Harry and I went to play tennis with Habbs and Miles. Girls vs boys and we crushed them. Habbs and I won by a long shot.
"We are the winners. You are the losers." Habbs kind of sung as we celebrated.
"Why are we so bad?" Miles asked Harry rhetorically.
"In the future, there will actually be a Habbs hill, not a Henman Hill." Habbs joked with a straight face.
"That sound so lame." Harry mocked. "Yeah, I mean, you guys in tennis-wear obviously look great."
"Yeah." Miles agreed. "I'm not gonna lie, those skirts are really short though."
"They are skorts though." I defended my design as the tennis skirts were from my collection.
"We did it to distract you so we'd win." Habbs joked.
"That's it!"
"I know! That's why we were crap at this game!"
"Oh god, but no, Sri Lanka was absolutely awesome, wasn't it?" Harry grinned.
"No, it was so good." I agreed.
"Like, it's good to be here, playing tennis and everything, but, cor, I wish we were back there." Harry said.
"I miss it already." Habbs added. "It was so fun. It was food that we got Liv out there as well."
Harry nodded slightly. "Yeah, I know. I feel like... yeah, I think she knows what she needs to do now."
"It's whether she'll go through with it." I commented.
"I've known Liv for years and I have never, ever seen her that vulnerable and emotional before." Harry stated.
"Neither have I." I agreed. "I think that's the worst place she's been."
"I would not want to be in her shoes right now." Habbs said.
"So Habbs what's gonna happen with you and Sammy now you're back?" Harry questioned.
"I don't really know. I mean, I did kind of think it was, like, a holiday, little bit of fun, but he's shown quite a lot of interest since we've been back."
"Obviously Sammy's my best mate so I don't want to throw him under the bus, but he has told me multiple times that he genuinely really fancies you." I told her.
"So how many missed calls do you get on a daily basis?" Harry joked.
"I've already had three calls."
"Today?!" Harry gasped at her. "We've just landed."
Miles pretended to check his watch. "It was 15 hours ago."
"I think it's really cute though."
"It is cute." I agreed with Habbs. "You do it as well Harry. Whenever we aren't together I'll get random messages from him being like: thinking of you. Or like: I've done whatever so we can do whatever later." My phone started ringing. "Sorry, it's Binky, I will be back in a minute."
"Tell her I say hi." Harry smiled.
"Of course." I stepped away to answer it.
Digby asked Harry to meet him and Harry asked me to go with.
"Hello." Digby nodded at us as we walked over.
"Alright mate?" Harry shook his hand. "I got your message."
"Yeah, mate, no, I just basically wanted to talk to you. I didn't really want to beat around the bush about anything, so..."
"Yeah."
Digby got straight to the point. "Basically, mate, on the trip, you've been saying that I'm not right for Liv."
"I mean, when you say it like that, it's completely taken out of context. I haven't directly said: Digby's not right for you. I haven't said that. I've said you're a great bloke, which you are."
"It's more so that you're not right for each other." I clarified. "It's not that you're wrong."
"You don't spend every day with that girl, a person, for six months if you are not... you know, you clearly don't have a..."
Harry realised what he was thinking and what he was about to say. "No, I'm not saying that you don't have a connection or you don't have things that are right in your relationship. There are so many thing that are right in your relationship. But from what Liv has relayed to me and how she feels and how she's reacted by her not being able to sort of voice things and voice problems with you... like, if you guys have an issue or a slight problem, she feels that she has to suppress that and keep those feeling in because she's so afraid of, number one, upsetting you, and for you, if she did address it, for you to sort of brush it under the carpet and sort of pretend there wasn't an issue in the first place."
"I feel like you've put those thoughts in her head."
"I definitely haven't put those thoughts in her head. Definitely not. I'm going by what Liv has said to me and how she's reacted to your own relationship. These are Liv's feelings that she lets out, she's spoken to me and I am a very good friend to her."
"I know that me and Liv are fucking great together. I know that..."
"You're not, though, dude. Like, you might think that, but you're not. I don't think she's addressing to you the problems that she truly has and I think that needs to happen."
"As someone who's been through a fucking horrific relationship, I'm not ever going to compare you or your situation to that because you're such a good bloke but I think, based on what I've heard from Liv, there are aspects of your relationship that could be detrimental for both of you as individuals as well as your relationship." I explained to him. "I think you need to sit down with Liv and really listen to what she has to say."
"That was so fucking awkward yesterday with Digby." Harry said as we sat in my living room.
"Yeah, I completely understand what Liv was saying about him not listening to her." I sighed. "He's a good bloke but if they don't break up soon, it's gonna break them individually."
"I just don't want Liv to get hurt."
"Yeah." My phone started ringing. "It's Miles."
"I would say put it on speaker but I wouldn't be able to understand it." He chuckled. "I'm gonna go make a drink, do you want one?"
