Collaboration || Dan Smith

Twenty.

𝙎𝙖𝙮 𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙮 𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙚
- 𝗕𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲 (𝗳𝗲𝗮𝘁. 𝗟𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗠𝗼𝗼𝗿𝗲, 𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗞𝗲𝗻𝗮 & 𝗝𝗮𝗰𝗼𝗯 𝗕𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘀)

Dan's point of view

I can't help but look at Maisie's tweet. I didn't lie about anything...literally nothing. I told her the truth that I can't care less about what happens to the child. It's not my problem. I don't get why she's being spiteful and publicly calling me out all of the time? Maybe I should personally DM her and say that whatever she's doing is working...

Majority of my family have disowned me since Maisie's mildly emo tumblr statement.

"I want to apologise." I whisper under my breath as I'm face to face with the rest of the guys. It's been the first time we're all together since the Spooktacular thing back in October. "What I said that night...was out of order." I admit - even though I shouldn't - of course I don't mean any of it. I'm not really sorry...I was angry. I'm still angry. "You can say that again." Woody sarcastically mumbles under his breath as I deliberately ignore it.

For a few seconds I rub my head as I feel a light headache come on all of a sudden. "Since Maisie has...gone" - I chew on the inside of my cheek in frustration - "I just feel like we as a band aren't going to do so well." We was originally going to release the lead single from Other People's Heartache part 4 on Thanksgiving. That single would've been a loved up cover between me and Maisie. It was only right that we abandoned that song in this situation.

I couldn't bare to sing it without her.

"Do you know that as a fact?" Kyle points towards me, he too looks pissed off. I guess he doesn't particularly want to be here on the Friday night of our Mixtape release day. Too bad that this is his job and he is required to come. "Because the new mixtape is fucking fire." It lacks Maisie...as well as it lacks Bastille. We basically made a mixtape of our people's voices and just...added mine in here and there to make it sound and seem like a Bastille mixtape.

Of course it's not going to do well. Our mixtapes never do...even when we get the permission to cover the songs. It's a shame because in this mixtape we're promoting other people.

"Look at the charts if you don't believe me. It's another Verses." That's the name of the third mixtape. The third mixtape was one day in the charts at 40 - or whatever - and the next day it just disappeared from the top 100. "Isn't that just more reason to call it a day?" Will suggests after finishing his bourbon.

   I know they don't really like Bastille. I think they've got used to the huge pay checks and now they...make music for fun. It's not like they actually care - obviously that's just a theory. I don't know. Something just seems off with them this year...they've changed.

   "We're not going to call it a day. Not for Bastille. We're going to get up off of our arses and create something that is actually listenable and fresh sounding." One by one they all roll their eyes back or fidget around on their chair. "What the fuck do you think we've been doing when Virgin called us back?" Admittedly before Virgin Records told us to redo our whole Doom Day's album. Apparently it wasn't 'up to standards'. Maisie tried helping us...she got all of those songs from Doom Day's and salvaged them by taking out a few words and replacing them, with this twisted lullaby tune thrown in over the top.

   Our pessimistic sounding songs turned into this weird dream sequence. She had good ears. I can't deny that.

   "What did you lie about?" Chris mumbles as he plays around with his empty pint glass. "I don't...follow..." my voice trails off even though I know he is talking about Maisie's latest tweet.

   "What Maisie put on Twitter. You totally blanked her message...we know you saw it." I close my eyes for a few seconds. The only reason why I'm still following her is because of the child. I'm hoping she's going to release another stupid tumblr link and say that the baby was the mistake and it's gone. She's in her mid-to-late twenties. She's still young to be a fucking parent.

"She thinks I lied about loving her. It's the only reason why she would've think I lied." I've been an honest person to her. I've opened up to Maisie about things I've never opened up to any other girl. She was different unlike all of my other girlfriends. Maisie didn't have common sense I though she had.

Obviously.

"We all know you loved her. She's just wanting for revenge for blanking her and your baby." I shake my head. "So anyway. Back to Bastille..." my voice trails off. I need to change this topic. I hate it. "Stop denying to yourself that you're a not bad boyfriend and it's all her fault. You put that kid inside of her, man up." Kyle - out of all of us - hisses.

I can't reply to that. I know it's the truth but...I'm hurt. She hurt a proud guy like me...what am I meant to do in this situation? What's so hard to understand that I don't nothing to do with her child?

"I've got a theme for the new album. And I'm waiting for one of those American Soundcloud rappers to return my call..." trying to push Bastille back into the chart with the kind of music kids like. "This is going to flop." Woody almost laughs, Will raises his eyebrows and nods his head.

I don't care if it flops. I just got to do something productive to forget about her...even if it means creating new shit music which older fans of ours will hate.

I need to do something.