“Lydia! Lee’s here!” Abbey moved aside to allow the tall man outside the door to duck out of the rain that bestowed London. It was colder than it had been in weeks, as if summer were trying to tell the Londoners not to get used to the lovely weather they had been given. Abbey pulled the sleeves of her sweater over her hands and shut the door, shivering as she did so. “Do you want a towel?” Her cockney accent filtered the words so they were a bit difficult to understand to the untrained ear.

His blond hair was plastered against his head and he was dripping wet, but he didn’t seem to care. “Nah, I’m fine,” Lee replied, glancing around the flat. He had been there many times before, but never got used to how girly it was compared to his own bachelor’s pad a few blocks away.

Abbey’s bare feet padded against the wooden floors as she led him further into the depths of cream walls and white furniture. She jumped over the back of the long sofa and slid down next to the dark haired guy that was curled up against some overly large deep blue pillows. He wrapped his arms around her and she snuggled against him, thankful for the warmth. He threw a light blanket over her as she shivered some more.

“Ant?” Lee asked, and the man turned his head to smile at his friend.

“Hey there,” Ant gave Lee some sort of odd guy hand signal and turned back to the television which was playing the newest Harland Williams flick. Lee laughed, fully aware of Abbey’s taste in guys.

“I dunno where she’s hiding,” Abbey muttered, sighing.

“Who, baby girl?” Ant asked her, kissing the top of her head. Her dark ebony hair curled against her shoulders and tickled Ant’s exposed skin.

“Lydia,” she answered, her brown eyes looking towards Lee. “You can probably go look. She won’t yell at you.”

Lee laughed and began walking down the hall. There was no sound coming from the bathroom, and once he reached the door, he saw that it was open and so was the window. He ducked inside to close it and then continued down the narrow hallway.

“Lyd?” He called, approaching her bedroom door and knocking softly.

“Mmmmm?” Came a female voice from within.

He smiled slightly and pushed it open; a brown haired girl with hazel eyes sat in her large bed, a book propped up on her lap, her covers pulled as far up as they could go, leaving just her eyes and top of her head visible. “Hey you,” he said, going inside and shutting the door closed behind him.

She looked up and smiled, “Hi, I didn’t know you were coming over.”

“Surprise,” he laughed, kicking his shoes off. He glanced beside her, where a large lump appeared below the covers. “What’s going on there? Did you get a dog?”

Lydia knit her eyebrows together in confusion and closed her book with a quiet snap. Upon setting it on her dressing table, she looked to the lump, “Lee,” she said, her voice sad and forlorn. “I have to tell you something.”

Lee went closer to the bed in order to look at the lump to see if it was breathing. “What is it?” he asked, his voice choked.

Her lips spread further into an undeniable smile, “It’s a pillow, you idiot.” She pulled the covers away revealing a huge pillow that normally went where her head was. “My back hurt, so I shoved it over.”

“You didn’t put it like that so I’d be jealous?”

Lydia laughed a bit, “I didn’t know you were coming over, how could I have planned that?”

“That is a good question,” he replied, sitting at the edge of her bed, near her feet. “What are you doing?”

“I came in here to avoid all the making out that was going on in the living room. We WERE watching a movie, and it was G rated in this flat…and then it wasn’t. So I came in here to my good old book. I thought you were doing some interview today?”

“I was,” Lee said, “It’s over.” He smiled warmly at her, “You didn‘t want to be round while they were making out?”

“They go at it like rabbits,” Lydia replied honestly, “I just wish they would do it in her room. Which is down the opposite hallway for a purpose.”

“So you can’t hear things,” Lee stated, trying hard not to laugh.

“You shouldn’t be making fun,” she pouted, “It’s not funny. You don’t live with it.”

“I don’t?” Lee questioned, “Last time I checked, I was on the same tour bus as him.”

“Oh,” Lydia deadpanned, “Right. Forgot.”

