Eleonora grinned as a message from Silvia popped up on her phone, opening her phone to look at the newest picture of Silvia's cat.

God, she loved that girl. What a precious human.

When she looked at Silvia she could almost see a younger version of herself. Her instinct was to protect her. To shield her from the evils of the world.

Like Edoardo. She frowned at the thought, conflicted about him. On one hand, he seemed like pure evil. The cliche fuckboy who sleeps with girls then ignores them after he's claimed his notch on the wall. But then he'd apologise to Silvia or he'd call Eleonora bellisima and beg her for a date.

She just didn't understand him.

It had been an interesting introduction to her new school, but Eleonora was glad she'd moved. She'd made amazing new friends and only had to deal with one annoying male. But thank god it was over.

School had been over for about two weeks, and part of her missed seeing some of the faces she'd gotten used to seeing everyday. But she wasn't going to focus on that.

She moved her bag back up her shoulder as it fell down, looking around her at the shops she'd been absentmindedly wandering through. If she was honest, she was a little bit lost. She wasn't terribly troubled by that though, she had her phone on her if she needed to use maps or call one of the girls.

It was great knowing she wasn't alone. She hadn't always known that before, but here in Rome she did.

Her face buried in the screen of her phone, she wasn't paying attention to her surroundings. She clipped the shoulder of a stranger she walked past, knocking their shopping out of their hands. She stared in horror as their shopping bag fell to the floor, quickly bending down to help pick it up.

"Ele, it's fine. Stop."

She froze, looking over at the person she'd bumped into for the first time. She locked eyes with those damn pools of chocolate and felt her face heat up.

Edoardo gave her a soft smile, picking up his bags easily with one hand. He held out his other hand for her, and instinctively she took it. He gently pulled her up with him, his hand lingering on hers. She wasn't thinking properly.

Realising she was acting like an idiot, she pulled her hand from his. "Sorry" she said, unsure if she was sorry for knocking into him or sorry for letting herself act that way.

"It's okay, Ele."

She furrowed her brow, just realising what he had been referring to her as. "Why are you calling me that?"

His hand that had just held hers flew to the back of his neck, an unsure expression flitting across his face. She'd never seen him look this unsure.

"Well, I heard Eva call you it, and then it's your Instagram name so I figured it wasn't a private thing. If you don't like me calling you-"

"No, it's okay" she said without thinking, taking pleasure in his small bout of low confidence.

He grinned at her, confidence back. "Well, you know, you could call me Edo."

She gave him a puzzled look. "But your name is Eduardo? How do you get Edo from that?"

He laughed. "Yeah yeah. Vabbe."

She held back a laugh, not wanting to give him the satisfaction. There was a small moment of silence, and now would be the perfect time for her to say goodbye and leave but instead she found herself asking "so what are you shopping for?"

He gave her a look like he saw right through her, and she felt warmth flash through her from his piercing gaze.

"It's my cousin's birthday next week, so I came here to buy her a present. I haven't bought her anything yet, though, just things for myself."

She let herself laugh this time, trying not to focus on the look of joy that he gave her when she did. "Well what have you bought then?"

He held up his shopping bag with one hand. "Books."

She reached for the bag, her fingers brushing his as she took it from him. "I didn't know you could read" she teased.

It was his turn to laugh, and now she knew what he'd felt when he looked at her before, because his laugh seemed to set her whole body alight. She felt the heat in her cheeks, ignoring it as she peeked into the bag. "These are indeed books" she said in an amazed tone, handing the bag back to him.

"Some of them don't even have pictures" he teased, getting another laugh from her.

Without realising, they'd started slowly walking together. God, what was she doing?

"So what are you here for?" Edoardo asked and she shrugged.

"Nothing in particular. Just wanted to get out of my house."

He gave her a questioning look, and looked like he was about to say something but decided against it.

"Well, then you should help me find a present for my cousin."

It was bold of him to assume she'd want to spend more time with him seeing as she'd repeatedly rebuffed him, but like that time in the courtyard where Eva had dragged her away she found herself wanting to give in.

And Eva wasn't around to drag her away.

"I guess that doesn't sound like the worst thing in the world."

He smirked. "So the thing with my cousin is, she's twelve. And I have no idea what twelve year old girls like."

Eleonora giggled. "So no sisters then?"

