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“Come on, come on, come on,” Lilac mutters to herself, bouncing on her toes as the producers pass out the finalists’ devices. The finale wrapped filming fifteen minutes ago, and the ex-Islanders were all eager to catch up on socials, nearly storming the production staff to get their devices back. Lilac’s gaze tracks the producer as he moves down the line of gathered ex-Islanders, starting with Erikah and Reese, with Cherry and Jake up next.
She huffs, crossing her arms over her chest and halting her bouncing, switching to tapping her foot impatiently as she waits for them to hurry up. It shouldn’t take this long to just figure out whose phone belongs to who!
“What are you so excited about?” Talia nudges her shoulder to steal her attention, meeting grey eyes with her own ocean blue, smiling down at Lilac fondly. “Is there someone you’d rather be talking to right now?” she teases.
Lilac shakes her head furiously, eyes trained on the producer handing Jen her phone back, a daffodil painted on her pale blue case. As soon as he stops before her and Talia, she nearly attacks him for her phone, starting it up and unlocking it immediately, tapping to her search engine on her home screen. She pulls up Wattpad, of all sites, immediately opening the search bar.
Talia drops her own phone to her side after restarting it, moving to look over Lilac’s shoulder to see what she’s so excited about, but she jumps away, angling the screen from Talia’s field of vision. “What are you hiding?” she asks, squinting her eyes in suspicion.
“Nothing!” Lilac blurts out far too quickly; she’s not letting Talia ruin this. Ever since she found out Talia wrote One Direction fan fiction as a teenager, it’s all she’s been able to think about, to the point that she was investigating potential usernames in the middle of the night. She’d always ask when Talia was too sleepy to be fully aware of the fuel she was giving Lilac, what exactly she was signing up for. ‘1d.dorkie.lover’ seemed to be 2011 Talia’s preference, and it’s her best guess.
She types it in the search bar as fast as she can move her fingers, carefully backing away as Talia continues attempting to catch a glimpse of her phone screen, Lilac quickly travelling along the lawn to avoid her gaze. But she’s not quick enough, Talia catching sight of her screen as Lilac tries to maneuver out of the way, her eyes bugging out of her head as they jump up to Lilac’s.
After an expectant, tense, terrifying pause, she gives chase, lunging for the phone encased in silver sparkles with all her force, “Li!”
But Lilac spins out of the way at the last second, Talia stumbling as Lilac darts into the empty Villa kitchen in search of refuge. She almost immediately finds something entitled ‘LARRY 4 LYFE’ as she rounds the corner of the counters and immediately starts cackling. Talia follows her into the room, unable to slow her momentum and slamming into the countertop while yelling, “Don’t you fucking dare!”
Lilac stands on the opposite side of the island, poised to sprint away again as Talia looks at her with wild eyes. She pounces, running around the kitchen island to try and catch Lilac off guard, but she begins running in the opposite direction as soon as Talia starts moving. They circle each other as Lilac fumbles to read the notes aloud, “‘I’m new but I love Larry!’ in all caps and a million exclamation points,” she narrates, “‘So cute and cuddly and awwwww and ohmygod!’” she laughs between the words, still keeping a careful watch on Talia circling across from her.
All of a sudden, Talia switches directions, fast enough that Lilac stumbles when she tries to switch too, Talia barrelling into her and wrapping Lilac in her arms as she shrieks, sticking her hand in the air to keep her phone from Talia’s reach, tilting her head back to keep reading, “‘Harry likes Louis, but he’s not supposed to! He can’t like him ‘cause they’re in the same band - a really, really good band!’” she shouts, Talia’s hand grabbing at her arm to steal it.
Talia drops her to the floor, using her height advantage to snatch Lilac’s phone from her hand, flicking it off and towering over Lilac with her eyes alight and a frown on her lips, a crease between her brows. Lilac turns in her arms, taking a tiny step back, and smiles sweetly, swaying on her feet with puppy dog eyes and her hands clasped before her. “I hate you so much,” Talia groans.
“Nope,” Lilac beams, singsonging, “You love me.” She sways on her feet, looping her arms around Talia’s neck and dropping her hips against Talia’s, their upper bodies leaning apart and colliding their eyes like the sky, clouds and air blending into a perfect painting.
Talia frowns at her, but coils her arms around her waist all the same, “Nowhere near enough let you read that.”
Lilac pouts, “Pretty please?”
“No.”
“Please?”
Talia meets her gaze seriously, “No way in hell.”