“Are you cold?” He asked her, motioning towards the abundance of blankets and her sweater.

“Yes, it’s freezing in here.” She shivered for effect.

He smiled fondly at her, resisting the urge to laugh, “You left the window in the bathroom open. I closed it on my way in here.”

“Our heat isn’t working,” she sighed when she realized what he said, “I didn’t leave the window open. I’m sure ABBEY DID!” She yelled the last part and could hear far-away laughter in response.

“KEEP IT DOWN IN THERE!” Abbey hollered back, “AND DON’T DO ANYTHING I WOULDN’T DO!”

“There isn’t anything you wouldn’t do!” Lydia yelled, laughing hysterically. She shook her head, laughing, “It’s good to see you, I feel like we haven’t seen each other in…what…two days?“ Lee kissed her then, long and hard, lying on top of her with the pile of covers between them; a few minutes into the kiss, Abbey burst through the door.

“I’m going to the MTV Europe Video Music Awards!” She announced to them; while doing a little dance she didn’t seem to notice Lee fly off of Lydia and land on the floor in a heap accompanied by all of Lydia’s blankets. She squealed and grasped at them, but lost her footing and landed on top of him.

“Knocking is good,” Lee said, his voice muffled as he tried to claw the covers off him.

“You weren’t doing anything,” Abbey retorted, “Anyway. Ant just invited me.”

Lydia stood up from her spot on top of a pile of blankets and Lee and perched on the edge of the bed, “Cool, dude,” she said in an American accent; Lee laughed and threw the blankets on top of her. Antony appeared in the doorway, laughing at them.

“I was going to ask you,” Lee complained, his bottom lip stuck out in a pout, “But I didn’t get the chance.”

“Less sex, more talking,” Ant commented, whistling.

“Oh, you should talk!” Lydia shot at him, her British accent back in full.

“I feel like some sort of…something,” Lydia complained, sighing and adjusting her dress for the thirtieth time that night.

“Quit it, you look fine,” Abbey assured her, taking the water Ant offered her. “Thank you, but I’d rather have some alcoholic beverage. I need to get sloshed tonight.” Ant laughed, but didn’t give her anything to drink.

“This is my first awards show,” Lydia stated randomly, “I’m bloody nervous.”

Lee slipped his arm around her and she leaned into him, trying to breathe steadily, “You look amazing. Don’t worry about it.” He kissed her quickly and watched as the limo door opened and Simon with his girlfriend, Sandra, got out followed by Duncan and his girlfriend, Marissa.

Lydia began breathing like a woman in labor while Ant and Abbey slipped out. “I think you’ve been watching too much WE,” Lee mused, trying to hold back a grin, “Or Lifetime…or the food channel.”

“I watch BBC,” Lydia replied stonily, “That’s all.” She made a face, “Sometimes MTV.”

“Maybe Animal Planet, then? I think I saw that cats breathe like that while having kittens” Lee commented lightly, taking hand and intertwining their fingers, “Don’t pass out on me, come on now.”

She nodded and slid out of the limo behind him.

The camera flashes were blinding and the hollers were meshed so much together that Lydia couldn’t tell if they were yelling, “LEE! OVER HERE!” or “EAT OVER HERE!” like one might use for advertising a new restaurant. The one that made Lydia giggle most was when a portly Irish gentlemen yelled, “EAT MORE DEER!” and held up a clipboard and microphone.

Lydia tensed with the thought of her photo being on the cover of numerous tabloids the following morning. Lee pulled Lydia closer to him, whispering in her ear that he wouldn’t let her go too far from him.

As the two of them wandered to the first reporter and camera crew set, she realized why celebrities wore sunglasses to these events even when they took place quite late at night.

As soon as the first question was out of the reporter’s mouth and Lee was just about to answer, the crowd’s cheers shifted and the screams increased. The reporter stopped paying attention to them and began yelling at the newest limo that pulled up. Lydia shifted her body and looked around Lee to see who was arriving that was so important. As soon as a booted foot touched the ground and a pair of leather trousers appeared, the crowd roared and Lydia could make out the one word on their lips: Westlife.

