Lacey // (The 1975 / Matty Healy fanfiction)

// C H A P T E R S E V E N T E E N //

// one month later //

Lacey sat at her desk, typing ferociously at the laptop placed in front of her. Her chai tea was getting cold, she knew, and her phone had been going off non-stop for the last ten minutes, but she simply couldn't stop writing. It was as if after hours of staring blankly at that blinking line that seemed to nag her, as if to say look there's nothing on this paper except for my annoying self, she finally had broken through her writer's block. Suddenly it was clear to her, how she had to compare both the English and the Scottish to the German culture, in order to get an A. She would not let herself break away from the screen, since that could have very well meant that she might lose all of the ideas that now filled her head - no matter how badly she wanted a sip of her tea or who might have been calling her.

She was so immersed in her own world that she didn't even notice when her mobile stopped ringing after about ten more missed calls. The back of her head told her it must be something urgent, if someone was so intent on getting in touch with her, but her ambitious side set that aside, naming her paper her number one priority. Besides, the only two people that might have chosen to call her if they needed something were Ella and Matty and they both had another person to ring if she didn't answer: George. Therefore, Lacey didn't allow herself to begin to worry and instead, simply continued comparing a Schnitzel to Fish and Chips, Lederhosen to Kilts and the British patriotism caused mainly by the monarchy to the non-existent German one caused by a certain man named Hitler.

Just as she was about to start on the last part, she heard a vehement knock on her door, probably meant to signalize her that whoever was on the other side did not intent on leaving before they saw her face. She bit her lip at the obnoxious sound and moved her fingers more quickly, eager to at least finish the paragraph she was working on before she would have to open that door.

"God, Lace." Matty's voice bellowed from outside, "I know you're fucking in there, open the door."

Typing until she had reached the end of her sentence, she sighed and got up, making her way to the door that was still being pounded against.

Opening the door, she placed her hand on her hips, "God, Matty." She imitated him, rolling her eyes as she let him in, "You know I've got a paper to write, I was just getting into it, but -"

He put his hand up, in order to stop her from rambling on about her paper, which quite frankly, didn't interest him in the slightest bit, "Sorry love, but I don't care about your paper." He announced as he sat down on what had become his favorite place to sit in Lacey's apartment, her desk, before going on, "I also called you about a billion times, which you might have noticed considering your phone is right here." Holding up the phone that had been buried under piles of notes, he looked at her accusingly.

She rubbed her eyes, suddenly exhausted from the mere three pages she had put down just moments before, "I'm sorry." She mumbled and honestly meant it.

There was nothing further from her mind than wanting to annoy Matty. In the last month he had become more than just the guy she had taken a liking to. He had become her best friend as well. While Ella seemed to spend every waking minute with George, their dorm for two slowly transforming into a dorm for one, Lacey had grown accustomed to Matty being the first one she told about things instead of Ella. It would have been a lie to say she didn't mind the gap that slowly pushed its way between them, in fact it hurt her more than anything, but it certainly had its perks as well. All those nights she would have spent talking to Ella with both of them in their respective beds, now had turned into almost nightly phone calls to Matty - no matter where in the world he was at. Their phone calls had become one of her favorite things about their relationship, which seemed odd to her, seeing how she usually hated them. They had always seemed like an awkward concept to her, talking freely to a person without actually facing them, but now she realized what all the fuss had been about. With Matty, it didn't feel like two people talking to each other on opposite ends - or even different countries in their case. Instead, hearing his voice and having their usual easygoing conversation made it seem as if he were right there beside her, something she had oftentimes wished for in the past four weeks.