a/n: theres literally nothing to do this quarantine i hope its ok that im shooting out chapters every single day. hope ur all doing well x
—
"you need to stop overthinking all this, rhian. just ring him up."
my phone's been in my hand for what seems like a lifetime and i can already feel my palms sweating like hell.
"ollie, shut the fuck up sweetheart, rhian needs time to clear her head."
ollie pushes himself out of the dining chair. "right then, sorry." he walks over to the kitchen and grabs himself a glass of water.
alice frowns at me, her hand resting on my thin wrist. "you don't have to do it if you don't want to, babe."
but i have to.
it's been so long.
and how long's it gonna take for us to end up in the same place again anyway? for all i know they're probably here only for a couple hours before they take off to god-knows-where.
i take a deep breath. i have to do it.
my thumb is hovering above george's number and i gently tap on it, half of my mind praying my phone to shut off or completely break or something.
"i'm gonna leave you to it." alice whispers to me before walking back to the couch with ollie, who's sat there watching television.
i can feel my heart pounding out of my chest.
he picks up at the fourth ring.
"...rhian?"
he sounds confused. almost suspicious.
i too would be honestly.
i take a deep breath and put on the fakest smile in hopes to change my tone. "h-hey, george!"
well that was way too forced and pathetic.
"rhian, hey."
i shouldn't have called.
"wow... haven't heard from you in a while, yeah? how's it going?" george's voice hasn't changed a bit, and to be quite honest i figured he would sound more tired than before, which isn't the case at the moment.
i've picked on my nails so much they're practically bleeding at this point. "fine! everything's fine, i'm great actually." i clear my throat. "listen, uhm... i wanna make this quick since you're probably busy. is matty around?"
fuck me.
fucking elle. why'd she have to let me know they're in fucking london?
"matty? yeah, no, he's doing an interview at his flat at the moment."
not quite the answer i want to hear.
"i'm actually on my way there now, rhian, is everything alright?"
i drag my hand across my face. "oh, uh... that's lovely." the positivity in my tone can not sound any more fake. "uh... i was wondering when's a good time for me to come by? someone mentioned you're in london and—"
"you're in london?" for a moment i hear nothing but pure excitement in george's voice. "jesus, rhian, have you been here all this time?"
"yeah." i say quietly. "listen, G, i'm... i know you've been busy and i know you don't want me around and all but—" i take a deep breath. "i just feel the need to show up and apologise."
his line goes quiet for what seems like forever.
maybe this is a fucking mental idea.
i could hang up, make a silly excuse like having downed a bottle of wine and feeling a bit emotional. george would probably understand wouldn't he? he'd always been the one to understand me. matty was too caught up in himself to even do the sa—
"this is probably the best surprise i've gotten all year." george says. i can tell he's been climbing a flight of stairs from the sound of his breathing. "listen, i'll text you the address. please come by. we've missed you. and i won't tell matty, i promise, i want it to be a surprise."
my heart drops a little at the thought of seeing them again. "that's... great." i say. "thank you. thanks so much george."
"i'm so happy to here from you, rhian. guess we'll see you then?"
i realise i've been nervously tugging on the loose fabric of my sweater. "okay. see you, george."
for some reason i feel like george had been smiling even as i hang up the call.
"how was it sweetheart?" alice shouts excitedly from over the telly, her hand sitting on ollie's thigh.
in all honesty my mind is running a million miles a minute and all i can do is stare at the wall. what the fuck did i just do.
—
i'm standing outside his door.
my heart is beating out of my fucking chest. my hands are trembling and i'm not quite sure if it's the weather (it had just rained) or if it's the fact that i'm about to face something i have been escaping for so fucking long.
it had only taken me about less than an hour to get to central london actually, but doing the preparations took me about three. i had stood frozen under the shower for half an hour, just letting the memories seep under my skin.
then i cried for another half hour.
alice had me wear her white coat over my black polo neck jumper, just so i wouldn't look much of a drab. it took me forever to get my hair to actually look decent-- i had it clipped one part to the side because the weather's been windy lately.
nervous is an understatement. my hands have never been this clammy before.
i clutch my phone tightly, waiting for a vibration signaling george's reply to the text i had sent minutes ago.
hi, g. i'm right outside, honestly too nervous to knock if that's ok. let me know if you're by the door. - rhiannon
i couldn't get myself to read back on the past texts he had sent me throughout the year.
especially matty's.
mostly matty's.
he isn't a fan of texting, for sure, he mostly left voice messages for the first couple months and gradually stopped. it feels a little weird to have more texts from george than from my own ex boyfriend, but it is what it is i suppose.
i realise i never actually blame them for letting go so easily. i went radio silent and even turned my phone off for months on end. i'm the complete tosser and it's only right i'm feeling this way.
it's only right i want the ground to swallow me whole at the moment.
my phone doesn't vibrate but the door slightly opens and i hold my breath.
george looks different.
he'd chopped off his dirty blond hair that once sat above his shoulders, now it's slicked all the way back and it makes him look all cleaned up.
he closes the door behind him quietly before taking a step forward and wrapping me around his pale arms, my head now buried in his chest.
"george..." i whisper to his white tee shirt. he smells of coffee and mint cigarettes and it takes my mind back to living with them in manchester.
my chest feels a hundred times my weight. tears are stinging my eyes. i'm so sorry, george.
his eyes look sad in a way.
"i'm so sorry, rhian." he whispers, his chin sitting on top of my head.
i look up to see him frowning at me.
"matty didn't tell me. i thought it was just gonna be us."
they did say they were having an interview a few hours ago. maybe the people still haven't left.
"oh," i exhale, shaking my head, "that's alright, i can come back if that's more convenient—"
"i meant gabby's here, rhian. she'd been here since last night."
—
a/n: fuck lol sorry
i miss having george in this story i live for the subtle sexual tension they have lmao