It was a night of drunken confessions, unending laughter, and the greasiest pizza that side of Los Angeles could offer. It had been close to dawn by the time Ava stumbled back into her apartment. Her heart had been bursting with contentment. The constant nagging at her heart that she would not be able to find a friend, would be lonely, and be in a constant state of brokenness had finally eased up. She had made not only one but two friends, no longer felt lonely, and the state of brokenness that she was always sitting in was slowly drifting away. 

Her bed never felt more comfortable than it did right in that moment. The blankets and pillows engulfed her into a cloud like hug. Without even bothering to change or wash away the leftover makeup that was still plastered on her face, she closed her eyes and drifted off into a deep sleep. That night, her mind didn't fall into a string of horrid nightmares. It wasn't the same cold sweat inducing incubus that haunted her night after night. Instead, she was dreamt of the happy memories. The moments that brought a huge grin to her face every time she thought about them. She dreamt about the times her and her mother would go down to the pier and watch the boats sail about. Those summer days were they would spend the afternoon eating ice cream and she would play on the playground for hours on end. They were the memories lit up her eyes. The dreams that made her long for the easy days of childhood. All in all, she had finally slept. 

Her head pounded. An ache scorched through her body rising up to her head reducing to a constant pang. "Ugh," it felt like the room was spinning. Her stomach began to churn. Ava rushed out of her bed as fast as she could and ran to her en suit bathroom. She made it to the toilet in time for the contents of last nights activities to conjure back up. "God." 

She was startled by her appearance. Her mascara was smeared around her eyes making her look like a raccoon's long lost cousin. Her hair was a tangled mess on top of her head. She was still in her outfit from the night before causing her to cringe at the sight. Quickly the clothes were peeled off and the water began to run. It felt soothing as it ran down her body. The room quickly fogged up. The water was hot but she didn't mind. Her muscles began to relax as it pelted down her small frame. 

The smell of vanilla and lavender filled in the big bathroom. She felt refreshed; awake. As much as she wanted to stab herself in the eye with a knife, she felt rested. The towel that wrapped around her body was comforting. Goosebumps automatically appeared as the cold air kissed her skin.

It was a slow Saturday afternoon. It had already been noon by the time Ava rolled out of bed and showered. The streets outside were busy with people running around doing their regular Saturday morning errands. The sun was shining bright. It's rays cascaded through the floor to ceiling window that donned inside the living room. Lace curtains lined the windows and were pushed open to allow the sun to seep through. Automatically, the apartment warmed up. The more Ava lived there, the more homely it began to feel. 

Saturdays were made for two things: lounging in sweatpants and for countless amounts of junk food to be consumed, and that was exactly what Ava had done all day. She didn't bother to change into a pair of jeans once she got out of the shower. Instead, she opted for a pair of sweatpants and an oversized band tee. It had been the perfect recipe for comfort. 

Ava was in the middle of watching a rerun of "Say Yes To The Dress" when a loud knock came from her main door. It startled her causing Ava to drop her spoon full of ice cream on her sweatpants. "Shit," she attempted to wipe it off but it only caused it to smear more. If she didn't look like a real mess before, she certainly did now. 

Another obnoxious knock came from the door once more. Peeking through the small peep hole, she saw a mess of dark brown hair. A smile creeped to her lips. "You look like shit," she laughed as she opened the door. 

"Thanks a lot bitch." Stevie laughed as she walked inside the apartment. "God, I feel so gross. Remind me to never eat a whole pizza at four AM... by myself... again." 

Her usual neat dark hair was pulled into a messy bun. Her leggings and University hoody showcased perfectly how hungover she was. 

"You're telling me. I'm pretty sure I puked it all up this morning." Ava took a seat beside Stevie on the massive couch in her living room after grabbing something from the kitchen. "Ice cream?" Stevie nodded excitedly and  grabbed the extra spoon out of her grasp. 

"Have you heard from Jax this morning?"

"Nope." Stevie took another large spoonful from the tub and moaned in delight. "I'm sure he's feeling just as shitty as we are. He drank so much at the club. He's a real idiot if you ask me." She chuckled as she continued to eat from the tub. 

"So," Stevie sat up suddenly her eyes wide with a grin forming, "How are we going to find your lover boy?" 

Ava groaned. "I thought you were joking."

"Hell no! We need to find your man." 

"I really don't want to." 

"You said he was hot and British with tattoos. I know I'm hungover and all, but I'm having a hard time understanding why you don't want to find him." 

Ava rolled her eyes. There were so many reasons why she knew she shouldn't bother finding him. The main one had been that she was embarrassed. She didn't want to admit that she made a mistake by leaving him that day. She didn't want to come to terms with her mistakes. She wanted him back but her pride was telling her otherwise. "We're not going to find Harry." 

"Are you going to at least tell me why he's here?" 

"Nope! Because if I do, you will probably go and find him for me. I'd rather you didn't do that." 

It was now Stevie's turn to roll her eyes. "You're being ridiculous, you do know that right?"

"Whatever," with that she rolled off the couch and walked over to the kitchen. "Tea?" 

"Fine." She let out a loud puff of air and reached for the television. 

A few minutes later a loud ringing sound rang through the apartment. Ava walked over to her phone and answered it. "Hello?" 

