Another Love | C.C

•Ch.33•

A couple of days had gone by and Ava was now staying at her parents' house. She was still meeting up with Jessica everyday and it had been almost a week since she had come back to London.

She hadn't exactly made amends with her parents, but things were civil enough where she felt happy enough to sleep in her own bed.

Tonight she had plans with Jessica, they were gonna go to a karaoke night with Megan and Rachel. This was something they often did together once they all turned 18, and it was the last thing they did as a 4 before Jessica and Ava went to LA for two months, before everything changed.

Ava had just finished getting herself ready when she decided to check her phone again. She hadn't heard from Crawford in days. He never replied to her message from the other day and she presumed it was because he was mad at her for leaving so suddenly and unexpectedly. However, it did bother her a lot.

She sighed and shoved her phone in the back pocket of her jeans before heading downstairs.

"I'm going out, I'll be back later tonight" she told her parents who were sat on the couch in the living room.

"You sure? Or are you gonna find another country far away to move to?" Her mother sassed. She was a stubborn character, and even though deep down she was relieved her daughter was home, she still felt that constant anger towards her for leaving.

Ava rolled her eyes and sarcastically smiled in her direction.

"Bye"

And just like that, she was out of the door and walking down the familiar streets of her London Neighbourhood.

She arrived at the karaoke bar and found her friends sat at a table in the far corner. She joined them and was greeted with hellos and hugs. After they settled they had ordered some drinks and fell into conversation.

"How's home life?" Megan jokes. Ava laughed and rolled her eyes.

"Nothing new, my mum still hates me" she chuckled softly, trying to make the subject light and not negative. The girls laughed lightly also and clapped the guy who had just finished singing.

"Ava you should go up there" Jessica smirked at the girl. Ava's eyes widened as she began to shake her head vigorously.

"Nooo, no no no, not me. Nope"

"Oh come one, why not? You used to sing all the time. What changed that?" She chuckled lightly.

Ava sat silently for a moment, realising the truth.

"America changed that"

The girls stared at her sympathetically for a moment and Jessica felt bad for even mentioning it.

"Microphones free! Who's next?!" The presenter asked through the microphone.

Ava debated it for a moment before pushing herself out of her chair and heading over to the stage.

"I'll do it" she told the guy who was stood hopelessly waiting for someone else to volunteer.

"Great! Go tell that guy over there what song and then when you're ready you can start" he told her, pointing over to a guy in a booth controlling all the music on his Mac. She nodded with a smile and headed over to the other guy.

"Hey what song?" He asked her happily.

"Uhhh- She's so gone" She thought on the spot. The guy smirked and nodded.

"Nice" he told her before vigorously typing on the laptop. Ava smirked and skipped back over to the stage, stepping up on to it and grabbing the mic from the stand.

The girls started to cheer for her as the music started and she felt her heart rate pick up slightly.

It had been a long time since she sang. She had know idea how this was gonna go but in the heat of the moment, she didn't care.

"Insecure, in her skin. Like a puppet a girl on a string" she began to sing, catching the attention of many.

"Home away, learnt to fly, if you want her back gotta let her shine"

"So it looks like the jokes on you, cos the girl that you thought you knew...she's so gone! That's so over now! She's so gone! You won't find her around! You can look but you won't see the girl I used to be cos she's, she's so gone"

"Here I am, this is me. And I'm stronger than you ever thought I'd be"

Ava continued the song, the crowd were cheering her along and enjoying it all. She got so caught up in it all it was as if she was in her own world.

"So long, she's so gone" she finished the song. She felt amazing. She felt as if her true self was back. Not the girl who grew up in London, but also not the girl she grew to be in America. The girl she somehow lost in between. It was like in those three minutes everything had fallen into place and she knew exactly what she wanted and who she wanted to be.

As everyone cheered for her she laughed nervously and glanced around the room. However, her gaze landed on someone she didn't expect to see, stood exactly in the doorway.

Crawford.

She glanced at the girls who had already spotted him standing there. They gestured for her to go over, so she did.

She hopped off of the stage and headed over to her boyfriend, feeling a mixture of emotions. Him feeling exactly the same.

"Crawford?"

"That was quite a song..." he trailed off.

"Yeah? Felt like the right thing to sing" she muttered. He remained silent and stared down at her as he shoved his hands into his pockets.

"What are you doing here?" She questioned him.

"You think I wouldn't come out here after finding out where you were?" He questioned her, wondering why she would almost doubt him.

"You-"

"Weren't supposed to know, I know" he finished her sentence for her.

"Who told?"

"Tara. But, that doesn't matter. I'm not the only one who came out here to see you. Quite a few of us did, but right now I'm the only one here" he explained to her.

"You didn't respond to my texts..." she told him glumly.

"I was mad at you. And then I thought about things and realised how I understand. I mean, I moved from Canada to LA at 18. I know Canada is a lot closer but, I still did it. I can't imagine what I'd feel if my family were the way yours were with you or if I moved having to make a whole bunch of new friends all over again. I get it. But, I want to remind you that we're you're family also. We always will be" he reassured her, wanting her to know exactly how he felt.

She sighed as she listened to his words.

"D-do you wanna go somewhere? And talk?" She asked the boy with hope, knowing he would always be the only person who fully understood her.

He sent her a soft smile and nodded.

"Of course"

"Okay" she whispered and smiled slightly.

"Let me just go say goodbye to the girls, one sec" she told him before rushing off to explain where she was going.