Elizabeth's POV

"It's a line?" Himari questioned as she strained her eyes to look at Blaire's shoulder. We were on a group Skype video call. I sat at the large desk in front of my laptop staring at all of my friends who occupied tiny squares on the screen.

Beckett chuckled. "It could be a stick. Is that what you wanted?"

"Blaire, what happened?" I asked and she sighed.

"I wanted to get a tattoo of a rose on my shoulder. I didn't think it would hurt so bad but then the guy started piercing my skin with this needle and..." Callum's snoring cut Blaire off midsentence."Callum wake up. We can see you drooling babe," Blaire chuckled as she tapped on her screen.

Mid snore Callum looked up."I'm awake. I'm awake."

"Yeah, sure you are," Beckett rolled his eyes.

I missed them. It was my fifth day in England. I had spoken to them over texts and calls but this was our first group video call. "So how's English life treating you?" Blaire asked while filing her nails.

"I could get used to it. Fresh air and cold weather."

"Don't get too used to it," Beckett smiled wryly.

I looked at Himari's square on the screen and her eyes were closed as she rested her chin on her open palm. "Himi are you sleeping?" I asked.

Her eyes flew open. "Huh me, no."

"Okay let's try this some other time when everyone is fully awake," I chuckled.

"Alright, I'm going back to bed. Later," Himari yawned and logged off.

"Later I love you guys. I'm going to see what I can do about this ink line on my skin," Blaire said and logged off leaving only Beckett, me, and Callum on.

Callum yawned, stretching his arms. His eyes had light bags under them. "Well, I'm going back to sleep. See you, Lizzy," Callum said shooting me a peace sign before waking up from his seat and disappearing out of view.

Beckett tilted the laptop screen. Bringing it into focus. His hair was messy and he rubbed at his eyes. "So what are you getting up to today?" He asked.

I shrugged. "Probably help Steph with some wedding preparations."

"Don't forget to also have some fun. Knowing you, you'd probably stay in your room pretending not to exist."

I smiled. "Hey I have fun. I don't just stay in my room," I defended and he gave me a knowing look.

He stifled a yawn. "I've spent enough time with you to know how you are Lizzy."

From the corner of my eye, I noticed Luca walk out of the bathroom shirtless. He was only wearing a pair of black track pants.

I still wasn't used to seeing him without a shirt on. I looked at the tattoo on his arm that continued to cover half of his chest. The tattoo had intricate detailing and I wondered how Luca sat through that.

"And I'll have to change the oil filter on it," Beckett sighed.

"Huh?" I questioned turning my attention back to Beckett. "Oh that's um cool," I tried to save myself.

"Princess, have you seen my car keys?" Luca asked and Beckett went silent. Beckett's face hardened as he clenched his jaw. I didn't mention to my friends that Luca and I were sharing a bedroom.

"Is that Luca?" He asked and I nodded.

Luca walked up to me and put his arm around the desk chair. "Hello there Beckett," Luca said with a mischievous smile on his face.

"Luca," Beckett greeted.

"Did you just say, Luca?" I heard Callum's voice. "Hey bro!" Callum yelled from wherever he was.

Luca chuckled." Hey Cal, aren't you awake abit early its six o'clock in New York."

"No fucking shit man," I heard Callum groan.

I could see the frustration clearly on Beckett's face as his jaw clenched and then unclenched. "I'll call you later Liz," he smiled. But the smile didn't quite meet his eyes.

"Bye bro," Callum yelled and Luca chuckled.

I hung up the video call and turned to face Luca. His abs were right in my face. "Have you seen my keys princess?" He sighed, running his hand through his hair.

"Nope." I stood and closed my laptop, avoiding looking at him. He was standing so close to me that I could smell his aftershave.

He walked around the room looking for his keys. He tossed the pillows on the bed around and grunted when he found nothing. "So your little boyfriend still hates me I see," Luca laughed.

"Well..." I trailed. "How do you expect him to react when you show up in front of the screen without a shirt on. You know he likes me and yet you still rile him up."

He smirked. "I can't help it. It's hilarious princess."

I scowled. "You're a jerk."

"Never said I wasn't one." He smiled crossing his arms over his chest as he looked me over. Luca was fit. His body was lean and muscular yet for the past few days, I've only seen him consume junk food like a bin truck.

"So I know how he feels about you, but do you feel something for him?" He questioned and walked over to his drawer. He took out a black shirt and pulled it over his head.

"I..." I trailed. "I'm not about to start talking about my love life with you," I sighed.

"Who better to talk about your love life with than your fake boyfriend?"

I saw something shiny sticking out from under the foot of the bed and bent down to pick it up. "Here are your keys," I said and tossed the car keys to him.

"Thanks." He caught the car keys with one hand and moved to sit on the bed. "Come on princess," he said tapping at the space next to him. "You can talk to me."

I quirked an eyebrow at him."What do you want to talk about?" I laughed.

"Do you have feelings for Callum's brother?"

