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"𝗬𝖮𝗨'𝗥𝗘 𝗔 𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗔𝗟."
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"And what's wrong with your face? Look like you've been sucking too many lemons." Cory chuckled, taking a seat next to Elle on the bench. With his joke not exactly getting the reaction he had initially hoped. "Maybe too far?"
"If you're going to talk then do so." Elle replied bluntly, twiddling her thumbs. "This better be worth my time, although anything's better than whatever is going on back there." She said, referring to Jacob spilling Riz's secret.
"Well, first of all I want to say I'm sorry and anything that happened with Candice meant absolutely nothing." The older boy started, before swiftly being cut off by his girlfriend.
"Just like the rest of them then, me included?"
"Ells, don't start. I thought we were past this stage, aren't we?" Cory sighed, feeling like everything was going one step forwards and two steps back. "This time I thought I'd really proved myself."
"I mean you really have but I guess the past just caught up with you, didn't it?" She said, shrugging her shoulders. "You know the more I think of it, I don't really have the right to be mad when it was before me and you were actually committed. I guess it was just the shock."
"This isn't the reaction that I had expected but it was certainly the one that I had wanted." He said, smiling away to himself. "So it means you and me are alright, yeah?"
"I guess when you love somebody this much your willing to stand by them through anything, this might be a good example." Elle returned the faint smile. "You and me are more than alright."
"Did you just say you love me?" Cory blushed a little, with his smile growing wider. "What did I do to get this lucky?"
"Indirectly." The blonde chuckled, hiding the slight embarrassment. "Now shut up, I don't like being this soppy."
"Well, one last thing. I love you too, Elle." The older boy said, managing to slip a final word in there, receiving a long embrace from his girlfriend in reply. "Seeing as we're alright, would you do me a favour?"
"Depends, what is it?" Elle questioned, raising an eyebrow at him.
"Would you mind coming with me to Candice's for a bit, just to see Jamie?" Cory asked, although he didn't remain hopeful that his girlfriend would in fact say yes. "I mean that's even if she lets me."
"Do you think that's a good idea?" The girl remained hesitant about the situation. "I mean I'm nowt to do with the kid and I don't want to get in the way of anything, especially with the Murgatroyds."
"Why does it matter what they think? Your my girlfriend, nothing that lot can do about it." He instantly shrugged it off, giving a little bit more reassurance to the girl. "So please, for moral support?"
"Sure, but you owe me one." Elle instantly gave in, with her answer leaving Cory slightly puzzled. "You owe me a kebab on the way back."
"Deal." He nodded in reply, as the pair began on the short walk to the Murgatroyd household.
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"Are you sure you want to do this?" Elle softly asked as the pair made it to the front door, sensing Cory's nervousness which was an occasion that didn't happen much too often. "We can turn back if you really want to."
"It's fine, I've got this." He said, shaking his head and raising a hand to knock on the door before quickly retrieving it. "Go and knock on the door for me will ya?"
"Do you want me to speak for you as well?" She said with a sarcastic tone, before knocking on the door and pushing the taller boy to the front. "Good luck with a sprog if you can't even work out how a door works."
"What are you doing here?" Candice came to the door with Jamie attached to her hip, slightly surprised at the couple's presence. "And you, you two alright?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I'll let him fend for himself." Elle gave her a sympathetic smile, remaining in Cory's shadow.
Still not being able to say a word, the new dad instead put his arms out in reach to Jamie to his surprise that Candice would actually pass him over. A few gurgles came out of the baby, getting a faint smile from his dad.
"Certainly likes his dad, don't he?" The teen mum said, tilting her head to the side to watch the pair.
"You're a natural." His girlfriend reassuringly said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Have you found your tongue yet, Cory?"
"Do you want a hold of him?" Were the first words to fall out of his mouth, holding Jamie out in front of him for Elle to take. "Promise, he doesn't bite."
"Go ahead, he's got to get to know you at some point." Candice but in, offering the girl a reassuring smile. "I mean it."
"Maybe it's not so bad after all, eh?" The smaller girl said, with the little one now in her arm, before swiftly passing him back to Cory.
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"I can't believe that they've still not gotten rid of this." Missy chimed, with the three best friends sitting on the top of their usual meeting place, on top of the brown sofa which sat upon the skip.
"I know, it's the council, isn't it? My mum's dead mad about it." Nas chuckled, swigging from the bottle of cider, maintaining the girl's tradition.
"Give me some of that." Elle sighed before reaching for the bottle of cider out of Nasreen's reach, chugging most of the drink. "Much better."
"I thought you were well off of that stuff."
"Good on her, down it!" Missy chanted, with the blonde haired girl taking one last swig of the bottle. "That's my girl!"
"I needed it, today's just been a lot to comprehend." The girl started before going to ramble on. "Finding out that your boyfriend's a teen dad to Riz Nawaz having the hots for me, it's a lot to take in."
"No brainer, go for Riz. He's got money!" Missy chimed, receiving a disapproving glare from Nas. "What? I was just saying what we were both thinking."
"Enough of that stuff, I think I'm going to be sick." Elle shook her head, full of instant regret after pretty much downing the whole bottle of cider.
"Makes a change from you, Missy." Nas lightly chuckled, as the slightly intoxicated girl had her two best friends around for the moral support or to hold her hair back if she did have to throw up.
The only thing that really mattered right now was that the girls were still having the times of their lives, even if it did consist of spewing up after one drink.
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sorry for the long break i've had away from here, i really needed some time to work on myself. it's fair to say i'm doing a lot better now!
you'll be glad to know this will be the last chapter before i go onto start season two which i can't wait for... i hope you are too <3
last thing, i have another ackley book in works and may release some time soon once i have the initial plot and all that nailed down. which of the boys would you like to see as a love interest? the book will just focus on the one (rather than whatever you call this mess of a book) and i'm thinking of riz.
