enduring love | miniminter

6

her breathing fell heavy, the two of them walked towards simon's door as ivy wiped her palms along her dress. "come on." he grinned, slowly pulling down the door handle.

"okay." she took a deep breath in, following his lead inside, instantly noticing the flat and how nice it appeared, then quickly averted her attention to the guys sat around the sofa and chairs, chatting to one another. it startled her for a moment, remembering the day that she left all of them, the way they all gathered in the kitchen glaring at her struggling to choke out her words.

"ivy!" jj yelled, standing up excitedly. he ran towards her, bringing her into a warm hug, "how are you?" he pulled away, smiling at her.

"i'm good, you?" she nodded, grinning up at him. probably the first time jj showed her attention in years, even when they were friends he began to forget about her existence.

"yeah, i'm great." he moved away, the rest of the guys walking in her direction.

"hey, ivy." tobi beamed, opening his arms wide. she instantly fell into them, holding him tightly, the two swaying on the spot, "i missed you." he hummed, pulling away.

"i missed you too." she inhaled, trying to hold back the tears as she is surrounded by everyone who she considered family for years. "hey cal and cal." she laughed, the two boys bringing her into a cuddle at the same time.

after greeting everyone else, ivy's nerves already began to settle as she messaged sage and esme the address. simon led ivy towards the kitchen, showing her the copious amounts of alcohol sat on the side, "what would you like?" he asked.

"erm," her eyes flickered across the bottles, "just a vodka lemonade please." she shrugged her shoulders, resting her body against the counter as simon made them both a drink.

"you seemed nervous earlier," he turned to look at her whilst twisting the cap off the lemonade, "you alright now?"

simon could sense ivy's nerves and tension the entire time they were together. he did not realise how well he still knew her, watching her play with her rings or hair like she once did when they were together was a clear indication of her anxiousness. but he always wanted to please her, or at least tried to.

"oh, right," she nodded, swallowing harshly, "i'm fine."

"good." he smiled, passing her the drink, their fingertips grazing against each other for a brief moment, "are your friends still coming?"

"mhm, just sent them the address."

the two walked over to everyone else with drinks in hand, ethan instantly patting the seat available between him and tobi. steadily sitting in between the two boys, she offered them both an appreciative smile whilst her body seized up, unsure of how to sit or what to do. though surrounded by very familiar faces, the situation did not feel quite so familiar.

"so, how have things been?" jj smiled.

"yeah, good." she nodded, grinning back.

"you seem to be doing pretty well now," vik suggested, "you know with the social media stuff?"

"mhm," she took a quick sip of her drink, "yeah i guess you could say that." she giggled, her body began to feel warm from the alcohol. "what's going on with you guys?" she questioned, glancing around the room.

"well, vik has a girlfriend, i don't know if you knew that?" simon raised an eyebrow, the rest of the guys laughing.

"yeah, i saw the post." she grinned.

"and i'm single now." harry huffed.

"i am too." lux nodded awkwardly.

"i'm sorry to hear that guys," ivy sighed, acting as though she did not know all the in's and out's of their relationships and what was going on with them, "enough of the relationship shit." she cleared her throat, forcing a laugh.