[A/N] If you're here to catch up with your reading, I wanna thank you for that :) But you should know I've added a prologue to the book and it would be great if you could read that before going through the chapters! To access the Prologue, just click on the EXTERNAL LINK and there you are!

"I go crazy 'cause here isn't where I wanna be, and satisfaction feels like a distant memory" -  Arctic Monkeys

TWELVE

 “WHAT?” Her shocked yell rang through the line. 

“Yep. The toilet.” Sylvia sighed as she lay over the bed. Keeping her best friend updated of her daily events had become a part of her new life, but surely she had never seen that event coming.

 “Are you fucking kidding me, Sylvia Yacoub?” Andrea’s laughter soon filled Sylvia’s mind. “It sounds like a bad joke. He came to you after-,”           

“I KNOW, RIGHT?” She rested her forehead on her hand, nodding and asking herself how bad that joke would be if she would actually accept it. “I -,”

“Did you give in?”

“What?” No surprise for her there; she would expect anything from her nasty friend who was clearly cheering for them to hook up.

“You better not lie to me, girl, I know you inside and out. Did you fuck him again?” Sylvia chuckled and could easily picture Andrea’s curious features and her eyes staring deep into her own, waiting for a positive reply.

“Of course not! I just got back from the flat!”

“You’re such a slow bitch, Sylvia. I don’t even believe he’s still going for you!”

“Oh yes, Andrea!” She laughed and squeezed her face, not believing how stupid her friend could be sometimes.  “You’re seriously abusing your privilege of being stupid!”

“So sweet of you, I love you too, Vee! Will you tell me about it or what?”

“Obviously not!” She took a few seconds to come back down to reality, looking around and facing all the luggage she still had to pack up before going back to NYC. “We’re meeting in two days and -,”

 “Oh my God, I’m going to fan girl you so much!” Her excitement to see Sylvia after the long time they had spent apart rang clear in Andrea’s voice, but soon she turned back to being serious. “What if I kidnap you?”

 “You can expect an angry Simon looking for your skinny ass.” Both laughed at this, but Andrea was fast at cutting into Sylvia’s enjoyment.

 “And also a stalker and hungry boy who can never get enough of you.”

A rough sigh left Sylvia’s mouth, already feeling annoyed by all the ways Andrea was teasing her. “Can you just shut the fuck up for god’s sake?”

“Wait, wait. I can see your plan from here: a world tour and to get laid by the five of them, am I wrong?”

“Why the hell am I still your friend?” She rolled over on the duvet, still laughing and kicking the last of her stuff directly  off of the bed  and onto the floor. “You seriously need to get laid or touch yourself."

 “Just give me a round trip ticket straight to you and maybe you can introduce me to your Brit and Irish creamy cupcakes clan.”

Brit and Irish creamy cupcakes clan. She would have never thought of that, but somehow that was a pretty suitable nickname for all of them. “I seriously need to-,”

 “To love me more?”                           

“To get you out of my life.” Her laugh grew louder, thinking about how much her friend was going crazy. “Your craziness will affect me sometime soon and I don’t want to see it coming.”

“It’s all your fault, Sylvia. I wouldn’t be that insane if I didn’t miss you so much.”

Quickly her annoyance disappeared after Andrea’s last words. “You have no idea!” She missed her friend so badly; Andrea was the one who cheered the most and loudest for her new career  step, and Sylvia knew how difficult it would be to live without her constant presence. “You better wait for your tickets and I’ll be the one to kidnap you for this tour. I miss you, silly honey.”

A knock on her door caught Sylvia by surprise.  “Hold on, there’s someone here.”

“Isn’t it too late for visits?”

“It is, but since I’m leaving tomorrow it-,” She opened the door, convinced it was the hotel’s concierge, but somehow surprise and fate worked together for the unexpected presence outside her door.

“Hi!” Even though she would never have expected to see him at her door, he was there, wearing his huge grin, as the door was opened fully.

“Holy shit, is it-,”

“What are you doing here?” She covered her mobile with her hand and surprise was written all over her face, still looking straight at that boy standing there in front of her.

“Can- can I come in?” His eyes dropped to the floor and his voice got lower; he didn’t move, waiting for her answer.

“JESUS CHRIST, Sylvia! Talk-,” he raised his head as he noticed the yelling coming from her phone and chuckled, soon grabbing it from Sylvia’s hand.

“What the fu-,”

“Hi, Andrea?!” He spoke in-between little giggles, diving away from Sylvia who was trying to get her phone back. “It’s Andrea, right?”

“The one and only Andrea!” She chuckled back to him. “Isn’t it too late for a visit, Mr. –,”

“It’s never too late to apologize, right?” At the end of the sentence, he turned his smile to Sylvia, who still had that unbelieving look on her face. “But I’ll make sure Sylvia will call you back soon, ok?”

“Ok then, you guys take ca-,” and with that the call went dead.

Sylvia just stood there, watching the boy with her arms crossed, only barely controlling her eminent laugh about his bold and audacious actions. She turned her back to him, walking inside the room and feeling his eyes following her.

“So,” she leaned over the dresser and watched him close the door and make his way to the bed. “Apologize for what?” He pinched his bottom lip and rolled his eyes, like he was searching for the right words to say.

“Toilet.” She lifted her eyebrows and deepened their gaze, wondering where he was trying to get with that. “Nasty place for a -,”

“That’s why you came here? To apologize for-,”

“For chasing you to the toilet.” A genuine and gentle, shy smile painted on his face, causing her to put down her inner shields and finally relax. His honesty was somehow relieving to her, and that sweet side he didn’t attempt to hide was something she would never have expected from him. Not with both of them being all alone.

