#i cannot reschedule the trip

[florenceisfalling]

the woes are upon me and i know there are bigger priorities in the world atm but if anybody wants to just toss a coin to their little loser and add a character name with it i'll make you some of my geometric ms paint art like this 👍 no pressure

#commissions #i just dont have a car for the trip i am supposed to make to see my fiancee #because kia completely and utterly fucked me over #some of my meds are in that car too which i will probably be able to get but i am having OTHER stress induced medical problems as a result #i cannot reschedule the trip #so im possibly going to have to spend 6x as much money for flights that take literally the same amount of time #and i literally dont know how much money is currently in my bank account because since my mom died my bank kinda fucked me over too #i also have to worry about getting new glasses because mine are so outdated i really cannot see for shit #im scheduling this instead of posting it because my circumstances might change between now and later tomorrow #but plane tickets are getting pricier by the day so i cant wait forever

[daycourtofficial]

You’re losing me

Summary: Azriel has always put his duties as spymaster above his own needs and wants. How long can you let him keep putting work over you before boiling over?

Author’s note: I am so sorry about this babes, this is pure heartbreak. Anyway angst is a new genre for me so please lmk how this goes for you (good, bad, awful - lmk)

(1k celebration masterlist 🍾)

You sit in the library of your shared home, the soft cushion of your favorite armchair not providing the comfort it used to. The library was your favorite room in the house - you and Azriel spent thousands of hours in here reading independently, reading to each other, or just enjoying the silence with each other for company.

The room was beautiful- you both adored the entirety of the house, but this room drew both of you in immediately. It’s beautiful stain-glass windows creating brilliant hues of color to move about the room during the day, bringing life to the dark wood that adorns the walls of the room.

Vivid colors from the scenes in the stain glass window would dance across the floor, as if reenacting the depictions just for you two.

It’s dark now, the sun having set hours ago, and you can’t remember the last time you enjoyed the light of the room. The last time you and Azriel had enjoyed the light of the room.

The last time you and Azriel just enjoyed each other’s company without knowing he was going to leave in a matter of hours.

It was a song and dance you were familiar with by now - he’d return home from doing some work requested by Rhys, you’d make him some food, you two would snuggle or have sex, and he’d be gone by the time you woke up.

It wasn’t always like this, but the two years since the war have caused Azriel to dive headfirst into his work, accepting every scrap of work Rhysand would push his way, darting out the door like it was calling to him.

You hear the front door open, knowing who it is despite their silent entrance. Sighing, you stand up and walk out of the library, closing the door behind you.

You walked through the halls of your home, feet softly padding on the hardwood floor until you see him across the living room, still in his leathers.

It used to amuse you, when he’d return in his leathers, compared to you in your frilly nightgowns. It was quite a sight, the dark leather surrounded by the satins and cottons of your nightgowns.

Now it just furthered to prove the divide between you.

“Az, we were supposed to go to the bakery today to taste cakes.”

You hardly let him walk through the door before picking a fight, but his absence at the bakery hours ago left you ample time to stew in your negative emotions.

He runs his hand down his face, the purple and blue bruising under his eyes having grown more and more prominent over the weeks. Truthfully, you don’t want to start a fight, but you’ve let too many of these things slide in the past two years and you’re at your tipping point.

Missed dates, rescheduled dinners, missed anniversaries, cancelled trips. You had tried talking several times about it, but you need your fiancé around more than he has been. No amount of begging can make him do anything about it, though.

The most egregious of all was the continually delayed status of your wedding ceremony. You’ve had to rescind the invitations two times now, and you’re have tempted to send out fresh ones that just say “date: TBD”.

He just sighs in response, telling you, “I had to work, I had a mission.”

You sigh, knowing it was the truth. Your fiancé would never cheat on you, but he would put everyone else’s needs above his.

And above your own.

“Azriel, I really needed you today. It was important to me for you to be there.”

“It’s just a cake - pick any flavor you want. You know what I like,” he says, sitting onto the couch and taking off his boots.

“It’s not just a cake! This is your wedding too - I cannot make every decision for this. It’s supposed to be about us, not about me.”

You shake your head, exasperation bubbling to the surface, “I feel insane going to these appointments because I have a fiancé who never shows up! I swear I heard the florist say she pitied me because I pretended to be engaged!”

Azriel drags a hand down his face, “can we not do this now? I’m exhausted and want to bathe before bed.”

You huff out a laugh, as Azriel tries to move past you but you continue to follow him. “When would be a better time? You’re hardly home lately, and you leave at a moment’s notice for Rhysand.”

He whips his head at you, “it’s my job, my duty.”

You roll your eyes, “I’m pretty sure you could delegate a decent proportion of your work to the people under you that you both hand selected and trained yourself!

He sighs, exasperated, “it’s my job.”

A line you’ve heard a thousand times. You knew who he was when you began dating him, you’ve always known who he was and what he did.

But you thought his need to feel worthy would wane with time, not get worse.

“You put Rhys’s needs over mine!” You’re shouting now, something you never do, and Azriel bites back, “he’s my high lord - and yours.”

“That doesn’t mean he gets to keep you at his beck and call!” Your hands were running through your hair, unable to have the same argument again and again.

“That’s exactly what it means.”

“Oh so was it Rhys’s beck and call to push our wedding back three separate times?”

He whirls around at you, pointing, “That’s not fair and you know it.”

“Three times is not fair! It’s like you don’t even want it!”

His silence to your accusation rings through your ears. A damning, deafening silence.

You count to ten in your head, and he hasn’t made a sound, only looking at the ground.

His lack of words echo through your mind, even as his hands reach out to you, his desperate pleadings of “I-” and “baby” falling on deaf ears.

“I’m glad to see where we stand.”

You begin to turn, but stop yourself.

“When I told Nesta our wedding was delayed again, she told me if you really wanted it, really wanted me, you’d suggest we just run off and get married like Rhys and Feyre did.”

You take a shaky breath, “but you never did.”

You step back from him, unable to look him in the eye, unable to do much of anything, except retreat from your shared bedroom, softly shutting the door behind you.

Azriel stands in the now empty room, your footsteps ceasing down the hall but continuing in his mind. Every second he stands there, the further you become. He starts to move, starts to pick up his feet, his shadows urging him to go, go, go.

You can fix this, they tell him. Go, now.

His thoughts are broken up by Rhys’s voice, a smooth sound at such odds with the chaotic edges of his thoughts.

Az, I need you.

Azriel doesn’t even ask if it can wait. You’ll understand. He’s sure of it. He can fix things when he comes home. Rhys just needs him right now, he can help him out, then he can talk to you.

He scrawls a quick note on the table for you to find before retreating into his shadows.

He returns home a few hours later, his assistance speeding up Rhys’s needs. He stops to grab you your favorite flowers, a book you’ve been eyeing, and a necklace he’s had his eye on in the shop for ages.

The necklace gives him pause, as he realizes he first saw it eight months ago, its shine reminding him of your eyes.

Had it really been eight months?

He kept telling himself he was going to buy you the necklace for a special occasion, but so many have slipped by without his acknowledgment this past year.

Gods, he thinks, did he even celebrate your birthday?

Surely he hadn’t gotten that caught up in his work.

Had he?

The streets are quiet as he makes his way back to your shared home. He thinks over the past year and how he hardly saw you, and when he did, he often left not soon after seeing you.

He opens the door, the house eerily silent following your fight earlier. He deserved your silence. He couldn’t tell you how scared he was to marry you, tethering your soul to his for the rest of your lives.

You, who was so kind and so loving, shackled to him for eternity. He knew the insecurities were ridiculous, that you loved him with every part of yourself.

But that didn’t stop the self-hatred from oozing out of him every moment.

He hadn’t been there for you this past year. He had let his own need for approval overshadow your needs.

He groans, needing to find you so he can fix things. He walks through the house, not even realizing the book he’s carrying is a duplicate to the one sitting on the coffee table.

He starts really thinking, trying to remember the last time he had touched you, kissed you, held you.

Too long, he realizes, as he’s made his way through the whole house without a sign of you. A shadow wraps around his wrist, pulling him into the kitchen. He finds the note he had left earlier still on the table, but you had scrawled a second message underneath. Five words that break his resolve, forcing him to his knees. Your handwriting so clear, save for the splotched ink, wet from tears.

I wouldn’t marry me either.

#acotar fanfiction #azriel x reader #azriel x you #azriel #azriel fanfic #azriel x y/n #azriel angst #acotar writing

[bodyunderconstruction]

Smoke from Canada

Please stay inside if you are sensitive to smoke

check your area for air quality:

PLEASE REBLOG AND SHARE MORE TIPS

I’m actively updating as of Wednesday Jun 7, 2023. Please check your local news stations and weather apps for information on your area.

Outside

If you have to go outside please wear a mask, have lots of sunscreen and drink water when available/needed. Stay in shade when walking. Wear light colors outside, avoid dark colors. Cloth Masks are cool but paint/filter masks are your best friend. If you have a inhaler just bring it with you everywhere! Inside

When inside don’t open windows and keep curtain closed to expel heat. Sandwiches and fruit are your friend. Cooking is far too hot. If you are about to run out of water fill tub with cold water and pray you have a good drain. Basements are your friend. DRINK WATER NOT SODA OR SPORTS DRINKS! Don’t use drier, use a clothes line if possible

Extra

if you are looking for shelter, Public libraries, coffee shops, grocery stores, anywhere thats air conditioned. Take anything you need but be SAFE

Did I mention water? Gatorade is fun but don’t drink caffeine.

If there’s no smoke in your area and you just need to cool down, open your window at night/early morning

|| Take it easy. No, easier than that. Aside from the mental toll the smoke and horrible weird light and the creepy red sun and the burning smell take on you, your body is just working way harder to do everything it normally does. You will be exhausted, you will be distracted, you will have headaches and you will struggle with basic tasks like "walking up stairs." Do not try to power through it. Cancel plans, reschedule appointments, do fewer errands or consolidate them into one trip.

Treat yourself like you have a cold. Plenty of fluids, stopping when you're tired, cough drops and eye drops for the painful throat and eyes, inhalers if you have one.

Spend as little time outside as you possibly can. This includes your pets. Do not open your windows, do not open your screen door, do not run your AC (this is where some of the above advice for hot weather will come in handy.)

If you have to go outside, wear an N95 or KN95 mask. Make sure it's well-fitted around your face. You're not trying to keep out the smoke, but the PM2.5 (particulate matter 2.5 microns or smaller.) That's the stuff that causes cancer. If you have a fan with a HEPA filter, blast it all the time. If you don't have one go look at diy air filter link below, ask a mutual aid center if you cannot come into contact with these materials. || These tips are from them, a few links below are from them too so go give them some love. https://www.tumblr.com/salteywater

LINKS:

Diy Air Filter

Smoke Tips & Safety

Google Docs, being updated currently

Diy Sun Reflector

More tips

#Heat tips #Fire tips #canada fires #Canada fire #canada wildfires #Canada wildfire #climate crisis #natural disasters #Forest Fires #mutual aid #lgtbq community #crust punk #anarchism #air pollution #air pollutants #Nova Scotia fires #alberta wildfires #Heavy Smoke #Fire Crews #bush fire #enviromental #environmental activism #climate activst #climate activism #Canada #Canada is burning #reblog to save a life #reblog this plz #reblog #solar punk

[endless-weightless]

E42!Miles Morales x Reader headcanons

Both headcanons of him and of him being a romantic partner cos I'm bored teehee. Also no nsfw cos he's a minor and sorry if the Spanish related hcs are inaccurate or smth like that, I only speak English but please lmk if I got smth wrong!

TAGS/WARNINGS: Fem!reader, fluff, minor angst, cussing

WORD COUNT: 908

Just Miles headcanons

⚜Always smells fresh. He probably uses the perfect amount of Axe body spray or just wears a good cologne.

⚜E1610!Miles is taller than E42!Miles by a few inches because the spider bite most likely affected his growth.

⚜Piggybacking off of that last hc, he probably wears insoles to make himself a lil' taller, but he definitely tells Aaron it helps with the "pain of being on his feet all day", which he knows is bullshit because he's been doing Prowler work for years and has never once considered wearing insoles.

⚜If high maintenance was a guy, it'd be Miles G. Morales.

⚜Had to use a shitbox of a speaker for YEARS until he started making money as the Prowler. Rio would come home from work only to hear some bullshit by Playboi Carti playing at full volume on the worst speaker you've ever heard.

⚜Takes bathtime VERY seriously.

⚜Made his voice way deeper in front of E1610!Miles and probably has a much more calm voice, almost soothing.

⚜Will occasionally forget words in English and will just replace them with a Spanish word and leave you looking confused as fuck.

"You know the thing I'm talking about, it's the uh... rizador!"

"The fucking what?"

⚜Randomly got popular one day in 8th grade/year 9 for no reason, like one day everyone just started dabbing him up.

⚜Speaking of which, if you ever go anywhere with him and he sees anyone he knows, you best believe you'll be awkwardly standing next to him as you wait for him to finish dabbing up the entire population.

Now for romantic headcanons

⚜Was bold asf when he was pursuing you. He'd purposely stare at you in class so you'd make eye contact, and he'd always be the last to look away. He didn't ask for your snap from his or your friends. Instead, he walked right up to you and asked you himself, and he wasn't dry when it came to the snaps either.

⚜Constant compliments, even before you became official. He'd always go out of his way to let you know he liked your outfit, your hair, or even just to say you looked beautiful every single day.

⚜Miles will always give you his jacket if you start to look cold. He can always sense when you're going to get cold and he will not take no for an answer, so don't bother.

⚜This next hc is for my afab pookies. He'll keep track of your cycle and will toss a bag full of pads and tampons at you the second your period starts, which he always knows before you for some reason. He always remembers what brands you like, and he knows all the tricks he learnt from his mother to help you with cramps, headaches or mood swings.

⚜He knows calling you mami makes you fall face first for him, so he'll use it to his advantage to make you less mad when he has to cancel plans.

"Miles, baby, this is our third date this month we've had to reschedule :/." "I know, mami. I'm sorry." He'd say as he places a kiss on your forehead.

⚜Not too big on PDA. Of course, he'll constantly be either holding your hand or having his arm around you and kiss you goodbye, but he'll never go out of his way to shove his tongue down your throat in front of everyone.

⚜But my GOD, he is affectionate in private. Miles cannot keep his hands to himself to save his life. He'd pick you up and dip you to kiss you if he could.

⚜He constantly feels guilty about having to ditch dates for Prowler work, so to make up for it, he'll take you on massive shopping trips. The mf won't take no for an answer either. He couldn't give two flying fucks if you couldn't go around spending hundreds of dollars on clothes, he wants you to know he'll do anything for you despite his mysterious job he never speaks about.

⚜The biggest gentleman ever. He probably learnt it from his mother since she was his only parent, and he definitely has some feminist ideologies ingrained into him, though he does prefer to be the provider and for you to stay safe at home/school.

⚜Miles would occasionally daydream about settling down with you and having a child together, but he knows his job is too dangerous for that despite his longing for a family.

⚜He shows his affection by buying you gifts and spending any and all of his free time with you in return for just your touch and the sound of your voice. He'd prefer to spend every day by your side but he knows you can't get involved in his work and he'd prefer you to stay safe despite how feisty you may be.

⚜If you two went to prom/formal together he'd fall head over heels the second he sees you all dressed up. He'd take as many photos as possible and brag the whole night going "Yeah that's my girlfriend." with a stupid grin plastered across his face.

⚜Almost never talks about how he feels or opens up, he probably would only share how he feels if he broke down in front of you, which he would hate because he likes to feel like he's the protector and provider so if he's not showing you strength he feels weak and unworthy of your love.

-------

That's all I can think of rn lmk if you want any other characters!

#headcanons #x reader #across the spider verse #spiderman #miles morales prowler #miles morales #prowler x reader #earth 42 miles x reader #fem!reader

[blinkpen]

nother lil life update!

appointment with housing admin lady got rescheduled to tuesday, but that's not too big a deal since that is the soonest day they could officially open up that apartment for me anyway, so if the answer was going to be yes, rescheduling when i get the yes to said day, doesn't delay the move-in, except by like, maybe, one more additional day of just. going back to get/move my stuff? so i am Unbothered and maintain the same level of cautious optimism leaned optimism as before

and again my stress level is way lower now knowing there is likely a light at the end of the tunnel (hell that a tunnel even EXISTS now) and mom is, at least for now, sobered by the intervention of other adults for whom going

"ummmmm but the very existence of trans identity is a personal attack against me and my beliefs bc i believe their existence is blasphemous they stole the rainbow from christians and desecrated the noah's arc story that's why i'm so mean to [not my fucking pronoun] whenever anything remotely close to the topic of gender comes up, asking nicely to so mach as -gag noises- humor they/them is a deliberate attack on me first, and forcing the queer agenda on me, so i get to attack back with full venom unloaded and vote in favor of making queer peoples' lives more difficult if not impossible, so like, i'm the victim actually? [not my fucking pronoun] needs to stop being so entitled and unholy and learn to deal with Different Opinions and stop Undermining me"

will not fucking fly and she can't make inflict Power Word: Guilt Trip to make them crumple away the way she does to me to instantly win and make the argument stop so she is now not pushing buttons and keeping her toxicity to herself methinks bc "ah fuck, an actually benevolent authority figure nobody in town would question is looking at how much my grown but wingclipped and disabled child's mental and now physical health has deteriorated to life-threateningly poor levels and looking in my direction while Knowing details i cannot possibly spin in my favor to outside observers; the only people who'd swoop in to take my side would only make me look worse by association, though i'll probably still refuse to think about The Implications of that, so i will Be Mask On now about it if nothing else"

like she got a stark fucking reminder i think of the fact she is a mean person who publicly boasts about being mean because she thinks its funny and also equates being smart with being cynical and therefore if you're aggressively cynical you're automatically smarter than whoever you are talking to or about, and is the kind of person who literally owns a "leftist tears" coffee mug, while claiming herself a Good christian just because she didn't kick me out for being queer like the Bad christians do, but like, she can still give me shit for being queer as much as she likes and if i stand up for myself i'm an ungrateful little bitch, those are her Vibes,

and being that way, makes it hard to defend yourself as totally innocent of any wrongdoing and victim-blame someone most people in town know, by contrast, as "the borderline mute Always a Hoodie n Headphones kid who spends a lot of time just wandering around town for the heck of it and seems a bit touched in the head/lost in their own little world, but is unfailingly friendly if you do try to talk to them for whatever reason, and will sincerely ask if they could be of any assistance to anyone who enters their cone of vision who seems to be in a pickle" once they start developing what seems like a wasting illness and an aura of hopelessness they didn't have before and finally show up at the hospital looking like they're about to drop dead from what is clearly several months of physiological stress and self-neglect and they don't even have their meds handy because you locked their disabled ass out in retaliation for leaving for one single night because you wouldn't stop screaming at them about how their gender thing is blasphemous and [checks notes] eavesdropping in on them while they shower to make sure not even their anguished crying and muttering to themself even in there isn't saying anything you don't like??? what the f-

even the crusty old farmer i know who i guess probably would go "not sure i like that but whatever" about transness otherwise enters "now what makes you think that makes [not my pronoun but i forgive bc its not done Maliciously] less of a person, what makes you think that's okay" mode over that

lol, said the frog, as a human hand scoops it out of the water just in time, and places it on a nice log where it may recover from the sting, while pointing to the sinking scorpion suggesting they go to therapy instead of stinging everyone around them and going "but i'm a scorpion so that means i am not responsible for my actions and nobody is allowed to expect better of me" lmao,

okay that went from a life update to me venting a bit? but. i eared that i think, it helps keep my grounded, hoenstly.

anyway we gotta send my doc a fruit basket or somn

#cw for discussions of transphobia and all that

[spadesolace]

polaroid love - bonus 0.5: can i have this dance?

previous | masterlist | next

everything seems to be out of place, y/n’s mind is running everywhere, minji’s heart cannot stay still, their nerves are worse than their first meeting.

y/n had bought a small bouquet filled with peonies and daffodils for minji, a way to make up for rescheduling their second date. if anything, it's somehow comforting how minji’s eyes lit up from seeing the bouquet.

there was some tension in the air, the trip wasn’t awkward but it was mostly small talk with the music playing at a reasonable volume. it’s not that it was bad but they’ve seen each other three times a week because of the mama stage, there’s not much to talk about. y/n’s social battery is at a reasonable level, it won’t be too draining for her to see minji and spend time with her.

“are you sure you punched in the right address?” y/n is skeptical about the area, it wasn’t in the city but it was by an apartment complex near han river. the warning signals in her mind going off as she hears minji confirm that it was the right area.

“you can park here, don’t worry about it.”

“minji, as much as i don’t want to, i can’t control it.” minji laughed at y/n’s lowkey panic state, only to explain that her parents has a unit in the building where she reserved the entire roof deck for their date.

as soon as they parked, walking hand in hand just like their first date on the way to their destination. minji had mentioned going to the apartment first, giving y/n the reassurance that her parents aren’t there at the moment and that the things she needed were there.

first glance at the apartment, it was small, minimalistic, and there was a basket by the door, the one minji needed for your date. somehow that started this whole adrenaline rush, as soon as the door closed, the pair ran towards the elevator, hoping that no one would join them. somehow minji’s prayer was answered, an empty elevator that directly went straight to the roof deck. so far so good.

y/n walked out of the elevator, observing the entire area. string lights hanging in the center gazebo, a small speaker, and just a small garden house.

“this feels like i’m in high school musical.”

“that’s the vibe i was going for.”

to say the least, minji took into consideration what yoona had told her. simple, private, and an activity they can both enjoy. y/n could only admire the entire thing, the city view, the quiet area, along with the cool ambiance. this is perfect.

the entire date was everything y/n could wish for, who wouldn’t want a high school musical theme date. a laptop perfectly placed in front of them playing some romcom that’s already nearing the end, y/n feeding minji a chocolate covered strawberry as they continue their conversation, the movie no longer catching their interests. as domestic and sweet as it is, minji was still nervous, despite leaning towards y/n and taking a few glances towards the korean-australian that’s been occupying her mind. y/n was talking about songwriting, since minji is currently co writing a song for their comeback.

“kiss was just- is there something on my face?”

“hm?” y/n could only laugh, looking down at minji who was slowly reaching for her face, tucking a strand of her hair.

“have i ever told you that you’re pretty?” that woke minji up from her thoughts, processing what y/n had uttered. playfully pushing y/n’s face away as she sat up properly, fixing her hair and looking at y/n, there was a glimmer in her eye. oh, wow.

“am i no longer your cutie cuddly minji?” y/n laughed as she stood up, stretching her back, and pulling her phone out.

“you’re still my cutie, but clearly you’re also my pretty cuddly minji.” looking up, y/n had a certain aura, maybe it was the lighting how it perfectly shows how angelic the nation’s heartthrob is, holding her hand out for her. she gladly took it, slowly standing up with the help of y/n, while her other hand, still holding her phone, played a familiar scene.

“can i have this dance, kim minji?” y/n pulled minji close, one arm around her waist.

“you’re so cliche, sim y/n.” the other holding minji’s hand.

“says the one that decided on a hsm theme date.” and little space left in between.

minji took the lead, singing to gabriella’s part while y/n sang troy’s part and with how much the taller girl loves the movie, it’s no surprise she remembers the lyrics by heart. it felt as if y/n was singing it to her and not just a song she chose to play because of the entire thing. as much as she hates to admit it, she’s falling fast for y/n. it felt too fast for minji, the way the song was nearing its end, y/n slowing down as minji pull her close.

maintaining eye contact while the song changes into another hsm track by troy and gabriella, minji moved both her arms around y/n’s neck. slowly pulling her close, leaving no space, looking into her eyes to her lips and back.

“fuck it.” minji felt soft lips on top of hers, a strong smell of lavender, lips taste like strawberries, and the way she’s being pulled closer. and y/n is kissing her back.

the smell of pear with a hint of freesia, a familiar scent, a familiar feeling, as much as y/n enjoys this, she must not fall for it. slowly pulling away, with swollen lips and a light tint to the pair, she knows it's too late to leave.

“i like you, y/n.”

“minji… i don’t want to hurt you.

taglist [CLOSED]:

@lesbianslovesminji @sserajeans @trsrina @invusblog @haerinstolemyhrt @txtbrainrot @ddenoudepression @cfvgbhndun-new-blog @lcv3lies @rd0265667 @somsomishy @dream-chasers-things @captivq @limbforalimb @dmndtears @buuhsworld @oshyci @ksnu @falling-intoo-deep @sserafimez @hyukasverse @forever-in-the-sky2 @cixl-writes @wolfimini @j-wyoung @jisooftme @justme-idle @myahwritesss @paranoxic @edamboon @iluvhanni1

#newjeans x reader #newjeans imagines #newjeans #kim minji newjeans #kim minji x reader #minji x reader #kim minji #newjeans minji #newjeans hanni #newjeans smau #minji #nwjns #hanni #minji fluff #minji scenarios #pham hanni #hanni x reader #hanni imagines #polaroid love smau

[feyhunter78]

What about 6 or 20 (author’s choice) and young Elrond? Thank you ❤️

I went ahead and did #20, and I think it came out pretty well!!! (Also, this def has some Bridgerton inspo, and you'll see it in the dialogue) Thank you for your patience! <3 I was supposed to get lasik yesterday then last minutes the Dr came out and was like "actually nvm we have to do a different procedure, we need to reschedule." So it's been a weird day or so for me XD

The Object of All His Desires

This is prompt #20 from the list, which mean you can no longer request #20 for Elrond!

Elrond prided himself on his silver tongue. How he could spin an ordinary tale into an epic for the ages, or how he could turn a simple idea into a speech fit for a king. But when it came to you, he often found himself tripping over his words. His tongue suddenly swelling and becoming too heavy to move properly when faced with your radiance.

A perfect example would be now, as you stand before him tears in your eyes, clad only in a nightdress and robe as you stand outside his door, chest heaving, lips trembling asking him why was he ignoring you? Why was he acting so cold and callous towards you?

“Elrond please, you must tell me now. If I have done something to upset you, or I have offended you, torment me no longer and bid me to leave your sight never to cross your path again.” Your voice shook, eyes brimming with tears as you clutched at your robe for stability.

“No, you have not offended me, I bear no ill will towards you y/n, I promise you.” He said hurriedly, ushering you inside his chambers.

“But if I have not, then why have you been avoiding me? I have searched my mind and cannot find a reason.” You continued, voice filled with sorrow, as you wrapped your robe further around yourself, not meeting his eyes.

Elrond’s mind was a mess. He had been avoiding you because he could no longer contain his affections. Every moment he spent in your presence, he had to fight back the urge to blurt out his feelings in the most undignified way. But to see you so distraught, so uncertain, tore at his heart and his resolve.

“I have been battling within myself for some time, and I wished to spare you of my turmoil.” He said gently, hand twitching with the urge to reach out and comfort you. But he could not, if he did, he would find himself unable to let you go.

“We are friends, you can always come to me with your difficulties, you know this.” You said, lifting your gaze to his.

Elrond hung his head as he saw your tears, glistening like diamonds as they fell. “Of course, I do, but this particular matter is one I must solve myself.”

You took a step forward and took one of his hands in yours. “No matter is too dark or difficult that the light of friendship cannot help resolve it.”

Your voice was so gentle, so earnest, that his fingers curled around your hand, and he fell to his knees, head still hung low. “Y/N, I do not deserve this kindness, if you knew the depths of my desire, the dreams I have had you would scorn me.”

Your voice grew in strength before softening once more as you caressed his jaw. “Never, I would never scorn you. Elrond, you have a piece of my heart that no one else shall ever have, and that is not easily dissuade.”

Elrond looked up at you, oakwood eyes filled with a mix of admiration and anxiety. “I’ve never wanted anyone or anything the way I want you. It’s terrifying. And so, so beautiful.” He said, voice reverent and trembling, he pressed your hand to his lips, the warmth lingering.

“I do not know what to say.” You said breathlessly, heart pounding in your chest.

“You need not say anything, I could no longer remain quiet, my affections for you have grown too large in my heart. Y/N I merely needed you to know how much I love you.”

You sunk to your knees and cupped Elrond’s face. “I do not know what to say except that I have loved you for as long as I can remember, and I will never cease to love you.” You pressed your lips to his, pouring every ounce of affection and feeling you had into the kiss, hoping he would understand the longing you’ve carried for so long.

When you broke apart, foreheads resting against each other, he took your hands and kissed them both. “I love you, I love you, I love you.” He whispered, and you whispered it right back before connecting your lips once more.

Tag list: @nyctophilic0vitnir, @elronds-pointy-ears, @elrondscalaquendi, @dilf-superiority

#young elrond #elrond x reader #rop elrond #elrond rop #elrond x you #elrond peredhel #meg's writing #prompt game #thanks for the request! #I hope you like it!!! #elrond #rop #rop fanfiction #this one I really liked how the style of the writing ended up #i love writing men on their knees it's just such a great display of devotion and men should bring that back #young!elrond #young elrond fanfic #bridgerton inspired #anon request

[alovesreading]

Constant Repeat | Part 10

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: 27.4k

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

A/N: Okay, you better buckle up because I'm telling you this trip is wild and real ride starts here. I'm giggling like an idiot typing this right now and realizing how this chapter perfectly falls on the start of June, what a way to start Pride month (happy pride month btw, love y'all my fellow queer babes xx), you'll understand why I say this when you read. Anyway I wanted to thank imagine-that-100 again because in this one, she gave me the incredible honor of getting my lovely Alice in here so I can introduce you to her and you can grow excited about the fic she's gonna be the main character of which is called 'Nightmare'. Alice is based on Heather from Pale Waves by the way! All I'm gonna say is that Alice is a fucking legend and when N eventually puts that fic out, y'all will die cus it's really fucking hot. I cannot wait for you to read this lol, remember the story warnings that are in the description of this story! (I think you can make out why I'm saying this right now) Enjoy!!!!!!

