“He yelled at me. Who the hell even does that?” Alyssa’s sadness soon evolved into anger, and now she was crossing her eyebrows and frowning, her fists clenched as she ranted about Tony’s recent behavior.

“I bet it’s that stupid girl friend of his,” she muttered.

“Lissy…” I warned. She let out a loud sigh.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “Do you think he’s okay?” she asked.

“I’m sure he’s fine. It’s you I’m worried about,” I said gently.

“I’m fi—” she stopped mid sentence when I gave her a skeptical look.

“Alright, alright. I’m not fine. I wasn’t expecting him to react that way,” she said. “But I am an idot,” she said.

“No you are not, Lissy,” I frowned. “Don’t let what he said get into your head,” I told her.

She sighed. “This house is so damn dramatic,” she muttered, and I nodded in agreement.

“Don’t worry, we’ll be gone soon,” I said.

Alyssa furrowed her eyebrows and stared at me incredulously. “You’re still going to the apartment with him?” she asked.

“Well, yeah,” I mumbled. “I can’t stay here forever, Lissy. You know that. And I can’t afford it by myself.”

“Oh, yeah, right,” she nodded.

“It’s only a few miles away, though,” I reassured, and she nodded.

“So, um, how about fluffernutters?” she changed the subject.

“What the hell is a fluffernutter?” I laughed, walking around the counter to stand next to Alyssa.

“You’ve never had a fluffernutter before? Where have you been?”

I gave her a sarcastic look. “We didn’t get the luxury of whatever the hell a fluffernutter is in the hospital,” I rolled my eyes.

“Right,” she poked my side. “Well, a fluffernutter is peanut butter and marshmallow fluff on a sandwich. It’s so freakin’ good,” she said, standing up from her stool and waltzing over to the pantry. “Think fast!” she said as she tossed a loaf of bread in my direction. “Impressive,” she grinned when I caught it with one hand.

I smirked and set the loaf down on the counter, taking out a few slices. She came back over with a jar of peanut butter and a jar full of white, fluffy deliciousness.

“This is diabetes waiting to happen,” I said as she spread the fluff on half of the slices of bread and I spread the peanut butter on the other few slices.

She smiled but didn’t say anything.

“Vic?” Alyssa paused, and so did I.

“Yeah?” I looked up.

She bit her lip and then sighed. “You know Bree is going to come back soon,” she mumbled.

“Can we not talk about that right now?” I groaned a little.

“It’s inevitable, Vic. We can’t just avoid it,” she said. I nodded, seeing that Alyssa was trying to be respectful and realistic.

“Yeah.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know,” I whispered. I hated thinking about it. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt Alyssa, but a small part of me could imagine myself crawling back to Bree whenever she decided to come back. I loved Alyssa in the sense that I cared about her a lot, but I loved Bree in the sense that I was in love with her. Thinking about it made my heart and head throb—I was beyond conflicted.

“Don’t feel pressured, Vic. You don’t have to say anything now. I just don’t want to see you getting hurt,” she said.

“Me getting hurt?” I tilted my head to the side. If anyone was going to get hurt, it was going to be either Alyssa or Bree.

“Yeah... I want you to be happy, and I want you to do what feels right, but I don’t want you to stress out over it in the process. Which is why I brought it up so you don’t forget,” she explained. “I don’t know. I guess shouldn’t have said anything…”

“No, I’m glad you did,” I nodded. “Thanks, Lissy. I honestly have no idea what’s going to happen…”

“It’s okay.”

“It’s not fair to you, though. Because you’re here and she’s not. I’m just afraid that if she ever comes back I’ll be blinded, and I really don’t want to leave you behind,” I mumbled.

“Vic, I understand. I know she’s important to you, but I know you won’t be blinded. I trust you,” she said softly. I walked around the counter and pulled her into a gentle hug. She rested her head on my shoulder.

“Just because she’s my past doesn’t mean she has to be—”

“Sh, don’t say that,” she interrupted me. I pulled away to look at her.

“But it’s true,” I said softly. “I love her, but…” my voice trailed off.

“I know. It’s okay,” she smiled weakly at me.

“It’s not okay,” I sighed. “I care about you both, Lissy. I don’t know what to do!” I said honestly.

