American Candy

Matty was simply buzzed when The 1975 went on stage. The night felt completely different than other shows. It might have been because of the new girl band on tour. They generated quite the buzz for the tour. They were always on the news all of the time anyway. It was good, the lads supposed. At least they were putting on a fantastic show.

George's mind was still trying to figure out what to do with Nirvana. He was concentrated on the show, of course, but the raven-haired girl just kept popping into his head. He knew that he wanted the girl, but he wasn't aware of what that meant exactly. Did George really want to be with Nirvana? Was this something that he was willing to follow through with? He didn't know.

Adam didn't know what he had done. He wasn't actually expecting Matty to follow him out or to catch him with Maize. Adam wasn't really planning on kissing the girl either. It happened when she was upset and Adam didn't know what else to do. He thought that he was helping. He didn't want drama to ensue. At least as a band, the lads worked well together despite personal issues.

Ross didn't know all that was going on, but he knew that Nirvana was hurting. He knew that George was quite fond of the girl. He didn't know whether to feel relieved or gutted. Ross felt that if George and Nirvana became George and Nirvana then he would lose the friend that he had so recently made in the girl guitarist. Ross didn't want that.

Reckless Little Hearts watched The 1975 during their show. They were standing further back on the left side of the stage while a few VIP fans stood closer to the front. The girls pretended not to notice that they were taking pictures. The girls were impressed by the musicianship of the band. It had been a while, considering their lives now, since they had been on the road. This was their chance to really get out there and tour Europe again. They jumped at the opportunity to tour again. As soon as TJ had called Emery, she just knew this was it. They even managed to persuade Liz to come back to the band.

"They're fantastic, aren't they?" Lark questioned as she stepped beside Ash.

"They are," she agreed. "Their music makes you want to fall in love over and over again."

"How is William?" Lark asked in return.

"He's great," she stated as she looked at the younger girl. "Louis really spoils him. He's a great dad though, so I can't complain."

"William is going to marry my Annabelle," Spencer stated. "They may be three but they're in love."

"We're already planning their wedding." Liz informed the silver-haired girl. "Niall and I are working on our own baby."

"We're all adults," Emery laughed. "We're getting too old for this,”

"Yes.... We are," Spencer laughed. "Oops,”

Lark smiled as her friends talked. She watched as The 1975 played Sex. The show was nearly over, as this was their encore. She was distracted by the lean lead singer with the questionable hair. Lark really didn’t know why or when, but somewhere along the way she had started to grow more attracted to him. Like all of the great, complicated stories, Lark lost perspective. She didn’t know how she felt, or why she was doing it anymore. She didn’t really know why Matty felt the need to waste his time with her of all people. Lark doesn’t get it.

“How’s Beau?” Emery asked, and finally the silver-haired girl was able to snap out of her daze.

“He’s good,” Lark smiled back. “It sucks being away from a loved one, you know? I feel like he might forget about me,”

“He’s a big boy, Lark.” Liz playfully stated. “He loves you so much,”

“I love him too.” She admitted.

“Then please be careful,” Roxie filled in for Liz. She nodded toward Matty and Lark understood. The girl didn’t have time for any other comments as the band finally finished up their encore and ran off stage. The girls didn’t noticed it, but Maize had walked up. As soon as Adam reached her, she lightly grabbed his hand and walked wherever he was headed. Before Maize and Adam rounded the corner, he looked back at Lark to give her a small wave. The two had planned to chill out tonight, but it seemed like their plans were shot. There was always tomorrow, Adam thought.

George gave the girls high fives and planted a small kiss on Lark’s forehead.

“Take care of him, L.” George stated with a small smile.

“Go get her, G.” Lark encouraged back.

“Glad that you’re thinking clearly.” He laughed, acknowledging that the girl was neither dazed or a innocent look on her face. Lark looked at ease, and George was glad. “It’s a good look on you, Larkin.”

“Thank you, George.”