“Oh bollocks,” Lydia heard Marissa say from her right, knocking her back into the presence; she realized the rest of the group were all standing around she and Lee now, “They make such a fuss out of them. I don‘t understand it.” Duncan chuckled and kissed her fondly.

“They are quite good looking, especially Mark,” Abbey said reasonably and Ant looked at her like she’d lost her mind. “And I do like their songs.”

Lydia stayed quiet, she’d always had a secret love of Westlife; they were her guilty pleasure and she owned all of the Cds, but kept the hidden for fear of being discovered. Her green eyes were trained on the five men who spilled out of the shiny black limo. Though her hand was stuck to Lee’s, she wanted badly to drop it and run to the five Irish lads and beg for an autograph. Of course, she resisted. Her heart beat sped up as they began walking in a group towards her.

As the boys all exchanged cheery random hellos, the girls hung back and watched. It was Lydia who voiced what the others were thinking, “They’re all by themselves. They didn’t bring dates?”

“Half of them are either married or engaged,” Abbey remarked.

Marissa glanced at her, smirking, “How d’you know?”

“The internet, Riss, duh,” Abbey laughed.

Sandra cleared her throat, “I personally think they are just a bunch of pretty boys in expensive trousers and frilly blouses that are straight out of the 1700’s.” The other three girls stared at her, “They can’t dance, they can’t sing…”

“Why are you so put off by them?” Lydia asked curiously.

“She shagged Mark way back and he never called her,” Marissa chuckled, “She’s very bitter.”

Lydia’s eyes widened, “That’s all? You’re bitter?”

Sandra looked at her sternly, “Yes, I am. Okay? Now drop it. Si’s coming back.” Simon was walking towards them now, a smile on his face.

“Those Westlife lads, all completely pissed,” Simon laughed and held his arm out to Sandra, “Shall we?” She nodded, took his arm, and they walked off towards the entrance of the building.

“They’re all pissed?” Lydia echoed, watching as Lee pulled away from a manly hug and jogged over to her.

“Well, he means drunk,” Abbey said, “They’re Irish.”

“So? That doesn’t mean they’re ALWAYS drunk,” Lydia argued.

“Ooooh,” Lee laughed, “But they are.” He looked back towards his band mates and Westlife and then smiled at Lydia, “They do want to meet you, though, so they can’t be too, too drunk. And look out for the tall blonde one, he’s grabby.”

Lydia raised an eyebrow and allowed Lee to take her elbow and steer her towards the large group of laughing men. When the two of them entered the circle of people, they stopped laughing and she could feel several pairs of eyes on her. Ant left the group to, presumably, summon Abbey; Duncan left as well, to continue onto the other reporters with Marissa.

Her head was swimming with new information as Lee did introductions. A pair of blue eyes entered her consciousness and she could tell they stayed on her and didn’t leave her face. Though she wasn’t aware of who the eyes belonged to, she had a good idea.

“LEE!” Ant bellowed from a few feet away; everyone turned towards him and they saw he was standing with Simon and Duncan talking to a reporter and having their pictures snapped non-stop.

Lee gave Lydia’s hand a little squeeze and turned to the man on her other side. “Bry, will you watch her for a sec? I’ll be right back.” He kissed her cheek quickly, dropped her hand and flew up the red carpet towards his band.

Bryan smiled down at her (he was easily a foot taller than she was), “Is Lee your babysitter?”

“Sometimes,” Lydia replied, shrugging, “He just knows I’m nervous…he probably didn’t want to leave me alone.” As she said this, she glanced at him; he was doing weird poses with Duncan, then a nice ballerina twirl on his tip toes which made Lydia giggle hysterically.

