The Ghost of You [COMPLETED]

Surprise

You didn't really know what you expected when you asked him to meet you.

You knew it would be awkward, sure. You'd be an idiot not to think that. There was something though, deep in the back of your mind, that was just hoping that he would act as if he was okay. Okay with seeing you, okay with talking to you, okay with you being back. Maybe even be nice to you.

Not that you were okay either, but you were trying to pretend. Trying to pretend that seeing him at his party didn't flood your brain with memories of you out together in college. You tried to pretend that when he looked you up and down, it did nothing to your stomach. You tried to pretend that in the time you had been gone, he hadn't gotten a hundred times more attractive.

When you had received your job offer, he was the first thing that came into your head. You knew coming back to Birmingham was going to reopen some old wounds. The thing is, after 3 years of not speaking to him, you made the assumption that he'd grown out of it, that he'd moved on. You felt like you had. All the way up until the minute you laid eyes on him. That's when you realised that you never really moved on from him, you just forgot about him. Now you didn't know how you felt towards him.

And apparently, Brad was still holding some kind of anger towards you about everything that happened, which made you think he hadn't moved on completely either. He was half right about you not wanting to talk about the relationship. You were very aware that there was no final conversation, no official ending, and that the last few months were a chaotic blur of fighting and hooking up. It's hard to have closure with that sort of situation.

But you were trying to be mature. You were hoping that he would do the same.

Once you'd accepted your job offer, your boss then came to you with non-negotiable stipulations. Stipulations that you really needed to discuss with him. If you didn't, him being blindsided would make it a lot worse. However, his reaction at the cafe, his reaction to you just inviting him for coffee, it told you that he wasn't ready to hear what you had to say. He wanted to talk about the one thing that you were trying to avoid, not in a bad way, but in a way that your relationship was in the past, and you were focused on your future. It would do neither of you any good to bring up old memories, to fight again over an age-old argument. It wouldn't bring any benefits.

When your boss came to your desk the next day, reminding you of next week's project, your heart felt heavy. This was what you needed to speak to him about.

Seeing as he wasn't exactly receptive of you at the moment, and thinking of no other alternative, you dialled James' number.

A Week Later.

Brad, Tris, Connor and James turned up at the skyscraper building in good spirits. Their manager, Joe, had gotten them an amazing collaboration deal with Ben Sherman, who were supplying them with hundreds of clothes in exchange for promo pictures, and on the condition that they wore the clothes on their three week festival run next month. The band was booked in different European countries for festival events, across Madrid, Paris, Mexico, Germany, and the UK. It was like a mini tour, tiding them over until they started serious work on their next album.

Today was the promo photoshoot. They were going to be dressed in some fancy clothing, they were going to take some pictures, and then select all the clothing that they wanted for the festivals. One of the best perks of the job.

Joe had them signed in at the front desk in no time, then they were all bundled into the lift heading up to the sixth floor. The guys had noticed how Brad had been a little tamer since he 'caught up' with you at the coffee shop, a little more withdrawn, but they were doing their best to distract him. James, in particular, was trying to distract him the most. Bringing up song ideas, set design ideas, dragging him and Maggie out with James and his girlfriend a few times.

Because James was compensating for the fact that he was the only one who knew what was waiting on the other side of the door.

And once they pushed it open, he immediately looked around for it. His adrenaline tapered off when he couldn't find what he was looking for, and he eventually followed the others to the waiting rails of clothing that were set to one side of the giant room.

Brad and Tris were immediately pulling things off the rail that they liked, holding it up against them for the others to see. After a few minutes, James had even forgotten about the huge secret he had been harbouring, until the doors suddenly flew open.

They all looked round, the smile instantly dropping off Brad's face.

You walked in.

"Hey." You said, attempting to be cheery after noticing Brad's reaction. "How are you guys?" You asked confidently, striding over to the band and hugging Tris first, then Connor, then James, to whom you hissed in his ear - "I thought you fucking told him?!"

As you pulled back from James, the fake innocent, closed lip smile still on your face, he just shrugged and tried to smile back.

"Luka, what a surprise!" James said. It was not convincing at all. You groaned and dropped the facade.

"What are you doing here?" Brad asked bluntly.

"Okay look, I did ask James to tell you." You said, glaring at James as you said his name. "But I can see that he clearly didn't. I am your photographer."

You bit your lip as you waited for his response. His body seemed to still. His face went cold. He held your gaze with such an intensity that you started to feel nervous.

Then he turned to the rail. He gently put the clothes he was holding back onto it, then stormed straight past you.

"Brad!" Connor yelled. You rolled your eyes and span on your heel, rushing after him.

"Bradley!" You called as you caught up to him, catching his elbow in your hand and tugging him back. He stopped walking, and turned to you, his eyes full of rage.

"Don't call me that." He growled.

"Stop acting like a child then." You retorted.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I tried. At the coffee shop."

"Then what? Then it was James' responsibility?!"

"Well I figured you weren't exactly ready for another conversation so yeah, I called James and asked him to tell you."

Brad turned to his friend.

"Why the FUCK didn't you tell me?!" He yelled across the room. James held his hands up and stepped towards him.

"I thought you would be mad and cancel the gig." James admitted.

"I am fucking mad!"

"Why? Because we dated however many years ago?" You interrupted, and Brad slowly turned back to look at you. Your heart was in your throat, but your determination not to fail at your job overpowered your anxiety in the moment. "Brad, this is my job. I'm taking the pictures. You guys need this gig to boost your fame ratings or whatever Joe was talking about on the phone. So you and I are going to bite our tongues, get through this day without shouting at each other, so that your manager doesn't give you shit, and so my manager doesn't give me shit. Got it?"

He held your gaze. You could tell he was angry. So were you. You studied for a long time to become a photographer. You worked on crappy sets for a year, then Ben Sherman gave you an amazing job offer as a resident photographer that you could not, in good conscience, turn down. And two weeks in, Brad was the one thing that could fuck it all up. You couldn't bear the thought that keeping your job was in the hands of your ex-boyfriend, so you had to make sure you controlled how he acted.

His silence told you that he wasn't going to fight back.

"Right." You huffed, before walking back over to the others. "Now that's sorted, pick out some options, the stylist is on his way, as is the make up team. I'll be setting up the lights, so we'll get started in about an hour okay?" The rest of them nodded, with James adding on a muttered 'I'm sorry'. You just rolled your eyes, walking away from them, and talking into your radio for the rest of the team to arrive.

Here goes nothing, you thought.