(A/N: Don't forget to comment guys, I need your feedback as this is one of the chapters that has been decided by you. Thank you all for the time you put into the survey, let's see what we created together!)
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It'd been a few weeks since I agreed to move in with Matty. I had my reservations at first; with the amount of drama that followed us it felt odd to agree to do something...normal. Sitting by the fireplace feeding each other chocolate covered strawberries was definitely not us, but I was excited to find out what would be. Matty was right, after everything that happened with Callum, the flat just felt different. As much I loved Tessa, Brad and Emily, I didn't feel safe anymore, and although against my better judgement, I did feel safe with Matty. He promised to stop with the heroin and get the help if he needed it, and I promised to stop nagging him and expecting more from him than he can give. I was happy with the arrangement, and once I'd finished uni for the year we began the process of moving my stuff in.
"So basically this guy cheats on you, and you decide the best possible action would be to move in with him?" Kurtis said between exaggerated breaths, lugging one of my many boxes up the stone steps and dumping them in the hallway. Mum came up from behind and swatted him on the back of the head with one of the many school books she was carrying.
"Your sister's a big girl, she can make her own bad decisions." She said, putting them down in a pile next to the door.
"Mum..." I groaned, rolling my eyes. Thankfully Matty was out as the band had a meeting with their manager. "We've been through this-"
"I know, I know. I just worry about you, poodle." She said, puckering her lips and playing with a loop of my hair. Kurtis burst out laughing, and as soon as mum had turned her back I gave him a swift elbow to the ribs.
"Poodle?" a voice called out questioningly, and the three of us spun around to face the culprit. Brad was standing in the doorway with Tessa, holding a six-pack of beer and a bag full of snacks.
"Yeah, because of her big ass hair." Kurtis snorted, which I returned with an icy glare.
"What are you guys doing here anyway?" I said in my attempt to divert the conversational topic. "Not that I'm not happy to see you, obviously."
"For the party." Matty said, strolling up behind the two of them with a lit cigarette in his mouth. He walked up towards me and looped his arm around my shoulder, letting his hand hang freely.
"What party?" I said, taking the cigarette out of his mouth and stubbing it out before putting it in the bin. I turned to face him and he pushed his bottom lip out and furrowed his brows.
"That was a new fag..." he grumbled to himself.
"You'll make the house smell of smoke." I sighed, brushing my hair out of my eyes.
"Good!" He teased, flashing me his signature crooked smile.
"Matty said you were having a housewarming party? We came early to help set up..." Tessa said, cradling a few bottles of wine within her arms. Matty pointed at her whilst using his other hand to press a finger to his nose.
"Exactly! Speaking of which, we need to go to the shop. Get some supplies."
"Matty I've not even finished unpacking yet-" I began to protest, but he pushed his index finger to my lips, shushing me.
"Just shove them all in the practice room, I've not set up the keyboard or anything yet so there's room. Come on sour puss, we need to celebrate! The girl of my dreams has agreed to move in with me, do all my laundry, my cooki-"
"Woaaaaaah!" I protested, to which Matty only laughed.
"Go on, Avery. I'm sure your friends can help me move the rest of your stuff inside and upstairs." Mum said, smiling at both Tessa and Brad.
"Yeah, and whilst you're doing that I'm gonna go with these two and pick out which booze they can buy me." Kurtis said, beginning to walk toward the door. My mum pulled him back by his shoulder, which instantly slumped when he got caught.
"Nuh-uh, I don't think so chief. You're 15. Good try though," she said "go on you two, go get what you need."
"Thanks Debs." Matty said, pressing a mushy kiss to her cheek, catching her off guard. Mum's face instantly turned red as her hand reached up and wiped the excess spit off her face, chuckling all the while as Matty grabbed my hand and pulled me out the door.
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"I still feel bad for leaving them." I said, pushing the metal trolley down the various aisles of the shop.
"Oh come on, they wouldn't have offered if they minded." Matty said, his eyes wandering over to a display. "I'm gonna go check this out, meet you at the party supplies?" He had barely waited for my response before he practically skipped towards the wine section. With a roll of my eyes and a hint of a smile creeping into the corner of my mouth, I steered the trolley down the narrow section, barely avoiding hitting a toddler running amok with an apologetic parent trailing after them.
As I looked over the various different coloured streamers and solo cups, my mind couldn't help but wander. Would that be Emily, chasing her child down as they happily chuckled away, thinking it was the funniest thing ever? The woman looked so tired and fed up, I almost felt sorry for her. With George in the band, would it even work? Hell, that's if George even ended up being the father. As much as Emily had been avoiding telling them both, time was running out. Setting up a nursery in George's house was bad enough, and I couldn't help but think it the entire time she was showing me around it, telling what was going to go where. She looked so happy, and it didn't seem the right time to bring it up. I bet she's been thinking the same thing.
A tap on my shoulder brought me back to reality, and I turned around, ready to show Matty my selection.
"I think the silver streamers would look better in the hallway, but the red ones would really accent the cupboards in the kitchen-"
"Long time no see." Ethan smiled at me, outstretching his arms wide. The shock on my face must have said it all as I hesitantly allowed myself to get pulled into a hug.
"What are you doing back? I thought you were staying in America with you grandma?"
"Turns out she just had a kidney stone. Doc's popped it out and she's almost good as new, so I came back." He beamed. "How have you been? Still living in London, obviously."
"Yeah, I've just moved actually. I'm living-" I began, but his excited chattering interrupted me. A ball of uncertainty settled itself in the pit of my stomach.
"You've moved? That's great news! Is that what you're having the party for?" He smiled, pointing to the streamers in both of my hands. I stood there for what felt like an eternity, trying to think up a good enough excuse for having party stuff in my hands without saying we were having a party. It was no secret that Matty didn't like Ethan, for obvious reasons, so to invite him would be like a kick in the teeth.
"I-um, I-" I said, before I heard a familiar set of footsteps approaching me from behind. Relieved, I turned to face Matty who was holding various different bottles of red wine.
"Oh..." They both said at the same time, eyeing each other up.
God, beam me up. Please.
"...Ethan's grandma isn't dead."
"What?
"She uh, she didn't die... so that's good." I said, my voice barely above a whisper. They both looked at me as if I had my knickers on my head.
"Weird way of putting it but yeah, I'm glad man." Matty said, peering down at me and raising a questionable eyebrow. I shrugged, turning my beet-red face back towards the shelf with the cups on. "Did Aves tell you about the party?"
"We just came on to the subject actually-"
"Great, well you're more than welcome to come if you want." My mouth instantly dropped at the words. Thankfully I'd shoved my face into the packaging of the cups, pretending to read the fine print at the bottom. They said goodbye, and Matty pulled me towards his chest, pressing a kiss on the side of my neck. "You're a natural under pressure, babe."
"Shut up. Why did you invite him? I thought-"
"What better way to show off my girl and say 'I won', right?" he grinned.
"...That is beyond childish." I half laughed, rolling my eyes.
"Yuuuuuuuup." He said, still grinning as we reached the checkouts.
YOU ARE READING
You (Matty Healy)
Fanfiction"You're a good girl, do you know that?" He exhaled deeply with a disbelieving smile, pulling me to lie next to him. "Which is probably why I find you so hot. Those innocent eyes, fuck. I was done for. I always have been." "You don't mean that." I l...
