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alovesreading · 10 months

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Constant Repeat | Part 14

Summary: Having worked at Focus Creeps for a year, Ella knows that as a production assistant and part of the crew, there’s one important rule: don’t interact with the talent unless it’s needed. But once she meets Arctic Monkeys, and the recording of the music videos for their upcoming fourth studio album starts, the band seem to become her exception. Not only because they treat her more like a friend than just someone else they’re working with but when Alex continuously makes her blush with his flirting, so enthralled by her that he forgets he’s got a girlfriend, Ella finds herself growing closer to him. As videos are filmed, wrapped and edited, the friendship lines become blurry. Situations unfold, secrets are told and others are kept under lock and key, but how long can Alex and Ella endure being stuck in each other’s minds on constant repeat.

Word Count: 20.5k

Story Warnings: Throughout this series there will be suggestive talk, jealousy, cheating, alcohol and drug use, angst, smut.

A/N: Hi darlings!! I'm so excited to post this but I'm equally as gutted because this is the last part of Ella's UK trip :'( Our girl is going back to LA in no time, but first there's a fun little music video to be recorded hehehe. I hope you all enjoy this thoroughly, I'm so excited to see your reactions to this because it gets a little wild... Anyway, enjoy!!! xx

Masterlist

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'Howl At The Moon' welcomed them warmly that Monday afternoon. The crew had gotten there around a quarter to five and even though the pub had allowed them to start their recording process at five, they had let them come into the place and settle as they told the few customers in there that a production would be taking place so they had to leave shortly.

Some people asked the reason why they had to go and after being told that it was a video for a band—keeping it hush about it being for the Monkeys so it wouldn't bring unnecessary attention and halt the production—they decided to stay and be part of it as extras.

Thankfully, the extras they had actually hired through a casting process arrived just in time, merely ten minutes passed after the time agreed on and they were gathered in the middle of the pub and listening to Ella's instructions.

Ben had helped her place the extras around the pub and handing out the drinks that served as props for the video. The staff of the pub were being so lovely, Ella was thanking people left, right and center. It was always so nice to have people working so well with you whilst in the process of recording, everything flowed easier and it made it smoother to get the product desired without stressing about the littlest thing going wrong setting off everything else fucking up.

The band had arrived about fifteen minutes after the clock struck five, making chatter break out inside the pub as they got recognized. They were being dotted by their stylist though, so they couldn't be approached just yet as they got a slight hint of makeup put on and handed over jackets that would go along with their current aesthetic.

When the band was ready, Ella and Ben managed to get everyone's attention so that they could instruct everyone on what they were going to do now that they were going to start recording. They wanted a few shots of the band just chatting by the bar as everyone else did their own thing around them.

Tyler was playing with a few shots as practice, just trying to see which angle could capture the atmosphere better. Ella helped him prop himself by the pool table so they caught people walking around, drinking, playing pool and the band being the main attraction just drinking and talking by the bar.

Cameron was placing lights around the place, the best he could so that it would look good on camera, creating a better atmosphere through the screen. Margaret was fixing the mic's settings, testing it so she was sure she was capturing the noise around the place if it was needed to be used at any moment of the music video.

Ben had placed the band right in the middle of the bar, extras sitting beside them to crowd the shot up. They had given the lads some instructions, but they knew they just had to act like usual when they were hanging about in a pub. Alex had been given a prop phone, less technologically advanced compared to the iPhone he actually had, with a small touchscreen and an actual button keyboard.

As expected, Ella had to explain to him how to use it because he seemed adamant on keeping his 'texting' as real as possible. That alone had taken about five minutes and it had the lads chuckling when Alex hesitated when Ella asked him if he had understood.

Lamie got to the pub just a few minutes before they were about to roll, Ben had Jamie and Nick aside telling them they were in charge of handing out the shots to Alex and Matt and referencing the best way for them to turn around so the camera could capture it, so Alex and Matt were the ones who got to greet her along with Ella.

Ella thanked her for being there and allowed her to just watch as they filmed for they were doing all the shots inside the pub first. Lamie had liked that she could enjoy the production first before having to stand in front of the camera, it was less nerve wracking when she didn't have to be the first to be recorded.

They started recording the extras mingling around the place, some shots showcasing the establishment and shots of the bant chatting by the bar from afar. They recorded multiple of those, half an hour going by before starting to record the band from up close and purely focused on them.

Another half hour went by as they focused every frame on the band, Ella and Ben praising the Monkeys' performances so Alex got more confident in front of the camera as the minutes went by. There were moments when one of them would burst out in giggles, having the cameras too close to them and seeing Ella attentively watching their every move had them breaking character but it worked to loosen them up and make the shots more natural.

It was funny seeing Alex act drunk, but he was doing it great. He had been stumbling a bit more with every shot and when they deemed the last one they'd captured of him stumbling his way to the bathroom the best, they allowed everyone else to take a break whilst the crew followed Alex into the bathroom.

Lydia had managed to score a catering company that got the crew, the talent, the staff and the extras food to snack on, from fruit like watermelon and grapes to small sandwiches, and loads of water bottles and coke cans.

So no one really complained as the crew took a bit inside the bathroom, setting lights up to aid the dim light that the place already had and getting the best position to capture Alex in front of the sink and his reflection on the mirror for the scene.

They got many shots of him strangely looking at himself in the mirror, almost like he was questioning his own reflection, as one does when they're under the influence. Ella had a vision of what this could be and she was going to rely on their talented editing department to get her vision come to life.

Coming back to the main area, they had everyone go back to their original places and that alone took about ten minutes, making sure that everyone and everything was in place so it wouldn't differ from the latest shot they got there.

Alex was recorded stumbling back to the band, just in time for them all to take shots. The shots were just water, ensuring they stayed in their senses throughout what promised to be a long recording day, so it was easy for them to down them over and over for the different angles they captured.

Jamie had messed with Alex in one of the last takes they got of the shots scene, asking the bartender for an actual shot of tequila which the singer didn't even think twice about downing, not having even a second to take a whiff of the spirit which ended up with him coughing. He played it cool for the camera though, and it ended up being Ella's favorite take they'd gotten.

After those frames, it was time for Alex to go full into his drunk act. They used camera movement to aid in the effect of his haziness and had him stumbling and wobbling around multiple times as he stepped around the place.

Lamie was meant to come in the next shot, flirting with some lad by the door of the pub. It was all meant to be a figment of the imagination of Alex's character so it was just a brief frame but they had to get Lamie ready so Ella had the Monkeys' stylist help her with that. They had a selection of clothes they had chosen back home when working with their costume and design department so Lamie got dressed quite quickly, her makeup taking a bit longer as it had to look smokey but clean.

In that time, they allowed everyone to have another break which lasted up until Ella had finished her quick instructions for Lamie.

Thankfully that scene was shot and wrapped over in just ten minutes, and then they went back to Alex stumbling around as he walked past where she supposedly had been.

The last take they did was of Alex walking out the door and into the street, getting about ten takes of it just in case and having him do different clumsy steps every time. When Ella yelled cut, she had a brief talk with Ben and they agreed that was it for the pub, so they wrapped it up and everyone inside clapped.

All of that had taken about three and a half hours so they had everyone take whatever they wanted from the catering table after being thanked for their job as the crew gathered their gear.

Some of the extras were staying for a few more scenes afterwards but most of them were due to leave. And because now the band wasn't really needed apart from Alex, Jamie, Nick and Matt left.

They hugged Ben and Ella and waved everyone else goodbye, and after that it had been a whole hour that it took the crew to settle outside the pub to start rolling again.

Lydia had gone off to figure out the bikes being dropped off for them, leaving the rest of the extras to get ready for their next takes. The Monkeys' stylist really being a lifesaver when it came to that.

Whilst Ben took over the scene of Alex coming out of the bar and walking down the street, Ella walked down the street to see what they could do and she was pleased when she saw a little street kiosk open and its owner willing to be part of the production.

It was nearing eleven in the evening by then so many shops down the street had closed, except for a 24 hour transport service ticket agency which had two men working who were quite interested in what was happening and seeing that it had quite the crew behind it, they asked Ella about what was going on and if they could take part in it.

Getting an extra to come in for the street kiosk scene and one to stand by the transport agency, the production continued. With every take, Alex was getting better at his stumbling and drunk act, as well as letting his eyes swim around the place without staring at the camera like he had accidentally been doing a lot when they first started shooting at the pub.

Further down the road there was a kebab shop, it was still open but empty, its employees chatting about in the kitchen which was in open view for everyone outside so Lydia went in and asked if they could film there. The workers asked about what it was and Lydia told them about the concept for it, which they laughed about the explicitness of it. The PA assured them there was an extra that was gonna play his part along with Lamie and that they could stand in the background. So with a bit of hesitation, they agreed.

Lydia went over to Ella and Ben when they cut a scene of Alex walking down the street as he continued to frustratingly text the girl and told them about the kebab shop news. Both directors were stoked about it, thanking the PA for her initiative and asking her to take Ben over to them so he could further tell them about what would be done.

There was something inherently tricky about explicit scenes, there was a line that couldn't be crossed when recording them so that you kept respect for your talent and their boundaries, but still captured the essence of the take. Yet that wasn't what had been difficult about recording the scene at the kebab shop.

Something hot and bitter grew inside Ella at the concept of watching Alex watching someone else getting fucked, the way that he flustered the first take they did when he heard Lamie loudly fake moans as she acted like she was getting fucked against the window of the shop, the way he cleared his throat and looked away for a minute when Ben cut the scene and went inside the shop to rearrange the people in the background of the shot.

It took a few takes to get the scene how they wanted it and a handful more to get Alex's reaction to it, he had been blushing more than needed so it had taken a few to get him to calm down and have his face look more blank for the camera.

He had gotten better at keeping his reactions neutral when they walked further down the road and found an alleway for a scene they had planned. Lighting took a bit to figure out so they had everyone take a bit of a break as Cameron worked his magic but as soon as he was done, they had two extras standing there as Alex walked past. They were supposed to grow hostile under Alex's gaze so it took a few tries for the scene to look clean.

After that was ticked off though, it was time for Lamie to go back in and get 'fucked' again. Ella was amazed at her confidence, of course everyone was making her feel comfortable and safe enough to do what she was doing but it wasn't something that anyone else could just up and do any Monday evening.

She still felt that nagging feeling growing inside her when Alex had to walk past and stare, and even though his cheeks weren't pink anymore, she knew he was feeling some type of way from how he had his hands in fists, white knuckles clutching onto the phone he had in hand.

When they finally had that scene down, they let go of almost all of their extras. Only the crew, Alex, Lamie and the two extras who were driving the motorbikes were left by two in the morning. Time had gone way too fast and it was mental to think they still weren't even done with half of the video by that time. It was good they had planned it to be a two day shoot.

Whilst the stylist got Lamie undressed and in a robe, the extras were going up and down the road with the camera rolling on them. After a few takes, they had Alex jump in and watch them drive past him almost entirely absentmindedly so that they could get the perfect shot before the one with Lamie.

When Ella had cut that scene and sent someone to get Lamie, they got a fright, finding her lay on top of two chairs that had been pushed close together. Ben had whispered her name to wake her up but she didn't so Lydia took it upon herself to shake her softly and they took a deep breath when the model woke up with a sleepy look on her face.

Ben had fully thought she had passed out because of how cold it was, considering she had no clothes on, but the model reassured him she was just taking a quick nap.

Thankfully for the model, the bikes were rather warm when she got on them and being pressed to the back of one of the extras aided in her finding it easier to shed herself of her robe.