“George, dammit move!” Matty laughed, playfully shoving George out of the way. George nearly toppled over Ross, but the later just huffed and walked on. Ross wasn’t anymore happy about his situation than X, Nirvana or George were. “You,” Matty stated as he stepped in front of the short girl and slowly lifted his hands to her face.

“Yes?” She asked, feeling very awkward that everyone watched out of curiosity.

Matty didn’t reply, but pulled her face up so that he could give her a proper kiss. He was feeling romantic; drunk on the atmosphere and adrenaline. He would have dipped her if he thought he could keep them both upright. However, it was out of the question so he just went for a different approach. He was more than satisfied that Lark was kissing him back and lightly gripping his sweaty shirt.

“You promised me,” He stated when he pulled back. “Ready?”

Lark nodded, not saying anything to object when he reached for her hand and laced his with hers. She didn’t turn around and look back at the male lead them toward the exit. If Lark was thinking straight, she would have said no. If Lark was thinking about Beau, her insides would be twisting up tightly. If Lark had paid attention, she would know that Matty was with other females in the beginning.

If Lark really was paying attention, she would notice that the fans that were still standing on the side of the stage had taken pictures of their entire exchange. But she didn’t, she was blissfully unaware of the mess that they probably just made.



George walked as swiftly as he could toward Nirvana. She was standing Ash and Roxie while the three of them talked. He was sure to shower, change into new clothes and put on extra deodorant. George was nervous and he tended to sweat much more when he was nervous. He doesn’t do extravagant gestures to gain attention or affection. This was not his alley of expertise.

He readjusted his hat more times than necessary. He kept straightening his shirt, and tugging at his jeans. He felt like he had one shot, and honestly he did. He had once chance to make this thing work out, but if it went south he wasn’t sure how to handle that. He was hoping it worked.
As soon as he reached her, he lightly tapped her shoulder. The girl stopped giggling, but the girl refused to turn around. She squared her shoulders, and didn’t dare look back at him.

“Maybe we should…” Roxie started to trail off.

“No, stay.” Nirvana instructed. “Whatever it is that needs to be said, can be said in front of my friends.”

“Ni...come on,” George whispered. “I just...I-I… I came over to…”

He was aware now more than ever that others were around. X looked like she was trying to encourage him the best she could from where she was standing with Ross, Spencer and Liz. Neither of the bass players were thrilled to stand side by side, but they had no other options. However it did help that two others were there to keep the peace.

Nirvana slowly turned around. She looked him up and down with a cold stare. George had never been on the receiving end of one of those looks, and he didn’t want to ever be again. He felt like his blood had ran cold, and he forgot how to breathe. If looks could kill, he would be six feet under.

“What do you want, George?” She stated loudly.

“I just wanted to talk to you,” He sighed, turning his hat backwards. It wasn’t that usual of a look for him, but he was nervous. George didn’t want to walk away this time like he did last time.

“Oh, so now you choose to do it? I don’t want to be around you!” She yelled. Nirvana was easily working herself up. “You think that you can just walk away from me and then come back? It doesn’t work like that! I can’t believe you would think that I would actually give you the time of day after that.”

George took a deep breath in and let it go slowly.

“You’re one to talk,” He spoke calmly, his deep voice changing the atmosphere compared to her high,
loud voice. “What I can’t believe is that you were fucking Ross, and you’re mad at me for doing the same thing? You’re not perfect, love.”

“I know that!” She snapped back.

“I told you that I was sorry,” He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

“You can’t just show up and expect me to forgive you, George Daniel. It does not work that way. I play by my rules.”

“Maybe that’s the problem then, yeah? You play by your rules which only exist to keep you isolated. Look around, Nirvana. You’ve pushed everyone so far away that you are alone. Your bloody rules have gotten you nowhere. They’ve screwed you over. I wanted to talk to you. I wanted to tell you that you mean something to me, okay? You’re fucking mental, but I think I dig that about you. You don’t take shit from anyone, and you do what you want. You drive me mad.

