𝙞𝙞𝙞. 𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙞𝙙𝙙𝙡𝙚

(part 1)

BAD HABIT - STEVE LACY

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—MONDAY DRAGGED IN slower than usual. it had been a week since the shopping centre, and somehow owen had gone from being everywhere to barely there. started rehearsals and filming again, messaging less. not ignoring her, just busy. still, every time her phone buzzed, she hoped it was him.

lunchtime came, and liz, mia, and saoirse were sat outside by the benches, half finishing meal deals and half gossiping. it was one of those rare warm days, sunlight catching on everyone's hair, school skirts creased, blazers off. "well liz.." mia spoke up, a grin on her face. "mhm?" liz replied with a hum not looking up at her yet as she snuck out her phone to check the time. "thoughts on owen cooper?" mia questioned, a snicker escaping from saoirse, causing elizabeth's head to shoot up. "huh?" she asked, dumbfounded.

mia rolled her eyes teasingly. "ohh cmonnn don't be daft now, it's so obvious y'like him" mia giggled, trying to keep her voice hushed so nobody could hear their conversation. liz kept silent, looking over at saoirse since she was the only one who knew that liz liked him. elizabeth left out a soft sigh and rolled her eyes. "is it that obvious?" she asked, practically whispering at this point. mia gasp and squealed. "i fucking knew it!!" she exclaimed brightly before nodding. "yeah it kinda is, charlie and i were on call a few nights ago and talking about the two of yous" mia said nonchalantly, causing dairies and liz to share glances. "what we're you guys sayin?" saoirse asked. mia shrugged, "ah nothing much, i was asking if owen liked anyone and charlie said that owen hasn't mentioned anything to him, maybe harry though"

why would mia be asking that in the first place?

saoirse just nodded and hummed before speaking up again, "i'm sure he likes you, like do you see the way he looks at you?" saoirse giggled. elizabeth rolled her eyes "oh my days, shut up" she blushed, looking away and hoping the sun shining down on her could be used as an excuse. "i can ask him if you want."

"ask him?"

"yeah, like, casually. just see what he says."

liz hesitated, biting her lip. "wouldn't that be weird?" "not if i keep it chill," mia said, already half-smiling. "trust me, just tell me what to say and what not."

saoirse gave liz a look — that classic "we'll debrief later" look and liz just nodded, feeling both nervous and weirdly hopeful.

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after school, saoirse came over to elizabeth's to get ready before meeting everyone at the pitches. liz's room smelled faintly of body spray and vanilla shampoo, music playing low from her speaker as they changed out of uniform. saoirse was sprawled on the bed, scrolling on her phone. "sooo, mia's actually gonna talk to him tonight?" liz nodded, tugging on her hoodie. "she said she would."

"and you're okay with that?" saoirse raised a brow, liz paused. "i mean... kind of? i just want to know, y'know? like, if he actually likes me or not." "yeah, fair," saoirse shrugs. "but what if he's just nervous to say it?" liz sighed. "then i hope he says it soon. i really like him, sais. like, properly."

saoirse looked up from her phone. "yeah?" liz nodded slowly. "he's just... dunno—easy to talk to. i can be myself around him. and even when he's not around, i'm still thinking about him."

saoirse smiled softly. "aw, liz. that's actually adorable." "don't start" liz said, hiding her face with her hands with a pink flush on her cheeks "i mean it though. you two would be good together." saoirse smiled. liz picked up her phone to see she got a text from mia.

mia x: eliza

mia x: liz

mia x: i needa tell u smth

elizabeth 🤎: wassup

mia x: look i don't want u to be mad but i js wanted to say tha i like owen asw but i feel rlly bad

elizabeth🤎: ha yea i figured

mia x: r u mad ?

elizabeth🤎: ?? no why would i be? u can't control how u feel abt sumone

mia x: can we still be friends? even if he picks one of us??

elizabeth🤎: yea ofc im not gunna let a boy get in between our friendship

mia x: glad u understand x 💘

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her heart skipped like a million beats, showing the chats to saoirse and basically panicking. "yeah but he likes you, it's so obvious. let's just hope for the best... right?" saoirse reassured her. as they continued chatting, they heard a bang at the door. liz rolled her eyes, immediately knowing who it is. "isabelle fuck off! saoirse's here" she shouted through the door before it opened, isabelle, elizabeth's younger sister peeped through. "yeah i know, i just need to borrow your hair straightener, mum used mine and she broke it" isabelle laughs while she walks over to liz's vanity and grabs the straightener, saying a hello to saoirse too. "where are yous going?" she asked. "we're going out with mia, owen and harry... maybe charlie—i dunno though" elizabeth shrugged. isabelle let out a loud groan.