Masterlist

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 11 | Part 12 |

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After spending the day before walking, it was obvious to Ella that she'd be sleeping in, but she had made sure to set at least three alarms in order to not miss breakfast time at the hotel restaurant. That hadn't worked though because she managed to sleep through them and wake up only thirty minutes before breakfast was over.

She'd rushed through the hallways to get there in time, barely having gotten presentable enough to show up at the place next to the lobby, but she made it regardless.

The lady who showed her to a table had been very obviously forcing a smile at Ella, making her wince and nervously promising that she wouldn't take long. And keep her promise she did, for she was done and back upstairs in her room getting ready for the day only twenty minutes later.

That day would have to be done without Alex, due to the band having a meeting at Domino Records in anticipation of the album coming out soon.

Ella had gotten a full update on it all from Flo, who had designed the cover art and the merch, and also helped the guys come up with a better name for the record than 'The New Black'. So 'AM'would be coming out in September, and only two months away from release day, things were busy for the lads.

When Alex suggested rescheduling the meeting, claiming they still had all of August to handle everything, Ella had turned him down with a laugh.

"Alex I won't have your label getting angry at you because you're pushing things back to hang out with me. I can spend the day with Bre and we'll see each other later—plus, didn't Jamie say we were all going to that pub tonight?"

Jamie had been adamant of going to this pub, somewhere Ella had no clue it was but looked pretty, and everyone would be following him to the place that night.

Just because of the plans the guitarist had already made for everyone, Ella had been conscious to take it easy that day. That's why she and Bre had walked around London, being mindful of not tiring themselves too much for the early afternoon, to then go back to Ella's hotel room and just chill about the place until they had to get ready to leave and meet up with the rest of the group.

Alex and Matt had picked them up from the hotel and taken them to the pub where Jamie, Katie, Nick and Kelly were already waiting.

Thankfully, the ride to the place was only fifteen minutes long so their friends weren't waiting for too long and when they got there, they could see they had bumped into a friend and been stuck in a lovely conversation with him.

Ella smiled at the sight of her friends, waving eagerly at Katie and Kelly who waved back just as enthusiastically when they spotted her by the door.

She walked over to the girls with Bre in tow and hugged them hello. She wasn't short in showering them with compliments since they looked stunning and they had done just the same to her.

Ella blushed and thanked them shyly, taking off her trench coat and placing it over the back of a chair to greet Jamie and Nick.

She silently made her way around the table and went to hug them, excusing herself when she interrupted the man she didn't know who was speaking with Jamie.

"So sorry to interrupt. I'm Ella, nice to meet you." She would've waited for Jamie to introduce her but the truth was that the lad was gorgeous and she had promised herself this trip would be the one to let go of the insecurities she'd been left with from her latest relationship and maybe put herself out there, even if it was just for some fun.

The guy waved her apology off with a smirk, one that fit his face so well it had Ella biting the inside of her cheek lightly, "Oscar. Nice to meet you Ella." He shook her hand delicately and let it drop slowly back down.

Everyone saw the way Ella had blushed, the girls had wanted to shriek at her reaction and the lads had wanted to giggle but they held themselves back. Alex, on the other hand, had wanted to pull Ella from Oscar's side because he only wanted to see her react like that to him, just like she had done many times the day before.

They all settled at the big table after Alex greeted everyone, Oscar included, Katie sitting beside Jamie, Nick and Kelly next to each other as well, Matt had his arm wrapped around Bre's waist as she sat on his lap despite having a free seat next to them, and Alex had Ella sat close next to him.

Soon enough, Ella found out Oscar was in a band called 'Pale Waves' and they'd been friends with the Monkeys for a few years. He had lazily pointed at the two other band members that had come with him and said that the third, who was their drummer called Zara, had stayed at home because she was ill.

Ella had barely caught that, because when Oscar had pointed towards the pool tables where his two other bandmates were, she swore her heart had skipped a beat.

There stood a man, waiting for his turn at the game but the one who had Ella hypnotized was this woman bent over trying to make a shot at a striped ball. Ella watched the smirk growing on her face when she made the shot with ease and watched as she stood back up straight, only losing her breath a little more.

Her black hair cut in a bob with the long bangs framed her face perfectly, and Ella appreciated her beauty deeply but what she was wearing had the American gulping at the sight. Her legs were on full show due to her short plaid skirt but covered in fishnets, her white crop top clearly showed the lack of a bra, she stood tall in her red heeled platform boots and her neck was adorned with a black leather collar that tied together with a metal A.

Suddenly, Ella felt so insignificant in her square neck green dress that covered up to her knees and her simple black chelsea boots.

But that feeling of inferiority died when the girl caught her staring and she had to make it seem like she was talking to Katie. It hadn't worked at all, because the girl's smirk grew bigger at the sight of Ella's flustered expression as she spoke to Jamie's fiance.

Alex had noticed her pink cheeks but had been in conversation with Nick and Matt, therefore missing what had happened, so he brought his hand to Ella's face and cupped her jaw just to feel how warm she was.

"Are you okay?" He asked with a tinge of worry. He knew she didn't do well in the cold and the last thing he wanted was for her to become ill whilst on holiday.

Ella gulped at the feeling of his hand on her face, so delicate and warm. "Yes, uhm–, who's that?" She shyly asked, pointing towards the woman with a slight raise of her chin.

Alex's gaze quickly fell on the other two members of Pale Waves and with a soft frown, he repeated what Oscar had said a few minutes before. "Oscar's bandmates."

She let out a small sigh, "I know– but, who's she?"

Alex missed the way Ella looked at the girl then, because he just had to roll his eyes as he was completely overcome with annoyance and anger towards the woman playing pool. He shook his head, not really wanting Ella to meet such an appalling person. "You don't wanna know."

That answer had Ella frowning, his face had completely fallen just at the sight of the girl and if that was Alex's reaction to just being in the same establishment as that woman, then she was intrigued about who she was and what her personality was like. She was curious to know about what had happened to make him react like that but she and Alex were brought back into conversation meaning she couldn't get answers just yet.

Matt and Bre came from the bar with drinks for everyone, placing a tray in the middle of the table. Breana had bought a round of shots for everyone along with their drinks, so that was the first thing they did to start off their night.

Ella winced at the burn of the vodka, quickly grabbing her old-fashioned to soothe her throat. Alex wrapped his arm around her waist, softly rubbing circles over her dress as he softly smiled in amusement at her reaction to the alcohol. The need to close her eyes so she could catch her breath again made Ella miss Oscar's bandmate making way to their table.

She opened her eyes and saw the lad waving at everyone and introducing himself to Bre and Ella.

"Hi, I'm Connor. Y'alright?"

Both of them greeted him sweetly and introduced themselves to him, falling into a quick small talk that was then interrupted as the mystery woman now came from the bar with two drinks in hand.

Ella felt her gaze burning on the side of her head from all the way there, that was the only reason she had noticed where she had disappeared to, and she'd had to turn back around slowly as she felt the blush creep on her cheeks again.

But then her platform boots hitting the wooden floors had Ella turning back around to watch her approach them. The girl took a sip of one of the drinks, the glass leaving her lips just a few seconds later and they formed a grin as she got to them.

"Well hello," The girl said but it wasn't to everyone, her gaze was stuck on Ella who grew hot under it and almost shifted in her seat. Alex's hold grew tighter by the second, and that was making her head spin too.

Ella was beyond herself at the way she was feeling about the woman so she could only mutter a quiet, "Hi." as she raised her eyes to return her stare, trying to smile at her without blushing but it was becoming difficult.

"I'm Alice." She said and offered her hand out for Ella to shake, "What's your name beautiful?"

That fully made Ella's cheeks heat up again—her voice was so sweet and her accent only made Ella's knees go weak—but Alice had barely a chance to see her flustered because Alex was quick to say through his teeth, "Fuck off Alice.", making Ella whip her head around to glare at him.

She had never seen him be anything but kind to everyone, and Alice had only said hello and introduced herself so there was no need for the defensive reaction.

Alice seemed to be used to it though, because she only raised her eyebrows at him, gave him an unimpressed, "Rude." and then turned back to Ella with a soft smile and asked again, "What's your name darling?"

Ella didn't know if it was the way Alex squeezed her waist after hearing Alice call her that, or if it was hearing Alice call her 'darling' that had made her squirm in her seat.

Nothing compared to the feeling in her tummy whenever Alex called her by that nickname but what she had just felt from being called it by Alice was the closest she could imagine it would feel from anyone else that wasn't the singer.

It was embarrassing how much of an effect a gorgeous woman could have on her but she would blame it on the lack of sex for the past six months and the instant attraction she felt for Alice.

"I'm Ella." The American finally answered, placing her hand on Alice's and praying she didn't feel how they had started to sweat.

"Well Ella..." Instead of shaking her hand, Alice turned it so she could lean down and kiss the back of it, "Lovely to meet you."

Ella wanted to say that it was a pleasure to meet her as well but after that, her words were completely stuck in her throat. Ella barely registered Alex's exasperated sigh at Alice's antics because she watched Alice notice her 'Pure Desire' tattoo on the back of her hand and how she seemed entranced by it, even if it was only for a mere few seconds.

Ella wouldn't lie and say that it didn't feel nice to see Alice acting like that towards her, especially when she seemed to really not want to let go of her hand and leaving her with a faint squeeze to it.

It had been so long since Ella felt anyone actually showed some genuine interest in her—she knew any flirting from Miles was a joke, and that the flirting from Alex wasn't something he actually meant—, that it had her feeling giddy and smiley.

"Oscar, wanna play the winner?" Alice offered her bandmate with the whole group watching her. "Hello everyone by the way. Looking gorgeous as usual ladies and I've missed you three." She added, only giving a smile to Nick, Jamie and Matt, completely excluding Alex from the greeting and even though Ella was still confused by it, she knew Alex had started it.

"Sure," Oscar stood up and then turned to his other bandmate, "Come on Connor."

"I didn't win." Connor hung his head a little, making Matt laugh at the bassist's defeat.

Ella's gaze was drawn onto Alice, she truly couldn't stop looking at her and when she let her gaze drop to scan her look again, she noticed her nipple piercings peaking through the thin fabric of her top. Ella almost groaned at the sight, her legs clenching together and biting her bottom lip.

Alice caught her looking again but this time Ella only gave her a big smile. However this might finish, I should go for it tonight, Ella thought then, with her mind made about Alice and what could happen. The night was young and she felt it was reciprocal so she could try to let go and have fun that night.

About an hour later, and after two more shots and a third old-fashioned in hand, Ella was well on her way to getting drunk. She was very tipsy, only a couple glasses left for her to fall over the edge of drunkenness so she made herself the promise of having a glass of water after she was done with her current cocktail.

Her eyes had been magnetized to Alice's figure, just like Alice's to hers because they had both caught each other staring a fair few times and the last one had ended with Ella blushing after Alice winked at her.

Ella went to the bar once she had finished her drink, promising Alex she was fine and was only going for some water so she could last a bit longer without getting absolutely shit-faced. Alex reluctantly nodded and turned back around to talk to Jamie and Katie once he saw her almost at the bar.

Alice had been waiting for the perfect moment to approach Ella so she could get to know her without being stared at by the rest of their friends and without Alex being an absolute prick to her.

So seeing Ella sweetly smile at the bartender and ask for a glass of water, Alice walked up beside her and greeted her again.

"What is the pretty lady drinking tonight?" Alice asked with a sultry voice that made Ella brightly smile.

"Got some water for now 'cause I refuse to get wasted and go back to my hotel room before midnight." Ella explained swiftly, playing with her fingers.

Alice hummed with a smirk on her face, "Awh baby, are you a lightweight?"

Ella giggled shyly, her already pink cheeks heating up even more at the pet name, "I have that reputation, yeah."

The Brit smirked at her, "Don't worry, I'll take care of you."

"Thank you, Alice." Ella replied with a faint blush on her cheeks.

Alice found it so adorable how easily she blushed but she didn't want her to stay quiet so she started to test the waters to see her chances. "You're not from here from what I can hear."

"The gossip or the accent?"

"The accent," Alice chuckled at her banter, "Quite like it, always been a sucker for an American accent."

Ella hummed softly and decided to just push through her shyness to flirt back with the stunning girl. "It's a British accent in my case."

"Is it?" Alice smirked, she wanted to keep talking to her just to see how she was once out of her shell. "Shall we go sit over there?" She pointed at a booth by a window, not too close to the bar but not too close to their friends either.

Ella nodded, "Sure. Let me get you a drink first though."

Alice just couldn't hold her tongue so she smirked to reply, "Spoiling me already? Was hoping you'd save that for later."

And she was pleasantly surprised when Ella flirted right back, "I'll have more left in me, don't worry."

Completely satisfied with her reply, Alice hummed and gave in, "In that case, I'd love a gin and tonic."

Ella quickly ordered and paid for Alice's drink, handing it to her once the bartender pushed it towards her and after a sweet 'thank you' from Alice, they made their way to the booth.

"Whereabouts in the States are you from?" Alice asked right after they'd taken their seats, sipping on her drink slowly as she waited for her to answer.

"Tennessee, but I live in Los Angeles."

"Ohhh," Alice let out in realization, "Is that how you know them then?"

Ella nodded with a soft smile, "I'm a production assistant in this company that has been working with them since 2011."

"Fucking hell. Two years dealing with them? I applaud you." Alice exaggerated a bit, knowing that they could be annoying but when it came to work they were professionals.

The American girl chuckled, "They're great. I love them, the four idiots."

"Yeah, but you know..." Alice pushed further, playfully. "Men."

"Ugh, don't even get me started." Ella groaned and that was enough to spark some curiosity in Alice.

"Oh no. Bad experience?"

Ella took a few seconds to think before answering, but even then she stumbled, "It's... complicated."

"Do you mind if I'm nosy and ask about it?" Alice was gentle, not wanting to make her uncomfortable.

Ella was feeling very at ease with her though so she didn't find it hard to say, "I actually feel like a drunk rant about the whole thing will be great right now but I apologize in advance for oversharing."

"Nothing to apologize for, baby." Alice quickly reassured, smirking when Ella pressed her lips after being called by the pet name.

After taking a sip of water, Ella started, "So, my last boyfriend cheated on me. And I would love to say that the whole relationship was shit and it was the worst experience of my life but that'd be a lie."

That didn't make Alice feel better about the situation though, her frown deep as she commented on it with a stern, "What a fucking twat."

"Yeah..." Ella agreed, "Now, when I think back to it, I just get annoyed at how he played me. We had agreed on starting a family and trying for a baby at the start of the year and I was over the moon about it so imagine how shattered I was when his parents found him on a date with someone else when he'd told them he'd be out with me."

"You're joking..." Alice's jaw dropped at the brief story, for it sounded utterly devastating.

"He hadn't even wanted to tell me himself to start with so his parents called me to tell me themselves. Apparently they'd been together for a whole month by then." Ella winced as she thought back to it, still not believing that had happened to her.

"I'm so sorry, that's the worst fucking thing." Alice apologized like she needed to but then tried to bring her spirits back up joking with, "You should've fucked his dad. Or his mum, I don't discriminate."

Ella cackled and nodded, "Yeah, that threesome would've made him hate me."

Alice smirked, slightly satisfied by the subtle confirmation of the girl's sexuality. "Definitely."

The alcohol was already impulsing Ella to word vomit though, that's why she continued saying, "Now I have this awful feeling that every relationship I have will end up with me getting cheated on because the first one did it too."

And the British girl didn't miss a beat to reply, "I will batter him after I batter the last one."

"Oh it was a she." Ella felt the need to clear up, looking straight into Alice's eyes just to watch her reaction to the confirmation of her sexuality. "My first relationship. She was my best friend since we started high school but I'd always liked her, so we became girlfriends with two years left until graduation and we were gonna go to college together. Well, that was until she met someone else and fell in love with her, and then left me to go to college with that other girl."

Softly gasping at how cruel things had been to Ella, Alice said, "What the fuck? That is so unfair."

Ella could only nod, "I was left scarred from that one so I just didn't do relationships. Julian was my second official partner, everyone else in between was just a casual thing or a one night stand."

And that was enough for Alice to know that she'd make the night memorable for Ella, "You know what? Fuck them both. Tonight we're gonna have fun and we're gonna forget all about them, so let me change this," She grabbed Ella's glass of water and stood up from her seat, "For an actual drink. Tonight you're getting the treatment you deserve, baby."

Alice winked before leaving to the bar, leaving Ella to stay at the booth, fiddling with her fingers from how nervous she seemed to have gotten. It had been so long since she'd done something casual and she was so scared of fucking up.

No more than two minutes later, Alice was back with two gin and tonics. She left Ella's in front of her and sat back down across from her in the booth.

"Thanks very much." Ella's voice was shy, making Alice feel the need to relax her some more.

"It's nothing, Ella." Alice promised with that sweet voice of hers that had Ella already feeling some type of way.

"You can call me Ellie." She offered her quickly, it was weird to hear someone who wasn't from work call her Ella now.

Alice smirked and stood back up from the booth, grabbing her drink with her left hand and extending her right out to Ella so she could stand up too. "Ellie, let's go dance then."

But that had Ella hiding into herself, "M'not a great dancer."

"I seriously doubt that." Alice insisted, wiggling her fingers which finally made Ella take her hand and let her pull her up from her seat.

"We can dance when I have more alcohol in me." Ella negotiated, knowing she was too sober to dance in the middle of the pub.

"Should we get some shots then?" The singer suggested with that mischievous smirk of hers.

A smirk that Ella matched as she thought, "I probably shouldn't, 'cause it gets me quick but I'm feeling some tequila shots right now."

Alice hummed, amused at the information. "You're looking for trouble."

"Maybe I am." Ella flirted this time, before taking a sip of her drink with her eyes still on Alice's face.

"I like that." Alice winked at her, "How about some shots and playing pool to warm up?"

That sounded like a solid plan to Ella so she eagerly nodded, "Sounds wonderful."

"Alright, go get a table and I'll get us some shots."

Just like Alice had told her, Ella stood by the chosen table after setting it all up. She was leaning on the table as she watched Alice and Matt talking by the bar while they waited for their drinks, but it soon seemed to have turned bitter as Alice's smile changed to a frown that made Ella want to go over and fix whatever had happened.

"Was Matthew annoying you?" Ella had been quick to inquire once Alice was back beside her.

Handing her a shot glass, Alice shrugged with an eye roll, "He's being a dickhead."

"Typical Helders." Ellajoked before raising her glass and clinking it with Alice's to take it.

Ella winced at the taste, going straight back to her still half full gin and tonic to make the tequila burn subside a little bit.

"Do you know how to play?" Alice asked, grabbing her cue and already itching to start playing.

Ella scoffed playfully, "'Course I do."

Alice laughed and said, "Alright." letting her go first.

But halfway through the game, when Ella was missing shots consecutively, Alice had noted her poor form. "You're doing it wrong."

"Why?" Ella asked, slightly defensive.

Alice went to stand behind her, pushing her back down so she was still bent over the table and she could fix her stance. Alice had smirked at the position though, her brain going places already. "If you keep leaning like that then you're gonna mess up your shot."

The Brit leaned her cue on the side of the table and used both her hands to grab at Ella's hips and reposition them. "Keep your hips here, and don't slump over the table like that." Her hands softly fixed her shoulders, making Ella smile at the touch. "There we go. I thought you knew how to play." Alice teased with a smirk.

But Ella took the chance to flirt a little bit, "Maybe I needed a little help." wiggling her ass a little bit before hitting the white ball to shoot at a striped ball.

"Well, I don't mind helping some more." Alice's hands were still resting on her hips as Ella stood back up straight.

With her back pressed to Alice's front, Ella leaned back to say, "Sure you don't."

And Alice didn't let up when she squeezed her hips and whispered in Ella's ear. "I truly don't, but I'm still gonna win."

Ella laughed once Alice had left her with the ghost of her touch on her skin, and turn after turn, she was growing fonder of the singer's company.

Between giggles the game ended and just like Alice predicted, she had won and left Ella to play the next game with Oscar, making her way to the bar to get a new drink for herself.

Alice only let her eyes leave Ella's figure when she had to order her drink, turning back around to look at her bent over the pool table as she giggled over the things Oscar was saying. She wanted to hear exactly what the guitarist was telling her but the music was louder than the chatter.

Ella stood back up and met Alice's gaze with rosy cheeks and a soft smirk, mouthing "I'm winning" proudly to her.

Smiling brightly, Alice winked at her and mouthed a "Good job." back to her, before turning around when the man behind the bar handed her drink.

Alice thought she'd let Ella have some fun by herself, only so she didn't feel suffocated by her flirting because she truly couldn't be fucking it up with her.

So she walked to the booths on the other side of the room, to the one that gave her the best view of the place where Ella stood with Oscar, and it wasn't a surprise that a certain someone had beat her to the best seats in the house.

She smirked at the thought of pushing Alex's buttons, especially knowing that Ella seemed to be very important to him and how she had completely gotten her attention the whole night. Alice could see the fact eating away at Alex's insides.

"Your friend is fit as fuck," Alice sighed as she dropped herself into the space beside Alex, "Thank you for bringing her... Here, and to my attention."

"Stop flirting with her." Alex immediately scorned, "You're making her uncomfortable."

"If I'm making her uncomfortable then you're fucking Einstein." Alice shook her head, sarcasm thick in her voice, "She's flirting back or are you blind as a bat and can't see that woman blush?"

He scoffed, his patience wearing thin already, "She doesn't deserve to be played about by the likes of you."

"Christ Red, I'm already sick of the sound of your voice." The feeling is mutual, Alex thought but before he could even say it out loud, Alice continued, "And it's rude that you think I'm trying to play her about. I'm genuinely interested."

Alex didn't care to believe her words, still pushing for her to stop her behavior. "She's just had her heart broken and she doesn't need you to-"

But Alice had had enough, "To what, Alex? To break it again? To use her? Why do you automatically assume I'm going to be a bitch?"

"Because you are a bitch."

Alice let out a dry laugh at his attempts, "You can do better with your insults, Turner."

"She's only just herself again and I don't want you fucking that up." And truly he didn't want Ella to get hurt, he'd do anything in his power to avoid that but he was biased and in denial, not wanting to see how Ella was reciprocal to Alice's intentions.

"Very noble of you Red I've gotta say. But I have absolutely no intention to hurt that stunning woman." It was one of the very unusual times that Alice didn't use sarcasm when speaking to Alex, her words screaming honesty but the singer was seething seeing it all unfold in front of him.

"Stop trying to fuck her too," was the only thing he could say, completely ignoring Alice's tries to make him understand she wasn't playing the American girl.

She was completely fed up then, so she just said, "I think she wants to fuck me too, so why would I stop?" to mess with him a bit more, have him more angry at the fact that the night was simply not going how he'd expected.

Alex groaned in response, his hands coming up to rub his face in frustration. He desperately needed a smoke but if he went outside after this talk, he knew Alice would take Ella back to hers in a second and there'd be nothing he could do about it.

"I've never seen you so defensive. Not even over Arielle when I used to flirt with her." Alice was taking the opportunity to continue annoying him, but at the same time she was trying to find some answers, just so she could use the information to her advantage in the future.

Alex didn't give her the pleasure though, only glaring at her with murderous thoughts running through his mind. Alice brought the worst in him every time.

"What's that look for?" She teased, knowing she'd break him in no time. "Ohhh, you like her don't you?"

"Fuck off Loveless." He cursed through his teeth, really grasping tightly the last bits of patience he had left.

Alice rolled her eyes, truly amused at the fact that he kept trying to tell her what to do. "Oh Red, you've already told me and I didn't listen to you the first time so I definitely won't be now. Save your breath."

"Do you ever just get fucking tired?" His question was hostile, his gaze matching the tone.

"Not really." She purposely answered knowing that it would make him want to scream in frustration, "Do tell, how long has it been since you've liked her?"

"Shut up Alice." She truly didn't need to know, because the true answer was gonna be enough for Alice to laugh until the end of time over his 'lack of game'.

But she wouldn't budge, now she was just purely curious to know the real answer because it seemed like it'd be an entertaining story. "C'mon, let's try and be civil once." She kicked his feet under the table, only getting him to grumpily shift his legs away from her.

She laughed as Alex gave her an ultimatum for her to stop trying to get an answer. "We're not going to sit here talking about my feelings Alice. We're not friends."

"No we're not. But Christ, I'm jealous you've been her friend for so long. Since 2011 she said, you fucking lucky bastard." She really couldn't believe he had seen a girl like that for two years and not tried to make her his girlfriend.

"Please stop." He begged, making Alice's eyes widen.

"Damn you beg for this woman. You're down so bad." 'Please' was a word she never heard coming from Alex, so this meant it was very serious for him.

"Loveless, I'm being serious." His eyes narrowed as he glared at her once more.

That only had her trying not to laugh, "Don't threaten me with a good time Alex."

"Kill me now." Alex sighed, looking up to the ceiling as if begging for lightning to strike him down.

"Don't tempt me." Alice pushed further, fully just jumping on everything he said because he put it so easy for her to get him angry.

Alex was done with it so he just said what he wanted to say, not caring about what Alice may think, because he was finding her cruel—not just to him but to Ella—and he hated it. "Don't, because I know exactly what you're doing and you know it's working so just please stop."

Alice frowned, not really understanding what he meant. "What is it that I'm doing?"

"You're trying to fuck her to get one up on me for our little vendetta we have against each other. You're trying to get with her to annoy me. And yes, it's working." He stated like it was obvious, a patronizing look on his face that made Alice want to punch it right off.

Alex watched as the singer visibly deflated then, her eyes got less hard and some emotion he'd not seen in her before seeped through the cracks. But before he could comment on it, Alice's hard expression came back, "It pisses me off how you think I'm such a stone cold bitch. I have fucking feelings too, I just don't when I talk to you because you're always a cunt to me."

Her glass landed with a loud thud on the table in front of them but it wasn't loud enough to hide her scoff, "I'm not a monster Alex. I'm not trying to use her. Especially in any way to get back at you."

Alice's playful smirk had long left her face, making Alex start to panic inside thinking about what he should say to make it better, maybe even try to apologize. If Alice had paid attention to him, then she'd seen the cogs turning around in his brain, smoke coming out of his ears with how hard he was trying to make it up to the singer but when Matt came over to check on them—knowing they had a reputation to ruin each other's nights from their arguments—, he took it as he'd been saved by the bell.

Thankfully, Matt had been a sort of mediator between them because about five minutes later, when they were back alone, they stayed there in a comfortable silence rather than the awkward one before.

So they continued watching Ella playing. Their eyes followed her every move, which were ever the slightest bit calculated since Ella had caught them and could feel them staring at her.

So, with a mischievous mind very much induced by the alcohol in her bloodstream, she slowly leaned down to pick her glass from the floor, making a show of her barely covered ass and swaying it to the sides slightly, just enough for them to notice but for everyone else to take it as a normal thing.

And if that wasn't enough, when she came back up, she made sure to stroke up and down the cue she was using to play. Her fingers flexing around it, her tattoo stealing the spotlight and drawing their eyes in.

"Fucking hell." Alice hissed quietly before biting her lip and taking her own drink to have a long sip of it as she looked away from the American. Her brain was racing with thoughts that had her eager to get the night moving.

As Alex was the only one who could hear it, he looked at the singer and breathlessly asked, "What?" as if he hadn't seen that too, as if he hadn't had to bite his tongue and clench his fists to not groan.

"I want that Pure Desire tattoo wrapped around my neck like a pretty necklace." Alice said truthfully, not really wanting to keep it to herself because it was Ella and she knew now that he'd agree. "Take this choker off me and give me her hand."

Alex hated so badly that it was Alice saying it, he didn't want to share Ella with anyone, much less with the woman he hated. "Oh my fucking god Alice."

Alice rolled her eyes, "Oh don't tell me you've not pictured exactly the same thing. Just because I'm the only one ballsy enough to say it out loud."

"Come on," Alice nudged his shoulder with hers, "Admit it."

"Loveless." He told her like a warning.

Alice leaned in a little closer, prompting him again, "Admit it, Red." And only to see his reaction is that she allowed herself to think of a dirty scenario, "You've definitely thought about that hand around your throat, probably around your dick too, but knowing your lyrics, the throat one probably has you finishing in seconds when you think about her."

"You're being loud." He warned once more.

"And there was no denial in sight. Kinky bastard." She raised an eyebrow at him, challenging him to admit to having done that. But he was quick to avert his eyes and look back to the pool tables. "Don't go all shy, she's hot. Why wouldn't you want her? I know I do."

He still gave her silence as an answer and that was enough for Alice to know it all. Alex was so easy to read, and having received nothing but hostility, indifference and defensive comments from him, it was easy to know when he felt the complete opposite towards someone.

They watched as she made her last shot, making it perfectly and she jumped in her spot in celebration. Oscar laughed at her actions, his smile staying on his face because Ella was just so adorable to him. So he took a step towards her and in one swift motion pulled her in by the waist, making her crash into his chest and fling her arms around his neck for stability.

Oscar had seen the two staring at Ella for a while, so he found his friends' eyes and smirked at them in an attempt to tease them.

Oscar's smirk only grew bigger when Alice and Alex flipped him off at the same time, the jaws locked and their stern looks on him as he swayed with Ella in his arms and squeezed her tight before letting go.

"How you nearly fucked him I don't know." Alex quickly reminded Alice, trying to see if that'd push her away from trying anything else tonight.

"We were very drunk and my standards were lower."

"You sure?" He back chatted, without missing a beat and the way her face fell in annoyance.

"You're a dick." She sighed, her 'Alex Turner tolerance' levels were running very low, "I'm sorry but out of me or Oscar, who would you rather take your friend home?"

"Can't believe I'm saying this but you." He felt sick just admitting that aloud.

She hummed in satisfaction, "Exactly."

Ella moved to hang the cue she'd been using, hearing Breana call her over from the table the group was still at. So she walked in a slow pace over to her best friend, smirking at the attention of Alice and Alex she could still feel.

Alice sighed in content, watching Ella's legs peeking out from the fabric of her dress, her ass so perfectly hugged by it. "She's so perfect from every point of view... Just one look from her is more than enough for me to believe god is real and she's just as gay as me." She backtracked on her statement and felt the need to clarify, "God, I mean, not Ella. I know Ella is just as gay as me."