“I’m sorry for bringing this up,” she frowned. “Just stop thinking about it right now. It’s okay,” she mumbled.

“No, I’m glad you brought it up, honestly. I need to be brought back down to reality sometimes,” I sighed. She nodded, rubbing my back supportively.

“Too much serious stuff in one day,” she sighed.

“Yeah, let’s enjoy these fluffernutters,” I smiled, and we sat down at the table together.

“This is great,” I said, my mouth smacking a little as the food stuck inside of my mouth. Lissy giggled at me and rolled her eyes.

“Hey,” Tony appeared into the kitchen, his head down.

“Hi, Tony,” Lissy said softly. “We made sandwiches if you want one. They are fluffernutters; maybe a little sweetness will sweeten you up,” she grinned. Tony smiled softly and sat down next to his sister, resting his shoulder on to hers.

“I’m so sorry, Lissy,” he closed his eyes. I watched as she put her arm around her brother, a tear slipping down his face.

“It’s okay, Tone,” she gave him a squeeze.

He sighed. “It’s not. I’m so fucking sorry, though. You don’t deserve the way I reacted. I love you,” he said, sitting up and looking her in the eyes. He pulled her into a proper hug, mumbling that he was sorry and that he loved her over and over again.

“I forgive you, Tony,” she said softly. “I love you, too.”

“You’re too forgiving,” he said.

“You’re my brother, and I know you didn’t mean any harm. It’s okay, Tony, I promise,” she said gently. He nodded, hugging her again.

“I hate to see you hurt like this,” he mumbled. “I’m not angry at you, though,” he said. “I want to help you.”

“I know, Tony. I know,” she said.

“I’m here for you,” he said. Then, Tony looked at me. “We both are,” he said. “Vic, I’m sorry for hurting you… and for being an ass in general,” he said.

“It’s okay, Tony,” I said, fully believing that he didn’t mean it.

“And, um… What exactly is going on… between you guys…” he mumbled awkwardly.

I sighed lightly, and so did Alyssa.

“I don’t really know,” we both said at the same time. I smiled softly at her.

“Alright, well, um… just be careful, okay?”

“Tony, I’m sorry—”

“You don’t have to be sorry, Vic. I understand. Just hurt her, and I hurt you, okay? I mean that in the nicest way possible,” he said with a small smile. I gave him a thumbs up.

Then, I sighed and put my head down on the table in stress. I liked Alyssa a lot, and I wanted to be with her, but I knew she was going to end up getting hurt. I knew I wouldn’t be able to control myself if Bree ever came back. I didn’t want to, but I knew I would.

“He’s stressed because we just talked about that,” Alyssa said, and I smiled into the table at her bluntness.

I lifted my head and sunk back into the wooden chair. “I don’t really care if you beat the shit out of me, Tony, honestly. Whatever happens, I’ll probably deserve it,” I muttered.

“You’re in a really shitty position,” he commented. I nodded in agreement.

“I’m trying not to think about it, but I just…” I trailed off and shook my head. “Fuck,” I muttered.

“The last thing I want is for you to think that I like you only because Bree left me,” I said openly to Alyssa. I was sure that Tony didn’t like hearing the terms of our relationship right here in person, but I didn’t care. I needed to make that clear, because I knew it was true. I genuinely felt something for Alyssa, even though Bree had only been gone for a few days now. “This is such a mess,” I muttered.

“Life is messy,” Lissy said. I sighed.

“Look, Vic. I know you aren’t doing anything intentionally. I know you’re being honest. I know you are good to her,” Tony nodded to his sister, “and I know you truthfully care a lot. If you didn’t care, you wouldn’t be torn up right now. Just try and enjoy your time now, okay? Life moves on even when someone you thought you loved left you. You can’t mope around about it forever,” Tony said, his words dripping with honesty; although the words sounded harsh, he was being kind. I found myself nodding in agreement, his words summing everything up perfectly.

“Thanks Tony. It means a lot for you to say that. You’re right,” I said.