Ben and Ella had them drive up and down multiple times, until they deemed it enough the amount of takes they had gotten and at a quarter to four, they wrapped up the recording for the day. Not really 'the day' because they'd be coming back to record later that afternoon but they were done with the first filming session by then.

Fifteen minutes later, Lamie was saying goodbye to everyone and leaving with a comical "See you in a few hours," that everyone laughed about, a bit like they were all dreading it but excited regardless of it. The extras with the bikes left too, being thanked by Ella and Ben for their work.

The Monkeys' stylist had helped them pack up, and the Focus Creeps crew had thanked her profusely for the help when she didn't have to offer it. Thanks to the extra pair of hands—Alex was helping too—, the crew managed to get everything back in their cases and order a taxi by the time it was half past four.

Ella hugged Alex goodbye before she left on the second taxi they'd had to get—because not everything fit in the first one so they had sent Cameron, Lydia and Margaret with most of their gear—, promising to text him when she'd be leaving the hotel back to the pub's street to start the second day of shooting.

The crew had probably gone to bed by five in the morning, after struggling to get their heavy gear upstairs. So they had brunch when they woke up around noon and once they had something in their stomachs, they took over Ella's room to make some notes on what they needed to get that day.

That helped them loads when they got to recording again, since they only had to get a few more shots of Alex stumbling down the street just in case and two more scenes with the extras and Lamie before they reached the final bit of the music video.

They had gotten a guy to do a stunt, jumping off the window of a house and running across the street to jump over a metal fence, all in front of a 'drunk' Alex and it had gone rather well in the first few takes so the lad had to jump off the side of the brick building a couple of times before they relieved him.

And then the taxi driver scene, which had been a bit more tricky because of the continuous accumulating traffic when they wanted to shoot all due to nosy people wanting to know what was going on.

It had been also complicated because of the intent behind the scene, attracting confused glares their way when they had Lamie 'sucking off' the driver multiple times for the video. But eventually, when the streets cleared out of ogling people, they managed to get the perfect few shots including the ones of Alex confusedly staring at the taxi driver.

After all of that had been recorded, the crew packed up again but this time to head over to the houses they had rented for the day for the video. They only had three extras with them, the roommates that were going to be in the background of Lamie's shot and the old lady that was going to peek through the window to glare at Alex when he was knocking on the wrong door.

When they got there, they all settled inside the house they had agreed would be the one where Lamie would be at. All of the gear was arranged in the foyer so it was easier to pack up when they were done, and Lamie and the two other extras went straight up the stairs with Ella so that they could see what was going to happen.

Ella quickly figured it out, the things inside the house already made the atmosphere casual and homey so she just went on to instruct the girls to pretend to be asleep by each end of the settee. The three girls would be watching TV and then Lamie would stand up from the middle of the sofa to walk over by the window and check her phone, ignoring it to go back to her place.

Whilst Ella arranged that, Ben had crossed the street with the old lady and gave her the easy instructions of what she was meant to do: after hearing Alex knock on the door incessantly, she would turn on the lights and just peek through the window to see who it was at the door.

Shooting those ending scenes had been challenging, they were all tired but they wanted to make it well and it was just the last of it so a hint of perfectionism kept them trying different angles for the takes.

But by half past three in the morning, they did the last take on Lamie walking up to her phone and ignoring the texts and it had gone amazingly swift so with a content feeling rushing through the directors, they finally wrapped up the production.

Usually, the crew used the excuse of another production being successfully wrapped as an excuse to go out for drinks or maybe go to one of the crew member's house and have a little party but this time it wasn't going to happen.

By the time they managed to get out of the houses with their gear and said goodbye to the extras, the crew was knackered and all they wanted to do was go to bed until the latest they could.

It was already Wednesday and they would be leaving later that same night so the crew at least wanted to rest for a bit before having a little stroll around London before they had to go back to LA. Alex had a meeting with his label later that day as well so he couldn't spend the day with the crew before they left.

Alex hugged them all goodbye and wished them a good flight, hoping to see them all soon when the band would eventually land on Los Angeles for a gig later that year, inviting them all to join them whenever that would be. Everyone happily accepted and thanked him for his kindness.

Ella hugged him tightly before he left in a taxi he had ordered, which had arrived way before theirs, and smiled at him softly when he promised he would make it up to her on Thursday.

When the crew eventually woke up later that Wednesday, checking out of the hotel but leaving their luggage there until they had to leave for the airport, they all went straight to have something to eat as they walked out of the hotel.

It was a quick bite from the cafe Ella had gone to with Alex when the crew had gotten there and after that, Ella had taken them through a short version of the stroll Alex gave her when she got there.

They walked to the London Eye but did not get in it, then went to the Big Ben and from there to Buckingham Palace. They marveled at the view of the Palace for a bit before they resumed their walk over to Piccadilly and from there they went to Covent Garden, where they got some late lunch before they took a cab back to the hotel.

They had to leave as soon as they managed to step into the hotel's lobby, and it made Ella emotional to see them go and saying goodbye because she was leaving in just two days. It was like she was watching her future self from the lads' perspective and she wanted to cry about time going by too fast.

A bittersweet feeling drowned her as she tossed and turned in bed that night, willing herself to sleep by closing her eyes shut tightly and slowing her breathing. Eventually, replaying the happy memories she had made in England had been what had pushed her into her slumber, a little smile on her face when Alex kept appearing in all of them.

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A loud "Surprise!" was what Ella heard the second Alex opened the door of his flat and when she walked further inside while Alex got her bag for her, she smiled brightly seeing the rest of the band, the girls, Miles and the 1975 boys there.

"Oh my god! Hi!" Ella said loudly back, walking closer to them with a shocked expression still on her face, her hand on her chest like she was monitoring her heart beats. She hadn't been expecting to see them all together there at all, so she couldn't help asking, "What is this?!"

"Did you really think you were leaving without getting pissed with us one last time?" Flo stood up from her place beside her husband and caught Ella in a tight hug.

Ella giggled as she wrapped her arms around Florence and then playfully narrowed her eyes at everyone to say, "Oh you lot just wanna make me miss my flight."

To which Flo replied with a loud kiss on her cheek before she pulled away and shrugged, "Maybe."

The whole scene settled it for Ella, and despite feeling incredibly sad that she was leaving early the morning after, she was happy she got to share with them all one last time before they had to go back to their responsibilities.

When she had woken up that morning, Ella had been melancholic as she went about her day. She showered slowly and got ready for the day at the same pace, she enjoyed every step she took as she walked from her hotel over to the photolab to pick up her pictures and decided to not take any more pictures of London but instead take it all in with her own eyes. Lord knows she had enough pictures to remember the trip by and now she wanted to properly commit it all to just her memory.

She had checked out of the hotel once she got back and Alex had come to get her when she was ready. Alex had suggested she spent the last night over at his, so she didn't have to stress about checking out at the correct time or forgetting something when she had to rush to the airport. Plus it also gave him leverage to just not miss the chance of going with her so he could spend the most amount of time they could have together.

After they had left Ella's suitcase and her bags at Alex's flat, he had taken her out for brunch. It had been lovely, despite the long silences in between, and they had chatted about all about the time she had spent there. Of course, ignoring the mishaps here and there. They didn't want to waste time thinking back to moments they were upset and Alex didn't know if he could bring those moments up without wanting to spill it all out for her.

He was still trying to figure out the best way to do that, painfully aware of the time ticking.

Alex kept checking his phone when they left the restaurant, he had taken her to one rather far away from his so he could give everyone time to arrive at his flat. Florence had been the first one to get there, using her spare key to go in and her and Matty made sure to set everything up so it was ready when Ella got there.

By the time Ella and Alex were about ten minutes away from his, Flo had texted Alex saying everything was ready and they could come by, so Alex subtly picked up his pace and thankfully Ella didn't notice but followed along subconsciously.

Alex's flat was an open plan one, so Ella could see a good amount of drinks and mixers on the kitchen island along with crips and other snacks. They had moved Alex's settee and the loveseats further away so the high chairs could fit as well.

They all stood up from their places, taking turns to hug Ella. She had tried her best not to make her blushing too noticeable when George came around and clutched her tightly to his chest, whispering "Hi gorgeous," in her ear.

The shower of affection all around was gonna make her cry but thankfully, Katie pulled through taking her over to where the drinks were and Breana had been pouring them all shots.

"Here you go, my love." Kelly said as she handed a filled shot glass to Ella, "A proper farewell."

"Shot to start?" Ella's brow rose as she questioned the decision.

Katie smirked, "Brave choice?"

"Foolish." Ella settled with a sigh which turned into a chuckle when she saw on the microwave screen that it was five in the evening. With a shrug and a deep breath, she mumbled "Fuck it." and tossed it back.

The girls followed and Flo rubbed Ella's back when she coughed at the burning of the alcohol running down her throat, praising her with a "That's my girl." when she set the glass back down on the kitchen island.

Everyone got their drinks ready after that, taking their full glasses back to the living room where they all took their seats. Alex sat on one of the high chairs and Ella took a seat to the left of him with Florence and Matty on a loveseat, Adam took another high chair to their left and on the settee that was to his left was Kelly, Nick, Matt and Breana. To the left of Bre was George and Ross who took a high chair each and to the left of the bassist was a loveseat occupied by Jamie and Katie. Miles was the one closing the circle, sitting on another high chair to Alex's right.

Conversation flowed easily between them all, laughter contagious and constant in between the chatter but after half an hour the chat had steered into work talk and Flo wanted to make things interesting.

"Shall we be kids and just play truth or dare?" The artist suggested, eyes going around the group's reactions and she found herself smug when everyone perked up at the proposition.

Ella had a condition to put forward before she accepted though, knowing how it had gone the last time she had played truth or dare with just the band, "I'm not doing any dares with y'all."

"Then truth or truth if you're willing to spill your secrets then, Eleanor." Flo nudged her softly with her elbow and Ella smiled.

She shrugged and honestly added, "Not many secrets to be fair, but sure."

"Okay then, we'll start with you." Ella scoffed at Flo when she said that, fearing what she could ask when she was the only one apart from Matty and George to know what had happened on Saturday.

To her relief, Flo instead threw out in the air, "Anyone wanna ask Ella anything?" just to give the group a chance to start it.

A few people hummed as they thought about it, Bre having a mischievous look on her face as she looked at Ella. Ella narrowed her eyes at her best friend but Miles beat everyone to it when he asked, "What's the most public place you've ever done anything sexual?"

"Oh we're going straight into it?" Ella sipped on her whiskey and coke, brows shot up at the game starting strong.

"Yep." Miles smirked at her and Ella rolled her eyes at him, flipping him off for being so smug.

"Right. Erm..." Ella took a few seconds to think about it and after doing a quick rundown of her memories, she had her answer and it was, "The woods."

Silence followed her statement, and when Ella turned to Florence to have her choose the next person, Bre chuckled and said what everyone was thinking, "You need to elaborate there babe."

"Seriously?" She asked and seeing everyone nodding, she sighed, "Can't you use your imagination?"

"No, please paint us the picture." Flo replied with a smirk, crossing her legs and getting comfortable on her seat as if she was hoping for a good story.

Defeatedly, Ella took a gulp of her drink and started recounting what had happened then, "We were on a senior highschool camping trip and me and my then girlfriend had just woken up. We were just going for a walk but then we started kissing and getting handsy, we were hiding behind a tree and then... I got dirt on my knees." She thought that was the best way to put it, and she had to hide behind her glass when everyone was staring at her shocked.