Alex shook his head, trying not to give her the pleasure of hearing him actually laugh because he'd found that funny, focusing on the way Ella got to Bre and hugged her from the back and over her shoulders.

They could see Breana had ordered some sort of dessert, but they weren't quite sure what it was. It didn't matter though, because watching Ella take the spoonful that the model was offering her was far more important, and it had them completely entranced when the whipped cream that was over it fell out of the corner of Ella's mouth and down her bare neck.

Ella laughed, struggling to swallow between the chuckles and Breana, who was trying to wipe the sweet from her neck with her finger, couldn't do it correctly due to how she couldn't stay still from the laughter.

A few seconds later, Bre had managed to wipe most of it with her index finger and offered it to Ella as a joke to lick clean but that was exactly what Ella needed to have the two people who were gawking at her, completely lose it.

So Ella stuck her tongue out to lick Breana's finger from base to tip and then wrapped her lips around it to sink her mouth on it. It got even filthier when Ella's eyes met theirs and she let them roll back in satisfaction.

Both Alice and Alex were struggling to breathe. In the middle of that Alice's head had fallen on Alex's shoulder and she'd fully groaned into his neck. Alex was going into overdrive, and Alice felt herself getting worked up from the whole thing.

"That was thigh-clenching-ly hot. Fuck me..." And Alice wasn't lying because when Alex distractedly dropped his gaze down, he saw her thighs pressed together and he had to hold himself back not to groan in response.

But Ella wasn't done, not when she'd just seen them react that way. She had made it seem like she'd gotten distracted by Jamie and Nick laughing at Matt's comment on Ella trying to steal his girlfriend, but she'd been watching the two out of the corner of her eye.

That's why, to seemingly keep the joke going in front of the lads, she asked Breana to lick the rest off her neck and her best friend did just that.

Alice wanted to be Breana so badly in that moment, to have Ella sit on her lap as she licked her neck. Alex tried not to moan when he saw Bre purposely start sucking on Ella's neck and Ella's mouth opened slightly in pleasure.

"They're gonna start shagging on the table!" They heard Nick yell, Matt was separating the American girls as everyone laughed their asses off, especially when they pointed at the small bruise already showing faintly on Ella's neck

Alice had been sure she'd be shagging Ella later, but that just made her a thousand percent sure that it'd be one of the best decisions she'd make. "I won't fuck her against the shared wall, don't worry." She stated, even though she certainly knew that'd happen, because all she wanted to do now was fuck Ella in every corner of her damn flat.

Alex stood up then, completely done with her, still breathless from the whole situation and just wanting to go home so he could properly get off to the thought of Ella. "Time for another drink."

"I'll have a Negroni Sbag–"

"Wasn't asking if you wanted one Loveless." Alex leaned down and whispered into her ear, "Especially if you fuck my Ellie."

Alice smirked up at him and whispered back, "I'm going to make your Ellie cum on my tongue."

Alex pretended the image hadn't made him want to burst right there. He was sure he'd hate Alice even more after that night because of how much he'd be thinking about them both. And it was awful of him, he knew, but how could he not. That made him also want to kick himself in the head because it wasn't only Ella involved, it was Alice of all people. Fucking Alice.

Alice downed whatever was left of her drink, taking the empty glass with her until she reached Ella's side and wrapped her arm around her waist.

"You're a tease, aren't you?" Alice whispered into her ear, making Ella shiver in her hold.

Ella played innocent, "Me? What makes you say that?"

But Alice could see straight through her and if she was right about her suspicions then it would be a very fun night. Alice hummed, letting her hand drop slowly and then grabbing a handful of Ella's ass and squeezing it, making Ella whimper softly only for her to hear. "I'm very observant."

Ella had enough alcohol in her to fully be blunt and not care that she was in public and in front of all their friends so, with her eyes filled with lust, she said, "And are you liking the view?"

"Very much." Alice replied looking at her hungrily and not being able to hold back any longer.

Alice quickly placed her glass on the table and grabbed Ella by the neck to pull her in and kiss her. It was a hungry kiss, and neither of the girls cared to be seen, if anything Alice thought it'd be better for everyone in the place to know she was the one taking Ella home. Alice believed she was the only one in the place that could treat her the way she deserved.

Ella's arms wrapped around Alice's shoulders, making sure to tangle her fingers on the singer's hair and pulling her in impossibly closer. Alice had one of her arms around Ella's waist, holding her tightly to her chest, and her right hand was still wrapped around Ella's neck just like she'd wanted to do all night.

Now, Alice wanted to test her theories, so she put some more pressure around Ella's neck to see if she was truly into it and when the girl moaned into her mouth, allowing their tongues to taste each other, Alice felt like the luckiest woman alive.

Their kiss went on until they ran out of breath, pulling away as they panted, not even caring about how their friends had all gone silent. All the girls could focus on was the big smirks on each other's faces, certainly satisfied by the kiss.

Somewhere in the background they heard Matt saying "Fucking hell, they were eating each other." but they couldn't be arsed to say anything back because Alice was now rubbing circles on Ella's neck and she was enjoying the touch way too much.

Ella's gaze fell on Alice's swollen lips and that only made her want to taste them again so, letting one of her arms drop from around her shoulders to her waist, Ella pulled Alice back in for another kiss.

Alice moaned as she felt Ella's tongue instantly teasing her lips so that she could open them up for her, making Ella grip her waist tighter and pushing her hips against Alice's. That only made the British girl tighten her hold around Ella's neck, and that's when Ella knew that if she didn't live in a different continent, then she'd do anything to feel Alice's lips on hers all the time.

This time they didn't kiss for long, because now their friends were causing ruckus and they'd rather not have them ruin the night for them by being loud and forcing them to leave early. Not that it would be bad for them, as they could get down to it sooner but they both knew they wanted to stay and enjoy each other's presence a little more at the pub they were in.

So Ella left a bunch of pecks on Alice's lips, which made Alice truly melt at how fucking adorable she was.

When Alice let her hand drop from Ella's neck, she noticed once again the bareness of it, so she undid her own choker and wrapped it around Ella's neck instead.

Ella bit her lip, feeling Alice's fingers brushing the skin on the back of her neck—it was such a simple touch but she was suffocating in the tension between them, it had her tummy fluttering.

Alice finished locking the leather piece, and leaned backwards to see it in all its glory around Ella's pretty neck. "Definitely suits you better." She said, her mouth watering as she thought of marking her up all over. "That feel alright?" She asked, just to make sure Ella was comfortable.

But Ella made her breath hitch in her throat when she whispered, "Kinda wish it could be tighter."

And once again, Alice just couldn't help herself. She deeply groaned as she hooked her finger on the A that tied the choker together and pulled Ella in to attack her lips again. Thankfully, seeing that the two girls had been ignoring them all, their friends had gone back to what they were doing and left them to it.

They were also thankful for the music in the place, loud enough so it could drown the moans they were letting out into each other's mouths.

Alice brought one of her hands to tangle in Ella's hair and pulled on it ever so roughly to make her whimper. Ella had left the hand that was on Alice's waist drop to grope her ass, fingers roughly kneading the barely covered flesh, and the singer stopped the kiss to let out a breathy moan that had Ella smirking.

Alex had come back from the bar right after Alice had put her choker on Ella and he found it a miracle that the glass he had in his hand didn't shatter from how tight he was holding it.

He knew Alice was determined but how he wished she'd set her eyes on someone else because seeing all that was just making his chest twist in a knot. He had imagined tonight going so differently: getting to have a drink with Ella and chat to their heart's content, dancing around with her, sharing smokes and maybe taking her back to his just so they could cuddle.

The longer he thought about it, the more his anger towards Alice bubbled inside him.

He got to the table right when the girls let go of each other, not before Ella gave Alice's ass another cheeky squeeze, making Alice laugh and leave a kiss on her neck. Rolling his eyes, he started gulping down his drink, making a mental note to make it a double next time he went to the bar.

Ella went to sit with Breana again, leaving Alice to chat with Oscar and both conversations seemed to be about the same topic.

Bre kept teasing Ella, and she could only blush as she said how much she was looking forward to later in the night. The model had hugged her tightly and shaken her in her arms, making Ella giggle away.

And Alice watched all that with a loopy smile on her face, matching the one on Alex's face who was looking at Ella's happy state with pure adoration. Yes he despised seeing it be because of someone else but her happiness was contagious and he couldn't help feeling warm inside whenever she smiled.

It was about ten minutes later that someone from the staff had pulled the projector screen down in the corner of the room and set everything up for karaoke. A handful of people ran to the book to pick a song to perform.

They all suffered three very drunkenly performed songs and a decent rendition of one of the best ABBA songs. And as a man very passionately sang an Adele song, a tipsy Ella who had been peer pressured into participating stood up to grab the song book.

If it wasn't for the alcohol and Alice's gaze on her, she would've done anything to avoid it, but then she found a song she loved by one of her new favorite artists that had her brightly grinning and quickly telling the man in charge of the songs what it was that she'd be singing.

When the man singing Adele was done and stepped out of the small stage, Ella grabbed the microphone with shaky hands. Everyone at the table whooped and cheered, wolf whistled and clapped seeing her walk onto the stage, making her blush.

The song started, she was deeply regretting agreeing to it until her eyes landed on Alex's and he nodded at her encouragingly, giving her thumbs up and smiling wide at seeing her on stage for a change.

Ella smiled back at him, scrunching her nose and in no time she started singing along.

She had a sweet, hush voice that sounded amazing even when she was drunk. People at the pub started cheering for her as she'd been so far the best to perform. But it was when she got to the chorus that her eyes met Alice's and she just had to put on a little show for her.

Fuck yeah, give it to me, this is Heaven, what I truly want

Ella sang teasingly, making sure to get a little breathless to accentuate how she wanted to be chanting that line, Alice crossed her legs to aid the ache between them.

Alex had let out a groan, one that left his throat without him wanting to. If he closed his eyes every time she sang that line, he could paint a picture in his mind that was enough for him to cum in his pants at any second.

It was in the second verse that Ella leaned onto the railing that separated the stage and stared right into Alice's eyes as she sang.

In the land of gods and monsters

I was an angel looking to get fucked hard

Ella sent a wink Alice's way and the singer bit her lip, eyeing her up and down with a hungry look on her face.

And after that look, Ella just filled up with this confidence that had her hips swaying and really feeling every line of the song.

Alex was quite literally dying in his seat. His heart was going a thousand miles per hour, every movement of Ella's body getting branded to the forefront of his mind. But all of Ella's attention was on Alice, making him want to scream.

Alice had made a point to be the loudest once Ella got off stage and she was pleased to see Ella go straight to sit on her lap and give her a quick kiss.

"That was so embarrassing." She'd said in Alice's ear.

Alice shook her head, "You did amazing, baby. T'was fucking hot."

Ella gave her no time to react when she cupped her jaw and kissed her hard. Ella's hands cupped her jaw eagerly and Alice's arms pulled her impossibly close, and because of how she'd forcefully pushed her hips into hers, Ella had moaned at the friction.

"God– Please, sit on my face." Alice said under her breath, already obsessed with the noises Ella made.

Ella's thighs clenched together, "Thought you'd never ask." was what she said back and Alice would've taken her right there if she could've.

Another hungry kiss started, their tongues meeting straight away making them dizzy from want but it was cut short because of the person who was now on stage quite literally screaming 'Living On A Prayer'. Ella rested her forehead on Alice's and they both started laughing into each other, absolutely loving the way the night was turning out to be.

Alex was forcing himself to focus on the butchering of the Bon Jovi song, just so he could keep the little sanity he had left.

He was sure it'd be worse once he'd go home and had to try to find sleep whilst he knew that the girls' would be shagging next door. He would just have to try and stay way longer just to avoid arriving at his flat.

A few more people went—including Katie and Breana who had sung 'Head Over Heels' by Tears for Fears—, and after a fair fifteen minutes, Ella had stood up from Alice's lap so she could go sing.

When Alice got on stage, Ella wolf whistled at her, earning her a wink and a blown kiss. Alex felt himself dying a little bit when he watched Ella's massive smile on her face at that. Jealousy was such a weird feeling, his chest tightening at the sight of her happiness and knowing someone else was the reason for that, was killing him.

And it only became worse when Alice's chosen song started and the people around the place started cheering for her as she sang straight to Ella.

So one, two, three

Take my hand and come with me

Because you look so fine

That I really wanna make you mine

I said, you look so fine

That I really wanna make you mine

He wanted to be the one making Ella blush as she giggled by having a song basically serenaded to her.

Well, I could see you home with me

But you were with another man, yeah

I know we ain't got much to say

Before I let you get away, yeah

I said, are you gonna be my girl?

Alex drowned his thoughts in whiskey, staring at a giddy Ella hypnotized by Alice. It was painful to see not only their group of friends enjoying the performance but everyone in the establishment cheering and singing along, clapping and hyping Alice up. That only had the singer more confident to lay it on thick on Ella as she sang to her.

Once Alice was done and off stage, seeing Ella so eagerly kiss her had Alex standing up from his seat and going to the bar.

He ordered himself a double whiskey on the rocks, downing it faster than he should've and ordering another one right away. He sat at the bar until the karaoke stopped and even though his ears hurt, he wished the obnoxious noise was still there so he could distract himself from his thoughts.

Once he was finished with his second drink, he made sure to get a third one and when he got it, he went back to sit at the booth he and Alice had been sitting at earlier when watching Ella.

Time had moved quicker than he could process as he wallowed in self pity in a corner and, in a moment when her attention wasn't completely taken by Alice or the rest of the group, Ella made her way to him.

She was truly elated, the night had turned out better than she'd ever expected and to find someone she actually wanted to fuck, who she felt so comfortable with already, was a massive win to her.

So Ella let herself drop beside Alex with a happy sigh. He turned around quickly, knowing it was her from just her scent, and smiled softly.

"You okay sweets?" She asked with a soft frown on her face, the last time she'd seen him was when she was on stage during karaoke and he'd been smiling so she wondered what had happened for his mood to fall down completely.

"Yes darling, I'm fine." He gave her a tight lip smile that she instantly knew was forced.

She shook her head, "You don't look it, sweetness. Come here." She opened her arms for him and Alex sighed.

He stared at the A around her neck, held by the leather band of the choker and he wished with everything he had that it was A for Alex instead of Alice. Ignoring the growing jealousy inside him, he accepted her embrace and relaxed instantly by nuzzling in the crook of her neck.

She giggled at the tickling feeling from his hair, which made him only do it more in order to hear her laugh louder. His hand managed to go around her side to tickle her there and that's when she dropped her arms to cackle as she tried to push him away from her.

"Stop, stop, stop. I'm too drunk for tickling." She pleaded, really feeling like she'd fully pee herself from laughing with her state.

Alex stopped, opting for properly wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her closer into his side.

"Are you having fun?" He asked softly, only she was able to hear him from how close she was to him.

Ella showed a loopy grin, her eyes closing at how wide it was, "Lots."

"I'm glad, darling. You deserve it." He was being honest, because despite how he hated everything that had gone on—except for this very moment—, he was so damn happy she was happy.

She cooed, letting her head fall on his shoulder. "Gonna make me cry, sweets. Remember I'm an emotional drunk."

He chuckled and left a kiss on top of her head, making her skin erupt in goosebumps. "You're a clingy one as well. You'll be asking for cuddles in a bit."

And he was about to suggest taking her back to his so they could cuddle all night, a last attempt to stop anything from happening between her and Alice, when aforementioned suddenly appeared beside her and pounced on Ella's lips.

Ella leaned back into Alex due to the force and the lack of space, and since the singer had his arm around her waist, he was stuck between the seat and Ella's body.

He tried his best to avert his eyes, not wanting to watch the way Alice's tongue disappeared into Ella's mouth but what he couldn't do was mute the noise so he fully froze when Ella let out a loud moan at the taste of Alice.

A moan that earned her one from Alice and soon enough both of them were whimpering messes which had Alex completely going insane.

Alex tried pulling his arm out slowly but Ella kept leaning back, meaning he was more trapped by the second. He watched around him in search of any type of help, he needed a way out, but everyone was still at the table, so engrossed in the conversations that he couldn't even catch anyone's attention from where he was.

He cursed in his head, fully panicking as Ella continued to lean back into him and now resting on his chest, Alice starting to bend over on top of her. And then the girls' hands started to wander and Ella's right hand disappeared under Alice's top. He could see her fingers inching closer to Alice's nipple and he knew that if he didn't get out of there soon, then he'd be in serious trouble.

So Alex cleared his throat loudly and continuously, enough times to have them separating with their chests heaving and cheeks flushed. Not as flushed as his, but definitely giving him competition.

Alice held her hand out for Ella to grab, which she accepted instantly and watching Alice go over to the table to grab her coat, Ella turned around slightly to apologize.

"Sorry sweets. I'll see you tomorrow?" Ella tried meeting his eyes to see if their plans still stood, but it was a failure.

Alex could barely meet her eyes as he nodded his head. "Yep. See you tomorrow, darling."

Ella gave him a tight lip smile that he missed but he was left with the picture of Alice helping Ella put her coat on and then intertwining her fingers with Ella's as they waved everyone goodbye.

"Have fun Eleanor!" Oscar yelled suggestively as the couple of girls walked away.

Ella was gonna flip him off when Alice beat her to an answer, "Oh she most certainly will." She assured, to then make a V with her fingers and stuck her tongue out through it to flick up and down in a quick motion.

They heard their friends laugh behind them, Ella's cheeks bright red as they walked out but her heart leaped on her chest from anticipation. 

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

The walk back to Alice's was about fifteen minutes long which she'd find short in any other circumstance, but standing right there with the need to have Ella to herself had her deciding to just take a cab back to her place.

Only a few minutes later the girls were sitting inside a car, the red light on and the lights flashing as they drove the city's streets.

"So I hear you're in a band?" Ella started the conversation, feeling Alice rubbing her hand tattoo with her thumb.

She nodded, giving Ella her undivided attention, "I am."

"What do you do?" Ella asked, her words a little slurred, and she felt slightly bad for forgetting what Oscar had said she did earlier.

But Alice smiled amused, "I sing."

"Like Alex?" The American grinned, forgetting how both singers seemed to hate each other.

"Yes, but I'm better than him," Alice stated confidently and when Ella laughed a little she added, "I'm sexier too."

Ella hummed softly, not really knowing if she could fully agree on that because if she took a moment to think about it, then she'd greedily choose them both.

"Why does it seem like you two don't like each other?" She felt the need to ask.

"That's because we don't... At all." Alice didn't hesitate to tell her.

The information confused Ella because she truly couldn't understand why Alex couldn't stand such a sweet and funny girl like Alice.

"Can I ask why?" She asked curiously.

"I don't know why to be honest with you." Alice told her truthfully, "The first time I met him he was horrible to me for no reason. And then it progressed to what it is now... Always getting under each other's skin."

"He's not a bad person, I swear." Ella felt the sudden urge to defend her best friend, maybe even give Alice another view on him that could make her try to change her mind. "I've actually never met anyone nicer... He's the one who got me through all the shit my ex put me through, got me being myself again."

"I'm glad he's got a soft spot for someone. Nice to see some human qualities come through" Alice only smiled back, her eyes clearly wandering around Ella's face, which made her blush. "And it's really fine that it's not for me. We get under each other's skin, it's entertaining a lot of the time to be honest."

Ella got lost staring at Alice's features, half a minute going by before her brain caught up with what was said so she offered a solution, "Maybe if you spent time together then you both could-"

But Alice shook her head with a sad expression on her face. Only sad because of not being able to give Ella the outcome she wanted in the situation. "We're going on tour together the rest of the year and the next baby, and we've just done a festival run together. I can't see anything changing. And I've already tried with him and nothing's ever come of it. So I'll just have to learn to live with him."

"You're touring with them?" Ella asked with a sparkle of excitement in her eyes.

"Pale Waves supporting Arctic Monkeys across America and Europe and festivals in Australia. Can you believe it?" Alice smiled sweetly at her, really appreciating her obvious elation at the news.

"I feel bad that you're touring with them and I've never heard your music." Ella's voice sounded very apologetic then, as she played with Alice's fingers.

"Don't worry baby," Alice waved off, letting go of Ella's hand to let her own wander over her knee and slowly up her thigh. "You'll get the best seats to any and all shows. I'll be very pleased to see your pretty face there."

Ella blushed harder then, letting her head drop slightly. Feeling the urge to tease Alice back, she let her hand brush over her fishnet covered thigh, and let her fingertips ghost over the tattoo she had there. 'My Mind Makes Noises' it read, and if she focused enough, Ella could see the goosebumps breaking out on Alice's skin from the touch.

"It's the title of my first album." Alice told her with a small smile.

Ella's fingers kept tracing the words as she asked, "Your first?"

"Yes, I'm writing my second now." The singer nodded, trying not to react to the tingles that Ella's fingers were causing her to feel go up her thigh and reach her center.

"Nice." Ella smiled but she couldn't help but wonder, "Why 'My Mind Makes Noises'?"

"Mental illness, baby." Alice chuckled as a joke, but she went on to explain, "I'm okay now but I struggled with how I looked and what my body looked like when I was younger. Wrote the song Noises about it and 'my mind makes noises' is the first line of the song."

"Proud of you for getting through it." Ella smiled, fully resting her hand over her thigh then as she made a mental note to remind Alice as many times as she could just how fucking drop dead gorgeous she was.

"Thank you Ellie." Alice smiled back at her, her hand coming over Ella's and tracing her hand tattoo again.

For a brief second, Ella felt bad that she was flirting with the singer when she'd just told her about her personal trauma. So going a little shy, she withdrew her hand from the singer's thigh and put it back down on her own.

This however was written all across Ella's face and Alice could already read her like a book. So smirking a little, Alice picked Ella's hand up and placed it back on her thigh over her tattoo, then crossed her legs trapping the American's fingers so she could keep her there.

Ella's mouth opened up slightly, her breath shaky when she met Alice's gaze. The action made her lean back into the seat as she cursed under her breath. "Fucking hell."

Alice smirked at the effect and she was grateful to see they only had a few blocks left to get to their destination.

It was all a blur from the moment they got off the cab to when they made it upstairs and into her flat. Their minds were quickly shaken up by their lips clashing again as soon as the door to Alice's flat closed behind them.

"Fuck." Alice cursed on Ella's lips, "I can finally have you all to myself." She inhaled deeply through her nose, so glad to be in between four walls meaning that she could freely drop her hands to grab Ella by the ass and push her hips into hers.

Soon enough, after Ella's coat had been thrown onto the floor, they were on the settee. Ella's legs on each side of Alice's hips as she straddled her. They couldn't stop kissing each other, only when they were overcome by the friction of their hips meeting and they couldn't stop moaning into each others' mouths.

Ella was drenched already and Alice hadn't missed that, not when Ella's dress was bunched all the way up to her hips and she had a full view of her cute lacy thong already ruined. Alice let one of her hands in between their bodies to push Ella's underwear to the side and rub her clit with enough speed to have Ella whimper and stop kissing her.

"Alice–" Ella was barely able to say, breathless from the kiss and now her fingers.

And Alice had loved how she said her name so much that she went ahead and dipped two of her fingers into Ella, slipping so easily inside of her because of how wet she was.

"All this for me?" Alice asked teasingly as she slowly pumped her fingers in and out of her.

Ella could only softly moan at the stretch of Alice's fingers inside her, feeling so much better than her own after so long of having had to get herself off.

But since Alice didn't get an answer, she stopped her movements which made Ella whimper in despair. And in a desperate attempt to continue with what had been happening, Ella lifted her hips up and back down Alice's fingers, fucking herself on them.

Alice groaned as she watched her fingers disappearing inside Ella's cunt and when she looked back up, she noticed Ella's eyes rolling back in pleasure.

She didn't let her have fun for much long because she took her hand away and before Ella could even protest, Alice gave her left ass cheek a hard spank, leaving her to let out a gasp that turned into a moan.

"You need to answer." Alice scorned, a smirk on her face when she watched Ella's dilated pupils focus back on her.

Ella nodded desperately, missing the feeling of her fingers inside her, "Yes, baby, all for you." And in an attempt to get some mercy from Alice, she connected their lips again with need.

Alice knew exactly what she wanted Ella doing first, so without breaking the kiss, she guided Ella's right leg in between hers and forced her hips down onto her tattooed thigh. Alice's hands gripped at Ella's hips tightly, guiding her to move on her thigh, to ride it until she came.

Ella hummed in pleasure, biting Alice's bottom lip as she pulled back and letting it free after a few seconds. That had Alice squirming in her seat, her leg accidentally shifting in between Ella's legs, making the American girl cry out in pleasure.

Watching Ella ride her thigh was a picture Alice wouldn't forget in a while, her soft sounds echoing in her brain and making her want more from her. So when Ella fell forwards, caging Alice between her arms as she rested them on the back of the couch, Alice took advantage of the skin she had right there to bruise.

Her choker stood perfectly in place still and that only encouraged Alice more. She started kissing her way down her neck and started her attack on her chest. Alice sucked love bites on Ella's tits, biting her nipples softly over the fabric of her dress and that only made Ella move faster on her thigh.

Ella got increasingly louder with the more sucking Alice did, and it turned into desperate whimpers when Alice found that spot right over her collarbone at the base of her neck that made her go absolutely insane.

The rhythm of her hips grew erratic and messy, Ella's moans falling straight into Alice's ear and she couldn't do anything else other than encourage her to reach her climax.

"That's it, good girl." Alice said against her neck, leaving a trail of pecks as Ella got louder, "Come on, baby, I wanna hear how good you sound when you cum."

Alice's hands went to grab harshly at Ella's ass, helping her with her movements and it was her touch along with her words of encouragement that had Ella tipping over the edge and trembling as she orgasmed on top of Alice.

The singer watched her in awe, taking a mental picture of her pretty face scrunching up in pleasure, continuing to help her shaky hips as she came down from her high.

Ella let her forehead drop on Alice's shoulder, her shallow breaths loud as she tried to get oxygen back in her lungs, her legs still shaking slightly besides Alice's thigh.

"You look so fucking pretty when you cum, baby." Alice started, leaving open mouthed kisses on the side of Ella's neck which was on show to her.

When Alice licked a bold stripe up her neck and started sucking right under her ear, Ella's breath hitched on her throat and that had her coming out of her trance.

She sat back up straight, dipping her head to give Alice a brief messy kiss and then saying, "Let's go to your room, Allie." as she carefully stood back up on wobbly legs and offered her hand for Alice to take.

Alice wasted no time, intertwining their fingers and dragging Ella towards her room.

Once inside, Ella quickly pushed Alice onto bed and dropped to her knees right in front of her. Alice felt herself grow breathless in anticipation, her cunt dripping at the sight of Ella so innocently staring up at her through her lashes.

But Ella wanted to tease her, so she got a hold of one of her legs and slowly took one of her red boots off, making sure to kiss from her ankle up to a few inches above her knee, really making it feel like she was going to her inner thighs but leaving right when Alice got her hopes up.

She repeated the process with the other leg, this time teasing her a bit more and licking her inner thigh up until she was close to the edge of her underwear.

Alice watched as Ella's head disappeared under her skirt, but whined when all she got was a couple of open mouthed kisses over her clothed core.

Ella pulled back to take Alice's fishnets off, so painfully slow that almost had Alice wanting to complain—she only didn't because she was enjoying Ella's methods, it turned her on impossibly more.

The American got on the bed then, straddling Alice and slowly pushing her backwards so she was fully laying on the bed. Alice cupped her jaw and brought her in for a kiss, another steamy one that had their breaths shaky in no time.

Their hips met once again, over and over, the friction so good that it made them stop kissing just so they could moan into each others' mouths. But Ella wanted Alice to cum under her first, just so she could also fully see how she came undone without being distracted by chasing her own high.

Ella's lips trailed down Alice's neck, slowly starting her attack on the singer's neck, leaving open mouth kisses and softly sucking her skin which earned her soft moans from Alice.

It was when she got to her clothed chest that Alice got louder, as Ella licked over the fabric on her nipples and then blew on the wet spot, sending surprising shocks of pleasure down Alice's spine.

"Ella, fuck–" Alice could barely mutter.

Ella did that for a minute, Alice felt like she was agonizing already and she was surprised at the confidence Ella had to tease her like that.

Soon, she started lifting Alice's top until it was off her and forgotten somewhere on the floor of the room.

Seeing Alice's nipple piercings made Ella moan as she bit her lip, "So fucking stunning, baby." She complimented before leaning in to suck her tits, purposely leaving her nipples abandoned to her touch.

Alice squirmed under her, and when Ella's fingertips started to ghost over her inner thighs up until they got to her cunt but never touched her like she wanted, Alice started rolling her hips as if that'd help her.

Chuckling, Ella kept her teasing going, this time abandoning Alice's legs to softly touch all over her chest and abdomen as her mouth stayed busy marking her up. And Alice could feel herself going insane when Ella's fingertips faintly rubbed on her pebbled nipples, feeling all the heat going down in between her legs.

Her breaths grew shallow when Ella took it a step further and used her fingers to pinch her nipples. Alice was whining in a high pitch, feeling a new type of pleasure that had her head spinning. And it only got more intense when, after kissing up the side of her neck, Ella found Alice's sweet spot right under her ear.

Mixing the feeling she got as Ella intently sucked on that spot she loved so much and the way her fingers kept pinching and twisting her nipples, Alice felt herself fastly reaching her orgasm.

Ella knew it, from the way she sounded and how ragged her breath had gotten. The more obvious sign was Alice's hand dropping between her legs to help alleviate some of her frustration in that very spot.

But Ella was quick to stop her, letting her skin alone with a pop and taking the hand she'd been using to play with Alice's nipples under her skirt.

Her left hand went to pick up the work she'd been doing and her right one dipped right into her cunt, pushing Alice's underwear to the side.

"Needed me right here?" She teasingly asked her with a massive smirk on her face.

