The Upside of Falling Back To You

chapter twenty two | 3... 2... 1... andd we're live!

I CAN'T FIND THE COFFEE.

No actually, the cabinets were bare. The fridge was bare. Ronan told me he barely stayed at his apartment so there really was no point for him to have food. For the holidays, he stayed at his parents, so if he did grocery shopping while he was here, it was for his parents.

But coffee. And did no one actually save any pizza?

Ronan was right about needing to fix his living room. Most of the party did take place in the penthouse rec room, but people went in and out of his apartment too - mostly to grab more food and have some space away from the loud music. And like Ronan mentioned before, there were actually quite a few couples looking to get away.

I take in another gulp of water. It wasn't coffee, but it actually kept me hydrated. I leaned against the counter, my heart feeling crushed because of the lack of food in my stomach.

And the lack of coffee.

"Guys, look at the snow!"

Ronan stuck his camera in front of the window, showing the view. He was way too excited showing everyone - I really don't think he ever got the chance to spend the winter months here.

"You don't get this view in LA."

A couple weeks ago, I was pretty sure Ronan Easton fell out of love with winter.

"And look at that view." I turn to the sound of Ronan's voice. He has his camera pointed in my direction. "Sad little Asteria wishing for a cup of coffee, all dressed up in the old merch that's been sitting in my closet."

I crossed my arms and leaned against the counter. "Why don't you go grocery shopping?"

"I stay here for, like, three days a year. I'm still a sucker for my mom's cooking - I'd rather be there."

"Curse you, Easton."

"Love you too, Martin."

He flips the camera around, spinning around as I get a glimpse of the two of us on the screen. A string of hearts float up onto the screen, comments from fans slowly scrolling through the bottom.

Ronan walks back into the living room and hops onto the couch. Grabbing the water bottle, I followed him in. The room was still partially a mess, but looked more like it was lived in rather than trashed. I watch as he struggles to balance his phone against a stack of books, taking a seat at the kitchen counter.

He picks up his guitar, plucking at the strings to make sure it was tuned. "So, I guess you're all wondering what's going on with my eye." He still plucks the strings of his guitar. "Asteria, wanna tell them the funny story from last night?"

"It wasn't actually funny, from what I remember." I run a hand through my hair, droplets of water spritzing onto the counter. "Maybe it was just funny to because we were too drunk. Honestly, I wouldn't think being accidentally punched in the face would be fun, especially if the friend so happened to have a diamond ring on that finger."

Ronan turned back to look at me, giving an odd look, as if that's all I could come up with. I wasn't sure if people could actually see me from that angle, but I shrugged in response.

"So, there's that mystery solved. Now, why are you so far away from me, Aster?"

My phone, which was charging on the counter behind me overnight buzzed.

LAILA - 1:25 PM; I don't remember punching Ronan in the face last night???

I type a quick response back, explaining the situation.

ASTER - 1:26 PM; Jesper was the one that actually gave him the black eye, need you as a cover story.

I place the phone screen side down onto the table and get up to sluggishly walk to Ronan, leaning against the couch, looking into the screen. I managed to catch a glimpse of a comment by Laila in the chatstream: sorry about that Ronan!!!