"With your schoolmates around?!" Nick let out loudly, his eyes wide.

Ella kissed her teeth, waving his concern off and explaining, "They were a good twenty feet away."

But the bassist wasn't at all relieved by that detail, "Still!" Everyone chuckled at the exchange and Miles added fuel to the fire by commenting, "Jesus Christ, Eleanor, you're dirty!"

Katie was rather intrigued by it so she asked further, "Did they not notice?"

To which Ella shook her head, "We went skinny dipping in the river right after so no."

A low "Dirty, dirty girl." was George's input in the matter and Ella had to take a long sip of her drink so that she could hide the smirk that got out of her.

In an attempt to move on from the conversation and maybe distracting everyone from what she had just shared, Ella looked at the girls before saying, "Oh talking about skinny dipping, I have the pictures of our photoshoot."

Jamie choked on his beer, coughing loudly before asking, "You girls went skinny dipping to take pictures?"

"Kind of." Ella nonchalantly replied, and then turned to Alex when Bre was the one to stand up to look for the pictures, "Where'd you leave my bag Al?"

Alex pointed it to them, "Right over there, on the table by the door."

Before Bre could reach the bag, Ella let her know where she had to look, "It's in the smallest envelope."

But when everyone turned back around to continue the game, while Breana brought the pictures, the attempt to resume the conversation died when Bre gasped loudly.

"Oh my god Ella!"

"What?" Ella turned to see her best friend so quickly and when she saw which envelope she had in hand, her heart sank.

"When was this?!" Breana asked desperately, her eyes wide and jaw dropped.

Ella wanted to die. In any other circumstance, Bre seeing the pictures would've been fine but not then, when everyone was there including who was in the pictures, "Oh for fucks sake, Bre I told you the other envelope!"

But not even that kept Breana from continuing to look through the pictures, her eyes going wider as she flipped through them. Ella just wanted her to stop, so she stood up, leaving her glass on the coffee table and slowly approaching Bre as if she had someone held at gunpoint in her arms, "Put that back." Ella warned sternly the closer she got but Breana shook her head.

"Oh no, this is hot." She said like that was enough of a reason for her not to and then she turned to look at Flo who was smirking at the hint of what she was thinking about being correct, "Florence, have you seen this?"

Breana managed to sprint past Ella and she sighed in defeat when the model went straight to Flo's spot and showed her what she had been seeing.

"Ella..." Florence said with a smirk fighting her dropped jaw and beside her, Matty was just as shocked to see she had taken pictures of it.

"Oh god..." Ella mumbled, covering her face with her hands as it all happened.

Bre was unable to stand still so she jumped back next to Matt so he and Kelly and Nick could also see what had happened. At the same time, Flo looked at George and pointed at him as she called him out, "George you filthy bitch, didn't know you were into capturing this on camera."

"What?! Ella and George?!" Miles gasped out loud, a shocked Jamie and Katie wide eyed next to him and Flo nodded, stretching her hand out over the coffee table so they could see the few pictures she had in her hand.

When she did that though, Alex got a peak of the picture they were talking about and it was an understatement to say that seeing George with his head thrown back, mouth open, eyes shut with Ella's thighs on either side of his chest and his hands clutching them, made him feel jealous.

He felt his blood starting to boil in his veins. Alex had to clench his jaw and bite his tongue not to say something he would regret, and it took a lot of self restraint to not just go up to George and fucking deck him for even coming near Ella.

"Oh, are those the pictures?" George asked innocently, like he didn't know exactly what had been pictured, "Let me see."

"Don't." Ella glared at the drummer like her look alone would stop him.

But he smirked as he got handed the envelope and when he dipped inside to take out a print, his smirk got bigger. "But you look hot, baby." George said to her but his eyes were stuck on the picture, the one he had taken of her after she'd cum on his fingers, "This one's my favorite, don't you like it?"

"Stop." Ella said again but everyone was rotating the pictures around so her dirty little secret was out and she couldn't do anything about it. She begrudgingly took her seat beside Florence and grabbed her glass to down the rest of her drink.

"Wait, I wanna see." Katie said, wanting to check out which picture George was talking about.

The model gasped, knowing exactly what Ella's state in the frame meant and with more curiosity sparking within her, she cheekily asked, "When did this happen?"

Before Ella could even think of answering, Flo quickly let them know, "Saturday."

Alex's heart sank thinking of her going out with George being the plans she had secretly kept for that Saturday. He knew he should've trusted his gut when he felt a hunch about not wanting to find out but this time the information had come to him and unfortunately now he had to deal with it. It was so much worse finding out that way though, especially knowing how much Ella had been avoiding the topic when he asked.

"Florence!" Ella let her mouth open agape at the excitement in the artist to let them all know and she truly felt like she was on fire, her body entirely too hot from the embarrassment.

"What? Everyone knows now." Flo defended herself and when Miles gave the pictures back, she turned to Nick's wife and said with a smirk, "Look at these Kelly."

Kelly flipped through them and when she got to the one of Ella on top of George, she loudly gasped, "Fucking hell Ella!"

Ella fanned herself, seeing the pictures again plus just having everyone find out this way making her too flustered, "I'm burning up."

It only got worse when George said, "Haven't seen you this flushed since Sunday morning babe."

And whilst Ella got even redder and hissed a "George, shush!" back at the drummer, Alex was stuck in his head thinking about how that had been the very same day he had come around and the housekeeper had mentioned Ella being busy.

Alex felt himself wanting to be sick.

"Okay, I need the details right now." Bre demanded, especially offended by the fact that she had no idea about this happening. "Sorry George." She added just in case he took her indiscretion as an offense.

It was the complete opposite, George puffed his chest out and stared right at Ella as he waved Breana's concerns off, "S'alright. Think we had quite a good time, didn't we Ellie?"

But Ella ignored him and turned to Bre, "No one's getting any details right now."

Which George didn't take lightly, "Don't be ignoring me now baby, I know just how to make you beg remember?"

That was enough to have Ella turn to him and with a stern look, she threatened him, "I'll be making you regret opening your mouth later if you keep this up Georgie."

"Oh I like this." George said excitedly, shifting in his seat and looking at her with hunger in his eyes, "Are you all talk, baby? Gonna show me what you'll do if I run my mouth?"

Before Ella could reply, Bre gasped and commented loudly, "Okay this is hot as fuck."

Florence comically turned to her husband and clutched his hand to plead, "Matty, I need you to consider this right now."

Matty had to hold in his laughter, looking around and catching Alex staring into the coffee table with a look that could kill, "Yeah well, I think Turner is fuming too much to let us use the guest room for a foursome sweetheart."

Florence turned to see the singer and she noticed the look in his eyes. She felt bad she had arranged the date before she had heard him confess how he truly felt about Ella but she also thought Ella deserved to have fun and unless Alex was willing to tell the American how he felt, then there was no point in him getting annoyed at Ella's decisions.

Alex got handed the pictures by Miles, a smirk on the scouser's face that just made Alex want to scream even more. He had no intention in seeing the pictures, if anything he wanted them the furthest away from his face so he handed them back to Ella like it was a bomb about to go off.

"Can we continue with the game?" Ella scolded everyone, standing up from her seat to snatch the pictures away from everyone's hands, "Give me back those pictures now."

Thankfully, she was able to get them all quickly, stuffing them back inside the envelope and putting it back in her bag. They all watched in silence as she stomped back into the living room to get her glass so that she could walk over to the kitchen island and get herself a refill.

Only when she got back and she let herself fall back on the loveseat beside Florence, did she speak again, this time saying, "Right, uhm, Miles." so that she could continue the game. "What's the weirdest place you've gotten yourself off?"

Ella was so glad when the scouser actually listened and started thinking about his answer, a few beats of silence going back before he said, "At the sauna."

A string of disgusted reactions broke out, Jamie scowling at his friend and asking, "Are you joking?" as if giving him a chance to redeem himself.

But Miles said, "No." and they all got even louder.

"Mate, that's disgusting." Alex said for everyone, a scowl on his face directed towards his best mate.

Miles rose his hands up in sign of innocence as he said, "Swear down it was just once."

Yet no one took it as a good enough excuse, Ross shaking his head and concluding, "Doesn't make it better."

"Alright, yous are ones to talk." The scouser exasperatedly sighed out, "I bet you lot have done it in worse places." He pointed an accusing finger at everyone in the group.

And Ella watched as a certain drummer's expression changed for one of reminisce as if he was actually thinking about his case being truthful. So the American couldn't keep it to herself and called him out for it, "Ew Matt, that face you've just made. I don't even wanna know."

Matt opened his mouth, about to start bickering but before an argument could ensue, Miles took it into his own hands to continue the night, "Alright I'm gonna choose or else we will be here all night." At the sign of the game resuming, they all shut up, "Florence, my dear."

Flo smirked at Miles, challenging him to, "Do your worst."

And the singer smirked back, assuring her, "Oh I am." It took him about a second to come up with, "Have you ever recorded yourself in bed?"

To which Flo asked for more detailing, "Like shagging or just getting myself off?"

Before Miles could clarify, Adam announced to the group, "I'm covering my ears."

Earning him a scoff from Florence's mouth, "Oh Adam, we've been over this bro." She said like she was tired of having the same argument, and it had chuckles and giggles breaking around the group.

And when Adam did go through with covering his ears and started an incessant sound of, "Lalalalalala." the amusement showed in the growing volume of the laughter.

"Guess both." Miles finally clarified, his voice going up an octave from his laughter.

"Yes." Flo answered quickly and nonchalantly, even going further to confirm, "For both."

Ella watched as Matty threw his arm around his wife's shoulders and pulled her into him. She pulled back slightly to gasp and looked her up and down as if surprised, "Oh you filthy bitch."

"It's fun! You should try it once." Flo told her with a wide grin before hitting Adam's arm in signal that the worst was over and he could stop being a child about it. When she turned back, she took the perfect opportunity to taunt Ella a bit, "Should've done that with George to keep a good souvenir."

The reply Ella had died in her throat when George instantly suggested, "Or we could go again. Record it then." making Ella's jaw drop and throat go dry.

"Ella, I sincerely hate you." Florence concluded, a serious look on her face that made Ella blush.

"I'm right here, Wheels." Matty reminded his wife with a scoff, letting his arm drop until it was around her waist and he could dig his fingers on her skin like he was pinching her back into reality.

"I know Curly, but–" Flo tried to argue, her head trying to come up with the perfect wording for what she was thinking but she gave up. "Whatever," she concluded and resigned to just continue the game, calling out for the person she was choosing and that was, "Alex."

He hummed in response, sipping on his beer as he waited for Flo's question. He fully expected something foul but it ended up being quite wholesome when her inquiry was, "Who would you bring with you to a desert island?"

"Easy," He firstly said before answering, "Ella."

The director cooed, turning to her best friend and clutching his forearm with her right hand, squeezing it with affection as she commented, "Awh, we wouldn't survive at all but thanks, sweets."

"Incredibly offended here." Miles interrupted the cute moment, brows furrowed showing his offended state.

Alex rolled his eyes, "Miles, you would drive me insane in less than a day."

"Exactly, encouraging us to survive." Miles fought back the statement as if that made sense.

But Ella mocked him, with a cackle and a curt, "Encouraging him to get rid of you."

"He would get rid of you too." Miles chatted back, puffing his chest out like it would help him win the argument.

"No, she'd keep me from going mad." Alex sided with Ella, making her incredibly smug.

Everyone was watching the interaction with amused smiles, lips pressed together so they wouldn't laugh and interrupt. It got harder when Ella flipped her hair over her shoulder and added, "See? Fuck you, Miles."

