*Jessie's P.O.V*
I reflected upon the lovely few hours I had during the taxi ride home. I love being driven around because it gives me an opportunity to observe the little things in the landscape that you wouldn't otherwise notice, you see the true beauty of what is around you. The outskirts of London could actually be quite pretty, they were as close to the country as you could get for miles around, and observing the endless hedgerows and clusters of trees allowed my thoughts to get lost in a complete daydream. The few, precious, hours spent with Ed had been really enjoyable- I especially loved how relaxed and peaceful it was, just us quietly enjoying each other's company.
Excited to tell Holly all about my day, I paid the driver and hurried back to my hotel room where Holly continued to stay alongside myself. Holly was an amazing dancer, and had several rounds of ballet auditions that week so she made the decision to stay with me while I was doing some singing promotion. It meant a lot to me that Holly was so supportive, we were childhood best friends and even closer now, she always looked out for me and I did exactly the same for her. She was more like a sister than a best friend, considering we practically lived together most of the time.
I unlocked the hotel room, stepping inside to see a bundle of bouncing red curls flurrying towards me. "Woaaah Holly! What's got you in such a rush?" I asked her, wondering why she had a sudden burst of energy, in complete contrast to her tiring last through days. "Jess I got through! I am going to be dancing in one of the musicals at the West End! They haven't told me anything specific yet but they definitely want me!" I wasn't given time to speak, as she began squealing and hopping around, squeezing me in for a hug. When she finally let go, I expressed how proud I was of her. "Hol, that's amazing! You have worked so hard for this, it has all paid off- do you want to celebrate later?" Holly was never one to pass up a night out, and gladly agreed before remembering where I had been the last few hours.
"Gosh, sorry, I got completely sidetracked! How was Ed?" Holly teased me, still continuing to prance around. I described to the hyper red head how perfect the last few hours had been, taking her through every single detail of what we did, and practically told her everything we said. Holly looked surprised, as if she wasn't expecting all those gestures from Ed. "Wow he went to a lot of effort, maybe I got him wrong.." She trailed off, clearly feeling guilty about her previous disregard of him. "Well you better change your opinions considering you, me and Clair are going to his gig next week!" Holly may not fully appreciate Ed as something more than a friend for me, yet, but she adores his music and really appreciates how good he is at what he does. We went on to discuss the details in full, making sure Holly could definitely make it, fitting everything around her extra dance rehearsals.
"It was really nice of him to invite us..Or did you suggest it?" Holly asked, wondering whether it was in fact me that pushed to get tickets for my two best friends. "No, honestly, it was completely Ed's idea, he wants to get to know you and Clair better I think, we all get along really well anyways, it should be a good night!" It was really generous of Ed to arrange for my friends to come along too, especially since it was supposed to be a sold out gig that we were going to. Holly clattered the wardrobe door open, throwing a dress at me. "Are we getting ready or not?"
Holly had picked out a little black dress for me to wear, as she said herself it was a "classic". We were meeting up with Clair for a few drinks and a catch up to fill her on our plans for next week's gig. Holly wore a beaded red bodycon dress, and took a while trying to find the perfect pair of shoes to match. "Hurry up!" I said, half an hour later, as she was still making her decision. We were finally ready and walking out the door when my phone bleeped, showing up a message. I saw the familiar name on my screen and couldn't help but grin as I opened the text from Ed. "Need I even ask?" Holly laughed, ushering me out the door.
*Ed's P.O.V*
I cleared all the food from the living room, putting everything back into it's place and gently humming to myself with happiness. I really couldn't care if Stu got grumpy about the state of the kitchen, I was in such a good mood and nothing could disturb that. My thoughts ran away with me as I wandered aimlessly, chucking various pans into the dishwasher, hoping the cleaning would magically occur by itself. I couldn't stop thinking about her. I hadn't really felt like this since.. well, Alice. I felt closure, like I was secure in our progressing time together and I was taking this opportunity to let myself go. After the breakdown of a serious relationship, I had initally found it difficult to break down my walls again, and show my true emotions after I completely put my heart on the line, for it later to be broken. For the first time, I felt like I could let my guard down a little bit more than I had been able to for a while.
I seemed to have been in that kitchen forever, still thinking over the last few hours, as I hadn't actually made much of an effort to clean up whatsoever. You see, this is why I can only cook one meal and make a pretty bad job of clearing everything away afterwards, I get sidetracked so easily. I am way too clumsy to carry out anything efficently, I don't think I have ever gone a week without smashing a plate or mug as they fall out of Stuart's crammed cupboards. I felt really guilty about breaking them all to begin with, but Stuart and his girlfriend are totally used to it now, it's practically part of our everyday routine.
I made a few phone calls after eventually finishing the tedious task of cleaning up, to ensure that Jessie and her friends would definitely be able to get into the gig next week. Thankfully the venue didn't seem to mind me squeezing another three people in, which I was grateful for as had sold out, much to my delight. It was completely crazy to see my support network increase so quickly, it was only a few months ago that I was playing in my local pub to about five people, two of whom were my own Mum and Dad, and now I was selling out clubs and bigger venues. I really appreciated everyone's kind words of my work, I found it difficult not being able to thank everybody personally but I still tried to meet fans as much as I could after every show, but that was becoming more difficult as the venues gained in size.
I had no plans for tonight, until Murray (my cousin) rang me up to announce that "the gang" were going out for several shots. I happily obliged, it had been a while since all the lads had got together to make a night of it, and it would be nice to be able to have a full day of relaxation- something which hadn't happened in a long time. I liked to have a busy schedule, but I also enjoyed taking the occasional day out to spend time with those closest to me. It was difficult living in London with my school friends back in Suffolk, but I had got to know more people through my cousins and they now made a thing of all coming to see my gigs, which was nice. My family and friends were always so supportive of everything I did, I was so glad of that, even at sixteen I had been allowed to move to London completely by myself, hardly knowing anyone.
Being signed was the most surreal thing that had happened to me, I still couldn't get over it now, I was so grateful for everyone helping me out at the label, especially Stu, who put a lot of effort and time into pushing me further in what I was doing, and sacrificing his own sofa, which was obviously appreciated more than anything. I had sofa surfed ever since arriving in London, and was completely used to it now, it felt weird being back in my own bed when I was at home with my parents. Next week's gigs was something to really look forward to because it was the first line of them since I had been signed, so I could showcase my released and unreleased songs, playing some new material which I was excited about.
With Jessie still on my mind, I dropped her text, making general conversation about the details for meeting her next week, so she could come backstage with her friends before and after.I loved how natural the exchanges between us were, the conversation just seemed to completely flow- it wasn't at all forced, unlike the vast majority of conversations I took part in on my phone. I was just composing another text when Murray knocked on the door, jeering for me to come out. It was going to be an heavy night!