"Hey," a familiar voice came through the other line. "This is Ava right?" 

"Yep!" 

The voice on the other end let out a relieved sigh. "Oh good. I thought you gave me a fake number. I was ready to be totally humiliated." 

She chuckled, "No this is the me. No fake numbers over here." 

"Good." 

"Matt right?" She teased. 

"It's Mack." His voice dropped suddenly with disappointment clear in his voice. 

"I know, I'm just joking." She let out a small giggle. Mack sighed in relief on the other end. 

"You had me going for a second there." Ava laughed this time and he joined her. "Anyways, I was calling to see if you wanted to go for dinner with me tomorrow night?"

 She didn't answer at first. It wasn't that she was completely against the idea of going out to dinner with Mack. She knew that it was harmless to go on one date. But she couldn't help but feel a bit guilty by doing so. Her heart knew that she was still not over Harry and by going on a date felt wrong. Her heart was telling her no but her head was saying go for it. 

"Sure." She answered, regardless of the inner battle that was going on inside of her. 

"Awesome!" He was excited- that was clear in his voice. "I'll pick you up at 7. Text me your address?" 

"Sure." 

"Great! Great. Okay. I'll see you then... then." He stammered awkwardly. 

"I'll see you tomorrow. See you later, Mack." They exchanged their goodbyes and she ended the call. Her head turned from the kitchen counter. Stevie was standing in front of her with her eyebrows perked up. 

"Who was that?"

"Do you remember how Jax mentioned that blonde guy from the club last night?" She nodded. "He asked me out to dinner for tomorrow night."

"But what about Harry?" 

"There is no Harry." 

Stevie shook her head at her. "Your choice. But I think you're making a bad one, just FYI." Ava didn't say anything. She just rolled her eyes instead and walked back to the kettle. 

- 

It was the night of the date and the nerves were eating her up. She had fixed her hair more times than she could count. She couldn't help but freak out. What if he isn't as good looking as I remember him being? What if he's a complete creep? What if he ends up murdering me behind the Hollywood hills sign! These questions and thoughts kept replaying in her mind  the whole day. To say that she was anxious would be an understatement. 

A knock suddenly came from the front door causing Ava to jump once again. She smoothed out her mustard coloured skirt and double checked that her checkered shirt was still tucked in properly. After giving herself another check at the mirror, she opened up the door. 

Her breath caught in her throat. 

He was definitely as good looking as she remembered. 

Mack's dark blonde hair was perfectly styled up and his facial hair was grown in nicely. He was wearing a red checkered shirt and dark skinny jeans. He had a big smile on his face and his eyes shined in the light. "Hello!" He smiled at her and reached his hand out. He had a bouquet of tulips in his hand. "These are for you."

"Thank you. They're beautiful." She smiled back at him and took the flowers out of his grasp. She laid them on top of the counter and made a mental note to take care of them as soon as she got home. "Ready to go?" She nodded and followed him outside of her apartment building. 

It was a warm Sunday night. The streets were busy as usual with the hustle of the city folk. A red volkswagen sat outside her apartment building and she couldn't help but smile fondly. It had reminded her of Harry's car from home - Shut up! Her subconscious reprimanded her. You are on a date with Mack, not Harry. Snap out of it! She shook her head mentally. 

The ride to the restaurant was pleasant. It consisted mostly of small talk about the traffic, their favourite music, and about Ava's pizza adventure from Friday night. She was pleasantly surprised how easy going Mack was. She laughed at his jokes and blushed at his kind gestures. He flirted with her and she couldn't help but flirt with him back. He was charming. She slowly found herself enjoying his presence more than she expected to do. However, she could say that she wasn't falling for Mack. But, he was definitely a great person to hang out with. 

 It had been a pleasant night. They had dinner at a small restaurant near the Santa Monica Pier. Afterwards, Mack took Ava to the pier where they got cotton candy. They spent an hour walking around the pier, laughing and talking. Ava learnt that Mack wanted to be a musician. He played the guitar and sang a little bit. Even though he was working a small job at a major office, he had plans to get a record deal somewhere. But until then, he was creating online videos of him singing. Ava told him about her internship and dreams at becoming an editor. All in all, it had been a lovely first date in which it left Ava smiling and happy. 

As they drove pulled up to her apartment, Ava double checked her purse to make sure she had her keys. Mack had graciously walked Ava up to her door. They stood their silently as they both looked down at the floor. Mack was the first to speak up. 

"I had fun tonight," he smiled at her. 

"Me too." She returned the smile as she grabbed her keys from her door. "Well, I'll see you around?" 

Mack smiled and leaned in. He gave her a soft peck on the cheek and pulled her in for a friendly hug. "I will definitely be calling you later," he whispered in her ear. She gave him another small wave as she walked into her apartment shutting the door quietly behind her. 

- 

A/N: This was mostly a filler chapter hence it’s ridiculous lack of exciting events. ALSO: Harry will reappear soon, don’t you worry your pretty little heads.
Vote + Comment :) I can’t believe the last chapter got 33 votes in such a short amount of time. You all tug at my heart strings.
PS: Can we please take a moment to appreciate how good looking Matthew Grey Gubler is? He is playing Mack because well... he’s a straight up babe find. Okay... that is all.