The scouser scoffed but who replied was Bre, who threw into the conversation a teasing, "Yeah, he wishes."

Which gave Ella the opportunity to fake pout at him and with mocking pity ask, "Still?"

An annoyed, "Sod off." was Miles' answer, and Ella would've kept going if it wasn't for someone cutting in the argument.

"Alex, choose someone before they actually fight." Jamie pointed out, knowing full well that could happen and, even though that would be hilarious to watch, they wanted the evening to go well.

The singer nodded and panickedly ended up calling, "Erm, Adam." It took him a few seconds but the best Alex could come up with was, "What's the weirdest thing you own?"

He was expecting the question to earn a really boring answer honestly, but they were all surprised when Adam had a hard time answering for very different reasons.

"Oh, erm..." Adam managed out as his face reddened and that didn't go unnoticed. Suddenly everyone was interested in knowing because this reaction to such a simple question was rare.

Matty chuckled as he pointed out, "Oh this is good, he's gone all red."

"Any kinks you've been hiding Hann?" George teased him with a smirk, wiggling his eyebrows at the guitarist.

Adam glared at him, "Piss off." but kept silent afterwards.

So Ross reminded him, "You gotta answer mate."

And everyone was expecting more silence for a bit longer until he got the courage to say, but Adam ended up blurting the answer out and hearing, "A fucking dick chastity cage." wasn't something people were expecting.

"What?!" Florence gasped out loud, not expecting her cousin to be into that at all.

"Fucking hell Hann!" George cursed loudly as he coughed on the beer he had choked on.

The looks of shock around the room made Adam feel the need to clarify, "I didn't buy it for myself, my girlfriend bought it so we could try it."

"And?" Nick asked curiously, leaning into his knees to watch the guitarist's face.

"And what?" Adam asked rather defensively.

His tone made Nick chuckle lightly as he corrected his question, "Did you enjoy it?"

It was like everyone was holding their breath as they waited for the answer and the group broke in hollers when Adam hung his head and truthfully replied with a quiet, "... Yeah."

"Oh my god!" Flo yelled, bringing both of her hands to slap over her wide open mouth, which made everyone laughed louder.

George's laugh was so contagious and so was Matty's, who struggled to get his words out in between cackles, "I will never let you live this down Hann, hope you know that."

"None of us." Ross nodded, lifting his beer bottle up like he was doing a cheers to Hann's new confession. "Next time we're at yours, we're fucking looking for it." The bassist added in a clear threat.

That made Adam lift his head up quickly and narrow his eyes at the bearded lad, "No, you are not."

"We so are, mate." Ross smirked mischievously, already planning how and when they could pull that off.

There wasn't a way Adam could shut him up other than use something he had against the bassist so he took advantage of the situation and called out for, "Ross." with a look on his face like he was seeking revenge, "Have you ever lied to get out of a date?"

Ross loudly scoffed and that was enough for the group to quiet down, everyone's curiosity sparking inside them, "This isn't fair, you know I have. You just want me to tell the story and make me look like a dickhead."

"Well you did it, so you are a dickhead." Adam shrugged nonchalantly, fully pleased with himself that it had been enough to get him to shut up and turn it onto him.

"Is this...?" Matty started to ask, unsure of why he didn't know about it and a bit offended to be honest.

Ross could see that clearly on the singer's face so he rolled his eyes and sighed, "No. Only Hann knows 'cos I called him."

"Oh I'm intrigued." Flo perched up in her seat, a smirk tugging at the corner of her lips at a growing mortified Ross.

"It was this girl I knew from college." The bassist started narrating, "We bumped into each other around Soho and she said something about going for a drink or something so we exchanged numbers and met up a week later."

He took a sip of his beer before continuing, the silence hung heavy over the group, "It was fine, we were hitting it off, until a girl she was friends with recognized her and she went off with her. Left me drinking alone for about fifteen minutes and right as I was about to leave, she came back and got annoyed that I was planning on going."

Bre frowned deeply and chuckled unamused before saying, "The nerve..."

Ross nodded in agreement, "I know. And then she brought her friends over and they were all interrogating me about shit. When I told them I was in a band, but they didn't recognize the name, they started being weird and ignoring me. They even started pointing out different lads in the pub for the girl I was on a date with to go for."

Flo gasped almost horrified, entirely offended for Ross and asking, "Who's that cow? I'll batter her I swear."

George giggled next to Ross, knowing Flo would genuinely do that but instead of letting the bassist give her that information, he encouraged him to continue onto when Adam came into the picture, "What did you lie about then?"

With a heavy sigh, Ross continued narrating, "I had to text Hann to call me like an emergency had occurred and five minutes later I was rushing out because 'he got into a car accident'." He emphasized the lie by doing air quotation marks with his fingers.

Matty grimaced hearing that, "Oh mate, the car crash excuse is so overused."

"Yeah well but it's understandable." Nick sided with Ross, he would've done the same thing in his situation.

"T'was fucking embarrassing." Ross said again, his face said everything and they couldn't imagine if he looked like that just remembering it all, how he must've looked like in the moment it happened.

"Bless you, that sounds so awkward." Flo pouted softly, eliciting a soft side smile from him.

Katie curiously asked, "Did you ever bump into her again?"

To which Ross nodded in anguish and muttered against the rim of his beer bottle, "She asked if my mate was alright the morning after but that was it."

When that was over, people kept to just take sips of their drinks so Ross took it upon himself to continue the game, "Okay, let's lighten up the mood again." He hummed for a second before he chose, "Matty." and he asked him, "What kinks do you have?"

"Oh yes, brilliant ice breaker MacDonald." Matty said sarcastically, clutching Flo tighter against him before he turned to his left to say, "Cover your ears Hann."

Once Adam had covered his ears, he started listing, "Right so: bondage, edging, spitting, hitting, choking, degradation." He was smug watching everyone's eyes widen, and he looked down at his wife when he added, "We tried wax the other day, t'was fun."

Flo smirked up at him and winked, "It was."

"A bit of role play is fun sometimes." He continued when he turned back to look at the group and before he could stop, one last thing came to his mind, "And been developing a slight breeding kink since we got married but that's about it."

"You're animals." Matt concluded, a look of disgust and shock on his face.

Florence exasperatedly sighed before telling him, "Shut up Matt, you're fucking boring."

To her right though, Ella leaned into her and squeezed her hand, "I'm proud of you."

Flo chuckled and she winked at her when she replied, "I know you get me, Ellie."

But before Ella could settle in her seat again, George spoke up, "You into all that baby?"

"A bit, yeah." Ella shrugged it off like it was nothing.

Breana scoffed and called her out though, pointing out how, "She's so downplaying it."

"Breana..." Ella said with a stern look on her face. It had been enough that everyone had seen the pictures.

"What? I've seen all the kinky shit you own!" Her best friend lifted her arms up in a sign of innocence which made Ella giggle and shake her head.

Ella fake sniffling when she said, "Dusting away in my closet." like it was the most heartbreaking thing that could've ever happened to her.

But her act was interrupted when George went in to say, "I'll get Jamie to find us something so we can tour the west coast soon."

"Awfully confident, sir." Ella looked at him with a brow raised, a smirk on her face when thinking back of what she could've done if she had her things with her when she had George on her bed.

And she only grew even more pleased about it all when the drummer pointed out in a warning that only would encourage her more, "Don't call me that or else we're going back to mine right now."

It was a miracle Alex didn't throw his bottle across the room and thankfully, someone heard his silent prayers for Matty stopped the flirting by saying, "And that's my cue." so that he could choose someone to carry on the game.

Alex's relief was devastatingly brief because Matty went on to say, "Ella, what's your dream threesome?"

Ella scoffed at being chosen yet again, especially with that being the question, "Are you serious?"

"Very." Matty replied with a smirk.

She took a bit of time to answer and eventually it came down to her two latest shags, "Alice and George." It made her blush just thinking about having them two at the same time knowing how they both had been in bed.

"Of course." Matt said in a chuckle, which only made Ella blush harder.

But Flo watched out of the corner of her eye just how sorrowful Alex looked and she tried to get something out of the American that could give him a sign, "Sorry Ellie, not valid. Only people in this room."

"Alright then," Ella said begrudgingly, only to change her answer to "George and you."

"Matty, get ready to fight." Miles quickly said just to add fuel to the fire.

Before the curly headed guy could quip back though, his wife shook her head and added another rule, "Gotta be single, babe."

"Fine then..." Ella sighed and tapped her finger rhythmically on her glass as she thought, and the group was all smirks when she concluded her choice was, "George and Alex."

Something lit up inside of Alex, and it shone through his face. He was trying so hard not to let his smile show by wrapping his lips around the tip of his bottle and taking leisure sips of his beer but everyone was staring at him and it was clear that he was happy about it.

"Fourth choice Al, not too bad." Miles said, stirring the pot again like the menace he was which made Ella blush and glare at him.

And, of course, Matt added his two cents in also to add fuel to the fire by emphasizing, "Not great either."

Ella bit back on the drummer's comment before anyone else could add something to it, "You'd be last on the list Matt, don't get too cocky. And your girlfriend would've been my next choice if she was single."

Bre smiled at her best friend, blowing her a kiss, "Thanks my love."

"George stayed there as the only choice, big up mate." Matty toasted to his best mate and George was certainly smug about it.

"Good to know baby." The drummer winked at her, and that combined with the pet name only made her more flustered.

So all she replied was a shy, mumbled, "Shut up George."

That had George chuckling before he went on with his flirting, "Oh but you don't want me to, do you, gorgeous?" He kept his eye contact and she did so as well, he was hypnotizing and she couldn't peel her eyes away from him.

George's smirk grew at the clear hunger in Ella's eyes and it all got confirmed when her gaze dropped to his lips. "See?" He said smugly, because she had proved him right and just to taunt her a bit more, he encouraged her to go through with what was going through her head, "You can if you want to."

All of this flirting happening in front of him had Alex on the verge of just leaving the room. He was debating going downstairs or even to the top of his building to have a smoke. It annoyed him so much that George got all that from Ella when he felt like after everything that had happened, he had stripped himself of the chances of getting Ella to flirt with him.

"It's not that game." Ella reminded the drummer with a challenging look on her face, like she wanted him to make a move first.

But George knew her now and he saw that right through her so he just shrugged and concluded, "What a shame."

Without wasting more time so that no one commented on what had just happened, Ella chose, "Katie!" and she quickly asked, "What's the worst sexual encounter you've had?"

"Oh no Ella, don't make me tell this story." The model pleaded lightly, her answer coming to her mind easily.

"You gotta." Ella said, slightly apologetic but curious.

Katie sighed before giving out her answer, "Alright. So it was literally my second time having sex, I was around seventeen or so, and this guy was so bad." Katie's face said it all and everyone cringed for her even before hearing the actual story, "Had to fake an orgasm because he had been down there trying to eat me out for so long he started asking if I was close over and over. And when he finally fucked me, it was just as bad."

They all thought it was it then but it somehow got worse, "And to make matters worse, the condom broke so I had to rush off to the shops to get a morning after pill, absolutely terrified to my bones that I would have a pregnancy scare at seventeen for an awful shag."

The gasps that had come from the ladies at that were loud, and a wide eyed Adam was the only one to let out a comment which was a breathless, "That's a nightmare."

"Tell me about it." The model shivered at the thought and then went on to choose someone. Her eyes went around the circle and she ended up choosing, "Matt. What's the most embarrassing thing you've done during sex."

