Love isn't something that weak people do

The Morning

Aled sat up in his bed at the sound of his phone beeping. Bleary eyed, he snoozed the alarm, and took in his surroundings. The hotel room was small and, while sparsely furnished, still cosy. Due to delayed trains getting up to Yorkshire last night it was after midnight by the time he had checked in and he had been too tired to really notice the decor. It was fairly plain. The furniture that was there was dark wood, and there was one tall lamp in the corner with a dark red shade. Why did hotels insist on not giving decent lighting, Aled wondered. Hanging above his bed was a large, framed, black and white print of open fields, with a regency Manor house in the background of the photo. Aled looked at it for some time. He assumed the photographer who took the print was going for dramatic, but Aled wasn't sure. He thought it looked a bit dystopian. As if a zombie hoard was going to appear from out of the frame at any moment and stagger their way towards the house, looking for their next human feast. Not exactly welcoming, thought Aled.

His alarm went off again. Aled threw the covers back, stood up, and dismissed it. He stretched and made his way over to the little tea tray on the dressing table to switch on the mini kettle. He needed a mug of tea in silence before he made his way downstairs for the breakfast buffet, and the noise that would inevitably go with it.

As Aled sipped his tea, and scrolled through the news on his tablet, his phone on the table next to him buzzed. It was a message sent into the group chat that had been set up for today:

TARA: morning all! What time are people heading for breakfast? Don't want to be sat there like a loser on my own!

Aled took another swig of tea, and was just about to type a reply when another message came in

ELLE: Tao and I are already down here. I have to head off to see Charlie in a bit so Tao will be all alone if you wanted to have a breakfast buddy. I think he's trying to get his money's worth from the buffet. He'll be here a while!!

Aled grabbed the clothes that he'd worn the night before and threw them on, quickly typed a message into the group chat to say he was making his way down to breakfast now too, and grabbed his room key. It was probably easier to get breakfast done early, he thought. It would them give him more time to get ready for the day.

Aled felt a little disorientated as he walked down the long hotel corridor, hoping he had gone in the right direction for the lift. He rounded a corner, and saw Tara coming out of one of the rooms. She caught sight of him too and beamed "Aled! Are you heading downstairs?" Aled nodded, and they gave each other a quick hug before continuing to walk towards the lifts. Aled hadnt seen Tara in quite some time, and he couldn't help but smile at how well she looked. He'd heard through the grapevine that she had recently broken up with her girlfriend of just under a year, which (according to Charlie) everyone was secretly thrilled about as no one was particularly keen on her.
Even though, like Aled, Tara had clearly just rolled out of bed for breakfast she still managed to look wonderfully chirpy. "Sounded like you had a nightmare journey." Tara said while Aled pushed the call button for the lift.
"Yeah, it took ages. The train didn't have a driver or something. But on the bright side, I got loads of work done while stuck there, so I could just go straight to bed when I finally arrived."
The lift doors opened and they stepped inside.
"That's good." Tara said as she pushed the button for the ground floor "You didn't miss much last night. A few people were in the bar catching up. I only had one drink. Decided on an early night."
The lift doors opened to reveal the ornate hotel lobby. They walked past the reception desk towards the dining room, and Aled smelt the enticing aroma of a fry up. His stomach rumbled as he realised with all the chaos of the train travel yesterday, he hadn't had anything to eat since lunchtime.

