Hollow Crown.

You better beg for mercy

Georgia ran her fingers softly against the dark purple mark underneath Oliver’s left eye causing him to jerk slightly, hissing in the pain that the loving act caused him. Sympathy flashed through her bright eyes as she decided to rest her hands on his shoulders. He leant forward pressing their foreheads together, looking into her eyes feeling that they were the only two people in the world and not in a small bar cramped up with hundreds of other people watching Architects blast out song after song on stage.

Thomas was sat at the bar, Sarah hanging off his arm as he sucked sullenly on his bottle of beer watching his former two best friends acting as if he didn’t even exist. A week had past since he had dismissed his closest relationship and nothing in the group had changed. Arguments still flowed freely over the most miniscule things; hardly anyone was talking leaving everyone miserable.

Oliver caught sight of Thomas’s stares over the top of Georgia’s head. His brother had proven in the last week to be more of an arsehole than he ever had done in his life. He had ignored ever person on tour except Sarah and Dan. Not wanting Georgia to get upset again, Oliver took her hand and led her out of bar area and down into the backstage room, carelessly flashing his pass at anyone who tried to stop him.

The backstage room in Birmingham’s Academy was like every other one the group had been at in the last three weeks; small, cramped, hot and dingy, complete with one small couch, an array of tables and cooler filled with alcohol.

Oliver led Georgia over to the small couch, pulling her small frame into his lap once he was sitting comfortably. She leant her body into his, leaning her head against his chest, listening to the steady beating of his heart. The last week had been hell; a permanent headache had claimed its love for her. The only thing keeping her on tour was the constant support from everyone except Thomas and Sarah.

“I love you Georgia,” Oliver said quietly, Georgia’s body going rigid at the sound. They had been together for a while but had never really admitted their feelings for each other, finding things to be easier when emotions where not left out on the table. If feelings were not distinguished, no one could get hurt.

Oliver sighed, feeling like a moron. He had just put his heart out on the table and Georgia had chosen to ignore him. They were never one for public displays of affection, finding it easier when feelings where ignored. Oliver had taken a chance, wither it had been stupid or not, to prove to her once and for all that he really did care for her. Fed up with the playboy life style, all he wanted was for Georgia to get over her trust issues and let herself love him too.

Taking Oliver’s hand in her own, she traced the outline of the tattooed reaper, staring at the light switch on the wall trying to block out any form of distraction as she prepared herself for replying to Oliver.

Ultimately it was now or never. If she said it back she left herself completely unshielded giving Oliver the chance to completely destroy her. If she didn’t say it back she would destroy Oliver. Her heart and head were at war, screaming over each other to be heard, both wanting their argument to win. Even if she was terrified, Georgia did know the answer to the conundrum. She always had done.

“I love you too” Georgia whispered, an identical grin spreading across both of their faces. Content with no longer having to tiptoe around each other hiding how they really felt.

*****

Sarah had disappeared as soon as the vans had stopped at the White Rabbit in Plymouth, the next venue on the Architects tour dates leaving Thomas alone sitting at one of the small tables in the bar area watching as everyone around him helped out setting up equipment and doing sound checks.

His eyes followed Georgia around the room as she wandered around helping wherever she could, a tiny pair of denim shorts lost under Oliver’s large Drop Dead vest being the only thing to cover her small frame, her Nikes squeaking on the floor occasionally.

“You need to make up with her.” Oliver sighed sitting beside his younger brother. “And for the record, I’m not asking for you, she’s miserable without you”

It killed Oliver that Georgia was hurting so much. He had tried everything possible to cheer her up but no matter how happy she came across, he knew that feeling that had resided in the back of her heart. It was in his too. His brother had chosen a girl over him and he would have been crazy not be heartbroken over it.

Thomas never even acknowledged Oliver’s presence, although secretly he had listened to him. He missed Oliver. He missed Georgia, but something at the back of his mind kept screaming at him not to trust them. He had been used before by girls to get to Oliver and as far as he was concerned at that moment in time Georgia had done exactly the same thing.

*****

The bar had been filled to maximum capacity. Georgia had found this out the hard way, after having one to many drinks at the bar she had gone outside with her brother for a cigarette had before he went on stage. On her return she had found getting back to the bar to be a more difficult task than Alice had escaping from wonderland.

She stumbled slightly when she came into contact with a hard surface, an arm grabbing hers before she had the chance to fall over. Thomas’s blurry image surrounded her head as she looked up, swaying as people pushed past her.

“Where’s Oli?” she yelled over the music of the first band on stage. She wasn’t as drunk as Thomas had first thought, although she must have had a fair amount for her to even consider talking to him. He never answered her, just took her hand leading her through the mass of swaying bodies to the dressing room.

Once out of the chaos and into the small corridors of the bar, Thomas attempted to let go of Georgia’s hand, a smile appearing on his lips when she never let go of his. After a small squeeze, Thomas reapplied a gentle amount of pressure to her hand, a silent apology for the last couple of weeks, both knowing they had some serious talking ahead of them before they could really call themselves friends again. But for now, all was forgiven.

Time seemed to stand still after Thomas flung open the door to the dressing room. A loud shriek followed by countless attempts for the pair to ‘Wait’ as ‘It wasn’t what it looked like’. Thomas yanked a frozen Georgia away from the room, away from the building.

With a tight hold on each others hands, the pair fled from the scene. Running from emotions, complications, relationships, from life altogether.