"you're always out with owennn, is he your boyfriend?" isabelle quirked a brow with a cheeky grin. saoirse gasped and sat up. "right!! she's always with owen at this point—they literally both like each other so we're hoping he asks her out" saoirse giggled. elizabeth's phone dinged a notification and the two girls shard a look. "speak of the devil" isabelle teased. a small sound of sniffing came through the door as their dog bruno came through and jumped on the bed, saoirse and isabelle petting and kissing him affectionately while elizabeth had her right hand texting and her left on bruno's golden fur.

owennn: yo

owennn: r u going out later?

elizabeth 🤎: yuhh probs

owennn: what time?

elizabeth🤎: idk saoirse is at my gaff rn but i'll lyk

owennn: gg see u in a bit.

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instagram:

elizabeth.collins019 posted a story .ᐟ

caption: 🫣🫣🫣

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by 4:30, they were at the pitches — the usual spot. the rest of the group was already there. owen, charlie, harry, mia. the same kind of chaos as always: football flying across the grass, snacks everywhere. liz felt her stomach flip when she saw owen. he waved the second he noticed her, that small, familiar grin spreading across his face.

"fancy seeing you here" liz joked, crossing her arms. they held eye contact for a while before he looked away in nervousness, licking his lips and a blush on his cheeks. "i could say the same" he laughs. it was easy for a while — laughter, shouting, teasing. harry and charlie argued over who was worse at penalties, mia filmed everything again for her private story or the group chat, saoirse kept laughing so hard she nearly dropped her drink.

but later, after the game died down and they were sitting around, mia caught owen's attention.

"hey, can i talk to you for a sec?" "uh, yeah," he said, glancing at liz before standing up. "what's up?"

liz tried not to watch them walk off toward the edge of the field, but her eyes followed anyway. saoirse noticed immediately. "you okay?"

liz nodded, forcing a small smile. "yeah. yeah, i'm fine." "awhh look at owen, getting all the huzz" harry cooed which made liz shift and her stomach drop.

mia didn't waste time. "so," she started, hands in her jacket pockets, "random question, but do you like liz?" owen blinked. "what?" he looked around as if he was being told something super top secret. "like, like her," she said."because she likes you." mia added bluntly

owen froze.

"she—she told you that?"

mia nodded. "yeah. she didn't want me to say anything but... i think you should know." owen exhaled, looking down at his shoes. "right. um."

mia tilted her head. "so? do you?" he hesitated, the words catching somewhere between his chest and his throat. "erm.." he mumbled, scratching the back of his neck nervously.

"uhh i dunno to be honest. like, i like her but i don't think it's the right time" owen said quietly, hoping nobody heard even though they were miles away from the group. mia tried her best to hold back her smile. and she nodded. "yeah, yeah i get it" "it's fine," she added quickly, though her voice came out a bit small.

he tried to smile, but it didn't reach his eyes. "maybe just... give it more time, yeah? i don't wanna hurt her."

mia nodded. "yeah. time's probably good." they both stood there for a moment, the air heavier now.

by the time they got back to the group, it was nearly sunset. saoirse and charlie were already leaving, harry heading the other way. mia said she had to go too, mum calling her home. liz went to check her phone. 6:30.

so it was just liz and owen again.

"everyone's disappearing," liz said, zipping up her jacket. "guess it's just us now," he said with a small smile. "guess so."

"d'you have to go home as well?" he asked. she shook her head simply "nah, i can go in like around half 7 or 8 maybe" with that, they didn't go straight home. instead, they walked around the village — quiet streets, streetlights flickering on one by one. it was that soft in-between hour where the air felt heavy with the end of the day. they talked about random stuff at first — school, music, plans. owen complained about filming, liz teased him for being dramatic. it was easy again, like it always was, but something about it felt more fragile now. she felt a pit in her stomach, as if anything she might say will drive him away, aslo thinking about mia and owens conversation since mia hasn't told her yet. it was delicate.

the walk got quiet, neither of them said much. the silence didn't feel awkward, but it wasn't comfortable either. "mia likes you" liz blurred out, she knew it was bad out but there was a feeling that he liked her too. owens head shot up. "r..really?" he stuttered, his cheeks turning pink once again. "yeah"

"i used to like you y'know" owen admitted. liz didn't know what to feel at this point. "not even gonna lie... same" she giggled awkwardly. owens head shot up, "really.?" he asked in confusion. "yeah"

"i didn't know that" owen laughs. "i didn't know you liked me either" liz giggles. as they both walked, it wasn't as quiet, a bit awkward but they got over it. and for the first time, elizabeth thought this was gonna go through.

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a/n: sorry i havent been updating these stories, idk if this is obvious but this whole chapter is based on a true story.😭😭

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