come back, be here, EDDIE ROUNDTREE.

TRACK 11 / ALREADY OVER.

She was thankful that she had accidentally taken a sip from the wrong cup, instead of her coffee, she ended up spitting out the water that she used to clean her brushes and lead them to forget the topic at the cost of Odette becoming embarrassed due to her mistake.

That didn't mean Odette couldn't stop thinking about it to the point where she was considering just telling him. It wasn't as if she couldn't handle his rejection if that were to happen. She had gone through enough auditions as a child to be able to brush it off. Odette was also aware that it wasn't the worst outcome that could happen. No, the worst option was if he decided that despite Odette knowing she'd reassure him that she was perfectly capable of swallowing her feelings and pretending like she wasn't in love with him, that Eddie wouldn't want to be around her anymore. Staying just friends, that she could live with, but not having him in her life, that she couldn't.

The few months they were apart, Odette hated it. Putting aside her feelings of how she had broken his heart, she had missed talking to him. Sure, James had been good company, showing her around New York and pulling her out of the hole she had dug herself into. But she didn't think anyone, platonic or romantic, could ever compare to Eddie and her brother didn't count because he had known her the longest. Eddie just knew her, even in ways she didn't; being able to look past the mask she constantly put on, something she once hated, but had grown to love. . . And then hate again because Odette didn't think that anyone else would be able to know her like he did.

And yet despite that fear, Odette knew that she wanted to tell him regardless, the hope that despite the signs, his feelings towards her hadn't changed.

Except the universe was throwing obstacles at her that made her convinced that someone was trying to tell her that it was a bad idea. With Odette working hard on her current project and Eddie being busy in the studio recording, any spare time they had, it never aligned with the other person. And even then, getting him alone was difficult with he and Warren seemingly being attached at the hip all of a sudden and a rotation of Ivy, James and Romeo being in Odette's apartment, there was always someone present.

When he had appeared at her door with a frazzled look on his face, she thought that maybe now was her chance. Only for that to be shattered the moment Warren pushed past the both of them and collapsed face first onto her couch.

"Um. . . Everything okay? Stressful day?" Odette asked, stepping aside to let Eddie in.

"You have no fucking idea," he replied, crossing his arms over his chest as he stood beside her─ close to the point where it left Odette questioning their proximity. "Daisy didn't show up, so we just recorded without vocals and Billy was pissed off the entire day─"

"You know you could've called me, and I would've gone to find her, right? Like it's Daisy, it's not like she would've skipped town."

"We knew that if she were with you, we'd know, either with you dragging her to the studio or calling. We waited hours and Teddy tried to get in contact with her, after Billy called Teddy, he just told us to go home."

"And you're here," Odette said, nudging his chest with her shoulder. "But that doesn't explain why Warren's eating my couch."

"Well, considering you're part of the reason why Romeo and James got their shit together, I figured you'd be more helpful than me."

"I'm sorry─ You know? Since when?" She asked, placing her hand on his chest as stared at him with widened eyes. It wasn't as if she was worried, because she knew that if Eddie had a problem with it, it would've given him a one-way ticket out of her and Romeo's lives. She was just more surprised that Romeo told him.

"Your brother and I bonded when you were in New York, princess," Eddie told her smugly that she couldn't help but roll her eyes at him. "But you don't need to get jealous, you're still my favourite."