As I expected, the three hours dragged, only serving seven customers in that time. I really don't know why Karen keeps open, the food has gone stale already, the only thing we can serve that's good is the coffee, so it's not exactly bringing in more money. It baffles me, it really does.

"You tired?" Alex asks, lying their head down on the counter, smiling slightly.

"Drained, you?" I chuckle as they just close their eyes. "Same."

"When's your hot guy coming in?" They ask, referring to Ethan.

"Soon, and he's not mine." I correct them.

"Hmm, sure, sure." They only roll their eyes in response.

Alex only started working here in January, and they were the first person I saw when I stepped foot in here after a whole month and a half off. It was a scary experience to be back at work after so much had happened, but having Alex here as well as Leah, it's helped me in more ways than they both know.

"Girls, heads up." I fight the urge to groan and roll my eyes at Karen, not only because she misused Alex's pronouns, but also because I was quite comfortable here.

Alex only presses their lips together as we both sit up, I raise my brow at Karen wondering if we're actually in trouble or not. It's passed eight now, the shift it well and truly over.

"There has been a change in shifts, I need to go over the table with you." She directs this at me, but I'm hoping she means us both.

"You're dropping some of them or?" I press.

"No, just need to clear up what you're doing and when because the updated table has gone missing." She says, but in other words she's lost it. "Alex, you're still doing Thursday evening shift, Saturday morning and Monday lunch shift, is that okay?"

"Yeah, that's perfect." Alex says with a bite in their tone, only a sweet smile is covering their features.

"Frankie, you're working when...?" Karen looks at me for the answer.

"Evening shift on every week-day. Morning, lunch and evening shift on Saturday, lunch shift Sunday." I say, sucking on my teeth to refrain myself from saying something about the fact I'm working literally everyday for her, and I get no appreciation whatsoever.

"Okay, thanks girls for your input, you can go whenever." Karen dismisses us, and when her back is turned, I stick my middle finger up at her.

"I'm bored with correcting her at this point." Alex chuckles, rolling their eyes.

"I'm sorry about her ignorance." I say.

"Don't apologize for her, it's not your fault." They dismiss me, grabbing their backpack from under the till, also my little purse that barely holds anything but things I may need.

"Thank you." I say, slipping the large strap on my shoulder, immediately opening it, grabbing my phone, ready to ring Ethan because he's usually here by now, but that's when the door opens.

"Hello wonderful people, how was work?" Ethan asks making me smile as he picks up the first chair he comes across, tipping it and putting it on top of the table – something he does every time he comes in to piss off Karen.

"It was okay. Got your pastry, want a coffee? It'll be still a little warm?" I ask, grabbing a cup for myself.

"Yeah, sounds good." He smiles.

"What are you guys doing tonight?" Alex asks, leaning on their elbows as I pour the coffee.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Ethan squints his eyes at them teasingly, only for them to do the exact same thing. "Fine, I cave – we're watching Harry Potter."

"You guys are so boring." They comment, leaving me speechless.

"How dare you disrespect my wizard friend!" Ethan is the one to say this, and I laugh, grabbing us both lids for the coffees.

Before an argument about an amazing movie breaks out, I say a quick goodbye to Alex, pulling Ethan along with me out of the door.

"Coffee, food." I exchange them for the keys dangling off his middle finger.

"Thank you. Did you get yourself anything?" He asks, checking in.

"Yep, made myself a sandwich around an hour ago." I nod, smiling to myself as I open the driver's side door. My love for this car will never go away. It's a matt red Mercedes AMG G2 63, of course I'm going to love it. It's beautiful. I truly don't know how or why Ethan ever let me drive it, I would never let anyone touch this car if it was mine, whereas he simply doesn't care.

During the familiar drive back to my dorm, Ethan had The Stone Roses playing on shuffle through the sound system, and I couldn't help hum the familiar lyrics, the urge to belt the chorus' becoming almost painful, but I never did. I just kept driving, keeping my voice low – I was too tired.

"You up for the gym tomorrow?" Ethan turns to me as we approach the fifth floor of the dorms. The elevator is still out of order if you hadn't assumed already.

"Yeah, I'm ready to kick your ass." I say with a sweet smile.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, I let you once." He emphasizes.

"Yep, and I'll forever remember that day." I smile, remembering that exact day when I got him on the floor, and quite literally gave him a little kick on the ass. My self defense has gotten pretty good since I first started in September.

"I want to get you in the ring with me, I wanted to ages ago, but things happened. So, are you ready to get the gloves on and actually hit a human?" His eyes twinkle when he speaks, and my steps come to a holt.

"I don't want to hurt you." I frown.

"Don't humble me, darling." He says with a smirk, and I glare at him, ignoring the familiar feelings that little name of endearment gives me.

"The size of your ego is unhealthy." I mutter, beginning to walk off from him.

"Hmm, what was that? Something about the size of something? My dick?" He asks, and I press my lips together, exhaling a breath through my nose. "Thought so. And it's not unhealthy."

