UNFINISHED. a.frederick
atv masterlist
you were a part in all aspects of arthur’s life. you practically lived in his flat, you shared the same friends and usually if he was in a group video so were you. then it all vanished.
you broke up with him. claiming you needed space to work on yourself and that you just didn’t think you were right for him anymore, even after being together for three years, and then you moved back home.
he hadn’t saw you since. neither had your friends, that he knew of anyways. if they had they wouldn’t have told him anyways. he was a mess.
but now, a year later, you were back.
you fixed the babydoll top you were wearing, ensuring the dark lacy material was sitting correctly as you passed by the bouncer with a nervous smile on your face.
it was dark, the only things you could see were the sidemen branded things dotted across the large venue space. you recognised most faces around you, only making the pit in your stomach bigger.
it was finally time to face the music.
but first, you headed to the bar. you got the strongest drink you knew you still enjoy, moving your phone from the card machine just as a figure came beside you. you let out a sigh of relief at the familiar face.
“liv.”
you wrapped your arms around her, the woman instantly doing the same. you had stayed in touch, calls and texts, but you hadn’t physically saw her until she randomly showed up in your hometown a few months ago.
“you look good.” she commented as you gave her the same compliment back, pulling away to face her completely. she looked concerned, something she hadn’t not shown for you since she came to see you. “how are you feeling?”
you shrugged with a nervous laugh. “shitting myself.” you glanced around the room, pre drinks hitting as you tried to make out any faces in the dark room. “i don’t know if i can face him.”
“he’ll understand why.” liv comforts you, but you can only nod. you’d thought about this moment almost everyday since you’d left but you didn’t think it would actaully materialise.
“cmon, he’s not at our table right now.”
“look who’s here!” chris, already drunk, threw his arms around you as you approached the table with your friend by your side. “wow, you’ve lost like a ton of weight.” he comments, not realising how heavy his words were.
you just awkwardly chuckle, not missing the stares that were on you. your plan to look completely fine now vanishing between your fingers as you pull away from chris.
“it’s nice to see you, chris. have you got smaller?”
the joke seems to get the attention off you for the most part, allowing you to greet everyone before settling down around the small table. “so, how have you been?” george asks.
you hum, “trucking along.” you give a vague answer, sensing the group had already sniffed out that you hadn’t been fine the whole year you’d been gone despite how happy you seemed while texting them.
“are you back up here for good now?” arthur hill leans against you slightly as he speaks. the pint he had in his hand couldnt have been his first. you nod, “i actually don’t move in for another couple of days so I just got a hotel for up until then.”
“are you serious? you could’ve crashed at ours. we’re always happy to have you.” isaac leans in so you can hear him. your heart warms at the offer. you knew liv had probably told him a glimpse into how your life really was.
you could feel the dread in your stomach disappearing as you began to talk with your group of friends as if no time had passed. any assumptions you’d made were instantly proved false as they accepted you back in.
you knew you’d been horrible to arthur, leaving him like that, and you assumed they’d all take his side and shut you out but what you hadn’t thought - or realised - is that they knew you too well to know that you hadn’t done it for no reason.
you leave the bathroom, almost stumbling into someone who you apologised to before moving on. before you could make your way back to your friends, you ran into a familiar face as you weaved through the crowd.
arthur, your arthur. he was stood right infront of you with an expression you couldn’t quite read under the dim lighting.
“arthur.” the words escaped you before you could help yourself. you felt your heart start again, as if it had been shut off since the moment you left him. it’s like all the colour that had left your world had came back, all at once. in an overwhelming, confusing way.
“hey.” he had a small, awkward smile on his face. he brought a hand up to scratch his head as if he was just trying to find something to occupy himself with. he was clueless on what to do for once.
you cleared your throat. “can we talk?”