A wry smile formed on my face and I scrunched my eyebrows."What difference does it make to you?"

"It makes all the difference to me princess." He said in a voice of seriousness and the smile on my face vanished. "I can't just let anybody date my fake girlfriend." I rolled my eyes and sat down next to him.

"I don't know if I have feelings for Beckett. He's a sweet guy and stuff but he's your typical bad boy you know."

Luca burst out into laughter and I blinked at his response. "Callum's little brother a bad boy." He clutched onto his stomach in hysterical laughter.

I sighed and stood up to walk away. "I knew you weren't going to take this seriously."

"Okay no wait," he said grabbing onto my hand and pulling me back down to sit. "What makes him a bad boy?" He asked more seriously.

"Well at campus the girls can't seem to take their eyes off him. He knows exactly what to say. He loves wearing leather jackets and he is an adrenaline junkie."

Luca cleared his throat. "Even if he is a bad boy I thought women liked the bad boy look?"

I shrugged. "I've dated one before and it didn't end well for me." I looked down at the floor.

"Look princess just because that arse face Titus..."

"Tyler," I corrected him.

"Yeah, I don't give a flying fuck about the moron." He mentioned before continuing what he initially wanted to say. "It doesn't automatically mean that because your first experience with one was bad that your next would be the same. Guys are different princess. We not, all the same, you know," he smiled. His eyes met mine and all I could focus on was how intense the swirls of green in his eyes were. They were like an ode to nature. "The right guy will never hurt you because he would realize just how lucky his arse is to have someone like you," he said patting my leg.

I was dumbfounded. I wasn't expecting a response like that from him. He was still staring at me and I needed to say something but didn't know what to say. I blinked tearing my gaze away from his.

"Ur, thanks for the advice. I guess," I shrugged looking down at the ground again.

"Well I should leave now," he cleared his throat. "You remember you not to be seen until I get back," he reminded me.

"Yeah yeah I know." This was the first time Luca was leaving me and going to Allison. Ever since he told me his plan the previous night I had a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. I felt nauseous about it.

He stood up and walked to the door
"Don't wait up dear." He closed the door behind him and I got into bed. Luca had stolen all kinds of snacks, soda and bottled water from the kitchen early in the morning so that I didn't go hungry.

I felt like a pet that had to wait for its owner to come home so that I could go outside again.

I turned on the tv and put on Netflix to drown out my thoughts. I decided to watch Lucifer but then the guy reminded me of Luca with his stupidly handsome dressing and English accent.

I sighed, changing the series to a movie instead and grabbing a bag of chips to stuff my face while I tried to get more comfortable. I tried to focus on the movie but my thoughts kept drifting to Luca.

What was wrong with me.

The room felt so empty without Luca. It felt strange to not have him around. I was getting used to always being around him. We would play games every time we got the chance and I'd always find creative ways to cheat when I was losing.

For the past few days, I've lived with Luca. I saw a different side of him. Every day I learned something new about him. Like he always had to wear his red Liverpool socks for good luck whenever Liverpool was playing and that he was allergic to shellfish.

In Newyork Luca was always hot and cold with me. That's why I dubbed him JekyllHyde. But in England, he was just Jekyll. England was good for him. He was more himself in his home country.

Stop it. Stop thinking about him. What is wrong with you. My brain rammed itself against my skull.

I groaned and looked at the time on my phone and it wasn't eleven pm as yet. I wished that I could have fallen asleep but I knew that wasn't possible because it was still early. I groaned and put the pillow over my face.

"Princess are you alright?" My eyes widened and I threw the pillow aside. I sat up to see Luca standing by the bedroom door.

"You still here?" I questioned and he ran a hand through his hair. "Why are you still here?"

"I got caught on my way out. I just barely made it to the garage when Harry and mum stopped me. I told them I was going to see Eric and mum lost it. She told me there was no way I was leaving you home and going out on my own."

A small smile cracked on my face but I hid it. "So then where were you for the last thirty odd minutes?"

"They decorating the room downstairs for Stephanie and Christian's party tomorrow. Mum made me hand over the car keys and made me help them move some boxes inside." He pouted like a little kid and sat next to me on the bed. He took the bag of chips from me and put a hand full in his mouth.

I stared at him with childlike wonder still unable to believe my luck that I didn't have to spend most of the day in the room like a caged animal.

I felt guilty for feeling the way I did. He probably missed Allison and was dying to spend time with her. I just didn't know why my brain was choosing to mess with me suddenly.

"Why the long face princess. I know you were probably hoping I'd be out of your hair today," he chuckled. I smiled unable to tell him anything due to my brain banging at my skull.
"So what are we watching?" he asked laying back on the bed.

I stood up. "We are not watching anything. We are going to go help your mom and sister get the room ready."

"Urgh," he groaned. "But everyone is down there including Abigail, and princess she gives me the heebie-jeebies."

"You'll survive a few hours."

"No, no I really won't. I'm not moving," he pouted defiantly. I walked over to where he was laying. I grabbed onto his arm and began tugging. He barely moved it was like pulling a bag of bricks.

