"When you see my face,
Hope it gives you hell,
Hope it gives you hell.
When you walk my way,
Hope it gives you hell,
Hope it gives you hell."

❁❁❁

"HE CALLED OFF our engagement."

Emily's words rang in my ears, as if there were a thousand bees buzzing around in my head. I stared at her, unable to comprehend what she had just said to me.

Asher called off their engagement.

"W-What?" I finally managed to utter, blinking slowly. How could he call of their engagement? On her birthday, no less? I knew they were in a tough spot, but surely...surely he wouldn't call their engagement off, right?

Even though Asher Dane was rude and angry most of the time, he always seemed different around Emily. As much as he tried to hide it, there were times I could swear his eyes shined when he looked at her. Even when he tried to act nonchalant or deny his feelings, he always tried to protect her and keep her safe. So why? What has gotten into his thick head the past couple of weeks?

"Can I please come in?" she whimpered, wiping away her tears again. It seemed like she couldn't stop crying since she began just moments ago. I snapped out of my daze and nodded quickly, wrapping my arm around her shoulders and escorting her into my room.

"Who was th—"

Robin was perched on the couch, completely unaware of what was happening. That is, until he caught sight of Emily's tear-stained face. His stoic expression softened.

With a small sigh, I pulled Emily into a tight embrace and allowed her to break down freely. She buried her face into my shoulder, her small frame shaking as she tried to catch her breath in between sobs.  

"Asher?" Robin mouthed, his eyebrows creasing into a concerned frown. I nodded gravely, patting Emily's back gently. Robin nodded, getting up from the couch and gesturing for me to sit her down. He shuffled into the kitchen and out of sight.

When Emily and I settled into the couch, she was snuggled up into a ball by my side. I offered her tissues and watched her silently as she sniffled and blew her nose until it was pink. When Robin reappeared from the kitchen, he had two mugs in hand. He passed the two cups of hot chocolate to us and shot Emily a look of concern.

"I should take my leave," Robin said softly. I nodded, shooting him a grateful smile.

"Thanks, Robin," Emily sniffed, sipping her hot chocolate slowly. Her eyes were swollen and bloodshot, but at least she had stopped crying for now. Robin's hand hovered over her shoulder, but he thought better of it and let it fall back to his side.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Robin said to me as he shrugged his coat on. "Take care of Emily."

I nodded and watched as he walked out of the dorm, closing the door gently behind him. Then, I turned to my best friend, who was still shedding tears as she balanced her mug of hot chocolate on her lap.

"Oh, Em," I whispered, pulling her into another hug. "What on earth happened to the both of you?"

❁❁❁

WHEN I WOKE up, Emily was still snoring away, tucked under a mountain of blankets. She was curled into a small ball, cheeks still puffy from crying. We had both fallen asleep on my bed after we cried our hearts out last night. Though I didn't mean to, watching Emily sob over her engagement and Asher made me cry too.

Even though Emily never said it outright, I knew that she liked Asher. Maybe she was even in love with him. And for a couple of weeks, I truly believed that Asher was sincerely trying to make things work between them. Everyone could see how hard Asher was trying to get out of his comfort zone and be...nice. To Emily.

It wasn't until camp that he suddenly flipped a switch and returned back to shutting her out.

Even though Asher avoided her, she claimed that breaking off the engagement was something that she didn't even consider him doing. And I agreed. Asher breaking off their engagement was the last thing that was on my mind when I saw Emily standing outside my door with tears in her eyes.

The silly girl couldn't resist but to pay him a visit after Robin and I dropped her off at her dorm. She wanted to ask him why he didn't show up at the party. I guess in the end, curiosity killed the cat. When I asked whether or not their parents agreed on ending the engagement, she shook her head.

"All he said was he wasn't marrying me. That he didn't care whether or not his parents insisted."

"What am I going to do with you?" I murmured, sighing wistfully as I reached out to stroke Emily's soft blonde hair. She let out a small whimper, snuggling deeper into the sheets, her frail figure almost disappearing completely into the mattress. It was still early and since it was the weekend, I figured that I could let her sleep in longer. Besides, I doubt she'd allow me to carry out my plan if she was awake.

My phone vibrated, and I tore my attention away from Emily's sleeping figure to look at the text message on my screen.

Good morning. Fancy some breakfast?

A smile tugged at my lips, and I almost replied 'Yes' before I remembered that I had things I needed to settle. I typed a quick reply, pushing away the nagging voices that sounded strangely like Robin.

Maybe tomorrow. Emily's still here.

At least I wasn't lying.

I got out of bed and dressed myself quickly. Before leaving, I thought the better of it and quickly scribbled a note letting Emily know I had gone out to get breakfast. Then, I quietly slipped out of my dorm and headed to Asher Dane's.

