LONDON BOY

8. Filling in the Blanks

Listen to this song on repeat to get in this chapter's mood:
CH8: Everything Has Changed - Ed Sheeran & Taylor Swift

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You almost decide to hang up, when he picks up. "You've still got something of mine.", you hear his husky voice say.

Witty, I like it – you smile. "Yes, about that; I've been thinking about what you said this morning." You pause, "I'll do it. Although I have no idea what being your fake girlfriend even entails, I'll do it. And that way I can give you your jacket back." You add, trying to make it sound more casual. 

A short silence is broken by his words, "Great, you can give it back to me when you come to London." London? – you question in your mind.

He explains, "Me and the lads are about to board the plane to go back home. There was some unplanned press added to my schedule in London." "You want me to come to London?" you ask for clarity. You can hear a small laugh on the other side of the phone, "You didn't think this relationship would be geographically bound to Amsterdam, did you?"

You actually hadn't thought about this yet, but now that you did, it felt stupid you hadn't. Of course, he wouldn't be in Amsterdam all the time - you realized. He lives in London and is in The States for work all the time. Which meant that you would be traveling to these parts of the world with him.

Realizing you still hadn't answered him, you say, "No, no of course not! So, London? When should I book my flight?" "I- uh... I already booked it." Tom says softly with a tone of awkwardness in his voice. "I was hoping you'd decide to go along with it all, so I went ahead and booked a flight for tomorrow at noon."

Tomorrow at noon? – your heartbeat started to rise. You hadn't even told Esra or your mom about the entire situation yet. Esra had already texted you, demanding you to explain the pictures she saw online. You'd already decided against telling them about the fake part of the relationship, but figured you still owed them some kind of explanation about what had happened last night.

"Ok. Tomorrow at noon. Sounds good." You say coolly, trying to hide the light panic you're feeling. You realize you were unsuccessful, when you hear Tom form the words, "Don't worry too much about it, love. This is new for me too. We will fill in the blanks together as we go."

You realize this daydream is dangerous, and you hear Rose's words from that afternoon repeating themselves. Contradictory to Bri's reaction, hers wasn't all that positive. Don't mess with him Meg, he'll break your loving heart. With some help from Bri, you convinced her it would all be fine. You told her confidently that you knew what you were doing. You might have convinced her with your reassuring words, but had you truly convinced yourself?

"I'll see you tomorrow then." you say in lack of a cooler answer. "I'll see you tomorrow, darling." He replies, giving a small smile. Before hanging up, he adds, "Oh and Meg, do wear something nice - I'm picking you up." Before you can reply, you hear the dial tone.

Wear something nice? Why would I have to wear something nice? It's just a flight. You'd rather just wear your yoga leggings and a comfy sweater. But since it's only a one-hour flight, you decide you would conform to his request.

After trying on a million different options, you decide on your favourite midi skirt, paired with Bri's white backless crop top. You look at yourself in the mirror and realize - I am actually doing this.