matty looks at my arms for a moment. "exactly why you need to eat a whole lot more."

and so i do. he's sitting right across me which is kind of distracting, considering he only ever gives me eye contacts like.. pretty much most of the time. "you do know that i'm expecting something in return, rhi." he says out of the blue.

i widen my eyes. "we're not going to fuck, are we?"

he winks, then bursts into laughter. "fucking hell, you think about sex too much for a seventeen year-old."

"i'm pretty sure you think the same way when you were my age." i blush a little.

"more do than think." he gives me a cheeky grin. he crumples his burger wrapper and places it on the tray. "we're having a show in london next week. you should definitely watch."

"i thought i had told you i'm not a fan."

"come on." matty smirks. "even i know that can't be true."

i smile at him. "you're pathetic. do i get a special meet-and-greet? oh, and can you autograph my fucking belly, then? i'll probably tear it off and sell it on ebay for all your other fans to fawn over."

he leans back on his chair. "you can't just fucking make fun of our fans and get away with it, rhi."

"tell them to fight me, then." i cross my arms.

"i can fight you for them, for fuck's sake." he rolls his eyes. "honestly anyone can fight you with that skinny figure of yours."

i lean forward, squinting my eyes at him. "you're saying i'm not fit?"

he does the same, and all of a sudden we're inches away from each other, our noses touching. his breath smells like cigarette and fast food and it kind of makes me want to throw up if not for his eyes. "come to the show."

i lean back on my chair, shoving a few fries directly in my mouth. "yeah? what's in it for me, then?"

"a fucking life-changing experience." matty assures, but the way he says it is very casual in my opinion, as if the 1975 is a world-famous band or some shit. frankly they could just be a one-hit wonder. he sits back, stretches a little, i can see a bit of his tattoo as he does so, when the black fabric goes up from his belly, and i'm quite distracted with it for a few moments before he starts laughing and putting me out of my reverie.

"it's a tattoo that says we are kings." he tells me before i can even ask. his eyes are—not kidding—glimmering at me as he explains. "i'm amused over your fascination over stomach tattoos. or is it a fascination over my skin?"

i open my mouth to interject, but matty's fingers are quick in putting some more fries into my empty mouth. "eat."

i finish the food in my mouth before swallowing. "just want to get a tattoo, is all."

"i'll come with you," he tells me excitedly, "when you turn eighteen, that is. you did say you're seventeen?"

i nod.

"funny enough, you could pass as a nineteen year-old."

"is that based on your pool of ex-girlfriends, matty?"

"just a few." he shrugs. he then takes a final bite of his burger, then stands up, offering me his pale hand. "i'll show you the place where i used to pick my future girlfriends."

i gaze up at him, food still in my mouth and sauce embarrassingly spilling from the side of my lips. "what?" i say, which comes out as wruht? from the amount of fast food this man is putting inside my mouth. i need a smoke—it's a fucking tendency every time i finish eating, which is why i don't eat as much.

but matty can only smirk, pointing to my mouth. "chew your food, then we can get out of this joint."

"i haven't gotten to enjoy the food!" i hrvnt gort to enjoy the foodhhhh goes my mouth.

"i'm most certain there are more things you can put inside your mouth, love, no need to act innocent." my eyes go wide at matty's remark, but he pulls me out of the booth and wraps his hand around mine quickly, leading me out of the wendy's and into his car in less than a minute.

i stay quiet, let him do all the talking as we drive north in this ungodly hour. matty's quite talkative; he can fill the silent air with his own opinion on something i didn't even ask. he's talking about driving from london, and how i'm completely out of my mind for sneaking out with him, and how everything seems tiring in his life and all he wants is to do this, since apparently he has not done this in a while since his band got busy.

"why? your band mates not fond of the whole night adventure thing?" i smirk.

matty shrugs. "it gets tiring after quite some time. you need different people."

"and so i see."

for the rest of the ride i just watch him as he drives, how his mouth is making all these expressions whenever he's talking. every once in a while he glances at me, and i look away, because fuck, i can't be seen having a small crush on this matty healy guy, even if he drove to london from manchester for me. that's just something bored people do. matty, as much as he looks sad and tired of his routine, is pretty much as bored as i am.

we arrive at a busy road, filled with neon signs and people going in and out of bars, either drunk or laughing. pretty much both.

matty parks outside one bar i'm quite familiar with, though haven't been. for a few moments after the car engine stops, he's just sitting there, looking at me. the air is quiet, and it's rather awkward to say the least.

finally, he open his talkative mouth. "rhiannon, i assume you've been to a few bars."

i try to keep my stare. "quite a few."

he clicks his tongue. "quite a few." he repeats, chuckling. "have you been here, then?"

i shake my head.

"great, then—"

"uhm, matty." i find myself scratching my head, trying to come up with reasons. "i don't think i should be found with you in there."

he smirks. "why so?"

"i don't know? maybe because everyone probably knows you, and it's fucking mental bringing someone else in."

"nonsense." he opens the door, gets out, and walks to my side to get me out of the passenger seat. "i snuck you out. do me a favor and come drink with me."

the air is chilly, and matty feels this because he takes off his leather jacket and puts it on my shoulders.

"you don't have to do this." i say.

matty rolls his eyes. "let's just get inside. justine had saved us a booth."

i reluctantly follow him, and as we are walking, matty puts his arm around me, and i just start to melt in his presence.

--

a/n: i am SO SORRY i realized that wattpad didn't save the final draft and so i posted this chapter incomplete!! god i'm stupid but i'm sorry and i hope you're enjoying xo

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