Held By You - A Bradley Will Simpson Fanfiction

two

"How was your morning?" Ella asked as I walked through the door. The smile on my face was starting to ache at this point, and the corners of my mouth were twitching slightly. No matter how hard my body tried to get me to stop smiling, I absolutely, positively, could not.

"It was okay," I said, still trying keep a straight face. That wasn't going too well.

Ella turned around to look at me. Her blonde hair and bright green eyes could make anyone envious - not to mention she had the actual best body in all of London.  "It was 'okay'?" she asked.  "Lacey, your smile is nearly as big as Buckingham Palace. What happened? Did Henry put an extra shot of espresso in your coffee?"

I shook my head lightly and glanced out the window and into the coffee shop, where I could barely see the table that Brad and I had been sitting at just moments before. I remembered how quickly his emotions changed when his phone buzzed, and my emotions quickly changed as well. Why did he have to leave?

"Lacey? What's wrong?" Ella asked. I shook my head again, but smiled softly at her and went into my bedroom, shutting the door behind me.

Whatever. Just because a cute boy sat at the same table as me and had a two minute conversation with me, it doesn't mean anything. Right? It's okay. It's whatever.  But damn, he was so cute.

I unzipped my boots and tossed them across the room, leaning back onto my bed and glancing at the clock on my bedside table - 9:33 AM. The day was just beginning. I then looked in the mirror.  My grey eyes were, well, grey, and rather boring if I do say so myself.  My skin was pale and looked as if it hadn't seen real sun in months but, I mean, I lived in London - I couldn't really expect to have a tan.  I did have light freckles, though, so that was a plus, but I had always wished that I had dimples.  Dimples were cute.  Upon noticing the messy greaseball that was my average brown hair, I decided that I needed a shower.

Turning the water onto hot and letting it warm up, I grabbed my phone and put it on shuffle.

We're so late nights
Red eyes, amnesia, on ice
Late nights, red eyes,
amnesia, I need ya...

Jumping into the shower, I sang along with Zayn, and completely lost track of time when I heard a knock on the bathroom door.  "Lacey?" It was Ella's muffled voice. "You've been in there a while and we have to leave by 11:30 if we wanna be on time."

Damn.  I almost forgot that Wren, Ella's boyfriend, had asked Ella and I to come to the opening of his art exhibit.  "Shoot, Ell, I nearly forgot.  I'm so sorry, I'll be ready as quickly as I can," I half-yelled through the steam.  I never really enjoyed Wren's art, but it was important to Ella, so it was important to me.

I finished up in the shower, dried my hair, and threw on some light makeup. However, I picked out a fancier outfit than I was wearing that morning - a black dress with pink roses, black tights, black boots, and a light sweater to throw over it all. I quickly pulled a curling iron through my hair and pinned the top back.

"Lacey, we have to leave, like, right now. It's already 11:34."

"Alright, alright, I'm coming. Start the car, I'll be down in a minute." I heard Ella shut the door behind her as I quickly traced my lips with a pink matte lipstick. I grabbed my wallet, my iPhone, and my book, just in case I could find some time to sneak away from the exhibit.

~~~

We pulled into the museum where the show was being held at 11:58 - 2 minutes until it started. Ella and I rushed inside, and scanned the room for Wren. Ella spotted him against the left wall, dressed in a very nice suit with a dark green tie. He smiled when he saw us.

"Ella! There's my girl." He pulled her into a tight hug and gave her a peck. "And Lacey, I'm so glad you could make it. It really means a lot to me."

"Yeah, of course. I wouldn't miss it for the world." This was utterly untrue. I would have much rather been sitting in my bedroom reading poetry. But Ella was my best friend, and she wanted me there, so, of course, that's where I was.

The show began shortly thereafter, and wasn't scheduled to end until 4, followed by an after party at 5. A day-long affair, yes, but one I couldn't sit out even if I wanted to (and trust me, I certainly wanted to).  After the exhibit, Ella and Wren, who had one too many champagnes, hailed a cab to the after party, leaving me with the car.

I walked outside and slid into the drivers seat of the car.  After starting the ignition, I decided to go to the after party for only a short while,  and then head home.

Driving alone was always so calming for me.  I played soft music and focused on the road, lightly humming along to The 1975's "Paris" and watching the sun fall lower in the autumn sky.  London really was beautiful.  I grew up in a small town in Scotland, so moving here with Ella was a huge decision for me, but one that I've never regretted.

I pulled into the building where the after party was being held a few minutes before 5, so I took the extra time to check my hair and makeup, which surprisingly, didn't look too awful.  I reapplied lipstick and added a bit of hairspray, and by 5:02, I was strolling into the building.

The room was huge, and quite near empty.  Ella and Wren hadn't arrived yet, and the DJ was still setting up his equipment.  Not having anything else to do, I sat down at the bar and ordered a red wine.

Within the next 20 minutes or so, people began pouring in - and certainly people who hadn't been at the art show.  Ella and Wren finally showed up, and Ella joined me at the bar.

"I'll have a champagne," she said, her words slightly slurred.

"Ella, it's only, like, 5:30 and you're already tipsy.  From champagne.  Maybe you should take a break," I advised, smiling.

She smiled back even bigger.  "I'm doing just fine.  I think maybe you could use one."  In reply to this, I pointed at my wine and we both laughed.  She took her champagne and went to stand with Wren, who was talking to someone in a suit that I had never seen before.

Two glasses of wine and a few hours later, the after-party was filled with people and the DJ was playing a song that I had heard on the radio but didn't know the name of.  Darkness had fallen outside, but the night was still young.  Wren and Ella were on the dance floor, along with multiple other couples and a small group of single women.

I, on the other hand, was sitting at a table meant for eight people by myself.  That is, until someone sat beside me wearing all black from head to toe, except, of course, for his chocolate brown hair and his eyes that matched.