“He’s a good lad,” Bryan remarked, watching her face carefully, “A bit mad, though.”

Lydia laughed out loud, “Yeah, that he is.”

“Bryan,” A tall man in a black suit said, standing in between Bryan and Lydia, “Kerry’s on the phone. She says it’s important.”

Bryan gave Lydia an apologetic look and pushed a shorter blonde man towards her, “Kian’ll look after ya.” Then he took a cell phone from the man and stepped away.

“I feel like I’m being tossed around,” Lydia said to no one in particular, “Like a hackysack or something.”

Kian laughed and put his hands in the pockets of his worn jeans, “It seems that way.”

“You don’t have to watch me,” she said to him soon after, feeling the hint of a blush creeping upon her cheeks.

“Oh, I don’t mind,” Kian assured her, “If I weren’t doing this, I’d just have to answer several boring questions and give numerous ridiculous answers. I’d much rather stand here with you.”

Lydia didn’t know what to say to this, so she just nodded and smiled. A gust of wind picked up, blowing her hair all about her face and making her shiver.

“Are you cold?” Kian asked as she brushed the hair from her face.

He began taking off his leather jacket, but she stopped him, “No, no, I’m fine. It’s my own fault for wearing a sleeveless shirt at night in the middle of the summer.”

“You wouldn’t think it’d be a problem,” Kian said, “Being that it’s summer.”

“Mmmm,” Lydia shrugged, “It is England. Unpredictable weather and all that.”

A tall brown haired man who Lydia recognized as Mark, approached them then. “Ki, we’re supposed to be doing interviews. The boss is getting agitated.”

“The boss?” Lydia asked him, curious as to when Bruce Springsteen had arrived, and why he cared what Westlife were doing.

“Shane,” Kian explained, chuckling slightly, “Emm…tell him I’ll be there in a small bit.”

Mark cleared his throat, “Who is that with Antony?”

Lydia glanced quickly at him, feeling as if she had misheard somehow; he seemed to be inquiring about her best friend and flat mate, and she was beyond surprised. Not that Abbey didn’t get inquired about a lot, she did, it was just that Abbey had a huge crush on Mark and she’d die if she knew he was asking about her. “That’s Abbey,” she said eventually, watching as Mark’s eyes wandered to near the front door where Abbey stood talking to Marissa. “She’s my flat mate…and Ant’s girlfriend.”

“Of how long?” Mark questioned, an eyebrow raised and a faint blush on his cheeks. Kian was smirking beside her, watching her as she answered.

“I dunno know for sure, a while.” Lydia began shifting her weight from one foot to the other in an attempt to get warm.

Mark continued questioning, “Is it serious?”

“Relatively,” Lydia responded vaguely, “They aren’t engaged or anything.”

“I’d say go for it,” Kian stated, giving his band mate an encouraging nod.

“Ant will kill me if I try anything,” Mark bit his bottom lip and turned back towards Lydia, “Emmm, Lydia, is it? Would you do me a favor?”

“Absolutely,” Lydia said, mostly just curious to know what the favor would be. She knew she’d do it, whatever it was, because if she blew Abbey’s chance to date Mark Feehily, she’d be forever paying her back by buying her things; Lydia was a bit short on cash and couldn’t afford a guilty shopping spree.

“Can you give her my number?” He held out a folded piece of paper and she took it, tucking it into her tiny purse, “And invite her to the party afterwards. Or are you already going?”

“I think she is,” Lydia said.

“Brilliant, thanks.” He smiled at them and went to join the other Westlifers, which included Bryan who had been relieved of his phone.

“You should come,” Kian said, taking a step away from her towards the group who were beckoning him over. “I’d like you to.” Lee came up beside her then, but it was obvious he hadn’t heard anything Kian had said.

Lydia was a bit taken aback by his wanting her there, but recovered quickly enough to nod deftly and wave at him as he walked away. With a last smile, he turned around and walked away.

