They Say Love is the Key

Zach looked around as he walked, gulping down the beer with a sigh. So far, he couldn't spot anybody hot to hook up with. Honestly, though, everybody that he had seen at old parties that had been hot just weren't tonight, for some reason. He hated it, not understanding why he was so bothered about it. His mind was centered on Addy and he couldn't force his thoughts away.

Lily blinked several times when she heard Matt offer to get her a drink. She shook her head slightly, offering a smile as she kindly declined. She didn't want to drink, honestly - of course, she wondered if getting drunk would help. Regardless, Matt went to get himself a drink but soon returned, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

Addy was cuddled into Eric's side, trying to feel better, though all she wanted was Zach beside her. When Eric offered her a drink, she declined. She knew what alcohol did to people, seeing the way that it had transformed Zach, and she didn't want to partake. She was here just to be company to Eric - and perhaps to forget about Zach.

Josh was scanning the crowd, looking for a potential girl to at least have some fun with. When he saw the one girl he never thought he would see again, he didn't believe it. What the hell was she doing here?! Hadn't he explicitly told her that she should stay away from parties. He got up from his seat and had half a mind to go over there - but what could he do? So he just grabbed another drink, settled back down.

Zach's eyes scanned the crowd of people and he paused briefly at spotting the familiar face, the one face he never wanted to see at a party. A frown came to his lips as he noticed how she was cuddled up with Eric on the couch and he fought the urge to go over. What surprised him, though, was the unfamiliar feeling of jealousy bubbling up in him - or was it even jealousy? He recalled feeling the same thing when he saw Eric flirting with her before, but he didn't understand why he would be jealous.

Lily felt uneasy, if not uncomfortable. The party scene was definitely not for her, she decided. The music was so loud and she was seriously a little worried about being alone, so she stuck close to Matt, even if his arm being around her made her feel even more uncomfortable. Regardless, she tried to let herself relax as much as possible, reminding herself that she was here with Matt to enjoy herself and forget Josh.

Addy didn't necessarily feel so comfortable with Eric close to her, but she was afraid of what would happen if an innocent girl like her was left alone. A few times, he had leaned over to her and asked if she was sure she didn't want a drink - and the more and more she smelled alcohol on his breath, the more she just wanted it to be Zach so close to her. She happened to look up at one point and see Zach and she gasped and looked away, cuddling even more into Eric for show.

Josh didn't know what to do. Was he supposed to go over there? The way his adrenaline was pumping was like before. No one touched his Lily - his best friend Lily... If this was jealousy, it was only because he didn't want to lose his friend, right?! He had never felt his way before... But he couldn't go over - she hated him because she loved him, and he couldn't pretend that he loved her back by saving her. He couldn't... He should stay away - that was what she needed.

Zach couldn't help but to frown all the more when he spotted Addy cuddling into Eric. Without him really noticing it, one of his fists had clenched, his drink in the other hand nearly forgotten except for the sound of the plastic crunching under the slight pressure. Why the hell was he so bothered by this? It was driving him crazy and he wasn't sure what he should do. If this continued on, he wouldn't be able to enjoy the party at all - but he didn't want this guy bothering Addy. After a moment, he made his way over despite that he knew he probably shouldn't; he didn't want to hurt her anymore. But he didn't want this guy to hurt her, either.

Lily chewed nervously on her lip as she tried to relax. Her eyes scanned the crowd slowly, a little worried with how many people were there. What if the cops got called? God, what was she doing here anyways? She had openly expressed her hatred of parties due to her brother's accident before and here she was attending a stupid party because she wanted to forget Josh. And, just as the thought of Josh passed through her mind, her eyes caught sight of him and she froze, eyes widening, before she quickly turned and buried her face into Matt's shoulder, hoping that she had just imagined seeing Josh there. It had to be her imagination, right? Especially since he wasn't flirting his ass off.

Addy looked his way just to see him moving towards her. What the hell was Zach doing? She didn't want him to come over here! No, she wasn't having fun at all, but she didn't want him coming over here and making it even worse. She just wanted him to stay away - to turn away from her. She was trying to get over him and this wasn't working. She stood up away from Eric and walked away. Maybe it was simply because she wanted to talk alone, she didn't want to get in the middle of everything.

