Let me give you a quick summary of this whole situation because I found it pointless to expound on it any further when the same sequence of events happened with every single course we went through.

Zoey was incredibly smitten with Christian, acting all giggly and such to the point that I wanted to stand between them just to end it. Pat, the poor boy, couldn't concentrate on anything else except for her and was practically in last place. Christian obviously wanted to impress everybody and flex, but his skills with mini golfing was non-existent and if it wasn't for Pat being stuck in la la land, he would have been in last place. I wanted to thank the heavens for Lauren because she was always next to Zoey or Christian, so those two never had any single moment alone together.

Mia, perhaps the only sane one in this Brady Bunch, was a silent observer and kept sending me dry looks throughout the whole course. Leon, my angel, was just as stumped as I was.

And I, with some sort of miracle, still managed to get to first place even though I was a wreck trying to figure things out the whole time.

So that was basically it, you're welcome.

"That was fun," Lauren chirped as we were all seated for lunch in this burger joint we found, "Thanks for inviting us, Avery."

I sent her tightlipped smile, shoving another fry into my mouth so I had an excuse not to say anything. Glad that someone enjoyed this whole experience because I sure didn't.

"So you're the girl Zoey said was like a sister," Christian piped in and if I could only describe the dread that settled in the pit of my stomach, I would have, "Our meeting last night was extremely short so I'd like to say hello once again."

Somehow, that freaking bear minimum was enough to make my best friend swoon.

This was absolute torture.

"Hi," I spoke back, my tone absolutely blank. Mia cleared her through and shot me a warning look, something I shot back with an incredulous expression of my own.

"Here you go," Leon said as he placed all of his fries onto my own plate in an attempt to calm me down. My lips were still turned down into a frown but I think we both knew I was so close to cracking a smile. It truly was the little things.

Somehow, that was enough to shift the whole mood of the table. Zoey and Pat simultaneously snapped out of their trances to now put their attention on us.

Pat's face softened and he placed a gentle smile on his lips as he watched us, "You two look good together."

This could have been the perfect opportunity to give us a backhanded compliment and even if he did, I wouldn't hold it against him. I understand that there might be some bad feelings between us because of how everything went down.

But there wasn't. I felt so much warmth coming from him that I truly believed that he meant it.

And that was the Patrick Vincent I really did love – as a friend, for clarification's sakes. He so painfully kind and sweet, making me believe that he truly deserved the best.

"Thank you, Pat," I replied with as much sincerity as he had.

Zoey placed her gaze on him, also a soft smile forming on her lips, "I agree."

And now there was a wave of guilt that washed over me. Here I was trying to separate her from her crush while she wanted nothing more but for me to be happy. In my defense, everything I was doing was in order to save her from heartbreak.

But was I truly doing the right thing?

There was a long silence that followed after that because honestly, we had no idea how to follow up after that exchange.

Mia released a loud sigh, probably fed up with this show we've all been putting up, "Avery, can you come with me to the restroom please?"

An excuse to get away from this table? Yes please, "Sure."

However, I've been friends with Mia for a long time and whenever she spoke in that tone, I was a hundred percent sure that she had no intentions going on the toilet. So what we did do was go into the restroom and once she made sure we were alone, she turned back and crossed her arms in front of her chest, "What are we doing?"

"Making sure Zoey doesn't make a horrible decision by falling for that rat Christian," I answered her straight up without even beating around the bush, "Well, fall harder than she already has anyways."

"So you're meddling?" she raised a brow.

"No!" I immediately exclaimed. After what transpired between Sasha and I, meddling was the last thing I wanted to do, "You don't see me shoving myself between them to get them separated, but I just don't like him for her. He's going to cheat on her and ruin her friendship with Lauren."

"And how do you know this?"

Oh because I traveled to the future and met this older version of Leon who told me all about these things.

This would have been much more simpler if she knew all of this time travel shit but that was just another headache to explain, "I've heard some things about him."

While she didn't fully believe me, she gestured for me to go on. Something I gratefully did, "I don't necessarily want her to be with another guy, I just don't want her to end up with him specifically. He's not good for her and you know I can't bear to see her get hurt."

She placed her hands back down onto her sides and with another sigh, she shook her head, "I know where you're coming from but I think the best learning experience is to truly let her go through with it all – the flirting, the relationship, and even the possible heartbreak. Then at the end of it all, be there for a shoulder to lean on."

