🍓🍓🍓

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

ᴺᴼᵂ ᴾᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ : the great war - taylor swift
ᴠᴏʟᴜᴍᴇ : ▮▮▮▮▮▮▯▯▯

All that bloodshed, crimson clover
Uh-huh, the bombs were close and
My hand was the one you reached for
All throughout the Great War

𝐍𝐨𝐰 𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠. . .

dts for this special chapter louis-core Hoyaaaa345 @lotslove faintedluvers soldmyhheart lovergirlfr  thank you for loving this book 💕

ⁱⁿˢᵗᵃᵍʳᵃᵐ !

josiegordon

josiegordon why so serious? 🃏

view all 3,467 comments

user SO COOL

user love the female joker look

gemmaevans that green hairspray is gonna be a fucking bitch to get out
josiegordon good thing you're gonna help me 🤭🤭

christophersturniolo I can't believe I watched you paint ur face for three hours
josiegordon I literally told you to LEAVEEEE
user SHIPPP
user I love them

gemmaevans

gemmaevans welcome to the witching hour

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user SO HOT

user i want to look like you

user queen of halloween

jadeyfrench what ppl don't know is we spent 4 hours shopping for those fucking stockings
gemmaevans hush

nicolassturniolo slayed

madifilipowicz i love this

averypicketttt

averypicketttt off to the chapel 🔪💒
tagged brodiesam, josiegordon

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user MY FAV COUPLE

user best couple costume this year

madifilipowicz i love you guys

sambrodie lover

lillianmay_ YOU GUYS LOOK AMAZING

jadeyfrench

jadeyfrench everyday of your life, don't forget you've been touched by an angel

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user U R AN ANGEL

user my fav song off while you were out
user fr

lillianmay_ you are an angel

gemmaevans SO HOT

ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚.˚◦○˚ ୧ .˚ₓ

Matt, Nick, Madi and Chris all stood around a table idly mingling with the people around them. Matt can see Jade and Lillian walking towards them and Josie on the opposite side of the table laughing with someone he doesn't really recognise. With another scan of the room he spots Avery and Sam playing a game of beer pong with Gemma's friend Halle and someone else he can't see besides the back of their head, but no Gemma.

The fact that she's not with her bandmates or his brothers raises alarm bells in his head and he begins to worry. He's seen what she's been like since they 'broke up' or whatever and he knows that Josie in particular gets worried when Gemma drinks, so for her to not be near any of the friends she came with seems off to him.

He brings his cup of soda to his lips and subtly looks over the rim at the crowd of people in an attempt to spot her. Unfortunately, all he sees is Nick's big head.

"Matt what are you doing?"

Matt locks eyes with his brother and takes the last gulp of his drink "Just looking around, what are you doing?"

Nick throws his thumb over his shoulder in the direction of Chris and Madi "We're gonna go play beer pong"

He gives his brother a very questionable look and Nick kisses his teeth "We're gonna throw them into the cups and Jade, Lillian and whoever else is playing will drink it. Jade thinks she's a better shot than Chris so he wants to prove her wrong"

Matt shakes his head and shrugs, like the thought of Chris being better at beer pong than Jade is such a stupid idea "Jade is a better shot than Chris"

Nick shrugs in response "I know that but we're just gonna let him figure that out for himself." Nick taps Matt on the shoulder and follows Lillian to the table, Madi tailing close behind. Jade and Chris are three steps behind the group shoving eachother around and trash talking eachother as if either of those things is going to make a difference.

Matt watches them walk away and goes back to looking around the room, suddenly not really knowing what to do until Josie comes up to him.

"Are you going to stand at this table all night looking for Gem or are you going to try to look like you actually wanna be here?"

Josie's straightforward question takes him by surprise and he looks into his empty cup to avoid her eyes. She leans her hip on the table and flicks the top of his hat so she can see him better "Go find her"

He purses his lips "I don't know if that's a good idea Jose"

Josie's face scrunches up "I want to be put out of my misery. I can't keep watching two of my closest friends avoid eachother because of Finn. Matt don't be fucking stupid" Josie nods in the direction that she knows Gemma went in and smiles encouragingly at him "This... whatever the fuck this is, has gone on long enough. Go find her"

Before he can even get a word in, she walks off. He turns around to see Chris ushering her over and automatically putting his arm around her shoulders as Madi throws the ping pong ball and misses. He looks at his friends laughing and having a good time and can't help but feel like something big is missing from the picture.

He places his cup down and walks off in the direction the Josie directed him. As he walks away from the big, open living space he finds a more quiet hallway to walk down, listening as the music fades the further he goes. He stops at a door that is cracked open and he pops his head in to see if it's occupied.

Gemma sits up against the furthest wall in the room. Her legs are stretched out in front of her and she's looking out of the window to her left. The Los Angeles skyline shines into the room and highlights the high points of her face and he can't help put just stand there and look at her in the calm environment.

He steps into the room and closes the door quietly. She looks to him with a confused look as she hears the door click closed and she goes rigid, not saying anything as he strides over to her.

He takes off his cowboy hat as he walks over to her and slides down the wall, coming to sit flush next to her. She sighs and leans her head back against the wall, leaving her tear tracks glistening under the party lights that are set up in the corner of the room. He knows he shouldn't be doing this, knows that he was the one to call it off and now he's the one trying to make amends.

