Well since 'Hopeless romantic' went down so well I thought I'd treat you to a Aj/Bryan One-shot I wrote for English class (Can you guys guess who my favourite Diva is? lol) ...I should be starting on a longer story soon so you can all get your teeth into that :) for now...Enjoy!


"Daniel, wait...Just hold on for a minute," April said, in short, stuttered breaths. Her hands cast defensively over her chest.

"Ha! Why should I? So you can ignore me and go running off to see your little friends again? I've told you pumpkin...They're not your friends, they don't care about you. I'm your friend. I'm your only friend," He lingered closer, whispering in her ear.

"That's...that's not true!" April said, weirdly, it sounded stronger in her head. Her voice cracked a little, and tears began to pool.

"You're lying!" April yelled, finding some inner strength to defend her friends.

"Oh? Now I'm a liar? April...You're forgetting one, big, important fact..." April slowly raised her head to look at him. The minute their eyes locked he sent a fist crashing into the wall, just inches from her frail face. She didn't even realize he had backed her against a wall until now.

"I am always right!" He spat, his words echoing throughout the room. After a few moments, April regained some kind of composure.

"I'm sorry Daniel..." She uttered, in less than a whisper.

"You're sorry? Well, I guess that makes everything okay, right pumpkin? Because you're just so sweet and innocent...No one has a bad word to say about April...Well, I've heard a thing or two about you sugar..." Daniel smirked. Right then April would've given anything to be able to slap his egotistical smile off him; unfortunately, she was all too familiar with the consequences.

"Please...Not now-"April was stopped by a look that told her to keep her mouth shut. She obeyed, tears now freely cascading around her face.

"Now...Where should I start?" He thought aloud, "Maybe I could tell you what your buddy Layla said to me the other day... Oh God that was hilarious!" he laughed a little at the supposed memory. Just doing anything to make Aprils torture last longer.

"Or your apparent Best friend Kaitlyn, if I remember correctly she had a few choice words to say about you," Daniel mused, tapping a finger at his chin thoughtfully. He laughed a little when he heard her quiet sobs.

"But...I think I'll start with what Dolph was telling me earlier, yeah. What he said is a personal favourite of mine," Daniel smiled proudly at himself, and at April who was now starring straight at the floor. Preparing herself for what was to come.

"He said you're nothing, nothing but a stupid little girl that hangs onto his every word. He said that he could never fall for someone like you, and that he likes women that are classy and sophisticated, not puny, pathetic, immature, annoying girls." April cried harder at every word. She tried to stop, knowing it would only make things worse, but his words acted like venom tainting her mind.

"You can't be surprised, can you? I mean look at all the girls he's dated. Brie for example, she was tall, slim, athletic, smart, funny...Basically, she's everything you're not...isn't that right April?" he forcefully grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him.

"Isn't that right, pumpkin?" Daniel spoke every word with pure hatred. April could see it burning through his eyes.

When faced with her silence, he only gripped her tighter. April knew she'd be bruised by tomorrow. Daniel pulled her head away from the wall, evidently planning to slam her head back into the plaster but stopping when his phone buzzed. Releasing his hold he glanced over his phone and smiled before getting his coat and walking over to the door.

"That was Eve, she wants' me to come over for the night" Daniel smiled again at the thought.

"I may as well go; I mean she'll give me a better time than you ever could...Try and get yourself cleaned up by morning. That is unless you want to continue our conversation." Daniel said with one hand on the door handle and the other skilfully texting a reply to Eve. Not even looking at April before leaving, slamming the door loudly on the other side. April stood there, frozen for a while until finally collapsing in a broken, deflated heap on the bed.

"I knew it," She said to herself. "Hell, I knew I was worthless all along...I was stupid to think Dolph was different, that he could somehow save me from Daniels grasp. Every time Daniel would go out with another women I'd always call Dolph, we'd stay up and watch movies or play video games. Now it's obvious, he did it out of pity. All those times Daniel would be yelling god knows what at me I'd be miles away, dreaming that Dolph would barge in. Having heard all the yelling and finally come to my rescue," She cuddled her pillow praying it would help cure her loneliness, "Honestly, it wasn't always Dolph...Sometimes I'd dream of Kaitlyn and Layla driving me to a hotel so he couldn't find me. I'd dream of Jon, my big brother phoning the police and giving me a hug so tight that protected me from the entire world. I'd dreamt of everyone saving me in all these different, heroic tales but really...who would care enough to save a pathetic girl like me? I guess I am lucky to have Daniel. I know he's settled for me, I can't exactly blame him for seeing other women. Looking at the bigger picture...He must care about me. Why else would he say all those things? He's trying to protect me from people like Dolph, people that would just hurt me in the end. Or liars like Layla and Kaitlyn; I bet they're only pretending to be my friend so they have something to laugh at when I'm not around," She threw away the pillow in a huff and enclosed herself in her arms, suddenly becoming angry at how pathetic it must've looked, "Daniel really is the only person in the world kind enough to love a screw up like me, I should be grateful that he hasn't just kicked me to the curb. He's given me a house, clothes, what more can I ask for? I mean, I know I'm no Brie, I can't go to work or earn for myself. Daniel always said I wasn't smart enough. He's trying to save me the humiliation of failure. He does care. He does care. He has to care...Right?" She reached out for the pillow again, feeling guilty for mistreating it. She held it tightly, letting it soak her tears. It would have to do until Daniel returned.