He knew exactly what it was so it didn't take him long to reply, "Follow the rhythm of a song and when I messed up, I had to focus on the beat to go again."

"Please tell me there was actually music playing and you're not saying that it was to a song you were playing in your head." Ella said with a scowl on her face, feeling bad for whoever it had been Matt had done that to.

"No, she actually put music on, dickhead." Matt chatted back with a roll of his eyes.

And bit back by turning his words around, "You're the dickhead, you did that."

To that, Matt scoffed, "Oh fuck off, as if you've never done something embarrassing in bed."

Fair enough, Ella admitted, "I have, but not that."

To avoid the argument continuing, despite it being relatively entertaining, Kelly instructed, "Matt, go on, pick someone."

Noticing how she hadn't gone yet, the drummer jumped at the opportunity, "You, Mrs. O'Malley. You've not been picked yet, have you?" Kelly looked unimpressed by the excitement written on Matt's face but shook her head to reply regardless. And her face went even more blank when the drummer asked, "Are you tired of Nick yet?"

"Of course you'd ask that, you shit stirrer." Kelly rolled her eyes, Nick chuckled beside her at his mate's occurrence.

"You aren't answering, though." Matt pointed out as if that meant anything.

Kelly brilliantly answered, "No I am not. But I bet Bre is tired of you, that's why you're asking."

Matt went on to say, "No, she's–" but Kelly interrupted him.

And since it was her turn to pick someone, Kelly started, "Let's ask her something fun. Bre, who would you leave Matt for, in a heartbeat?"

Unfortunately for the group, Breana replied, "No one."

It was hilarious how everyone but Matt scoffed or called her out for it, Matt frowning at everyone for encouraging an answer out of her. Ella calling her best friend out with an unamused, "Breana." was the last push she needed to reconsider her answer.

"Okay, ermm..." Bre started going through her options in her head.

To which Matt was entirely offended, "Why are you trying to answer?"

The group erupted in laughter when Bre shrugged and replied, "'Cause it's funny, plus I doubt Matthew McConaughey would leave his wife for me."

"Oh that's a good choice." Katie praised the answer.

Bre smiled and nodded her head, happy someone agreed, "Right?"

She wasn't the only one though, Flo hummed and added, "Yeah, he's fit as fuck."

Ella was the one to change it up when she remembered one of her favorite rom coms and commented, "Though, I was jealous of him in 'How To Lose A Guy In Ten Days'. Kate Hudson is beautiful."

That sparked a question in Breana's head, and just because she was trying to get to know more about the secret date she'd had with George, did she say, "Oh, on the topic of romance. Ella, what's the best date you've been on?"

Complaining about yet another question coming her way went over her head when the answer came to the forefront of her mind in a flash, "Oh, Valentine's day at Belmont Park last year." She smiled, and turned slightly to Alex to add, "T'was fun, very good company as well."

Alex flashed Ella the biggest smile and offered her a wink which had a little giggle falling from her lips. He was all warm and fuzzy knowing that, a reassurance that maybe all that he'd done hadn't ruined their memories together after all.

Alex was still on cloud nine after hearing that when Ross said, "That must've hurt, G."

"He's a big boy, he can handle it." Ella kissed her teeth, waving it off.

George nodded, not letting the teasing affect him and replied with a simple, "Just need to take you somewhere more fun next time."

"Exactly." Ella agreed, a smile stubbornly making its way to her face at the fact that he was thinking of a second date, despite that being impossible now that she was leaving. She had to snap herself out of her thoughts to continue the game and she did that by complaining, "Why do I keep getting picked? Nick hasn't gone once!" She pointed out and that was her choice made, "Okay Nicholas, have you ever fallen asleep during sex?"

"No, have you?" The bassist said with a confused frown on his face, "How does one fall asleep during sex?"

Ella was glad he had never done that but, at one of her memories, she let out an unamused chuckle and gave him the answer to how, "Have too many drinks and you'll find that out."

"Has someone fallen asleep on you during?!" Nick let out horrified for her, and unfortunately Ella nodded.

"It was awful." She concluded but fearing that they would ask her further about it, she reminded, "Nick, you choose now."

"Who hasn't gone yet?"

Everyone looked around and Miles was the one to say, "George... and Jamie."

Nick nodded and went ahead to choose, "George. Have you ever shagged someone and thought of somebody else?"

Flo giggled and got excited to hear the answer, "Oooo à la Cornerstone?"

The girls chuckled at the pun, while the lads shook their heads with soft smiles on their faces. But all amusement changed to shock on their faces when George ended up saying, "Yes..."

"Ella is fuming." Miles pointed out for everyone to turn and see the frown that Ella had subconsciously let show on her face.

George had been cute and reassured her, "Not with you baby, wouldn't dream of it."

And Ella was certainly pleased by that correction, "That's what I thought."

"But who was it then?" Bre curiously asked.

When the drummer refused to answer by replying with a soft, "I won't say."

Florence rolled her eyes, "Oh you're no fun."

George knew Flo enough to know she'd be asking him about it for ages until he let it out so he figured just saying it now would save him from being bothered about it for eternity, "Just a girl I met out on the pull, shagged her right after I broke up with my ex and I thought of my ex during– It was a mess."

A gasp slipped past Ella's lips and with wide eyes she begged, "Please tell me you didn't moan your ex's name."

The silence that came from the drummer was enough of an answer and everyone winced at the information.

"Oh no George..." Kelly's words came out muffled because her hand was covering her shocked open mouth.

He hung his head and nodded, "I know. It was bad."

"What'd she say?" Ross asked beside him, it was the first time he heard about it so he was intrigued.

The cringing got worse when George said, "She kicked me out of her place."

"Yikes." Adam muttered, feeling his skin crawling for his mate.

Bre had to play devil's advocate when she tilted her head to the side and commented, "Can't blame her though."

To which Alex agreed to an extent, "Tough one that."

"Right, Jamie, mate, it's your turn." George got the guitarist's attention as he was the last one to go, "What's the last sext you've sent?"

"Erm, let me check." Jamie pulled out his phone to scroll through the messages with his fiance.

"Was it that long ago?" Kelly asked rather confused, she would've expected he would keep that up with Katie consistently whilst they were on tour at least.

"No, but I just don't remember what I said." Jamie honestly replied and when he found exactly what he had been thinking about, he smiled to himself, "Katie had this modeling gig for a lingerie line and she sent me some pictures, so I just said 'They better had let you keep them so I can ruin them later' with three kisses and that was it."

Ella smirked, looking at the model when she asked, "Did they let you keep them Katie?"

"Just one." Katie replied with a smirk on her face, sipping on her drink with rosy cheeks.

"And did he keep his word?" Flo asked this time, looking between Jamie and Katie and smirking at their flustered looks.

"He did." Katie confirmed and that was enough for hollering to break out in the living room.

Miles patted Jamie's back as he yelled, "Oi Oiiiiii!!!" only causing Jamie's cheeks to grow redder.

The game ended after that. Half of the group went back to the kitchen to get refills, Matty brought back a bottle of wine that Bre and Flo were drinking so that they didn't have to stand up constantly to get themselves some more, Alex put on some music in the background and with that, everyone fell into entertaining conversation.

Drinks flowed easily as their mouths ran along topics, laughter increased in volume the more alcohol was being ingested and smiles lingered on their faces longer under the influence.

It was when Bre very not subtly asked about Ella's date with George that Ella evaded the questions by standing up from her seat and actually bringing the pictures from their photoshoot so they could finally see how that had come out looking like.

Now these pictures were ones Ella proudly let the group look through, and she let the compliments about her frames rub at her ego a bit. She made sure to let them know which ones Bre had taken because they had turned out beautiful, and she didn't hold back singing her best friend her praises.

They had ended up teasing George when he took a bit longer to look at the pictures which were just of Ella, Matt saying how the drummer should keep some as souvenirs for himself when she was gone.

Ella had let him know he could keep the other ones for himself, the ones from the day they had spent together and when they heard that, they started joking about how if he got handed them again then he'd disappear for a bit to relieve himself. Or worse enough, he'd take Ella with him for a memory refresh.

"You lot are insufferable." Ella rolled her eyes as she drunkenly mumbled, changing the subject back to the prints everyone was looking at, "Ladies you can keep your pictures. I have all the scans so I'll send them for you to keep digitally as well."

The girls chose the pictures they wanted for themselves and gave Ella back the ones that were of her, assuming she wanted to keep them. She clumsily walked up to her bag again, putting the pictures away and bringing back with her the envelope that everyone knew contained the pictures with George.

Ella gave them to George, as promised, and he thanked her by pulling her in by the waist and leaving a kiss on her cheek. Bre screeched when she saw that unfold right next to her, and that only had Ella becoming more flustered.

She loopily smiled at him and patted the hand that was clutching her tightly, "You're welcome."

Florence wiggled her eyebrows at Ella as she poured the little left of the wine and set the empty bottle just as Ella sat beside her and when she did she nudged her as if to tease her further. Ella snorted out a laugh and told her to "Piss off." as she tried to hide her burning cheeks from the onlookers around the living room.

Whilst conversation carried on around her, Ella sat in silence just admiring the chaos surrounding her. She was going to miss this group of people so much, a knot was starting to form in her throat. And Alex noticed her change, the lack of her sweet laughter in the air whenever someone told a joke out of a story that had just been shared, the way she'd recoiled into herself and was almost hidden away in the corner of the loveseat just sipping on her drink.

"Alright, darling?" Alex whispered after he leaned in closer to her so she was the only one to hear.

Ella looked up at him, nodding, "Yeah. Just sad I'm leaving, s'all."

He cooed, grabbing ahold of her free hand and intertwining their fingers to bring the back of her hand to his lips and press a kiss on her skin.

The action did more for Ella that she could let on in front of everyone. She relaxed into his touch, his warmth bringing her peace and she was relishing in it as she continued to just be a spectator of the scene. Alex didn't let go of her hand, he rested their joint hands on the arm of the loveseat and continued rubbing circles with his thumb on the back of her hand.

That lasted for about ten minutes, until Flo went over to the kitchen to get Bre and herself a second wine bottle and came back to see the empty bottle sitting on the coffee table still. She was about to leave it to the side when she realized they could use it for something fun and she started with her suggestion, "Why don't we play something fun? We have this empty bottle now."

"Like what?" Alex replied intrigued, his thumb stopping its movements on Ella's skin.

"How about seven minutes in heaven?" Florence smirked, glancing at Ella and Alex's fingers intertwined.

Ella let go of Alex's hand, taking it to put some strands of hair behind her ear while she said, "Is this your excuse for a quickie with your husband?"

Half the group cackled, Matty sitting a bit straighter at the mention of something like that happening but his smugness was wiped right off him when his wife let out, "I was hoping for George but sure!" in an awfully chipper tone.

"Wheels!" Matty called her out with a scoff, poking at her ribs and making her jump. Ella smiled at the nickname he had for her, she had found it so cute when she first heard it at Glastonbury and it got even cuter when she learned of the story behind it.

"Sorry Curly, you know I can't help it." Was the only excuse Flo had for her husband and it made the group laugh. George was enjoying it though, he winked at Florence and that had her blushing.

The artist grabbed the empty wine bottle and rested it sideways on the coffee table, leaning in so that she could spin it around, but before that could happen, Ella pointed out, "This is the most American thing I'll ever see you do."

And when Flo replied with, "And hopefully the only one, no offense." she couldn't stop the loud laugh that escaped her.

