" True friends

are like burning stars

they shine brightest

on the darkest nights "

-Atticus

I stalked through the open doors with confident strides, pulling the large suitcase behind me. Stopping near the treadmill, I smirked at my lovely boyfriend who honestly looked like he wanted drown himself, Mel who was as unruffled as always and Zach who was, well, drooling over her.

"W...why do you have a suitcase with you?" Az asked, wiping his head with a small towel, trying to blink the sweat out of his eyes.

How does someone even manage to look so gorgeous while sweating?

I smiled at him, showing all my teeth. He had the good sense to look a bit scared.

I looked around at the large gym, equipped with expensive looking treadmills, bench and scary looking things that I didn't know the name of and never would. Why would the guys even have gym inside their house was beyond me.

I imagine Hell looking like this to be honest.

"Well, you forced me to accompany you to the gym." I grumbled.

In exchange of two white chocolate mud cakes. He runs a hard bargain. Asshole.

"Yes, so why aren't you in your workout clothes? And what's with the suitcase?" Az asked slowly as if speaking to a toddler.

He was wearing a black muscle shirt and shorts looking all delicious.

Huh.

Maybe coming here was pretty productive after all.

"Why would I own something like that?" I frowned.

I'd rather be caught dead.

I squatted down and unzipped my suitcase as the rest curiously watched to reveal my blanket, a small pillow and snacks. I grinned.

Zach cackled, "You should have known, Az" and then he turned to me, putting on a serious face, "Now the very important question here Lil Will is did you get Sour cream and onion Pringles or Pizza flavoured?"

I tsked, "Pizza flavoured, ofcourse."

Zach looked deeply touched, "A woman of taste at last," He said solemnly and then narrowed his eyes at Mel, "Unlike someone I know." He muttered only to be kicked in the shin.

Az sighed and rummaged through my package, "Looks like you brought something usefull, Raps." He grinned pointing at my brand new yoga mat.

I snatched it from his grip and gave him a smug smile before spreading it on the floor and plopping down on it, closing my eyes.

"What are you doing, love?" He asked.

"I'm doing Yoga." I mumbled.

"This is Yoga?" He sounds so confused.

"Yep. It's called Savasana or corpse pose." I replied as a result of two hours of surfing through the net to find a loophole.

"If this is Yoga, Man, I love it." Zach laughed and laid down beside me with a cheer.

I think Zach and I are siblings from another mother.

Az grumbled under his breath and I smiled at him sweetly, "What was that, Angel boy ?" He gulped, "Nothing ofcourse, my love."

Good.

He then turned to Mel who was also sweating after what I assumed was an intense workout, "Are you working out more?"

"No thank you, Lewis. I think I'm gonna take a break, why don't you accompany Zephyr?" She asked, tilting her head to the side.

He nodded and looked over at Zach who was pretending to be a corpse like me. Smart man.

"Come on, idiot." Az muttered.

"No." Zach whined.

"Hm? Did you just say no, darling?" Mel asked him quietly.

Darling?

"I mean, yes. Come on Azzie! What the fuck are you waiting for? The day we turn sixty?" He jumped up and dragged a very amused Azrael to a scary looking equipment. Was that a small blush I was spying on his face?

I turned to see Mel looking down, a small smile lighting up her face.

Aww.

My ship's sailing alright.

"Do you like him?" I waggled my brows.

She shrugged, "He's pretty."

That he was.

With electric green eyes, curly bronze hair and a tan complexion, I'd say Zach was the classically beautiful one out of Az's friends.

My best friend has great taste in men if I do say so myself.

"Did you really workout?" I asked her suspiciously as she wiped her face with a towel. The Melantha I knew hated gym with passion.

She smirked, "No, I came here before those to came in and then sprinkled some salt water over me to look like I was working our for hours. You boyfriend and his best friend are dumb by the way."

I nodded, "I know right. It's a good thing they're easy on the eyes." I joked.

Wait. Did she just dodge my first question?

"Yeah, so you like him or not?" I stressed, bumping my shoulder with hers.

"Who?" She asked, playing the idiot.

"Zach Zephyr Knight AKA the man child. Your bestfriend's boyfriend's bestfriend."

Just as she was about to answer, my phone blared. Groaning, I pulled it out of my bag only to grimace as soon as I noticed the name of the caller.

"Who is it?" Mel asked curiously.

I shoved my phone into her face.

Mrs. Samuels

"You didn't tell her about Elena?" She asked blankly.

I shook my head.

"Why? Willow, her mother does not even know if her only daughter is dead or alive."

"Because Ellie told me not to tell her anything about where she is or who she's with, I'm helpless here." I snapped back.

Ellie started attending college a few days back. At first she seemed very happy but nowadays, she just didn't talk much as she usually did. She was clearly unhappy. And this was the only thing she asked of me.

She scoffed and answered the phone before I could protest, "Hello Mrs. Samuels? Yes, Ellie contacted us." She paused, "She's doing well. No problem Mrs. Samuels, it's really not a big deal. Yes, have a nice day, bye." She hung up and exhaled.

"What did she say?" I asked her, half scared to know.

"She was so relieved to know that her daughter was doing good that she started crying and thanking us hysterically." She muttered quietly, "I just wished Ellie didn't do this to her, y'know? She should've contacted her."

"I know, Mel but what else can we do? You and I both know she's not going to listen to us."

She sighed and leaned against the wall.

