DELEON LAUREN short.

Sadie wanted to move in. Alex wasn't completely against it...but it had been only about a month.

A month since their first date at the Chinese place, a month since he had to put his foot somewhere he shouldn't have, and fucked up Lauren again.

He reminded himself he and Lauren had only been dating a month and a week when she started staying at the apartment regularly.

Lauren wasn't one to make a big deal out of these kind of things. There wasn't a moving-in day, no huge boxes and hair tied back or a truck or any of that shit.

She had gradually made her place in the apartment, and started living there.

Sadie however, was talking about having her friend help with the boxes, and suggested that they wear sweatpants in case of dust and talking about which things would go into the closet and which things would be replaced.
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This made Mark more than a little uncomfortable. Needless to say, he missed Lauren and the days he could put salt into Alex's coffee without getting the dissaproving looks Sadie gave him.

When Lauren lived there, there was a curtain put up in the bedroom to separate Mark's side and Alex and lauren's, although Mark never really slept at the apartment much.

And if he did, he liked to stay in the living room, not wanting to intrude any privacy.

With Sadie, she wasn't considering a curtain or any of that shit, she was basically ousting Mark of his rightful place in the apartment that was essentially, his.

Mark had gotten to the apartment first, Mark helped Alex out with the rent, Mark should not be the one getting booted.

With Lauren, you would never know she was there if you weren't looking for her.

All her stuff was put away, or blended in with the backdrop.

Check the bills, and there was barely a jump in prices.

Sadie, was another story. Bright hot pink makeup bag to the side of the bathroom counter, lip gloss scattered next to the sink.

She had a whole little corner for her shoes.

Call him old-fashioned, but Mark liked the whole "family" feeling that came with roommates.

Lauren didn't break up the family feeling, she added to it, if anything.

Mark felt like a third wheel in his own home right now.

Now, Sadie wasn't a bitch. She was sweet, and friendly, and polite.

Boring is what Mark called it. He couldn't see why Alex would move on from such an intense thing to a girl that was just another face in the crowd.

There are no more dirty jokes or pranks or comparisons between Avatar and Hey Arnold.

Just Alex and Sadie and that extra guy thrown in.
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There was a small pile sitting on her bed. It was like Lauren just couldn't get him out of her fucking life once and for all.

A scarf, one pair of jeans, a watch, his favorite book, and more and more of his things that were left to linger in her room.

So now she had to make the whole trip back to that place.
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She turned the knob and it gave only halfway. She shifted her weight and pushed her shoulder into it while wiggling around the doorknob.

The push finally moved the door, as it creaked open. The apartment was quiet, the rumble of the heater and the buzz of the refrigerator everywhere.

Perfect. Now she could just drop his stuff off on the bed, leave and never see him.

Wow, this place looked so familiar to her. Like she'd been on vacation for the longest time.

But there were differences. In fact, there were even cardboard boxes at the end of the living. Oh my god. They were living together.

She sucked in a breath and ignored anything that would remind her of the feelings she'd had that night last month.

Lauren made her way through the kitchen, and made a right turn in the living room to the bedroom. She used one hand to get the door out of her way and saw a blonde smoking a cigarette out of the window.

"Oh, uh, I'm sorry, I should"

The blonde looked over from the window, her face completely puzzled. "Who are you?"

Lauren never gets flustered, hardly ever stumbles over her words, barely gets the urge to turn the other way. The deer in headlights routine just wasn't her thing.

"Oh, buh, uh, I'm, I'm noone" Lauren mentally slapped herself "I'll just get -"

"Hey Sadie, why's everything so quiet." The blonde yelped and and threw the cigarette out the window.

Lauren shut her eyes as the voice came up behind her. She could not believe that she was getting that deer in headlights feeling even stronger.

Just as Lauren turned to make a run for it, she ran into a chest, and two hands grabbed her shoulders, keeping her steady.

"Lauren?"

Alex's voice was so confused, and so scared.

She looked up into his eyes and had to draw a breath.

"You never picked these things up from my house..I couldn't just leave them there." She shoved the bag into his chest and he looked surprised, his hand fliding over hers, making her skin tingle.

Lauren's hands flew away, and she was quick to make it to the front door, Alex one step behind as usual.

Lauren swung open the door, finding herself unable to breathe, so close to everything that was taken from her.

Alex's tone seemed like the boyfriend caught doing something he shouldn't, the guy who begged for forgiveness, and it made Lauren feel even worse.

"Lauren, I-"

She looked him in the face, ready to slam this door and run.

"Goodbye, Alex"