It Must Be Love

Rian's POV
"Hey, doesn't Hollie get home today?" I asked my girlfriend, Cassadee.
Cassadee shrugged, thinking for a moment. "I think so..."
Cass and Hollie knew each other from being on tour together. They had become friends after realizing they were the only girls on tour.
"We should have a party or something. A welcome home party for Hollie." Cassadee suggested.
"That sounds like fun," I agreed. This week had been awesome -- Cass had flown to Maryland to spend the next few weeks with me before Hey Monday went back on tour. I loved spending time with her, but we just tried to do as much as we could before she had to leave.
Cassadee opened her mouth to reply, but my phone began ringing, cutting her off. She giggled.
"Answer it," She smiled.
I smiled back at her adorable laugh, picking up the phone.
"Hello?" I greeted.
"R-Rian? Hi, it's H-Hollie."
"Hollie! Hey, how are you? You just got home, right?" I exclaimed, grinning at Cassadee. I was extremely happy to hear from Hollie; she was basically my little sister since I had known her for forever.
"Yeah," Hollie replied. She sounded upset. "Look, Ri, I know Cass is staying at your house but can I stay over? Zack is in California, and I got in a fight with Jack and Chanel."
"What happened? And of course you can stay over," I instantly responded, nervous for Hollie. Cassadee looked just as concerned.
"It's a long story. I'll tell you when I get there, okay? See you in ten." Hollie told me.
"Alright," I said. "See ya."
The line went dead, and I sighed.
"What happened? Is Hollie okay?" Cassadee asked nervously.
"She has to stay over. She got in a fight with Jack and Chanel, she said." I replied, biting my lip.
"Why?" Cassadee repeated, her eyes widened in fear.
"She said she would tell us when she got here." I said.
~~~
30 minutes earlier...
Hollie's POV
"Oh. You didn't know?" Alex asked me, smirking devilishly. Taylor breathed out in anger, taking Jay's hand and exiting Applebee's quickly.
"Didn't know what, Alex?" I hissed, glaring at Jack and Chanel. Chanel looked scared shitless and Jack was looking down in shame.
"Cassandra and John are dating now," Alex smirked. "Cassandra told Chanel today, and then she called me and told me. Since Chanel is now dating Jack, she knew she would tell Jack."
I was numb. I didn't know what to say. My own two best friends didn't tell me that my friend and ex-boyfriend were dating.
"You... you two knew?" I squeaked, looking at Chanel and Jack.
"Holls, I'm so sorry. We didn't want to hurt you," Jack apologized.
I looked at Alex, who was simply standing there in joy.
"Well, I think I'll be on my way now. See you around." And with that Alex walked out of the restaurant.
"I can't fucking believe you two," I growled angrily, following Alex's lead.
~~~
Present time
Rian's POV
After Hollie had choked out the entire story -- yes, the entire story -- she was sobbing. I felt terrible, and Cassadee didn't look like she felt any better.
"I... I just don't know what to do," Hollie weeped, wiping tears off of her mascara stained cheeks.
"Oh, Hollie," Cassadee coaxed, wrapping her arms around Hollie's torso. "I'm so sorry."
"I had no idea Alex could be such a jerk." I muttered, rubbing my head frustraitedly. Hollie sobbed again, taking a deep breath.
"I know you don't want to hear this, but I honestly think that Chanel and Jack were just looking out for you. They didn't want you to be in pain when you just got home from recovering from everything that had happened." Cassadee told her, rubbing her back supportively.
Hollie was quiet, taking deep breaths and attempting to stop her tears.
"I'm gonna talk to Alex," I announced. "This has gone on for way too long."
"No, Rian. Don't get involved with this shit." Hollie told me, shaking her head.
"No," I instantly declined. "I'm tired of seeing everyone to hurt and in tears. Something needs to be done."
Hollie sighed, nodding. "I'm gonna go to bed."
"Alrighty, Holls. Night." Cassadee and Hollie hugged; Hollie giving me a small smile.
"Thank you so much, Ri," She smiled softly.
"No problem. I'll see you in the morning, okay?"
Hollie nodded. We quickly embraced, and then she walked off towards the guest room.
I sighed, taking a seat next to my girlfriend. She put her head on my shoulder, kissing my cheek softly.
"So you're really gonna talk to Alex?" Cassadee asked quietly.
"I think so. I'm really tired of all the shit that's been going on lately. We used to all be best friends, and now we all hate each other. Hollie can't even stay at her own apartment with her brother anymore." I replied, sighing heavily.
Cassadee nodded. "I'm gonna go to bed,"
We bid our good nights, and I grabbed my phone and quickly dialed Alex's number. It rang a few times before he actually picked up.
"Hey man, haven't heard from you in awhile." Alex greeted. He sounded tired, but not drunk -- thankfully. Whenever something shitty went down, Alex always went and got shit-faced.
"Yeah, I've been pretty busy lately," I told him. "Cassadee is here."
"Oh, sweet. Maybe I'll come over tomorrow or something."
"Well Hollie's staying over. At my house."
There was a silence. I bet Alex definitely hadn't been expecting me to bring her up.
"...Why?" Alex asked.
"Alex, really? I know everything that happened. Including the incident at Applebee's." I said.
"Fuck, Rian. Are you really gonna yell at me too? Jack, Chanel, Hollie, and my girlfriend's already pissed at me--"
"Break up with your damn girlfriend, Alex! You're just with her to make Hollie jealous. Everybody knows it."
Alex sighed into the phone. "Whatever. Next?"
"I'm tired of everybody being upset all the time. We had to cancel a fucking tour because this shit. It's one thing to be fighting within the band, but when it affects the fans? I'm not okay with that. Hollie can't even stay at her own apartment. We all need to sit down at my house and talk about everything. I'm done with this." I told him.
There was silence for a few moments, and then Alex finally responded.
"Fine," He sighed. "When?"
"Tomorrow at noon." I decided, figuring I had to tell Jack and Chanel as well. Maybe even Zack could fly back home.
"See you tomorrow at noon, then." Alex muttered before the line went dead.