"Prin-" before he could say what he wanted to I lost my grip and fell on my butt in a loud thud. He erupted into laughter and I glared at him. "I'm sorry princess are you okay?" He asked.

"Ha ha ha," I groaned as I stood. It felt like broke my butt bone. I narrowed my eyes in on him. "Fine stay here then. I'll go help."

He got cozy onto the bed and let out a sigh of contentment. He picked up the bag of chips and shoved a handful into his mouth. "Sounds great, close the door on your way out."

"You're a frustrating hairy ape-man. Just thought you should know." I growled and he looked up at me with a mouth full of chips, and a confused look on his face. I exited the room and closed the door behind me.

Stupid ape-man. Messing with my brain.

I walked down the hallway and went down the steps. As I descended the steps I saw Steph carrying a box. I hurried down the steps. "Steph let me take that for you," I said and she looked up.

"Liz," she smiled. "It's okay I can manage it's just paper lanterns." I shook my head and took the box from her.

"Thanks. I'm glad you found me. I've been wanting to talk to you all morning but I didn't know if you were awake yet," she giggled. "Christian agreed with me that we should know the gender of the baby. We going to do a gender reveal tomorrow night."

"That's great," I smiled giving Stephanie half a hug as we continued walking.

"So the gender reveal will be done outside with fireworks. If it's a boy the fireworks will be blue if a girl it will be pink." She explained as we walked into a large room. The walls were a nude peach and the floor was covered in white porcelain tiles. Gold luxurious curtains were drawn allowing natural light to flood the room as people worked to get it ready.

Carlos and Amelia were hanging up lanterns. Christian and Henry were setting up round tables while Ruth and Scarlett, directed them."Liz dear," Charlotte called, walking over to me and Steph. She was dressed in a white pantsuit and she had an electronic tablet in her hand. Her blonde short hair was tucked behind her ears. "You need to have a firmer hand with my son dear," she said patting me on the shoulder and I smiled sheepishly.

"Um, Steph," Christian called. Where do you want to set up the drinks display?"

"Put it at the side we don't want anyone crashing into them," she yelled back while walking towards him.

"What can I help with?" I asked Charlotte, rubbing my hands together and she cupped my chin.

"Anything you want dear. The party planners we hired are running late and there's just so much to do," she sighed. "You can help Carlos and Amelia hang Lanterns. They could use a hand. Amelia doesn't look so good over there, but please be careful on the ladders."

I nodded and walked over to Amelia and Carlos. "Can I help?" I asked.

Carlos smiled."Sure you can but be careful on the ladders corazón." Carlos and I spoke every time we passed each other in the hallways. It was always nice talking to him. He was a great guy.

Amelia took a step towards me. "Thank goodness. Standing on these ladders is giving me a weird feeling," she whispered.

"I think you should take a break and let me go up," I whispered back.

"Thank you," she breathed in relief.

I climbed up the ladder and she handed me a lantern. There was a see-through piece of line that went through a plastic piece in the lantern, giving it the effect that the lantern was floating in place. The lanterns also had a tiny switch on them that caused a light bulb in them to light up, giving the effect of fire.

"How many more of these things are left?" Carlos asked Amelia.

"Just a thousand more," she sighed and he chuckled.

"I'm going to be dreaming about lanterns tonight."

I hung up twelve lanterns successfully. Only half of the ceiling was done and we had a lot more to do.
There were just so many lanterns and my hands were getting tired.

I heard familiar laughter and I whipped my head around to see Luca, Henry and James engaged in conversation. It's like he knew I was staring at him because he turned and looked at me. His eyes widened and he said something to James and his grandfather before coming over to me.

He came to stand below the ladder. "Princess, what on earth are you doing?" He asked.

"What does it look like I'm doing."

"Are you crazy?" He questioned. Come "down from there, I'll do it."

"I'm managing just fine thank you."

He walked away and I watched him grab a ladder and drag it over to me.
"Amy give me one of those," he said to Amelia and she handed him a lantern. He climbed the ladder and began hanging up the lantern while mumbling to himself. "Stubborn girl. Does what she wants. Urgh doesn't listen," he mumbles under his breath. "She's mad."

I rolled my eyes and used my hand like a puppet. "meh meh meh," I mocked and his eyes widened. "Elizabeth doesn't listen to me," I said in a whiny voice.

He growled and then I heard giggling. I looked down to see Stephanie. "Well that interpretation of him is spot on Liz," she chuckled.

"Fucking women," Luca growled.

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A/N

Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. So what do you guys think about tattoos? I'm Blaire I'd probably get a stick too. XD

In other news...

I've been working on a new novel call the Ill-fated Lovers. I put the prologue up a few days ago and will be putting up the first chapter today. I'm really excited to be sharing this story.

I also recently downloaded Instagram for my Wattpad account.

My username is the same for all of my social media accounts.

Hope to see you guys there ;)

💜P. A