Isaac had not stopped thinking about Maeve, he never really did. All he wanted was to be able to be with her. He always thought Otis had blinded her with his bs but he never really understood Maeve; not the way Isaac did anyway. Isaac loved her for who she was, including her past.

The next day, Isaac decided to go and speak to Otis, he knew it was time.

"Hey Otis." Isaac said.

"Hey Isaac." Otis said, looking visibly surprised at being approached by Isaac.

"I just wanted to clear the air between us." Isaac said.

"Alright.." Otis said.

"I know what I did was fucked up and I'm sorry. I shouldn't have deleted that message, you deserved your shot at being able to tell Maeve how you felt." Isaac said.

"Thank you for your apology." Otis said, not really knowing how to react.

"I want you to know that I want nothing but the best for you and Maeve. " Isaac said.

"That's nice of you." Otis said, growing increasingly awkward.

"Yeah and please tell that to Maeve too, I know she's upset about yesterday." Isaac said.

"What happened yesterday?" Otis asked.

"Oh she didn't tell you?" Isaac asked.

"No.." Otis said.

"Oh it's no big deal. Maeve offered to help my brother get a job because we're having money troubles. It was very nice of her. I was very touched." Isaac said.

"Okay, but why was she upset?" Otis asked.

"I.. um.. Just held her hand as a thank you and maybe she thought that meant something more? I'm not sure. But that was part of why I wanted to clear the air with you, you know? I'm not going after her or anything." Isaac said.

Otis was one second away from punching Isaac's face in. He knew what Isaac was doing but he couldn't help the pure unadulterated rage flowing through him. But he'd promised not to be an impulsive arsehole like his father so he decided to take a deep breath to calm himself.

"Look Isaac, I'll be honest with you. I don't trust you and quite frankly I don't like you. I know what you're doing and I would suggest backing the fuck away from me right now. " Otis said.

"Wow, come on, Otis. Don't take this the wrong way, I'm just trying to make things right." Isaac said.

"You are but not for Maeve and me but for yourself. Let me make something very clear to you, you try anything with Maeve and I will kick your ass. I mean that." Otis said, slamming the door of his locker and walking away.

Otis had no idea how he had managed to walk away from Isaac without killing him but he'd done it. He was still super angry though, He hated the fact that Maeve hadn't told him anything about this despite them being together for most of last night. He knew Isaac was trying to fuck with them but Maeve not communicating with him was literally the worst thing she could do right now. He knew he needed to speak to her but decided to talk to her after school, once he had cooled off.

The day felt a lot longer than usual for Otis, all her did was spend the day looking at the clock waiting for the day to end. Today was the only day Maeve and he had no classes together. He'd thought about texting her, asking her to talk after school but he figured she'd get worried reading a cryptic text like that. So he decided to wait for her by her locker.

"Hey." Maeve said, walking towards Otis.

"Hey." Otis said, holding onto the straps of his bag.

Maeve smiled her signature Otis smile and pecked him on the cheek. When she pulled away, she could sense that something was off with Otis.

"What's wrong?" Maeve asked.

Otis was silent for a second or two, he wanted to be careful with the words he chose. Just as he was about to speak, Aimee appearing next to Maeve interrupted him.

"Hey guys!" Aimee said.

"Hey Aimes." Maeve said.

"Are you ready to go?" Aimee asked.

"Where?" Maeve asked.

"You promised to bake with me today." Aimee said.

"I did?" Maeve asked.

"Yeah, you told me to only bake when I'm with you after I set the fire alarm off the last time." Aimee said.

"Oh yeah, um.. okay I'll meet you by the entrance in two?" Maeve asked.

"Sure. Bye Otis." Aimee said walking away.

"Bye." Otis said.

"Are you okay?" Maeve asked, turning to Otis once Aimee was gone.

"Um.." Otis began but didn't know what to say.

"What's going on?" Maeve asked.

"We need to talk but properly not like this in the middle of the hall." Otis said.

"Otis, you need to tell me what's going on because you're freaking me out a little." Maeve said.

"Nothing is going on, I just want to talk to you." Otis said.

"Then why can't you just say what it's about?" Maeve asked.

"Because this needs to be a proper conversation." Otis said.

"Are you breaking up with me?" Maeve asked, her eyes glistening with tears.

"What? No! Not at all." Otis said, wrapping his arms around Maeve.

Maeve didn't say anything; she just put her head on Otis' chest.

"Why would you even think that?" Otis asked, tightening his arms around her.

"Because you're being weird and cryptic." Maeve said.

"I'm sorry, I love you." Otis said, pulling away.

"I love you too." Maeve said.

Otis pulled Maeve in for a quick kiss. He was upset about Maeve not telling him about Isaac but he never wanted to worry her.

"How about I come over after meeting Aimee and then we talk?" Maeve asked, once they pulled away.

"Sounds good, have fun." Otis said, giving her another kiss before she left.