Josh sighed and shook his head. When he saw her, he frowned lightly. Damn, he didn't want to see her here. He didn't want her to be hurt by this asshole that she was with. He only wanted to hurt her anyway and he wasn't going to let that happen. He stood then and stepped towards her. He sighed and shook his head. "Lily." He called to her as he walked up and glared at Matt. This guy had to go. Even if she didn't want to see him again ever, he wasn't letting this guy keep her.

Zach frowned when he saw Addy start to walk away. He passed one warning glare towards Eric as if to emphasize that he should leave his best friend alone, then he turned in the direction Addy went and went after her. "Addy, wait," he called out as he caught up with her, taking hold of her wrist gently. "Why are you here with him?" he asked quietly, admittedly a little surprised that there was actual hurt in his tone, though he did his best to hide it.

Lily froze when she saw Josh approaching and she couldn't help but to take a step back in hopes of managing to hide. Too late, apparently. "What do you want, Josh?" she asked, trying to make her tone sound distant and bored, but it was quiet. She was almost sure that he didn't hear her over the music, so she chewed on her lip before making her way over to him. As much as she didn't want to be around him right now, she couldn't really help it.

Addy frowned lightly when she knew he was following him and she pouted lightly, shaking her head. When he grabbed her arm she turned around, she wanted to cry and she pulled her hand away, shaking her head. His voice sounded so hurt though and she looked up at him, sighing. "What do you want from me, Zach? Do you really want to hurt me more? I'm here trying to move on with a guy who wants to be with me - shouldn't you already be drunk and with a girl? I figured you would have to break my heart one more time..."

Josh sighed when he looked down at her and reached out, taking her hand. "Can we...talk?" He asked lightly and sighed. His voice was quiet, like he was hurting and didn't trust his voice to speak any louder. He didn't know why that was the case. He shouldn't even care. He should be having fun - but his one promise had always been that he would protect Lily over his own fun. "Come on - can we please just talk in private?" He didn't want Matt around her.

(I'm so sorry this took forever. D:)

Zach frowned to her words and quickly shook his head. "That's not it at all, Addy," he told her, though his voice was still quiet, still pained. He didn't understand how it hurt him so much for her to pull away from him, for her to remind him of how much he hurt her. The last thing he had ever wanted was to hurt her. "You shouldn't be here with him, Addy. He's just using you, you know that." He looked at her evenly, trying to convey his concern with the entire thing. "Why would I be here drunk and trying to get with a girl when I can see that somebody's trying to hurt my best friend?"

Lily looked down at his hand which had taken hers and she tried not to care, tried to ignore any rising feelings at the feeling of it. It scared her, honestly, that she could be so hurt by him, yet a simple touch or the sound of his voice could make her want to give in all over again. "Fine," she eventually murmured, trying to ignore how quiet his voice was, not wanting to acknowledge that he might be hurting because it would only get her hopes up. "Make it quick."

[youre fine!]

Addy sighed lightly and shook her head. "Using me or not, he's interested... And I'm trying to be interested too. I'm sorry if that bothers you." She snapped and then groaned, shaking her head. "Dammit Zack - you're right - why would you be drunk right now and with a girl?! Let's see - because you don't care?! I get it - I'm your best friend and that's all... So stop pretending like you care more! I know you can't!" She crossed her arms, taking a step even further away from him. She didn't want to go through this with him right now. It only made her hurt more.

Josh frowned. He was restrained to making it quick and he honestly didn't know how to do that... Because he honestly didn't even know what he wanted to say... Maybe he could at least warn her that he was bad news and that would be it... "Lily, why are you here with that jackass? Why are you here at all? Parties aren't your scene Lily... You're so much better than that... You're so much better than someone getting drunk and taking advantage of you - like I know he wants to do... Why?"

Zack couldn't help but feel a little hurt at seeing her step away from him. Not to mention, her words had wounded him more than he expected for them to. "Addy..." he murmured, his tone gentle and caring, though it surprised him that it came out so soft. Maybe it was because his chest hurt all of a sudden, but he tried not to think about it. "You're right. You're my best friend. And that's exactly why I don't want you to be here. I don't want you getting hurt by another guy, okay?"