Alice's face contorted in pleasure at the feeling of Ella's fingers filling her up and curling inside her. "Yes– Ella, baby–"

She continued pumping her fingers in and out of her, her thumb rubbing her clit as well and her other hand still playing with her nipple.

"What is it Alice? What do you want, babe?" Ella's mouth opened slowly as she watched Alice quickly approaching her climax. So to help more, she changed her fingers for her mouth to suck on her nipple and that was enough to have Alice lose it.

"Oh fuck!" Alice cried in pleasure, "M'gonna cum, gonna cum!"

Ella hummed enthusiastically with her mouth still sucking Alice's tit, and the vibrations from that were the thing to push her to her orgasm.

Her fingers pumped in and out of her in a constant pace that she kept up until Alice couldn't take anymore and pushed her hand out and away from her cunt.

Ella let go of her tit with a pop, smiling down at a dazed Alice who was trying to get her breath back, and the little she had managed was taken away once more when Ella brought her hand up and licked her fingers clean.

Humming in pleasure, Ella felt herself clenching around nothing as the taste of Alice's arousal fell on her tongue, "You taste so damn good."

At that Alice wrapped her hand around Ella's neck and pulled her down to kiss her. She moaned, tasting herself on Ella's tongue, already thinking about the infinite ways she wanted to have her.

It was a brief kiss because of how breathless Alice was, but Ella took the chance to gather more of Alice's cum on her fingers and bring it up to her lips again. Once again she moaned as she wrapped her lips around her own fingers and tasted Alice on her tongue.

Alice watched it all in adoration, in complete awe of just how erotic it all was. Her mouth went dry when Ella dipped her fingers back down to gather more of her slick but this time telling her to, "Open up." so she could taste herself.

And how could she just not oblige when Ella was looking at her with those hungry eyes. So Alice wrapped her lips around her fingers and sucked them clean eagerly, moaning around them to then release them with a pop.

That made something in them unleash, desperately kissing again as they got rid of their other clothes. They both stood up from the bed and while Alice shed herself off her skirt and underwear, Ella took off her dress along with her bra and thong.

"Keep the collar on. I love seeing you branded as mine." Alice said, eye fucking Ella as she stood so perfectly naked in front of her.

The comment had gone straight in between Ella's legs so she basically threw herself at Alice, both of them falling back on the bed with shrieks that turned into giggles that they swallowed into a kiss.

Maybe if they hadn't laughed so loud, they could've caught the sound of the next door neighbor arriving home.

Alex had slammed his front door closed, dropped his keys on the little table he had by the entrance and toed his shoes off. He was drunk and knackered, already dreading the fact that he'd had to come home earlier than expected because his mind was too distracted to focus on the rest of the group, growing too bored of hearing their chatter and of mindlessly drinking so he felt the urge to leave.

In retrospect, he probably should've walked home just so he could waste more time and avoid hearing anything, but he had been truly just craving his bed and unfortunately his cab had taken way less than anticipated.

He was glad to hear absolute silence once he got to his room, wishfully thinking that Ella wasn't enjoying whatever Alice was doing and therefore it was all completely silent but, as he took his own clothes to get in bed, on the other side of the wall something completely different was happening.

"I meant it when I said I wanted you to ride my face." Alice reminded her, making Ella's ache between her legs grow.

The girls wasted no time going further up the bed and getting comfortable. Alice started a devastatingly slow trail of love bites on the insides of her thighs, making Ella breathe shallowly in a matter of half a minute.

Another excruciatingly long minute went by, Ella feeling every bruise that Alice was leaving in her wake, before she could finally ask her to go where she needed her. "Allie, baby, please– I need you."

The British woman smiled hearing her plead, "Come here then Ellie." She encouraged, and Ella didn't need to be told twice.

She slowly came down to have her cunt hover over Alice's mouth and a loud moan left her throat when Alice licked from her entrance to her clit and then sucked it harshly, making her see stars.

"Alice!"

That noise had made Alex freeze one foot away from his bed. He stayed there for a minute, trying to sharpen his hearing to see if it was real or he was imagining it but his questions were answered when he heard the unmistakable voice of the girl he fancied screaming the name of the girl he hated.

"Oh fuck! Alice!" Ella cried out, Alice fucking her with her tongue as she very quickly rubbed on her clit was making her go absolutely insane.

A minute later Alice changed her tongue for her fingers, seeing how Ella was practically dripping all over her face, being able to easily fit three inside Ella and then letting her mouth give her clit all the attention.

Ella's right hand quickly tangled in Alice's hair, pushing her closer to her center and tightly pulling at it encouragingly, her hips moving erratically on Alice's face and the whole thing had Alice humming in pleasure—Ella shaking over her as she got closer to her orgasm.

It only took Alice's fingers going faster and sucking harder on her clit for Ella to fall forward to grab a hold of the headboard as her legs trembled beside Alice's head.

Ella loudly moaned Alice's name like a chant, followed by profanities that were barely understandable as her orgasm left her completely breathless.

Alex's mouth and throat was dry, all he could feel was pure jealousy and himself growing hard in his boxers as he sat there on his bed with his back leant against his headboard.

He wished he could be the one hearing all that in his ear and not through the bloody walls. He wanted to be the one making Ella fall apart under him, yet he had to know it was Alice doing that.

His blood was boiling out of rage, his body extremely hot from how turned on he was thinking about the whole situation. But he'd have to be strong this time, so he let himself close his eyes and ignore the way he was dying for some release.

That didn't work though, not when his eyes stayed open as he stared at the darkness in his room and minutes later was startled by another round of moans from the girls.

Alice was already overly sensitive, only slowly recovering from her last orgasm, when Ella had cum all over her face. Watching Ella come undone on top of her had Alice clenching her thighs together, it had been such a pornographic view that had her wishing somehow she could replay it second by second, over and over in the future.

Not wanting to waste any of Ella's sweet taste, Alice had lapped at every bit of her arousal she could get, making an overstimulated Ella cry out as her tongue continued working on her cunt.

She only stopped when her whines got louder and Ella desperately shifted to go back down and straddle Alice again, "Jesus fucking Christ," She watched her slick all over Alice's chin and neck so she just couldn't help but lick it all up for her and then catch Alice's lips in a hot kiss.

It wasn't the long kiss Alice had wanted it to be, because Ella desperately wanted more of Alice and she just couldn't wait longer. So she kissed down Alice's body, making sure to suck more bruises on her skin and enjoying every sound the singer made under her.

But Ella just needed to have a taste of her again, so in no time she dove between Alice's legs and started eating her out.

Alice's back arched off the bed in pleasure. Her center had been aching from just watching Ella that the feeling of her tongue flicking at her clit and lapping at her entrance had Alice not able to control her whimpers.

"Ellie, oh my–" She shivered as she grabbed a hold of Ella's hair and pulled on it tightly as she fisted it to bring her closer to her cunt.

Feeling Alice so desperate already made Ella the more needy to make her cum hard so she went up to Alice's clit and wrapped her lips around it to suck on it as she moaned into her.

The sucking and the vibrations made Alice's legs shake and instinctively close around Ella's head.

That had Ella smirking to herself, changing her mouth to use two of her fingers to quickly rub at the singer's clit and making sure to lick all of the arousal that had wet the top of Alice's inner thighs.

Ella made sure to look up to see Alice's face, and that was just a portrait she wished she would have captured with her camera. Sweat was making her face shine and her makeup the slightest bit messy, her cheeks and chest were flushed, chest heaving and littered with bruises that were already darkening.

She was proud of her work so she went back to finish her task, but when she let her eyes drop again to Alice's cunt and saw how she was clenching around nothing, Ella groaned.

"Where are your toys Allie?" Ella asked, knowing there was no way she wouldn't have a wide variety of them.

Alice couldn't answer, not when Ella kept quickly rubbing on her clit so when Ella realized that and stopped, Alice whined in complaint before answering, "Second drawer, over there."

A satisfactory smirk appeared on Ella's face when she opened the drawer and she was met with being right about her suspicions. She tried making a quick decision but there were many toys to choose from and she was feeling indecisive.

That was until she heard Alice mewl in the background and when Ella turned to see her, she was playing with herself. Ella couldn't even find it in herself to warn Alice not to continue doing that because she just looked so fucking gorgeous desperately trying to reach her climax.

In a quick decision for a safe bet, Ella grabbed a dildo and made her way back to the bed.

Alice let her hand fall from her center and raised on her elbows to look at what Ella had chosen. Ella looked her right in the eye and brought the toy up to her lips, to spit on it and once it had dribbled down the length of it, she sank her mouth down on it.

Alice swore she died seeing her like that, as if she couldn't get any fucking hotter. And for a second a cursed thought ran through her mind, of how she'd love to watch her fuck someone else and if she was desperate enough for that show then she'd definitely choose her next door neighbor to be the third in the party.

Out of convenience, of course.

Ella broke her out of her trance when she kneeled on the bed between her legs and prompted them to open further. Bringing the toy to Alice's entrance and teasing the tip in and out of her.

"Baby, please–" Alice begged breathlessly, "Don't tease, Ellie, please."

Her wish was her command so Ella pushed it slowly inside Alice, letting her jaw drop as she watched it disappear inside her with ease. Alice moaned loudly at the stretch, which got easier when Ella's thumb came to rub soft circles on her clit.

"You always take it so well, don't you, gorgeous?" Ella started properly fucking her with the toy, slowly picking up the pace, "And here I thought you couldn't get more beautiful."

The 'thank you' Alice had wanted to say died down in her throat when Ella leaned back down and started sucking her clit again as she continued to use the dildo on her.

"Fuckkk– Ella!" Alice mewled as her back arched in pleasure. One of her hands went down to tangle on Ella's hair, while the other started playing with her own tits.

Alex tried his hardest to control himself but, at the end of the day, he was still human so his hand traveled down his boxers and he slowly started faintly touching himself.

He was well aware the one screaming was Alice but, as he closed his eyes, picturing what could be going on on the other side of the wall was driving him mad.

Alice bit her lip harshly, the pain feeling almost null compared to the heavy pleasure she was feeling, and the stronger the waves of pleasure came, the more she'd bite on her bottom lip.

Ella tutted when she noticed Alice going silent and stopped her sucking to scorn her, "Uh-uh, I want to hear you."

Alice was so focused on the tightening feeling in her belly that she barely heard her so Ella used her free hand to spank her clit, making her jump and drop her hand from Ella's head. Alice yelled from the sensation that pushed her closer to her orgasm and Ella smirked satisfied from it.

"You liked that? Yeah?" Teasingly asked Ella, rubbing slow circles on Alice's clit.

Alice hummed and it sounded almost like a purr, so Ella spanked her again and the gasp that Alice let out turned into such a sweet moan that had Ella needing to hear more of her like that.

Ella hoped the use of a choker meant more about Alice, so she brought up her right hand and wrapped it slowly around Alice's neck.

A massive smile broke on Ella's face when Alice made eye contact with her then only to let out a guttural moan and roll her eyes back in pleasure. So Ella tightened her hold, feeling Alice moan even more under her hand, and continued fucking her with the toy.

Wrapping his hand around his cock, Alex found himself already leaking precum and he groaned, applying a little more pressure around himself. Soft strokes was what he was relying on as he got harder in his hand to the sounds of the girls shagging. He was biting his lip, only letting out soft hums of satisfaction but when he heard Alice yell at Ella to go faster, he let himself moan out loud.

"I'm so close! Faster– faster, please!" Alice begged, feeling herself so close to reaching her high.

Ella listened to her straight away, letting her hand wrap even tighter around Alice's neck and picking up the pace with her left hand as she pounded into her with the dildo.

In no time, Alice's legs started shaking uncontrollably as she came with loud moans of Ella's name, 'baby' and pure gibberish. Ella had her seeing stars as she kept pumping the toy in and out of her with a slightly slower rhythm but kept her hand wrapped tight around her neck.

Alice was getting so overstimulated that she felt the tears pricking her eyes, her legs ached from how they wouldn't stop shaking and she felt like she was about to explode.

But that was exactly what Ella was looking for, so she took the dildo away to solely focus on her clit then, rubbing on it as fast as she could, wanting to see if she could do what Ella had in mind. Ella kept her relentless pace until Alice was cumming all over her again, squirting all over Ella and herself.

Alex died a little hearing how loud Alice had gotten, and thinking about what Ella could be doing for the singer to be almost screaming her name made him fail at trying to stay quiet. He picked up his pace, smearing the precum down to make it more comfortable for him and he fully just pictured them two in front of him, having fun as he watched.

He grew hotter hearing Alice's sounds continue until they ended in her choked up words asking Ella to stop.

"No more– Can't– Can't take more." Alice chanted over and over, making Ella loosen her hold on her neck and start rubbing Alice's thighs soothingly while leaving pecks on every inch of her skin.

Alice was gasping for air, absolutely mind blown by what had just happened and despite wanting to get rid of the mess as soon as possible, she had to show Ella the appreciation she deserved for all that.

"You..." She started, reaching out to get a hold of one of Ella's hands and pulling her up to her, "You are a fucking dream."

The singer attacked Ella's lips hungrily, and it was messy as she still was trying to catch her breath but that only made it better, because it was a clear sign that they were enjoying each other that much.

"That was so fucking hot, Allie." Ella said between kisses, having to hold herself back from going down on her again.

"You're skilled," Alice smirked, breaking the kiss and wrapping her hand around Ella's neck, "Only a few people have been able to make me do that."

Ella laughed, the noise vibrating under Alice's palm making her squeeze tighter and causing Ella to moan.

"As much as I love your hand around my neck, we need to clean this mess." Ella was quick to say, pecking Alice's lips in between words.

Alice agreed, trying to stand up along with Ella but she plopped back on bed when her legs were too weak to do it without help.

The American girl laughed as she offered her hand out for Alice to hold, which she appreciated and stood up slowly.

"I can take the duvet over to your washer while you clean up, if you want." Ella offered, pulling Alice in by the waist and rubbing circles on her lower back.

The singer leaned in to give her a soft kiss and nodded, "Okay. It's the last room at the end of the hallway." She pointed out the door and to the hallway on the other side of the flat.

With a kiss, Ella left Alice to get cleaned up in her ensuite whilst she balled up the duvet from the bed and walked to the laundry room.

It was good for Alex that they had left the room, because if they'd stayed then they would've definitely heard his grunts as he replayed all that he had heard like a broken record in his head as he continued to get himself off.

He was so close when he noticed the silence, and maybe it was that which had made him snap out of it. Realize what he was doing and just how wrong it was.

The next ten minutes were filled with an internal debate that had Alex wanting to pull his hair out of his head. One part of him told him that he'd done that before and why would it matter if he did now, so desperate for relief, and the other told him he should be a bigger person and learn to have better self control.

His inner monologue was rudely interrupted then, by a loud gasp and all Alex could do was let his head hang as the girls started back up again.

After going to the bathroom, Alice had made her way back into her room and seeing her drawer still open, she let herself choose what she was gonna use next on Ella.

The singer was tired but she needed one more from Ella, one more look at her face while she fell apart for her, one last taste of her sweetness.

So when Ella walked back into the bedroom, feeling so bare only wearing Alice's choker, and saw Alice standing there with a smirk and four things in her hand, she bit her lip already feeling herself getting flustered again.

"Thought we were going to bed." Ella blushed as she approached Alice, shy steps but eyes brave as they scanned her up and down with lust.

"I need you to cum for me one more time and then we can do whatever you want, baby." Alice raised her eyebrows, putting the things on the bed to turn around and pull Ella into her by her waist.

Ella hands came up to cup Alice's face, "How do you keep getting hotter by the fucking minute?"

Alice leaned in softly laughing, "I could ask you the same thing."

Kissing again, Alice walked Ella backwards until she was sitting on the edge of the bed and grabbed two of the items to start her plans.

Alice started making her way down, sucking down Ella's neck and chest—really enjoying her whines when she played harshly with her nipples—, leaving open mouthed kisses on her tummy and bruising more of her thighs.

By the time Alice came to where Ella wanted her most, she only got to feel the blow of her hot breath over her because Alice wanted to tease her this time, wanting to hear her truly desperate.

In her hands, the singer had two leather wrist to thigh cuffs, meaning that once they were on Ella, she'd have her legs up and wide open at Alice's mercy.

A few minutes later, that's how Ella ended up with her feet plated on the bed and her knees up, her wrists pressed on her thighs and her legs open to show her glistening cunt to Alice.

Her mouth watered at the sight, the need of having a taste of her before everything taking over and making her dip down to intently lick up and down her core.

The whole setting had Ella already whimpering, being so exposed to the singer made her shiver from lust and looking at the vibrator and the new dildo beside her was only making the ache between her legs grow.

The vibrator coming alive with its buzzing made Ella squirm in her place in anticipation, an action that Alice noticed, making her smirk.

"Are you ready, baby?" She crawled back to Ella with the white buzzing object in her hand.

"Mhm," Ella mewled, "Yes, Allie."

It was excruciatingly slow that Alice moved the vibrator down to Ella's cunt, so much so that when it finally came to meet her clit, Ella gasped loudly.

Like he'd come alive, Alex heard it and only was able to curse his poor luck for a few seconds, because when more moans that Ella was letting out came through the walls, he didn't have it in him to stop himself.

He fully spat on his hand this time, imagining Ella actually doing that to him and wrapped his hand around his length under his boxers.

He was getting harder the more he got to hear the sweet sounds Ella made and it was so much better than he could've ever pictured in his head all those times before. Nothing compared to the real thing. He couldn't imagine how fucking good they sounded falling in one's ear.

Alice had increased the intensity of the vibrator as she started sucking on the dildo she'd chosen for Ella. Getting it ready for her—not that she truly needed it though, because she was already dripping and messing the sheets.

When she pushed it inside her, Ella let out a chesty moan that was followed by the most earth delicious moans Alice had ever heard.

"Oh fuck! Al–!" She couldn't even finish Alice's name and that caused a reaction on the other side of the wall.

Alex would describe those moans as earth shattering. Hearing a clear moan of her saying his name had made him fully lose it. That 'Al' kept replaying in his head and in the background all the sounds she was letting out.

Without them knowing, the three of them were moaning almost in a harmony. If it wasn't for the loud buzz of the vibrator then they could've heard rather quietly Alex's low groans as he fucked his fist to the thought of Ella.

"Ella, darl– F–fuck–" He choked out, desperate to vividly picture her in bed with him.

But Ella's legs were trembling as Alice teased her by keeping the vibrator on her clit for a few seconds, taking the dildo away from her, and then taking the vibrator away to fuck her fast with the long toy.

It was agonizing, feeling so full one second with the ghost of the vibrations, to feeling empty and clenching around nothing as her clit got intensely stimulated.

"Baby I'm so fucking close!" Ella yelled desperately, a loud cry leaving her when Alice still took the dildo out and away from her.

Ella couldn't even touch herself to help, it was impossible for her to bring her hands up and tease her own nipples without pulling her legs all the way up—she was definitely not that flexible.

Alice was enjoying her desperation so much, it made her want to take it to another level. That's why she upped another level and dropped the dildo on the side to curl three fingers inside Ella, knowing that'd get her instantly.

"Fuck!" Ella screamed, feeling Alice hit that spot perfectly and her vision clouded because it was just too much along with the vibrator on its strongest level. "Right there! Right the– Al– Ah!"

And then it came crashing down on them.

Ella got whiplash from how strong her orgasm had reached her, her vision blinded as her legs shook and she squirted, feeling herself spasm around Alice's fingers.

Alex's quick motions pumped himself to an intense climax that had him cumming all over his chest. All he seemed to know was Ella's name, as that was the only thing that came out of his mouth as he came.

Alice was drenched in Ella's cum, as it had all splashed over her arm and chest and that was enough for her to match Ella's noises. She desperately reached for her face, to kiss her messily and feverishly.

After that, everyone disappeared into their bathrooms. Alice and Ella shared a shower while Alex stood alone under the waterfall.

Alex cleaned himself with the sounds replaying over and over in his mind. Alice and Ella got carried away and their shower ended with Alice cumming on Ella's fingers once more.

He had already been in bed for fifteen minutes trying to force himself to sleep when, on the other side, Ella and Alice came back into the room and discarded the dirty sheets for new ones to get some sleep.

The girls were giddy as they got under the fresh sheets and scooted closer until they were cuddled into each other. Alice's head nuzzled in Ella's neck with their legs tangled together and their arms wrapped around each other.

They were certainly aware of the next level of intimacy that meant but they couldn't be arsed, they were enjoying each other's company and they wouldn't keep themselves from it just because of how it may look like. Ella and Alice were both glad to be on the same page.

Alex, on the other hand, was dying inside just thinking about how he'd have to see Ella after all that and how he, no matter how hard he'd try, would never forget the night. 

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

Alex thought he was dreaming when he heard Ella's soft moans reaching his ears. He squirmed in bed and continued to sleep when suddenly Alice's soft sounds came in to mix with Ella's.

He held his breath trying to gather his hazy mind, still attributing the noise to his imagination not having recovered yet from last night's events but then Alice loudly moaned Ella's name and Alex's eyes shot wide open.

Groaning in misery, Alex let his head fall back on the pillow and hid his face there begging in his head for it to be over soon.

His silent prayers weren't answered though, only a few minutes later—which had been painfully long, five minutes had felt like fifteen—the girls on the flat next door only seemed to be growing louder.

Alex stayed there sprawled over his bed with jealousy filling every cell of his body as he tried to focus on that awful poking in his chest to ignore how the noise was making his lower belly tingle and his dick to twitch in his boxers.

What had happened last night was a lapse of better judgment and he was trying now to hold onto every bit of self control he had left.

He had contemplated blasting music to drown it all but that'd give away the fact that he was in fact listening and he knew that if Ella found that out, she'd be mortified. So he suffered in silence for the next ten minutes, as they gasped for air and chanted each other's names accompanied by lots of profanities.

It was too painful, not only because his chest felt tight but he felt his body responding to it all subconsciously and he hated it, so once they got quiet he escaped to his ensuite.

The shower Alex took was freezing cold. He stood there, shivering under the waterfall for a while until he felt himself calm enough to be able to get out. His movements were slow as he got ready for the day, brushing his teeth and brushing his hair with his fingers, deciding to just let it air dry while he waited for Ella.

Choosing something from his wardrobe had been painfully slow because he was sure he could hear faint noises coming through the walls again and trying to find out if they weren't just the ghosts of what he'd heard earlier kept distracting him.

That was until the high pitch whines came loudly through the walls to knock all the air out of his lungs, like a punch to the gut.

Pulling up his trousers quickly, Alex almost ran out of his room and it seemed like the noise wanted to follow him as he heard all of it walking out of his bedroom.

The singer could breathe again when he got to the kitchen, the noises long lost in the hallway and it seemed like they had stopped because even if he'd left the door open, he couldn't listen to them anymore.

There was only so much Alex could take anymore so he decided to ignore it all despite one part of him begging to pay attention and give into his carnal desires.

This day was meant for him to accompany Ella to buy a dress for the wedding since she hadn't had the time for it back in LA, and not only that but she'd thought it'd be better to buy one in London rather than being worried about the gown being ruined from having to be cramped up inside her suitcase.

Alex had agreed with her when they videocalled a few days before her flight and he promised her that he'd be taking her to buy her dress. He was excited for it, the prospect of spending more time with her was always something that elated him but it being in a place he knew so well and she was so foreign to made it the more special.

Now, after last night, Alex wasn't sure when it would happen but like he had promised himself merely a minute ago, he would ignore it all and act like nothing had happened so with hope that she'd be coming over to his in a bit, he started making breakfast. For himself and for Ella.

He was softly singing under his breath as he cooked some sausage, serving two plates and then he moved onto making some scrambled eggs. The only thing that could be heard then was the sizzling of the eggs cooking on the pan, but after he finished them and served them, the silence that overcame him became dangerous for it gave way for the now loud again noises from the girls to creep up through the hall and softly reaching his ears.

Alex stopped as he turned with the two plates in hand, slowly bringing them down to place on the kitchen island, really unsure of how to feel anymore. He was just utterly confused at all the reactions his body was giving to the whole scenario.

Once again, he reminded himself to ignore it so he grabbed himself a fork and knife and started eating, his brain only trying to think about what was in front of him to not go absolutely insane.

But that only worked for so long because the girls, now getting closer to their climax, had started getting louder and more restless meaning their cries of pleasure were just filthy begs and it was making Alex's head short circuit.

Dropping the utensils on the countertop, Alex hunched over almost defeated. He was breathing heavily and in his mind praying for self control and patience. Since that wasn't working because the noises were making his breaths become more shallow, his hands came up to his head and his fingers tangled in his hair to pull on it with frustration.

He was going insane now, he really was.

And Alex thought it couldn't get worse than it already was, when he heard Ella clearly encourage Alice, "Cum for me, baby, c'mon." followed by a loud mewl.

He let his head drop on the cold surface of the kitchen island, fully defeated as his thoughts were spinning. A groan came from the deepest pit of his chest, one of pent up frustration that he knew he wouldn't pay attention to for his own sanity.

"Fuck my life." Alex muttered under his breath when he heard the girls clearly reaching her orgasms, hands holding onto the sides of the countertop like it was gonna ground him somehow.

He was almost scared to see Ella later, afraid that after all that he'd just ask to have her like he wanted to so badly. Every bit of his being was just aching to have her, and Alex didn't know if it would be the right time to play his chances.

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

About an hour went by and it was surprisingly quiet after everything that had happened the night before and in the morning. That had been a relief to Alex who had gotten to finish his breakfast counting to a thousand multiple times to try and get his shit together again.

What he didn't know was that Ella and Alice had gone to make breakfast after that second round he had heard. They'd gotten decent first, going to the bathroom to freshen up and Alice lended Ella some clothes for her to leave with—Ella had shyly asked after seeing her chest and neck all marked up on show with the low neckline her dress had.

Ella walked through Alice's kitchen with gray joggers and a 'My Mind Makes Noises' jumper on. The singer watched her in awe through the corner of her eye as she grabbed some mugs to make some coffee for the both of them.

"You look amazing in that." Alice threw the compliment out as she focused on frying some eggs, pieces of bread toasting on the little oven by the stove.

Ella looked down at herself and her new outfit, "I'll give it a listen tonight."

Alice smirked at that promise, "Hope you enjoy it, baby."

Ella walked up behind the singer as the Keurig made their coffees, wrapping an arm around her waist and said into her ear, "It's you singing so I definitely will." Alice bit her lip at Ella's actions, a little harder when Ella left her with a squeeze of her ass and a kiss on her neck.

The British girl was fast making breakfast, almost done at the same time as Ella had placed the coffee on the counter and got utensils for them to use.

"Do you want me to drop you off at Alex's?" Alice asked Ella casually, placing a plate right in front of her as she sat on one of the tall chairs.

Ella was truly confused at the sudden question as she was completely unaware of Alice and Alex's housing situation. "Huh?"

"Are you going to Alex's?" Alice changed her inquiry slightly this time, walking over to sit next to her.

Ella watched as Alice took her seat and ripped a bit of her toast to dip on the runny yolk of the fried egg, "Not now... I'm going back to the hotel first."

"Oh well." The singer shrugged nonchalantly, "He lives next door, that's why I'm asking."

"What?" Ella's face went pale, looking at Alice with wide eyes like it was her worst nightmare come true.

Alice chuckled looking at her face, "He lives next door... I thought I told you."

And Ella shook her head with a frown to remark that Alice in fact hadn't told her, "Fucking hell." She cursed under her breath, flashbacks of the night before and this morning coming to the forefront of her mind and she felt herself burning up from head to toe.

"What's wrong baby? You've gone all red." Alice teased, one of her hands resting over Ella's thigh, where Alice now knew she had her 'Divine feminine' tattoo and squeezed slightly.

Ella squirmed a bit under her touch, her cheeks growing even hotter. "Do you think he heard us?" She genuinely felt like she'd die if he had, because it had already been embarrassing that he knew she'd gone home with someone but him hearing her was making her burn inside and out.

Will this ruin things? Will this make things awkward? She had no idea but now she was spiraling about it all and she just couldn't help but think about every little thing this situation would entail.

Alice being so calm about it was what brought her back from her thoughts, "I couldn't care less to be fair."

"Fuck..." Ella mumbled, staring at her plate with a shocked expression.

"I mean," Alice squeezed her thigh once more and when Ella turned to look at her, she brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear. "If he did, he's lucky 'cause I don't think I'll ever want to hear anybody else now."

Ella blushed under her gaze, still feeling so affected by the way the singer would smirk at her. "Stop." She brought one of her hands to cool down her cheeks, Alice's smirk getting bigger at that.

"I love it when you go all blushy on me." Alice remarked and then she leaned in to kiss Ella one more time, which the American girl welcomed with a smile.

After the brief soft kiss they shared, the girls went back to eating breakfast and they made small talk about what they were doing in their current jobs, getting to know each other a little bit better. Alice had heard all about Ella's aspirations and Ella had listened to everything Alice had been getting inspired from for her next record.

Without really noticing, an hour had gone by, and when Ella noticed it was about to be noon, she told Alice she had to leave.

They were both gutted to know this was the end of it but Alice a bit more, especially by knowing that Ella would be going to Alex and he'd be the one to spend time with her for the rest of her stay in the UK.

After having loaded everything in the dishwasher, Alice walked over to Ella and pulled her into her by her waist, "Remind me why you can't stay," The singer brushed a strand of hair behind Ella's ear and with her gaze taking in all of Ella's features, she bit her lip at the memories of all that had happened in the past twelve hours. "I wanna fuck you all day."

Ella grinned at Alice with her cheeks heating up, she could tell Alice was being completely honest and that was one of the things that she liked about her because it gave her the confidence to say "I would love that." back to her, which was exactly what she was feeling.

It was hard to compare how honest she could be with Alice than how cowardly she felt even admitting to herself anything to do with Alex, because with Alice it was something casual and it was always easy with girls, but Ella knew deep inside her that Alex wasn't meant to be a casual thing to her. It was either all in with Alex or nothing. But that would only happen in her dreams, she'd much rather keep him as her best friend than try to become more again and it ending poorly like it had before.

