Mourn the Losses. Cherish the Victories.

Lily slowly opened one eye and than the other. The first thing she noticed was that she was alone. Not that she expected any differently. Hell, she didn't know what she was thinking anymore. Last night was one of the most spontaneous things she had ever done, and something she never even dreamed of happening.

"Where the hell are my clothes?" Lily grumbled, covering her mouth and coughing roughly. Her throat was dry, scratchy and in desperate need of some water. All of the yelling did quite a number on her voice.

She searched through the sheets hoping to find an article of clothing, any article of clothing, but she found nothing. The last thing she wanted to do was move from the safety of the bunk only wrapped in a sheet.

There was no knowing how long Pete had been gone. For all she knew he could be sitting outside with all his friends waiting for her to come out.

Hesitantly, she stuck her head between the curtains clutching the sheet tightly to her chest. Her first attempt to get up was unsuccessful; she wasn't prepared for the pain that shot through both her head, and her thighs. After two more failed attempts she managed to get to her feet.

The bus appeared empty, but Lily still remained cautious jumping at every little sound she heard.

The kitchen area seemed to be the main focus of the escapades shared between her and Pete last night. Any object that occupied counter space the night before now lay on the floor forgotten. That was where she found her clothes scattered.

Clutching the sheet to her chest Lily cursed as she gathered her clothes. She managed to pull on her bra, and underwear before she was interrupted.

"Is there a reason our bus is destroyed?" Zacky Vengeance looked around the bus curiously, his eyes landing on Lily. "And you're standing there half naked?" He couldn't help the smile that graced his lips, as his eyes traveled over her body watching her struggle to pull the shirt over her head. "Nice shirt by the way."

Lily bowed her head, ignoring him and concentrated on pulling her shorts up her legs. She was embarrassed enough as it was, and brushed past Zacky trying to make a hasty exit. Zacky wasn't going to make it that easy on her and grabbed her forearm before she could squeeze past him.

"You forgot your shoes." Zacky's eyes moves down her body once more, taking in ever detail he could knowing it was making her uncomfortable. He stopped at her bare feet for a moment, before trying to look her in the eyes again. Lily was too busy trying to find her shoes among the mess, cursing under her breath when her search came up empty.

"Just fucking keep them." Lily growled, in no mood to play games. They were only three-dollar flip-flops that she could easily replace, and would not be missed. The mischievous smirk he flashed her made Lily just want to turn around and smack him, but she resisted the urge and hurried off the bus.

She must have been quite a scene limping through the lobby, with no shoes, and her hair sticking everywhere this early in the afternoon. She figured it couldn't be past eleven thirty at the latest. It was still cool outside, too cool for it to be past noon.

Her eyes stared blankly at the elevator doors as they shut, her body leaning heavily against the wall. The tears that pricked her eyes surprised her, and she fought to keep them back, but it was useless.

She swallowed hard, and choked, her body shaking with violent sobs.

xxxxxx

"You fucked her, didn't you?" Frank leaned over the railing of the balcony. He took a deep drag of his cigarette allowing the smoke to linger in his mouth.

Pete ran a hand over his face tiredly, cringing at Frank's blunt words. Those were the exact words he used, words he exchanged between himself and Frank many times before. But he felt an unfamiliar twinge of guilt listening to Frank talk about Lily in that manner.

"Yea, I slept with her." Pete answered slowly, unsure how Frank would react. If he was upset he hid it well.

"Did you enjoy it?"

That question caught Pete completely off guard, and he was silent for a moment trying to find his words. "She was drunk, I was…I wasn't even thinking straight. The whole thing's a blur."

"Stop bullshitting yourself, Pete." Frank glanced over his shoulder giving Pete a knowing look, his mouth twitching into a smirk. "You enjoyed every fucking minute of it."

Pete hesitated to answer, which only caused Frank to continue with a snicker. "I knew it. It's written all over your fucking face."

Pete didn't know whether to hug, or kill Frank at the moment. He was tired, hungry, and on top of everything else he was confused. One-night stands were typical for him, but guilt was a rare emotion that he felt, and something he ignored, but this morning, seeing Lily lay beside him in that bunk it was something he couldn't push aside.

He denied his feelings at first praying, that perhaps, they would subside but Frank's words put everything in perspective.

Frank pulled out his wallet, and slapped a wad of twenties into Pete's hand. "Here, take it." He inhaled his cigarette deeply as if he regretted handing over the money. "You did what I asked, well, more than I asked, but maybe I can use it to my advantage."

Pete stared at the money, almost with disgust, before wrapping his finger tightly around it forming a fist. "Advantage? Frank, the bet is over. I fucked Lily, you didn't. I win, you lose, that's all there is too it."

Frank raised an eyebrow, the look on his face showing he wasn't expecting an answer like that. He pulled his wallet out again. "How much do you want?"