His face fell, and she knew she'd seriously fucked up, but he recovered in a heartbeat. "Nope" he said, quietly so she knew she wasn't reading him incorrectly.

She wanted to reach out, to hold his hand or stroke his face, and she mentally slapped herself at the thought. She couldn't be feeling this way. He'd fucked one of her best friends then ignored her. He'd put marks on a wall that represented the girls he slept with. He'd treated Silvia like hell.

She crossed her arms across her chest, not sure why she hadn't left yet.

"So what should I get her?"

She shrugged, looking straight ahead.

He was silent for a long moment, slowing to a stop. He reached out to take her wrist in his hand, heat shooting up her arm when he did. "Want a coffee? My treat."

She should say no. She should tell him to stop treating her like they were friends. Like there was even the slightest possibility that she didn't detest him. But instead she said yes and followed him to the coffee shop a few stores down.

She sat at their table while he ordered, mindlessly scrolling through Instagram. She stopped on a photo of Silvia, frowning.

"Here you go, bellisima" Edoardo said, placing her coffee in front of her.

She watched him sit down, internally debating for a second before throwing caution to the wind. "Why did you treat Silvia like that?"

He looked up at her, a little startled. It took him a second to answer. "I didn't know she wanted to date me. I thought we were on the same page."

Eleonora gave him a scathing look. "And why did you think that?"

He went to pick up his coffee, deciding against it and making a confused gesture with his hands. "I don't know, I don't know how girls work."

She was taken aback by his confession, his words not matching up with the image of him she had in her head. "What do you mean?"

He sighed. "Well, I mean, if I assume a girl wants to date me then I look like an idiot when they don't. I get told I'm thinking in stereotypes because not all girls are desperate for a boyfriend. Then when I assume they don't want a boyfriend I get called out in front of all my mates, not only by the girl in question but her friend too."

Eleonora laughed, looking at the boy in front of her. His hand had started rubbing the back of his neck as he talked, and she now knew it to be a nervous tick.

"You know, you could just ask girls what they're looking for. That'd probably fix that issue for you."

He took a sip of his coffee, shaking his head slightly. "Yeah I'd look so cool then."

Eleonora rolled her eyes. "If you can take the time to talk girls out of using a condom you can take the time to ask if they want a relationship."

He paused mid-sip. "You've talked to Silvia about whether or not I use condoms?"

She rolled her eyes again. "You should probably ask girls if they're on the pill during that conversation, by the way."

Edoardo gave her an alarmed look. "Aren't they meant to tell me if they're not?"

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes again. Three times was probably too many. "Eduardo, you're an idiot."

He gave her a slightly exasperated look. "Edoardo."

She smirked, raising an eyebrow at him. "Sorry, what?"

"Eleonora Francesca Sava" he muttered, shaking his head.

There was a pause in the conversation, Eleonora thinking to herself that she needed to get her feelings under control.

"I apologised to Silvia, you know" Edoardo said, breaking the silence.

"I know" she responded quietly.

"I really didn't mean to hurt her."

"I know" she responded again, not sure why she knew that. But for some reason she really did believe that he hadn't meant to hurt Silvia.

"I didn't start the wall, either. I don't even really participate in it. I tell the boys about a girl and then the mark appears."

Eleonora laughed. "So you admit it exists, though. Finally."

Edoardo sighed. "I didn't know what to say, okay?"

"Hmm, I'm getting the sense that happens a lot."

He shook his head, taking another sip of his coffee before setting it down on the table.

"What do you want me to do? Destroy it? I can do that, if you want."

She laughed. He wasn't what she expected. "It's fine. You can keep airing your dirty laundry in public."

He raised an eyebrow at her and she looked back at him, the two of them locked in a staring contest for a few seconds.

It was her that broke the silence. "So what does your cousin like?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. Twelve-year-old stuff."

She rolled her eyes. "Is she into makeup, music, books, movies, clothes? Come on. You have to give me something to work with."

He laughed. "All of those things, I guess." He paused, lost in thought for a second. "She keeps talking about pinterest recipes."

Eleonora laughed, automatically thinking of Silvia and her baking. "You should get her things she can cook with."

He smiled. "You're brilliant."

She shrugged.

A waitress came over with a slice of cake and she realised he'd ordered one for them to share. They sat there for a while, eating the cake while talking about the books he'd bought and what they liked to read.

"Are you done?" He asked after their cups had been sitting empty on the table for a while. She nodded in response. "Come on then, you have to help me pick stuff out."

