𝐏𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧' 𝐆𝐮𝐲 ➺ 𝐵𝓇𝒾𝒶𝓃 𝑀𝒶𝓎 & 𝒬𝓊𝑒𝑒𝓃

(14) 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯

"I'm glad we're doing this." I said brightly, bringing the mug of black coffee up to my lips, sat opposite to Emma.

"Me too, it seems like forever since we've actually... hung out together." She agreed, stirring her coffee with the spoon.

"I guess there's been a lot going on, huh?" I raised my eyebrow. "With the boys around, and... assignments due in..." I trailed off, trying my best to get a decent sip out of the coffee without burning myself.

Emma and I had decided to sit outside of the small café at Imperial's campus, as we both enjoyed watching the birth of November: the leaves left over from September soaked in the aftermath of the overnight rainfall and the chilly breeze. Students leaving early in the morning to do some morning studies, draped in their parka coats and hats. We hardly ever left our flat early before a lecture, but that morning we wanted to squeeze some time in together, knowing that Emma would most likely be swept away by Roger at some point during the day, only to return when I'm asleep.

"Did you talk to Brian?" Emma asked, sipping at her coffee with ease.

"Yeah..." I couldn't help the smile that spread over my lips at the thought of the events that occurred a couple of nights prior. "Everything's... Alright. We're doing alright." I nodded.

"Did he teach you to use their song puns or something?" Emma laughed, shaking her head.

"No." I laughed too, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear. "The good thing is, he's actually called me and spoken to me since then. So I must have done something right!"

"Have you mentioned it to..." Emma trailed off, holding her hand out and gesturing.

"No." I retorted quickly. "And there's no reason she has to know every detail of my life. She's my mum, but I am also 22 years old. I don't need her interfering the way she does." I tutted, still hurt over her words the last time I'd spoken to her. You can't trust boys in a band... "Anyway... How's Roger?"

"Distant. Real distant." Emma replied, a slight frown on her face. "We haven't really talked much. Apart from when we... You know..." I couldn't stand to see the disappointment in my best friend's face. But I also couldn't believe that she felt that way.

"Aw, Emma..." I started, reaching out and holding her hand. "What's happening? I thought everything was great with you two?" I lowered my voice, as to not draw attention to us.

"I don't know what's happening. He's just not really talking to me. It seems the only time he registers me as a living person is when he's slamming balls deep into me. I'm getting really angry at him, but I don't know what the fuck to say to him." She was clearly agitated, so I squeezed her hand gently to bring her back down, which always worked.

"You have every right to be angry at him, babes." I spoke assertively, and reassuringly. "I mean, has he even clarified that you two are a thing?"

Emma's gaze wandered off a bit, the frown become more prominent before she sighed deeply, shaking her head reluctantly. "No..." Her voice was no louder than a whisper. "He hasn't."

It was my turn to sigh, my eyebrows furrowing as I pulled back, leaning on the chair I was sat on. "Emma, you need to do something. You can't keep letting yourself down like this. Or..." I glanced to the side. "Maybe it's nothing. I've heard around that he's dropping out of Imperial, so maybe he's under a lot of stress—"

"He's dropping out?"

"I don't know, that's what I've heard. Brian said something about it, but he was a bit drunk. So, I can't be 100% sure."

Emma chewed on her lip nervously, staring down at her coffee, which was most likely lukewarm by now. "Yeah.." She nodded slowly. "It's probably nothing. It's only been a couple of days anyway." She smiled to herself.