Lily frowned deeply at his words as she stared at him. "What does it matter to you, Josh?" she asked bitterly. "I came here because Matt wants to help me get my mind off you. Besides, he's the one getting drunk, not me. I'm not like you, Josh - I won't get drunk and have sex with anybody who smiles at me. I want to be here, so I am. You'll just have to deal with it - not that it should be too much of a problem because the moment some under-dressed girl bats her lashes at you, you'll forget I'm around, just like always, right?"

Addie frowned a little at his words and she crossed her arms, shaking her head lightly. "No - I'm not like you - I'm not trying to get drunk and have sex. The only guy hurting me is you - and I'm sick of that! I'm not going to deal with you hurting anymore so I'm going out. I'm going to get over you and get away. I'm not dealing with you anymore! Just go find some drunk girl and have your fun - and I'll have my own."

Josh frowned a little and shook his head. "You know what drunk assholes like him do? They rape innocent girls like you - he's only trying to get with you while you're weak and I'm not letting that happen!" He was so frustrated. He wished she wouldn't believe in love... He wished this would be much better... He didn't know why her words stung so bad but they did.

Zach stared at her with surprise, admittedly frozen for a moment. He wasn't used to her acting this way towards him. Had things gotten so bad with their friendship that he hadn't even noticed her infatuation with him before? It made him wonder if he really was as cruel as she seemed to believe. "I'm... I'm sorry, Addy," he told her quietly before moving all the closer to her. "I'm not trying to hurt you, I swear. You know you're the most important person in my life and that's why I'm so worried. I just don't want you to get hurt by these idiots."

Lily shook her head quickly, clenching her fists at her sides. "God, you're such a hypocrite!" she snapped. "You're allowed to be here, to enjoy yourself and have sex with whoever will drop their panties first, but I'm not even allowed to hang out with somebody who wants to help me feel better and get over you? Have you even thought that the only reason I'm here with Matt is because you don't care nearly as much as you pretend to? It's so exhausting, believing that, maybe, just maybe you'll change your mind about love and realize what's standing right in front of you!"

Addy sighed a little as he talked and she shook her head. She didn't want to listen. She didn't want to hear his excuses anymore because that's all they were - excuses... And she loved him terribly much. Why did it have to hurt so much? She took a step back from him and shook her head. "You're not listening to me! You're the idiot who hurts me! It hurts after such a long time waiting. I would've done anything to change your mind on love - because it's standing right in front of you... But who am i kidding?! Even now when you know, you won't believe."

Josh sighed and shook his head. "Lily, I'm sorry - I'm just trying to help you not get hurt!" He frowned and shook his head. "And you don't say anything about how much I care - I do care, a hell of a lot!" Unfortunately he was blind and he didn't understand how he had been so neutral to her for so long. "We don't belong together Lily - you know that. I don't.. No, I can't love you in that way - because you're my best friend, and loving you like that would only hurt the both of us."

Zach stared at her in disbelief, frowning as he listened to her. "Addy, please..." he murmured quietly, unsure if she could even hear him over the loud noise of the party. Rubbing at his face, he looked away, trying to control his emotions as well as he could. "You don't get it, Addy. I'm not good enough for you. On top of that, you deserve so much better. Can't you see that?" Sighing, he looked back to her. "Why love me when I'm hurting you so much? I mean, I've hurt you this much without even knowing it."

---

Lily shook her head quickly, taking a large step away from him. "Shut up, Josh," she said quickly, lifting her gaze to glare at him. "The more you say, the more I hurt - and if you cared at all, you would just shut up and leave me alone. I'm trying to enjoy myself and move on. How can I do that when you show up and try to make me leave? That's not fair to me and you know it!"

Addy shook her head and crossed her arms, running her hands through her hair as the tears started to fall more. She sighed lightly and bit her lip, trying to not cry but she didn't care if he saw it anymore. "Because you act like that... You say you're not good enough.. Just for once - for once just let yourself be good enough!" She screamed at him.

Josh sighed and shook his head. "You just don't understand. I can't be good enough for you Lily! I don't want to hurt you - I refuse to be the one to hurt you... You deserve someone so much better!" He said, reaching for her hand and sighing. He needed her to understand.