"Yea please." I smiled as he walked out and answered my phone. "Allô." (Hello.)
"Comment ça va?" (How are you?)
"Pas mal. Juste à la maison avec Harry. Comment allez-vous?" (Not bad. Just at hoke with Harry. How are you?)
"Je viens de rentrer à la maison et j'ai eu la rencontre la plus difficile avec Digby." (I just got home and I had the most awkward run in with Digby.)
"Oh mon Dieu, que s'est-il passé?" (Oh god, what happened?) I asked.
"Il a simplement dit que je n'avais aucun respect et qu'il s'en fichait de moi de quelque façon que ce soit. il m'a aussi dit que lui et Liv étaient toujours ensemble, ce qui était vraiment gênant parce que je me suis approché du genre : désolé pour la rupture." (He basically just said i had no respect and he didn't give a shit about me in any way. he also told me that him and Liv are still together which was really fucking awkward because i walked over like: sorry about the breakup.)
I sighed slightly. "Il a en fait envoyé un message à Harry hier et nous l'avons rencontré pour prendre un verre. En gros, il a dit qu'il pensait que c'était nous qui mettions ces pensées dans sa tête et qu'elles sont vraiment bien ensemble. Il nous disait à peu près d'aller nous faire foutre." (He actually messaged Harry yesterday and we met him for a drink. He basically said that he thought it was us putting these thoughts into her head and they're really fucking good with each other. He was pretty much telling us to fuck off.)
"Eh bien, en fait, il m'a dit d'aller me faire foutre." (Well he actually did tell me to fuck off.) he chuckled slightly. "Une partie de lui sait sûrement que cela vient en fait de Liv et que ce n'est pas que des gens qui remuent." (Surely part of him knows that this is actually coming from Liv and isn't just people shit stirring.)
"Mais il ne l'admettra jamais car cela signifierait qu'ils devraient résoudre les problèmes qu'ils ont si manifestement." (But he'll never admit it because that would mean they would have to address the issues they so obviously have.) I shrugged even though he couldn't see me. "Parfois, il suffit de laisser les gens faire leurs propres erreurs et si c'est une erreur, c'est à eux de la faire." (Sometimes you just have to let people make their own mistakes and if this is a mistake then it's theirs to make.)
"C'était la première fois que je traînais vraiment avec Liv et elle est tellement amusante donc je pense que ce serait dommage qu'elle perde ça." (That was my first time really hanging out with Liv and she's so much fun so i think it would be a shame for her to lose that.)
"Ce serait dommage, mais ils sont devenus des adultes, donc s'ils veulent être ensemble, ils le seront. nous n'avons pas à approuver comment ils sont ensemble mais en tant qu'amis, nous devons les soutenir." (It would be a shame but they're grown ass adults so if they want to be together they're gonna be together. we don't have to approve of how they are together but as her friends, we have to support them.)
"Tant que je n'ai rien à avoir avec Digby." (As long as I don't have to have anything to do with Digby.) he scoffed slightly. "Alors comment ça va?" (So how are you?)
"J'ai oublié de vous le dire, mais Habbs a en fait fait quelques commentaires au Sri Lanka et depuis notre retour." (I forgot to tell you but Habbs actually made a couple of comments in Sri Lanka and since we've been back.)
"Quel genre de commentaires?" (What kind of comments?)
"En gros, en disant qu'elle pensait que nous étions assez affectueux les uns avec les autres." (Basically saying that she thought we were quite flirty with each other.) I explained. "Je pense que les gens pensent que nous cachons quelque chose parce que nous ne parlons vraiment en français que lorsque nous nous parlons." (I think people think we're hiding something because we only really speak in French when we talk to each other.)
"Ouais, je veux dire, nous avons des plaisanteries affectueuses mais c'est tout mais ils ne savent pas que c'est ce que c'est parce qu'ils ne savent pas ce que nous disons." (Yeah, I mean we have flirty banter but that's all it is but they don't know that's what it is because they don't know what we're saying.)
"Jemima a également dit il y a quelque temps qu'elle pensait que tu avais le béguin pour moi à un moment donné." (Jemima also said a while back that she thought you've had a crush on me at some point.) I told him. "Donc je ne pense pas que cela ait aidé." (So I don't think that helped.)
"Je veux dire à un moment donné, j'ai définitivement eu le béguin pour toi, bien sûr que je l'ai fait." (I mean at one point I definitely had a crush on you, of course I did.)
"Quelle?" (What?)
"Je mentirais si je disais quand je t'ai revu dans ce bar, j'ai pensé pendant une fraction de seconde que je pourrais t'inviter à sortir." (I'd be lying if I said when I saw you again at that bar I did think for a split second that I might ask you out.) he admitted. "À la seconde où tu as dit que tu étais avec Harry, j'étais comme : je ne vais rien dire parce que j'aime t'avoir comme ami." (The second you said you were with Harry I was like: I'm not going to say anything because I love having you as my friend.)