Lilac’s lips twist as she frowns, triumph shining in Talia’s eyes as she watches Lilac, the gears in her mind turning as she works out a solution to her newfound problem, a problem she absolutely must solve. She trails a nail down Talia’s arm suggestively, “You sure?” and cocks her head, an eyebrow raising challengingly.
Blue eyes scrutinise her, scanning her features as her finger trails further down Talia’s arm. The black-painted nail passes the crook of her elbow, the bracelet on her wrist, her sharp knuckles, tight as they clutch Lilac’s phone. She smiles winningly, just as she steals her phone back, quick and sneaky, springing from Talia’s grasp and immediately running.
She races out of the kitchen, scanning the lawn until she makes a beeline for Jake by the bar, standing and chatting with Tim and Rohan, with Talia hot on her tail as she bolts for the boys. “Lilac, I swear to God!” Talia shouts, running as fast as she can in her heels, Lilac quicker in shorter wedges.
She crashes into Jake, slipping behind him to use him as a human shield, hands poised on his sides for maximum efficiency as she meets Talia’s wild eyes, already unlocking her phone again with one hand, raising it to her line of sight to prevent a surprise attack. “Whoa there!” his hands clasp Talia’s shoulders as she nearly rams into him, “What’s going on here?”
“Talia’s trying to kill me!” Lilac accuses, Jake glancing over his shoulder at her in confusion as she attempts to look as innocent as possible, batting her eyelashes for the most effect, her hands falling from his sides to knit together before her.
Talia growls, attempting to slip out of his hold to lunge at Lilac, but his hands only tighten on her shoulders, “Okay, let’s all calm down,” he attempts to placate the girls. He waits until Talia stops squirming, “Why are you trying to kill Lilac?” he holds her at arm's length, looking down at her as she scowls at Lilac behind him.
“I’m not trying to kill her, just trying to break her phone,” she says through gritted teeth, eyes on fire as they burn holes into Lilac, nearly sparking her into flames.
“Destruction of property is still bad, Talia,” he nudges her shoulders to earn her gaze, but she doesn’t give it. He turns, moving his grip to Talia’s upper arm and holding tight, “What’d you do Lilac?” He looks down at her with raised eyebrows, expectantly waiting.
“I was just trying to read,” she shrugs nonchalantly, averting her gaze to dig the toe of her shoe into the concrete below them, phone clutched in her hands behind her back.
Rohan steps up beside Talia, his drink abandoned on the bar as he joins whatever chaos has exploded before him. “What exactly were you trying to read? And why are you trying to stop her, Talia?” he inquires, glancing between them suspiciously.
There’s no response from Talia, her jaw clenched tight and every muscle in her body tense, with her blue eyes not moving from Lilac, who only sticks her bottom lip out in a pout and meets her eyes from under her long lashes. It doesn’t achieve its intended purpose, Talia only continuing to glare at her, somehow harsher.
Tim sidles up to Lilac, throwing his arm over her shoulders to lighten the intense mood that’s settled next to the bar, “Aw, Talia look at this,” he cups Lilac’s chin, squeezing her cheeks between his thumb and fingers, “How bad could it be for you to be mad at this?” Lilac plays it up, pouting to the best of her ability with Tim’s hand on her face.
“Bad,” the dark-haired woman spits through gritted teeth.
Jake turns to Lilac, head on now, “Alright, you oughta fess up. What’re you trying to read and why is it making Talia violent?” He puts his hand on his hip, mimicking the appearance of an exasperated mother with ease.
Lilac sighs in defeat, “It’s Talia’s old fan fiction,” she squirms under the weight of Tim’s arm, ducking her head to avoid Jake’s disappointed expression.
“Oh, well, then read it out loud,” Jake answers calmly, Lilac’s eyes flying up, a huge, excited grin splitting across her face as she starts bouncing on her toes again.
“What?! No!” Talia breaks his hold on her, launching for Lilac to steal her phone again, grey eyes widening at the incoming collision.
“Nope!” Rohan loops his arms around her waist, pulling her back and swinging her to the side as she kicks against him. “Read it, Lilac!” he shouts over his shoulder, working to subdue Talia.
But she continues struggling as Lilac reopens her phone, glancing around for a makeshift stage. She settles on a stool set up at the recent addition to the lawn: the bar. “Tim, a little help?” she glances to the lad, accepting his hand as she climbs up.