In another life, if Ella hadn't been hung up on Alex already, then she would've tried to pursue whatever had started with Alice, because Alice was lovely and funny, and she was the type of girl anyone would be lucky to have in their lives.

The American girl smiled, bringing one of her hands up to cup Alice's jaw softly, "But I need to get a dress for the wedding."

"Can't you do it some other day?" Alice pouted, it was playful as she tried to see if there was any chance Ella would change her plans.

But Ella didn't budge because she really needed to get the dress, "Wedding's in three days and today's the only day we've got no plans."

Seeing how Alice's pout stayed on her face, Ella brought her in for a kiss. A slow one that just felt like it settled it all, a silent thank you and a goodbye.

They savored every second of it, trying to enjoy the time they'd shared until the very last moment. Alice hummed against Ella's lips before pulling back. "Don't go back to the States without saying goodbye, alright?" Her thumb rubbed soft circles on Ella's cheek.

"Promise." Ella replied with a sweet smile and pecked Alice's lips one last time before stepping out of Alice's hold to get her things which were merely her phone and the dress she'd worn last night.

With the dress draped over her arm and her phone being pocketed in her coat she had just put on, she made her way to Alice's front door. Alice was already standing by the door, watching Ella's slow steps with a smirk. She was glad Ella also didn't want it all to end.

When Ella got beside her, Alice softly opened the door but stopped Ella with a hand on her wrist before she could go out to the hallway. "Don't forget I'm always a text or a phone call away." And this time now walking up to her and getting a look of the empty hallway that led to the rest of the flats, including Alex's, Alice added pointing at the door that was his, "A door away as well."

Ella blushed when Alice winked at her right after that and nodded, "Definitely noted."

"Bye Ella." Alice squeezed Ella's wrist softly and let go of her hold.

"Bye Allie." Ella said after one last look at Alice.

Ella walked into the hallway and walked over to what Alice had pointed to be Alex's door. She had expected Alice to close the door right after she left but, out of the corner of her eye, Ella could see Alice was there waiting to make sure she'd gotten inside Alex's flat.

Three knocks were left on the door and only a few seconds later, the door opened to reveal a smiley Alex.

"Hi, Al." Ella smiled brightly at him, hearing then the soft thud of Alice's door closing.

"Hi, darling." He greeted almost breathless, she looked stunning despite wearing Alice's merch and now it seemed like every time he'd look at her, the memories of the previous night and the early morning were going to haunt him. "How are you feeling?" He asked, letting her come in and closing the door behind him.

She sighed and very genuinely answered, "Tired and in a desperate need of another shower."

He tried biting his tongue about it all but his mouth played with him when he let out a "Reckon you enjoyed yourself then?" without meaning to.

Stopping in her tracks, she cursed through her teeth, "Oh, fuck–" And almost wincing, she turned to see him and ask, "Did you hear us?" She was begging he hadn't, because if he had then there was no way she could look him in the eye for at least a week.

"No, no." Alex shook his head and her soul came back to her body. He walked past her, and it was easier for him to lie when she wasn't seeing his face, "No– I, erm, I passed out right when I got home and only woke up a little ago."

"At what time did y'all leave?" Ella asked curiously, she didn't even know when it was that she had gotten to Alice's but the last time she'd seen the clock it had been a bit over three in the morning, and that had been before her and Alice got in the shower.

They got to the kitchen and she stood by the marble island, resting her belongings on one of his high chairs. Alex seemed entertained by what was on his kitchen stove, so she barely heard him recount very briefly the rest of the night, "Everyone left about fifteen minutes after you but I stayed for another hour or so."

She hummed trying to calculate at which point of the night that would've been and nodded once she gave up trying to come to a conclusion since all she was getting was flustered by the memories. "Right."

Wanting to change the subject as his brain was aggressively reminding him of the night before, he asked her, "Are you hungry?" turning to see her with a plate in his hand filled with the food he'd prepared.

Ella looked at him with her lips pressed together, hating having to turn him down by saying, "Alice made me some food actually..."

A small "Oh." fell from his lips, and he froze with the plate in hand before he could manage to form a proper sentence, "There's some more here if you want."

"That looks amazing," She admitted because it truly did and just because she felt bad for leaving him last night, she gave in and said, "Some more food is not gonna hurt anyone..."

Alex gave her a sweet smile when her words reached his ears and placed her plate right in front of her, quickly getting her utensils to eat with. As she had before, Ella enjoyed the meal he had prepared and wasn't shy to give him praise for it. It was really good so it wasn't long until she was done with it and she was calling Alex out for not letting her do the dishes.

"Stop it, I'll wash this quick and we can go to get the dress." were his last words on the matter and he took care of the task with a grin on his face seeing Ella let her arms fall by her sides in defeat.

"Okay but we need to go back to the hotel first though." She truly wanted to shower first, before she could even think of going out to try on clothes. "Can't go out shopping looking like this." Her hands waved briefly down her body to emphasize the state of her.

Drying the freshly washed dishes, he agreed, "Yeah, it screams 'walk of shame'." He quipped, snickering which earned him a roll of her eyes and an annoyed sigh.

Her response was a simple, "Idiot." as she shook her head. He laughed at her while he sorted his dishes back in the cabinets and once done, he dried his hands with a kitchen towel.

"Alright," He glanced around his kitchen to see where he'd left his phone, finding it and pocketing it, he looked back up at her and instructed, "Let's go then before the shops get too crowded and we don't find anything."

Alex had already been ready for the day so once Ella picked up her stuff from the high chair next to her, they left Alex's flat. And thankfully, his place wasn't far from her hotel so they got there in less than a fifteen minute walk.

Once inside her room, she left all that she was carrying sprawled over her bed, really not caring for the mess at the minute as she just wanted to freshen up. The singer found comfort in lying on the bed as well, his head resting on the pillows.

He watched her as she yawned behind her hands before letting him know she was "Gonna take a quick shower now." adding a "If you don't mind." just to check if he had any other plans he had to get to.

But Alex shook his head with a blissed expression at the soft pillows under his head and the silence in the room. "Absolutely not, go ahead." He replied with a soft smile on his face that she gave him back.

Before she left for the ensuite, she wanted his advice, "What should I wear?" Crouching down, she opened her suitcase and was met with multiple articles of clothing all rolled up, "Needs to be easy to put on and take off since I'm gonna be trying shit on all day."

His eyes were closing but his mind was still with her in conversation so trying to be helpful, he thought about it for a few seconds and came to the answer being, "A skirt?"

He hadn't sounded so sure but she nodded in agreement, "Oh, yes. And with a sweater so I'm not freezing to death." It had been quite cold as they walked back, and she was certainly grateful Alice's clothes were quite thick and cozy.

Alex only hummed in response and she took out the clothes from her case, trying to be the quickest she could be as it was already about to be eleven in the morning.

"Okay, I'll be right back." She informed and in his hazy mind, Alex managed to nod.

The water pattering on the floor of the shower lulled Alex to sleep, Ella took her time to shower and pamper herself after what certainly felt like a very long weekend, slowly putting her clothes on. And once she had dressed herself, despite the loud noise even with the door closed, the hair dryer she used didn't manage to wake him up.

When she left the wet room, she walked into the small hallway that connected it to the room which had a floor to ceiling mirror that showed her reflection back to her and the sight made her gasp.

That was enough to wake Alex up then, blinking multiple times he was able to get himself the slightest bit awake to ask, "What's wrong?"

The answer Ella gave flew straight past him as she let out a low whistle and said, "Fucking hell, it's gonna be really awkward trying on dresses today." and continued to watch herself in the mirror.

"What was that?" Alex inquired again, his brain not being able to process what she'd said just yet.

But when she walked back into the room and stood in front of him, she reiterated in a different sentence, "The skirt is not gonna do..." and that was what made him look down to her bottom half to see what she meant.

Her inner thighs were littered in purple marks and the view alone made his eyes shoot open, "Holy shit, Ella." He cursed loudly, his jaw dropping more the more she showed him the insides of her thighs a bit better.

She looked down at the lovebites and chuckled to herself, feeling her cheeks heating up, "Yeah, I know."

"What the fuck?!" He cursed out loud again, his brows furrowed.

"She's a little vampire." Ella joked trying to make the situation a bit less awkward, because he seemed really taken aback by it.

What she wasn't expecting was for him to start saying, "I'll have a chat with her when I get ho–"

She stopped him before he could continue with a firm, "No, you're not."

"But she–" The singer tried to fight, yet Ella wouldn't have it.

Shaking her head and with her cheeks tinting up redder, she admitted, "Alex, I loved it when she was marking me up so there's absolutely nothing to complain about here."

Ignoring the way that statement had felt like a knife to the chest, he gave another argument to back himself, "Well she needs to learn to control herself."

Sighing, she pursed her lips and added, "I'm pretty sure I left her looking the same or maybe worse." so he could stop with his need to cause a fight between himself and the girl.

"Fuck." He cursed through his teeth, hiding his closed eyes behind his hands like he was in pain.

Ella tried to get answers then, ones that she hadn't managed out of Alice, "I still don't get why you don't like her, she's one of the sweetest girls I've ever met." And she truly meant it. In her head if she got along well with Alice then there was no reason for Alex not to get along with her.

Alex wasn't help at all for Ella to try to solve the mystery because he only shrugged and meekly answered with, "Maybe you're biased because you've fucked her."

Without missing a beat, Ella replied in the same tone, "In that case, maybe you need to fuck her too." She had been guilty of picturing the scenario of the three of them in bed the night before, when the thought of him flashed in the forefront of her mind in a moment of pure ecstasy.

"Eleanor." Alex warned with a firm voice, his face stoic as he stared at her like he was begging her to be joking.

"Alexander." Ella copied with the same tone but a smirk tugging at the corner of her lips as his anger was becoming amusing to her.

"Don't ever say that again." The singer warned, as if it had been the single worst most awful thing someone could've ever told him.

"What?" Ella threw her arms up defensively, "She's good." Her cheeks warmed again and the sight made Alex sigh exasperatedly.

"Just find something to wear and let's go already." He was growing impatient and he wanted the view of the love bites Alice had left gone for they made a bitter taste rise up his throat and coat his mouth with it.

She chuckled and playfully rolled her eyes, "Whatever you say boss."

He let out an involuntary snort at her remark, unable to not react to her, "Shush you dickhead."

Going back to her suitcase, Ella ended up picking up a long brown wool skirt that reached her ankles and went to the bathroom to change into it. Her white sweater stayed on and over it came her long brown trench coat.

After quickly tying her converse on, they left her hotel room and went straight to Harrods where Alex said he knew she would find something. 

She had scolded him when they stepped out of the taxi and the first store she saw was Valentino with a couple stunning dresses she could wish to buy on a random afternoon. He only laughed and reminded her that it was a dress for the wedding and that she was allowed to spend her money on it if she ended up loving it—not that he was going to let her buy it but she didn't need to know that—so with that mindset they began to look for it.

It was a hit or miss in the many stores they had visited, the first few she had been far too wary of the cost of the pieces and by the time she had convinced herself it was okay, she hadn't found anything she was completely set on for her to spend an obnoxious amount of money on.

That was until they stumbled into a boutique that gathered many designer clothes into one place and the dresses she had caught through the window looked to die for.

When they went in, a lovely woman called Rose greeted them by the door and took them inside while asking a bunch of questions so that she knew what the pair were looking for. Once Ella told her she was looking for a dress to wear to a friend's wedding, Rose effortlessly guided them to the ones she knew would be wedding appropriate and that Ella might like.

From the looks of them, Ella chose a few to try on and Rose guided her and Alex into a private changing room. Thankfully, inside was a curtain that separated the actual changing room with the small lounge area in which Alex would be waiting.

Taking her time as she slowly put the different pieces on, Ella tried on the first three dresses she had chosen but none of them had her swooning. Alex on the other hand found himself at a loss of words and oxygen every time she drew back the curtain and stepped out in a different gown.

The first one had been a champagne off the shoulder dress with a slit on the side that showed her right leg perfectly, but it was exactly that which made her discard it. The second was a strapless plum dress which had a beautiful mermaid silhouette but it was just that which made her struggle to walk, plus the top kept falling down so she had to hold it up when she walked out to keep it in place. The third was a black one shoulder dress made of tulle which made it puffy and she truly felt like a princess with it but it was far too big for her to be comfortable in it all day at the wedding, she had been already sweating figuring out how to put it on.

The fourth one was a deep red low v neck dress which cinched at the waist and from there draped down a lovely flowy train. It looked amazing on her, it was light and the shape of it was beautiful and flattering but she found herself pursing her lips at her reflection which showed her fully exposed and very marked chest. Her tits looked great hugged perfectly by the fabric but the love bites littering her skin had her trying not to laugh at herself for caring so little about it the night before when she had a wedding to go to in a few days.

At least she was grateful it didn't have a leg slit for her bruised thighs to show and with amusement clear on her face she walked out, "Well this is not gonna do, is it?"

It was a rhetorical question, she already had seen the annoyance in Alex's eyes that he knew Alice had left those and a part of her was hoping it was the product of jealousy, but thinking of it like that would hurt her if she found out that wasn't the reality so she had been pushing the thought away.

Before Alex could compliment her on how stunning she looked, there was a knock on the door of their private room that snapped Ella out of her thoughts. She was well aware of her marks so she tried to escape back behind the curtain before anyone could walk in but Rose beat her clumsy steps as she came into the room right when Ella was only managing to turn around.

"How are you liking them?" The woman asked enthusiastically and when she saw Ella's figure being hugged by the red fabric, she just had to say, "Oh let me see that one!"

Ella winced at her tone because it was so sweet and genuinely excited to see her wearing the dress so she just couldn't say no. Bad time to be a people pleaser, she scorned herself before slowly turning back around so she could face Alex and Rose.

The loud gasp Rose let out was enough for Ella to hide her face behind her hands, feeling her cheeks burning under her fingers, and Alex to laugh out loud. The singer watched as Rose all but counted the bruises on her skin and then switched her surprised expression for a teasing grin, "You're gonna have a good time covering all those up."

Hearing the smirk on Rose's voice, Ella shook her head still hiding behind her hands so the, "Oh my god, this is so embarrassing." she said came out muffled against the palms of her hands.

The woman directed her gaze to Alex then, completely unaware of the actual story behind them, "You went hard on her didn't you?"

Ella dropped her hands, ready to correct her but she only managed a, "He d–" when Alex interrupted, being a bit louder than her as he said, "I did but I'll help her get rid of them later." He looked so smug with a hand on his chin and a smirk on his face, it made Ella lock her jaw because if she didn't it would've dropped.

Rose giggled at the pair, "That's gonna be lots of ice you'll use." But once again, Ella's real explanation was stuck in her throat as the woman beat her to it, but luckily changed the topic of the conversation, "How did you like the ones you've already tried on?"

"This one was too big." She pointed at the second one she'd tried after clearing her throat, and very truthfully admitted her opinion about the other three, "And the other ones I just don't feel like I love them."

Rose hummed completely understanding her, "This one looks stunning on you though. But I feel like–" She cut herself off to have a small think and after a few seconds of staring at Ella's silhouette, a spark lit up in her brain, "Okay wait, I know just the one to bring you. I'll be right back."

Ella barely managed to say, "Thank you!" to her when Rose walked out of the room, but when the door closed behind her, she instantly turned to Alex to scold him.

"Why would you say that?!" Her mind was in a mush, she was so embarrassed but seeing him so proudly admit to that was making her head spin.

Her thoughts were stopped abruptly when the singer shrugged and raised a brow to set his argument down, "Would you prefer to explain how someone else did all that whilst you're out with me buying a dress for a wedding that you told her we're going to together?"

Ella didn't know why she felt so defeated and recognising that reaction from herself made her feel pathetic. She tried to hide it as best as she could, turning around to go back behind the curtain and look at herself in the mirror again, "Well if you put it that way." She replied, brushing her hands down the smooth fabric of the gown she had on.

"Saved you the awkwardness." Alex added proudly, eyebrows raised as if telling her he had been the one to make the situation better.

But Ella poked her head out the changing room and with a frown, she whisper-shouted, "It's still awkward!"

He giggled at how mortified she looked, it was so funny to him that she'd react like that when she had no need to. "You are making it awkward, she was joking about it."

"My face is burning." Her hands came up to cup her red cheeks, sighing at the cold of her fingers against her face.

"Wouldn't be the first time today, darling." He retorted playfully, and that earned him a lovely middle finger peeking through the side of the curtain which had him laughing out loud.

A few minutes later, in which Alex had been lost in his phone and Ella had been lost in her thoughts, Rose knocked on the door again with a stunning blue gown hanging on her arms.

"I think you'll like this one, but I'll keep looking for some more." The woman said handing Ella the piece of clothing and once the American girl had thanked her for it, she left the room again.

The dress was heavy in her arms but it felt fresh and it had the prettiest floral detailing embroidered with the same color of the gown so it looked more like texture than a pattern. It had spaghetti straps and a delicate scoop neck, what she wasn't sure about was the excess fabric on the back of it so without wasting more time, she went back behind the curtain.

A minute went by, Alex impatiently waiting for her to come out because she had gasped a few seconds before. He was about to ask what it was that she was gasping about when she let out an excited, "Oh sweets I think this one's it."

With his knee bouncing up and down, he bit his bottom lip before saying, "Let me see."

Alex was met with silence for another half minute and when he called her name, she only answered with a quiet, "Wait a second."

But he wasn't feeling that patience anymore, so very eager to see her, he instructed her, "Come on out already, you can't say that and then leave me hanging."

Ella's voice came out struggling as she replied, "It's only been less than a minute and I'm trying to fix the back but I can't reach it."

Knowing that he only itched more for her to come out, so he offered, "Come out and I'll help." Not without adding a "Hurry." at the end.

"You're really impatient." She sighed defeated as she couldn't get the extra fabric out when it was stuck right on her lower back where the zipper was. Taking him up on his words, she came out from behind the curtain, mindful of her every step to not step on the bottom of the dress, "What do you think?"

Alex choked on his words seeing her in that dress, his mouth opening and closing only letting out a "Wow." before he could gather his thoughts and finally say, "Darling you look gorgeous and that doesn't even cut it."

"Shut up." Ella rolled her eyes not wanting to take the compliment herself so she complimented the look of the gown, "It's pretty, isn't it?"

"It's beautiful." He agreed, nodding enthusiastically like a little kid, "You look stunning."

Ignoring the way his words made her stomach flip, she turned around to show him the back of it for it was her favorite part of the dress, "I'm obsessed with the back of it." And he was too, it was a backless dress so her back was on full show, the fabric sitting tightly on her lower back and the extra fabric draping lusciously around the low cut.

"Help me with this bit, it's stuck on the inside." She said and he knew exactly what she meant so reaching to untuck the fabric that had gotten stuck on her lower back, his fingers grazed her skin and she shivered under his touch.

A low, breathless, "There we go." fell from his lips, entirely satisfied by her reaction to his touch.

She hated that she had so obviously reacted so her "Thanks." came out choked.

Walking a few steps back to the changing room, she fully opened the curtain so she could see herself in the mirror without having to go back in and she turned slightly to see how the dress looked from different angles. "So... this one?"

"You're the one who decides that darling, you looked stunning in all of them but this one's just... wow." Alex was truly at a loss for words, she was effortlessly stunning. Her hair had been put up in a quick bun so there were many strands sticking out of it but she looked beautiful with her messy hair and she was walking around in her long gray socks which she had laughed about how they looked when she lifted the bottom of the dresses up to walk.

Alex grew mesmerized by her everyday it seemed like and it was something that surprised him. He didn't want to think too much about it, scared of messing something up and hurting her like he had in the past. He just had to live only being friends with her. Best friends. He'd rather have that than absolutely nothing, he loved her too much to let go of her that easily.

Rose's knuckles thudding against the wooden door interrupted his thoughts and when she came in and saw Ella practically beaming in the dress, she smiled and nodded in approval.

"I love this one." Ella confessed, giddy about having found the perfect dress for the wedding.

Rose was proud of her vision, "I knew it. That was just the right one."

So the American girl walked up to her and gave her a tight hug, "Thank you, it's truly perfect." She said into the woman's ear, letting her go after a soft squeeze.

Alex was entranced by her beauty and her kindness, but he was brought back when Rose turned to him and tauntingly asked him, "What do we think, Mr Dracula?"

"Think she looks absolutely breathtaking." He answered genuinely, the biggest smile on his face as his gaze went up and down Ella again.

"At least you didn't attack her back." Rose chatted back, seeing Ella's fortunately love bite free bare back in the reflection of the mirror.

The singer was feeling very smug about Rose thinking it was all him so playing more into the situation, he cheekily replied, "We shall see about that."

Which earned him a firm "Alex!" from Ella, one accompanied by her wide eyes at his confidence to just say that in front of the woman.

But Rose laughed hard at that, patting Alex's shoulder as she got some air back into her lungs, "Oh I love you two," she stated before inhaling deeply to completely regain her posture. When she straightened back, the woman turned to Alex and kindly inquired, "Want me to ring you up while she changes?"

Ella was about to say no because she wasn't going to allow Alex to buy her the dress but he practically jumped to his feet as he said, "Yes, I'll go with you and she can change."

Rose nodded and exited the room, completely unaware of the hard glare she was giving Alex who was pretty much ignoring it as he got his phone from the coffee table beside the loveseat he had been sitting on.

"Alexander." Ella started with her voice firm to try and get him to look at her.

But when he turned, a mischievous grin was adorning his face, and when he replied, "Eleanor." in a playful tone, she knew whatever she'd say would fly right over his head.

"Don't." She warned with a serious face, her hands already frantically trying to undo the zipper of the dress so she could quickly change and beat him to it.

He played dumb first, asking a silly, "What?"

She wasn't having it so trying to remind him of what they had talked about before she came, she said, "What did I tell you?"

There had been many occasions in which he had suggested taking her to many places and when she had jokingly said 'well you'll let me pay this time right?', he had swiftly averted the question and continued with listing his plans. So she had made sure to remind him every other time that when she came to visit, he wouldn't be allowed to spend money on her. That had been broken already when he showed her around London and she had been determined to not let it happen again.

But her reminder didn't work because Alex continued playing dumb about it, this time taunting her by saying, "I don't really remember right now darling, head's scrambled by the view." Giving her a wink before he stepped closer to the door.

She took a step forward to reach out to him, getting a hold of his wrist, "Told you I would–"

Alex interrupted her before she could repeat what he clearly remembered she had said many times before. "I really have to follow her 'cause it'd be rude to make her wait." He wasn't gonna listen to her in this one, not when he had the means to make her happy gifting her the dress she'd loved.

The singer took another step with her hand still clasped around his wrist and she quickly caught up right behind him. "Alexander David Turner." She said through her teeth when he didn't stop and had a foot out the room.

Knowing he had won already by being out of the private room, he smirked and pointed out with a tut, "Eleanor Hayes you can't leave the fitting room with the dress on."

Ella pursed her lips, exhaling through her nose completely frustrated, "I'm gonna fight you."

He was enjoying seeing her like this way too much. "Would love to see you try." He dared, taking advantage of her hold to pull her in by her forearm and leaving a quick peck on her temple.

"Have fun!" He said with exaggerated enthusiasm, leaving her all flustered and annoyed, still wearing the dress.

She had been huffing around while changing back to her clothes and when she came out of the changing room with a frown and the chosen dress in hand, Alex had the opposite expression on his face.

Rose took the garment from her with the sweetest smile which made Ella feel guilty for her lack of one so trying to make herself look at the positive outcome of it all, she smiled back as the woman packed it up in a perfect box with a bow tied around it and placed it in a bag.

Ella had been trying to keep up her act with Alex, thanking him reluctantly at first and biting her tongue to give him the cold shoulder as they walked out of the shop and back onto the streets of London.

But that had only lasted so long when he pulled her in by the waist and pressed a bunch of kisses on her cheek.

"Oh c'mon darling, don't be angry. I wanted to buy it for you." Alex defended himself quickly, his eyes trying to look for hers but she was forcing herself not to look at him.

Her gaze stayed ahead as they walked a few more steps but he wasn't gonna have her silence any longer so he stopped in his tracks, forcing her to stop with him and turning her around so her front was pressed against his.

"Are you not gonna talk to me now?" He pouted and when her eyes flew up to the sky, he cupped her jaw to make her look at him.

There was nothing aggressive about his touch, it was how delicate his fingers were on her skin and his gentle gaze on her that made her slowly melt in his arms.

"You just don't listen." She started with a defeated sigh, "I didn't want you to spend money on me again."

He thought about it then, something to say to twist her arm, "Can't this be your very late birthday gift?"

"You gave me a ticket back home." Ella reminded him with an eyebrow raised.

"That was from all of us, this one is just mine." He negotiated, a hint of a smile tugging at the corner of his lips when he saw her face fall in slight amusement at the loophole he had managed to find.

"You're insufferable." She decided then, shaking her head at how proud he looked to have caught her with that.

"You love me." He fought back, the corner of his eyes crinkling the harder he smiled.

Humming, she gave in and agreed, "I unfortunately do." playfully trying to get that ego of his down.

He scoffed and it made her giggle, "I'm kidding." and throwing her arms around his shoulders, she added, "Thank you sweets, love you."

Leaning back, he looked down at her and left one last kiss on her cheek, squeezing her waist before letting go and once she was back beside him, they continued their walk back to the hotel.

A few minutes passed, people watching and talking about the upcoming big event. Their talk about Nick getting his tux with the lads brought him to pointing out a fact that made him warm inside.

"You know this is perfect." Alex vaguely started, trailing off long enough for Ella to ask what it was and with a tilt of his chin pointing to the bag which contained the dress she'd just gotten, he explained, "My suit is blue too."

Gasping, she turned to him, "Awh! We're gonna be matching!" Ella scrunched her nose at him, "How cringe, I love it."

Alex snorted at her response but agreed, "Matt's gonna take the piss out of us."

"Definitely, but I bet everyone will be matching with their plus one." She pointed out, wishfully thinking that it would be that easy to escape Matt's taunting.

He hoped that logic worked too and whilst they were on the subject of the wedding, he mentioned again the plans for that day, "I'm picking you up early that morning, by the way."

Ella groaned, already dreading having to wake up at an ungodly hour to start getting ready. "Yeah, don't remind me how early though."

"I know, weddings shouldn't be that early." Alex wholeheartedly agreed, almost every wedding he had attended would've been awful for him if he wasn't surrounded by his friends—only being in their presence made him able to look past how long they lasted and how unnecessarily stressful they were.

"It's an actual crime." And then she thought about how late the reception could be but found relief at the silver linings, "At least there's a free bar."

He chuckled and nodded, "I can already imagine the hangover."

She grimaced at the thought, "S'not gonna be pretty that's for sure."

"I'll take care of you, don't worry, darling." He promised, holding her closer by the arm she had hooked on his.

"I'll take you up on that, sweets." Ella replied with her eyebrows raised like challenging him to keep up to his words, which he definitely would.

But then the singer reminded her of the real trouble approaching them, "Tomorrow's what you gotta be worried about."

The next day would be the parties thrown for the bride and groom, she called them bachelor and bachelorette parties but she'd gotten cultured about them being called stag do and hen do over in that side of the pond.

"Matt and Bre being in charge of the parties is making me nervous." She admitted very honestly as she had tried many times to get something from Breana but miserably failed at it.

Alex hadn't been successful in getting information from the couple either so he felt the same way, "Haven't managed to get anything out of them so I share your worries."

Ella sighed, only being able to imagine the trouble the next night would bring but wishing aloud, "It better be fun."

He decided to tease her a bit and with a low voice said, "But at what cost?"

"Don't." She cut him off before he could set off more nerves in her and nudged his hip with hers, "That only makes me even more scared."

He giggled at her, noticing they were already close to the hotel she was staying at and wanting to spend the last few minutes they had together on a better note, he decided to settle her down a bit, "I know we won't be together but Florence will take care of you since I know Bre is gonna be too gone to do it herself."

"Awh I love Flo!" Ella almost jumped in her spot at the reminder of his childhood best friend's attendance, "I'm excited now, I can properly party with her."

They had been talking about properly going out at Glastonbury, trying to align their schedules so everyone could join and there had been a few dates thrown around but nothing confirmed, nothing that couldn't be solved when she would see her again then and the thought of making plans with her and the girls was making Ella excited.

She had been brainstorming more about that shoot she had in mind and she couldn't wait to properly set a day and a meeting place for them all to bring the vision to life. Ella was properly giddy about it for they were all stunning and the shoot was going to be in a style she had been waiting to try for a while.

Alex's memories came back to him of every time he'd partied with Flo since they were teenagers and he smiled at them, there wasn't a doubt in his mind that the girls would have the best night together. "She's amazing company, you're gonna have the best time."

Ella hummed, even more excitement bubbling up inside her and with hopes up to the ceiling, she replied, "I'm counting on it, Turner."

The girls all together and away from the lads, partying the night away in celebration of the bride sounded like a perfect night and, despite going into it blind, Ella just couldn't wait to see what that night would bring.

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

A/N: I don't exactly remember how me and N came about the talk about how insane it would be if Alice and Ella bumped into each other and had Alex absolutely seething but it ended up in me writing this and all I can say is I blacked out, I was fully possessed lolllllll! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, it's a whiplash of emotions from now on tbf but it's gonna be really fun. Hen do is coming next and so is the wedding... heheheh. Thank you for reading and see you in two weeks!!!!!! 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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[weepingfromacedartree]

Ten Milestones: Travelling Together

Hi friends!!!

New chapter up for anyone interested! (It's a big one.)

CW: alcohol // drinking to excess

In an instant, Penelope knows that this one will be good. (Or even more likely — bad.)

Colin’s smile gleams with the reflection of his phone screen. He’s practically giddy when he recites the text in front of him. 

“Number Five: Travelling Together. Nothing tests a relationship quite like taking it out of its typical environment. Just like marriage, there will be many highs and lows on your first trip as a couple. For as fun and exciting as a vacation may be, there are a million things that could go wrong during your time away from home. A holiday away with your partner will test how you handle communication, problem-solving, compromise, and more. If you are with the right person, even the most disastrous trips will be worth it.” 

