New Man || Reece Bibby

-- SIX --

The clock struck five in the morning as Reece slowly awoke from the two hours sleep he had managed to get that night. Sleeping was the last thing on his mind after he got back from walking Amelia home.

Anger - a strong feeling of annoyance or hostility.

It angered him how he had to conceal his feelings around her. The pure emotions burned him inside like a small flame burning on a bonfire. He kept telling himself that eventually they would dissipate and he would be able to maintain a healthy friendship, but simply being Amelia's friend wasn't enough. Deep down he knew that nothing was going to change about their friendship unless he did something about it, however doing so could either extend their bond from friends into lovers, or it could completely tear the two apart. The risk of loosing his best-friend was one to greater to take.

Two long hours gradually passed along as the blonde boy drifted in and out of sleep, his thoughts continuing to evolve around the same person as always.

"Are you awake?" His phone lit up with message from his fellow band member George.

"Yeah, been up since five. Why you up so early?" It wasn't unusual for the two to be awake at such an early hour of dawn - Blake was the one who slept the longest.

"Neighbours dog won't stop barking, what about you?" Excuses flooded his mind as he carefully went through each one deciding which was most believable this time. Lying was one of his bad habits - it had become part of daily life since discovering how he really felt towards Amelia.

"Noisy neighbours mate"

"Fair enough. You packed yet? I finished last night."

"Doing it today, been quite busy. Lia's coming round to help."

"You're really going to miss her aren't you. Not gonna lie to you mate, you would be well cute together. Your so close to each other"
Reece knew he was going to have to confess to his friends while away. They figured out too much on their own to keep it a secret from them any longer.

"Yeah I'm gonna miss her more than anything to be honest. Really? I've never looked at it like that."
Everyday he had woken up that had been the first thought on his mind. How close they were with one another. How she got on well with his friends. How she constantly found a way to get through the tougher times.

"We'll have a chat about it on tour bud, I'm going to carry on packing now. Talk to ya later"

"Talk later G"

Amelia was due to visit at ten in the morning and the current time was twenty minutes past seven - just under three hours for him to prepare himself for an emotionally difficult visit. Leaving home was a hard idea to deal with for any regular human, however it was even harder to leave when home was a person. A person he wanted hold so dearly and never let go. A person who had comforted him, and who he had comforted. A person who had been there for him since the beginning of his career. A person who he had started to love in a different way to how they loved him.

"Reece I'm hereeee!" A familiar voice shouted as the door closed, snapping him out of his short sleep.

"Upstairs Lia" He mumbled, the lack of sleep clearly present in the form of dark patches on the under of his eyes. The eyes that were once bright green but had darkened due to emptiness, tiredness, and an overwhelming amount of unknown thoughts.

"Have you only just woken up?" The small girl said as she climbed into bed next to him, his instincts instantly pulling her closer to him. It was times like this where his only wish was to hold her forever. To hold her together when she was feeling broken. To lean down and kiss her forehead to let her know he was here. To hold her like a lover.

"Yeah, had a rough night. Do you want a drink or something?"

"Don't worry, I'll make them. Come to the kitchen when your ready"

The strong smell of freshly made coffee filled his senses as he walked into the room, aiding him in waking up properly. After one sip, the caffeine started rushing through his blood as though it was manically trying to restore the loss of energy inside.

"Thank you Lia, should we drink these while packing?" He suggested in hope the answer would be yes. Sitting down to chat over a coffee would normally be seen as a friendly thing to do; However, if they were to sit down with one another the thoughts in his brain would gradually build up. They would build and build and build - putting so much weight on his shoulders that it was painful, but not an aching pain. A pain that could not be described to the poor girl without confession how he felt.

"Yeah sure!"

***

The two were in the middle of the lengthly process of packing after spending around an hour messing around.

"I'm really going to miss you Lia. This time just feels different and I'm not sure why."
It hurt him, lying to her every time they spoke but he couldn't help it. Lying had become a weakness.

Weakness - a person or thing that one is unable to resist or likes excessively.

"Maybe its because we've grown up a bit more since last time. We've been spending more and more time together and thats obviously going to have an effect on leaving each other."

"Good point. I just hate feeling like I'm abandoning you - cause thats not the case. If I could bring you with me I would."

"Don't worry about me Reece, I won't be alone. I'll more than likely go to Belle's a lot, then I want to visit my parents 'cause I haven't seen them in ages."

Belle - Amelia's female best friend, her partner in crime. The two didn't have to see each other everyday to be friends, but was always there for one another when something happened.

"Fair enough, I'm still going to face-time you whenever I can. Three weeks is a long time."

"I'm trying not to think about that yet, it will probably hit me tomorrow. I really will miss you too Reece, your my best friend and you've been there for me a lot over the past few months."
He quickly embraced her in his arms as there wasn't anything else he could have said. He wanted to tell her he loved her but it would only hurt him more knowing she would say it back as a friend.
After a while of holding her close, he pulled away deciding to carry on packing.

Tomorrow was going to be a long day...