“He wasn’t being grabby was he?” Lee asked her, slipping his arm around her waist. She was thankful for the warmth the arm provided.

“Kian?” Lydia asked, laughing, “No.”

“I meant Bryan. Where’d he get to?”

“He left me with Kian,” Lydia said, as Lee began walking towards the entrance. “He’s very lovely.”

“Kian is?” Lee laughed, as if he didn’t believe this and she nodded in confusion, “Okay. Ready to party?”

“Always,” she smiled, though not at Lee; she was returning the smile Kian was flashing her as she passed him. Butterflies jump started at the base of her stomach and flew clear to her throat; she had a bad feeling about this.

“I thought we were going to go home and celebrate,” Lee stated, helping her from the limo and sliding his leather jacket around her shoulders once she was completely out of the car.

Lydia raised an eyebrow, “Tempting, but no. I want to go to this party.”

“Why is that again?” He asked as they began walking through hordes of video cameras, reporters and photographers to the party’s entrance.

“I want to see how Ab hits it off with Mark,” Lydia explained, putting her arms through the sleeves of the jacket and then grabbing his hand as he pulled the front door open.

“Ant’s gonna go bananas,” Lee said, sighing and beckoning her inside ahead of him.

“He’ll be fine. I don’t think he takes the relationship too seriously, anyway.”

“No, he doesn’t, you’re right. Does Abbey?”

“Not especially,” Lydia answered, pulling the jacket off reluctantly and allowing Lee to check it. “I’m going to freeze.”

“Not if we dance,” Lee sang, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively at her.

Lydia laughed, “After I get a drink so I don’t dry up like a prune before the nights through, we’ll groove all night.”

“I love when you say groove,” Lee replied, chuckling.

“Well, then,” Lydia stated in a tad bit of shock.

Ant nodded, “Yeah.” He turned to Lee, “Hold onto her ‘cause I heard Egan’s got his eye out.” He patted Lee on the back, slugged down another drink and then left.

Lydia shook her head, “Wow, I can’t believe she just broke up with him and then----then just went off to Mark’s hotel room.” She bit her bottom lip, “There’s going to be a screaming phone call in the morning, I can tell.”

“Aren‘t you surprised Abbey would do that to Ant?” Lee asked, relaxing in his chair and sighing. “And just like that?”

“No, not really,” Lydia shrugged, “I feel awful for Ant, but Abbey’s been in love with Mark from afar for years. I am not surprised that once he showed a little interest, she jumped at the chance.”

“He’s just gonna break her heart,” Lee moaned dramatically, then became serious, “It’s just sex to him.”

“It’s not to you? Or to Ant?”

Lee sat up and took her hand in his, “You know it’s not with us, Lyd.”

Lydia blinked and pulled away from him, “I’ll be back. I have to go to the loo.”

“Watch out for Kian, Lydia,” Lee said, sounding solemn, “You heard what Ant said. When he wants something, he gets it just like the rest of them.”

She waved her hand in dismissal, “It’s fine, Lee, I’ll be right back.”

When a half hour rolled along and Lee hadn’t seen Lydia since she’d departed for the loo, he got up and wandered around the bustling club in search of her. Westlife had a secluded room in the very back, so he headed there first.

The only person sitting at the large table was Bryan, who was nursing a beer; it was not his first or even tenth beer by the look of the table - it was littered with empty bottles.

“Hey Bry,” Lee said, his lips pursed together and his face stony. “Have you seen my girlfriend? Lydia?”

“Noff,” Bryan answered, giggling slightly, “Kian took her home a bit ago.” He held his beer out, “Beer?”

“No.” Lee swallowed hard, “Kian took Lydia home? My Lydia?”

“’Twas the girl you left me with earlier,” Bryan slugged down the remainder of his drink. “Kian brought her over here and told us he was taking her home ‘cause she had a headache.” Bryan giggled more, “A headache, right? Likely story.”

