london boy | wroetoshaw

twenty three

Over the next two weeks, Mia had gone as far out of her way as possible to avoid being alone with Cal. She spent the days after the party declining his calls and showing up late to group outings. For her Mum's birthday weekend up in Scotland, she booked a different flight 'by accident' to avoid being on the same plane as him, sticking by Matt's side during the rest of the weekend as she knew full well that her boyfriend was the equivalent of bug repellent to Cal. And for the days that followed their return to London, she was nowhere to be found. 

It was safe to say that Mia had absolutely no intention whatsoever to discuss what happened out on the balcony that night, just like it was safe to say Cal had been trying to bring it up every chance he got. Unluckily for him, however, Mia wasn't giving him a chance to bring it up in the first place. Between the texts she was dodging and the extraordinary efforts to put the two in situations where he wouldn't be able to mention it- she was doing a damn good job. 

Unfortunately for Mia, she couldn't steer clear of him forever. Though that plan did cross her mind, on more occasions than one, there was simply too many kinks that she couldn't work out. And she sure did try. 

She decided that she'd tell him the truth, that Ethan and Josh were talking her ear off so she stepped outside for some fresh air and thought she'd see how Harry was doing, seeing that he was the only one who wasn't there. They were friends after all, there should be nothing wrong with that. What she couldn't figure out was how to explain why she had lied, mostly because she didn't know the reason herself. 

Mia knew that she could always say that she was scared Matt would read too much into it, which was true. Or she could just say that she blurted it out without thinking, but how would she explain that she her first instinct was to lie to the man who was supposed to be the love of her life. 

What she couldn't explain was her urge to keep Matt away from Harry, it was different than the others. It was odd, she wanted the other boys to meet him. She wanted her boyfriend to be able to get along with her friends, of course she did. She knew that he would find an issue with all of them, but she still wanted them to get to know him a bit considering how much she loved them and how much they meant to her. Mia had even spent 3 days training JJ not to flirt with her in front of him because she didn't want Matt to dislike him. 

The weird thing was, with Harry, she was almost relieved when he said he couldn't make it. Almost as if she didn't want him to meet Matt. Or Matt to meet him, like Harry was her little secret. And she didn't understand why, so how was she supposed to explain it to anyone else? 

But she knew she had to talk to Cal sooner or later, and she had to get her story straight for whenever that was. Whatever her story was. And she knew she had to talk to someone about it, and she knew who that someone would be. Or someones. 

Mia hopped out of her uber, ducking her head down to avoid the buckets of pouring mid-October rain. Her boots pounded against the pavement as she weaved her way through the crowds of people and their brollies until she reached the entrance of the restaurant she was supposed to be meeting Freya and Talia at. She stood under the roof-like covering in the front, protected from the infamous British rain that had been tipping down all day. 

After taking a quick look at her phone to check the time, she saw Freya walking up to her. A smile stapled to her face as she spotted Mia, Freya always had this bubbly energy surrounding her everywhere she went. And it was definitely contagious, it unquestionably brought comfort to Mia as the older girl approached her.

"I'm already sick of this bloody weather." Freya groaned as soon as the two girls stepped inside the restaurant. It had rained, practically nonstop, everyday for the last 2 weeks. The last clear night London had seen was the night of Mia's party, where everyone was inside anyways.