we made it - harry lewis

one

BETH QUINN

the busy london streets were always my biggest weakness, having to dodge stressed shoppers left, right and center while getting caught behind slow walkers at peak times? not at the top of my list of things i desire, funnily enough.

i was now late to meet my best friend, will, who was patiently waiting for me at the small independent coffee shop we attended every weekend without fail.

i wrapped my jacket around my body tighter as a gust of wind blew through the town, and picked up my pace as i saw the establishment in the distance.

the small of ring of the bell as i opened the door caught wills attention as he looked up and a grin spread across his face.

"hi beth!" the chirpy waitress, alana, smiled as she poured my usual drink. a hazelnut iced latte with oak milk. lactose intolerant problems.

"hi alana! how are you?" i asked as she blended the drink together effortlessly.

"i'm good, thank you" she grinned. "wills been waiting a while, moany git"

i rolled my eyes playfully before paying for my drink and heading over to our usual booth, we usually joke around saying that we should have an engraved plaque on the booth, as we sit at it so much.

"about bloody time, beth" will groaned, but couldn't fight away the grin which made its way to his face, making me let out a small laugh.

"shut up" i rolled my eyes, taking a sip of my drink and removing my jacket, making myself comfy.

"how was uni?" will asked me, one of my favourite things about will was that he actually cared about my career and my university course and didnt just ask about it to make conversation.

"it was good! i'm just glad we're finished up for christmas though" i said, letting out a yawn i didn't know i was holding in. "i'm bloody shattered"

"you've worked hard, kid" he said, making me shoot a glare in his direction. "gee asked about you today"

"what an angel" i said, pouting. gee was wills roommate, i barely see her anymore as she's never home when i visit, she made me feel welcome every time i was over. "we need to have a night in soon"

"or you could come out clubbing with us this weekend?" will suggested. "everyone's going, i bet they'd love to meet you, i waffle about you to them enough"

by everyone, i assumed he meant all of his youtube friends, who i hadn't met yet because i made up an excuse every time will invited me to go out with them. it's not that i didn't want to go, because i really did but my anxiety was screaming at me telling me it was a bad idea.

"i don't know, will" i trailed off.

"hurry up, beth" he groaned. "it'll be fun, and if you want to leave at any time, i promise i'll leave with you, no questions asked"

"i guess that sounds okay" i said, still unsure myself.

"i mean, it's the least you can do seeing as you're leaving me to go to stinky scotland for two weeks soon" he shook his head, downing the remainder of his drink.

"i'm going to see my family for christmas, you idiot" i rolled my eyes, throwing a napkin at him which completely missed and fell under the table.

"good throw" he said blankly, picking the napkin up and discarding it into the nearby bin.

"i suppose one night out won't hurt" i sighed playfully, watching wills face light up.

"alreet! saturday it is, i'll tell the boys" he said. "don't worry, talia, freya and gee will be there too"

"you're lucky in love you, lenney" i rolled my eyes for what felt like the ninetieth time since i got there and finished off my latte before we decided to head back to wills so i could help him film.

"oh, by the way, cal and harry are over too, they're filming with me, that's okay right?" will asked as we waited for our uber to arrive.

"yeah, of course, it's your flat, will" i laughed a little.

"just don't want to make you uncomfortable or anything, aye?" he said making me pout and wrap my arms around him, something that i always done when i felt overwhelmed, as he always calmed me down.

"you're the best, i suppose" i said, smiling.

"shut up, you big sap" he laughed, but also hugged me back.

eventually enough, our uber came and we made our way back to wills apartment in canary warf, which was a lot more luxurious than my dorm back at uni, even though i spend more time here than at my dorm.

as we entered the house, we were welcomed with a loud bang and a few screams, making me and will look at each other in complete and utter confusion.

"um so, we tried to let off a confetti cannon for the intro of lux's video and it kind of went wrong and now the entirety of your living room is covered in confetti" a tall, blonde boy said as he emerged from the living room into the hallway.

"what the fuck, freezy" will shook his head, shrugging his coat off and making his way in to look for himself.

"enough about that, who's this?" he said, sending a wink in my direction making me giggle, feeling my face heat up.

"fucks sake, this is beth, stop being pervy" will said rolling his eyes before making his way back into the living room.

"alright, beth, i'm cal but you can call me freezy to make life less confusing" he said, a goofy smile speeding across his face.

"nice to meet you, freezy" i smiled. "why will life be confusing if i call you cal, though?"

"ah, you've not met lux yet?" i shook my head. "our friend is also called cal, so we go by our channel names basically so i'm freezy and he's lux"

"got ya" i nodded, freezy wore a look of confusion on his face for a second before his face lit up.

"hold on, are you scottish?" he asked me making me laugh, knowing he'd caught on to my accent.

"yeah, i'm from glasgow, originally" i nodded, thinking of how excited i was to go back for the first time in months.

"no way, i lived in stirling for a while!" he said, high-fiving me, which made me laugh.

"sorry, beth, these nonces have fucked the living room, you can stick your stuff in my room just now" will said as he came back out into the hallway.

i laughed at his statement before heading to his bedroom to stick my bag and coat in, before making my way back to be met with more people.

"gee! it's been so long!" i smiled as i saw a familiar blue haired girl stood in the kitchen. 

"ahhh! beth!" she smiled, wrapping her arms around me, rocking back and forth.

"aww how cute" an unfamiliar voice said, making gee let go and glare in the brunettes direction.

"shut the fuck up" she snapped, playfully.

"alright? i'm cal but you can call me-"

"lux?" i cut him off with a small smile on my face.

"oh, you've done your research have you?" he said, with a playful smirk.

"nah, freezy told me" i laughed, making gee and the other boy who i hadn't been introduced to yet, let out a laugh too.

"nah, that's mad" lux said but kept smiling as he made conversation with gee about some sort of stream he had done the previous night.

"it's beth, right?" the final boy asked me and i smiled and nodded. there was something about this guy which gave me butterflies and made me mix up my words in my head. "i'm harry"

"nice to meet you, harry" i said, feeling my cheeks heat up. what the hell? i was never like this around boys.

"it's a pleasure to meet you too"