Ryan wasn’t someone who often allowed people into his life without a little push and shove. He knew the isolation he thrived in wasn’t healthy, but it worked for him and that’s all that mattered. He had his sister Stevie and the rest of his family; that’s all he really needed.

Occasionally he’d spend time with the in laws. Stevie’s husband was a good man, and good company… even if he was bit too chaotic at times. His private life was all he knew in his desperate attempt to stop the media from dissecting his private life as though it was an experiment.

Or at least it was.

It’s been a couple weeks since Stevie called him and practically guilt-tripped him into playing land lord with her best friend. But how could he say no to her? The girl found her boyfriend of five years in bed with another woman. It hit close to home.

He avoided the apartment on the day she was scheduled to move in, spending extra time training at the court. He had no intention to make friends. In fact, he fully planned on avoiding the girl until she found a permanent place to stay.

He arrived late afternoon, and as he walked into the apartment, he almost cried. His perfect, spotless apartment of blacks, greys, and whites, had turned into the set of my little fucking pony.

His bookshelf had coordinated in colour, and had twice the amount of books from before. All of them romance books. It looked like a rainbow. There were hanging plants everywhere in varying shades of green, and there were colourful carpets laid out in the living room. None of them matching.

And then there was her. Sitting on the floor in the living room unpacking a box of magazines.