Florence spinned the bottle and they all watched intently as it went 'round and 'round until it landed on no one else but her own husband. The couple were about to stand up and leave when the whole group broke out in complaints, the loudest one being Alex.

"No, not with Matty. They're actually gonna shag and I won't be washing any sheets right now." Alex said sternly, knowing just how the two were.

Almost throwing a fit, Flo let go of her husband's hand, "Alex, you're such a dick."

"Go on, spin again." The singer instructed once more, not letting on to have her get her way.

But Flo was keeping her ground and saying, "No." to him.

"Alright then I'll do it for you." Alex huffed out, standing from his seat and hovering over the coffee table to spin the bottle. "There you go." He said, letting it spin as he went back to his chair.

Yet, when the bottle stopped, Alex wished he hadn't done that because it landing on "George!" seemed like a much worse outcome.

"Get fucked Alexander." Flo cursed out loud as she stood up, flipping him off right before she grabbed George by the hand.

Nick found it incredibly amusing, his laughter loud as he struggled to say, "You did that to yourself mate."

But someone who also wasn't happy about it was Ella, who called Flo out loud, "You lucky bitch." and it had Miles wheezing out a laugh.

What stopped the laughter was Florence shrugging and offering, "You can join us if you want."

Everyone turned to look at Ella expectantly but a fraction of a second went by before Alex put his two cents into the situation, "You either go in right now or we're playing something else."

"Sorry Ellie." Flo said, very not sorry, and snuck away with a grinning George close behind her into the guest room.

"Do not shag in there!" Jamie thought it would be funny to remind her.

And a defeated Matty was relieved to hear, "Not without my husband, no." come from his wife.

"Fucks sake." Ross muttered under his breath, shaking his head at the gray area that would leave room for happening inside that bedroom.

Matty hurried someone up to, "Start a timer." and thankfully, Bre was quick to pull her phone out and start it for them all.

When she was younger, Ella remembered that in this stage of the game everyone went back to their conversation, drinking and making jokes until someone deemed the seven minutes to have gone already so that they could get whoever was inside the room out. But in that moment, everyone stayed silent, almost holding their breaths as they saw the seconds quickly running by, and trying to hear over the music anything that could be happening.

There were still ten seconds left for the seven minutes to end when Matty stood up and went down the hall to press his ear on the door. Everyone was holding back their laughter as they watched his confused face trying to get any noise, but he couldn't hear a thing.

The ringing of the timer going off startled him off the door but he hurriedly knocked on it to let the pair know, "Time's up! Come out now."

To Matty's relief, the door opened merely a few seconds later and Flo pecked his lips as soon as she saw him.

"How was it?" Matty asked her, intrigue written all over his face.

It wasn't until she came back to the loveseat and sat with Matty beside Ella that Flo let out a dreamy sigh and replied, "Unreal."

Matty rolled his eyes, hugging her to his side, "Stop playing."

And Florence rolled her eyes as well, like it was annoying her that her husband wasn't playing into it so she ended up truthfully letting them all know, "We were just chatting."

Of course Ella wanted to taunt her a bit so she put a confused act up and rhetorically asked, "Is that what the kids call it these days?"

"Ha, ha. Funny." Flo replied meekly to her attempt at a joke and to stop the giggles the American was letting out at her own comment, she quickly chose, "Ella, you're next."

Her giggles turned into a scoff, "Of course I am." and she watched as Flo leaned into the coffee table to spin the bottle.

"Oooo" The room rumbled as everyone watched the glass spinning, and when it almost slowed to a stop right on Flo's place, Matty went in to purposely push it a bit further. His wife hissed out a "Matty n–!" which was cut short when the tip of the bottle ended up stopping pointing right at George, "Oh shit, nevermind."

"Cheers mate." George smugly said, tipping his bottle towards his best mate in thanks.

The girls screeched at the reaction, and they looked expectantly at Ella for hers but she was just reddening by the second with her lips pursed as if she was trying not to show how much she was anticipating whatever was going to happen.

"George is the real winner tonight I reckon." Jamie pointed out, looking from Matty to Alex and gauging the fact that they had almost the same expressions on their faces.

"I really am." The drummer easily agreed. He and Flo had just been chatting about his date with Ella and he had enjoyed hearing a bit of what Ella had said about him so now that he had the opportunity to have her alone again, even if it was for a few minutes, he was fucking buzzing.

He stood up and walked over to Ella, extending his hand out for her to grab, "You ready babe?"

Ella only hummed in response, hand coming up to grasp George's and he took her lack of words to tease her, "Cat got your tongue?"

In all honesty, she was trying really hard not to react with so many eyes on her, so she told him to "Shut up before I change my mind."

But George knew she didn't mean that at all and when he called her out for that by confirming, "You wouldn't." and got more of her silence and evading his eye contact, he was incredibly smug about being right.

Alex died a little when the bottle landed pointing at George, and it continued dying a little more each step that the pair took in order to get to the guest room. He was thankful that the second the door closed and the lock was turned, Matt had started the timer.

It was a nightmare of a situation: knowing exactly what he was feeling about Ella but having obstacles like these coming in front of him actually saying something, plus her going back home across oceans while he was off going around the world. But god did the knowledge of what he felt whenever she looked at him, touched him or spoke to him with that voice of hers did to him, burn him.

Alex had no idea what to do with himself, but the bottles he'd had were threatening to let his lips loose and his thoughts escape him and he didn't know if that would be something to be grateful for or regret later. What he did know in that tipsy mind of his was that he didn't want to ever know what was going on behind that door.

And rightly so, because George had barely done one thing before Ella crashed her lips on his and hungrily kissed him like she'd been dying to for centuries. They were sitting at the edge of bed, a bit of space in between them but their hands reaching out to touch each other as their tongues met. And that space started to shorten as their breaths grew heavier and after she had to reluctantly pull back to take a deep breath, she ended up being guided by his strong hands on her hips to straddle his lap.

They lost track of time as they kissed and the room grew hotter as she rolled her hips on him. Slowly he started getting hard and she could feel it so she got more intent with her movements, keeping her eyes on him as she slowly rolled her clothed core over his hardening cock and making his jaw go slack at the friction.

Ella bit her bottom lip as she watched him struggle to keep the noises to himself and when he finally let a low groan rip through his chest, she whined and nodded in approval. She fucking loved watching him slowly fall apart under her and for her, and how she wished they had the time to go further and have him the way she wanted one more time. Her mouth watered at the thought of even getting to taste him again.

But their lack of awareness on how much time they had already spent inside the room did them dirty and loud knocking startled them out of their lustful state.

"Time's up!" They heard Miles' muffled voice through the wooden door and they sighed in defeat.

She begrudgingly got off George's lap and fixed her hair and clothes as she stood up, offering her hand out for him so she could help him stand up as well. And George did accept, standing up a couple feet away from her but he was clearly sporting a hard-on so he had to drop her hand so he could rearrange himself in order to not make it that obvious.

A loud, "Come on out!" interrupted their peace again but they ignored it. George went onto tuck himself in a way it didn't look that obvious and Ella was just shamelessly gawking at him with her bottom lip trapped between her teeth.

Thankfully, George was done by the time another yell came from the other side of the door, "Oi! Come out, you dirty bastards." this time a bit further away, but Ella opened the door aggressively and was met with Miles who had his fist up as if he had been just about to knock.

"We're out, fucking hell. Impatient crowd." She huffed out with her feet quickly taking her back to the living room, looking straight at her forgotten glass so that making eye contact with anyone in the group broke her and made it evident what had happened.

That only made her look more obvious to everyone though, and so Nick teased her by pointing out, "Ella, looking awfully messy there."

"Oh shut up." She replied with an irritated tone to her voice, still taking her fingers through her hair quickly to fix anything messy just in case.

Flo waited until the director had grabbed her drink, taken a gulp and sat back down beside her to loudly ask, "How was it?"

A question which Ella decided to answer with just an "Alright..." that no one bought.

"More than alright I bet, you're bright red." Breana called her out, the flush to her cheeks going all the way to the tips of her ears and that's how she knew Ella was properly flustered.

"Shush." Was the only thing Ella could think of to attack Breana's statement, but in the midst of avoiding everyone's knowing looks, Ella looked to her right and found a silent grumpy Alex which made her frown, "What's up with you? Why are you so pouty?"

What had just happened with George plus the alcohol that she had ingested had Ella entirely distracted, and that only made Matty want to cackle out loud at the fact that she had just asked Alex that as if it wasn't obvious.

And the urge to laugh grew more intense when Ella leaned into the center of the room so she could softly grip the bottle and said, "Right, Al, you're next. Ready?"

"Yeah." Alex softly answered, not really convinced about the game but participating just for the sake of it.

Ella spinned the bottle and when she went back to her seat, she turned to him with a grimace, "Don't sound so sure there, damn."

"Ooooooooo!!" The group loudly rumbled out in anticipation, Alex's eyes fixed on the spins the bottle did, counting twenty seven until it stopped and the gasps that drowned the room were what snapped him out of his trance.

"Fuck off!" Katie cursed loudly, a hand flying over her mouth as she giggled.

Matt wiggled his eyebrows, "Ella going in for the second time in a row..." as if that was the sole reason for the ruckus.

"Calm down now, y'all are shit stirrers." Ella giggled as she shut them up, but they wouldn't so she just stood up and grabbed Alex's hand to drag him over to the guest room. Not really dragging him, he almost had a skip on his step as she followed behind her.

From her seat, Flo was silently praying this was it and especially when the pair walked in the threshold of the room but before the door could close, Ella called out, "See you in seven minutes!"

Silence was incredibly loud outside, Miles going to the lengths of actually turning the music way down until it was almost silent so that they could pry anything that could be heard through the door or the walls.

But Alex was being quite soft when he asked, "Are you having fun?" like he was scared of sound shattering the invisible glass that surrounded them in the moment.

"Of course I am!" Ella was a bit drunker than him so she struggled as she whisper-shouted. She giggled when Alex's eye went wide at her slightly louder volume compared to his and she lowered her voice down to confess, "Wasn't expecting this."

The singer smiled sweetly at her and in his hazy mind, he needed to make sure once more "D'you like it?"

Her enthusiastic nods made him melt inside, "I do. I'm gonna miss y'all so much." She wrapped her arms around his shoulder to hug him, it was a slightly awkward hug since they were sitting on the edge of the bed next to each other so she turned a bit to the right so she could pull him closer properly.

"I know. M'gonna miss you too." He whispered in her ear, drowning in her scent which made him dizzier, "Loads."

Ella's mind went back to a minute prior so she pulled back to see him as she turned the question onto him, "Are you having fun? You were frowning outside."

Alex didn't fully lie when he replied, "Just don't want to see you go, that's it." because that was also what was bothering him, but she didn't need to know it was because of George and her and how clear it was that something had happened in the very room they were currently in.

"I'll try to come visit again soon." Ella promised with a soft pout on her face, "After tour maybe."

"Would you?" Alex asked elated, a sparkle in his eye at the sheer possibility of having her there again soon—not really that soon but at least it wasn't an uncertain space in time.

She nodded, entirely convinced about it, "Of course, I just need to check my schedule."

Alex chuckled at the way she said it, and played onto it by nodding, "Right, busy girl."

"I am though!" She snorted at his sarcastic remark, "Director now, remember?"

He hummed before he pulled her into his chest, "Yeah, I'm so proud of you."

A kiss was left on the top of her head as she wholeheartedly replied, "Thank you, sweets."

Her face was pressed to his chest, her arms wrapped around his waist and a comfortable silence enveloped them, preserving that warmth between them. They were relishing in the feeling until Ella's thoughts managed their way out past her lips, "I'm gonna miss seeing you every day."

