Love At First Lie | Herophine Fic

Making Up For Lost Time

JOSEPHINE

Since finding Hero in Hyde Park a few days ago, I've stayed at his flat with him ever since. Of course, I've had to go home to collect the essentials for when you're staying out. Toiletries, underwear, and a few clothes to change into. But mainly, I've been wearing Hero's clothes when I can. He's quite frivolous in letting me too; he says I suit them. Even if they are about three sizes too big for me and absolutely bury me.

Every time I've been home, Mia's been there with us heading into the Christmas break. She always makes a point of finishing a few days earlier than everyone else so she has longer off over the festive period. Not that I blame her, I usually join her and likely will be next year too. It gives not only her but me a chance to catch up with our friends and family back home in Australia. Everyone's busy at this time of year, no matter where you live.

I've also made a point every time I've gone home to make sure Mia is okay with me staying out. I don't want her to think I've just abandoned her since finding Hero. That I've just kicked her to the curb because he's now back in my life. But she's assured me, she's more than fine with me spending time with him and being at his place. In her words, we're making up for lost time. Which, I suppose, is the truth. Because of the producers, we've missed out on time together so we have some catching up to do.

Luckily, starting my new job and Hero having a laid-back boss means we have plenty of time to play about with. Which both of us have agreed to make the most of before we return to normality. Partially, it feels like we're back in the show. Like we're back in the little bubble our bedroom allowed us to create so we could just be ourselves in there, away from the cameras and prying eyes. The only difference, of course, is we lived by the producer's rules in the house. Here, we make our own rules.

This is why today, we're making the most of our free time and making up some lost time too by venturing out to The Sky Garden. I've never been to it but I'm excited. It was Hero's suggestion yesterday evening. We said we wanted to go out over dinner. We were just unsure where to go. There are not a lot of places I've not been to since moving to London and given that Hero's lived here all his life, even more so for him. Apparently, it's been a good while since he went there and things have been added since then too.

Alongside the large botanical gardens, set above the city in Fenchurch, there are a collection of restaurants and cafes there to enjoy too. His suggestion did give me a good giggle; he started his proposition off with you're not afraid of heights, are you? I couldn't help but laugh. Clearly, he forgot about our little trip on the Ferris wheel. Although given what followed it, that's no surprise.

Alighting from our tube ride at Monument Station, we head straight up to the surface hand in hand. We're greeted with tall, high-rise buildings, ranging from modern skyscrapers to traditional, Georgian and Victorian buildings. The cold, biting air whips between the buildings against us as we press on against the cold. Hand in hand, we continue through the streets of Fenchurch until we come to the tall skyscraper that's home to The Sky Garden. The locals know it as the Walkie Talkie, simply because of its shape. I'll admit, it does look like that, kind of.

"Ready?" Hero asks, squeezing my hand while looking up to where we'll be shortly. My gaze follows his and squeezing his hand in return, I tell him I am and we press on, heading to the entrance.

After queuing up for a short while and taking the bespoke elevator up forty-three floors, we're now surrounded by nothing but greenery. Despite the queue, there's barely anyone up here. It's a stark but welcome difference. No matter where you go I. The city at the minute, it's bustling with tourists. Not only from the UK but from all over the world. Everyone flocks here in the hopes of a white Christmas, like what you see in the movies. But it's never happened since I've been here. Apparently, it's much rarer than people think.