When We Were Young - George Daniel

CHAPTER FIFTEEN (emo fringe)

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Hey guys! Thank you so much to everybody reading my book! I managed to hit over 500 reads so I'm going to do a double update! I'll post the next chapter in a few hours.

xoxo

August, 2009

"Fuck, Matty's here!" George whispered.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

"Does he know you're home?"

I shook my head. "No, I haven't told him yet! Ugh, he's gonna hate me!"

"Alright, um okay, I'll go down and bring him up and I suppose you can just surprise him. Yeah?"

"Uh, yeah I guess so. Fuck," I giggled in disbelief. "Kinda wish he hadn't have turned up right this minute."

George winked at me. "Same babe, same."

I heard the two lads talking once Matty came into the house and my heart beat started going like mad. I really hoped he wasn't bothered with me being at George's house first and not his but once I explained how we saw each other he couldn't be angry, right?

I quickly checked my appearance in the small mirror hanging on George's wall. Fiddling with misplaced strands of hair I eventually came to the conclusion that there was absolutely zero I could do to change my current appearance. If it was good enough for George to passionately make out with me it'd surely be fine for Matty.

"Well you didn't have to storm out like you did mate, made things so fucking awkward and that girl I ha-" Matthew stopped mid sentence when he saw me standing in the middle of his best friends bedroom.

"Evie?"

"Hi Matty," I waved with a weak smile.

That moment felt like hours before he came bounding up to me, picking me up and spinning me around.

"Holy shit balls, I can't believe you're home!"

"Put me down before I wretch all over George's floor," I giggled.

"Shit," he mumbled as he put me back down. "You're really here."

I shrugged. "Guess I am. Miss me?"

"Like I'd miss air if I didn't have it!" He told me hugging me tight once more. "How are you?"

"Yeah, alright," I sighed, sitting back on George's bed. George took a seat at his desk chair and Matty joined me on his mates bed.

"Alright?" His face was concerned. God, he looked so much older than when I saw him two years ago. His hair was super fluffy and shaggy, he sorta had an 'emo' fringe now with a few highlights here and there.

"Just mum, making life more difficult than it needs to be as per usual," I told him.

"What'd she do?" George asked.

"I asked her if I could get a phone, she said that she had to wait for dad to be home to discuss it with him. Like, are you kidding me?" I groaned loudly, looking up at the ceiling.

"That's fucking stupid!" -Matty.

"I'm pretty sure Lisa got a new phone the other day, I can ask her if you can have her old one?" George suggested, Lisa being one of his older sisters.

"Really? That would be so good, would save the shit I'd get for the money they'd have to fork out for me. I'd much rather avoid the drama if I could."

"Yeah, no stress! Let me go see if she's in." George got up in search of his sister.

It was now just me and Matty.

"So...." he said with a smirk.

"So?"

"What were you two doing up here?" He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. 

I could feel my face heating up at Matty's teasing and pushed his arm playfully. "Shut up Matthew."

"Hah!" He laughed loudly pointing at me. "You didn't answer my question babe. Picking up where you two left off I see!"

"And so what if we were!" I said matter of factly. "Like you can talk anyway. Probably shagged a hundred more girls since I seen you last?" There was no denying Matty was attractive, he always had been. And going off the stories that they both told me back when they came to see me at Bedford, I could only imagine they got worse as he'd gotten older.

"Hundred and one actually," he teased. "Fuck!" He hugged me again tightly. "Just so fuckin' stoked you're back!"

"Me too." I pulled away from him and shuffled back on George's bed. "Just feels so weird though."

"I bet," Matty mirrored my movements and we sat with our backs against the wall. Matty reached over for some of George's stray drumsticks and tapped them lightly on the bed. I watched him as I thought. 

"You know, you guys have just had so many cool experiences, so many funny stories to tell," I thought aloud. "I kinda lost my shit at George before coz it all just hit me all of a sudden." Our eyes met.

"You can't dwell on it though, Eve," he spoke softly. 

"I know," I sighed. "It's just hard though. Hard adjusting back to the only life I knew. I just can't believe so many years have passed now and we're all nearly in our twenties. Well you, Hann and Ross are in your twenties now!"

"It's weird hey!?"

I nodded.

"Very."

"I know!" Matty's eyes lit up and he threw the sticks down in excitement. "Let's have a mother fucking welcome home party!!"

"What, tonight?" I laughed at his melodramatic behaviour. 

"Yeah why not?" He got up and walked over to George's window, winding it open and pulling out a fag and his lighter. "Want one?"

"Sure." We both sat on the couch next to George's window and drowned our lungs in black tar. 

"Doesn't have to be a massive party just you know, the gang."

"So just the five of us then?"

"Eh," Matty shrugged. "Probably a few more than that. People from around the area we've met in the years you've been gone."

"Oh," I looked down picking at a scab on my the top of my foot.

"Evie," he reached out and grabbed my hand. "Please don't get sad. You're home now and things can go back to the way they used to be. It will be like you never left."

"That isn't possible Matty."

"Got it!" George came marching into his room holding up a phone. "She gave you her old case and everything," he smiled handing his sister's old phone to me with a glitter case. 

"Yay! Thanks Georgie!" I leaped up and hugged him. "You are the best."

"Dude, fancy a party tonight?" Matty interrupted.

"Of course. Where?"

"My place. Mum and dad are away in Newcastle with Louis." He threw the butt of his cig out the window.

"Oi mate, don't mum'll ring my neck coz she'll think it's me," George scolded him.

I winced. "Oh, sorry I threw mine out there just before."

"Jesus, just back in town and you're already causing trouble," George winked. 

I couldn't believe the amount of confidence he had these days. Compared to the shy little boy he used to be. He was absolutely worlds away from that version of himself and I loved it. Mind you, snippets of his shyness did creep in at times and I'm sure I would see more of it as we re-learnt everything about each other.

I was so excited.