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I'll be updating A Love Like War today!

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Eric caught Danni's elbow in his hand so he could pull her to a stop beside him in the school hallway. She looked up at him and jerked her arm away from him.

"What?"

Eric refrained from rolling his eyes and arched an eyebrow in question.

She widened her eyes a little, shaking her head, like she didn't know what he was trying to say. And then she realized what he wanted and took a deep breath. "No."

Eric's lopsided smile fell to a frown and his silvery orbs dimmed. "No." he repeated, so quiet she couldn't hear him over the buzz of students in the hall, but she didn't need to.

"I don't want to be with you again." She shrugged. Her face softened. "I'm sorry, okay? But I really would just prefer it if we could go back to calling each other names on opposite sides of the hallway and hating each other's guts."

A sad smiled pulled at his lips and he shook his head, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Right. I, um…I can't do that." He said honestly. He breathed in slowly, looking down at his combat boots awkwardly, the deafening sound of his heart pounding in his ears. He reached out hesitantly, and when she didn't move away from him, he touched a strand of her curled auburn hair. "I like your hair like this."

"You already told me that." She pointed out, her guilt obvious in her voice.

"I know," he nodded. He swallowed thickly and dropped his hand to his side. "See you around, Danni."

She watched him walk down the corridor with his head hanging low, a heavy weight on her chest pressing down even harder than before.

Josh sighed softly, reaching over to Alex's nightstand and swiping his phone off of it as the alarm shrilled from it. He typed in the password to shut it off and dropped his cell onto the floor. Turning onto his side, he leaned closer to Alex and kissed the tip of his nose. "Wake up." He murmured.

Alex groaned, shifting closer to him, pushing him onto his back, and resting his head on his boyfriend's chest. "Not yet, Corazón."

Josh let his eyes flutter close again. He silently observed things that he could suddenly noticed.

Alex's voice got husky when he was half asleep and it sent chills up his spine, his heart beating faster. His breathing became shallow very quickly as he fell asleep easily. He snored loudly.

Alex's heart rate was slightly faster than it probably should be, beating heavily against Josh's side. His hands were cold, but he brought a warmth Josh would've normally found uncomfortable. When he was drifting off, his fingers tapped against Josh's stomach as if he was playing a piano, because he had a song stuck in his head.

When he called him Corazón…Josh didn't know what it meant, and he couldn't place the time Alex had first called him that, but he was pretty sure it had happened at a time that he was too distracted to ask what it meant, so he didn't bother asking later. But it stuck and he wasn't going to make him stop calling him that.

Josh swallowed and lifted a hand to Alex's head, running his fingers through his wavy black hair. "Baby, I've got to get home before anyone gets worried, assuming I've left for good."

Alex stirred awake and blinked up at him. "Fine…"

Josh smirked, sitting up when Alex rolled off of him. He slipped on his shoes and picked his cellphone up off the floor. Alex got up onto his knees behind him and wrapped his arms around his shoulders. "Text me later, okay?"

Josh nodded, standing up and twisting around to face him. "Promise." He gripped Alex's chin in his hand and pulled his face to his for a short kiss. "See you tomorrow."

Alex hummed a response and fell back onto his bed in exhaustion.

"Please?" Lynn dragged out, grabbing onto her father's arm as he walked into the house.

Fabian chuckled, looking down at her. "Please what?"

"Can we get a puppy?" Jamie exclaimed, popping out of the dining room.

"A puppy?"

"They've been asking me for a puppy all day." Joy told him when he entered the kitchen.

"Why do they want one now?" he asked her as he leaned down to kiss her.

She shrugged, stepping around him so she could get to the refrigerator.

"What's going on?" Fiona asked, plucking a grape from the bowl on the counter and popping it into her mouth. She gagged and her face scrunched up. "It is not the right time for those."

Joy chuckled softly, pressing her lips together.

Fiona shivered and reached for a cucumber in the salad bowl.

"Jamie and Lynn want a puppy." Fabian said.

"Oh, can we get one?"

He sighed. "You too?"

"Who doesn't love puppies?" she giggled.

"Please, daddy?" Lynn smiled, looking up at him with wide brown eyes.

Joy met his eyes and laughed at his expression. "What's wrong?"

"If I can't say no to you and your eyes, how am I supposed to say no to her?" he demanded. He ran a hand through his hair. "Your mother and I will discuss it."

"That means yes!" Jamie cried excitedly.

"That means maybe." Joy corrected.

"Go ahead and talk about it," she encouraged, grabbing Lynn's hand. "We're going to go tell Nathan!"

Fiona watched them rush out of the room and then turned back to her parents. "What?"

"Can we talk?" Fabian responded, raising his eyebrows.

"I have to leave?" she sighed and headed for the living room. "Fine…"

Fabian rolled his blue eyes and leaned against the counter top, studying Joy as she made supper. "Have I told you that you're beautiful today?"

"You're avoiding the subject." She smiled knowingly.

He nodded. "Well?"

"I wouldn't mind."

"That's code for, 'I want one as well'. You probably started this whole thing." He teased.

She gasped and widened her eyes in feigned ignorance. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Fabes."

He hummed disbelievingly. Crossing his arms over his chest, he relented, "Alright, we can get a dog."

"Fantastic!" she smiled brightly, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him.

Welp, with this story I seem to be sinking more ships than sailing them. Sorry.

#6: "I'm gonna let you bleed for a little bit. I'm gonna make you beg just for making me cry. I'm gonna make you wish you never said goodbye. Now your life is broken, revolves around love. No love of yourself, but the love you have lost. We said desperation is lonely despair. You don't love yourself, you've got no love to share." -Cry, The Used

-Rachel