"Mec, ce n'est pas bon. Habbs m'a littéralement dit de faire attention. Elle ne pouvait même pas comprendre ce que nous disions, mais elle a eu une ambiance de flirt et maintenant vous dites qu'il y avait une sorte d'intention sur vous à moitié. C'est mauvais. Genre, Harry ne va pas être content du tout." (Mate, that's not good. Habbs literally told me to be careful. She couldn't even understand what we were saying but she got a flirty vibe and now you saying there was some kind of intention on you half. That's bad. Like, Harry's not gonna be happy at all.)
"Il n'y avait aucune intention." (There was no intentions.) he clarified. "Nous avons toujours eu une amitié coquette et je ne voyais pas l'intérêt de dire quoi que ce soit avant parce que ce n'était honnêtement rien. Comme, c'est complètement hors de propos, surtout maintenant. Je sais que nous sommes strictement amis et je ne veux pas que cela change de quelque façon que ce soit." (We've always had a flirty friendship and I didn't see the point in saying anything before because it was honestly nothing. Like, it's completely irrelevent, especially now. I know we are strictly friends and I don't want that to change in any way.)
I sighed a little. "D'accord, assurez-vous juste de ne rien dire de stupide pour faire croire aux gens que vous avez des intentions, car Harry se retournera contre vous et je préférerais que mon petit ami s'entende avec l'un de mes meilleurs amis." (Okay, just make sure you don't say anything stupid to make people think that you have any kind of intentions because Harry will flip at you and I'd rather my boyfriend gets on with one of my best mates.)
"Aww, je suis l'un de tes meilleurs potes. Je suis vraiment honoré. Tu es aussi l'un de mes meilleurs potes." (Aww, I'm one of your best mates. I'm truly honoured. You're one of my best mates as well.)
I laughed slightly. "Je vais y aller mais je te parlerai plus tard." (I'm gonna go but I will talk to you later.)
"D'accord bébé, à bientôt." (Alright babe, speak soon.)
"Beaucoup d'amour, au revoir." (Lots of love, bye.) I hung up right as Harry walked back in with our drinks. "Thank you."
"No problem. Everything okay with Miles?"
"Yeah, he had a really awkward run in with Digby and just needed to talk about it."
"I can imagine it didn't go very well."
"No, it didn't." I shook my head a little.
"What's wrong? Something's on your mind, I can see it."
I took a deep breath. "Basically Habbs made a couple comments about how she thought Miles and I were quite flirty and a while back, Jemima said that Miles had a crush on me or something so I asked him about it."
"Right. What did he say?"
"He said that at some point he's definitely had a crush on me and when he first saw me again he did want to ask me out but he got over it as soon as I told him about us and he is happy for us." I explained. "We've always had quite a flirty friendship but I can promise you right now, there is no intentions from either of us. He's strictly one of my best mates and we made that very clear."
"Okay." Harry took a second to process everything. "I mean obviously it's not nice to hear that you flirt with someone, especially someone that used to fancy you."
"I didn't know he used to fancy me." I clarified. "I just didn't want you hearing some rumour and thinking that I've hidden something from you."
"Yeah, no, I obviously trust you and I know you're not going to do anything. Miles has also said to me before that you guys flirt a little but it's completely harmless so it's alright. Thank you for telling me though."
I smiled. "I can teach you French if you want so that way you can know for sure what we're saying."
He chuckled. "I trust you, little one, always."
I kissed him. "I love you."
"I love you too."
Louise was having a launch party for her book so everyone went to support her.
It was slightly awkward when Liv walked in with Digby but nobody said anything.
After a little while, Louise got everyone together to do a speech and she looked mortified. "Hi guys, thank you very much for coming here today to support me for the preview of my first ever book. Um, it's very exciting. Those of you who are close to me know that I've been working on this project for the best part of a year now and it's been one of the most cathartic experiences I've ever had, so I'm very, very grateful. Inside the book, I discuss a little bit about my personal journey from a place where I suffered with battles with anxiety, I indulged in some disruptive habit, making poor decisions, but my love for fitness and food and surrounding myself with the right people has.... I can't, I'm, like, literally freaking out."
"You're doing well, just take a second." Her mum advised.
"Right." She pulled herself together. "I would like to thank Ryan, my mum and Sam for supporting me so much throughout this whole process and Arabella for letting me call her in the middle of the night when I got ideas. And also to the publishers for believing in me." She chuckled a little and everyone applauded.
"You did amazing bub." I smiled and hugged her. "Thanks for the little shoutout."
"Thank you for letting me bug you for a year." She laughed slightly.
"I'm here any time." I grinned. "I'll let you get to it but I'm proud of you bub."
"Thank you."
I kissed both her cheeks and then walked off to find Harry who was with Miles and Alex. Liv came over and told us basically to drop the Digby situation because they were over it but we still weren't completely convinced so it was still a little tense.