𝙫𝙞𝙞𝙞. 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙡𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩?

LOVESICK - PEACE

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—THE THOUGHT OF him made her forget how to think straight.it wasn't fair, really. that one person could occupy so much of her brain for so long. even when she tried to focus on schoolwork, or talk to her friends, or just exist, there was always him — laughing somewhere at the edge of her memory.

it was friday afternoon now, schools over and saoirse was sprawled on her bedroom floor, hair up in a messy bun, scrolling through tiktok. elizabeth sat cross-legged on her bed, hugging a pillow and trying not to smile at the memory of owen's laugh.

"you're smiling again," saoirse said, not even looking up."no i'm not.""you so are. you're thinking about him, aren't you?"liz groaned, hiding her face in the pillow. "maybe."

saoirse grinned, giving her a 'no shit' look. "god, i love being right. okay, so tell me again what happened."liz lifted her head, eyes wide. "i've literally told you three times."

"and you're gonna tell me a fourth, because i'm living for this."

liz sighed but couldn't fight the grin. "fine. so, we watched a horror film—""'course you did.""and i jumped—""of course you did.""and then he laughed and said i could hold on if i wanted—"saoirse shrieked, throwing her phone. "HE SAID THAT?!""yeah," liz said, covering her face again, cheeks pink. 

"i swear i told you this part already?" liz says casually. "no you did not!" she throws a pillow aimed right at her face making liz squeal. "so?!!" "and i did. well, kinda."

"kinda?!""i like... leaned on him. saoirse gasped dramatically. "leaned. on. him. elizabeth marie collins you're practically wifed up now."

liz laughed, kicking her gently. "shut up." they both dissolved into giggles, the kind that make your stomach hurt. eventually, when they calmed down, saoirse asked quietly, "so... do you think he's gonna ask you out?"

liz hesitated. "i don't know. i mean, i hope so. but i don't wanna overthink it.""girl..," saoirse said, sitting up. "he literally went to your house, watched a horror film, and let you half-cuddle him. if that's not something, i'll eat my hoodie."

liz laughed softly. "you're ridiculous." "nah," saoirse said, smiling. "you're just in denial, it's so obvious that there's something between you two!"

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meanwhile, across town, the boys were at training. the air was cold, their breath fogging in the air as they kicked the ball around the pitch. harry was leaning on the goalpost, drinking his pink lucozade, when owen wandered over.

"you know," owen said suddenly, nodding at the bottle, "that's liz's favourite." harry blinked. "what?""pink lucozade. she always gets that one. says it tastes better." harry raised an eyebrow. "right.." they started running drills again, but owen kept talking — little random things slipping out every few minutes.

"liz said she used to play midfield before she did dance, actually. said she was better at it than me.""did she now.?""yeah, she's fast. like surprisingly fast." owen shrugs 

five minutes later —"oh, that shop over there  liz and i went in there once. they sell these really good sour sweets."

harry finally stopped mid-run, staring at him. "mate. i say this with love— not even in a gay way but you have not shut up about liz for the past twenty minutes."owen frowned. "no i haven't.""you literally just started three sentences in a row with 'liz and i.'""did i?" owen asked, dumbfounded."yes." harry said with a straight face.

owen laughed, slightly embarrassed, running a hand through his hair before scratching the back of his neck. "alright, maybe i have been talking about her a bit.""a bit?" harry said, grinning. "bro, you're obsessed.""i'm not obsessed," owen said, but his face said otherwise. "nah, you are. it's actually kinda sweet. and tragic."

owen kicked the ball away, trying to hide the smile tugging at his mouth."you think she likes me?"harry gave him a look. "you really need me to answer that?"

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back at liz's, the two girls were now surrounded by snacks and half-empty cups of tea. the fairy lights in her room cast a soft glow as they scrolled through tiktok together.

"look," saoirse said, shoving her phone at liz, "this is literally you two."liz peeked at the screen. the caption read: 'when you both know it's something but no one wants to say it first.'liz rolled her eyes but couldn't stop smiling. "you're annoying.""and you're in love.""shut up."

they fell quiet after that — the kind of silence that's soft, not awkward. "you know," liz said after a while, voice quiet, "if he asked me, i think i'd say yes. like, straight away." saoirse smiled. "then he'd be a dope not to ask."

later that night, owen and harry were sat outside the changing rooms after training, boots muddy, hair messy, the sky dimming to purple orangey colour.

"so," harry said, stretching his legs, "you gonna do it or what?" "do what?" owen looked up "ask her out."owen groaned. "not you too." "yes, me too. i'm tired of hearing her name every five seconds.""i just don't wanna mess it up."

"mate, the only way you'll mess it up is by not asking."

owen leaned his head back against the wall. "i actually bought her lilies." harry blinked. "you what?""she said she liked them. so, i dunno. i saw them at the shop and thought of her." harry stared for a beat, then smirked. "you are so done for." owen laughed. "yeah, probably.""send the text tonight," harry said. "end the suffering. for both of us."owen chuckled then sighed. "alright. fine. tonight."

harry's face lit up immediately and grabbed his phone.

harry → saoirse: he's actually gonna ask her out tonight 😭😭😭saoirse: NO WAY. liz is gonna lose it.

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a/n: finally the second last chapter!! hope you guys are excited 😛🙏

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