Otis spent his bike ride home thinking about their situation with Isaac and how Maeve and he never seemed to escape him. Otis was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't even notice his mother in the kitchen.

"Otis!" Jean said.

"Huh? Oh hi mom." Otis said.

"I called out to you a couple of times, what's going on?" Jean asked.

"Nothing." Otis said.

"That's not true, come here. Tell me what's going on." Jean said.

Otis wasn't sure he was ready to have a conversation with his mother about this right now. But he knew he needed to talk to someone and talking to her last time did help so he decided to give in and join her at the table.

"Isaac made a bit of a pass at Maeve." Otis said.

"What?" Jean asked.

"Apparently he tried holding her hand after she offered to help his brother? I'm not even sure that counts as anything." Otis said.

"Then why do you seem so upset?" Jean asked.

"Because Maeve wasn't the one to tell me." Otis said.

"Who told you?" Jean asked.

"Isaac." Otis said.

"What did he say?" Jean asked.

"He told me he wanted to clear the air, that he wanted to nothing but the best for Maeve and I. He wanted to make sure I knew he wasn't coming after her." Otis said.

"What did you say?" Jean asked.

"I told him I didn't trust him and that I would kick his ass if he came near Maeve." Otis said.

"Good." Jean said.

"Wait what? Isn't this supposed to be a violence isn't the answer parenting moment?" Otis asked.

"Well maybe if this was an after school special but it isn't so I'll be honest with you. Isaac clearly isn't as clean as he wants you to believe. He's trying to create miscommunication between you and Maeve and I'm glad you told him to beat it." Jean said.

"Thanks mom." Otis said with a smile.

"We should probably talk about why him holding her hand felt so threatening to you." Jean said, beginning her unsolicited therapy session.

"Mom! No! Can't we leave it at you being happy I told him I would kick his ass?" Otis asked.

"No because that isn't the problem here." Jean said.

"Ugh." Otis said, regretting talking to his mom.

"Have you spoken to Maeve about this?" Jean asked, ignoring her son's protests.

"No, I tried to but couldn't." Otis said.

"Why?" Jean asked.

"She had plans with Aimee. She actually thought I was going to break up with her when I asked to talk." Otis said.

"Why do you think that is?" Jean asked.

"Mom. Stop!" Otis said, rolling eyes.

"Come on, answer the question." Jean said.

"Because she's insecure about our relationship?" Otis said, asking more than telling her.

"She's insecure about your stance in the relationship." Jean said.

"But I haven't said anything at all." Otis said.

"You don't have to say it for her to hear it." Jean said.

Otis thought about the words his mother had just spoken, they'd hit him like a ton of bricks. He wasn't even sure why but it felt like a realization had dawned upon him.

"Do you think you've been so worried about her running that you've always kept an out for yourself to cope with it?" Jean asked.

"What do you mean?" Otis asked.

"You keep thinking about ways she could leave so that you're somehow prepared." Jean said.

"Mom.. I.." Otis began but didn't know what to say.

"She isn't your father." Jean said.

"I know." Otis said.

"You get so caught up in worrying, you forget to be present with her." Jean said.

"Yeah but it's not like I'm worrying about nothing. This guy has actively been going after her, of course it bothers me." Otis said.

"It will bother you and to an extent it should too, it would be weird if it didn't. But if it bothers you to the point that it makes you question Maeve, then you have to rethink what's going on." Jean said.

"Why didn't she tell me?" Otis asked.

"I don't know for sure but my guess is, it was because she was worried about how you would react." Jean said.

"Yeah well not telling me made it worse." Otis said.

"I know and you should tell her that when you speak to her. But Otis?" Jean said.

"Yeah." Otis said.

"Not everyone cheats. Not every relationship is a disaster. The outcome of relationships doesn't always get determined by the presence or absence of a third person." Jean said.

"I know." Otis said.

"Do you? I know the relationship between your dad and I has probably shaped a lot of how you view love and relationships. And if I'm being completely honest neither of our dating histories since have set very good examples for healthy relationships but they do exist. And yeah people do cheat, it happens and it breaks relationships. But what is the point of ruining something you love because of the anticipation that something might go wrong?" Jean asked.

"I know you're right but.." Otis said.

"I think you should invite her over for dinner with us on Saturday." Jean said.

"What? Why?" Otis asked, surprised by the sudden change in speed.

"Because I want to meet her and because meeting the parents is a sign of commitment. What she needs from you right now is to know you're in this with her and you need the same from her too." Jean said.

Otis thought for a moment and then said," That's actually a good idea. I'll ask her based on how things go tonight when she comes over. Thanks mom!"

"No worries, darling." Jean said, kissing Otis on the forehead and going to her room.

Otis was still nervous about speaking to Maeve but he was a lot more open to hearing her side of things. He knew he owed her that, if he wanted honest communication then she deserved the same in return too. He was fast beginning to realise that much like Maeve his past made him want to run too.