"Yes, sir" she responded, laughing.

He held his hand out for hers and she grabbed it, letting him pull her up out of her chair. She fell slightly into his chest, his other hand steadying her by holding onto her waist. She looked up at him, her blue eyes locked with his brown ones.

Oh no.

Nope.

She pulled away quickly, mentally hitting herself. She needed to stop.

Okay, so maybe they could be friends. But they couldn't do that.

"So the homewares store?" he asked, his voice slightly lower than normal.

She made a sound of approval, not trusting her own voice.

She needed to leave. Soon. What would the girls say? She could not be another notch next to Edoardo's name, another girl to fall under his spell. She was Eleonora Sava. She ripped boys like him to shreds in the schoolyard, she didn't let herself feel this way about them.

He'd get what he wanted from her and leave. She knew boys like him.

She kept a safe distance from him as they walked to the homewares store, neither of them speaking. She guessed he was probably thinking he had her in the bag now. She needed to put him back in his place somehow.

She wanted to rip him to shreds like she had in the schoolyard, but something about the way they'd interacted today made her feel like she couldn't. She knew he wasn't a complete dick now. She even kind of liked him as a person. But they still couldn't go beyond that.

As they walked into the store, she scanned the shelves. They walked deeper into the store, Edoardo picking things up and putting them down. They reached a display of cooking utensils and Eleonora picked up a bright pink spatula, turning it over in her hands. "You know who loves baking? Silvia."

He looked at her quizzically before nodding his head. "That's cool."

She pursed her lips before continuing. "It's funny. Silvia and I didn't always get along. But now, she's like family to me." She looked up at Edoardo, fire in her eyes. "I don't like it when people hurt her. I don't ever want to hurt her."

Edoardo looked at her for a long moment, his eyes scanning her face. He nodded slightly before looking away.

"So what kind of stuff should I buy?"

She felt like there was a hole in her stomach. A wave of resentment washed over her. She hated this situation. She looked down at the spatula in her hands, turning it over and over.

"Ele?"

She looked up, shrugging. She tried to keep the sadness off her face. "I don't know, does she have the normal baking stuff?"

He stepped closer to her, his hand twitching at his side like he was going to reach out for her but thought better.

"I don't know what she wants. I just want to give her what she wants." He locked eyes with her while he spoke, and she had to look away. She knew he wasn't talking about his cousin.

"Maybe she has everything she needs" she said.

"Hmm, but what about what she wants?"

She sighed, looking down and holding out the spatula for him. His fingers brushed hers as he took it, lingering far too long. "Just get her some pretty basics then. Or decorating stuff. Sprinkles and piping bags."

Still looking down at the floor, she saw that his feet were getting closer to hers. He was too close, she could feel the heat coming off his body.

He reached out for her hand, and she quickly pulled it away.

"I'm not going to be another mark on your stupid wall, Edoardo" she said harshly, her voice full of anger. She looked up at him, locking eyes with him, glaring at him.

He looked startled, not even mentioning that she'd used his real name for the first time.

"Ele-"

"Stop calling me that."

He gave her a determined look, grabbing her hand as she turned to leave. "Eleonora, you're so much more to me than a mark on a wall."

She refused to look at him, not able to withstand the force of his gaze anymore.

He stepped impossibly closer to her and she could feel every part of his body pressed against hers. She didn't make any move to push him away. His free hand moved up to the side of her face and he tucked her hair behind her ear, his thumb rubbing against her cheek. "You said I should ask girls what they want. So just so we're clear, you want to be with me and I want to be with you? But we're not because you don't want to hurt Silvia, and because you think I'll put your name on a wall?"

She stared up at him, lost for words.

He leant down, and she thought he was going to kiss her. And she wanted him to. But he pressed his lips to her forehead, his hand cupping the side of her face.

"We can figure it out, Ele."

She felt hot, too hot. She didn't say anything, just pushed him away and walked out of the store.

She needed fresh air. She needed to get out of this stupid shopping centre and away from Edoardo and his stupid deep brown eyes.

How could life be this unfair? She needed to forget this day had ever happened.

She finally found her way out of the centre, and as she stepped outside her phone buzzed.

She looked down at her phone. There was a message from Silvia in the group chat.

"Ele, why did one of the girls in my class say she saw you shopping with Edoardo earlier today?"

Cazzo.