At those last few words, Penelope cannot help but laugh. 

“Too bad I’m dating a seasoned traveller who always handles our holiday plans perfectly. If only something went wrong on one of our trips; now, we’ll never know how we react to disaster abroad.” 

“Yeah.” Colin rolls his eyes, giddiness already abandoned. “If only.” 

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Five Years Earlier: June 6th, 2018

Relationship Status: Not Dating

꙳

Day 0

Over the course of the last three years, finding Colin Bridgerton in a London pub has become an exceedingly rare feat. He spent most of that time in cities with different time zones than this one, and even his brief trips home left him little time for leisurely activities. This particular break from his travels, though longer than usual, has been as busy as ever. 

He arrived back in London on April 7th. He was actually meant to remain in New York for two more weeks, but changed his plans at the last minute. This choice was fueled by a variety of reasons, one of the most salient being his fears of missing his first nephew’s birth, had he come early. In the end, Auggie showed up two days late, but Colin couldn’t complain about having the extra time at home. 

The last two months were busy. Colin and Benedict found a flat together in Bloomsbury. (Colin needed somewhere other than his mum’s place to stay during his trips home. Benedict needed out of a toxic roommates-with-benefits situation he had found himself in.) Francesca graduated from Edinburgh. Penelope completed her postgraduate degree at UCL. Colin signed a freelance contract with a local travel magazine. Simon announced his upcoming Parliament campaign. Hyacinth starred in a surprisingly bloody musical production of Carrie. Just last night, Anthony informed Colin and Benedict of his plans to propose to his girlfriend Kate later this summer. (Gregory had been excluded from that conversation due to his abysmal track record at keeping secrets.)

Life in London has been so busy these last two months that this particular trip to the pub had to be rescheduled three times. But they’re here now, and Colin supposes that’s all that matters. 

“I don’t have to get a beer, do I?” 

Penelope is standing right beside him, and yet she has to practically scream in order to be heard. For noon on a Wednesday, the pub is surprisingly packed. 

Colin looks around, taking in the pub’s antique style and limited selection of bottles and taps on the back wall.

“Honestly? I don’t know. Even water might be out of the question.” 

Penelope doesn’t say anything to that. Instead, she pulls a face expressing her disappointment. A distinctive “V” forms in the centre of her forehead, at which Colin can only laugh. 

“Why would you choose this place if you loathe the taste of beer? We’re celebrating you, in case you forgot.”

Penelope keeps her eyes trained forward, as though she’s searching for something in the darkest corner of this room. With a deadly serious tone, she tells him, “They have the best fish and chips in Mayfair. If I go thirsty, so be it.” 

Colin laughs again, but nods in agreement. She has a point.

While away on his travels, he misses his family and friends more than anything else. He would be lying if he said proper fish and chips wasn’t a close third. 

Penelope opens her mouth to say something else, but shuts it when she sees the hostess re-emerge before them. She beckons them to follow her, then leads them to a particularly dimly lit booth in the back of the room. 

“What can I get ya both to drink?”

Penelope opens her mouth to say something, but before she can, Colin clears his throat.

“Do you have anything other than beer available? Sorry — I know. I just loathe the taste of it. It always tastes like grass to —” 

His words stop short when the tip of Penelope’s trainer collides with his shin. When he looks over, he finds that her eyes are verging on vengeful; he has to bite his tongue to prevent himself from giggling. 

“We got vodka,” the waitress supplies skeptically. With knitted eyebrows, she looks to the bar over her shoulder. “I think.”

“Brilliant. Two vodka sodas, then.” 

Penelope still appears cross when he looks over to her again. Thankfully, her frown is all but abandoned by the time the waitress returns with their drinks. 

“To UCL.” He raises his glass. “And to those determined and lucky enough to survive it.” 

After huffing out a single laugh, Penelope rolls her eyes. 

“I graduated. I didn’t survive the Great War.” Before he can think up another quip, she taps her glass against his. “But thank you.”

“So, now that you’re free from the constraints of higher education… Any plans for the summer?” 

Penelope shrugs, raising her glass to her lips. 

“Not really. Just figuring out what to do next, now that uni’s over.”

“Next?” Colin echoes, genuinely confused. “What happened to working at Danbury’s magazine?” 

“That’s not a done deal.” She shrugs again. “My final interview was yesterday, and I haven’t heard back from them yet. If I don’t get it —”

“You will. Obviously.”

Penelope picks up her glass, and Colin watches as her eyes roll from over the top of it. She takes a sip that drains about half her cup. 

“Not necessar—” 

“Pen, they would be mental not to hire you. The job is yours for the taking.” 

Something new passes on Penelope’s face for a moment. Doubt, maybe. Or maybe it’s curiosity. In a brighter light, maybe Colin would be able to read her better. 

“And what makes you so confident in that conclusion?”

“Because you’re accomplished, brilliant, and perfect for the job.” He takes a sip of his own drink, short and syrupy sweet. “Plus, you’ve known the CEO since you were born. That always helps.” 

Penelope snorts in spite of herself. 

“I pray nepotism is not the determining factor in their decision.” 

“We both know you’re more than qualified. Does it matter what the determining factor is in a foregone conclusion?”

Penelope answers his question with nothing more than a simple shrug. 

“And what of your plans for the summer?” she asks in a shameless attempt to change the subject. To take the spotlight off herself. “It’s unlike you to stay grounded at home this long.” 

“Disappointed in the sudden lack of content on my blog?” 

That statement was meant to be lighthearted, but when spoken aloud, Colin can’t help but detect an edge of bitterness to his own voice. If Penelope hears it too, she doesn’t let on. She laughs. 

“No. As much as I love your updates, I can’t say I’m ‘disappointed’ in having you home a little longer than usual. I just thought you would be restless by now.” 

“A bit. But you know… That’s inevitable.”

Penelope’s face shifts again. Even in the shadows, Colin can tell she does not know what he means. 

“After three years of doing it nonstop, I’ve come to realise that the best parts of travel are the coming and the going. Arriving in a new location is always exciting and full of a million different possibilities, but inevitably that excitement fades away. No matter how fulfilling your experiences are in that place, there will always, inevitably come a time when you’re ready to leave. When you’re reminded that the place you’re in isn’t home — that your time there is up. Then you return home, and it’s refreshing and comfortable, and then it’s not. Life gets tedious and you grow restless and that inevitable cycle starts anew.”

Colin looks down at his drink, already growing watery due to the surplus of ice cubes in the cocktail. When he looks back up at Penelope, her eyes have grown even softer than usual. 

“But I have spent far too much time away from home these past few years. I can stand a bit of restlessness for a little while longer.” He takes another sip of his drink. “Especially if it means having these sorts of conversations with you in a pub instead of over voicemail.”

Penelope doesn’t say anything in response to that. Her lips twist into a sort of smile, scrunched together and pulled to the side. When her lips finally part, she asks, “So when are you going again?” 

Colin grimaces, suddenly struck by the fact that the date of his next flight is not all too far away. And due to the new contract, he couldn’t delay it even if he wanted to. 

“About two weeks. Venice first, then I’ll be travelling around Italy for the rest of the summer.” 

“That sounds exciting,” Penelope offers. There’s a far less complicated, albeit noticeably reserved smile on her lips. 

“Yeah. Of course.”

It grows quiet between them for a second longer than Colin deems comfortable. He jerks his head to the side, glancing around the increasingly overcrowded pub. Though the room around them remains quite loud, he can clearly hear the growl of his own stomach above the chaos.

“Where the bloody hell is our food?” 

꙳ ꙳ ꙳

Thirteen minutes later, two orders of fish and chips arrive at their table in the back of the pub. One minute after that, Penelope nearly chokes on a piece of beer-battered haddock when her phone starts buzzing in her pocket. Seven minutes after that, she hangs up and looks over to Colin. His smile is even bigger than hers. 

“I fucking told you, Featherington.” 

Her teeth sink into her bottom lip, an unconscious attempt to wipe the grin off her face. Her happiness is so overwhelming that it feels as though it’s pouring out of her. 

“When do you start?” 

“Two weeks,” she barely manages to get out between taut lips. 

“That’s —” Colin lets out a shaky, happy breath. “We should celebrate,” he tells her after a moment. 

Penelope barely registers his words before letting out another laugh and raising her empty glass. 

“We’re already celebrating, in case you forgot.” 

Colin raises his own drink (also empty and awaiting a refill) and clinks it against the one aloft in her hand. 

“In case you forgot, we’re celebrating your graduation. Landing your dream job deserves its own celebration.” 

Finally, Penelope’s smile begins to drop. Her eyes dart to the bar on the other side of the room.

“We already ordered another round. We can make another toa—”

“No, Pen. A proper celebration.”

“Wha—”

“You’re the newest columnist at Queenmaker Magazine. This is amazing — fucking massive, Pen! We should do something big to honour it.”

Penelope looks away from him again. This time, to the phone that has been gripped in her right hand ever since she accepted her dream job. She sets it face down on the table before meeting his eye again.

“And what ‘big’ thing do you have in mind?” 

A few seconds pass before Colin answers her question. In that time, his lips form into a troubling smirk. 

“Let’s leave. Take a trip out of the city. Or better yet, the country.” 

Penelope also takes a few seconds to respond.

“What?!”

“I said, w—”

“I heard you, Colin,” she interrupts. “I just don’t understand. Didn’t you just say you want to stay rooted in London until your Venice trip?”

Colin considers her words for a few seconds, breaking her gaze to stare up at the ceiling in recollection. 

“That’s not what I said at all,” he eventually replies. “Do —”

“Colin, I —”

“— you want me to call up Danbury and tell her how unfairly her promising new journalist just misquoted —”

“I’m being seri—”

“I’m being serious, Pen! You’re willfully ignoring my po—”

“There’s no time to plan a —”

“You just told me that you have no plans for the next few weeks. You know, save for landing the job that you just landed. Now that your summer is free, you can finally —”

Penelope has argued with Colin before. Not as often as she does with Eloise, but this is far from their first dispute. Usually though, he will at least let her get a full sentence in before interrupting. Usually, he is not quite this vexing. 

“Good god, Colin! You’re leaving for Venice in two weeks. Which — in case you forgot — also happens to be the same time I start working at the magazine. Temporarily ignoring the fact that you just told me you want to stay in London in the meantime, there is no time for us to plan out — or actually go on — such an impromptu trip. It’s impossible.” 

It’s only after Penelope successfully gets all her intended words out that she realises Colin’s demeanour has completely changed. The tips of his ears are tinged red. His left hand is covering the lower half of his face. He’s barely holding in a laugh. His eyes are round and darting to the side. 

When Penelope follows his gaze, she finds that their waitress has returned. Wide-eyed, she silently sets down two glasses (a Guinness for him and another vodka soda for her), then disappears back into the crowd. Once she’s out of sight, Colin bursts out laughing and Penelope takes a generous gulp of her cocktail. 

“As I was trying to tell you,” he continues, once the laughter has left his system, “I did not say I want to remain planted in London for the next two weeks. If anything, I was torn between my desires to stay and to go.” 

Colin’s lips stop moving. It takes Penelope a few moments to realise that means he has graciously given her the floor to speak.

“I understand that,” she says slowly, as if speaking to a child. “I also understand that you decided to stay in the end. That you’ve spent too much time away from your family as it is.”

Colin laughs — short and sharp. 

“Wrong again. Given your line of work, I would expect you to pay closer attention to people’s words, Pen.”

Penelope opens her mouth, then shuts it just as quickly. If she says anything, it will undoubtedly be delivered through a scream; she doesn’t have enough alcohol in her system to justify doing so in such a public setting.

“I didn’t say anything about my family,” he reminds her. “The only person I mentioned wanting to stay in London for is you.” 

And just like that, something new rises in Penelope’s chest, swiftly killing the annoyance that burned inside of her. She doesn’t have the words to try and name it. She feels at a loss for words entirely; her lips remain paralyzed as Colin watches her in wait. 

It only takes him a few seconds to realise she has nothing to say.

“At some point in the last hour, the scales have tipped towards leaving. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t believe you have any plans tying you to London over the next few days. So, if I am correct and there is nothing stopping us from leaving… Let’s go.”

Penelope doesn’t think there is a single person on this planet that she knows as well as Colin Bridgerton. After all, she spent the first sixteen years of her life studying him with the same insistence and fervour that a nun does a bible. (And the last seven inspecting him with the same shame and compulsion that an addict does their vice.) And yet, there are still times when he surprises her. 

No. ‘Surprises’ isn’t the right word. She knows Colin has a talent for making the world around him appear far simpler than it really is. To bend the light in such a way that makes you see the world that way too — even if just for a moment. 

There are still times when it overwhelms her. 

“You make dropping everything and skipping town sound easy,” she eventually manages to say. 

“Because it is. Do it once and you’ll realise just how easy it is. Especially when you have an expert like me involved in the planning.” 

Something about that last sentence sparks a realisation in Penelope’s brain. 

This is a game. Or, it could be.

Penelope sits up and sets her shoulders squarely. 

“Fine. But I have a few rules.”

“Go on,” Colin encourages, clearly intrigued.

“1) I can’t be gone for the next two weeks. I need to be back by early next week. 2) I don’t want to leave the continent, so no surprise trips to Antarctica. 3) You have a max budget of £500 for transportation and housing — for each of us. If you can find something that fits my requirements, we can go on a trip together.”

Wasting not a single second, Colin whips out his phone from his back pocket. His smile gleams with the reflection of his screen. Excitedly, he mutters, “‘If’ I can meet your requirements? It’s like you don’t know me at all.”

But Penelope does know Colin. She knows he loves these sorts of challenges. That he thrives under this sort of friendly pressure. And while she could certainly afford to spend more than £500 on travel and a hotel, she’s intrigued to see what he can come up with when given such a budget. (And fears what he might come up with when given anything more.)

As Colin stares intently at his phone, Penelope feels her own demeanour start to shift. Before, she had been too distracted by the perceived impossibility of the offer to give it a second thought. But when she does…

It’s tempting. It’s almost certainly a bad idea, but it’s tempting for all the same reasons. 

Though they speak on a daily basis, Colin and Penelope have spent so little time actually together over the last seven years. Even during his hiatus at home over the last two months, they spent more time talking on a phone than they did in person. To spend a few days with Colin and only Colin…

It’s tempting. It’s almost certainly a bad idea, but —

“Booked,” Colin announces, maybe 30 seconds after picking up his phone. 

“What — already?”

“Yup. £497 each. We leave tomorrow and fly home on Monday.” 

“‘Fly?’” she echos. Unsure if she should be more excited or scared, she asks, “Where are we going, exactly?” 

“Costa Brava.” Colin says these words casually, in the same way Penelope would expect him to say “Brighton.” 

“Costa Brava… as in Catalonia?”

“No, the Costa Brava in Wales.” 

He laughs sarcastically. Triumphantly. 

“Yes, Catalonia.” 

꙳ ꙳ ꙳

Day 1

Penelope Featherington doesn’t have much experience with airports. She flew to Ireland a few times when she was a kid, but those trips fell off right around the time she started secondary school. She’s met or dropped off Colin at Heathrow a few times over the last three years, but rarely stepped inside on any of those occasions. She could count the total number of times she’s been in or around an airport on two hands. 

Well, usually she could. Right now, her hands are too occupied wringing together incessantly to count imaginary numbers. 

She is standing by a wall of windows, body facing the planes taxied outside. Her head is turned to the side, towards the man who dragged her here today. (Metaphorically. Literally, he got them both an Uber.) 

Colin is by the stewardess desk, talking to the two women stationed at the gate. He’s just out of earshot, so Penelope can’t tell what it is that he’s saying. But whatever it is, it’s charming. She can tell by the way both women’s lips curl as he speaks to them. 

Penelope doesn’t know why she’s so nervous. She’s flown on planes before — a decade ago, but still. 

She shouldn’t be nervous about a two-hour plane ride. She shouldn’t be nervous about a few days in paradise. She shouldn’t be nervous about how so much can change in — she checks her phone — 22 hours. 

She should be more like Colin; he’s never nervous about anything. 

“Good news,” he tells her, walking up with two freshly printed tickets. “I got us a free upgrade.”

“Really?” she asks. Although really, she should have known. He got them two roundtrip tickets at the last minute for £97 each. Suffice to say, they were not very good seats. Penelope couldn’t have cared less, but Colin…

Before he can so much as nod, she steals one of the tickets from between his fingers. She gasps.

“How the hell did you manage to turn two middle economy seats into two first class seats?!”

“Jesus Pen, calm down,” he orders through a laugh. “We’re on holiday, remember?”

Before she can let out another huff, Colin mumbles something about being a “frequent flyer,” then turns his attention to the phone in his hand. Though Penelope would love to press him further on the subject, he magically receives a phone call from his mum and steps away to take it. He only hangs up when the flight attendants announce that it is time for them to board. 

“Did your mum —”

“Come on. Don’t want to miss our flight, now do we?” 

“Wha—”

With that, Colin puts away his phone and grabs the carry-on at Penelope’s feet. 

“You don’t have to —”

“I got it, Pen,” he says nonchalantly. Then, without warning, he grabs her left hand and drags her towards the gate. 

This is far from the first time that Colin has grabbed her hand over the course of their friendship, but this specific occurrence strikes Penelope as strange. His whole demeanour suddenly seems off; she would ask him about it, if he weren’t hauling them towards the plane like it’s threatening to take off without them. 

His strange behaviour doesn’t cease as they continue forward. He practically pushes her past the flight attendant as soon as their tickets scan. His grip on her left hand only tightens as they walk down the boarding bridge. She tries to pull out of it when they step onto the plane and make their way through the cramped corner with the other flight attendants, but he just won’t let go. Through it all, she feels like a dog on a leash. 

Colin only drops her hand after they find their seats, requiring both his hands to place their baggage in the overhead bins. 

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Penelope hisses once they settle in. She crosses her arms in front of her chest, out of Colin’s reach. 

“Hmm?” 

He shoots her a pleasantly oblivious expression, as if he genuinely cannot fathom why she would question his behaviour. 

“You’re acting weird.” 

“No, I’m acting excited. We’re on hol—”

“Holiday,” she interrupts. “Yes, I remember.” 

“Good.” He smirks. “I was beginning to think you forgot.” 

Penelope almost makes a kidnapping joke, then remembers that she’s currently sitting in a first class cabin and thinks better of it. Instead, she pulls a book out of her purse and ignores Colin completely. She reads three pages before he starts acting weird again. 

Keeping his eyes suspiciously pointed at the front of the plane, Colin leans over and whispers, “Okay I may have lied a little bit.”

“What —”

“Well, a little to you. I lied quite a lot to the flight attendants.” 

Penelope remains quiet for a moment. She really, really doesn’t want to ask, but…

“What the hell did you do?” 

He meets her gaze again. His eyes look just as guilty as they do blue. 

Dropping his voice to a whisper, he says, “I may have implied that we’re on our honeymoon.”

For a moment, Penelope doesn’t know if she heard him right. There’s a sudden ringing in her ears, but surely —

“What?!” she practically yells. “You ‘implied’ that we’re married?!”

“Yes.” There’s a sudden edge of annoyance in his voice and in that look in his eye — a reaction Penelope cannot even begin to fathom is warranted from him under the circumstances. “Then I remembered that I’m not wearing a wedding ring and that our two random middle seats in the back of the plane might be a bit of a red flag. So —”

“You think?!” Penelope cannot help but interrupt. 

“Yes. So I clarified that we’re technically on our way to Catalonia to elope and —” 

His words stop short and his eyes cast downward. They land on her left hand. Just as one could expect from a chronically single 23-year-old, it is quite bare. 

“You don’t happen to have anything that could pass for an engagement ring, do you?”

“No, Colin. I do not happen to have an engagement ring on me. Seeing as I am not engaged!” 

Though she tries to keep her words at a relatively low volume, she can tell that the boarding passengers to their left are not allowing their argument to go unnoticed. A small child snickers at them as he walks past. 

“I’m sorry,” Colin whispers, but there’s a petulance in his voice that undermines any attempt at an actual apology. “I just wanted to see if they could switch our seats so we could sit together. I didn’t expect them to upgrade us — certainly not to first class. But apparently there was an actual newlywed couple that cancelled at the last minute. Now…”

When his voice trails off, Colin’s eyes shoot to the front of the cabin again. 

“Now I fear they’ll kick us off the plane if you don’t go along with the bit.”

Penelope, who has apparently lost all ability to whisper, shrieks: “The ‘bit?!’”

Another small child passes them in the aisle. This one looks more scared than amused.

“We’ve come this far, Pen,” Colin whispers, seemingly unperturbed by her increasing panic. “Let's not risk it all now.” 

Penelope bites down on her lip. She fears what she might say if her teeth ever unclench. 

All of this is risky behaviour — starting with his proposition at the pub and ending with this fucking “bit.” And Penelope has gone along with all of it up until now. After so many years of carefully keeping him at a distance (both physically and emotionally), she had agreed to a trip she knew would entail more time by Colin’s side than she could handle. She knew this was risky from the start. She had braced herself for disaster. But this…

This is overwhelming. Pretending to be engaged to the person she loved, let go of, then — despite her best efforts — continues to love so ardently… 

It’s too much for her to —

“Shit.” 

Colin’s whispered expletive brings Penelope out of a thought spiral of massive proportions. Her teeth unclench. Her eyes look to him, then to the spot where his are pointed. The flight attendant who had scanned their tickets at the gate is walking over with two champagne glasses in hand. 

“Shit.”

“Just follow my lead,” Colin whispers, then covers her left hand with his right. It takes everything in her to resist the urge to interlock their fingers and sink her nails in deep. 

The flight attendant congratulates them on the wedding and hands them the little plastic flutes. Penelope (who had taken Colin’s instructions to mean “just sit there and let me do the talking”) extends her right arm across her body and silently accepts the champagne. If the flight attendant notices the awkwardness of her gesture, she doesn’t let on; she’s likely too distracted by whatever charming nonsense Colin is currently feeding her to push them past any remaining red flags in their story. 

Penelope pours the entire flute down her throat before the woman disappears down the aisle. 

“I’m going to kill you,” Penelope promises through a whisper. Her words don’t have any bite left in them, though. She simply sounds tired. 

Before Colin can say anything, Penelope tunes him out with the headphones she had stashed in her purse. She doesn’t make it through the first verse before he pinches the little white cord and tugs the left bud out. 

“Why are you so mad at me?” he asks, his voice equal parts annoyance and concern. “I apologise for putting you on the spot, but I don’t see why it is such a big deal. Am I really so awful that just pretending to be my wife could warrant this level of disgust?”

Penelope’s teeth sink down on her bottom lip yet again. 

She wants to scream. She wants to point out his hypocrisy — to say it out loud. That he can announce to an entire party that he would never date her in a million years, but she can’t complain about being forced to play his pretend wife for the sake of a stranger. 

But she can’t say any of that out loud, now can she? Not without unravelling everything else — the fragile net she has spun to maintain their friendship these last few years. 

Pouring all of the willpower left in her body into a single smile…

“Don’t you mean your pretend fiancée? According to the backstory you crafted, I am not your pretend wife yet. I could still leave you at the pretend altar and live the rest of my life with a prince in the Catalonian mountainside.” 

Thankfully, her facade seems to work. Colin laughs. 

“I suppose that’s your prerogative. I don’t know how many princes are left in Catalonia these days, though.” 

“Plenty of pretend princes, though.” 

Penelope puts her headphones back in. She doesn’t hear the flight attendants’ instructions on what to do in the case of disaster. She ignores Colin’s sidelong glances when they begin to taxi. She closes her eyes when the engines rumble to life and the wheels below them pick up speed. She feels the plane lift into nothingness and tries her hardest to forget where she is. She moves her hand, intent on wrapping her fingers around the cool, silver divider between her and —

Suddenly, Colin’s hand is in hers again. Not covering it. Just holding on. 

Any anger left in Penelope melts away. She squeezes the palm in hers gently. 

꙳ ꙳ ꙳

Day 2

“I never knew the ocean could be this blue. Not in real life.”

In the past 24 hours, Penelope has made some variation of this comment to Colin at least a dozen times. In fairness, the water is insanely blue here. The weather is perfect. Everywhere you look, there’s something breathtaking and unimaginable to comment on. And like he always does when they’re together, Colin hangs on to her every word. 

Right now, they’re walking along the edges of the Ruins of Empúries — a site Colin recommended they visit due to its history and beautiful views. To their left lies the ocean, as blue and breathtaking as it ever was. To their right lies the ruins — the archaeological remnants of two ancient cities. For the last hour, Colin has been playing the part of tour guide, filling the air with random pieces of trivia on the Greek and Roman settlements. 

(Thankfully, Penelope doesn’t seem to mind the noise.)

“The name comes from the word ‘emporium,’ which means ‘market.’ Before the Second Punic War, the Greek traders thrived here. They set up ports on the beaches, then sold all sorts of goods here for about 300 years.��

Penelope stops walking and pulls out her phone. She points the camera in the direction of a nearby stonewall, then chuckles.

“What?” Colin asks after a moment, desperately wanting to be let in on the joke.

“Nothing.” She places her phone back in her pocket. “It’s just crazy to think about all that time. In 200 BC, someone laid these stones down in this particular way, just so I could take a picture of them with an iPhone two thousand years later.” 

Very suddenly, a laugh hits Colin so hard that he has to place a cautionary hand on Penelope’s shoulder, so as not to risk doubling over and destroying this piece of history forever. 

“Thank god for the Greeks,” he says through a giggle. “Building such an innovative, thriving marketplace, just so Penelope Featherington could take a picture of its carcass two millennia later.”

Penelope laughs too, though hers is more embarrassed than unrestrained. 

“That came out wro—” she starts, but her words are interrupted by the sound of something high-pitched behind them.

Colin turns around. Penelope jumps. A teenage girl with hair the colour of butter stands behind them, her eyes wide and her mouth hanging open. 

“Oh Christ, sorry! I just —” The girl’s eyes settle on his, squinting. “Are you Colin Bridgerton?”

Thoroughly confused, Colin gives the girl a quick once over. She has pink-tinted Ray Bans resting on the crown of her head. She has a gold chain around her neck with the letter “L” dangling off it. She’s wearing a burgundy “Oakham Hall” t-shirt, which is tucked into her jean shorts. He’s searching for any little detail that might clue him in on this girl’s identity; he comes up empty. 

“Um, yes. And, sorry — who are you?” 

“No one. I mean —” She laughs. “My name is Hermione. I just meant that you don’t know me. I’m a huge fan of yours, though. I, like, love your Instagram.” 

Instantly, Colin’s eyes glance down and to the side, because of course this would happen with Penelope standing right next to him. 

Over the last three years, Colin’s work has accumulated more of a following than he could have predicted at the start. Between his blog, Instagram, and occasional freelance work, he has built somewhat of a recognizable name for himself. However, given the type of content he produces, his face is not quite so recognizable. 

Not once in three years has a fan picked him out of a crowd in public. Until now, of course.

“Lovely to meet you, Hermione.” Colin leans forward and offers his hand for her to shake. Though he is thoroughly baffled by this encounter happening in the first place, he does his best to not allow such skepticism bleed through to his voice. “It’s so nice to hear you enjoy my stuff.” 

“Oh, I do! You go to the most wonderful places and write about them so beautifully! I never get to travel. Well —” She laughs. “Except now, of course. But usually, I just live vicariously through your posts.” 

Colin, suddenly filled to the brim with an emotion he can’t quite name, does not know how to respond to the teenager’s words. His first instinct is denial, but Penelope speaks up from beside him before he can open his mouth to express such a thing. 

“I’m the same way. I’m not sure I would have made it out of uni with my sanity intact if it weren’t for his blog. Sometimes, a bit of escapism is key.” 

Hermione smiles at Penelope’s words, but as soon as she stops speaking, the girl’s eyes go wide.

“Oh! How rude of me. I just realised I never asked for your name.” 

“Oh, please,” she chuckles softly. “Don’t apologise. My name is Penelope.”

The smile returns to Hermione’s face. Her eyes dart back and forth between him and Penelope. Before she has the chance to ask… 

“Pen and I have known each other forever. She edits all of my posts, actually. So if you enjoy my stuff, you should really be thanking her. She’s more miracle worker than editor. I mean — you should see the bullshit I type up before she spins it into something readable.” 

Penelope glances up at Colin with a wry smile on her face. Through gritted teeth, she says, “I’ve never known you to be so humble.”

Colin laughs just as Hermione asks, “Oh! Do you two always travel together? I never really thought about it, but I suppose I assumed that you travel solo.” 

“No,” Colin answers. “I’m always trying to get Pen to abandon her responsibilities and run off with me somewhere, but you know…” 

When he looks down to Penelope, there’s a very confusing look on her face. 

“I, um —”

“You assumed correctly,” Penelope cuts in, setting her gaze back on the girl in front of them. “He always travels alone. This trip is an exception.” 

Before Colin can say anything else, Penelope steps away from him and towards Hermione. “I can take a picture of you two together,” she offers the girl. “If you like.” 

“That’s so nice, thank —” Hermione cuts herself off and looks back at Colin. “If that’s okay with you, of course.” 

“Yes. Of course.” 

He nods his head to indicate that Hermione should stand next to him. She does, and just as Penelope lifts the phone to take their picture, she chuckles nervously and says, “Sorry for being so weird. I live in the middle of nowhere; I never see famous people out in public like this.” 

At the same exact moment that Penelope presses down and takes their photo, Colin unwittingly pulls a face. (How else is he supposed to react to someone saying that?) Thankfully, Penelope notices and, stifling a sudden plight of laughter, continues snapping photos until she gets something acceptable. 

When Hermione receives her phone back, she seems pleased with the results. Smiling, she looks over to Colin and thanks him for the photos. Then, without a single ounce of hesitation…

“Do you want me to take one of you and your girlfriend?” 

Though that last word may be incorrect, Colin doesn’t see the point in correcting a random stranger on such minor terminology. But at the very same moment that he answers “Yes” to the question that was asked, Penelope answers “No” to the one that wasn’t. 

