🍓🍓🍓

୨⎯ "𝒔𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒎𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒂 𝒙 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆" ⎯୧
⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

ᴺᴼᵂ ᴾᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ : time bomb - all time low
ᴠᴏʟᴜᴍᴇ : ▮▮▮▮▮▮▯▯▯

From the get-go, I knew this was hard to hold
Like a crash, the whole thing spun out of control
Oh, on a wire, we were dancing
Two kids, no consequences
Pull the trigger without thinking
There's only one way down this road

𝐍𝐨𝐰 𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠. . .

The girls, Johnny and their manager Louise helped the driver pack all their luggage into the car that was parked outside the airport. The light, early morning breeze combatted the otherwise warm 3 am air and Gemma tucked the loose strands of her curtain bangs behind her ears as she got in the car behind Johnny.

The car ride was quiet, everyone just basking in the feeling of being home. Gemma thought it was all quite bitter sweet; being home meant that tour was finishing and that slowly, things were changing. Going from city to city, living out of a suitcase, meeting fans and doing interviews and performing almost every night had left Gemma so caught up in her career that she hadn't really looked at the changes that were happening in her personal life. She felt like she was watching herself live her life from a third person point of view, rather than living it.

She had immersed herself so heavily into her work and she hadn't even realised it. She had thought about every missed call, every late responded to text, all the nights Matt would stay up late just to have a five minute conversation with her before she went to bed and she suddenly started to feel a little guilty. She prided herself on being able to seperate her public and private life, to be able to make time for the people she cared about despite the fact that sometimes her job got in the way of that.

She believed that she had been as open and honest with Matt as she could be, but now as she thought deeper into it, maybe she hadn't been. The rolled down window provided fresh air that helped cleared Gemma's head momentarily, she looked to her right and saw Josie asleep on Avery's shoulder, Jade and Johnny were in the row behind them. Johnny had his headphones on and his arm up and over his eyes whereas Jade was still awake scrolling on her phone. Gemma took in the silence and tranquility of the car and chose to just watch the world go past, letting her own music flow through her headphones.

Their place was cold but weirdly welcoming as Gemma turned on the lamp closest to their front door and watched the hallway be illuminated by warm, orange light. The house still smelt fairly of the sandalwood and lavender candle Avery liked to burn in the lounge room and a pair of Madi's shoes were still behind the couch where she had left them before they went on tour. One by one each of the four girls went to their own rooms, all happy to finally be home.

Gemma put her suitcase on the floor and pulled a pair of pyjamas out of her wardrobe. Groggily, she got changed and plugged in her charger before pulling back her comforter and sliding into her own bed for the first time in four months. Sleep came easy for her despite the first of the sun's rays peeking out over the horizon and making their way into her room.

ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚.˚◦○˚ ୧ .˚ₓ

She awoke hours later to the sound of voices, the smell of breakfast and the sight of the mid-morning sun shining through her window. She stretched and let her vision adjust before rolling over and sitting up in bed, pulling her phone off charge. The unmistakable sound of Chris' laugh bounced off the walls of her home and only got more intense as the seconds ticked on. Puzzled, Gemma got up and walked out of her room only to be face to face with the sight of her bandmates, Johnny, the triplets and Madi all spread out in her kitchen and living room.

Madi was the first one to see her and she wasted no time in wrapping her arms around Gemma and squeezing her tight "I missed you so much!"

Gemma grinned wide and squeezed Madi back "When did you guys get here"

Chris walked over to the pair and answered for Madi "Like an hour ago, we wanted to wake you up but Matt thought it would be better to let you sleep"

Gemma let go of Madi and held her arms out for Chris to walk into "I don't think I would've minded if I knew that it was you guys waking me up"

Chris let go of Gemma and Nick stepped in his place "I told you, Matt! we should've just woken her up when Jade got up"

Matt shook his head and began to stand before he saw Gemma make her way over to him. She stood next to him and put one arm around his shoulders and pulled him into her side as he spoke to his brother "She needed sleep, they didn't land 'till three in the morning"

He put his arm around her waist and she laid her head on top of his "I didn't get to sleep until like four thirty, the sun was literally starting to rise"

Nick leaned on the opposite side of the counter in between Johnny and Avery "Don't worry about it, Matt is never up before twelve anyway"

Matt readjusted his light grip on Gemma's waist and put his free hand on the table in front of him "Neither do you! its a fucking miracle that any of us are awake right now"

Chris nodded in agreement and took a bite out of a plain piece of toast before getting swatted on the arm by Jade "Stop eating the toast or I'll make you go out and get another loaf of bread"

Chris swallowed the bread he was chewing on and pointed the rest in Matt's direction "Matt would have to drive me and I don't think Gemma could bare to seperate from him right now"

Hearing the taunt, Gem jokingly pushed Matt's head away "Take him I don't care"

Matt pulled her closer in retaliation "Yeah, right you'd text me as soon as we would leave asking to come back like, be for real"

Gemma rolls her eyes and pulls away from Matt to grab the plate of food Josie was handing to her "Says the one who texted me whilst at a birthday party, Matthew"

Chris and Nick both laugh out loud, Josie, Jade and Avery all have identical smiles and Johnny shakes his head. Gemma side eye's Matt with a smirk and then takes a seat next to him, grabbing a knife and fork as she goes. The kitchen is once again overrun by laughter and conversation, music plays as background noise to the late breakfast as the group of friends continue to enjoy each other's company.

ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚.˚◦○˚ ୧ .˚ₓ

After everyone had left and the girls had washed the dishes and put them away, the four of them were simply sitting in the lounge room watching a movie. Gemma's phone pinged next to her

finn
Can we please talk?

gemma
whatever you need to tell me you can do it over text

finn
Gem im being serious

finn
can u pls just meet up w me? what are you up to this afternoon

gemma
there's literally nothing to talk about finn

finn
I'm actually trying to apologise to you and id like to do that face to face

gemma
you've had all year to apologise and haven't even thought about it until recently

gemma
is that because you're single or because you're threatened?

finn
you cant be fr

finn
my relationship status has nothing to do w this

gemma
so its bc you're single? ok good to know

finn
gem can you stop playing fucking games

finn
im being serious, I want to apologise to you for everything

gemma
just do it now

finn
gemma

finn
all im asking for is like an hour

gemma
you get 30 minutes

finn
an hour at least

gemma
no

gemma
30 minutes or nothing bruh

finn
fine, ill meet you at our spot

gemma
remind me where that is again

finn
funny.

finn
see u n 10
read

Gemma got up off the couch and went to her room to grab her shoes, purse and car keys. Unfortunately she knew exactly where she was going and the journey there was like muscle memory, she had walked straight out of the house without telling the girls where she was going and only realised it when she pulled up to a cafe they used to frequent when they were together.

iMessage
aves💌
uhhh where did u go bruh

iMessage
josie lee <3
we were legit watching ur fav movie???

iMessage
jadey baby
r u gonna be home for dinner or r u w matt

Gemma read all her notifications and locked her phone. The sooner she got this over and done with, the sooner she could get home and forget bout everything to do with Finn like she had been the past year before he decided he wanted to be in her life again.

The small bell jingled as she walked through the door and she immediately laid eyes on Finn standing at the counter. He was wearing plain blue, faded jeans and a shirt that Gemma recognised as one that she had bought him for his birthday last year. She rolled her eyes, already knowing how this was going to go.

He turned away from the counter with two drinks in hand and smiled at her when he saw her standing by the door "Gem! let's sit"

Gemma hesitated but followed out the back and onto a patio. He pulled out her chair and placed one of the drinks down in front of her, she looked at it and then at him before speaking "I wasn't planning on having anything"

Finn merely shrugged his shoulders "It's your regular"

Gemma took a sip and placed the cup down on the table. Really, she shouldn't even be here and yet she was. For what? a half-assed apology that he thought was going to give her some form of closure? she was already regretting it as she walked in the door and now she was really starting to see how stupid her decision really had been.

"What do you want Finn?" Gemma's tone was impatient but remained calm as she addressed him

"I want to apologise to you"

Gemma played with the straw of her drink and swirled the condensation that was on the outside of the plastic cup "You keep saying that but I have yet to hear any apology come out of your mouth. I told you that I really didn't have time for this and it seems like whatever you want to say, really could have been said over the phone"

Finn huffed out a breath "You're right, but I felt like you deserved a face-to-face apology"

She rolled her eyes at the attempt of appearing empathetic "But I didn't deserve respect when you cheated on me? Awesome"

Finn shook his head rapidly like he was trying to will her to stay "You didn't deserve the treatment I gave you, Gem. You gave me nothing but love and respect and I walked all over you, not once even stopping to think about what my life was going to be like without you in it. When you cut me off I immediately regretted everything I had done and I knew that to you... I meant nothing and that really hurt to think about."

Gemma, who was stunned, felt herself slowly go soft at the sight in front of her. Finn's eyes held a look of genuine regret and his mouth was turned down in a way that made her believe him for a moment. She pressed her lips into a line "Finn... thank you for acknowledging that I treated you exactly how someone in a relationship should be treated, while you did the exact opposite. You obviously didn't regret it that much considering the fact that you were still with her after we broke up AND you didn't care enough to apologise until people started making assumptions about Matt and I so, really, can I even trust this apology?"

Finn's mouth drops open "Gemma- are you?- what?!"

Gemma shrugs her shoulders and begins to stand in her seat "Thanks for the drink, but you could've called me and told me that instead of convincing me to come out here to hear that"

Gemma leaves Finn baffled and a bit embarrassed as she walks through the cafe and out the door to where she parked her car. Once she buckles herself in and turns the car on, beginning to blast the AC as she drives off, it isn't long until she gets a message from Nick.

Instagram
nicolassturniolo sent a post by shaderoom
Gem look

Gemma stops at a stop light and quickly opens the message from Nick, jaw dropping as soon as she does

shaderoom

shaderoom #spotted Gemma Evans and Finn Wakeheart spotted out in LA for lunch

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user gemma what the fuck is this

user I don't think this is an old one either

user wasn't she JUST seen w matt in Boston???
user wait when
user some fans saw them when they were in Boston, they were getting food or smth
user omg

user surely she's not back w him bruh there's no way

Despite the comments, how much her notifications were blowing up and the texts that Avery was sending her, the only thing Gemma cared about was Matt. The photo looked like they were on a date when she was there for barely thirty minutes, they were practically arguing and she has no interest in him at all.

she quickly responded to nick

GEMMA💌
fuck me

GEMMA💌
has matt seen it

Nicolas Sturniolo
Yeah he has

GEMMA💌
oh my fucking god

GEMMA💌
are you guys home rn

Nicolas Sturniolo
Me and Chris are but he just went out idk where he went tho

GEMMA💌
shit 

💌
lol cliffhanger but if it makes u feel any better I've got Matt and Gemma's convo written since it was meant to be in this chapter tehe 🤭

finn will be sticking around for a lil while and there will be someone you can blame but that someone is not me srry xoxoxo

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& Spotify luvsturniqlo (I have character playlists & ship playlists for all my books that are updated regularly!!)

as always, thank u for reading and I hope you have a good week <3