And it wasn't at all a struggle for Alex to agree, "Yeah, me too. But we can video call." He was so fucking glad for technology—that he could barely manage—for making it possible to keep in contact.

"You promise you will when you're free?" Ella pulled back a bit so she could look into his eyes.

"I promise, darling." Alex confirmed, drinking in the never ending beauty of her hazel green eyes.

Ella tilted her head to the side and scrunched her nose as in distaste when she remembered he was a busy guy so she probably wouldn't be able to just go around calling him whenever she wanted so she brought up another request, "I don't want to interrupt you so you'll have to call me okay?"

Alex shook his head at her, chuckling at her train of thought and turning it around to her, "And what if I interrupt?"

She waved his worries off in a heartbeat, "It wouldn't be anything special. It could be just a scene I can record again, whereas I can't interrupt an interview, can I?"

The answer she wanted didn't reach her ears, instead she watched Alex smirk at her and playfully roll his eyes before assuring her, "Yes you can."

"I doubt it'll be cool to interrupt your rockstar schedule, sweets." Ella reminded him like he had forgotten just who he was.

But Alex was well aware and he didn't give a fuck about it if it meant something to do with her, "Trust me when I tell you I wouldn't want anything more."

It earned him another snort of laughter and an almost mocking, "You're such a bad liar."

"Not lying darling." He corrected her with a soft look on his face that just had Ella rolling her eyes in a need for at least a fleeting moment of cutting the eye contact short.

Just saying a blunt, "Sure." when her gaze fell on his again.

They stayed there just trying to read what was behind each other's eyes for what felt like an eternity but it had only been a mere few seconds of silence that Alex broke when he whispered, "You've got really pretty eyes, have I told you that?"

His hot breath hit her slightly parted mouth, "I don't know." She replied breathlessly and in a moment of weakness, she admitted, "I like yours."

The chuckle he let out hit her mouth again, but instead of making her breath shaky, it made her smile so big it reached her eyes. "Mine? You're joking." Alex concluded with a raised eyebrow, challenging her to take it back.

But she would never, she loved the richness of the brown of his eyes and nothing compared to how they glowed a golden honey when they were hit by the light. And just as sticky they caught her and it was hard to get rid of the feeling of them on her, "M'not! They're pretty!"

"Nothing in comparison to yours." Alex stated, and then his eyes dropped to the rest of her face, catching the freckles dusting over the bridge of her nose and her cheeks, "I like your freckles too."

She was about to thank him when his brows furrowed and as she stayed quiet because she was thinking something bad was about to happen, Alex instead let out, "You're so beautiful." with a tone in his voice that sounded slightly pained.

Ella could barely manage the soft, "Thanks sweets." she gave him in return, her throat going dry at the proximity so her tongue came to lick at her bottom lip instinctively.

That was when Alex's gaze dropped further down and fell magnetized on her mouth, and his thoughts left him before he could even process them, "You've got a pretty little mouth too."

Ella snorted at that, "Right."

But instead of taking it back, Alex insisted, "You do."

"It talks loads of shit." Ella tried to joke, raising her brows as if to accentuate the fact.

It earned her a soft giggle from Alex but what Ella wasn't expecting was for him to add, "Yeah? Wonder what else it can do."

Against her better sense, she found herself saying, "Wouldn't you want to know." Her subconscious taking over and letting her heart drive her actions.

Her heart rate started increasing in speed when he replied, "I do, actually."

And all she could even let out was a breathless, "Do you?"

That felt like the perfect moment, Alex felt it all coming to him like a wave of words coming up his throat and ready to spill it all out for her but when he opened his mouth, the endless words tangled on the tip of his tongue and he stuttered, "I–, Ella–"

"Alex?" She was frozen in his arms, not knowing what to do or say but something inside her was screaming and burning and she wanted to let it free.

"I am, I–" Alex struggled again, in his eyes she could see the frustration and through them the cogs turning inside his head.

So she encouraged it with a soft, "Yeah..."

But he couldn't trust his words anymore, and instead he decided to finally do what he had been dying to do since the second their first and only date was over.

He trapped her lips in a kiss and he hummed as he melted into the feeling of her plush lips against his. It was heaven. Her short inhales as they kissed, the way her fingers dug into his clothed skin as they went, the warmth of her flushed skin under his fingertips. His hand had come up to cup her jaw softly and he smiled into the kiss when one of her hands came over it, as if to keep him there.

In that very moment it felt like it all made sense, like everything aligned perfectly and maybe every worry they'd ever had was just a silly thought. It felt so right to feel her like this and it felt so right for him to hold her that way, delicately but firmly. He knew he didn't want to let go and she was slowly coming to that conclusion too.

It was like the shock of it all quickened the rate at which they ran out of air, so she pulled back with her chest heaving and her hand still clutching his to her face, "Was that 'cause we're drunk or did you–?"

Alex cut her question short, thinking a second kiss would be enough of an answer but also just because five seconds had gone by and, after finally having properly kissed her, it felt like long enough to wait until kissing her again.

This time it was like a switch had been flipped and the wholesomeness was exchanged for hunger. Their tongues met instantly and they both hummed in bliss at the feeling, he tasted like beer and she tasted like whiskey. Her other hand came up to the back of his head and up until her fingers could clutch onto the longer strands of his hair, intensifying the neediness of the kiss.

Their lips smacked as they kissed, skin growing hot with every passing second and their hands timidly started to roam.

That was until his fingers harshly dug into the skin of her hip which was slightly exposed from their movement lifting up her shirt a bit, but the feeling of him clutching onto her like that was so good it elicited a soft moan out of her, and from then on it became more desperate.

Right as Alex started leaning forward so that she could lie on the bed with him on top, the absurdly loud and incessant knocking started, "Time's up! Come on out!"

That was Matt's voice they'd heard but somehow more people started yelling out for them to come out that it was a choir of chaotic noises that made them both sigh exasperatedly, "God, they're loud." Ella grimaced, throwing herself back on the bed completely defeated.

Alex sat up straight and stared at the door, wishing his deadly glare went right through it and striked whoever was on the other side of it, "Yeah, obnoxiously loud."

Ella pushed herself off the bed to sit back straight beside him, fixing her hair quickly as she started to say, "We should–"

But Alex interrupted by saying something along the same lines, "Right, we should..."

Yet none of them did anything to get out of the room, instead they started leaning closer until their lips were locked together again and with their eyes closed they enjoyed the few seconds of that kiss.

Which was rudely interrupted by Matt now awfully loudly asking, "Are yous shagging in there?!"

Their lips smacked softly when she pulled away and Alex swore she saw her eyes lit up with rage when she roared a harsh "Shut up Matthew!" at the door, followed by a just as annoyed, "We're coming!"

She stood up quickly, smoothing her clothes as she walked over to the door, and before the drummer could be smart about the joke he was trying to make by twisting the meaning of her words, she opened the door aggressively and spit out a venomous, "You're fucking annoying."

"Did you...?" He tried to ask as she walked past.

"No." Ella replied sternly, turning around to watch Alex—who was coming out of the room and brushing his hair with his fingers—and they shared a look that said they would talk about it later.

Flo narrowed her eyes at them both as they walked up to their seats, "You sure look too flushed to not have." and with her words, came the input of everyone else.

It wasn't only their flustered states but their swollen lips and the almost palpable tension that came with the pair coming out of the room. Ella sighed and continued to deny anything happening, Alex doing the same thing before grabbing Ella's empty glass to get her a refill as he went to get himself a new bottle.

"I'm always blushing, especially if you are taking the piss out of me so..." Ella easily found a way out of it and whilst a few people took it as enough excuse, a fair few didn't.

"I don't buy it." Matt said warily, a look on his face that matched the one on his girlfriend's face, which Ella completely ignored just so she wouldn't get caught in her lie.

"Believe what you want Helders." Alex rolled his eyes at his best mate as he walked back into the room, handing Ella her full glass of whiskey and coke and getting a cute little thanks from her before he smirked at the drummer and turned the tables on him, "In fact, you're next mate."

Alex spun the bottle and sat back down, watching it spin mindlessly because his mind was entirely caught by what had just happened, his heart growing in size in his chest and threatening to make him explode, he was just a mush of emotions at that point.

It was the loud complaints and sorrowful comments that made him look down at the bottle who had stopped and it was pointing at Miles, "Oh no."

Matty cackled, "Miles and Matt are gonna trash your guest room mate."

Ella didn't even let the pair consider it a funny joke for a split second, "You better not, I'm sleeping there later."

"Are you actually?" Matt asked, entirely confused, and Ella was just as confused because he knew she had checked out of her hotel room.

"Yes, where else am I gonna sleep?" She scoffed out, taking a gulp of her drink as if that could help her deal with the man.

And she really had needed it when the drummer shrugged and nonchalantly replied, "Dunno, Alex's bed?"

"Oh, piss off." She flipped him off, and then ushered him out of the room along with Miles with a wave of her hand, "Off you go, you have seven minutes."

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

Seven minutes in heaven ended up unleashing a chaos that no one was expecting. It had been hilarious and eventually when things ended after they denied Matt and Breana going into the room after the bottle had landed on the drummer, they had moved onto more conversations and somehow ended up getting a bit of information from George and Ella about their date.

Ella was glad George didn't spill anything non-PG and they just playfully hinted at the rest of their night, keeping to just letting everyone in on where they had gone and how he had taken her around London.

Alex's blood was boiling as he heard it all but he was reassured by Ella resting her hand on his knee and keeping it there as everyone chatted about the newly shared story. And thankfully, Matty and Ross had cackled about a place George had taken her and ended up telling a few of the band's teenage years stories that had everyone creasing.

They all were so entertained that time slipped past them and with it more drinks came until Ella was crashing because of the amount of alcohol she'd had. Breana had already fallen asleep for a bit with her face hidden on the crook of Matt's neck, her legs thrown over his lap; so Ella languidly hugged everyone goodbye, apologizing for going to bed so early—it was almost three in the morning—but her eyes were closing and heading to bed with her best friend sounded amazing.

She got tight hugs and coos from everyone, promises to see her soon and visit her over in LA when time would allow it, and once she managed to escape George's grip—who had hugged her by the waist to his chest and kept her in between his spread legs, leaving kisses on her shoulder and neck—, she got Bre to go with her to the guest room so they could comfortably sleep.

And that was one of the best night's of sleep she'd had. It probably was thanks to the alcohol having dulled her senses enough for everything to feel fuzzy and nice, and how it had helped her fall asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow and Bre's arm was around her waist.

But all the peace she had lingering in her body by her slumber had dissipated like vapor when she opened her eyes and saw the sunlight peeking through the blinds.

Suddenly, the lack of hearing an alarm going off got her springing up from bed in search of her phone. When Ella saw that it was way past eight in the morning, she turned around in a panic and shook her best friend as she whisper-shouted, "Bre! Wake up!"

Breana mumbled something in her sleep, and Ella had to shake her a bit more for the model to finally peel her eyes open and acknowledge her. "Bre, it's eight thirty, we're gonna miss our flight!"

"Oh fuck, we're so late." Bre winced when she saw the time on her own phone, eyes going wide and blinking constantly to wipe the sleep off her face.

Ella ran off to the living room and she was glad to see Matt sleeping on the settee. She came up to him, leaning into him and shaking him softly as she whispered, "Matt! Come on, wake up Matthew."

"What the fuck?" Matt frowned when he opened his eyes and found Ella, looking disheveled and panicked.

