we've come too far to give up who we are

we've come too far to give up who we are by sassy

I knocked on the door of Amelia's house, shifting my weight from one foot to the other as I stared at nothing, too lost in my own thoughts to pay attention to anything. I was back in LA after a well deserved weekend with Ar, I had less than a day to grab the last few things I had left in my house before it could be sold, then I had a meeting for what could become my new project and I wished I could stop to say hi to my family too but I had found myself somewhere else instead.
"Already here? It took you a few months only!" Amelia's voice woke me up from my daze.
I moved my gaze up her body quickly until finding her eyes and her signature smirk, "If you're complaining I can go away." I said raising one eyebrow at her.

She rolled her eyes dramatically and grabbed me by my sleeve to force me to walk in, "Oh no way Seb, only god knows how long it would take you to show up again." She sighed and closed the door behind us before smiling more genuinely.
"Forever probably." I shrugged, knowing that I was good at planning my work, but when it came to my personal life I wasn't just as efficient. Except with Aria.
"You're the worst friend ever." She sighed again as she led the way, motioning to follow her through the hallway.
"You're not any better." I smirked at her back, her head tossing over her shoulder and a glare making me smirk only wider. "If only looks could kill..."
She turned to me and walked backwards as we stepped into the living room, "Don't challenge me."
I shot her an amused look, "I'm terrified." I said flatly then took a seat on the couch, adjusting my back against a cushion as my eyes scanned the place. The whole room was kind of a mess, but what caught my attention was a pair of boxers. Apparently she had a new boy to toy with. "So, what did I miss? And I suggest you to use your time with me wisely and tell me everything I need to know." I said quietly as my gaze moved back to her but didn't stop studying her expression. She seemed...relaxed, which was kind of weird, considering how feisty she usually was.
Amelia furrowed her brows, "What are you talking about Seb?"
"I'm talking about what has to be a new boy in your life..." I trailed off, going straight to the point. The thing I liked the most about our friendship was the teasing and what better subject than her love, or sex, life?
"What new boy?" She asked, blood draining from her face and leaving her a little pale and that was something I rarely saw on her. She always had witty comebacks ready or, sometimes, insults. A silent Amelia was as shocking as a silent Aria.
"I mean the one who's boxers are on the ground over there." I nodded to the corner where the mysterious boxers were left. "And don't tell me it's Tom's because I saw the tabloids."
She scoffed, "You saw and you don't call your best friend?" She eyed me, trying to change the subject once again, "I was having a mini meltdown and you were off in paradise with my sister. Not very nice." She crossed her arms over her chest in a defensive way.
I smirked, her behavior amusing me because she seemed to be over whatever drama had been going on already, "Really?"
She nodded, "Yes, I was really upset!" She told me honestly, "When you were looking at the tabloids, did you happen to miss the ones of me stumbling shitfaced out of the bar?" She asked, her eyes on me.
I thought about is. Tabloids were something I never read, the only exception had been a few weeks before where Erin had delivered a pile of that trash to show me that Aria hadn't started filming yet. And that was when I had seen the gossip about Amelia too but, obviously, I had been too deep in my own problems to think about Amelia too. "I guess I missed those ones… but obviously you've seemed to jump back pretty quick." I grinned, "Not that I doubted that, haven't you always?"
"Because I dump them!" She exclaimed, getting upset and looking a lot more like the girl I knew, "They don't usually dump me… So I was a little upset." She sighed dramatically.
"So who is this guy that gives you enough pleasure to bounce back?" I kept smirking, determined to find out who was making her all hot and bothered. The fact that she hadn't confessed already? Weird enough to get me curious.
"It's nobody." She shrugged me off, "Do you want a drink?" She said in the untempth attempt to change the subject.
"Sure, but that doesn't mean I'm going to stop asking." I laughed.
She groaned, "Does it matter?!" She exclaimed, sitting next to me on the couch.
"Yes! You know why? Because I'm your best friend and I'm the final judge of any guy who wants you…" I said, because after all I cared about her and no matter how hard she could be to handle she deserved to get a decent guy, "Plus I want to tease you." I added, sounding more like my usual self.
She rolled her eyes, "It doesn't matter, honestly."
"I'll give you this: you have kept it out of the press, which is hard for anyone, but is it because he's famous." I tried, reasoning out loud. When she kept quiet, I knew I was on the  right route, "He is! Okay, so he's not the usual loser. The guy in your last movie already dumped you, so I think we can rule him out."
She glared, "I don't remember you being such an asshole."
"It's because we haven't seen each other in a while. You'll grow accustomed to it soon."
She rolled her eyes, "If you don't disappear again."