Lee’s fists clenched together in reflex. He managed a small grin and a nod before he waved and ran outside as fast as he could.

The answering machine clicked on, filling the silent apartment with the voices of two happy sounding British women, “Hey this is Abbey and Lydia, we’re out or just avoiding your call, so leave one after the beep. If you’re important enough, we’ll get back to you.”

It beeped and the person on the other end cleared his throat, “Lydia, it’s Lee.” His voice sounded tired, aggravated and quite unlike his usual jubilant self, “It’s been, what, a week and you haven’t returned my phone calls, you aren’t answering your door. Where are you? I’m home. Please give me a call as soon as you can. I miss you.”

He hung up and put his head in his hands, feeling the headache increase it’s constant pounding. As his heart beat increased and his mind whirled, all he wanted to do was curl up in bed and sleep for months at a time. He built lies up in his head telling himself it wasn’t like he couldn’t live without her, and it wasn’t like he was in love with her; he was angered most by the thought that she had chosen Kian over him. If she had even bothered choosing at all.

For the past week, since the party, he had called twice a day and left messages every time; she still hadn’t called him back. He hadn’t tired Kian yet, mostly because he didn’t want to know the truth.

Duncan, Ant and Simon took shifts trying to calm him down, but nothing worked. They tried to tell him he should just get over it and move on, but they knew deep down that he couldn’t.

He was in love, whether or not he admitted it aloud, and it would only get worse from now on.

Lee picked up the phone and dialed an unfamiliar number. A very familiar voice picked up after the third ring.

“ABBEY!?” Lee hollered, sitting up in bed and staring at the bedspread as if it had turned into her.

“Lee?” Abbey asked, “What are you----what’s going on?”

“What are you doing at Kian’s house?” Lee demanded.

“I’m here with Mark,” Abbey laughed, “Calm the hell down.”

“Where’s Lydia, Abbey.” Lee stated this rather than putting it in question form. He didn’t have time for formality.

“I don’t know, at the flat?” He could hear random laughter on the other side of the phone and it aggravated him more.

“She’s not answering the phone when I ring.” He sighed heavily, “Has she left me? Is she with Kian now?”

“Are you mad?” Abbey asked him, “What are you on?”

“I’m not on anything,” Lee retorted angrily; he took several deep breaths and she waited in silence while he did so. “Put Kian on.”

Abbey, against her better judgment, handed the phone over to Kian, “What the fook is going on?” Kian’s voice came on the line.

“You tell me,” Lee stated heatedly, “Where’s my girlfriend?”

“I would think you’d know that better than I would,” Kian laughed, “I haven’t seen her since the night of the party. I dropped her at her flat, made a move on her and she slapped the hell out of my face.”

Lee, despite his desperate predicament, felt a smile spread across his lips, “Seriously.”

“Yeah,” Kian answered hotly, “I kissed her. I liked her, ya know. I don’t think you deserve her.”

“That’s probably the truth, but it’s not up for you to decide. Arse.”

“Hey hey,” Kian said angrily, “No need for name calling.”

Lee disregarded this statement and pressed on, “If she’s not with you, and she’s not at her flat---”

“How d’ya know she’s not at her flat? Even if she’s not answering the phone, it doesn’t mean she’s not there.”

Lee had thought of this, of course, which had been why he’d gone to the flat several times only to be met by silence on the other side of the door. “Nobody knows where the bloody hell she is. This is ridiculous.”

“I’ll say,” Kian sighed heavily, “I’ll ask around and see if any of the lads have heard from her. Abbey’s just grabbed Mark by the arm and dragged him out, she’s going over to check on her.”

“I’m sorry for calling you an arse. Though it is true.”

“Yeah I know, it’s fine.” Kian hung up shortly after, leaving Lee to wonder if he should attempt to go to the flat again.

“Is she here?” Lee’s voice was urgent and his blue eyes were filled with concern, pleading with Abbey to be truthful to him.