But I didn't want her to go through it because I knew first hand how painful it was. The days leading up to the break up between Pat and I was gruesome for my mind, everyday seemed like a ticking time bomb and a never ending nightmare.

Although I knew the point Mia was trying to make. Zoey, no matter how beautiful and good-hearted she was, never had a boyfriend before. She was more averse to relationships than I was and I know that it would be good if she experiences it.

Yet I had to think of how traumatic it might be for her if the first relationship she does enter would end in tears.

"I hate it when you're right," I huffed, but it was obviously a joke.

She dropped the whole sassy act and her tone dialed down, "You know, I am rather jealous of you."

"What?" my eyes widened because we all know what happened the last time a friend of mine said they were jealous.

Though from the way she showed no frustrations or annoyance, I knew I was in the clear, "You have Leon and even if your relationship moved so fast, all pieces fit so perfectly. He likes you as much as you like him, you have your own little bubble, and you aren't on edge that he might leave you for another girl any second because you are so confident that he's loyal to his feelings for you."

It only seemed like we were moving fast because they only get to see this timeline. What they didn't know was that a day for them could literally be a whole week for us.

"I want that kind of relationship too, you know?" she finished.

"You'll find one too, just give it time," I reassured, "It took me a few failed relationships before I got to him but the wait was worth it. We met in middle school and took us years before we even became friends."

And perhaps a lot of time travel but let's not dive into those details.

"I've learned that it's not always about constantly searching until you meet the right person, it's sometimes about waiting for the right time."

We might never, Mia might end up with a guy she had known for a long time or perhaps she would be with someone new. Either way, I just hope that he would be good to her because she deserved the world, especially since puts up with having a friend like me.

"Avery Barber, the love guru," she laughed, a soft smile tugging the corners of her lips, "Thanks."

"Now come on," I told her, walking my way to the door. I think we both agreed that our talk had taken too long to be considered a bathroom break so we decided to head back to the table. Unfortunately when I opened the door, Zoey and Lauren were standing there for god knows how long.

Although from Lauren's somewhat infuriated expression and the way Zoey's eyes were filled with tears, I could guess that they have been there since the beginning of the conversation and heard the part they were definitely not supposed to.

Just great.

One, Lauren found out about Zoey's feelings for her brother. Second, they both heard how much I didn't like him. Now to add more insult to the injury, my own best friend heard how unsupportive I was with the first ever crush she shared with me.

Amazing! Just peachy, if I do say so myself.

When I said before that Lauren was almost like a mirror image of Zoey, especially her personality, I meant it. So all color practically drained from my face when she muttered through gritted teeth, "I'm afraid that we have to take our leave."

Although she was obviously fuming deep down, she managed to keep her tone as polite as possible.

I lifted a hand to stop her from going but she was amazingly fast. Before I could even open my mouth, she turned on her heel and rapidly walked away.

I turned to Mia helplessly and with a sigh, she maneuvered her way past us in the least awkward way possible, "I'll handle her."

She was heaven sent.

Plus, I think she was going to excuse herself anyways because after what transpired, Zoey and I definitely needed to have a private conversation. Well, as much privacy a public bathroom could afford.

When I turned to my best friend, my stomach dropped at how visibly upset she was. My whole purpose here was to keep her happy and yet, the results were the complete opposite.

What made more guilt creep up within me was the known fact that Zoey had been nothing but supportive towards every single aspect of my life – even the dumb decisions. It must be so heartbreak that couldn't be the same for her.

You really dug yourself a grave this time, Barber.

Now I had to damage control, no matter how nerve-wracking it was for me and I had to do it quick. Because the longer I stared at her, the more the memories of her sitting on the porch of my house came into my mind. How she looked so undone and deject, a complete contrast to how she usually was.

I was the reason why she was on her wits end.

Sometimes I truly wondered if I even deserved to be called her best friend.

"Zoey..." I trailed off, trying to find the right words to say. Sadly, the harder I thought, the more my brain became blank. So all of it – the excuses and explanations – all died down into two words, "I'm sorry."

Those words would probably never be enough but I had to start somewhere.

"You really don't want me to be with him?" she breathed out, her voice shaky and uneven.