"Your dick is inhumanely large, so don't get me started. And you heard me, stupid ego." I say in a hushed tone before I roll my eyes.

"You love my dick, so shut up." He shamelessly says, and I scoff, yet still blush at the fact that he's using present tense, not past. "You do!"

"I'm not talking about this with you. Also let me remind you of the fact that you measured it with your phone." I say, smiling when he shuts up, his cheeks turning a little rosier.

"Anyways." He clears his throat, and I hum in acknowledgement as I search for my keys. "Are you ready to be in the ring with me?"

"You'll hit me too?" I check.

"No." He immediately says, and I frown up at him.

"Because I'm a woman?" I ask defensively, finally pulling out my lanyard with my keys on.

"Yes- no, no. No, that's not it. I just don't want to hurt you. I can get carried away with myself, I don't want you to be the brunt of that. Also, we are not in the same weight class, not in a million years. You could maybe fight Felix." He shrugs at the end, shamelessly taking a jap at Felix even though Ethan's only bigger in muscle.

"He's still six-foot." I point out.

"Short." He muses, exactly how he teases me with my own height which isn't even small.

"Shut the fuck up." I feel the need to defend Felix, even though he truly doesn't need me to.

"Okay, fine, I'll go very easy on you. I won't hit you, hit you, just gentle taps. Okay?" He asks, rolling his eyes and I smile as I nod. He won't know what has hit him – quite literally.

"Fine, two PM, Campbell's gym, what's the dress code?" I say as if this was a secret mission.

"Shorts and sports bra – but nothing at all will do." He plays along, yet I shove at his side at his crude mind. "Still a man, baby, can't change that."

"Boy." I correct, smiling as we approach my dorm. "Still a boy."

Ethan leans against the wall, waiting patiently as I unlock the door, and when I do, I push it open, immediately feeling the urge to lock him out, yet refrain myself from doing so when I recall his excitement from before about watching Harry Potter, and how he used to watch it growing up.

"Bitches are finally here!" Felix's shrill scream greets my ears, and I wince in response, shaking it off as I shut the door behind us.

"Go get changed and comfy, I'll put in our order for food." Ethan says lowly, giving me a gentle smile.

"Okay, thank you." I whisper, heading straight for my door but of course it's not that easy, you have to walk passed the eager people.

"Don't leave!" Matt yells, and I purse my lips together as I slowly spin around, coming face-to-face with my amazing friends, a guilty look on my face. Lauren and Felix look like they're in the middle of a childish play-fight, hanging off the beanbag together. Hanna is laid on Kieran's lap, who is sat in one of the corners, Matt sat next to him. The other corner of the sofa open up for Ethan and I.

"I'm not. I need to change, I've been in jeans for... since this morning. I'll be back as soon as you can name all the Harry Potter movies, and in order." I promise, knowing that an argument will break out because of that. I mean, it's not hard if you've watched is as much times me and Matt have, but Lauren has never even seen them at all.

They drop it at that, and I finally let out a breath, taking the familiar hallway down to my room that I still share with Matt aside those two weeks he left me to be alone because I needed it. Nothing's changed, it's the same, my Led Zeppelin poster is still in one piece at the head of my bed, my tapestry is still up – the only thing I have added is a little Nirvana calendar, hanging off my wardrobe, a gift from Ethan for Christmas.

The first thing I do is throw my purse down on the ground near my bed, my leather jacket going with it as I roll my shoulders. I'm so tired today, mostly because I didn't go to sleep until three AM last night, but also mentally. That therapy session has left me drained, but I'm happy with how it went, there were somethings I never even knew I needed to speak about until she suggested them.

I feel better, not one-hundred percent, I never expected that, not in three months, but I do feel better, mentally, emotionally, and thanks to Ethan, physically also. I'm not exactly amazing in self-defense but I feel assured enough, I feel somewhat safe.

I unbutton my jeans, feeling better already when I slide them down my legs, kicking them off to the side before I lift my red tank top up and above my head, leaving me in only a blue cotton thong – not sexy, but I simply don't care. I grab an oversized white shirt that's hung in my wardrobe, letting it swallow my small frame – it's long enough to cover the scars on my thighs, still a constant reminder of how dark things got for me. I also grab my simply pink pajama shorts, stepping into those after I shimmy my panties off. Comfy and relaxed.

Before leaving, I take a quick seat on my bed, that for once is actually made, and take my piercings out of my nose and ears, something I do at night because I always somehow get them trapped in my hair – it's unnecessary. I drop them in the little box I have that holds all my jewelry, it all mixed in a mess – honestly it's a disgrace, and quite shocking that I find pairs in there.

Walking out into the living room, everyone's attention is on me, so I'm quick to grab a blanket from the basket we have, feeling self-conscious of my thighs even though they're covered, before going over to my corner where Ethan is, getting comfortable next to him. We may not be together anymore, but we still cuddle. This didn't happen straight away, it's become a more recent thing.

"Now that the she-devil is here, can we start?" Matt asks, sending me a little smile.

