cracks as he attempts to speak again, practically raw from all the crying he had done since she left. "Please."

That one word is all it takes for all of Addilyn's walls and resolve to crumble completely. A sob racks her body as she whirls around, burrowing her face into his shirt and squeezing his torso tightly.

Corbyn's tears soak her hair almost as quickly as hers soak his shirt as he clings to her, ignoring all of the people brushing past them. If he let her go, she'd disappear again and he couldn't risk that.

"I-i was so worried," he cries, so worked up he could hardly form sentences. "I w-woke up one day and y-you weren't there. And I thought it was just a bad dream at first, but it kept happening."

Addilyn's heart shatters as he pours out his troubles, hating herself even more for putting him through all of it. She never once thought he'd be hurt by her leaving.

The girl had imagined a lot of possible scenarios Corbyn could have went through once she left, but him being as hurt as her never even crossed her mind.

"Then, you n-never answered your phone, and you weren't at your aunt's and uncle's house. I thought- I thought something terrible had happened to you."

Addilyn wanted to kick herself while listening to Corbyn. She had been so selfish this past week and the one person she didn't want to hurt ended up getting hurt the most. The others must hate her too for hurting their friend so badly.

She didn't understand how Corbyn didn't hate her after all of the pain she put him through. As he told her everything, she kept waiti for him to push her away and start yelling - it was what she deserved.

But, he never did. Instead he just pulled her even closer and let her cry into him as he cried too.

"Corbs," she finally breathes out, working up the courage to calm down long enough to look up at him. "I-i'm ready to come home."