“We are not dating,” she clarifies at the very same moment that he says, “We would love a photo, thanks.”

Before she can say another word, Colin hands Hermione his phone and pulls Penelope into his side. 

After so many years of friendship, there are certain routines that naturally form between two people. Movements that flow between them, automatic from so much practice over time. For example, when Penelope and Colin take a picture together, his hand always goes to her side while hers always goes to his back. Always. 

Until now. 

While Colin’s hand does land on Penelope’s waist, both of hers twist together down her front. Where she usually leans into him, she stands straight. And while she technically has a smile on her face, it’s not the one he’s used to seeing in their photos together; it’s strained at the edges. 

When it’s all over, Penelope removes herself from the embrace, Hermione says goodbye, and Colin wonders what the hell just happened. He briefly considers brushing it all aside and just resuming his tour guide responsibilities, but can’t seem to find the words. 

He’s too annoyed. 

He’s been annoyed since the moment Penelope said “No.” Since she said that word in that emphatic, decisive way — as if clarifying the true nature of their relationship to a stranger was the most important thing in the world to her. As if being mistaken as his girlfriend was a fate worse than death. As if —

“So…” Penelope says suddenly, her voice noticeably lighter than it had been a moment ago. “How does it feel to be ‘famous?’”

With that, she steps back onto the path and resumes their trek forward. As he always tends to do, Colin follows close behind. 

“Don’t start with me, Featherington,” he warns, trying his hardest to match her tone of voice. 

“Oh, come on. She was sweet.” 

“I didn’t say she wasn’t sweet. She simply misspoke about the ‘famous’ bit.”

“Well —”

“I’m serious, Pen. That has literally never happened before. Not once in three years has anyone ever recognised me in public. I mean — she probably only noticed me because of you.”

Still walking right beside him, Penelope cranes her head and throws him a confused look. 

“What are you talking about? She didn’t know who I was.” 

“Well, no. But…” Smirking, Colin reaches over and flicks a strand of red hair off her shoulder. “This tends to get people’s attention. I, on the other hand, am rather unassuming. It’s —” 

Penelope scoffs, interrupting him. 

“You are not ‘unassuming.’ You’re so… tall. I find it hard to believe you go unnoticed in a crowd.” 

Colin shrugs. He tries to examine another strand of her hair, but Penelope swats his fingers away. 

“Agree to dis—”

“Regardless of how she noticed you — she still recognized you. Even though your entire Instagram feed is sunsets and food. It’s —” 

“Hey, that’s not strictly —”

“— cool that she recognized you,” she interrupts, looking up at him again. “Isn’t it?” 

“Yeah,” he supposes. “It’s nice to know my work has had an impact on someone. You know…” He looks down to her again. “Someone who isn’t biased because they’ve known me their entire life.”

“I can be unbiased,” she claims with little confidence in her voice. 

“You —”

“Have you decided on a narrative for your story yet?” she asks him, providing no context for the swift change in subject.

“What story?” he asks after a few seconds. 

“The Catalonia story.” 

“Oh,” he says after a few more seconds. “I’m not writing one.” 

After throwing him a bewildered look, she asks, “What wouldn’t you write a story about this place?”

“I’m on vacation. Why would I work?” 

“Well… That logic might apply to someone whose job doesn’t require them to go on vacation, but —”

“Excuse me,” he interrupts, mock offence heavy on his tongue. “My profession requires me to travel. Even travel writers need a vacation every once in a while. A break from having to spend each waking moment of my day constructing narratives and meeting deadlines and memorialising every little detail of my experiences.” 

Penelope nods sympathetically at his words, but is quick with her response.

“What about your two-month hiatus at home? Wasn’t that supposed to be your break from paradise?” 

“Yes — but this is an extension of that break. And in case you forgot, we’re only in Catalonia because of you and your accomplishments.” 

A scoff that nearly sounds like a laugh escapes her mouth. 

“I seem to recall the planning of this trip very differently than you do.” 

“Agree to disagree.”

“Getting back to the point… Don’t you owe it to your readers to write about this place? To memorialise just a little bit of paradise for those who aren’t lucky enough to experience it themselves?” 

Feet still propelling him forward, Colin takes a moment to consider her words. He thinks of Hermione. He thinks of the little black and white follower count attached to his Instagram. He thinks of his dreams. He thinks of Penelope on that night in December. 

Something to propel me forward and set me free.

“No,” he tells her. “I think that’s bullshit.” 

Penelope gapes at him, clearly caught off guard by his bluntness. 

“Pardon?”

“The more time you spend worrying about what you ‘owe’ the world, the more you risk losing sight of what matters to you. I’m elated to know that people enjoy my work, but I can’t let that pressure me into becoming a slave to my purpose. I can’t let it stop me from running off for a weekend with a friend just to enjoy myself.”

A moment passes by with no words between them. It’s not silent, though; the ocean is too loud. When Penelope finally speaks, the crashing waves nearly drown her words out.

“I thought the only reason we came here was for me. I don’t remember your enjoyment being a factor in this at all.” 

Colin can’t help but laugh. 

“Yes, well… I suppose my pleasure is an added bonus.” 

Penelope laughs, too. 

“Even then… What if you wrote something just for yourself? So twenty years from now, you can remember how the water reflects the sun here . Or how you spent an hour describing the differences between the Greek Empúries and the Roman Empúries.”

Stifling a laugh… 

“Technically, the Roman settlement was called ‘Emporiæ.’”

“Regardless,” she murmurs. “Maybe you can write a different kind of story. One that isn’t meant for anyone’s eyes, except your own. I mean — twenty years from now, wouldn’t it be nice to have a written account of this stunning place? To hold onto moments like these,” she raises her hands towards the scenery around them, “long after our feet carry us away from them?” 

Colin considers her words for a moment. A very brief moment. 

“No, I don’t think that’s necessary for this trip.” It’s only after Penelope throws him a questioning glance that he continues, “If I were alone, then sure — I might worry about forgetting certain details about this place and be tempted to jot them down. But I’m not alone. If I want to come back to this moment twenty years from now, I’ll just talk to you about it.” 

When Colin looks over to Penelope again, he finds that her cheeks are burning a bright shade of pink. He would blame the sun, if it weren't for the colour’s rather sudden appearance on her skin.

“Are you —” he starts, at the very same moment that she blurts out, “Do you ever get lonely on your trips? It just — it seems like a lot of time spent by yourself.” 

Involuntarily, Colin’s lips twist together — as if his body is preventing him from answering such a complicated question too quickly. 

In truth, he does get lonely on his travels, but that word doesn’t have the sting it once did. There’s an inherent loneliness to this job — especially for someone like Colin, who cannot focus on things like narratives and deadlines and details unless free from distraction. This particular trip has made that abundantly clear; he hadn’t even thought about writing until Penelope brought it up just a moment ago. 

For Colin, finding success over the last three years also meant finding a way to live with the loneliness. To turn it into something good. 

“Sometimes,” he finally answers. “But it’s a necessary evil. Writing, travelling, returning home — those things make the loneliness easy to live with. For now, at least.”

“For now?” Penelope echoes, suddenly sounding far away. 

Colin shrugs. 

“A man can’t travel forever.” 

Just as those words leave Colin’s lips, the two of them reach a fork in the road. They could turn to the right, towards the ocean. They could turn left, towards the ruins. They could even turn around, back to where they began. 

Penelope decides for them both in the end, her feet walking to the right. As he always tends to do, Colin follows close behind. 

Their footstops halt when the pavement meets the sand. Both sets of eyes point forward, towards the breathtakingly blue water. 

“You know, if you’re so worried about our feeble human memories being unable to do this place justice, you could always write about it. Last time I checked, you’re also —”

“No,” she interrupts. “You were right. I’ll remember this.” 

꙳ ꙳ ꙳

Day 3

The most difficult part of being in love with your dearest friend, Penelope has come to realise, is having to look at them. When she and Colin are apart — separated by school or a job or Penelope’s better judgement — being his friend is easy. It’s easy for her to be his friend over an email or a voicemail or even a Skype. It’s easy to keep her true feelings below the surface when their only connection is through a screen. There are times when it’s easy to trick herself into thinking friendship is not so different from (or inferior to) a romantic relationship. But when they’re separated by nothing more than a bit of air…

It’s difficult. Especially on days like today. 

Today was a beach day. They’ve been here since breakfast. Penelope spent much of that time hiding from the sun under the safety of a giant beach umbrella, unwilling to risk showing up to her first day of work with a sunburn the same shade of red as her hair. But (unsurprisingly), Colin had coaxed her out of the shadows more times than she could count today. 

Today was a test of Penelope’s strength of will. And her ability to keep her eyes trained upwards (an especially difficult task, given that her eyeline just so happens to fall directly on his bare, tan, surprisingly hairy chest). 

Now, she is back in the shadows, pretending to read a book while Colin is a little further down the beach. He’s playing volleyball with a group of strangers who just so happened to need a sixth player. He’s shirtless, just as he has been all fucking day. He’s serving the ball. He’s laughing with a teammate. He’s running a hand through his hair, his —

Fucking hell. Are his biceps larger than they were yesterday?

Shaking her head, pushing her oversized sunglasses even closer to her skull, she looks down at the book uselessly sitting open in her lap. In hindsight, The Scarlet Letter was far from an optimal choice for a beach read. But still… 

She should be able to get through a single line without her eyes wandering off to places they shouldn’t go. 

When she looks back up, she finds Colin scoring yet another point in his impromptu game. He’s laughing with that familiar, carefree refrain that always falls so naturally from his lips. He’s flexing muscles she didn’t know he had. He’s shining like gold beneath the sun’s reflection. He’s looking up towards the sky, a frown suddenly marking his otherwise pleasant face. He’s walking away from his new friends. 

He’s six metres away. Five metres. Four —

Fuck.

Once again, Penelope tilts her head down and pretends to be enthralled by the book in her lap. If Colin had noticed her staring, he doesn’t say anything about it when he closes the distance between them. 

“It looks like it’s about to rain. You want to head back to the hotel?”

Suddenly struck by just how dry her throat is, Penelope only manages to smile and nod in response. It isn’t until she and Colin are halfway back to the hotel that she realises how long it’s been since she’s said anything at all. 

“I can’t believe I slept through sunrise again this morning.”

Colin laughs in that easy, reassuring way that practically makes Penelope’s blood boil after her day under the sun. 

“Don’t beat yourself up,” he says. “Under normal circumstances, a 6 AM wake up call is difficult for an insomniac such as yourself. Taking into account that your body still thinks it’s an hour behind back in London…”

You have no idea what my body thinks, she wants to say. But she doesn’t say that. Obviously. 

“Perhaps,” she says instead. “But we have such a prime view of it from our rooms. It would be a shame not to see it with my own eyes at least once.” 

“Well, I have faith that you can manage it.” 

“Thank y—”

“And when you do, perhaps you can bang on my wall a few times so I can enjoy the sunrise too.” 

Feeling much lighter than she had just a moment ago, Penelope giggles. “Perhaps,” she says, picking up her footsteps. They remain light the rest of their trek, even when the rain inevitably pours down around them, transforming their walk into a run. 

When they arrive back at the hotel, Colin immediately turns left towards the elevators. But Penelope, suddenly brimming with a very good idea, turns right towards the reception desk. 

“Good afternoon,” she says to the woman behind the desk, an older lady with a cherry blossom tucked behind her ear. Isabella, her name tag reads.

“Hello,” the woman says brightly. “What can I help you with, dear?”

“Can I order a wake up call for tomorrow morning, please?” 

(If ten alarms can’t wake her at the crack of dawn, perhaps the terror-striking sound of a phone call will.)

“Certainly! I just need your room number.”

“Of course. It’s 301.” 

As the woman types away at her computer, Penelope turns towards Colin. He’s leaning against a pillar, a few feet back. He’s smiling. There are undoubtedly puddles forming in the soles of his sandals at this very moment, but still, he’s smiling. 

Penelope can’t help but smile back. 

“There you are,” the older woman says beneath her breath, just loud enough to bring Penelope’s eyes forward again. “So Mrs. Bridgerton, what time should I schedule your call for?” 

Penelope doesn’t register the second half of Isabella’s question, her mind suddenly overcome with the sounds of alarm bells. 

Mrs. Bridgerton.

Mrs. Bridgerton.

Mrs. Fucking. Bridgerton.

“What?!” 

The word shoots out of her mouth before she can stop it. She regrets it immediately. This kind woman doesn’t deserve such displaced aggression. That aggression should be aimed directly at the man standing behind them both. 

“I’m sorry, dear. I was saying —” 

“No, I’m sorry, truly. I just —” She takes a shaky breath. “I’m not Mrs. —” 

She takes another breath. She says a prayer. She pretends to be a normal person — one who would have no reason to crack under the sheer irony of being mistaken as Colin Bridgerton’s wife.

 “I don’t need that wake up call anymore, but thank you so much for your time. Sorry again.” 

When she turns around, Colin isn’t smiling anymore. 

“A word?” she hisses as she stomps past him on the way to the elevator. 

“Pen, what are you do—”

She stops short in the middle of the lobby. So short, in fact, that Colin nearly runs right into her. Thankfully, Penelope has a lifetime’s worth of practice getting out of other people’s way; she dodges him at the last second.

“What did you do, Colin? Did you tell them we’re on our honeymoon, like you did at the airport?” 

She tears her eyes away from his to quickly glance at the room around them. 

Their hotel is gorgeous. It used to be a historic Spanish villa, but was renovated and transformed for lodging just a few years ago. It is not the type of place you can snag for just £100 a night (especially with the views they have from their rooms upstairs). Penelope realised this fact the very moment they walked into this lobby Thursday night, but after the stressful flight and initial pretend wife debacle, Penelope had chosen to overlook it then. Suffice to say, that instinct has long since left her body. 

“Is that how you were able to get us this place for so cheap?” 

“No. I didn’t do that.” 

Colin’s eyes don’t look away from hers as he speaks. She knows that he isn’t lying, but…

“How the fuck did you, then?” 

She doesn’t yell, but she doesn’t disguise her words with a whisper, either. Colin doesn’t make any attempt to disguise his emotions, either. He’s looking down at her with a disbelieving, bitter look — as if he is the wronged party here. 

“I —”

“And why did she call me ‘Mrs. Bridgerton?’” she interrupts. Her voice is neutral in volume, but biting in its tone. 

Colin takes a breath and wipes that bitter expression off his face. (For now, at least.) 

“I know the owner,” he admits. His tone reeks of a nonchalance that Penelope feels is unwarranted, given the present circumstances. “I didn’t even make the reservation. He probably put my name down on both rooms and the receptionist got confused.” 

“You know the owner?” she asks, incredulous. 

“Family friend,” he clarifies, stunning Penelope back into silence. 

After twenty-three years of living in such close proximity to the Bridgertons, she should be used to this by now. She doesn’t need to be reminded of the family’s seemingly infinite web of connections or be surprised at their ability to pull from them to get whatever it is that they want or need. But even now, it’s difficult for her to fully grasp. 

At her silence, Colin decides to change tactics. Smirking, he continues, “I mean — how would I even pull that scheme off? We have two adjoining rooms. That would be a rather large red flag for a supposed honeymoon.” 

Much quieter than she was a moment ago (but just as vexed), Penelope tells him, “I have faith in your ability to get around such minor details. If it means getting what you want.” 

“Hey — if you didn’t want me to use any special discounts on this trip, you should have stipulated that in the rules of the game.”

After cringing at his use of the term special discounts, Penelope decides to give up. Turning her body towards the nearest elevator, she tells him she’ll “remember that for next time.” Before she can step away though, Colin stops her with a hand gripped tightly around her elbow. 

When she looks up, she finds that bitter expression has returned to his face. 

“Tell me, Pen,” he whispers, leaning in close. “Which has been the most painful blow to your ego — being mistaken as my girlfriend, my fiancée, or my wife?” 

“Excuse me?” 

Penelope feels as though she’s outside of her own body; she isn’t sure if she whispered those two words aloud or simply screamed them into the deepest caverns of her mind. It must have been the former, though. Colin’s eyes are wide. 

“Honestly, Pen? It’s a bit upsetting to know that my best friend would raise hell before allowing a random stranger to think that we might be —” 

He pauses for the briefest, longest second of Penelope’s life.

“Involved.” 

Penelope stands silent for several seconds. What is she supposed to say to that? What platonic explanation is there for that?

You’re being a hypocrite. You’re being cruel, she wants to say. But she can’t say that. Obviously. 

“I’m sorry,” she mumbles instead. Then, she slips her arm from his grasp. “I — I’m just in a bit of a mood. I think it’s the sun.” 

Her words reek of utter bullshit. They both know it. But at least Colin has the grace to let the issue go.

“Come on.” 

His hand quickly finds its position around her elbow once more. This time, his grip is loose. Five tentative fingers tethered to her skin. 

꙳ ꙳ ꙳

Day 4

“What the hell are you doing?”

Given the notable height difference between them, Colin always has to be mindful of where his eyes land when standing right beside Penelope. But when crammed into small spaces like the elevator they’re currently sharing, his eyes inevitably start to wander. Now, they’re pointed at her phone screen. (Which is an invasion of privacy. Which is bad, but the lesser of two evils, given his current perspective in relation to his best friend’s shirt.)

She looks up at him, but only after setting a 25th alarm. 

“Tomorrow is our last morning here. I am not missing that sunrise.” 

She looks down again, resuming her all-important task. By the time they reach their destination and the elevator doors swing open, she has set at least ten more alarms. Her eyes remain locked on the screen as she steps foot into the lobby. 

They’re on the way to the hotel bar, a suggestion Colin made after an unusually tense 24 hours between them in paradise. 

Well, tense might be too strong of a term to describe the atmosphere between him and Penelope. But still, the atmosphere has been different ever since he let his ego get the better of him in the hotel lobby yesterday. Different enough to scare him. Different enough to prompt him to call in the big guns to set things right again. 

(Alcohol.) 

꙳ ꙳ ꙳

Two tequila shots into the night, Penelope is not having a good time. 

She had spent the entire day trying her hardest to force a smile on her face and keep her bad mood at bay until they land back on English soil. This had proved to be difficult — not just because of the insistence and intensity of said bad mood, but also because of Colin’s not-so-subtle attempts to uncover the true reason for her outburst the day before. (And the day before that.) (And the day before that.) 

His line of questioning has only become less subtle since walking into the bar. Logically, this realisation should have prompted Penelope to make one final toast then go hide in her hotel room, but… 

Alcohol has a tendency to make good ideas sound bad and bad ideas sound good. The latter is why she’s currently standing at the bar waiting for another round.

Maybe another drink will make us both forget what happened. 

“Here you go, miss.” 

On the other side of the bar, the handsome bartender slides two clear glasses with lime green liquid sloshing inside. Penelope unconsciously licks her bottom lip at the sight. 

Only after securing the glasses in each hand does she realise that she never technically paid for either drink. 

“You can put these on 301,” she shouts over the music. 

“No need,” the bartender answers in a low voice that somehow cuts clear through the chaos of the room. He winks at her. “Those are on the house.”

“Oh! Um. Thanks!” 

With that, Penelope turns on her heel. The abrupt motion causes one tiny stream of syrupy tequila to trickle down her fingers and onto the floor. 

Determined not to spill any more of her free drinks, Penelope walks to the table in the back of the bar with an abundance of caution. During the treacherous journey across the room, she keeps her eyes pointed intently on the glasses in her hands. When she finally looks up, she’s shocked by what she finds. 

In the chair beside Colin sits the most beautiful woman Penelope has ever seen with her own two eyes. The two of them are turned towards each other, talking about something Penelope can’t hear from where she stands not four feet away. She stands there awkwardly hovering above the table for a few seconds before Colin notices her return. When he does, he shoots her an aggravatingly endearing smile. 

“There she is!” He turns back to the girl on his right. “Paris, this is Penelope. Pen, this is Paris.”

God. Even her name is beautiful. 

“Lovely to meet you, Paris,” Penelope says, taking the seat directly across from her instead of the one facing Colin. 

Paris, in turn, throws her a smile that could rival Colin’s. Even in this dim corner of the bar, it manages to catch the light. 

“You as well, Penelope! Colin and I were just bonding over our most harrowing solo travel stories.” 

She’s American, her voice betrays. 

“Do you travel much?” Penelope asks after taking a long, greedy sip of her drink. 

“Not as much as I’d like to,” she admits, sighing a little. “But I had a few weeks free before my grad program starts, so I decided to say ‘fuck it’ and booked a flight over here.” 

Out of the corner of her eye, Penelope sees Colin open his mouth to say something. Before he can manage to, she leans towards their new, very beautiful friend and says, “That’s amazing. Where else have you been?” 

Over the course of the next few minutes, Penelope practically forgets about Colin and the unresolved tension between them. She’s too busy listening to their new, very beautiful, remarkably interesting, extremely funny, perfect friend Paris. (While also finishing her two free drinks.)

“Enough about me,” Penelope’s new favourite distraction eventually orders. She flicks her eyes from Colin to Penelope and back. “I meant to ask before, but how did you two meet?” 

Penelope opens her mouth to answer, but Colin beats her to it, speaking up for the first time in several minutes. Still grinning… 

“You know, that question is surprisingly hard to answer. We’ve always just known each other.” 

His response is the most infuriating string of words Penelope has ever heard uttered aloud in her life. Across the table, Paris looks as though she’s about to melt. 

“Awwww, that is so —” 

“I believe what Colin meant to say is that we grew up across the street from one another,” she interrupts, just barely able to keep her tone pleasant enough to not scare away Paris. “His sister is my best friend.” 

Out of the corner of her eye, Penelope watches as Colin’s grin finally drops. She nearly looks at him  for the first time since sitting down, but then her new friend says something that immediately dislodges the impulse from her mind.

Specifically, Paris delivers the funniest joke Penelope has ever heard in her life. 

“You two are childhood sweethearts? That is so sweet!”

Penelope snorts. Her reaction is so loud and unladylike that she fears her mother will be able to sense it all the way back home in London. 

“No! We’re —” 

She snorts again. Somewhere in the distance, she thinks she hears someone say her name like a warning, but it barely registers. 

“We are not dating,” she continues, just barely able to keep in another round of giggles. She keeps her eyes trained on Paris, who suddenly looks rather wide-eyed in her seat across from Penelope. “I mean — my god! Colin would never.” 

She hears her voice called out in the distance again, but refuses to heed its warning. She can’t stop now. She’s too close to the punchline.

“You know, he said that once. Literally. That he would never date me. Not in a million years!” 

“Pen!” 

Finally, she hears him. Her eyes snap to Colin. His face is made up of an emotion she’s never seen there before. 

Betrayal? No, that’s not —

“A word?” 

Before she can even register that he has moved from his chair, Colin stands above her. His hand is on her elbow. He’s pulling her out the nearest door. 

The breeze outside is bitter. Though the nearest beach is at least a half-kilometre away, Penelope swears she can feel little bits of the sea spraying on her cheeks. Neither of those sensations are cold enough to distract her from the warmth wrapped around her elbow. 

“What was that, Penelope?” 

“I…” she starts, with no intention of finishing the sentence. 

“What were you talking about at the end?” 

The first question had been delivered to her with fury. The second, concern. The next one that falls from his lips…

Misery. 

“What did you — what did I say? I don’t — I don’t remember…” 

All night, knowingly or not, Penelope had been using alcohol to fuel the pyre of her own misery. But seeing it reflected on Colin’s face now…

“It was nothing,” she lies. “Just forget —”

“No. Whatever it is, it is not ‘nothing.’ 

“Colin —”

“Pen, please,” he begs. “Just tell me.”

Penelope wants to summon the strength to be honest. She wants to destroy her disposition towards bullshit and tell him the truth. She’s not certain if that’s a strength she possesses, but she knows for a fact that she won’t be able to summon it with Colin tethered to her skin. 

Stepping backwards, Penelope untangles herself from his grip. She crosses her arms in front of her chest before he can attempt to take hold again.

“Honestly, Colin, it was nothing. It happened years ago — before you even left for Cambridge. At that party at Fife’s house, I overheard you talking with some of your friends. They must have seen us hanging out all night and got the wrong idea about us. They — they asked if we were dating and you told them we weren’t, that we would nev—” 

She sucks in a breath. She chances a prayer. She tries her hardest not to bullshit. 

“You were just correcting them. That’s all.” 

Colin doesn’t say anything for several seconds. He stands before her with twisted lips, like he’s desperately trying to hold something in. Then, he parts them.

“Kind of like how you were ‘just correcting’ that girl inside?” 

“Yeah,” she says, speaking 100% truthfully for the first time since they stepped outside. Honesty is hard, but his comparison is too apt to even try to deny it. 

When Colin takes a step towards her, Penelope takes another step back. The motion is enough to make her dizzy and, thus, remind her of the tequila currently sitting in the depths of her stomach. 

“Pen, I’m so sorry. I —” 

“No,” she interrupts, her voice definitive. “Don’t apologise. For anything. I was being rude inside, but you — you were just being honest that night. You didn’t even know I was there — that I could hear what you said. You —

“I hardly think that mat—”

“You should not have to apologise for simply speaking your mind.”

“That’s bullsh—”

“Colin! It was forever ago, can we please just leave it be?” She takes a breath. “Can we forget about this whole mess?” 

“How can you say that? It’s been —” 

Raising his hands into the air between them, he uses his fingers to count off imaginary numbers. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six… 

“Seven years! Seven, Penelope. I can’t even remember saying it, but I —” He takes a breath. “I wish I could. If for nothing else, just to properly apologise to you for being such a dickhead.” 

“Col—”

“But you remember. And after what just happened in the bar — after what’s been happening all week — don’t you dare try and pretend like it’s nothing. If it was truly nothing, you would not be holding onto it seven years later.” 

That look — the one that appeared out of nowhere following her outburst inside — appears on his face again. The lighting is a bit brighter out here due to a nearby streetlamp, but it doesn’t make it any easier for Penelope to identify that emotion. It’s not betrayal. It’s not quite guilt. It’s —

It doesn’t matter.

Resisting the urge to drop her gaze from his, Penelope finally accepts that there are some things in life that defy definition. One of those anomalies is currently staring right through her, and there’s nothing she can say to make him see her. Bullshit or otherwise. 

“Fine. Apology accepted.” 

She turns to leave, needing the conversation to be over. But yet again, Colin’s hand wraps around her elbow.

“Can we please just talk about this like adults?”

“What is there left to say?” He opens his mouth, but she isn’t done. “You were right. I was hurt, but now I’m choosing to let it go. Seven years is far too long a time to take issue with a few words overheard at a party.”

“That is not what I meant, Pen.”

“I know. But it’s the truth.”

“Pen —”

“It’s late, Colin,” she interrupts, turning her back to him as she begins to step away. “Perhaps we can discuss it tomorrow.”

“Where are you going?” He’s already beside her again, footsteps in line with hers. 

“Back to my room,” she huffs. “I wish to be alone.” 

“You’re not seriously suggesting I let you run off by yourself right now, are you?”

“Yes —”

“Pen, you’re drunk.” 

He certainly has a point but…

“You say that like you are not also drunk.” 

“Yeah, well…” He runs a hand through his hair, then promptly finds her elbow again. “At least I’m not as drunk as you.” 

꙳ ꙳ ꙳

On the way back down to the bar, Colin takes the stairs. 

After ensuring that Penelope got back to her room safely, he wanted nothing more than to crawl into his own bed and end this cursed day once and for all. But when he fished out his wallet to retrieve his roomkey, he realised that a different card was missing. That his credit card was sitting behind a bar downstairs, along with an unpaid tab. 

He takes the stairs slowly, step by reluctant step. His mind is elsewhere, unwittingly replaying the night over and over again. He’s trying to make sense of it all. Of any of it.

Not in a million years!

He said that once.

He doesn’t doubt it. But god — he doesn’t remember it either. He remembers that night. He remembers sitting on the roof with Penelope, then dancing with her in the back garden. He remembers laughing. He remembers drinking. He remembers being eighteen. He remembers what a massive arsehole he could turn into when surrounded by other arseholes like Fife. 

He doesn’t doubt that he said it — but he can’t quite explain it either. Lord knows he can’t justify it. The words just sounded wrong, especially when repeated back to him from Penelope’s lips. 

That he would never date me. 

Not in a million years!

Even in his own head, Colin struggles to explain why those words feel so wrong to him — why they reek of such potent bullshit. His dilemma is not made any easier by Penelope or anything she said tonight. 

Fine. Apology accepted.

The way she looked at him when those words left her lips…

It was like she disappeared. Her eyes didn’t leave his, and yet it looked as though she was suddenly staring at something far in the distance. Like she was staring through him. Like —

“Can I help you, mate?” 

Colin blinks three times, taking in his surroundings as he comes back to reality. His feet must have been on auto-pilot the last few minutes; he’s back at the bar. 

“Mate?” the smug bartender repeats. 

Not in the mood to dignify that with a response, Colin mimes a pen squiggle in the air. Thankfully, the man takes the hint and disappears down the bar to retrieve his check. Before he can return, someone on a barstool clears their throat. 

It’s the girl from before. The American. The one who sat at his table to make small talk, then unintentionally fucked up his entire night. (And possibly his entire friendship with Penelope.)

Brooklyn? No, that wasn’t it.

“So… What the fuck was that before?” she asks, her voice teetering somewhere between faux-enthusiasm and genuine annoyance. “Some weird foreplay between you and your girlfriend?” 

“No. We’re not…” 

He could finish that sentence, but he doesn’t see the point. This stranger has already received a lecture on the true nature of his and Penelope’s relationship — what else needs to be said? 

The girl rolls her eyes, dropping the fake enthusiasm entirely. 

“If you two aren’t dating, why did you tell me your ‘girlfriend Penelope’ was grabbing drinks from the bar when I first sat down?”

“No, I —”

His voice trails off again. This time, his mind is kicking into overdrive, desperately attempting to relive that moment of the night. Surely, he didn’t —

“No,” he says again, this time more sure of himself. “I said she was my ‘good friend,’ not my ‘girlfriend.’” But as the words leave his lips, Colin’s short-lived confidence crumbles. 