Tara and Aled had just joined the que for the cooked breakfast when;
"ALED LAST!" Shouted a voice from the far end of the restaurant. Aled look round to see Tao striding his way over to them. He wrapped Aled in a bear hug so suddenly, Aled lost his balance and nearly fell backwards into the tray of sausages. "Hello stranger!" Said Tao "So good to see you!"
"Good to see you too mate." Aled replied as he started to pile his plate with eggs, sausages and bacon. Tao grabbed a plate and did the same. Aled gave a small laugh "haven't you eaten already?"
Tao shrugged "it's a buffet. Plus lunch won't be for ages. It never is at these things." The boys continued to plate up their breakfast as Tao filled Aled in on trivial details from last night's reunion drinks.
They made their way over to the table. Tara and Elle were aleady deep in conversation about the dress Elle was wearing later on. As he approached the table Aled heard her say "...of course she hates the colour, but it does look lovely on her."
"Morning Elle"
"Aled! So nice to see you!" Elle stood up and gave him a quick hug and a peck on the cheek. She hadn't changed much in the two years since Aled had last seen her. Her hair was a little longer perhaps, but otherwise she looked exactly the same as always.
Elle was just about to sit back down when a small cough from behind Aled made everyone look up.
A lady with dark hair and a pale face stood there. She carried a large dress bag and was looking directly at Elle "You ready?" She asked.
"Tori?" Said Aled
"Hi." She replied, then added "Aled Last." As if to confirm who she was speaking to. "You stopped making your podcast. I was disappointed by that."
Aled didn't really know how to reply to that so instead asked "How's Charlie?"
"Dunno. Nervous, I guess. I dunno really." She looked back at Elle "you ready?
Elle nodded, said her goodbyes to the group and followed Tori out the dining room. Aled watched them leave. Tori Spring hadn't changed in the years since school, and was still as intimidating and direct as always. Tori didn't like small talk much. Conversations with her often seemed to go straight to the deep stuff, or she tapped out and refused to engage if she wasn't interested. Aled admired that about her.

****************

Aled, Tara and Tao headed back up to their respective rooms to shower and get changed, and agreed to meet back in the hotel lobby by 11.
As Aled got out the shower and was drying himself his phone started buzzing like mad with a flurry of messages coming in:

SAHAR: did anyone bring any hairspray? I forgot mine and I can't get the curls to stay in my hair!

ELLE: there's some in my room which I'm not using. room 215.
I'm in Charlie's room though so I'm not there.

ELLE:@tao will you get it out pls!? The pink can with the white lid. It's in the small yellow bag.

TAO: On it. @sahar pop round whenever you're ready.

SAHAR: thanks! You're a life saver!

TAO: @elle where did you pack my belt?

TAO: never mind. Found it.

TAO: @elle where did you pack my socks?

ELLE: with your shoes.

TAO: @elle where did you pack my shoes?

ELLE: TAO!

SAHAR: Tao, how do you manage to leave the house successfully when Elle's not there?

TAO: I don't. The other day I packed my own lunch and forgot a spoon for my yogurt. I had to lick it out of the pot!

ELLE: 🤦‍♀️

TARA: @Elle do you have a red lipstick? I just dropped mine and its broken!

DARCY: YO PARIS PEEPS!!! Me and Katie are ready so going to go look for Nick in the bar if anyone would like to join us.

Aled shrugged on his suit and shoved his feet into his shoes. The suit was one of his favourites which he had bought for wearing on his last convention tour. It was a slim fit, in a deep purple colour and, despite Frances saying it made him look like Willy Wonka, he felt amazing in it. He paired it with a black shirt with small purple polka dots on, and a thin purple tie.
Aled ran a brush through his long hair and tied it up into a bun, looked at his reflection, sighed, and let it down again. He hated when he couldn't decide what to do with his hair. The ends could really do with trimming, and the colour (currently pink) was starting to fade a little too much to be able to say it was deliberate. Oh well, he thought, too late to do anything about it now.
He sent a quick reply to Darcy in the group chat:
ALED: @darcy I'm just about ready so will see you soon. I'll have an IPA if you're buying.

DARCY: YES ALED! Glad someone is on my wavelength! Nick is refusing to drink yet, so it's just me. I will have a pint ready and waiting for you.

Aled shoved his phone in his pocket, made sure he had his room key and his wallet and headed for the door. Just as he did, his phone buzzed again. It was another message from Elle, but this time it was a picture message.
It was a selfie of her, Tori and Charlie holding up champagne flutes. Elle and Charlie were grinning like the Cheshire Cat, and even Tori looked mildly happy. The message that accompanied it said;
ELLE: uh oh. Don't let Nick know his fiance has already had two glasses of prosecco!! I promise we'll stop now, no one wants a drunk groom sluring his vows!!