Held By You - A Bradley Will Simpson Fanfiction

one

There was a slight chill in the air, but the birds chirping let me know that the day was just beginning. I reluctantly climbed out of my bed and trudged toward the bay window, opening the curtains to allow the sunlight to pour in. My flat overlooked a part of London - the prettiest part, if you asked me, but not the most populated. Across the street, I saw a barista switching the sign from closed to open at my all-time favourite coffee shop.

I threw my messy brown hair into a high ponytail and quickly changed out of my pyjamas and into a more reasonable outfit for the early spring weather - light washed skinny jeans, a grey off-the-shoulder top, and a big white infinity scarf. I wondered if my best friend, Ella, was awake, but the snores coming from her bedroom told me otherwise. I threw on my boots, grabbed my wallet and a book, and headed out.

It was a lot colder than I thought it would be in the London air, and I silently cursed and wished I had grabbed a jacket. I shivered lightly and crossed the street to Q's Coffee.

"Good morning, Lacey, what can I get for you today?" the barista, Henry, asked. I had been coming to Q's nearly every morning since I moved here and it was no surprise that the barista knew me on a first name basis.

"Just the usual, please," I replied with a smile, taking a seat by the window. I pulled out my new poetry book called Eighteen Years and flipped to a random page.

r e a l

even with my heart
broken into
seven hundred
sixty-four thousand pieces,
somehow i still manage
to love you

I flipped the page again but was interrupted by Henry. "Here you are, Miss Parry - hazelnut coffee with extra cream. Enjoy."

I took a sip and called back to him, "thank you, Henry." I continued reading the poetry to myself for a while as customers came in and out the door. Only one customer in particular caught my eye.

He was just barely taller than I was with glowing brown eyes and chocolate hair that appeared so smooth that I couldn't help but crave to run my fingers through it.  He was wearing tight black skinny jeans and a black tshirt with, you guessed it, black vans. He didn't look too much older than me, either, maybe just by a year or two.

"Hello, what would you like today?" Henry asked the boy.  I could tell by his tone that this boy wasn't a regular.

"A large iced coffee," he said with a voice almost as smooth as his hair, "with French vanilla."

"Can I have your name, please?" Henry asked. This was not uncommon with new customers - the baristas liked to learn names in case the newbies became regulars.

"Brad," the boy said confidently. He stepped back a few paces after placing his order and glanced around the coffee shop. His eyes briefly landed on mine, and he gave a small smile, which I returned before pretending to read my book.

Wow, was all I could think. Brad was gorgeous. Why had I never seen him before?

I actually did return to my book this time, my thoughts lost in the writing. I was interrupted in the middle of the poem when Brad pulled a chair over, set his iced coffee down, and sat directly across from me.

"Hi," was all he said. I folded the corner of the page I was on and set the book beside my coffee.

"Hello," I said back.  "Were there no other open tables?" I added, and immediately regretted it.  Great job, Lace.  Sass clearly is the best way to go about this situation.

He laughed a bit and took a sip of his coffee. "What are you reading?" he asked.

My eyes lit up.  A boy who might actually read?  You don't come across those very often.  "It's poetry," I explained, "by Madisen Kuhn."

"Cool," he said in reply, taking a sip of his coffee.  "I don't read poetry, but I'm into music a little, and lyrics are kinda the same thing, right?"

I took a sip of my coffee as well, noticing that when he spoke, his teeth were whiter than Ella at a dance club.  "Yeah, kinda, but poetry doesn't always have to have rhyme or rhythm.  A lot of the time they're about the same sort of things, though."

"Cool," he said again.  He seemed to think that everything I said was "cool".  "Do you come here a lot?"

I finished off my coffee and placed the empty mug back onto the table.  "Yeah, I do, actually," I responded.  "I come here almost every morning with Ell- I mean, my friend.  We live in the area."  Stupid.  What if he's a serial killer?  Now he can figure out where you live.  And you're going to die.  Idiot.  At least he's a cute serial killer.  "I've never seen you here before, though, where are you from?"

He finished his coffee as well, sipping on just ice and condensation.  "Oh, you know, around."  He said, clearly being intentionally evasive.  "I don't really-"

Buzz buzz.  "Sorry," he said, pulling his phone out of his pocket.  His gorgeous eyes scanned a text message, he quickly typed a reply, and looked back at me.  "Sorry," he said again, "but I have to go."  He stood up and started towards the door, but turned back almost immediately.  "Actually, I don't think I caught your name."

"Lacey," I said.  "Lacey Parry."

"Well, it was a pleasure speaking with you, Lacey Parry.  I'm Brad," he said.  "Bradley Will Simpson."

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A/N Hi everyone! This is my first story that is about a person and not a fictional character, so please please please let me know what you think!

I will update this story as frequently as I humanly can, so bear with me!

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Love always,
Sadie