When I come back out, the bar is practically empty. "Night Ria!" Jake yells. I snap out of my trance and look over at him, waving as he walks out the door. Jon is perched on a stool at the end of the bar, drinking a beer and talking to Jenna. I watch them talk, fighting down the wave of jealousy that hits as she openly flirts with him. He smirks and shakes his head, catching sight of me as he looks away from her. He sighs and she looks over quickly. She makes a show of wiping the bar down and moves away from him quickly. He pats the stool next to him and I walk over slowly. I feel someone staring at me and look over to one of the booths. Colby and Emily are sat with Kristen and Joe. Emily is openly glaring at me. I shake my head and carry on walking to Jon. He nods at Pete and suddenly two glasses of Jack are on the bar. "Figured you'd need one" Jon says looking at me. I nod, not able to look at him. "Ria" he groans. "Don't shut me out, please, I can't deal with that." I shake my head and slide off the stool. "I need to go" I say, grabbing my bag and running out of the bar.
My door is locked and my apartment is in darkness. It doesn't stop him banging hell out of my front door. I lie on the sofa, tears rolling down my face as I listen to him get more and more frustrated. "Dammit Ria!" he yells, kicking the door for good measure before going into his apartment and slamming the door behind him. I get up and pull on a pair of jeans and an oversized jumper. I head back into the lounge and put my converse on before grabbing a key and quietly leaving the apartment. I can hear him yelling on the phone as I run down the stairs. "There's no answer Kris!" he yells. "It's all in darkness, where the fuck would she go?" I get onto the street and run straight for the beach. Thinking spot. Crying spot. Talking to him spot.
"Damn you Rico!" I sob, sitting on the sand and hugging my knees. "Why the fuck can't i do it? Why the fuck can't I move on from you? What makes you so special? You fucking left me here to deal with this all alone, I should fucking hate you!" "But you don't" Kris says softly, appearing next to me. I look at her and she groans. "Fuck sake Ria" she says hugging me. "Talk about it, talk to me, to anyone, please?" I shake my head, wiping the tears away. "I can't Kris" I say softly. She shakes her head and stands up. "Then don't expect to be able to get over it" she warns. "You keep bottling it in, it's gonna eat you and you're gonna end up the same way as him." I watch in surprise as she walks back up the beach. I shake my head and turn back to the sea, watching the waves break. I don't know how long I'm sat there staring. I lose all track of time until I feel a blanket being put around my shoulders. "You're freezing toots" he says quietly. I feel the sand shift as he sits next to me, pulling me towards him and hugging me tightly as he wraps the blanket around us both. "You must be tired" I say quietly. "You should go get some sleep Jon." He shakes his head. "We're friends, right?" he asks. I nod. "Then I'm here" he says. "I don't care how long I'm here for, but I'm here. It's what friends do." I look up at him and I burst into tears again. "How did I get so lucky to have a friend like you Jon?" I sob. He shakes his head. "I'm just that fucking awesome toots" he says kissing my head. "But don't tell everyone or they'll all be wanting a bit of me." I smile. "Our little secret" I say kissing his cheek. "Speaking of secrets" he says. "You gotta stop keeping things from me Ria. Friends, right?" I sigh. "There are some things even you can't make right Jon" I say quietly. He nods. "I know" he says, lying back and pulling me with him. I roll onto my side and put my head on his chest. "Would it help if I told you I already know?" he asks suddenly. I freeze. "How?" I ask quietly. "Kristen" he says. "Before you go bite her head off, she told me because she's worried about you Ria. We all are. Even Colby. He thinks this is all his fault. But Kris told me because of how we are. You do know they're calling us the gruesome twosome, right?" I laugh. "We are kinda always together" I say. He nods, kissing my head. "He fucking died Jon" I say suddenly. "I loved him so fucking much, and he fucking died! Left me all alone, he can't have loved me as much as he said he did, he left me." "Toots" he says holding me tightly. "Life ain't all rainbows and butterflies, princess. Ya gotta suck it up and roll with the punches, right? I know it's hard, especially when it's something you didn't see coming. But life is a test, right?" I nod. "A test I'm flunking miserably" I groan. "I'm scared, Jon." He looks down at me. "Scared?" he asks. I nod. "Fucking terrified actually" I say. "I can't let anyone get close, not again, not if they're just gonna leave me like he did. I'm not letting myself fall that hard again." He nods. "Is that why, as soon as you found out what Colby did, you backed off?" he asks. I nod. "Travelling" I say. "Planes, cars, buses, something going wrong in the ring. Saying goodbye, and I love you, and never coming home, I can't deal with it again Jon." "So that's why you looked at me like I was never coming back" he says quietly. I nod. "It's my way of dealing with it" I say. "That way I won't get hurt if you don't." "Ria" he groans. "I promise you, I will always, always, come back." "Don't make promises you can't keep, Jon" I warn. He nods, kissing my head. "You'll see" he says softly. "Come on. We can't sleep on the beach. Lets go home." I nod and sit up as he gets up. He holds his hand out and I take it, smiling when he pulls me up. He grabs the blanket and folds it before putting his arm around me and leading me back to the apartment.
"Your bed or mine?" he asks as we walk up the stairs. "Mine" I say quietly. He nods and takes the key from me. He unlocks the door and opens it, holding it open for me to go in. "Night Ria" he says softly. I look at him quickly. "Stay with me?" I ask. He moans softly and shuts the door, locking it quickly before walking over to me. "Come on" he says softly, holding his hand out. I take it and lead him to my room. "Bathroom" he says kissing my head. I nod and wait until he's out of the room before quickly stripping out of my clothes. I've just got into bed in just my underwear when he comes back. "Uh, what do you want me to wear?" he asks awkwardly. "Whatever you're comfortable in" I say quietly. "I sleep naked Ria" he warns. I nod. "I know, Jon" I say. "It's fine. If that's how you're comfortable, I'm good with that." He nods and turns the light off as he sits on the bed. I hear his jeans hit the floor, and the swoosh of material that tells me his shirt has joined them. I feel the blanket get pulled back, and suddenly his arms are around me. "I'm here" he whispers. "I'm going nowhere. I'm here, ok?" I nod as he kisses my head. "I could get used to this" I say quietly. He chuckles. "Me too, toots, me too" he says. It's not long until we're both asleep.