I threw my arm over her shoulder, "You know I'm dedicated to the movies I'm making, it's not personal."
"Sure." She smirked, "Is that why I'm sure you spent the weekend with my sister?"
"She's my girlfriend and that's different. Oh and don't try to change the subject, I'm still guessing."
She shook her head, "Well, you're never going to guess it."
"Don't challenge me, you know I hate losing." I shot her an amused look and tightened the hold I had on her until she was squirming, "I always win actually."
"Blah blah, you're the usual conceited ass." She snorted and pushed me away, pouting full force and looking a lot like Aria.
I let go of her eventually, shaking my head as my grin didn't fade, "Where's my drink?" I asked instead, ignoring the insult because she didn't really mean it. And it wasn't so far from reality.
She groaned again as she got up, stomping her feet to the way to the kitchen, "What do you want?" She said loud enough for me to hear.
"You should know me better." I answered back, sliding my hand into the pocket of my jeans to fish out my phone and I sent a short text to Aria to remind her to wear panties since she wasn't with me anymore. I grinned to myself, already missing her and wondering how long I would have to wait to see her.
"You look like an idiot." Amelia cut into my thoughts as she walked back into the room, handing me a beer.
I grabbed the bottle from her hand, taking a gulp as I glared at her, "If you're still so bitter then whoever that guy is he's not fucking you in the right way." I retorted.
"Trust me, he does perfectly." She sighed and slumped next to me, grinning widely.
"I'm not interested in your sexual life but I admit that I'm curious about the mystery guy." I smirked back at her, not giving up. If I wanted to find out about him? I would, it was just a matter of time and the more she refused to tell me the more stubborn I'd become.
She ignored me as she glanced at my phone, "Was it Aria?" She asked instead, changing the subject and this time I let her.
I nodded, eyeing her suspiciously, "Yes." I answered and left it at that, not sure about what else to say since their relationship was complicated at least and I was wise enough to step between them, mostly because I knew that in the end I'd always be on Aria's side if I were forced to take sides.
She looked lost in a thought and for once she kept quiet a few minutes, her face serious and her eyes lost staring at nothing. "I miss her." She said eventually as she shrugged, her gaze back on me.
I was beyond surprised and in all honesty I didn't really know what to say. "You know the rules." I shook my head, refusing to start that conversation. Aria was a taboo and I liked things to remain that way until their relationship would get better. If that would ever happen.
"You and your fucking rules." She groaned and rolled her eyes, looking a lot more like the Amelia I knew, "I just want to know if my sister is fine..."
"She's with me, doesn't that answer that question?" I asked as I grinned at her, rolling the bottle between my hands while I waited for the insult to come from her pretty mouth in 3, 2, 1...
"Last time I checked you were kind of an asshole." And there it was, like I knew it would.
"Last time you checked was forever ago and we were both young and naive." I said back, not bothered by her words and smirking wider instead to make the moment light. It was cute that despite everything she was ready to defend her sister, even if years had passed and that past seemed so far now.
She let out a chuckle and gave me an amused look, "You've never been naive Seb." She said before stretching her arm out and reaching for my beer, making me raise one eyebrow. "Maybe she was and you took advantage of her."
"Shut up, you know nothing. She was more than willing to let me." I said simply, my grin not fading.
"Gross." She made a face then took a sip, licking her lips, "So are you back together...for real?" She asked, looking curious.
"Yes." I answered simply, never a fan of talking about my personal life even if it was with her.
"Are things serious?" She went on, ignoring the blank look on my face.
"I'll hand you the wedding invitation myself when the time will come." I groaned. Sure I was crazy about Aria and my plans were to keep her with me for a long time, but I was still me and I had to do everything on my terms. When she kept silence with a shocked expression on her face I nudged her side, "I'm joking."
"Never say never." She winked at me, obviously amused.
It was my time to ignore her now and what better subject to bring up than her new guy. "Do I know him?"
"Who?" She asked, blinking her eyes at me and looking taken aback.
"The boxers guy." I smirked, watching her purse her lips together and keep silent. "I take it as a yes."
"Shut up." Amelia narrowed her eyes at me. Was that supposed to make me feel threatened? I was used to so much worse.
"So I know him… and you're not telling me who he is because…" I trailed off thinking about the possible reasons behind her weird behavior, "Because I don't like him?" I suggested.
"You don't like a lot of people Seb, don't be surprised." She shrugged.
I nodded, she had a point. Not that it mattered to me, I wasn't interested in people and their opinion. "You're right, I don't… So I must really not like him, especially if you're keeping this such a secret."
