William stands in front of Alyssa's door, his hand hovering just inches away from the polished wood and trembling as he raises it to knock. His heart pounds against his ribcage, a heavy, fast, and loud rhythm like a chaotic symphony of anger and frustration. He scoffs and sniffs, vexed at himself for feeling the way he does. He doesn't want to feel this way, he doesn't want to feel so exasperated and hurt by Oliver's words because at the end of the day, they haven't actually broken up yet and he's just taking some time to himself.

Why then does he feel so distraught and miserable?

All he wants right now is to be back with Oliver and have those big muscular arms tighten around him like a safe, warm, and cozy bed... after Ollie has apologized of course, but it's definitely not happening any time soon since he's rejected each and every one of the man's calls.

He sighs, rubs his eyes and shakes his head. He takes in a deep breath and knocks on the door, willing himself to calm down and get it together before his friend sees him like this.

"Well damn, UberEats is kinda fas- William?" Alyssa pauses, eyes wide as she realizes that this isn't the pizza she ordered 10 minutes ago.

"Hey," William whispers, giving her a small wave. Her eyes hold many questions that William is not ready to answer, but he cocks his head and asks to be let in. Seeing her friend's bloodshot eyes, Alyssa allows him in without question and William lets out a huge sigh of relief.

Before she can ask what happened and why her friend is here instead of with his boyfriend, William makes a beeline for the couch and falls down face first. The added weight of feeling unimportant to the man he's come to love and adore makes him sink into the cloud couch. He sighs again, wondering how he had allowed himself to become so vulnerable, so dependent on someone who couldn't see his worth. "It wasn't a big deal," William scoffs at the very idea.

The space next to him dips slightly, and a hand falls on his shoulder, rubbing gently. It helps, but not in the way he wants it to. It's not that he doesn't feel slightly relieved at having a friend to comfort him, it's the fact that Oliver knows him in ways that Alyssa doesn't. It's the fact that Oliver is quick to reach his soft and warm spots and immediately alleviate whatever pain he feels. It's the fact that he's gotten so used to having Oliver take care of him that he can't help but notice how small Alyssa's hand feels compared to the hand he really wants.

"Will, what's going on?"

He sighs and lifts himself from the couch, crossing his legs as he sits up. "Oliver," he simply says, as if that's enough of an answer.

"I guessed that," his friend says. "You'll have to be more specific."

From the corner of his eye, William can see worry evident on Alyssa's face and he can already tell she's cooking up ways to cheer him up. If humans could see in 4D perspective, the wheels in her head will be extremely visible. He sighs again and throws his head back.

"Men are jerks."

"True, no offense."

"None taken," he sighs, rolling his eyes. "But seriously, I thought he was a good one. Remind me to never trust a man again, no matter how good-looking he is."

"You don't just like him for how good-looking he is though."

William rolls his eyes at that, hating how right she is. And why does she have to be so right all the time when William just wants to wallow in his sadness for a little bit? "My life would be so much easier if I only liked him for his looks," he sighs, stretching his arms as he closes his eyes. Oliver wasn't just a handsome guy; he was so much more than that. "Y'know, I actually liked him! I think I was falling for him."

"You were in love with him."

"Let's not go that far, Alyssa." William rolls his eyes, falling back on the couch and placing his arm over his eyes, keeping the light out like Oliver kept their relationship in the dark.

"It's true though. You wouldn't be sitting on my couch with tears in your eyes after promising me you weren't gonna cry over a man again," she points out. It feels harsher than she means, and William knows she doesn't mean any harm, it doesn't sting less nonetheless.

He doesn't dignify that with a response. Not because she's particularly wrong, or that he even thinks she missed the mark. He does love him and they both know it, but it just hurts even more knowing that despite loving Oliver, the latter sees their relationship as unimportant. "I just thought I was as important to him as he was to me, you know? But he didn't think it was a big deal to tell his best friend about me".

"Maybe he was scared?"

"That big guy? I doubt it. He was probably just hoping to fuck me some more and then dump me when a tighter ass comes around."

"Don't say that."

"What am I supposed to think?"

Alyssa sighs. "First, you should stop thinking of yourself as just a body," she says pointedly, narrowing her eyes when William meets her gaze. It's fun to talk about sex and all, but when her best friend says a man just used him for his body when he was so much more than that, Alyssa would be the first to remind him of that. "And secondly, I think you should hear him out before deciding you're done with him."

"Nah, I think I'm done with boys," William groans, crossing his arms. "For real this time."

"Y'know what, I was saving this for a lonely weekend but this works," Alyssa suddenly suggests. The brown-haired man looks up, eyebrows raised as his friend hurries over to the kitchen right across the living area. He's completely sure that what she's suggesting is probably the worst idea ever but if there's ever a time for bad ideas, this is it. William scrolls through his phone as he waits, ignoring yet another call from Oliver despite wanting more than everything to hear his voice. But he can't give in, because it would go against all principles. How will Oliver understand to not say shit like that again if William forgives him so easily? He breathes in, purses his lips, and takes a peek at the latest message from Oliver which asks for William's current location.

"Here we go!" Alyssa's cheer startles him slightly. He looks up, brown eyes lightening up at the big tub of ice cream she's cradling like a newborn. That's not so bad, he thinks, and then wishes he didn't jinx himself when he sees the bottle of hot sauce sitting on the top of the bucket of ice cream.

"Tell me you're joking."

"This will make you feel so much better, trust the process!"

"Hot sauce and ice cream? Let's be serious."

"When exactly have I ever been wrong with a food choice?" She questions. "Quickly!"

"Remember that time you put beans on pizza?"

Alyssa presses her lips together, wincing as the image of William barfing and almost throwing up at the sight of canned beans on his favorite cheese pizza crosses her mind. "Okay, so I may have misjudged my abilities, but that was ONE TIME William, and you need to let it go!"

"We're never letting that go. I'm telling your future children and grandchildren. It's gonna be that one story they hear at every Thanksgiving for real," he adds making Alyssa roll her eyes at the absurdity of it all.

"You still gotta try this though," she insists and gulps a spoonful of the vanilla ice cream with a drizzle of hot sauce.

William watches her warily, suddenly wondering how in the hell he managed to become friends with her. One thing about William is that he never plays with his food, or experiments with it for that matter. If it ain't broken, why fix it? A motto he continues to live with and not once has it ever failed him – except for the beans incident of course – and he isn't about to break his resolve now.

Still, seeing how Alyssa eats the ice cream, and the sadness he feels rearing its head once more, has him thinking otherwise. Fuck it, he decides and takes a spoonful, allowing her to drizzle a little bit of hot sauce on the white stuff and into his mouth it goes.

Admittedly, it's not as bad as William thinks, and he's ready for another spoonful, but preferably without the nasty ass sauce on it when someone knocks on Alyssa's door.

"Expecting someone?"

"Yeah I ordered pizza right before you came in," she says and William nods, going back to his phone and the hot sauce-free ice cream as Alyssa goes to the door.

"Um... Will?"

"Yeah?" His eyes remain on his phone as he's just received yet another message from Oliver, one he's about to archive when Alyssa continues.

"Don't get mad."

"What?" He finally raises his head and Alyssa takes that opportunity to throw the door wide open. William's mouth drops, his eyes widening as he notices the man in front of the door. Seconds stretch into eternity; each one filling with the unbearable weight of anticipation as brown eyes meet green ones. Before he can think straight, William's legs move on their own accord, quickly getting up to make a dash for Alyssa's bedroom, but Oliver's long legs meet him before he can even get halfway there.