I exhaled loudly, reaching out take her hands and made sure she never broke eye contact with me, "I love you and I want you to be with a person who will love you more than I will, which is definitely going to be extremely difficult. I want you to be with someone who will look at you and think you are their world, like everything revolves around you. I want you to be with someone who will love you, not because you never have a hair out of place, but because they have seen your flaws and still think you're perfect."

I squeezed her hands tighter, now almost begging her, "And to be honest, I don't think Christian is that someone."

Because I truly was desperate to have her find that happily ever after. I never want to see her suffer again because happiness was something she deserved the most.

"But," I quickly added, "If you truly want to be with him then I'll be supportive. This time, I really mean it."

Mia, as always, was right. The best mode of action was to let Zoey experience it all and go through all the relationship bullshit on her own. Then, if things doesn't work out, I would be ready with two tubs of ice cream and a movie to cheer her up.

"Avy," she sniffed and that made me immediately lunch forward to envelop her into a hug, "Should I still go after him?"

I wanted to scream a solid no. I wanted her to run away to the other direction as fast as she possibly could.

But that love story wasn't mine to control.

"I think you should do whatever you want," I replied, soothingly running my hands through her hair, "Although if he hurts you, I will definitely beat the shit out of him. Plus, I'm friends with a lot of soccer players who wouldn't hesitate to kick him."

That somehow managed to brighten her mood because she let out an amused, although croaky, laugh, "Thank you, Avy."

I just hoped I changed the future enough to make sure my best friend wouldn't get hurt. Even if I didn't, I have years to make sure she would end up with someone good.

Because I wasn't the same Avery who wanted to call it quits. I was here to stay.

"I guess I have to apologize to Lauren now," I frowned when she pulled away, wiping the few remaining tears off of her cheeks.

Which sucks because although I've known Lauren for quite some time now, we weren't close. I've only seen her when she was with Zoey and even then, we wouldn't actually have long and meaningful conversations.

"No, I'll take care of it," she told me, trying to regain her composure, "Besides, I think we definitely need to talk anyways."

It wasn't every day that you learn about you best friend's crush on your brother from that said person's other best friend.

We exited the bathroom and my heart was stammering inside my chest the whole time we walked back to our table. Thankfully, Lauren didn't look like she spilled the beans yet and Mia was hovering near her just so she wouldn't leave or say anything about our encounter earlier.

Was Mia a wizard? Because if that was me, I would not be able to make the person stay.

Zoey raised a hand towards me so she would stop me from doing anything before she walked up to Lauren, grabbed her hand, and pulled her away so they could talk away from earshot.

"What happened in there?" Christian snickered once I sat back down next to Leon, "Was there a whole party in the restroom?"

It wasn't a party but it was definitely eventful.

I didn't reply to him, only squinting my eyes to take a better look. I could see why Zoey would like him – he was attractive and definitely had a charm. I didn't know much about him yet but if she was truly serious about him then I guess at some point, I would find out more in the future.

I mean, he kissed her so he was attracted to her at the very least.

Oh dear god, I should really stop overthinking about this. I was just going to have a headache.

"How did it go?" Leon asked softly so only I would hear.

I sighed and rested my head on his shoulder, "Not good."

"She'll be fine," he reassured, watching as both Lauren and Zoey returned to the table. This time, Lauren allowed Zoey to sit on the chair next to Christian.

And the only thing I could do was watch from the distance.

A few days later, Zoey told me that she and Christian were definitely getting closer. Although they weren't anywhere near being official yet, it was obvious that they were going down that path. I bit my tongue, pushed all the anxieties I was feeling, and tried to be genuinely happy for her.

Again, this future was different so I should definitely give them a chance.

And besides, I had another problem to solve – Sasha.

That girl, whether she liked it or not, was someone I deeply cared about and I will not sit still and watch her spiral like this.

----------------------------------

Yesterday was an extremely off day for me. Like maybe some stuff went on, but it affected me more than usual so I think I just wasn't in the right headspace. I took care of myself first so that was why I didn't update. I'm sorry guys, but I always try to advocate taking care of your mental health first.

But anyways, old readers of mine know how I make my endings so I'm sure many could predict how the Sasha or the Zoey and Christian things would go. Even so, here's my question.

Question: Do you think they would be able to make up with Sasha?

Again, I'm sorry that I wasn't able to update yesterday! I hope you guys still liked the chapter. I love you guys and I'll see you all next chapter.