“Are we done talking about serious things, now?” Alyssa asked, fidgeting awkwardly in her seat, and I smiled at her. I decided to just go with what my heart said, not my head. My head was conflicted and pounding with many thoughts, but my heart was saying one thing, and this one thing was the girl sitting right across from me. She wasn’t a rebound or a temporary band-aid. I didn’t exactly know what she was, but she most definitely wasn’t that. On the surface it appeared to be that way, but I knew that she wasn't, and she and Tony knew that too. None of it made any sense, but I decided finally that I didn’t care.

“Yes, now we are done,” I said with a soft smile. It was a dangerous thing, pushing away my thoughts and just going with the flow, but it was what we needed. I guess you had to take a few risks in life to make it worth living, right?

I stood up from the table and sighed. Tony and Alyssa looked up at me, both of them raising an eyebrow.

“I’m so done with sitting around, waiting for things to happen. I’m done with the serious talks because all they do is make my head hurt. I’m done with pretending like Bree is an option because she’s not. She left me, and even if she comes back it won’t ever be the same again. But I’m done even talking about her. I’m done with worrying about what will happen if she comes back, because that’s not fair to you, Alyssa. I’m not just acting on my feelings for you solely because she’s not here. In a way, none of this has to do with her; it doesn’t matter. You are not a band-aid or a rebound. You are wonderful and I like you for you, not for you just being there for me. You. Alyssa, I know it doesn’t make sense because it’s so soon, but I really am done with giving a fuck about that. All this thinking is just going to make our heads explode, and, honestly, I want to stop thinking. I know it could be dangerous, but I think it’s a little too late for that. Can you just be my girl friend already and we’ll call it a day?” I sighed after my rant and stared at her hopefully. I didn’t know what I was doing, but I liked it. I liked how I completely let go of my thoughts; I spoke without a filter, saying exactly what was on my mind. I wasn’t being stupid or ignorant or naïve. I was being honest towards my honest feelings, no matter how much they didn’t make sense. Technically, I wasn’t even officially broken up with Bree, but I couldn’t find it within me to care. Maybe that made me a shit person, but I didn’t care, either. I had already invested feelings into Alyssa, so why not?

Alyssa looked up at me, shocked. Tony looked shocked, as well, but I found a hint of a smile in his expression, too.

Eventually, Lissy’s shocked expression dissolved away and her face relaxed into a small grin. “I know you’re done. You worry too much and that’s bad for your health,” she said, standing up. “I don’t think of myself as a band-aid for your hurt heart, at all, but I’m glad you said that. I know that your feelings aren’t entirely reliant on the fact that she isn’t here, but I’m glad you said that, too. I think we can call it a day,” she smiled, walking closer to me.

I looked sheepishly at Tony, asking for permission with my eyes, and he grimaced mockingly. I could see the smile behind his eyes, though, and eventually the corner of his mouths uplifted into a small grin. He nodded, but then turned his face back into the protective-brother-grimace. I laughed lightly and turned my attention back to Alyssa. I took her head in between my hands, and she placed her hands on top of mine.

“What a mess we’ve created,” she murmured.

“A mess I have no intentions on trying to clean up,” I shrugged my shoulders, and she smiled. “Lissy, I promise that I won’t hurt you. I promise that me saying all of this to you has nothing to do with the knowledge that Bree isn’t going to come back in the same way,” I said. “Well, part of it does, I guess. But it’s much more than that. Her not being here gives us the opportunity, but it’s not the reason why I like you,” I said.

“Vic, shh,” she said. “You’re thinking too much. I understand what you’re saying. Just stop thinking already, kiss me, and we’ll call it a day, okay?” she smiled shyly.

I nodded and smiled, leaning even closer to her. I pressed my lips to hers firmly and passionately, and, suddenly, I completely forgot that Tony was three feet away. It didn’t matter, because nothing mattered. It didn’t make sense, because nothing made sense.

Notes

Oh maannnn
Vic's feelings are all OVER the place! One second he's conflicted and the other second he just simply doesn't care!
But he's thrown all of his worries out the window! Idk I personally thought it was cute as fuck lol
It escalated so quickly though haha ahhh

Anyone mad at him? Anyone really happy?

If Bree does come back, will Vic hurt Lissy? I DON'T EVEN KNOW MYSELF

What do you guys want to happen?? Comment beloowwww vvv :)