"I'm sorry"

The silence is sliced by Gemma's quiet but firm admission and she covers up a sniffle as best she can whilst sitting and waiting for Matt to respond. She'll take any response at this point; a talk, an argument, him getting up and walking off. She doesn't anticipate the attempted protest though.

"You don't have to say that, Gem. It was my fault, I overreacted"

Gemma shook her head "No you didn't, you were right and I can understand that now. I'm sorry for making it seem like there was any competition or choice between the two of you because there never was"

Matt readjusts the way he's sitting and he pulls his phone out of his pocket and places it on the floor next to him "I shouldn't have commented on your reasoning for staying with Finn. That was never my place"

"No it wasn't, but you were right, me not listening to everyone else meant that I stayed with him. Thank you for saying it the way you did"

"I'm sure Aves has said much worse"

Gemma laughs "It didn't matter when it came from Avery though, it mattered because it came from you"

Matt turns his head to look at her fully, to show her that she has his full attention "Because it came from me?"

Gem turns her head to look right back at him "I care way too much about your opinion"

Matt sighs through his nose and turns his head back but Gemma keeps her eyes on him. She studies his side profile as she begins to fully sober up and she is hit with the abrupt realisation that this is the closest they've been in a while and if she lets it go to waste, she may not get another chance.

"Matt.. you were so wrong about Finn. I wasn't comparing you two because I still wanted him, I was comparing the two of you because I hadn't felt like that before and I'm not expecting anything from you but I just really wanted you to know" Gemma finishes with a huff and turns her head away from him, not wanting to see his reaction.

Matt stays silent for a minute and Gem is just about ready to get up and leave. Her hands fidget nervously in her lap before she plants her palms on either side of her and begins to push herself up off the floor.

Her butt is halfway off the ground when Matt lightly grabs her wrist to stop her. She turns to look at him curiously but all he does is stare at her with half-pleading eyes. He doesn't let go of her wrist until she sits back down beside him.

The two of them continue to not talk and Gemma can't see the reason for him stopping her from leaving. The only sound that fills the empty space is the muffled music from the party outside the door and with Gemma being practically sober, she feels the need to kill this awkward tension with Matt and just go back out to the party to get drunk.

"When I said that I didn't want you coming to me anymore, it was a lie" He speaks into the silence

When Gemma faces him she finds him already looking at her "Then why would you say it?"

"Because I was hurt by what you said and I felt like I had to do the same to you"

Her face twists up "So you hurt my feelings on purpose?"

Matt's face remains neutral but Gemma can see the apologetic look in his eyes "Isn't that why you said what you said?"

He's got her there.

She huffs and smiles at him as a feeling of honest vulnerability swells in her chest. It feels familiar but also different at the same time, like everything had changed in the span of a mere 20 minutes.

Gemma's heart thumps against her rips and she's suddenly glad that Matt doesn't have super-hearing. Sucking in a deep breath she weighs up her options and just goes for it "I miss you"

Unlike his previous responses Matt is quick with his answer "I think I've missed you more"

Gemma shakes her head and chuckles "I don't think you were out partying every other night to try to forget that I existed though, were you?"

Matt looks down at his lap and then back at her "No... but I had to watch you do it. Made me feel like shit all the same knowing that I could've been the reason you were doing what you were doing"

Gemma tilts her head and smiles softly before pressing her lips into a thin line "Yeah, well, I didn't realise how much of my time was actually spent with you or talking to you so I kind of just... found a way to fill it I guess"

He's quiet once again as his eyes trail over her face before he loops his hand around Gemma's elbow and pulls her slightly towards himself. She goes willingly, laying her head on his shoulder out of pure habit, not even second-guessing her choice.

"I made a mistake that night, I shouldn't have even thought about breaking things off with you and I did anyway"

Gemma shrugged "I understood why though, eventually. I think I would've gone insane if your ex kept coming back into your life an inconvenient times"

Matt silently smiles and he rests his head on top of hers "If you'll have me I'm all yours, sunshine"

Gemma lifts her head off his shoulder, choosing to rest her chin on it instead as she looks to him "Of course I will Matty."

Matt smiles wide and Gemma sits up fully before taking his face in her hands and closing the gap between them. Matt's hands go to her waist and she smiles into the kiss, not being able to contain her happiness.

Her hands migrate down his neck and rest on his shoulders as she pulls away to just look at him. The cowboy hat he has been wearing all night has flattened the top of his hair slightly and she grabs it from his side and puts it back on his head "Let's get back to the party, Avery is gonna be wondering where we are"

Matt smirks "So do you wanna walk out of the room first or should I?"

Gemma whacks him in the bicep and stands, holding out her hand to help him up. She pulls him up and then towards the door, pushing him slightly in front of her teasingly "I'll be out in 5 minutes"

Matt's got one hand on the door handle when he stops and turns around to kiss her. His hat knocks her on the forehead and she's taken by surprise, not having enough time to properly kiss back because he's pulling away and tilting his head at her, winking.

She rolls her eyes and pushes him out the door without another word, shutting it behind him. The deep, content sigh that exits her lips echos slightly through the room and she leans her shoulder on the back of the door, toying with the hem of her costume.

Yeah, they're gonna be okay.

💌
WE SURVIVED THE GREAT WARRRRRRRRRR

this almost 3000 word chapter is a thank you for 92k (holy fucking shit) reads. I appreciate every single one of you and I hope you continue to love what I write.

Ily all, hope you're having a good week <3