Settle Down

/ Matty's POV /
I heard a soft laughter from the corner of the café I was currently sitting at. It was the most beautiful thing I've ever heard. The laughter sounded so soft and genuine that it sounded as it if wasn't there. I turned to see the source of laughter, and my heart fluttered at the sight of her. She was beautiful. Every single thing I saw of hers was perfection. As she caught myself staring at her, her cheeks burned a bright crimson colour; She almost immediately looked down and her hair covered her face. Her hair reminded me of curtains blocking the light shining through the window, or in this case the light was her smile and the curtains was her hair.

I don't know what got over me but my body involuntarily walked over to the girl and her friend and I introduced myself. The friend spoke up instead of the girl I wanted so badly to hold. It was a start though because I learnt that her name was Elizabeth; Or Beth as her friend, Sarah, stated. The two girls seemed to recognise me as the lead singer of The 1975. It gave me confidence to flirt a little and whenever I did, Elizabeth would smile shyly and look away, avoiding any eye contact.

I think Sarah got the wrong idea because she flirted back aimlessly. I'm not gonna lie, she's beautiful but she's nothing like Elizabeth. Sarah had big light blue eyes and sandy blonde hair; she was tall and thin; she was bubbly and outgoing; a man's dream woman. Well truth be told, that's not mine. My dream woman was Elizabeth. She was average but that's what made her perfect in my eyes. She was the total opposite to Sarah. She had small dark brown eyes and jet black hair; she was tall and curvy in all the right places; she was shy and closed off. Her shyness made me more interested in her, she was so mysterious. I wanted to get to know her, the real her. I wanted to know the ins and outs of her. I wanted to know her secrets and be the one she goes to. I wanted to be hers just as much as I wanted her to be mine.

I politely shrugged Sarah's attempts to flirt with me and focused more on Elizabeth. After a while of harmless conversations, she was finally starting to open up. She'd either affectionately touch my arm, or give me a small smile, or even a cheeky smile. It was great. I finally got the courage to ask for her number so I could take her to dinner and to be honest I thought she was going to agree by the way she opened up to me. She rejected me in the nicest way I've ever experienced. That killed me inside. She was so nice that I couldn't be angry at her for rejecting me, even though she led me on to think she'd at least get to know me.

The next day, I came back and saw them again. We had more insignificant conversations. Instead of asking Elizabeth on a date, I asked her and Sarah to come to a small party that George organised. Before Elizabeth could protest, Sarah had already said yes. She pulled Elizabeth to her feet and left her phone number. I texted her the address and made my way home. I told the lads about the girls that were coming and they couldn't be more happy for me.

My heart felt like it was about to jump out of my chest as I saw Elizabeth walk in. She was absolutely stunning. I couldn't help but admire how the dress clung around her waist and complimented her curves. I straightened out my posture and stalked my way through to the girls, ushering them around the house and into the kitchen where the booze was.
Soon Elizabeth and I were making out on the end of my bed, clearly drunk off our asses. Before she could take another piece of clothing off, I stopped her. She was confused but then grinned once I told her that as much as I'd like to, I didn't want to sleep with her when we're drunk, I'd rather wait and be sober than drunk and not remember anything. So we just laid in my bed, talking about random things that popped into our minds. She rested her head on my chest and I kissed her multiple times. Soon enough we both fell asleep.

When I woke up, I noticed that space next to me was empty. She had left. No signs of her, not even a note. Trom that day on, I vowed to go to the café everyday just to see her again. I mean, I don't even know if she even goes there daily or if that was a one off thing, but I'm going to take my chances. I wanted to see her, I needed to see her.

♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥

Everyday for a month I came to this café, alone or with the other lads. They never questioned why I always came here. They probably assumed that it was because of Elizabeth; they're right. Out of the 4 weeks I was here, I saw her for those 3 weeks. The first week she was a no show, but after that she showed up frequently. As much as I loved seeing her, I've noticed she's been avoiding me. She'd glance at me and when she noticed that I had caught her looking, she'd give me a small smile then she'd walk off and give me a cold shoulder. I would always come back home, knowing more about her. Well not really her but her characteristic. I knew that she had a birthmark in the shape of a love heart on her right shoulder, and how she'd bite her lip when she's upset, and she'd play with the ends of her hair when she's tired, and even that when she's happy her hair is usually up but when she's upset it's usually down.

Between those 4 weeks, I also got to see Sarah. I talked to her about Elizabeth. Sarah told me the basics about Elizabeth and regularly told me about what she'd been up to. As if I couldn't get more attracted, I did. I felt like all I needed was her. Every time I talked to Sarah, she'd wish me a good luck and gave me a pitiful look. To this day I never knew why.

After that 1 month, I had to go back to the touring life. At first it was hard for me to forget her. I'd fall asleep to my mind picturing Elizabeth. Then after a while, I gradually moved on with my life. I played every show the best I could, I'd party hard, snog a few girls and life was good. I almost forgot about her... almost. I don't know why but she'd always be in my mind whenever I'm alone with my thoughts. It was torture.

Alas when I got back home from touring, the day after we arrived I went to the café to see if I would see her again. And there she was, looking beautiful as always. I sat in the corner for a while to soak in her beauty but finally decided to man up and try to ask her out again; being a little more persistent.
As I was walking up to her, a random guy went up to her also and she kissed him. She had found a boyfriend whilst I was away. She didn't even try to get to know me while I spent most of my time on her. She found herself a boyfriend. My heart sank. I felt ill. Every bone in my body felt like jelly. I didn't know whether to feel sad, angry or both. I felt empty and distraught. I went home feeling dull. The guys didn't even need to ask to know what had happened. They left me alone to sulk.

When I thought I had gotten rid of my feelings for her but as we lived in a small town, I'd bump into her every so often and the feelings I had, along with the pain came running back and hit me like a ton of bricks. She'd say hi and smile like we were friends but truth be told we were never friends nor lovers. I think that hurt the most though, she had never given up a second of her time to get to know me like I did for her.

As the emptiness turned into sadness and the sadness turned into anger, I felt more frustrated. Not with her but with myself. How did I get so infatuated with a girl I barely even knew? I translated these emotions into lyrics and soon I had written a smash hit.

' A soft sound, to the way she wears her hair down, covering up her face; And oh what a let down. I don't seem to be having any effect now, falling all over the place. For crying out loud, settle down! You know I can't be found with you. We get back to my house, your arms, my mouth. Now I just stop myself around you.'