"I was hardly gone long dickhead, but yes." I defend, and Ethan chuckles behind me, and I turn my head up to look at him with a pout on my face. "Did you order chicken and barbeque pizza?"

"Yeah, and some cheesy fries. That okay?" He asks and I nod, smiling before turning my head towards the television when the beautiful familiar sound of the intro starts.

"I don't know why you guys love this movie so much." Lauren complains, and I groan, not prepared to listen to this for the rest of the movie and the future ones.

"Lauren, shut the fuck up before I smother you with a pillow." Hanna warns, and I raise my brows in surprise, but again I'm not at all.

"You shut up!" Lauren frowns back at her like a scolded child.

"Oh my god, both of you shut up!" Felix yells, and in response, Lauren pushes him off the beanbag, and I purse my lips together, trying to contain my amusement in this.

"Can you all like shut the fuck up?" Matt chuckles, and I know by his tone that he's on his last nerve.

"I feel like I'm the only normal one." I hear Kieran say, and I have to agree, he is.

Thankfully, following Matt's demand, everyone shuts the fuck up, and no one interrupts the movie, that is until there's a knock on the door from the pizza guy. Food couldn't have come at a better time either, the movie is already paused for a pee break, and honestly, I was starting to get hungry.

"I know it's dramatic, but I'm starving." Ethan says, not surprising me anymore, but I still can't wrap my head around how big his appetite is, I'm honestly jealous.

"I'm getting a drink, who wants one?" I regret that offer as soon as it slips out of my mouth because all at once I'm getting ordered thrown at me like a waitress. "Okay, I'm grabbing two bottles of wine, is everyone okay with that?"

"Vodka?" Lauren looks hopeful.

"You took it with you to a party on the weekend, we've got two bottles of both red and white. Maybe a couple of beers." Hanna says whilst opening up one of the pizza's, a smile coming to my face when I realize it's mine and Ethan's. "Ew, barbeque base."

"Shut up with your judgement, it's actually really nice." I say, standing up from the sofa, grabbing the pizza from her open arms before passing it to Ethan, making sure my shirt is pulled down in the process.

"So, two bottles, is everyone okay with that?" I repeat, needing something from them because no one actually answered, and they all start nodding whilst also ogling the food.

"Ethan, you want a beer?" I check and he gives me a little nod along with a smile. I've learnt that Ethan and wine do not mix, his hangovers are not something you want to deal with.

We never bother with glasses, we usually just pass around the bottle, but for once, I actually grab some out – six for us all, as well a beer from the fridge for Ethan. I'm thankful the kitchen is quite literally a meter away from the living room, so I don't have to walk far to go back and forth for the glasses; my hands are only small, I can't exactly carry them all.

"Decide between yourself with the red and white." I mutter, passing both bottles to Matt since he's the closest, only the white is open because I already have my glass.

I settle down on the sofa, pulling the blanket over me before I grab a slice of pizza out of the box, the pizza that Ethan has already ate one slice of already. I don't blame him honestly, this shit is so good.

"Press play, we were just getting to the good part." Felix says, and Matt does exactly that, the movie resuming.

We're not actually that far into it – Hagrid has literally just knocked down the door. Yeah, I know, that's the moment Matt chose to pause for the pee break. A travesty, really, it is.

"You're a wizard, Harry." The famous line is spoken, Matt squealing like a teenager, and I just smile to myself. These movies are one-hundred percent comfort movies, and we couldn't have picked a better one for tonight.

With therapy twice a week, Tuesday and Thursday, I try to surround myself by healthy distractions – Tuesdays I spend my night usually at the gym with Ethan, Thursday watching movies in the company of my friends. They don't know what I'm going through, they don't know about the therapy, but just having everyone together to watch a movie like this, eating junk food... it helps when it gets hard, when those sessions are emotional draining, it helps.

I couldn't think of a better way to end this day than to be here, eating food, watching Harry Potter whilst drinking wine in the best company.

I'm happy.

~~~~~

A/N

This is more a filler chapter than anything, but I still loved it. My babies are back, and I've missed them so much. I don't think I will ever stop writing them, I don't know how I'm going to do it when their journey comes to an end.

Also, I just wanted to mention, you guys are getting a lot of Ethan's POV's in this book – it won't be too consistent, but there's already 7/35. Btw there won't be 35 chapters, that just what I have planned so far, the story may go on to be 50-100 chapters? It really could vary because there's so much to happen.

Life update: It's finally June, and apparently the sun awoke, and it's finally warm in England. I really don't know how long this will keep up, but I'm embracing it... but writing on my laptop. Joking, I'm actually at work, and it's so tiring lately. I'm okay though, my mental health is doing quite good. I

Question's of the chapter – I want to do more than one:

Who is your favorite character in this book? (Ethan, Francesca and Felix, I can't choose.)

What do you want to see happen?

Also, do you guys follow me on Instagram? (Username: daisyclouds89)

I hope this chapter was okay!

Thank you for reading! Please comment your thoughts, vote by pressing the little star, and if you want, you can follow me too. I'm also on Instagram – @daisyclouds89 Xx

2985 words!

~B