"No Seb." She deadpanned, looking at me. She looked more and more uncomfortable as minutes passed, while I started getting worried.
"Then tell me!" I exclaimed, tired of waiting.
She shook her head no like a baby. "It's a secret." She told me, "We promised we wouldn't tell anyone and you especially would give me grief about it."
"How badly do I hate this guy?" I smirked, guessing that she was just making this thing bigger than it was. "It can't be worse than how much I hate Gavin." I joked. But when she swallowed and didn't say a word, trying to avoid my gaze, I gradually stopped laughing, "Amelia…" I trailed off, eyeing her and praying to be wrong for once.
"What?" She said with a shrug as my eyes widened.
"Gavin?!" I exclaimed, not knowing if starting laughing again since that guy was a living joke, "You're fucking Gavin?!"
"NO!" She said loudly, her face a little too red for me to believe her.
"Oh my god, you are! How?!" I set my drink at down and stared at her.
"I was drunk and he helped me home so I wouldn't kill myself…" She trailed off, "I woke up at his place and I was feeling like shit over Tom… so I proposed we just have sex for the hell of it…"
"You hate him!!" I tried to make her reason but in the back of my head another kind of thought was starting to come to life. If that loser was now sleeping with Amelia, he'd finally stop obsessing over my Aria.
She smirked, "Yeah, but he's really good in bed."
"Disgusting." I sneered, swallowing the rest of my drink in one gulp, "What about Aria?" I looked at her, guessing that she had to know that her twin sister and her so called best friend were sleeping together now.
"Doesn't know anything about this and please Seb, don't tell her." She begged me.
"I'm not lying to her." I glared at her, knowing better than keeping a huge thing like that away from her.
"I'm not asking you to, but just don't say anything. Please." She pleaded, "If you're my friend AT ALL, you won't. What Gavin and I have going on is going well and I don't want you to mess it up…"
"I can't." I said simply and shrugged because it was that simple to me. Aria and our relationship was my priority and considering how long and how hard had been for us to finally make things work there was no way I'd let something like that ruin the balance between us.
"I'm begging you here Seb, just...please." She tried again, grabbing my arm and giving it a tug as she stared at me through her thick lashes.
I shook my head once again, glancing at her from the corner of my eye, "I'm sorry Amelia but I can't keep such a thing to myself."
She snorted, her mood changing from pleading to annoyed in a second, "You just want to ruin what I have with Gavin." She spat as she glared at me.
I raised one eyebrow, half amused and half not really, "Do you really think that low of me?" I asked quietly. If she did? I wouldn't really care, it'd only mean that she got me all wrong. I was able to be an asshole, that was true, but I never was with the people I cared about, not on purpose at least.
"You hate him, you said that yourself." She crossed her arms against her chest, trying to make a point, "So you'll be more than happy to sabotage him, even if it means that I'll be involved in that too."
"You're wrong, he's too irrelevant and I have no desire to stick my nose into his life." I let out a laugh and shook my head, not believing to my own ears, "You instead...well I'm sorry that you decided to have this thing with him, but if you're happy about it then go for it. Just be careful."
She blinked her eyes at me, looking taken aback, confused even, "But-"
"You love your sister right?" I cut her off before she could start arguing again. Sure I knew how to use words when I had to prove myself right, logic was my best ally.
"Of course I do!" She spat, looking almost offended by my question. It was rhetorical one of course.
"Then how do you think she'd take it if she knew that both you and her so called best friend are keeping your little affair secret even from her?" I cocked my head to the side as I stared at her, her expression a thoughtful one, "I mean sure, she'd get mad at me if she found out I knew too, but for some reason I have the feeling that she'd forgive me. You and Gavin instead? I don't know about that."
She tossed her head on the back of the couch, running her hands through her hair as she glanced up at the ceiling, "F.uck."
"Tell her, she'll appreciate the sincerity." I said as I inched closer to the edge of the couch, turning my head to look at her, "If you won't, I will."
"But that's a fucking threat Seb." She snorted, glaring at me again.
I shrugged, not interested in giving a name to my words, "Call it whatever you want, I won't let this thing blow in my face and cause a fight with Aria. I'm sorry Amelia, I have to protect my relationship." I finished and got up, offering her my hand.
She grabbed it and got up, looking brooding, "Yeah I guess so." She said back with no conviction.
"I'm not seeing her until the next week, this is the time I'm giving you. It's all I can do." I sighed, not liking the idea of keeping this from Ar even for a day but I had no other choice and it wasn't a thing I could tell her at the phone anyway. But fuck I hated everything about being involved in this. I wrapped my arms around her in a hug, kissing her forehead before pulling away and starting for the door, "Think about it."