"Wait. How about we go visit her? It's the least we could do for Mrs. Samuels." I asked.

"You sure?" She asked, doubtful.

"Yeah, come on Mel. We can check on her too, she didn't come to class today also."

"Okay."

_______________

"You sure this is the right house?" Mel asked me as we both gazed at the little beige house. We had taken Mel's car, Az and Zach wanted to accompany us but I thought we both were supposed to do it. For some quality girl's talk. By the end of it they were both pouting and whining much to our amusement.

"Mhm."

I nodded and we both trudged forward through the unkept garden and towards a chipped door. Mel and I exchanged a look.

Taking a deep breath, I pressed the calling bell. A few minutes later, Ellie opened the door. Her hair messy and her face a bit too pale.

Her brown eyes widened, "What are you both doing here?"

"We came to visit you. Why were you absent today, El? Are you okay?" I asked you worriedly.

"Y-yeah. I'm fine." She mumbled.

The smell of stale beer and whiskey wafted in the air almost making me gag.

Mel stood up straighter as though she also picked on it.

"Are things really fine, Elena?" She asked lowly.

"U-uh I d-dont know." She bit her lips, as if to stop herself from crying.

"Ellie," I sighed, "You know nothing is the end of the world right? Whatever it is, we can all solve it?"

She nodded tearfully, "Why don't you both come in?"

She moved back to let us both in and closed the door quickly behind her. I stopped short as I took in the cramped living room.

Alcohol bottles were littered everywhere. Under the worn couch, the old TV, everywhere. It would have been a cute space if it wasn't so filthy. Ellie did drink but she was more of a wine and champagne girl not....this.

"Are these all Adam's?" I asked her.

She nodded wordlessly.

"What the fuck happened Elena?" Mel spat, her eyes burning with molten steel.

She let out a small whimper and flung herself down on the couch. "Adam. He thought that my parents would agree when we eloped and would get us married. He only wanted me for money. I-I heard him talking about it on the phone and he found out." She cried.

"And what did he do, Ellie?" I asked her.

"He- he did not even deny it. H-" She choked as if it physically hurt her to recall it.

"What did he do?" I urged her.

"He hit me. Everyday since then." She breathed.

I felt as if the world had stopped. Melantha looked like she's seen a ghost.

"I-is that why you didn't come to college?" She whispered.

"Yes."

"Where the fuck is the bastard now?" She hissed.

"Melantha, calm down. Think straight." I warned her.

"I should've known when he yelled at me once, I should've known when he flipped the coffee table and threatened my parents. God, I should have fucking known." She laughed bitterly.

"Tell me what do you want us to do next, Ellie?" I asked her calmly.

"I don't know. I really don't know," She whispered, "My Dad won't pay my fees again. I had some in my account so I thought I could go back but Adam used it up too. For the house."

"Did he use all of it?" I questioned.

"Every single penny. I've nothing left."

"It doesn't matter. How much do you have to pay?" Mel asked

There was a pause and then, "Roughly 8000 euros."

"Fine. Willow how much do you have?"

"I can arrange 1500 euros." I sighed. 6500 euros more to go.

"Guys, you really don't have to do this." Ellie whispered.

"No, you'll have no future, Ellie. We're your friends and friends are supposed to help each other." I said sternly.

We would pay that money.

"I can mange 3500. My parents wouldn't even fucking notice." She scoffed bitterly.

"Okay. So 3000 to go." I said enthusiastically.

"What if the three of us get a part time? I know a cafe." Mel asked suddenly.

I contemplated it, "Ofcourse Ellie and I can get one but what about you Mel? You're doing dentistry, you barely have time for anything."

"I'll make it work. The three of us can earn atleast 25 euros per hour right. We can manage two hours daily. That's 150 euros per day. We'll just have to work for twenty days."

"We have exams and assignments coming up guys." Ellie countered.

"That's from December first to thirteenth right? That's okay from thirteenth we have break. Today is November 20th. Suppose we get a job in two days. We can atleast work for five days. We can earn 750 euros." She said, "but we still have 2250 to go." She sighed.

"Wait. Uni closes on 13th. So we can maybe work for four hours that day, that's 300. We have 1950 more to go but what if we work eight hours. We'll have to work four days like that. Till 17th. And we'll have 2400 and then we can all go back to New York. Bingo. We'll earn a little extra also." I laughed.

We can make this possible.

"We can?" Ellie asked surprised.

"Ofcourse we can." Mel and I grinned.

"Now pack your bags. We're going back to our dorm." I said.

"But Adam?" Ellie asked, her eyes flashing with fear.

"We'll deal with him." Mel said nonchalantly.

I nodded and Ellie grinned and flung herself on us making us stumble.

"Thank you so much! I don't know what I would have done without you guys." She whispered, her shoulders shaking as she cried.

"You don't have to thank us, Ellie. We're your friends." I tell her gently.

"Come on, let's pack your bags." I chirped.

"I don't want anything from here. Let's just go." She said, her tone heartbreakingly sad.

"Let's go, then."

Ellie gave the house one last glance before getting into the car and watched until it faded away from her sight.

And then did she finally smile. A smile filled with relief and new beginnings.

_____________________

Hey guys!!💃💃

So what do you think about this chapter? Do you think Mel likes Zach?

Who's your favourite character in this episode?

The next chapter is going to be 🤐🤐

Have a nice day.

XxAelinAsh.