Once she’s on the stool, with Tim and Jake standing beside her to make sure she doesn’t fall and break or sprain something, she announces, “Come one, come all, for the reading of ‘LARRY 4 LYFE’ by our one and only Talia!” She smiles down at her girlfriend sweetly, gesturing with an open palm and earning a scowl in response as Rohan keeps her trapped.
A few of the other ex-Islanders gather out of curiosity, Jen looping an arm around Tim and Allegra smiling wickedly at the scene before her. Lucy stands from across the other side of the bar, crossing with a drink in hand, and leans against the counter to watch.
Lilac turns to her phone, “So, let’s see… How about we just start from the beginning?” she grins at the crowd, a few cheers encouraging her as Talia shoots death glares at everyone gathered, still squirming slightly in Rohan’s arms.
“‘Harry likes Louis, but he’s not supposed to!’” Lilac begins, “‘He can’t like him ‘cause they’re in the same band - a really, really good band! But Louis likes him too, he just can’t say it back, ‘cause he’s not supposed to like him back. The other boys all know, but they don’t say anything because they can’t! If they confess there’ - t-h-e-r-e, mind you,” Lilac notes, “‘love then the band’s ruined.’” Lilac says the last word dramatically, to laughter from the assembled crowd.
Talia has resigned to her fate by now, Rohan’s arms around her loosening as her own cross over her chest, watching Lilac with gritted teeth and furious eyes. “‘And if the band’s ruined, that’s bad for the whole world, so they can’t do that. But now everyone’s unhappy and that’s not fair. So Harry has a plan. He’ll tell Louis and then they’ll keep it secret to protect the band.’”
“‘Except Louis wants to tell him first, but he can’t keep a secret. So the band will be over and everyone will be sad. Harry has to say it first but he keeps getting scared. And the other boys are annoyed with them because they won’t just say it but they all know it already so they should just say it. But they can’t! Because the band will fall apart, but they want to and they will,’” the crowd chuckles softly, Rohan’s arms now entirely removed from Talia, and Lilac swears she can see her fighting a smile.
Lilac turns back to the story with invigorated energy, “So Harry wants to tell him but he doesn’t know how. He can’t with other people or the band is. Ruined,” she repeats it dramatically once again, glancing up to find a quirk in Talia’s lips. “‘They have rehearsals every day so he wants to tell him then but he doesn’t know how. Maybe a letter. That’d work pretty good, right? Or with a gift! That’s even better!’ Were you just writing what you were thinking as you went?” Lilac looks to Talia with a smile, her girlfriend shrugging in response with an unbridled, amused smile.
“Okay, anyway,” Lilac chuckles, “‘It’s Thursday now -’ What day was it before?” she laughs, Talia echoing her. “‘It’s Thursday now and Harry made a card with flowers on it and he filled it up with nice things about Louis and he’s kinda scared to give it to him but at least he doesn’t have to see his face so that’s nice and he bought real flowers to leave him but he doesn’t know when to give it he thinks after practice but Louis always leaves before him so that might not work but he’ll still try because he really needs to tell him.’” Lilac takes an exaggerated breath.
Talia laughs loudly from the audience, “Why was that sentence so long?” She steps closer, looking up at Lilac with a grin, still laughing slightly.
“Don’t ask me, you wrote it!” Lilac beams down at her as Talia stops before the stool she’s standing on with crossed arms.
“Keep reading!” Allegra jeers, frowning at the pair in front of the bar.
Talia waves her hand over her shoulder dismissively without even glancing over to the heckler, “Chill out, Leggy, she’ll get there.”
“Okay,” Lilac stifles a laugh, “‘He put flowers by Louis’s bag and the card under the flowers but -’” Lilac laughs, “‘but Louis missed them and Harry got sad then cryde -’ spelled very wrong ‘- in his car and Zayn had to comfort him with a hug. Then Louis bought flowers and put them by Harry’s bag at rehearsal but he missed them too! So now they both failed and are sad and don’t know but everyone knows and they can’t tell anyone and it’s bad.’” Lilac stops to scroll, frowning at what she finds, “The end. That’s it,” she turns to the crowd with a shrug.
“Ugh, Talia, you couldn’t even finish it?” Allegra groans, turning from the bar with a roll of her eyes, scampering back into the crowd without a second glance or a response.
Jake claps his hands together, “Looks like the shows over already, folks,” and starts ushering the gathered crowd away before turning back to the bar and grabbing a drink, following after Cherry as she strides off.
“Aw, it was just getting good,” Tim frowns, genuinely disappointed and stalks off with his head hung, shoulders sagging, and arms folded over his chest.
