Compromise.

I knew this was coming. I sighed. "I know. Look, today was fucked and I just want some time to reflect."

Elizabeth looked at me for the first time since arriving. "I hope you're not planning anything other than that tonight."

Her cryptic statement left me confused as I studied her body language, trying to find a clue as to what it meant. She noticed my curious expression.

"The music. I know what this song is about. I hope you're not planning something bad."

"Oh... no. No! Of course not! I just... I don't know. Video games weren't doing their thing for me so I decided to listen to some music instead, that's all."

Elizabeth frowned. "Then why is it just on repeat one song?"

Shit, I just realized that for the sixty seconds they had entered the house, the song had ended and was already back to fifteen seconds into the beginning again.

"It's okay, I understand Ian," Talia spoke up. "Some times even the most depressing stuff actually helps when you realize your situation isn't as bad as the one in the song."

Well, in my case that wasn't entirely true, but I didn't feel like revealing the true reason I picked the song so I just nodded. "Yeah, don't worry Elizabeth. I'm not suicidal."

Her expression softened after hearing this "Okay good. Sorry for assuming. It's just with everything that happened today -" She stopped short when she realized that what she was about to say might not be something I wanted to hear or discuss.

Talia had less concern with my stance on the matter and picked up where Elizabeth left off. "Look, Ian. I get it. I really do. I will never forget my first lover either. But what you are doing is tearing Stephanie apart."

A small part of you thinks - good at that last part. Now she knows how I feel. But you keep silent as Talia continues.

"Can you stop being selfish for a minute and try to see it from her perspective? She has had a crush on Simon for a long time. Now she finally has a chance to explore this crush with him and as far as anyone can tell, it's going really well. She's even making him wait to have sex because of how much you mean to her. She is denying herself any release because a part of her heart is still hung up on how great you've been to her. Do you really want to destroy this relationship because you're jealous?"

Destroy it? I would destroy anything to be with Stephanie. I would risk life and limb for her. I would nuke the fucking Sun and damn the fate of all humanity for her. Why couldn't she see that? My face darkened as my thoughts kept going while Talia berated me.

Elizabeth, always the caring and sensitive one, noticed my body language. The rest of us often thought she and Stephanie just had some mind-meld from being BFFs as long as they can remember, but the truth was that Elizabeth was also just really good at reading people's emotions and body language without a word spoken.

"I'll take it from here, Talia." Elizabeth stepped forward in Talia's place and took my hands in her's. "We're only teenagers. None of us are really all the wise beyond our years so take what I say with a grain of salt. I can see what she truly means to you and on many levels, it's wonderful." She had a slight sadness in her eyes as she said this. "But I'm worried that it's also crossing a line. There's a difference between love and obsession. Unfortunately, when either has affected us, we're usually not able to make that distinction - especially in the heat of the moment or under duress. This isn't just about the two of you. We're all best friends here and if something were to drive a wedge between you, it will affect all of us. Things have been so great these last few months and I know Stephanie feels the same. She has feelings for you that she hasn't sorted out yet but if you push too hard, she'll slip away."

My rage was finally starting to subside listening to Elizabeth. "So do you think you can compromise? For her? For now, just ask one of the rest of us to prom to give Stephanie some time to sort her feelings out. I'll talk to her about it in a couple days and if she stands firm in her decision about Simon, you should respect her decision and cease this emotional ****. If she chooses you, then consider yourself extremely lucky. I'm not sure many girls would give you that chance."

Still not the outcome I'd like as the option of rejection was still on the table but now that I had cooled off, I realized Elizabeth was right. "But what if she chooses me? What happens to one of you? I would feel equally bad just ditching one of you. You girls are my best friends."

"We'll be fine, silly. I can't speak for Corrine or Amy specifically, but I have no less than five offers awaiting my decision. I'm sure they have just as many and while time is getting tight, it's not like prom is tomorrow or even next week. There's still time to make adjustments."

As she finished explaining this, I realized Elizabeth was truly a great friend. Not only did she find the right words to mellow me out (even if it was partially a re-hash of what Talia said), but she also helped come up with the solution I could live with for now. I swear I almost felt that if it weren't for Stephanie, I might actually prefer Elizabeth.