Simon glanced up to the clock in the green room; they were late. They were supposed to be here by now, his heart thudded in his chest as he took another swig from his bottle of water. His hands were clammy with sweat from anticipation and there was nothing he could do about it.
He hadn't slept a wink last night. He couldn't, he was too nervous yet excited for the first meeting with Cheryl. He didn't know what he was going to do or how he was going to act. Did he hug her? Did he give her a kiss on the cheek? Did he simply smile at her? He had no idea and the more he over analysed every single detail the more confused he had gotten.
The studio was alive, filled with a buzz from the situation they were in. Their princess, their queen, was returning and everyone was thrilled. Everywhere Simon looked people were smiling and happy, that never happened in the studio and he momentarily cursed himself for allowing this to occur.
He knew the instant that he saw Cheryl again it would be awkward due to the fact she was with the girls. As far as he was aware they were the only people, aside from his and Cheryl's family, who had known about their relationship. He also knew they would know why she had left him and ran away to a foreign country with no warning.
The seconds were ticking by ever so painfully slowly, he knew she was near. He could feel his heart drumming in the way in which it only did when Cheryl was near him. He felt sick. There was no going back, they were going to be in the same building as each other and have to speak in an undoubtedly short amount of time.
* * *
"Cheryl come on!" Nicola screamed from the bottom of the stairs, "Lola's in the car waiting and if you don't get a shift on Kimberley's gonna come barging in and drag you out by your hair extensions!"
Cheryl stood at the top of the stairs, her red puffy eyes visible for Nicola to see and immediately her approach changed. She darted up the stairs and pulled Cheryl into a much needed embrace. "Nic these are not hair extension" Cheryl sobbed into her best friends shoulder.
"I know babe" Nicola sighed softly, "I knew that would make you move if I shouted it. I think I know what this is about, wanna share?"
Cheryl stood and looked at Nicola for a moment, her tongue darted across her lips and she wiped away a few stray tears before coughing to clear her throat. "It's been eight years" she spluttered, "What do I do? What do I say? What about Lola? Why the fuck did I even agree to this? I physically cannot be in the same room as him; I've been such a bitch to him. I ran away and left him while he was on the other side of the world and then popped out his fucking kid without telling him. Oh shit. He's gonna meet her. Lola is gonna meet her father. Fuck"
It had finally dawned on Cheryl how real the situation was, her seven year old was actually going to meet her father and there was nothing that could be done about it. She wanted to run back to France, she had left this life behind as she knew Simon didn't want it yet. She loved him with all her heart and she knew he didn't want children, she had merely been protecting Lola and in somewhat she had protected herself. Now not only was she going to see him, she was taking his daughter. Their daughter. The one he didn't know existed.
* * *
Simon heard the familiar sound of platform heels clicking along the corridor. The green room silenced as they felt the presence of the most successful girl band in history nearing them. Simon rubbed the stubble on his chin and bit his lip as the sweat trickled down the back of his neck from his nerves.
The door squeaked as it was opened from the other side. Simon breathed in harshly and forgot to breathe out for quite some time. She was going to walk in any second now and he had no idea how the day was going to turn out. He placed his hands on his jeans and began tapping his knees quickly to try and reduce the amount of tension that was rattled within his body. He felt his legs beginning to tremble and he swallowed hastily to try and return to normality.
It failed, he was a mess. A heartbroken mess who was going to come face to face with his heartbreaker. His eyes glanced up from the table they had been staring at for the past hour and he saw the first pair of heels. They were blacked heeled biker boots; he knew they weren't Cheryl's so he dared to look up properly.
"How weird is this being back here?!" Sarah cackled as she embraced Louis with a high five.
Simon watched as they all walked in. Nadine. Kimberley. Nicola. He looked at the door waiting for her, she didn't appear. His face dropped, he should have known she wouldn't come. It was too strange; it would have been too much for her. He laughed at himself for getting so worked up over a meeting he should have known would never happen in his lifetime.
He was brought from his thoughts when he heard Dannii scream next to him, he dared to look up. He saw the black and gold platform heels. He knew they were hers. His eyes scanned her exposed legs, they were ridiculously brown but for once in his life he knew it was a real tan and not out a bottle. He continued to examine her and his eyes latched onto her rose tattoo that was just visible from under her denim shorts. He shook his head softly thinking that only Cheryl would wear shorts in the middle of the coldest December they had had for years. Simon resumed his inspection of her and his eyes melted when he saw the tight fitting top she had acquired. It hugged her curves perfectly and she couldn't have looked more perfect if she had tried.
He mentally stopped looking at her when he realised the next step was her face. He swallowed in preparation for looking into her beautiful brown eyes, instantly knowing he would fall madly in love with her all over again with just one look into her orbs.
Simon glimpsed upwards and immediately noted her dimples, they were still there. They were still cute and still the same, her lips were shimmering under the lights and they looked kissable. It literally took all his willpower to not stand up and take her there and then. His eyes peeked further upwards and somehow he avoided looking into her own, he wasn't ready for that yet so instead focused on her hair. He noticed it was no longer the golden brunette colour he had seen in the papers only a week previously, instead it was a rich cherry colour and piled high on top of her head with a bow attached for decoration.
He had put it off for long enough, he couldn't avoid her eyes any longer. They were the only part of her he hadn't looked at yet. He closed his eyes momentarily and gulped back his nervousness. He bit the inside of his lip and looked at her straight in the face. Her trademark heavy smoky eye makeup was intact and only made her eyes stand out even more than usual. He stared at her for a moment and she stared back. For the first time in eight years they were looking at each other in the flesh, there were no tvs to hide behind, no crowds to get lost in, nothing. They had no means of escape and neither knew who looked more nervous out of the two of them.
"Hi"