Jen shakes her head as she watches him go, “I should probably go make sure he’s okay,” and scurries off after him, throwing an apologetic smile over her shoulder as she goes.
“Well, that’s my cue,” Rohan grins, disappearing into the crowd without another word, leaving the pair alone as the others disperse.
Lilac climbs down from the stool, stepping up to Talia and takes her hand, palm up, placing her phone in Talia’s hand, “I’ll be good, I promise.” Talia quirks an eyebrow, expression unbelieving and one half of her mouth raised up in a smirk. “I swear it,” Lilac grins, hand on her heart.
A sigh slips past Talia’s lips, her eyes rolling in her head as she pockets Lilac’s phone, tucking her now free hand in Lilac’s and pulling her along. She tugs her over to the empty side of the pool, dropping onto the coping and pulling off her heels. Her feet slide into the water, her torso falling back as she looks up to the dark sky.
Lilac joins her, legs bent at the knee and feet still dry, but she settles beside Talia all the same. “I was a closeted kid with no representation,” Talia finally says after a quiet spell. Lilac turns to face her, watching the lights of the party play off her profile, every mountain and trench across her face. “The idea of some of my favourite artists that I really looked up to being like me was a huge thing for me when I was younger,” she explains gently.
Lilac watches her lips crash together and break apart incessantly, blue trained on black blanketing them from above. “I know it’s fun to laugh at, and it is funny as hell, but I don’t want it to seem like I was stupid or weird as when I was sixteen. ‘Cause I was, but there was more to it.”
“I’m sorry,” Lilac murmurs, guilt slowly building in her stomach as Talia’s lashes flutter with each blink, her chest rising with each breath, her hair blowing with each gust of wind.
“It is really stupid, I’ll give you that,” a smile graces Talia’s lips as she glances to Lilac, smirking softly.
Lilac beams as blue crashes into grey, heavens clashing against the Earth’s seas, “It’s so stupid but it’s still good! You liked it and put it out there, and that’s amazing, babes,” she encourages, turning on her side to better face the woman beside her.
A laugh shakes Talia’s throat as she turns to meet her, smiling openly and genuinely, “Yeah, I mean, I enjoyed it then and at the very least it’s fun to laugh at now. Too bad I didn’t actually write that much,” she frowns before shrugging her shoulders, plastering on an easygoing grin.
Lilac’s lips lift on one side, “Or, maybe there is more? Just for us? I may have lied about the end of it,” she grins wickedly, a mischievous glint in her eyes.
Talia sits up sharply, swinging her legs out of the water and splashing Lilac without care, “Wait, what? How much more was there?!” She grasps Lilac’s forearms, leaning forward intently, her eyes boring into grey abysses.
“Pages and pages,” Lilac smirks, leaning forward to meet her confidently.
Talia pecks her on the lips quickly before pulling out Lilac’s phone, shoving it in her hands and curling her fingers around it, “Well read it, you idiot!”
Lilac starts laughing, and she doesn’t stop until she’s breathless, nearly collapsing as Talia tries to hold her up, scolding her even as she laughs along, eventually stealing Lilac’s phone and unlocking it herself. She forces Lilac upright, giving her the sternest look she can muster, “Read. It.”
Lilac falls forward again, her head dropping into Talia’s lap as her entire body shakes with furious laughter, the sound from the party spilling across the pool to them, filling the open air around them and providing a background as their conversation eventually resumes, once Lilac’s regained her composure.
For the remainder of the night, they ignore the rest of the party, spending it tucked against each other and laughing at the incomprehensible words from teenage Talia printed on the screen until they run out of air, until the party’s collapsing across the pool, until Jake’s looking down at them with his arms crossed, chiding them for staying late and only reinvigorating their cackles. Even as they walk out of the Villa for the last time, their cheeks are flushed and their throats are sore as they giggle amongst one another, Jake’s disappointed glances simply fueling the flames.
They finally settle as they climb into a cab, leaning against each other as their lashes slowly flutter shut, the day’s events finally catching up to them. Talia has to force herself to remain awake, a smile on her lips as she recounts her favourite memories, past and present, from her teenage years to every minute of 23-year-old Talia’s recent journey. All with Lilac slumped on her shoulder, dead asleep as the cab leads them away from the place that has held their entire relationship. And Talia’s okay with that, okay with leaving it behind, just as long as they have more moments like the one that just passed them, laughing at her teenage musings.