"Excuse me?"

Frank rolled his eyes, and pulled out a few more twenties, shoving the money into Pete's hands. "Take this, keep your mouth shut, and pretend like nothing happened."

Easier said than done, Pete thought snatching the money and shoving it in his pocket. It felt wrong, it felt very wrong, but he wasn't going to not accept it. If Frank wanted to waste his money on a useless cause, then so be it. Pete wasn't one to argue when money was involved.

"That's not going to be an easy task with Janie around."

Frank practically giggled with delight at the mere thought of Janie. "How exactly did that go?" He asked, laughing at the glare Pete was giving him.

"Obviously it worked out well." Pete grumbled, standing from his chair, and pulling open the sliding glass door. "You got what you wanted and everyone else got screwed."

Frank watched Pete calmly as he disappeared into the hotel room, slamming the door shut. He inhaled his cigarette thoughtfully, tilting his head back staring at the sky.

Pete wasn't one of his closest friends, but he knew him well. The only other time Frank remembered Pete getting this upset was when his girlfriend of a year and a half was caught cheating.

There was obviously something there. Something more than personal gain, and something more than this bet.

The shrill ring of Frank's cell phone interrupted his thoughts. Once he managed to pull the object from his pocket, he checked the caller id. Gerard. Why was he calling him on their one day off?

"What's going on, Gerard?"

"Meet me in my hotel room around five o'clock. Don't be late."

Frank heard a click, and then the dial tone. He stared at the phone with a questioning looking, before shoving it back in his pocket. This was definitely not good.

xxxxxx

"Shit!"

Pete fell forward, nearly smashing his face into the door. He glared at the shoe that nearly killed him, before kicking it aside sending it flying into a lamp. The large light fell to the floor, creating a large crack down the middle.

Pete only stared at the broken object for a moment, before turning and leaving the room. It wasn't his lamp, and it wasn't his room. Therefore, it wasn't his problem. Besides, he needed to get his anger out somehow. He felt like his head was going to explode.

It was times like this he thanked God the hotel managed to place all the bands on one floor. It prevented the occasional fan from gaining access to the guys. The last thing he needed was someone telling his how great he was when in the back of his mind the events from last night repeated themselves over and over.

He found himself staring down the hall towards Lily's room, wandering if she made it back all right. It was getting close to noon; there was no way she would still be out on the Avenged Sevenfold without someone finding her. Maybe someone did find her.

Damit, I shouldn't have left her out there. Pete thought. He honestly didn't know what else to do. He woke up in the morning and panicked. He wanted to shake her awake and apologize profusely about everything, and start new, but he lost his nerve.

His eyes studied the wood door, as he hesitated to knock. The last thing he needed was Janie flinging open the door. There was no telling what she would do if she saw him. He didn't want to know.

Whispering a prayer under his breath, Pete knocked on the door softly taking a step back just in case.

"Go away!"

The voice startled Pete. He let out the breath he was holding recognizing the voice as Lily's, and not Janie's. It took him a moment though, her voice was sharp and angry, and nothing like her voice usually was. She didn't even sound that angry last night.

His hand fell to the doorknob, and to his surprise the door was unlocked. With caution, he opened the door, cringing with each noise it made, and slipped inside. His eyes moved around the room, finding it completely destroyed, until his gaze landed on Lily.

She looked horrible sitting in the middle of her twin-sized bed, wearing the same clothes from the other night, her makeup smeared and running down her face. It was obvious she had been crying during the duration of the morning.

Pete wanted to run over and comfort her, tell her everything was going to be okay, but he hung back lingering near the door unsure of what he could say to make her feel better. He wasn't good in situations involving women crying, especially when he couldn't charm his way out of it.

"Dude, did you not understand what I just said? Go the fuck away!" Lily glared at Pete motioning her hand towards the television. "I'm trying to have a moment with this stupid chick flick." In her anger the remote was flung across the room hitting the wall. The sound on impact made Pete cringe.

He moved farther into the room slowly his eyebrows rising when he caught sight of the television. The movie 'The Notebook' was playing. The last movie he expected Lily to be watching.

"Well, when you watch chick flicks, you watch chick flicks." Pete joked hoping to lighten the mood. He let out an uncomfortable laugh, and hesitantly sat on the very edge of the bed.

The silence of the room was unnerving, the happy laughter from the movie making it that much more uncomfortable.

"Why are you here?" Lily spoke up, breaking the silence. Her eyes watched closely as Noah asked Allie out for the first time before turning her gaze towards Pete. For someone who just knocked the movie, he was watching it pretty intently. "Janie told me you were a one-night stand kind of guy."

"Well, Janie isn't in the picture anymore. She was never in the picture."

"So, you did use her?"

