just best mates - wroetoshaw (FINISHED)

12

the sidemen met at the youtube studio for a meeting to discuss everything that was going to be happening in the coming months. the boys had a big group holiday planned, and so business arrangements had to be made.

walking into the meeting room, harry got déja vù from the events of the week before. his big goodbye from mads. him having let her go.

"obviously you're all going to ibiza next week, and you can vlog that for moresidemen. but we'll need to pre-record some videos so there's something for while you're on your break." their manager rants, none of the boys really paying attention.

"that's fair. who's coming to ibiza anyways?" jj chimes in.

"us lot, the girls, cal, cal, chris, randolph and mads."

hearing her name, harry sunk further into his seat. he could barely face avoiding her now, how was he to manage when they were stuck in a villa together?

"for today, you can do the spending video. it's easy enough, josh and harry take the sidemen card and the rest of you take your own. just try and spend £11k each in the space of an hour, then all head back to simon and jjs to finish."

the boys headed off in their separate directions down the busy london high street, filming themselves as they went into different stores and tried to spend as much money as they could.

josh noticed harry was upset. the boys were like brothers, he knew his tells by heart by this point - he was quieter than usual and his head was buried deep inside his hood.

"harry. we can film this another day, if you want." josh says, trying to comfort his mate. with him being the baby of the group, all the boys felt a responsibility to look after harry. and so it hurt him to see him broken, leaning against the concrete wall of one of the many london buildings.

"i'm fine." he says, doing a shite job of covering up his pain.

"talk to me. you need to."

"so, katie has decided she'll forgive me for kissing mads, but only if i go completely cold turkey. and i just want my best mate back, to be honest." the blonde boy starts to rant.

"mads is going to ibiza so you'll be able to spend time with her there, we can bribe the girls to take katie off your hands for a while." josh says, trying to advise the boy. harry knew he should be offended by what josh had said. he was talking about his girlfriend, after all. but he felt no need to.

in his mind, she deserved it. as bad as that sounded.

"that's fair, i guess." harry sighed, getting his camera out of his bag and filming himself walking into an expensive shoe store. deciding to try and use the video to try and distract himself from the shitty situation he'd landed in.

the video came to an end and the boys went back to their own flats, packing for their big trip away the next week.

~~

after weeks of putting it off, mads headed to the impromptu music studio in her flat to record a new cover. the only song that seemed to fit her mood was 'sad song - liam gallagher'. she couldn't bring herself to sing an upbeat song, at this point.

having to get ready felt completely alien to her. concealing her flaws and brushing through the knots in her hair made her feel like a new person. one that hadn't been broken. one that wasn't alone.

one that was happy.

looking at the girl staring back at her in the mirror, she takes a step back. it's different. one the one hand, her made up face and brushed hair make her look brighter, but her body had changed drastically. her pain had made her lose her appetite. she wasn't eating, in hope that if she was skinnier, someone would love her. she was slowly killing herself, but she was completely unaware of it. the jeans that were once the perfect fit fell baggily on her hips, the tight top looking a lot looser.

"hey guys, it's birchy. today i'm going to be embracing my manchester roots and singing 'sad song by liam gallagher.' so yeah, enjoy."

no matter the other changes, her voice was still just as melodic. it was the one thing about her no one could take away, and she cursed herself for not realising that sooner.

'if you're needing something i can give, i know id help you if i can.'

no matter how much he didn't want her, there was still nothing she wouldn't do for him.

'need a shoulder? well, if that's the case you know there's nothing i wouldn't do.'

she still made sure to catch every 'sidemen sunday.' he was her best friend, of course she did. she could see the hurt he felt, and just wanted to be the shoulder for him to cry on.

"all the best, stay in touch. mwah!" she signs off.

after pre-recording some more videos, she started packing for ibiza, knowing it was the holiday she so desperately needed. because of her falling weight, she had to order herself a whole new set of clothes. when her third attempt at a romance had failed, she had decided her weight was the issue. even though she hadn't spoken to him in months, jack's words still rang around her head when she looked in the mirror. she could still hear his voice calling her fat and ugly. she was dangerously skinny, but to her she was just happy if it meant she would be more lovable.