this is how it starts || m.h

21) friends?

The missed calls on my phone taunted me as I laid staring at them in the dark. Matty was snoring beside me, his knees poking me in the side, his breath tickling my face.

I'd gotten so used to having him in my bed every night that I was struggling to accept that soon, I would be back in my own lonely bed, in my tiny bedroom, with only my thoughts to keep me company.

I wouldn't have the comfort of Matty's loud breathing in my ear, or the weight of his arms around my waist. I would be alone, and it made me sad to think about.

"Matty?" I whispered, putting my phone down and turning to stroke a finger along his temple. "Matty."

"Mm...what." He grumbled, his lips smacking as he swallowed. "What..."

"I know you said you'd still want to see me after tour, but─"

"Serena, listen to me," he interrupted, shifting closer to me, his eyes still closed. "I honestly don't know how I'd be able to stay away from you."

"Are we friends, Matty?"

"Of course we are," he answered, his voice still laced with sleep as he pulled at my t-shirt under the covers.

"Sorry I woke you up."

"S'fine," he mumbled. "Can I go back to sleep now, though?"

"Yeah, yeah. Sorry."

───

The following night, Matty was smiling at me, his eyes wide as he looked me up and down.

"I can't believe I get to see it again." He beamed, still looking at me in disbelief, as he skated his fingers along the fabric of my black dress.

I tugged the skirt down a little bit. "Yeah, well I thought I'd treat you."

"You're fucking spoiling me, love," he said, dramatically shaking his head at me. "I love this dress you know."

"I know," I laughed. "It was obvious enough when you were practically begging me to pack it."

"What, in that suitcase you couldn't even zip up?"

"It worked though, didn't it?"

The memory of that night seemed like forever ago now, even though it was probably only around two weeks since I was sitting on top of my old suitcase, Matty laughing at me as he helped me get it closed.

I had no idea that I would end up here, flaunting my old black dress, backstage at a show, completely confident under Matty's gaze.

"You know, this whole slicked back look isn't too bad, either," I said after a moment, brushing a stray curl off his forehead. "I think it's grown on me."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." I nodded. "And besides, I'm starting to like your forehead." I added, lightly poking him in the head.

"You're a proper weirdo, do you know that?" He laughed, catching my hand in his.

"Yeah, but you like this weirdo."

"I do, I do."

"Oi, you two!" George suddenly called, looking at us in amusement. "Do you fancy not doing that in front of everyone please? At least wait until you get back to the hotel."

Matty dropped my hand then─the sudden loss of contact knocking me off balance─and he awkwardly ran a hand through his hair, before brushing past me, leaving me to question what the hell just happened.