She held their gaze for a while, still wondering what he had on his mind. “Apology accepted”. She put her arms down and saw him giggling about her acceptance. Even though there was never a mention about what had happened previously, Sylvia knew that anything could happen again any time soon, but this seemed to be a new beginning for both their sakes. “Do you- can I get you something to drink?” 

“I guess you already know my tastes.” Of course she knew his taste; she pretty much remembered all the tastes she got from his lips all the times they teased each other. Soon she disappeared from the room and headed to the annex’ little kitchen. “So when are you leaving?” 

“Tomorrow morning!” She opened the shelf and looked at all the remaining bottles, taking a couple of moments to figure out what the best choice would be. Whiskey, vodka or tequila. He would love to have everything but no way; too much alcohol for a night of apologies wasn’t going to go down well and she didn’t intend to ruin it.

“Great! So it means you have a full week off before the tour.”

“I wish!” She sighed as she opened the fridge, looking for a beer. That would be a safe option for the night. “The double cheese fags arranged tons of interviews for me.”

“You’re a quick learner.” His laugh filled the entire flat, making her giggle by herself, glad she had a softer side of that boy in her room.

“I have to give my best if I want to be a part of your gang.” She grabbed a lemon from the lower shelf and cut away two pieces, squeezing each of them into the beers. That would help easing any side effects.

“Paul would be mad if he heard you call us a gang.” He laughed and soon she was back in the room. Her eyes scanned the suddenly tidy place, finding all her belongs in the corner and him straightening what was left of her scattered clothes. “I- I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be -,” he scratched the back of his neck and nodded his head down, placing her last bag over her luggage and blaming himself for being so inappropriate and invasive for messing with her stuff.

“It’s okay,” she simply smiled at him and stepped closer with a couple beers in her hands. “It would take me the whole night to fix everything. Thanks.”

He smiled back to her and took the beer off her hands. “Salute?”                                   

“Salute!” The bottles clinked together and his eyes moved towards the great view from outside the balcony. “Has London treated you well?” He walked to the outside area and leaned over the bars.

“I had the best reception ever.” She got to his side and took a sip of her drink, right before their eyes met. “London never fails to amaze me.”

“Right? I just love being here.” He stared at her for a brief moment but soon the marvelous skyline ahead caught his attention once more.

The empty balcony’s space was filled by the city’s sounds as they remained silent, staring at the view. A weird feeling washed over her body after realizing how different he was; maybe he was just tired after the busy weeks they had had, but she knew there was something intriguing about him since the first time they met. She needed to know him better, but that game they were playing would never let her in; she had soon learnt that games like this wouldn’t be healthy for the tour they were supposed to face. And if he was trying to make things right, so would she.

“I’m- I should go. I don’t want to-,“ he diverted his eyes away from her as the lack of words became obvious.

“Stay,” she cut him off and placed her hand over his. He lifted his head and got a small smile from her, enough for a sudden change of mind. “I still have some beers, we should get rid of them before I leave.”

“I’ll grab them.” His smirk disappeared with him making his way inside the room.

Sylvia was still astonished by how everything could easily change from water to wine. Like that boy;  it was like facing both sides of a coin in a short matter of time. The silence and the apathy from the last couple of days, yet covered by his eyes on her, didn’t seem to bother her now. She was having the chance to see a completely different side of him, an opposite side that not only surprised her, but aroused an urge to get through to that boy. There was certainly something else about him.

“That’s all I’ve found.” He came back to her side and she faced the boy offering her the only beer left.

“You took that long for one beer?” She chuckled and tried to grab the bottle from his hands. He didn’t let it go and quickly engulfed her back, holding the beer away from her with one hand and placing the other on her waist.

“This is supposed to be shared.” He giggled and got a sip of the beer, keeping some distance from her so she couldn’t grab the bottle. She also noticed the hand at her waist and looked up to him. “Should I- Should I apologize for that?” 

“For what?”

He raised his hands and took a step further, waiting for a reaction to what he had just done.

“No,” she laughed and brought his arms to the bar whilst she leaned back on the railing. “Unless you want to.”

The boy smiled back at her and quickly kissed her cheek, right before turning her around to face the city once again. “Do you see that building?” He pointed to a building not too far away from them and his body inched closer to hers. “I live four blocks away from there.”

“Right in the middle of the financial district?” She faced him with a frown, quickly moving her eyes to the bottle leaving a wet surface on his lips.

“It’s silent by night time. Plus, the lads don’t live that far away.” He moved his left hand to her waist and kept a low tone in his voice. “Would you like to live here?” All he got was a quick nod of her head. “Where?”

She thought about that for a little while, already knowing the answer but still wondering where they would go from there. “Maybe in-,” suddenly she lost her words by him trailing his hand down her outer thigh.

He stopped his hand by her thigh and placed his head between her elbow and her nape, directing his whisper to her ear as his hands slowly, yet roughly, rubbed her thighs. “Where would you live?”

Her hard swallow was an attempt to despise what she knew would come next. His hands making their way around the lower part of her body and the space between them closed too; nothing was enough for her to let herself fall into his soft touches. His warm breath fanned over her shoulder as his lips barely touched the skin around the strip of her tank top.

“I love your smell,” his whisper invaded her mind and soon his wet lips were grazing her nape, his hands roaming up her body and enlacing her belly inside her tank top. She sighed deeply as he got closer, pressing her between the railing and his body, every nerve of her body already electrified by his hands. 

She knew she had anticipated this relief too soon.

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