Storm // Matty Healy ♣ The 1975

4. unconvinced

"So," Bryony said the next day as we walked through central London together. "How's Matty?"

Bryony has sent me a text at ten A.M, asking me to meet her at eleven, which had only given me half an hour to have a shower, get dressed and eat breakfast, which was impossible, so I ended up skipping breakfast, and I was already regretting accepting her offer.

Don't get me wrong, I loved Bryony, she was great, she was a breath of fresh air to my stressful life. She kind of balanced me out, and ever since Matty and I came back from Manchester, she had pretty much become my closest friend, besides Matty.

"I don't know." I replied simply. I tried adding a half hearted little shrug to make it look like I didn't really care, but she saw through that.

"Are you sure?" She asked, I shook my head.

"You can never be sure with Matty."

I slipped my thin cardigan off my shoulders so that my arms were in the sleeves but it was gathered up at my lower back.

"He loves you, that's the one thing you can be sure of." She said, leaving me speechless.

"I guess so..." I replied, suddenly feeling very inferior to her.

"So, have you sent off that application for college?" She asked, I shook my head, staring at our feet against the cracked pavement. We were walking quickly, it was what you had to do in London, no matter what the weather.

"You need to. I can help you if you like?" She suggested, but I shook my head. She was in her last year of uni, she hardly had any time to herself, let alone to help some eighteen year old get into college. Luckily she didn't ask again.

The weather was far too hot for me, but I wasn't sure if everyone else felt the same way. I was the kind of person who slapped on three coats of sixty SPF sun cream before leaving the house on a day where the weather was anything above seventeen degrees.

My outfit probably had something to do with my current state. I was wearing all black aside from my green Doc Martens which were making my feet sweat more than I ever thought was possible.

I wanted to cry.

"Do you want to go and get a drink?" She asked, clearly sensing how uncomfortable I was getting in the sweltering heat.

"Yeah. But only if you want to." I shrugged. She nodded and laughed quietly.

"Okay." So we made our way to Costa.

--

After getting out drinks, we sat down at a table in the very back of Costa.

I had ordered a pretty disgusting cold ginger and lemon drink that had I not been so thirsty, I probably wouldn't have finished, Bryony bought herself a coffee.

She crossed her legs and sipped her hot drink slowly, watching as I took my phone out of my bag and placed it next to my drink on the table.

"What?" I asked before sipping through the straw and wincing as the vile tasting drink hit my tongue. I forced myself to swallow it.

"What's wrong with you, Lizzy?" She asked bluntly as she set her mug down on the table and stared at me. I shook my head.

"Nothing. I'm fine." I said as I pressed the button on my phone to turn it on. The screen lit up but there were no missed calls or unread texts. I sighed and turned it off.

"Seriously?" She raised an eyebrow at me and lifted her mug up again, resting it against her chin in such a way that made me incredibly wary of any clumsy looking people nearby who could jog her and accidentally know her teeth out.

"Um, well my dad wants me to go back to Blackpool for my birthday with Matty. He says Margerate is going to be in Cornwall so I won't have to deal with her but I don't know. Matty doesn't want to go, and I don't either but I'd feel bad, it's been about eight months since I last saw him and I can't exactly go on like this..." I waved my arms around in a rather animated way. Bryony sighed and shut her eyes.

"Lizzy," She said, placing her cup down on the table. "Promise me you won't go there? Okay?" She said. I made my mouth into a straight line, unconvinced.

"Why?" I asked. She took a deep breath and grabbed my hand over the table.

"It'll snowball, sweetie. It'll be just the weekend for your birthday one minute and next thing you know, you'll be living there again. Please don't go there?"

I frowned.

"Lizzy..." She sighed. I pursed my lips for a second. I couldn't lie, the thought had crossed my mind multiple times.

I knew Bryony wouldn't let me go, neither would George is he knew, or Sylvia, or anyone really.

I knew for certain that Matty was incredibly against the idea.

"Okay." I said finally, breaking under the pressure. "I won't go."