Her anxious, "It's half past eight, we're late." was enough explanation for it.

"Fucking hell." He cursed under his breath as he sat up on the settee, rubbing his eyes, "Is Bre awake?"

"Yes." Ella nodded, looking back to the door of the guest room and praying Bre was getting ready as quickly as she could. She wanted to do that as well but asked Matt first, "Can you wake Alex up for me, please?"

And a bit of relief flooded her body when he nodded, "Sure."

With long strides she went back into the guest room and found Breana in a different outfit from the one they had slept in, grabbing her toiletry bag to go to the bathroom and quickly finish getting ready.

Whilst Bre was in there, Ella changed her clothes in record time and ended up knocking on the bathroom door so that she could brush her teeth and wash her face quickly whilst Bre did her own thing.

Breana watched as Ella quickly finished doing that and walked back inside the room, leaving the model to put a bit of makeup on her face while she took the suitcases out of the room and towards the front door.

The next knock on the bathroom door was from Matt, who gave his girlfriend a brief kiss as she walked out and hurried her up to have her things ready so they could leave as soon as possible.

Bre got to where Ella was standing by the door, taking a hurried glance inside the bag she had perched up on her shoulder. And she was stuffing her toiletries bag back inside her suitcase when Ella told her she needed to do something really quickly before they left.

Ella gave Bre no time to ask what on Earth it was that couldn't wait before she was out the door, so she was left making sure she had everything on her and going to the kitchen to get a glass of water.

Out on the hallway, Ella was taking quick long strides towards the door to the next flat and silently praying that who she was looking for was home.

She had no idea why she was nervous, maybe it was the mix of fear of losing her flight and the worry about Alice not being in her flat but she was so happy when only a minute after knocking on her door, the singer opened the door and a smile tugged at the corner of her lips seeing Ella standing before her.

A heavy sigh came from Ella seeing her there and with a soft smile she reminded Alice, "I promised I wouldn't leave without saying goodbye."

"I'm glad you kept your word." Alice replied, melting at the fact that she'd actually pulled through with it.

"I have these," Ella went through her bag in a second and pulled out the envelope with the pictures she'd taken of Alice, handing them to her, "Thought you'd wanna have them. I have the scans."

She smiled at the Allie x written on top of it and when she opened it, her grin morphed into a smirk, "Oh this is perfect." Alice took one of the pictures out, one of her thighs littered with love bites and Ella's hand gripping her leg tightly, Pure Desire tattoo to the right of the frame, "Just what I needed to remember you by."

"You're a tease." The American girl laughed, her cheeks tinting a subtle pink but glad to see she liked the pictures.

"And you love it." Alice winked at her before putting the picture back in the envelope and opening her arms so Ella could give her a hug. They clutched each other tightly, and Alice whispered in her ear, "Have a good flight Ellie. I'm always a text away, or a phone call away. Whichever you prefer."

Ella hummed in content, "Thank you Allie, so am I." She pulled back, taking a step backwards and willing herself to properly take in the moment before she finally said a soft, "Bye."

"See ya' Ellie." Alice said instead, not wanting it to seem permanent, waving at her as she walked backwards but eventually turned around to head back inside Alex's flat.

Before she could open the door, it opened and there was Alex, followed by Bre and Matt. But just the sight of him made her breath hitch in her throat, the kisses they had shared the night before playing in her mind like a film and she had to fight the urge to throw herself at him and repeat it at least one more time.

There's still time, Ella said to herself. They still had to drive all the way to the airport and she wasn't going to say goodbye until they were in Heathrow Airport.

But time was exactly what they didn't have at that moment. The girls basically threw themselves in the back of Matt's car and the lads all but threw their cases in the boot of the car before getting in the front seats and making a dash for the airport.

Forty minutes it took them to get there and another nerve wracking ten minutes to find a parking spot. Ella didn't know if she could've endured this stress if she wasn't in the company of her friends, because her heart was hammering against her chest under the pressure and her panic was threatening to become worse.

The last thing she needed was to have a panic attack in the middle of the airport.

Though that seemed like a very high chance when she and Bre got to the counter of the airline they were flying and the lady who helped them there told them they needed to rush because the gate was quite far away and they were going to start boarding in approximately thirty minutes.

With their tickets in hand and their carry-on bags rolling beside them, the girls walked back to where Alex and Matt were waiting, but Ella was stressed out to the bones about time ticking, "Fuck, we gotta run Bre."

"I know." The model let out a shaky breath, squeezing her best friend's hand as if to say 'we've got this' and offer her some comfort.

"Guys, we need to run. We're boarding in thirty minutes and our gate is on Terminal B." Ella said sadly, pained that they couldn't even fit five more minutes together before having to say goodbye.

"Maybe it was a bad idea to play those drinking games." Matt winced but ended up laughing at the situation.

Bre chuckled, of course this would happen to them for trusting themselves throwing a party the night before their flight, "It was fun though."

They smiled and nodded in agreement and it was Ella to take the first step into starting the goodbyes. She walked over to Matt and hugged him with a pout on her face, "Bye Matt, I'll see you soon, yeah?"

They swayed a bit and Matt squeezed her tightly before pulling back, "See you soon Ellie, love you lots you little shit."

She giggled at him and she reciprocated as he pressed a brief kiss on her cheek, "Love you too dickhead."

Beside her, Bre was hugging Alex goodbye too and the second that she pulled back and saw her boyfriend ready to kiss her goodbye, the model jumped into Matt's arms.

Ella smiled to herself seeing them, not missing a chance to make a gagging noise when they started kissing which ended up with her getting a middle finger from the couple. That was her cue to stop stalling and turn to see Alex, who was patiently waiting for her to crush him in a hug and she did just that.

She hummed in the embrace, trying to memorize the feeling of him pressed against her the best she could because she knew it would be a while until she got the privilege to feel that again. He was desperate, his brain a tangle of thoughts so messy that left him stupefied when trying to come up with an answer to 'is this the right moment to let her know or should i wait?'.

"We'll video call, yeah?" She said in his ear, one last attempt to properly guarantee they wouldn't stray away from each other.

Alex replied, "Promise." in a heartbeat and with such conviction, not even letting her think he would allow that to happen.

And just to make sure she was covering everything, she pleaded, "Text me when you're free okay?"

"'Course darling." Alex nodded, taking in her scent and praying it somehow managed to stick to his top so it would linger in the cotton of his shirt and he could pretend she was there with him for a while. His heart twisted in his chest, he wanted to be selfish so badly and just ask her to stay with him for longer, racking his brain for an excuse to make that possible but there was none.

He felt himself growing upset, the frustration getting to him and a knot started forming in his throat so he spoke very softly and low when he said, "M'gonna miss you so fucking much."

And it made it so much worse when she agreed, "Me too sweets, too much."

When he pulled away and saw her face, he found her eyes filling up with tears and just that had him tearing up with her. He cupped her face with both hands and his thumbs rubbed softly at her cheeks, "Don't cry darling, please. Late September we'll be back in LA alright?." He had that date marked on his calendar already, and it would be a countdown until that day the second that she walked away from them.

Ella sniffled, "I'll see you then." and offered him a sad smile.

He nodded, leaning in to kiss her forehead and she felt his lips brush against her skin as he said, "It'll come quick, you'll see."

She closed her eyes at the feeling, which she lost once he pulled back to look at her and under his burning gaze, she opened her eyes again. He was going to look for that shade of brownish green of her eyes everywhere he went until he saw her again, just to feel a sliver of what she erupted inside him with her presence.

"Take care, darling." His hands were on her shoulders then, squeezing them softly.

Ella nodded again, taking every word of his to heart like a prayer, "You too, and have lots of fun on tour okay? Keep me updated, I wanna hear it all."

"Definitely." He grinned brightly at her, thinking about how he was sure there wouldn't be a thing that happened on the road that he wouldn't want to share with her. "You'll keep me in on what Los Feliz is looking like, yeah?"

The snort of laughter that came from her filled him up with warmth, and after she promised she would with an enthusiastic, "Absolutely." he pulled her back into his chest and hugged her tightly.

"Love you darling." His hot breath hit just behind her ear and it made her shiver, something he felt with her in his arms and god didn't that reaction make him want to just give her his heart entirely.

He clutched her even tighter when she mumbled, "Love you sweetness." back. The fact that they were existing in borrowed time at that moment completely escaped them, their eyes closed as they relished in each other's touch and presence.

But it was cut short when Bre sighed sadly behind her and reminded her, "We need to go Ellie."

Ella didn't even have the privilege to fight for a few more seconds because they really needed to go, so she broke the embrace with pursed lips in an attempt not to pout and let her chin quiver until she cried and she put on a brave face when she turned around to grab her carry-on case and walked along with Bre.

The girls waved them goodbye once more as they walked to the security line and the lads did the same. They watched as they, thankfully, walked down the line at a decent pace since the line was moving quicker than expected and they didn't leave until they managed to see the girls disappearing past that checkpoint.

It had been pure silence after the girls left, the lads only talking when Matt suggested going for some food and Alex agreed, but apart from that, they just seemed to be in their own heads.

Matt was clearly thinking about how hard it was to say goodbye to his girlfriend and endure a month or so without her whilst on tour until they were back in the States and she could join them on the road.

But Alex wasn't as lucky and he was mourning the missed chances he'd had to speak up. He wanted to hit himself in the head for being an idiot, wasting the time he'd had with her by being jealous and fucking shit up instead of coming clean and actually try and see if anything could happen between them.

He felt like he wanted to call Florence and just cry to her on the phone, let her call her a fucking idiot because that's what he was.

Instead, he kept that turmoil to himself all day. From the second he and Matt sat down at the pub they'd chosen to eat at—they'd gotten a text from Bre and Ella saying they had barely made it into their flight and it was all because first class had taken a bit longer to board, Ella comically saying 'thank fuck for the posh dickheads being late!'—up until the moment he got back home.

It was painful having to walk back into his flat and see the living room in the same state they had left it the night before and the door to his guest bedroom open and showing the messy bed.

He was so out of it at that moment that he just went straight to bed and plopped down on it face down, cursing himself out in his head endlessly until his eyes closed and he fully fell asleep.

Yet, he couldn't really escape. His mind tortured him with dreams of Ella, and despite the feeling of emptiness that swallowed him, he really wouldn't wish for something else.

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A/N: So... it finally happened. Sorry it took this many chapter but really not sorry because this is the way I planned it to be - I did say this would be a slow burn so, you were warned. Now, something I really am apologising for, from the bottom of my heart, is for the fact that after this chapter it might take me longer to update. I had up until this chapter done and ready to post, and even though I have every chapter left in this series meticulously planned out, it's been a little hard finding the time to write it properly lately. I'm so very sorry, life has been getting quite stressful lately and there's a lot in my plate right now but I promise I will do my best to upload as quick as possible. My heart is quite literally breaking as I say this, but I hope you can understand and I hope you know I don't take your patience for granted. Once again, my most sincere apologies for this but I'm also sending you my most heartfelt thank yous for all the time you give this story and the support you show me, it means the absolute world to me and I love y'all very much. Yous are all fucking amazing, hope you have the best weekend! Sending lots of love and truly hope to see you really soon xx

Taglist: @imagine-that-100 @red---moon @kennedy-brooke @faveficz @indierockgirrl @ladydraculasthings @moonvr @unwantedlovergirl @eaglestar31 @nikisfwn @funniestpersoninnyc @andrearroe @justacaliforniandreamer @alexturnersgf69 @yourorganiccigarette

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