Author's Note: Refresher: this was what might've happened in my Red AU trilogy had I gone with "I Almost Do" instead of "Everything Has Changed". In other words, it takes place right after "Begin Again" :)

Day One-Hundred Sixty: I Almost Do by Taylor Swift

Summer came and Toby and I were still together and in love. I hadn't heard from Andrew in months. I was still getting over Brandon's death and it was still a sensitive subject, but I could get through going to the room where his nursery used to be without crying, needing a cigarette, or drinking.

Cassidy was growing up quickly, Tiffany and Shane were still planning their wedding, Hanna and Caleb were doing well, and Jason and Aria were still in the honeymoon stage, even with Cassidy.

Anyway, I was practically living with Toby. Although I had my own apartment, I usually opted to stay in his (whenever he was in town, and once or twice, even when he wasn't). I had my own drawer of things in his apartment and some of my clothes were there, too (mostly shirts from when I had worn his instead of my own shirts home).

But the winter came eventually and paradise was lost. We started fighting. The honeymoon stage was over for us. I just felt hostile and bitter and angry whenever we argued. The straw that broke the camel's back was when his ex-girlfriend came back from out of town (wherever that was) and I accused him of being around her too much and he thought I was insinuating something else.

He told me that he was leaving for New York and was staying there. Indefinitely. I told him that I was fine with that (but much angrier and probably with some curses here and there).

We didn't even get to spend Christmas together. It was then that I realized what I had lost.

Christmas night came around and I just stared outside of the window, thinking about him. He surely wasn't in Rosewood with his family. He was probably still awake from a long, work-filled week. He was probably sitting in a seat, looking out over the harbor, thinking about how he was alone. Maybe he was thinking about me, like I was thinking of him.

I was thinking about calling him, just to see how he was or what he was doing today and wishing him a Merry Christmas. But I couldn't do that. I was still too bitter and petty. It took everything in me not to call him. I was thinking with my heart over my head before my head tried to be rational, which it really wasn't.

I wished I could just run to him and spend Christmas in him.

I couldn't.

I almost got in my car and drove the hour and a half to New York.

Almost.

The next month and a half were quiet. But then, Valentine's Day came. I was alone.

I wondered, again, how Toby spent his Valentine's Day. I wondered if he moved on. Maybe he thought I moved on or hated him for leaving. To be honest, a little part of me did hate him for accusing me of calling him a cheater and leaving him on account of that.

Sometimes, when he sent me a message, I assumed it was by mistake and it wasn't meant for me or just some accident. I was always scared to answer; there's no hello without a goodbye. I didn't want to say goodbye again.

Maybe we were better off this way. I was a little sad, because the brief time we spent together in happiness was amazing. I never felt that way about someone before, I don't think. It was this tingly, airy feeling coursing through your whole body. I can't find words to describe the euphoria and the exhilaration of it all.

But now, I had to find out. I let my heart think over my head for once.

I got up to go to my car.

I actually did.

It took me some time to find where Toby was in New York. Apparently, he was staying in an apartment in Greenwich Village. It was a very building. I knocked on the door forcefully. I didn't come all the way to New York City for him not to be home.

He opened up a moment later and before he could slam the door in my face, I invited myself in. I slammed the door shut behind me.

"I need to talk to you."

He didn't argue this time. He just listened.

"Listen, I know we made a mess out of everything and it's probably better if we're apart, but I don't want to be apart. I was so happy with you when we were happy. It was some sort of happiness I can't even describe because it was that good. If we're being honest, sometimes you still pop up in my dreams. You're still with me and asking if you want to go the long distance with me and I say yes, 90% of the time."

"W-what about the other 10%?" he inquired hesitantly.

"The other 10% is a nightmare. An absolute nightmare. Every time it happens, it makes me want to come here, to New York, just to challenge that. I can't tell you how many times I've almost driven here," I confessed. "I almost did. And today, I just decided to do it. I just needed to tell you and I needed you to know."

I stood there for a moment. He just looked numb. I felt heartbroken in that moment. I sighed and began to leave, but as I opened the door, I felt it quickly slam shut. I realized that Toby had slammed it shut. I turned around to question him and just as I opened my mouth to speak, he pressed his lips onto mine.

"What was that?" I asked.

"I still think about you all the time. And even though we fought over Chanel and this was…horrible, I don't want to lose you either. I know the feeling I get when I'm with you."

I got a hopeful look on my face.

"It's love."

euphoric-acidosis: That does sound a bit clichéd, but I like it. It's alright. I'm confused 99.999999999% of the time so I suck more.

Guest:Thank yewwww (insert gif of Troian HERE).

AL3110:Aww, it's okay. I told you. I'm uploading it on the 27th. Um...okay. I don't listen to Ed Sheeran and I have no clue what the Maze Runner is about, but I'll take a wild guess and say that there's a maze. And a runner. Okay?

MilaMizz:*college. Wait, I didn't get that. Social anxiety is a bitch. Whatever. I hate it.

eveningshades1107:Yes, I have synaesthesia! It's the coolest things ever. I'll be listening to music in the car and I'll close my eyes and all I'll see are these swirls of colour and...ugh it's cool. And sometimes, I just...idk, I feel a colour. Like, not an emotion, per se, but an actual colour. I'll be feeling grey when I feel sad in a way that I can't describe. It's not exactly depression, but it's more than sadness. That's just the one that comes to mind. I'm in the middle of chapter three tonight (which I MAY HAVE finished, but my cousin and I were exchanging sarcastic posts on Tumblr and that consumed like an hour). It's awful. All I want in life is spona vs. Alison because Alison totally deserves it. Yeah, I probably do the latter all the time. Usually, I kind of-sort of make excuses for myself, but I'm not even excusing myself for describing what a character is wearing for like three paragraphs because IT PISSES ME OFF SO MUCH. Usually, I do stuff I hate when I'm just totally done with everything. I'm annoyed because I started reading that and I got the notification that Chapter 3 was up and I COULDN'T GET TO IT. And I STILL CAN'T GET TO IT. I'm so done.

The next one-shot is going to be Philosopher My Arse by Marina and the Diamonds. Angst, probably. Just a guess. -Kayson