A/N Hello again! So thanks for the great feedback for this story, I love it :) You're all awesome and I love you. So now I have brought you a new chapter. Alright, here we go :)

I don't own anything and I'm not associated with Lucy or Ian in any way.

The next morning when Lucy woke, she was greeted with a pounding headache and sun shining into her tired eyes. She let out a small groan of protest as she sat up in her bed and found it was Annie who had let the burning light into her room. Her roommate handed her a small glass of water and Lucy suddenly became very aware of how dry her mouth felt. Annie watched patiently as Lucy chugged the glass of water in a matter of seconds, and when she was done began to hammer the girl with questions.

"Do you want to tell me why I came home last night to find you passed out on the couch, with your laptop still on your lap and the webpage opened to Ian's twitter profile?" Annie asked with a little bitterness in her voice. Lucy knew all too well that Annie resented Ian ever since they had stopped talking. She had a pretty good reason too, seeing that Ian had messed her best friend up pretty bad for about a year. Annie then realized that Lucy was fighting back tears now and softened her tone of voice, "Unless you don't want to talk about it. That's fine too."

"I really don't know how it happened, Annie," Lucy admitted as she began to climb out of the warm safety of her bed. "One minute I was scrolling through twitter and the next I was beating myself up for leaving him that night. I miss him." Lucy found the words hard to say but felt relieved as soon as she had. She missed Ian more than anything in the world. Not only had she lost the love of her life, but she had also lost someone who had been her closest friend.

"You never did tell me what happened that night," Annie stated simply, not as if she was probing for a story but was just stating the obvious. Lucy knew it was weird to not share what had happened with her best friend but there was just something about the night that made her feel like she couldn't share it with anyone. Maybe she thought that if she didn't talk about it, the memories would just go away. That didn't seem to be happening though.

"Annie?" Lucy squeaked out, capturing her friend's attention as she began to make a pot of coffee, "Can we talk about that night?"

The air was brisk and chilly as Lucy stepped out of her car and began to make her way up the Warner Brother's Studios stairs to the cast party. They had finished filming the final episode of Pretty Little Liars only the day before, and were now all gathered together to say a final goodbye and reminisce. It was bittersweet for the brunette, seeing that the following morning she would be flying to Paris to start filming her first major motion picture.

As Lucy entered the building, she was engulfed in warm arms that held her tight. She pulled away to find Ian, and she could tell he already had a few drinks in him. But he wasn't drunk. Ian never got drunk.

"Well now that you're here, the party can really start," He joked as he wrapped one arm around her waist, leading her through the party. Ian was never this direct, but he seemed free spirited and fun tonight. Definitely not that same person that preferred to stay in his house rather than going out.

A permanent smile seemed to be painted on Lucy's face as she danced through the night, laughing and giggling with her cast mates. Ian never seemed to leave her side either, but she didn't mind at all. She loved having Ian there by her side all night. Something about it made her feel happy and content. Ian was like her own personal security blanket that made her feel safe whenever he was around.

Slowly, the night began to come to a close. Everyone's eyes began to droop and their veins were happily filled with alcohol. Lucy was just about to grab her coat and say her goodbyes to everyone when she felt Ian tap her on the shoulder.

"Hey, I was just about to leave. What's up?" She turned to him, smiling brightly as he pulled her in for a final hug.

"I wanted to tell you something," He hesitated. Ian seemed nervous which was something very out of character for him. Sure, Ian was awkward and goofy, but he embraced it. He was always confident in himself. It was one of the many things Lucy proudly loved about him.

"Ian, what's wrong?" Lucy took his hand in hers in an attempt to calm him, "You know you can tell me anything."

"I know. But..." She watched him take a deep breath before unleashing everything, "I love you Lucy. You're one of the most beautiful, selfless, amazing girls I've ever met. I've tried to push away these feelings for so long because I felt it was never an appropriate time. But now,well, I don't think I can do that anymore. I want to be the man you're proud to call the love of your life, just like how I'm proud to call you mine. Please Lucy, all I need is for you to tell me you love me too. We can take a nice trip together and just spend the rest of our lives together. I love you."

Lucy found herself at a loss of words. There was this beautiful man standing in front of her, confessing his feelings after years of pushing them away. All he needed to hear were three simple words. Yet somehow she couldn't bring herself to speak them. She definitely felt them but there was just something that felt odd to her about saying them out loud. Her plane was scheduled to leave first thing in the morning, which mean that Lucy would be gone for a good three months in Paris. Ian had already waited so long for her, it didn't feel right to keep him waiting any longer. She just couldn't.

"Ian," Lucy could feel the tears desperately trying to break through. She wouldn't let them. She refused to let Ian see her cry, "I love you too. I love you so much. Everyday I love you more than the last, if that's even possible. But this...the timing and everything...it's just not gonna work. It can't. I've kept you wrapped around my finger this whole time without even noticing it and I'm really, really sorry for that. Which is why I can't do this to you anymore. I'm leaving first thing in the morning and you can tell me that you'll wait for me, but it won't change my mind. I need to let go, and so do you."

She turned swiftly on her heals and began to leave as fast as she could. Lucy bit back the burning sting of the tears until she got to her car. Then finally, it all came out. She was sure she had spent at least an hour crying before Lucy convinced herself she had to stop and drive home. Once she was in the safety of her own home, everything only got worse. The mere hours that were left of the night were spent crying and packing but definitely not sleeping. Every time Lucy closed her eyes to sleep, it was if all she could see was Ian's face. It was haunting her. She began to wonder if her decision would haunt her for the rest her life.

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