( 𝐀𝐔𝐆𝐔𝐒𝐓 ! )
In which a lost romance rekindles their flame years later.
Or
In which Simon and Natalie's once great love affair ended in turmoil, and neither one fully stopped loving each other.
❝𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘶𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 �...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚
A deep sigh escaped her lips as she sat in her car, staring at the building beside her. The building was quite large, resembling a warehouse. It was secluded from the hecticness of the city but still in proximity to the middle of London.
Natalie knew this day was bound to happen at some point. She needed this just as much as he needed this. They both needed this.
The way their relationship ended was utterly horrible and purely tragic. They needed to clear the air, say their feelings, and move on.
No matter how much Natalie Reid said she was moving on and was over Simon Minter, and she tried so hard, she couldn't shake him. She had given a part of her heart away, and he ran away with it like a thief in the night.
After a quick pep talk to herself, Natalie exited her car and began walking toward the building. When reaching the front doors, a security guard was standing outside. She told him her name, and he nodded and walked into the building.
Natalie frowned in confusion but stayed put at the doors. The security guard came back and allowed her to enter the premise. She continued walking down a hallway until she heard laughter from the farthest room on the right-hand side.
When entering the room, she met the gazes of Simon, Ethan, and Josh. She gave them a small smile, knowing she was interrupting something.
"Hi," she said, clearing her throat awkwardly. "Long-time no see, huh?" She mentioned, trying to lighten the mood, that seemed to shift.
Ethan and Josh chuckled as they took turns hugging her. "It surely has. It's good to have you back. I know Freya is gassed," Josh chuckled.
"Yeah, welcome back home," Ethan smiled, "Faith is excited to meet you. She's thrilled to have another girl in the troops," he added.
"I'm sure we will be fast friends," Natalie smiled. "And congratulations to you and Faith!" She exclaimed, referring to Olive, their daughter.
Ethan grinned. "Thanks, Natalie."
Natalie turned her attention to Simon, who stayed silent, leaning against the plain white wall. Even after all this time, the feelings never entirely went away. Looking at him, she knew how she fell in love with him.
"Hi again, Simon," Natalie gave him a polite nod.
"Hi, Natalie," he also gave a polite nod.
Another round of awkward silence filled the room until Simon coughed slightly. "We can use the More Sidemen set to talk," he suggested as he started off to the room.
Natalie followed suit as they both entered the room. It was a very aesthetically pleasing room, with a white wall accented with textured orange paint. Simon sat on one end of the gray couch, and Natalie sat on the other.
It was silent for a few moments before Simon spoke up. "You wanted to talk, so talk," he flatly insisted.
Natalie pursed her lips. "Look, I know me coming back to London and seeing you was the last thing you wanted to do," she sighed. "Especially with how we ended things, but I think that's why we need to talk."
Simon looked over at her and finally let out a sharp exhale. "I genuinely don't know what's left to say."
She stared at him with perplexity. "What do you mean? Simon, we both said and did things we are surely not proud of in our relationship. I know I can admit that."
"Of course, I'm not proud of the things that happened, Natalie. Did you really think I wanted our relationship to end like that?" He asked in frustration.
"Of course not!" She exclaimed. "It did, unfortunately. And we can't take it back. We both were so stubborn and stuck in our ways to see that we were both the problem," she reasoned.
"And immature and naïve," Simon continued.
Natalie nodded in agreeance. "I never wanted our relationship to end the way it did. You don't know how many times I wanted to pick up your calls and say how sorry I was," she sighed.
Simon bit the inside of his cheek, staring at her momentarily. "Why didn't you? After that drunk call I made, I called you repeatedly, but you never once tried to call me back."
Natalie looked taken aback by his resentful tone. "I don't know, Simon. It was too hard."
"Too hard? Didn't you think it was too hard for me? I was hurt too. I was in pain, too," he challenged.
"I know that!" She cried. "I'm sorry, okay? You broke my heart, Simon. I was angry and upset, but I never stopped caring about you," she said, her voice breaking as she spoke.
Simon felt his words blurt out. His words left his mouth before his mind could even process them. He spoke only emotionally, rationality leaving his body. "If you cared even slightly about me, you would've picked up your damn phone," he snapped. "And you don't think you broke mine? I loved you, Natalie—fuck, I still love you," he exclaimed.
Natalie looked jarred at his confession. Silence once again overtook them.
Simon rubbed his temples in frustration, letting out a sharp breath. "And a part of me always will. You ruined every relationship I could ever have, Natalie. Because no matter how hard I try, I will always love you, and God help me; I wish I didn't," he admitted.
"Why do you think I left London, Simon? Not only was my career in California, but it physically pained me to be here. To be around you and even be at a distance from you made me want to die," she confessed, trying to hold back the tears that welted in her honey-brown eyes.
"How do you think I felt?" Simon scoffed.
Natalie shook her head in disbelief. "God help you, for still loving me? God help me. I hate that I still love you, Simon. I hate that you will always have a part of my heart. And I hate that I will compare every other relationship to what we had," she ranted, a tear falling down her cheeks.
Natalie stood up and rubbed her tears away. "This clearly was a mistake. We will always go in circles when it comes to us, so let's forget it," she persisted as she walked away.
Simon remained on the couch as he put his head into his hands and groaned in frustration. He raised his head and saw the six other Sidemen looking at him with eyes of disappointment.
