ADOPTED BY THE SIDEMEN

• FILLER •

Sorry for all the shit chapters lately. I can't seem to write anything anymore :((

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Holly's POV
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The sun warms up my body as I stretch and lie on the wooden deck by the pool. I've taken to doing my exam revisions out in the sun now as the weather has been getting nicer and although my laptop screen is very dark and I can barely see anything, I wouldn't change my study spot inside unless it's cold.

A gentle breeze flows over me and makes my printed homework sheets rustle. I paper-clipped them to my notebook so they wouldn't fuck off with the wind earlier. As much as it has been sunny, it's also been a little windy.

I chew on my pen as I think about the upcoming summer. I can't wait to be free of classes and exams and online calls. Home school does have its perks, but sometimes, it gets a bit lonely. I know I have JJ and Ella, but they're at work most of the time and when they come home they just want to chill and not talk properly.

The screen door slides open and Ella steps out, two glasses of lemonade in her hand and a grin on her face. Her fox coloured hair is pulled back into a messy bun of fun springs and curls and her emerald eyes shine like water in the sunlight. She's in jeans and a tube top with sparkly white tennis shoes, her long earrings green to match her eyes.

"Hiya," Ella says, pulling out a chair on the deck. "How's the revision going?"

Ella hands me a glass of lemonade and I thank her before taking a sip. The mint tastes amazingly fresh and the lemon juice is perfectly balanced to create a sweet, yet tangy taste.

"It's going alright," I answer, taking another sip. "And damn, this is good"

Ella sets her phone and lemonade down on the table and leans back in her chair, shutting her eyes and exposing her pale neck to the sun.

"I really can't wait for summer"

"Me neither," I respond, feeling my eyes fixate on one ant that scurries across the wooden planks in front of me.

My phone buzzes loudly next to me and I mutter a string of swear words in response. When I pick it up, I regret it.

Hey, I missed you at Sidemen filming yesterday. Everything okay? How are you feeling? x   - Boggo

I read the text before placing my phone face down on the floor. Ella smiles at me and raises an eyebrow.

"Uh oh, Harry again?"

"Yep"

"I'm sure he means well," Ella says. "Didn't you two make up at the hospital?"

"He just kinda hugged me with no warning at all and I don't know how to feel now," I reply with a shrug. "I mean sure, he's my best mate and all, but at the same time...I don't even know, Ella. I really don't know"

"It's alright to be uncertain," Ella nods, kicking off her shoes. "It's your decision at the end of the day, but I think you should just speak to him and try to mend the friendship. If it doesn't feel right, then leave it, you know?"

I nod. Ella makes sense.

It's not like I want to hate Harry. I don't...hate Harry, I mean. Sure, he pisses me off and says shit and does shit, but at the end of the day, that's just him being himself. I do miss Harry, but at the moment I do not have the energy to cope with people being bumholes.

"Do what you want," Ella says, more gently this time. "Give it more time, or something. You don't have to make a decision straight away"

I groan and let my head hang low. I'm too tired to keep going back and forth.