Aria's Addiction: Positive Ending

>You kneel down to the ball of tears and pull her up.
>Her eyes remain fixed downwards, as she awaits your verdict in shame and misery.
>Tears still run down her cheeks, her face glimmers with wetness in the dim light of the apartment.
>Finally breaking the silence, you let out a long sigh, and raise her head your hand so she looks you straight in the eyes.
"You promise me that you'll seriously change? And you're not just saying that?"
>Her expression turns from one of shock, to one of pure joy.
>A rare smile forms on her face, as you see a sparkle flash in her eye.
>"Yes! Yes! Yes! I promise! I'll do anything if it means I get to keep you."
"No. This is something you need to do for yourself."
>You set her down and she stands up straight, attention fixed onto you.
"I'll help you, but I'm not going to hold your damn hand all the way. I'm not giving you another chance for this."
>She nods in understanding at each and every word you say, the smile still visible on her lips.
>Tears start forming once more, and Aria pulls you in for a tight hug.
>You're slightly uncomfortable with the situation, seeing as Aria didn't wash her hand quite yet.
>But you wrap your arms around Aria as well.
>You feel Aria nuzzle your chest, content in her own little world.
>Aria breaks off the hug and looks back up at you with wet eyes.
>"Why did you choose to stay, Anon? I thought you were going to...."
>She sniffs in sadness before she continues.
>"You were going to leave me"
>You sigh once more before you explain your choice.
"To be honest, I was ready to leave to. But then I remembered all the fun times we had, the prom, the graduation..."
>Bringing up the graduation sends Aria into a small fit of giggles.
>"That was pretty fun."
"Exactly, and I thought to myself, that is the Aria I want to be around. Not the rude, and inconsiderate Aria, but you Aria."
>She looks down in shame as she recalls all the times she's treated you badly.
"I do actually believe you can change now, Aria. But it's something you need to do for yourself."
>You raise her head once more.
"But I'll be with you every step of the way. Because you're my friend."
>She breaks out into another fit of sobs, but this time it's out of joy.
>She initiates another hug, even tighter this time.
>"Thank you so much Anon! You mean everything to me, I don't know what I would do without you..."
"Well for starters one thing you WILL have to do without me is clean your bedroom"
>She steps back a bit and looks at you in confusion.
>"Huh?"
>You gently push her off and look her in the eyes.
"You want to change? We're going to start by having you clean this entire place up. I mean look at it!"
>Aria surveys the surroundings, and her face twists in sudden disgust.
>"Yea, I guess you're right....I did let it go."
>You head over to the closet in the hallway and pull out a dusty vacuum and hand it over to her.
"The time to show you can change starts now."
>She stands straighter and you can see determination broil in her eyes as sets off about her chores, while you sit back and admire her resilience.
>You honestly thought she would peter out about half an hour in and give up in defeat, but she stayed strong throughout the entire process.
>It was almost midnight by the time she had finished.
>Piles of trash bags lined the wall next to the door.
>Everything was nearly spotless.
>Aria has collapsed on the kitchen table, fighting sleep.
>You yourself were starting to feel pretty tired.
"You did good Aria. I'm proud of you."
>She slowly sits up and looks at you with tired, but happy eyes.
>"Thank you Anon.....that means so much to me"
>You smile at her and motion towards the door.
"I better get going."
>You turn to the door, but hear Aria call out to you.
>You face her again.
"Hmm"
>"Would you....stay with me tonight?"
>You let out a small chuckle and go to pick her up out of the chair.
>She was considerably light.
>You carry her through the hallway, being careful as to not bang her head against the wall.
>You make it into Arias newly cleaned room and set her down onto the bed.
>Pulling the covers over Aria, you make your way for the door once more, but are interrupted again by Aria.
>"...where are you goin..."
"I was going out to sleep on the couch and-"
>"Stay. You sleep here."
>You're surprised at her bluntness, but shrug as you comply.
"I'm going to borrow one of your sweats"
>Aria just grunts.
>You pull open one of her drawers and take out a pair of sweatpants.
>It feels slightly weird wearing something this is so....figure-hugging. But it feels nice.
>You turn off the light and slide into bed on the opposite side, pulling the covers over you.
"Goodnight Aria."
>You start to drift off to sleep, but then feel a body curl up next to you.
>You hear a small sigh as an arm wraps around you, pulling you closer.
>The last thing you hear before you fall asleep is Aria whispering.
>"Goodnight Anon...."