Good friend. Girlfriend.

The bar is loud and he’s consumed quite a bit of tequila tonight. Maybe he did misspeak. 

Good friend. Girlfriend. Good friend. Girlfriend. Good friend. Girlfriend. 

“Whatever,” the American says, pushing herself off of the barstool. “I hope you and your good friend can work out your issues.”

Colin gulps, because Lord knows that he hopes for the same. 

꙳ ꙳ ꙳

Day 5

The first alarm goes off at 5:50 AM. Colin was technically asleep before it wrung out, but restlessly so. His body never fully settled into sleep that night, so it’s quick to wake when those artificial bells drift over from the wall behind him.

Another alarm starts at 5:51, then stops just as quickly. From his own bed, Colin can’t help but picture Penelope muting said alarm with her eyes scrunched shut, hungover and still 90% asleep. For the first time in what feels like ages, he smiles. 

At 5:52, another alarm rings out as Colin sits up, wide awake. He runs a hand across his face as memories and realisations from the night before come back to him with startling clarity. They fit together in his mind like evidence for a cold case he didn’t realise was a mystery until yesterday. A few more alarms ring out as he pieces everything together. 

Seven years ago, Colin left for Cambridge and Penelope left for Cheltenham and, for two years and three months thereafter, their friendship wasn’t the same. In those two years and three months, he lost the one person he could always and truly be himself around. Throughout those two years and three months, he assumed the shift between them had been an inevitable part of growing up and growing out of their younger selves. But now…

Now he can see it all clearly. 

Seven years ago, Colin invited Penelope to a party, occupied her time all night, then claimed that he would never date her in a million goddamn years. He said those words in a crowd full of people — so crowded, in fact, that he couldn’t tell that she had been there to witness it all firsthand. 

It all seems so obvious now. Of course she heard him. Of course the shift had been intentional — on one side, that is. 

At 6:05, another alarm rings. Colin barely hears it, his mind occupied by the question that had been plaguing him all week. 

Why is Pen so put off by the prospect of us being a couple? 

He knows the answer now, but it’s of no comfort to him. 

At 6:06, a new question rises to occupy that space in his mind. 

Why aren’t I put off by the prospect of Pen and I being a couple?

Perhaps that is the question he should have been asking himself from the start. At no point during any of the many misunderstandings that occurred this week had Colin ever been put off by the titles others had thrust upon them. Strangers seeing Penelope as his girlfriend, his fiancée, his wife…

None of it put him off. 

The 6:07 alarm seems to rewire his brain. More questions come to him. 

Is it normal to be enraged by the idea of dating your best friend? Is it more or less normal to find the idea… nice? 

At the 6:08 alarm, Colin asks himself another question. One he should have been asking himself for several years now. 

Is it normal to be so preoccupied by the sight of your best friend’s cleavage?

At the 6:09 alarm, long after assuming Penelope would miss her final chance at viewing the Catalonian sunrise, he hears something new from the next room over. 

“Siri, cancel all alarms.” 

After that, he hears the faintest evidence of movement from her end. Rustling sheets. Footsteps. A barely audible “Fuck.” 

By 6:10, Colin stands stiffly, inches away from their adjoining door. By 6:11, he actually knocks on it. 

It only takes a few seconds for her to swing it open. 

“Hi.” 

Penelope is looking up at him with the eyes of someone who had four shots of tequila last night. Her hair has been twisted into a long red braid down her side. She’s wearing a matching set of pink and white chequered pyjamas and slippers in the shape of little white rabbits. Colin can’t help but smile.

“Morning.” 

Without another word, she nods her head to the side, signalling for him to follow her out to the balcony. 

The sky is navy blue, save for the thin streak of maroon rising up from the edge of the world. It’s still dawn. It will be dawn for another few minutes, until the sun inevitably rises. 

Colin and Penelope stand side-by-side, hands on the railing, pinkies inches apart. Without a word spared between them, they watch as twilight bleeds into daybreak. As red turns to pink. Pink to orange. Orange to yellow. 

The sea reflects it all like a mirror. Colin sees it all with his own two eyes. 

“Is it everything you thought it would be?” 

“More.” 

When quiet falls between them again and yellow bleeds into blue, Colin can’t stop himself from asking and answering a new question. It’s the one that’s been hiding in the shadows of his mind for most of his life. 

Am I in love with Pen?

Yes, you fucking idiot. Of course you are.

The realisation doesn’t come with any amount of shock or denial. It just feels… 

Inevitable. 

This was always going to happen. He was going to reach this conclusion sooner or later. 

Tempting fate, Colin lifts his left arm and places it across Penelope’s back, hand settling gently on her shoulder. Both of her hands remain locked on the railing. 

As much as it consumes him inside, Colin cannot bring himself to voice his inevitable revelation aloud. Not after last night — after realising the pain he has obliviously inflicted on Penelope over the years. Not after this week — which had been planned in celebration and is currently teetering on disaster. Not after an entire lifetime of getting it all wrong. 

He can’t bring himself to voice his revelation aloud. Instead he asks a simpler, albeit similarly difficult question. 

“Are we going to be okay?”

“Yes,” Penelope says, perhaps a bit too quickly. “Of course.” 

Colin isn’t sure he believes her. He isn’t sure things will ever be the same.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

“You know, Catalonia is beautiful this time of year. Perfect destination for a honeymoon.”

“Don’t skip ahead,” she orders, while also making a mental note on the topic in the back of her mind. “What’s next?”

#I thought this chapter was going to give me a hernia #right now there are THREE 10K+ chaps in this fic #and that’s three too many #bridgerton #fanfiction #polin #weepingfromacedartree #ao3 #fanfic #ten milestones #penelope x colin #penelope featherington #colin bridgerton

[theroyalsims]

ANYA UPSTAGES ELEANORE IN GORGEOUS WHITE GOWN FOR OVERSEAS GALA

Leave it to The Crown Princess to upstage the bride despite not being at the wedding!

In what is largely deemed a massive diss to Eleanore, the Crown Princess attended a gala held in her honour this evening at the Governor’s Mansion in Del Sol, where her Royal Highness flaunted her latest honour, Del Sol’s Order of the Sun for her work in conservation. 

The Crown Princess stunned in a custom white gown with a dramatic silhouette from fashion house Riod. The dress has sparked a discussion online for being an intentional attempt to upstage Eleanore who wed earlier today. 

One commenter wrote:

“Wow. I knew Anya could be petty, but I didn’t know she could be THIS petty. Imagine wearing white on the same day of your sister’s wedding... a sister who has been through hell and back this past couple of years. She just couldn’t give this to E, yeah?”

Another commenter noted:

“Let me get this straight: she skipped her sister’s wedding to attend a party abroad AND wear a wedding gown while at it? Giiiiiiirl?! Remind me to never cross Anya.”

However, a person came forward who claims to be close to a member of Anya’s style team and shared that the dress was not intended as a diss:

“Anya’s dress has been picked out MONTHS in advance, well before E’s engagement was announced. She wore white because she was to wear emeralds and the new orange sash for her latest order. It was either black or white. White was picked because royals usually refrain from wearing black especially on joyous occasions. Not everything Anya does (or wears) has to do with Eleanore. Leave these two alone. Smh.”

To be fair, the trip to Del Sol valley was, indeed, announced first (although it was rescheduled once), long before E’s engagement was announced. And during royal tours, the wardrobes are picked months in advance. Maybe it really was just a coincidence?

Either way, Anya was, indeed, the belle of the ball. The Crown Princess looked every bit like a future queen. Her Royal Highness was dripping in diamonds and emeralds, thanks to the Brindleton Emerald parure, comprising of an intircate diamond and emerald tiara, as well as matching earrings, a necklace and a massive brooch. 

The Crown Princess’ look has been dubbed “textbook Princess fashion” by some fashion experts. The editor-in-chief of Sogue magazine said: 

“The Crown Princess has masterfully perfected the art of looking like a Princess. She does textbook princess fashion really well. Whenever the occasion calls for it, she dons the best dresses and whips out the prettiest jewels and tiaras. One cannot help but be stunned by her formalwear and gala outfits.” 

Funnily, enough, this is not the first time Her Royal Highness has been accused of upstaging a royal bride. Earlier in the year, The Crown Princess attended the wedding of Prince Louis of Glimmerbrook, and lest just say, people were quick to say that Anya’s show-stopping red dress was out of line. 

What do you think? Was this a mere coincidence, or did Anya purposely pick a wedding dress-esque gown to piss off E on her big day?

#ts4 #theroyalsims #ts4 story #ts4 royals #ts4 simblr #ts4 royal family #ts4 royal story #ts4 royal legacy #ts4 royalty #anya #mystory

[instantartific]

For the lovesick event, could we get Nova with "Shouldn’t you be spending more time with me?" Feels very him tbh lol

|ও DJ SUBATOMIC SUPERNOVA: "Shouldn't you be spending more time with me?"

587 words |

contains heavy themes of manipulation, themes that can be read as gaslighting, themes that can be read as coercion, heavy themes of forced isolation. |

Going for my heart with the first request being Nova. Anyways, I like the thought of a Nova that tries to guilt-trip you into only ever thinking about him and this would be part of the descent into that. Hope you enjoy! |

✧

It starts sweeter this time.

A better word may be gentle.

Soft phrases, words close to hushed pleas, fluttering across the room. They take so, so much care in delivering each vowel in dowries laced with silk. It's difficult to resist.

"While it grates me to no end to sound childish, it really doesn't seem fair for you to do this to me."

But you know him.

You know this changes, in late-night calls like this, where he only wanted a sliver more of your time.

As sleep tinges your senses with an off numbing hue, the words grow oh so colder. They grow oh so thin. They truly give his name such an apt meaning.

And he's only being patient.

"When I do try to make enough time for us to make plans, you want to cancel. Because of—what? What is it this time?"

You also know it wouldn't have mattered what you said.

Friends are irrelevant, you can simply reschedule for some other time that isn't already his. Which is understandable. It's wrong to promise someone your time when... you could've sworn you had no plans that day. He's chided you more than once for being oblivious to your own schedule.

Work is really quite trivial when someone with his degree of prestige offers to cover about any expense you wish, with minimal exceptions. He's mentioned in the past that housing falls right within his capabilities. It's truly a wonderful offer.

Family are clearly important to most, but don't they become too overbearing over time? You're not a child anymore. You don't need to be checked up on every interval they please. Besides, some get-togethers would really go better over the phone rather than going through all that trouble, wouldn't they? And at that, while it is a sad reality, certain relatives really only care about the status you have as their, well—relative. They don't even know you anymore, do they? You aren't the little one you used to be or the one they want you to be, and if they cannot accept that, then perhaps some distance is necessary.

So there really should be no excuse unless you don't want to spend time with him.

And you think that's the case, he cannot—he will not allow you to continue to socialize with whoever keeps poisoning your mind.

"I'll make this as easy as possible. You are going to arrive here in the next..." A slow, dragging sigh echoes through the reciever. He muttered bitter nothings too low to hear. But you can tell what they meant: you've made another mistake. "Two hours should be sufficient time for you to get your belongings together, should it not?"

Your final mistake.

"Don't act like you don't understand. You're smart enough to know that both in- and improper- action has as much consequence as action would. However, you're simultaneously distracted enough to continuously fail to manage your time and efforts properly. I'm giving you the opportunity to be distracted no longer. I'm sure you realize that, don't you?"

... As heavy as the lack of sleep weighs on your mind, perhaps this would be best. Less awkward reservations. Less irritating work hours. Less people who don't know you.

He's being generous. He's only worrying.

You know that, too.

So much so that it's difficult to refuse as his voice lulls into that near-heavenly tune, and he helps walk you through the most logical way to pack your things.

#... do i main tag this is the question. #why not. #nsr headcanons #dj subatomic supernova #djss #ও ~ ask game! #ও ~ writing event! #ও ~ writing

[nanidoesthings]

Thaw With Me

A Prince Hans x OC Fanfic

Chapter 1 2 - The Morning Paper

Linnea was not the Duke’s firstborn- oh no- that achievement went to her darling brother Erik. Nor was she the second, or the third. Not even the sixth. Yet with how she behaved one would assume she was meant to be the next Duchess of Weselton. She presented herself as a competitive, poised, business minded woman with a stride in her step that demanded power.

It had been at the breakfast table when she had heard the news. Linnea had bustled into the dining hall, her tone changed the moment she walked in. Two of her brothers- the twins Niklaus and Johann- had been whispering amongst themselves. The elder of the two giving Linnea a look she could only tell meant trouble.

She also ended up more often than not being the one to clean up after the family mistakes.

“What did you do?” The red headed woman crossed her arms, her brow arching. She carried the tone of an annoyed parent who had just caught their child in the act. Johann- the younger twin- raised his arms to the air, shaking his head with ferocity. Linnea then tilted her head and looked at Niklaus.

“Don’t look at us! Honestly,” Niklaus’s tone grew defensive, tossing the paper that had been in his hand onto the table before his baby sister. Linnea scooped it up quickly. “Something weird happened over in Arendelle. Apparently the fjord got frozen. No one could get in or out!”

Linnea took her seat at the table, fixated on the printed text. With the paper in one hand she supported her chin with the other.

“That explains why they haven't been back. They would have arrived days ago,” she puts the paper down. Arendelle had been only a 3 day trip from Weselton and the Duke had already confided in his children he would stay there an extra day to consult the queen on old and new business. Linnea’s brain started whirring. Arrangements needed to be made, events rescheduled or reassigned.

“I’m sure you’re already buzzing with ideas on how to fix things.” Johann snatched a piece of bacon from her plate. Linnea used to this behavior from him by now started to tap her cheek with her fingers, still looking pensive. Her brow was furrowed as she switched to the next page of the paper. An article on business catching her eye.

“Believe it or not, she can’t fix the weather. She’s not a witch.” Niklaus teased, procuring a wicked cackle.

“No, clearly that’s the new queen of Arendelle. Suddenly those rumors that she had been born green make sense.” Linnea spoke with a deadpan. She had heard rumors of Arendelle’s royal family, especially after the incident a few years back involving Queen Idunna and King Agnarr. Their cryptic ways of business had always interested her and father had insisted he would get down to the brunt of just why.

“There can be two witches. Arendelle is to the east of us.” Johann reached for Linnea’s breakfast again. The woman who had kept her eyes on the paper grabbed his hand mid action. “That would make you the Wicked Witch of the West.” He winces, feeling his sister grip a little tighter. “Okay. Okay. I fold.” Linnea released him, and in turn reached for the food he attempted to steal.

“Like I was saying,” there was an annoyance in her voice, “I cannot control the weather. How in the Hel did she freeze the Fjord anyways? It’s not like she’s some fairytale character. M-Magic like this isn’t real!” Linnea flipped back to the report on the coronation and read it again. going to heavily affect our engagement schedule until they’re home. Dad was supposed to handle the-.”

“Yes, yes. He was going to have been home yesterday, spend the day catching up, then today be dealing with the business involving the Jensen alliance. We know Lin.” Johann interrupted. “Since Dad isn’t here I’m sure Oslo can handle it.”

“What is it I’m handling?” Speak of the devil. Oslo had been the third eldest son and didn’t take his position as seriously as some thought he should have. The short man pulled back his regular seat and slumped into it.

“The Malstrüm-Jensen alliance. Between Weselton and Barovia.” Linnea repeated, watching her brother throw his feet up on the table.

“Oh yeah. Don’t worry. Took care of it,” Oslo grabbed a strawberry from the table and dipped it into a bowl of cream. “The Marquess was fairly easy to convince. If you get what I mean.” He had a teasing tone to him as he started eating.

“What?” Linnea turned her head quickly towards Oslo. Watching how he suckled the cream off the strawberry a look of realization hit her. “Oh my god. You did not.”

“Oh I did. 3 times.” He held out 3 fingers. “We’ll sign the paperwork and finalize it this afternoon.”

“Well, Well, Well, look at you,” Johann laughed, high-fiving Oslo.

“What can I say, I love to entertain.” Linnea groaned, folded the paper and rolled her eyes at her brother’s notcomments.

“I suppose that’s one way to get things done. But until any of them are back, Oslo is regrettably the stand in.” Annoyance dripped from her voice as she stood from her chair.

“And yet you’re the one giving the orders,” Niklaus returned her glare. His tone changed as he watched his sister roll up the paper and raise it above her head, preparing a good smack. “Linny. Lin. Linnea Agneta Malstrüm don’t you da- ow!” At this point he was getting smacked over multiple times with the paper. He laughed a little as he rose his hands in defense.

“Yes. Because dad let anyone he had past Erik and Francis just live off the family money. You think you can sleep your way through any problem,” Linnea pointed the rolled up paper at Oslo, “and you two act like children,” she pointed at the twins.

“Honestly, would it kill you to turn off your brain for a moment?” Johann used two fingers to push the newspaper away from his face. “You’re always so wrapped up in everything. Acting like if you put all this effort in dad’s going to put you above us in the hierarchy. Oslo may not have done something how you would but he settled our problem with Barovia! Without having to take orders from you for once.”

Linnea sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. Would she admit that Johann made a good point? No. Instead she tucked the paper under her arm and stood from her seat.

“Fine. Fine. If that’s what you insist,” she grumbled, walking out of the room. “I’ll leave you to it.”

It was a few seconds later when a shout could be heard from the hallway.

“AND WHERE THE HELL IS ALEXANDER?”

#Nani does writing #frozen fanfic #prince hans #Prince Hans x OC #Weselton #Duke of Weselton #post frozen 1 #frozen OCs #disney fanfiction

[fiadhaisteach]

Okay. I hate doing this, but I need help.

I can use a bus to get to dr appointments, but getting home would require walking that I cannot physically manage & all my attempts to find assistance have failed. (and a new used vehicle is $$$).

A taxi/uber/what have you is estimated to be $30-$40, one-way, but our budget is way too tight to do that five times in January (plus three more in February).

I'm putting in an application for county paratransit, but it will take a while & needs a doctor for one page of the eight.

If you can help, I can't offer anything other than profusive thanks, but you would have that.

Venmo: fiadhaisteach

PayPal: baisleac at gmail.com

*

edit: 3ish (depending on estimate accuracy) of 5 appointments accessible. Thank you so very very much. *chopping some onions here*

edit 2: Mom chauffered trip to the grocery store saved an extra delivery fee, plus one non-urgent appointment rescheduled to late February, so I should be good.

#medical travel #request #aisteach posts

[sapphicautistic]

My estranged-ish aunt who was once like a mother to me and who I have lain awake nights literally in this past week stressing out about the unsolveable family conflict that caused the rift, texted my partner in the middle of the night last night saying she'll be in the state briefly this weekend and can we drive 4 hours round trip to meet her halfway for berry picking?

And I know I should go if I have any desire at all to salvage this relationship but even apart from the INCREDIBLY LATE NOTICE making my autistic brain completely freak out, that's an INSANE outlay of energy and she has no idea what she's asking like she genuinely doesn't.

I have two appointments on Thursday next week I'd probably have to reschedule because I would be bedbound for a few weeks after that much exertion and she still has no idea how sick I am and probably thinks it's psychological anyways.

Also we had a family party planned for that day and so I'd have an out BUT she lives thousands of miles away and I'm pretty sure I'd look like an asshole regardless of having a reason, assuming she even believes the reason and doesn't think I made it up to avoid her

Also I'm maybe afraid to go because she's gonna wanna rehash Unsolveable Family Conflict and I do not have that in me and especially will not after sitting up, in a car, for 2 hours which is going to make me feel like death.

But despite all of this I think I SHOULD go and gf says it's my choice but she also thinks I should because this aunt is important to me but IS she anymore? She's turned into a bitter asshole who is so tangled up in her own issues and is projecting them onto others and I feel like I cannot communicate with her even though she used to be the person I could communicate with best. She is a deeply angry person who thinks she isn't and it's always ready to burst out and it makes her very hard to talk to, like even before Unsolveable Family Conflict but over the years it's gotten worse and worse.

I'm very upset and stressed out and I keep crying because I just do not want to be in this position. And I know she almost definitely didn't know herself until last night that she'd be here but I still resent being put in this position because it's so agonizing.

I wish she could just come down and join the family party because that would be a MILLION times less stressful but that would be asking HER (and whoever's with her, unclear) to spend SEVEN hours in the car round trip on what sounds like a very short trip and that's unlikely and she'd probably be resentful if she did

And I'm just on eggshells because like. She didn't even answer my mother's day text/gift, this whole thing feels very tenuous which is upsetting for its own reasons. I wish we could just talk like we used to and I could tell her my situation honestly and she could help me figure out a plan. But instead I have to guess how she'll react to stuff.

And also in addition to the last minute plan change stress there's the stress of not knowing what to expect at the halfway point because I've never been there, I am absolutely not going to go berry picking because I might actually die if they make me walk around after 2 hours sitting up in a car but presumably there's a park somewhere we could sit at? But as an autistic person the way I get less stressed about doing things is to imagine them in detail and I cannot do this for new places.

I SHOULD go but I think I don't want to and idk what to do. I wish she could just come down here, way less chance of a stressful conversation in the middle of people she has to be polite to and I wouldn't have to harm my body by all that travelling.

I hate it I hate it I hate it I hate it

#negative cw #long post #updates on my boring life

[aeoki]

High and Low: At World’s End - Chapter 2

Location: Australian Hotel (Guest Room) Characters: Hajime & Midori

Season: Autumn Writer: Akira

Midori: You’re really amazing, Shino-kun. I wouldn’t even be able to copy what you do… I get scared of being yelled at by people older than me so I do my best to listen to them, but the feeling of not wanting to do it just shows up in my attitude.

It really looks like you’re genuinely happy to do it, so I think that’s really amazing. You have my deepest, deepest, deepest respect.

Hajime: Why did you say it like that?

…Ehehe, I’m happy you complimented me but it’s a bit embarrassing.

Midori: I’m really happy to see that you’re my roommate, though… You might already know this but I’m not the type of person who can get along with everyone easily…

Not to mention, I’m currently in a fight with everyone in “RYUUSEITAI” right now...

We’re supposed to be lodging with everyone on the school trip but I’m already starting to feel depressed…

Hajime: Did something happen? Before we left for the school trip, I saw you and the others from “RYUUSEITAI” at the mall and it looked like you were arguing about something…

Midori: We ended up having to change “RYUUSEITAI’s” policy and there was some other stuff going on too… Now, here we are – everything’s still the same and nothing has been resolved…

Recently, nothing feels fun no matter what I do. I guess I really got what I asked for, though.

Hajime: ………

Midori: Ah, that’s why I’m actually a bit relieved this time.

There are a whole bunch of exotic and cute animals that look like mascot characters in Australia.

And everyone’s arriving in Australia at different times because of our different schedules. Not that we could have done anything about that, though.

Hajime: That’s true~ Everyone’s gotten much busier ever since ES was established, so everyone has something going on at the same time, be it filming a movie or drama or individual work.

It can’t be helped since we’re idols, but it’s difficult to get all the second-year students together in one place, huh.

Midori: Due to ES’ policy, it feels like they’re telling us to prioritise work instead of our school events too…

Hajime: That I can understand though. We must always prioritise our idol activities.

But it does feel a little sad. I wanted to do everything together and make a lot of fun memories on the trip.

It seems the only one from “Ra*bits” that could take part from the very first day of the school trip is me. Tomoya-kun will be coming on the third day which means we’ll be meeting up with him tomorrow.

It couldn’t have been helped since he had a TV programme to film and it couldn’t be rescheduled.

It’s even worse for Mitsuru-kun, though. He can only join us on the sixth day which means he’ll only be here for the latter half of the ten days while we’re here.

It seems he’s cast in some sort of popular drama but I suppose that also can’t be helped.

Yes, it cannot be helped… It’s good to be busy with lots of work, after all.

Midori: Don’t cry, Shino-kun! I’m here with you!

Hajime: Whaa, I’m not crying and please don’t hug me out of nowhere like that! Are you feeling a bit strange because of the drowsiness, Takamine-kun!?

Midori: Fufu. In our case, all we’ve been getting recently are a lot of individual work offers for “RYUUSEITAI”…

Which is why Tetora-kun and Shinobu-kun will be coming a little bit later…

I haven’t heard when they’ll arrive though…

Hajime: You’re in the same “unit”, so I think you ought to know their schedules, too.

Midori: Mmm~ I guess… It’s hard to ask about stuff like work. I really dunno.

In any case, the arrangements for the luxurious hotel rooms are split up in order of who arrives first, so because the two of us could come on the first day…

They put us in the same room and I’m really glad they did… I thought I would die if it was anyone else but you, so thank god I ended up in the same room as you, Shino-kun…

Hajime: What?

Midori: Even when the other guys start coming in, they won’t change the room arrangements, right…? You won’t abandon me and leave me for another guy, right, Mama Hajime…?

Hajime: Takamine-kun is slowly becoming really weird…

It’s a room for two and it’ll be a lot of work to redo all the paperwork, so I think they’ll leave the rooms be. It’s just what I think though.

Midori: Yay! I’ll survive…☆

Hajime: I think it’ll be good if you get to know some of the other students, too… Especially the ones in “RYUUSEITAI”.

You’ll be working together in the same “unit”, so it’ll definitely be better for you to quickly resolve those hard feelings.

Midori: That’s easier said than done… It’s because we can’t get it resolved so quickly that we’re gradually reaching the lowest point of the situation.

← Previous Chapter ᠂ ⚘ ˚⊹˚ ⚘ ᠂  Next Chapter →

#high and low

[yasmin-writes]

There’s a ringing coming from outside, a shrill security alarm that ceaselessly cries out to its owner to make it stop. It’s 2:47am and that alarm is more awake than I am, but I’m kept up by this vacancy that has settled into me like houseguest that just won’t leave. That woman in the painting will be me tomorrow morning -- if the last few days are anything to go by -- after I've woken up, covered in a thin sheen of sweat (from the heatwave or my nerves, I do not know), and staring out onto any blank space to give my mind something clean, empty, and formless to cling onto whilst it readies itself for another onerous day. At least I have not had any nightmares since the last time I had to record one in my journal, but a dreamless sleep from which I always wake a little too early in the morning feels similarly perturbing. My body is faring no better. I’ve developed this redundant cough which seemingly does not do anything to or for me. It only appears of its own volition when I am quietly taken over by this feeling that there is something lodged inside of me that I need to get out. It makes a dull sound -- there is no effort, no force to it -- but it’s becoming a nervous tic, like I am being abruptly reminded that I am still awake and alive and there is something I am procrastinating which I probably should be getting on with.

It could just be because it gets hot at night, but there is something so sad and lonely about the lack of bedsheets or a lamp or a little table for her bedside necessities or some wall art or something to cover her bare body in that room that looks out to the morning sun. There is nothing to mark the space as her own, no traces of her having slept on that bed (has she?), nothing to cover her from the sun’s unflinching glare. They can see each other, her and the sun, but it doesn't seem a friendly gaze. She looks out at it, heaving a sigh at the way it exposes the absences in her life to the world. This is why I keep my curtains closed, especially during the day. I cannot take the brightness of the August sunlight that tries to force me out of bed too early and shows me the disordered state my room is in. Her room is empty, but mine is not. It’s not full, necessarily -- I have just recently thrown out a load of things I decided was not worth hoarding anymore -- it’s just that everything is out of place.

I am packing for my month-long trip away. As in, it is a continuous act which I have not yet finished. The trip has already been rescheduled once, abruptly, and so my first attempt at packing — as methodical as it was — seems useless. I unpack only the things I’ll need during this (3-week long) interval, between coming home and leaving again, but never placing anything too far from the suitcase in case I have the urge to repack it. I have summer clothes, odd bits of new makeup, travel-sized bottles of toiletries all in little groups (like they have been conscripted together) dotted around a space I have internally designated as a ‘packing area’. The suitcase is splayed open — like a violated corpse barely hidden in the woods — in the middle of my bedroom floor, the skeleton of that very specific packing structure I adopted still peeking through, which I am scared to disturb. If I close the suitcase, or unpack it to emptiness, it feels like I will never leave here. Like the trip, my plans for the summer, my expectations for what will happen when I am away and when I return home will never come to be. During this same, achingly long, moment of midsummer I am slowly packing for moving house almost immediately after I return home am back from my travels. But to decide what to take on a long trip, what to pack up for a new home, and what has exceeded its duration of usefulness and so needs to be mercilessly thrown out is an unsettling task. I don’t mean unsettling in a macabre, low-budget horror film sense; I mean it in a more literal feeling of un-settlement. Like an uprooting that hasn’t quite taken form, so it just sits within you, making every day in your own space feel uncanny and unfamiliar. Or like you are the one unfamiliar, the one that no longer fits in to the homeliness of this place. 

Summer and I are like old friends who know they secretly despise each other but regularly meet anyway — to try and breathe life into this deadened connection, or perhaps only to show off to their instagram friends that their ‘childhood friendship’ is more valuable your adult ones. I remember loving summer; my gingham frocks, the water slide at Archway Pool, the time spent with my parents (but only one of them at a time) that made me forget how emotionally violent our home was. But each year that summer returned, it saw me retreat further away from it. Not only did it grow more and more physcially unbearable — the summer grew hotter, and I grew older and more confined to a modesty that dictated I wore long sleeves and high necks all year round — but it almost always signalled a period in which I was forced to return to myself. No school, no fixed schedule, no need to do anything but to enjoy the time off until September reappeared. I could be at home with my parents and siblings where the air was thick with everyone’s suppressed complaints and highly-strung emotions threatening to lurch into the fore. I could see my friends who liked me most when I was just as quiet and agreeable as I eventually became in front of my family. It was needed; their personalities were so large and loud that one more would disrupt the balance. I was drawn to people like that, people whose social extraversion surrogated my own because someone (probably me) decided it would be easier to get through my teen years — those years of the greatest, inner and outer changes — if I had just kept quiet. For the most part, this worked. It was only when I found myself alone that I’d feel like all this quiet was just hushing some rumblings that were desperate to speak out.

#morning sun #edward hopper