❁❁❁

Asher wasn't in his dorm. I was sure, because I had banged on his door and screamed bloody murder for ten minutes straight before a disheveled-looking Iranian boy emerged out of the dorm next to Asher's, shooting me an irritated look.

"Arya?" I blinked, instantly recognising my Economics classmate. I never knew he lived next to Asher. Usually that was something people enjoyed bragging about.

"Alex? What the hell are you doing here? It's seven in the morning," he yawned, scratching his hip lazily as he eyed me with hooded eyes.

"I need to talk to Asher," I explained sheepishly, tucking a lock of hair behind my ear. He shot me a pointed look with his dark brown eyes.

"You sure you weren't going to murder him?" Arya asked, raising an eyebrow at me. He yawned again, and stretched his arms slowly.

"Where is he anyway?" I asked, changing the subject quickly.

"He was yelling and breaking things all night. God help me if you're going to continue such a ruckus at seven in the morning. All I want is to get some peaceful sleep," the poor boy muttered, rubbing his tired eyes.

"Do you know where he is?" I prodded, starting to sound desperate. Arya looked slightly suspicious, but seemed as if he just wanted to get rid of me so he could go to sleep. So he clicked his tongue and shrugged, leaning against the doorframe.

"Well, he's probably at his residence outside of the Academy. Feel free to carry out your evil plans. Just remind him to return me my portable charger."

I felt myself deflate. I've never been to Asher's house before, and I'm pretty sure asking Robin would be a bad idea. Pursing my lips, I decided to try my luck and ask Arya if he had Asher's address. Before I even opened up my mouth, Arya ran his fingers through his messy curls and shot me a pointed look.

"Give me a second," he sighed, pushing himself off the doorframe. He turned and shuffled back into his room, his voice sounding muffled as he rummaged through his things. "I'm pretty sure I wrote down his address somewhere..."

"Here." He shoved a crumpled sticky note under my nose. I accepted the note gratefully, squinting my eyes in an attempt to decipher the cursive scribbled hastily on the note.

"He had me deliver one of his art works back to his place before," he explained without prompt.

"Thank you so much, Arya," I gushed loudly, and he cringed and nodded his head. He raised his hand and shooed me away, closing the door behind him.

"Consider this a favour returned after you lent me your notes for our Economics test. Ask him to keep it down next time, or I'll call campus security," he muttered as the door slammed shut.

❁❁❁

I rode a bicycle to Asher's place. When I arrived in front of the sleek but otherwise unassuming grey apartment, I parked my bike and checked Google Maps just to be sure I had the right address. Taking a deep breath, I headed inside the lobby and quickly located the elevator.

I tapped my foot impatiently against the marble floor, watching as the digits above the elevator descended. I felt my heart thud against my chest, and for a moment I wondered if I was doing the right thing. Should I have asked Emily first? Did I have any right to barge into their business?

Emily showed up at your door at midnight with tears in her eyes and her heart broken. Do you need another excuse to raise hell? The voice in my head questioned, strengthening my resolve. I knew Emily. I knew she would never have the courage to do what I was doing right now. She was too timid, too afraid of the boy she was going to marry.

When the elevator doors slid open, I hesitated for one second before I took a deep breath and stepped inside. I pressed the button for the thirteenth level. Perhaps Asher might hate me after this. More than he already did, anyway. But I had made it clear from the start— he wasn't going to get away with it if he hurt Emily.

Just as the elevator doors were closing, a hand suddenly shot forward, blocking the doors from shutting. The heavy metal doors slid open again, and a tall figure slipped into the elevator, his presence consuming me whole.

"Robin?"  I gasped, eyes wide.

My boyfriend of one day did not look happy. Turning to look at me, he crossed his arms and shot me a pointed look. A flash of irritation passed through his deep blue eyes, and I tried to ignore the guilt that crawled its way into my throat.

"Mind explaining what you're doing at Asher's apartment?" Robin asked lowly, raising an eyebrow.

"I just wanted to visit," I mumbled, lowering my eyes. Suddenly, I wasn't so confident about confronting the grumpy white-haired boy anymore.

"You lied," he stated bluntly, pursing his lips.

"Technically, I was telling the truth. I just didn't elaborate," I defended, but when Robin shot me an unimpressed look, I sighed.

"You wouldn't understand," I couldn't help but argue, biting my lip when Robin narrowed his eyes. Slumping my shoulders, I leaned against the elevator walls. "And you would've stopped me."

"Maybe I would've tried to stop you, Alexandra. But don't tell me that I don't understand why you're doing this," Robin finally said after a suffocating pause. "You should've just told me the truth. The entire truth."

I looked away guiltily.

"You shouldn't be here," Robin said quietly, reaching out to grab my wrist. He squeezed my hand gently. "I know you're angry. Emily's your best friend, but Asher's mine. I know his actions are not warranted, but he has his reasons. Go home, Alexandra."