Pete let out a heavy sigh, his shoulders slumping. "I didn’t use her. To use would mean I would have to gain something."

Lily released a bitter laugh, and for a moment Pete thought she might reach over and hit him. It never came though. "You two had sex like fucking rabbits. That is something."

"That is nothing." Pete argued, picking at the chipped nail polish on his thumb. "Sex is nothing. I can get it anywhere, anytime I want."

The moment those words left his lips, Pete wanted to take them back. That was one of the worst things he could have said, and Lily made that quite obvious by the look she gave him. If looks could kill, Pete would be lying on the floor convulsing in pain.

"Well, are we just Mr. Fucking modesty." Lily didn't try to conceal her anger. There was too much of it built up over the years. The funny thing was, she didn't understand why she was so upset. She knew how Pete was, she expected him to act this way, and in the end she knew his and Janie's relationship wouldn't last.

"Lily, last night-"

"I'm not talking about last night!" Lily cut Pete off, running a hand through her hair, gripping it between her fingers in frustration. "I am talking about you, Peter. You!"

Lily poked him sharply in the back to make a point, than continued. "From the moment I met you, you've only thought of yourself. I can't remember a time when you ever asked oh what about Janie? What does she think? And what about Joe, Andy, and Patrick? They're your fucking band mates!"

Pete could take Lily's rants about Janie, but in his eyes she had gone too far when she dragged his friends into this. "Don't go there, Lily. They have nothing to do with this." He warned, finding his fingers wrapped tightly around her wrist, preventing her from poking him anymore. Every word she spit out was accompanied with a poke to his side, and his ribs could only take so much.

"Oh, right, because everything has to be about you, doesn't it? The great Pete Wentz has to be the center of attention at all times." Lily grunted, trying to rip her hand from his grasp, but the more she pulled, the tighter his grip became. "Goddamit, let me go!"

"You can tug and pull all you want, but I'm not letting you go until you calm down."

Lily stopped struggling for a moment, and stared at Pete trying to figure out if he was serious or not. Obviously, he was. He returned the glare, his lip curling into a smile, and his fingers digging into her skin.

The fucking bastard and his stupid smile.
Something snapped in Lily that moment, and before she knew what was happening her fist connected with Pete's jaw. His head snapped to the side unprepared for the hit, and his body fell to the floor with a low thud. He knew he should have moved farther onto the bed.

"Jesus Christ! What the hell was that for?" Pete groaned and sat up, leaning on his elbow for support. He stared at Lily, who sat, watching the movie as if nothing happened.

"For being you." Lily glanced at him briefly, her eyes immediately landing on the area of his stomach where his shirt had ridden up. There was just something about his stomach, and that tattoo, that intrigued her.

Pete noticed this and pulled his shirt further up, his fingers tracing lightly over the markings on his lower stomach. "Why is it you find my abdomen so interesting?" He teased, laughing when Lily's eyes widened, following his fingers, before snapping her gaze towards the television.

"Why is it you're always trying to embarrass me?" Lily cleared her throat, staring intently at the movie, hoping the redness in her cheeks would go away. Unfortunately, she chose the wrong time. Allie, and Noah were in the mist of sharing an intimate moment.

"I'm not embarrassing you, you're letting me embarrass you."

Pete crawled onto the bed and sat next to Lily, watching the movie for a silent minute. "Why are we watching this?" He asked, breaking the silence in the room.

"Hope."

"Hope?"

"Yes, hope." Lily rolled her eyes, cursing at herself for throwing the remote across the room. She really wasn't in the mood to watch this sappy movie. "Hope that there are actually guys out there like that, and we might actually end up with our happily ever after."

"No one gets their happily ever after." Pete murmured, unsure what else he should say to her. He couldn't remember a time he was ever good at comforting others. It was then he noticed the mark on the curve of her neck peaking out from underneath her shirt. He reached over and pulled the collar aside despite Lily's protest.

"Whoa, looks like I branded you for life." Pete knew he shouldn’t laugh, but he was unable to keep a snicker from escaping his lips. The bruise on her shoulder was huge, and he clearly remembered the events from last night that resulted in that mark.

"What?" Lily's hand immediately flew up to her neck, her eyes widening when her fingers brushed over the bruise. She could feel a bump, but when she looked in the mirror across the room it was larger than she imagined.

Janie had come home with decent sized hickies, but the mark on her neck was ten times worst than anything she'd seen Janie with. That mark would not be going anywhere for a while.

"I'm sorry?" Pete offered half heartily, still seated on the bed. "Things got a little crazy last night, I really wasn't paying attention to what exactly I was doing…"

"I'm sure you weren't." Lily rolled his eyes at his lame excuse, and tilted her head trying to get a better look at the bruise. "How the hell am I going to explain this one?" She mumbled, frowning at the reflection in the mirror.