“She’s not, but she left me a note,” Abbey pulled the door open and allowed Lee to step inside. “I’ve been staying with Mark for the week so I had no idea. I should have rung her.”

Lee swallowed hard and entered the kitchen where Mark stood drinking from an unmarked bottle. He inclined his head in greeting and Mark patted him on the back in big brother fashion, “What does it say?”

“Do you really want to know?” Abbey asked, “Or would you rather have the number to where she’s staying?”

“There’s a number?” Lee choked out, “Where is she?”

“She’s gone home to Kent to be with her family for a bit,” Abbey explained, holding a piece of paper out to him, “That’s her number and the address.”

Lee took the paper, thanked Abbey, and left immediately.

When Lee was standing outside Lydia’s family home, shifting his feet on the doorstep, he finally wondered why he hadn’t asked Abbey why Lydia left in the first place. Once he knocked, he stepped back, his heart beating faster than normal.

The door swung open revealing Lydia in a pair of baggy sweat pants and an overly large Manchester United sweatshirt, of which the sleeves were pulled down over her hands. Her teary eyes widened in surprised at the sight of the frazzled man before her, “LEE? What are you doing here?”

“Looking for you. Why didn‘t you ring me?” Lee pleaded, his voice quiet and whimpering, “I was worried. I thought you’d left me for Kian.”

“Kian?” Lydia forced a laugh, “I wouldn’t leave you for Kian.”

“Why not?” Lee asked honestly, “I mean, seriously. Why wouldn’t you?”

Lydia bit her bottom lip and he saw that she was trembling, though it wasn’t cold outside. She wrapped her arms around herself and Lee took a hesitant step forward, placing his hands on her arms and rubbing slightly. Her eyes were rimmed with tears and he could tell she’d been crying for a while. “I don’t care about him the way I care about you,” she said shakily.

Lee wiped a stray tear from her eye and sighed, “Then why didn’t you pick up the bloody phone and ring me?”

“I couldn’t,” she answered lamely, wanting to pull away from him and flee back into the quietness of her childhood home.

He ran his hands down her arms to gently hold her hands, “Why not?”

She pulled her hands away and exhaled slowly with her eyes closed, “I couldn’t talk to you. I needed some time by myself. Just me. You were confusing me. Everything was confusing me. I was a big mess.” She pushed her hair from her face and peered at him.

The next words flew from his mouth in ten seconds and she could barely make them out, but she knew what he was saying by the look in his eyes, “I love you, you know.”

She stared at him, unable to move, “You read the note?”

“What note?” Lee asked, puzzled.

“The one I left Abbey.” She cocked her head to the side and gasped, “You didn’t read it? Well, then, how, why?”

Lee paused, “Wait. What did it say?”

“It said I left to sort some things out. I was scared. I freaked out completely. ‘Cause when Kian kissed me----oh god, it didn’t mean anything, I swear---”

“I know, I talked to him.” Lee smiled at her warmly, “He said you slapped him.”

Lydia laughed slightly, “I did.”

“Good,” he nodded, smiling happily at her, “Now tell me what else the note said. Did you call me the sexiest bloke ever to walk the earth?”

She took a deep breath and looked into his eyes, “No, I told her that I was in love with you.”

Three hours later, the two of them were walking up the stairs towards Lydia’s flat. “Hey, I love you,” Lee said, kissing her while she unlocked the door.

“I’ve heard,” she grinned. “I love you, too.”

When Lee and Lydia entered her flat, there was some odd sounds coming from Abbey‘s bedroom way down the hall. "Must be Mark and Abbey," Lydia laughed, throwing her keys onto the coffee table.

"No, Mark’s car isn’t out there. Simon's was....." Lee raised an eyebrow, "Well, that girl gets around."

“You don’t?” Lydia asked, swatting his arm playfully.

Lee tipped his head back and laughed, “Not anymore, baby.”

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