"I can't," I blurted out, biting my lip. "I know he must have his reasons, which is exactly why I'm here. I'm finding the answers that Emily can't. I know it shouldn't be my business, but how can I sit still and do nothing when Emily is suffering? If he could offer some sort of explanation, then at least I can help her find closure."

"Alexandra," Robin sighed heavily. "Please—"

"Let me do this. For Emily," I said quietly, cutting him before he could try to convince me to leave again. God knows that if he had finished his sentence, I would be heading straight home. Robin always made sense. He made rational decisions. He used his brains. I used my heart.

Robin paused, eyeing me with an undistinguishable look in his eye. Finally, he sighed and let go of my hands.

"You're not going to leave no matter how much I reason with you, aren't you?" Robin muttered, running his hand through his neat blonde hair. I nodded.

"Alright," he sighed in resignation. Then, he muttered regrettably under his breath. "Asher's going to kill me."

Suddenly, Robin reached out and pinched my nose, making me yelp in pain.

"Your nose is growing bigger by the minute," he sighed, shaking his head.

Before I could even rebut him, the elevator doors slid open, reminding me why I was here in the first place. Shooting Robin an annoyed glare, I breathed in deeply and stepped out onto the hallway. We walked in silence until we finally stopped in front of the dark oak door that kept us between Asher Dane. Surprisingly, the door was left ajar, and I hesitantly pushed the door open and walked into his apartment. Robin trailed quietly behind, his hands shoved into his pockets.

The first thing I noticed was the blanket of broken pieces of porcelain strewn across the floor. It seemed as if Asher had been throwing his art pieces at the walls and on the floors, pieces that I was sure were valued over thousands of dollars. I bit my lip, trying not to step onto the larger shards of porcelain as we ventured deeper into his empty apartment.

"Asher?" I called out, my voice sounding smaller than I had expected. There was no reply. There was a door near the end of the living room. Approaching it, I knocked twice.

"Get out of my fucking apartment!" I almost let out a sigh of relief at the sound of his angry, familiar voice. Then, I tensed up again when I remembered exactly why I was here in the first place.

"No, Asher. You get out of the room! You have some explaining to do!" I shouted, banging against the door.

"I don't have to talk to you, Alex," he shouted, his voice strained and hoarse. "I don't need anyone! Leave me alone!"

Robin stood quietly behind me while I pounded at the door, and it was only when my hands were starting to get numb that I heard movement from behind the door.

The door flung open with so much force that I stumbled backwards, and I would've fallen right onto the broken pieces of porcelain that littered the floor beneath us if it wasn't for Robin. Robin steadied me, muttering under his breath.

"Be careful, Alexandra," he said, and I understood the underlying meaning of his words immediately.

Asher Dane stood in front of the two of us, shirtless and bloodied. My eyes widened at the sight of the bruises that littered his torso, and I gasped when I caught sight of his bloodied fists. He was paler than a sheet, and he looked as if he was going to collapse at any moment. I spied the empty bottles of alcohol on the floor behind him, pursing my lips in disapproval.

"What the fuck do you want, Alex? What the hell are you doing in my house? Robin, did you let her come here?" Asher growled furiously, his bright green eyes shining with madness. He cringed, grabbing his temple and massaging it with one hand.

"I came here myself, asshole. Robin couldn't have stopped me," I snapped, narrowing my eyes at him. "And you should know damn well why I'm here."

"Let me guess," he spat venomously. "Emily made you come here. I told that stupid girl to let it go. It's over."

"Emily didn't make me come here," I said through gritted teeth. My hands clenched into fists at his blatant rudeness. I didn't like how he made Emily seem like complete trouble. "She's at my dorm, asleep after crying her eyes out thanks to you."

Asher let out a strangled scoff.

"So? Are you here to force me to take her back?" he chuckled humorlessly. "I don't think you have the right to, Alex."

"I'm not here to beg, Asher. I just here to get the answers that she deserves," I seethed.

"Answers?" Asher scoffed coldly. He swayed slightly, and grabbed the doorframe to support himself.

"There are no answers, Alex. Sometimes people change their minds. Our engagement was nothing but a business agreement. I cancelled the contract. That's it," he said coldly, his angry expression morphing into one of complete indifference.

"Now if you're done, do me a favour and show yourself out," Asher breathed, narrowing his eyes. He let go of the doorframe and reached for the handle, probably to shut the door in my face. Before he could do that however, he stumbled backwards, knees buckling. Asher's hand clenched his side, his face contorting into a grimace.

"Shit," he whispered in pain.

His eyes rolled to the back of his head and Robin and I watched in horror as he collapsed right in front of us.

❁❁❁

A/N: Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter! Remember to follow @shevonleck on Instagram to get updates on my stories :)

Song of the Chapter: Gives You Hell // All-American Rejects