You make me crazy. I literally get proper knackered just trying to keep up with you. You’re the life of the party, and I love that about you. You genuinely make me smile. Like, you make me different. I won’t lie and say I’m in love because I’m not sure what such a strong and strange emotion feels like. All I know is that something is different when I’m with you. I can’t spell it out, and you can’t even fathom what’s going on in my brain right now. I’m not taking the mick out of you, love. I genuinely, truly do want to be around you.

Fucking hell, I think I might even want to be with you, Nirvana. I wanna hold your hand and actually spoon you. I want to be the little spoon because I love the way your arms feel around me. I don’t care how weird this is, because let’s face it; I’m strange. I want to hold your hand and have you roll your eyes at me for it. I love these things about you. I feel a bit obsessed at the moment. So, I just need you to say something. I need you to say anything to me right now because I’m going mad when I can’t be with you,” George huffed. He didn’t realize that he had been pacing. He didn’t realize that he stopped and was now in front of Nirvana.

Nirvana looked like a deer caught in headlights. Her eyes only grew when he wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her in for a dramatic kiss. George would be the first to admit that it wasn’t his style, but after a long talk with Matty, he knew that a huge romantic gesture would be the thing to go for. He felt awkward and out of place, but he did what he could. Hopefully it was enough. He was begging for it to be enough.

“George,” Nirvana stated as he pulled away. She looked at his facial expression change. His excited face soon turned into one of confusion. The raven-haired girl squared her shoulders and lifted her chin. Her shocked expression was soon replaced by her perfectly crafted ice-cold glare. She was a heartbreaker. That’s what Nirvana did.

“.....yes?” He sighed, looking at her.

“I don’t want you. And I will never love you,” She stated, promptly turning on her heel and walking confidently back toward the bus. As she disappeared, George looked around. Eyes of everyone stared back at him. Roxie was biting her lip. Ash looked completely shocked. Spencer and Liz looked upset. X was a different story. She walked as quickly as she could toward her best friend. She could admit that George was one of the greatest people she had ever met. She flung her arms around him as he slowly crumbled in her embrace. He bent down and snuggled as far as possible into her.

George looked up in just enough time to see Ross with an unreadable expression his face, and a quick exit toward where Nirvana had disappeared.



Matty had the silver-haired girl pressed tightly against him. For the first time in a long time, he felt content. They had a fantastic show, he only snorted once that day, and Lark was with him. Matty was aware that the girl didn’t know that he was so happy. She had no idea what went on inside of his head.

To be fair, he didn’t know her either.

They weren’t that honest with each other, but it wasn’t from his lack of trying. He wanted Lark to open up to him. He knew that she was hurt. He could tell from her lyrics that she wrote for the band. He knew that something had happened, but he wasn’t to sure what it was. Honestly, Matty wasn’t so sure he wanted to know all about it.

He couldn’t put his finger on it. He didn’t know why Lark had to take medicine daily. He wanted to know why she felt the need to take drugs before they spent time together. Matty wanted to actually know the girl instead of just sleeping with her.

He stared into her hazel eyes, noticing a hint of gray for the first time. He hoped he had more chances to see her like this. He realized that he had fallen in love so hard and so fast. He got caught up and he couldn’t help himself. He pressed a hard kiss to her lips. It was welcomed, but not without hesitation on her part.

“What was that for?” She asked while she was laughing.

“Because I felt like it,” He answered honestly. He loved the quiet atmosphere they had created. A bunk wasn’t huge, but it was a decent size. It was intimate, and he wouldn’t let anyone else back there. Only Lark.

“Okay.” She whispered back with a small smile. “Do it again?”

“Okay,” He smiled, tucking a piece of wild hair behind her ear.

Matty was absolutely a fan of doing what he wanted, when he wanted to do it. Everything with Lark had been different from that. What she asked for, he was more than willing to give up for her. Everything was on Lark’s terms, and honestly it grated his nerves sometimes. He wanted to move forward, but she was always cautiously standing five steps behind. Love is patient and kind, so he would wait for however long that he had to. Lark was worth it to him.

“I like you like this,” Lark stated as she combed her fingers through his curly hair.

“Like what?” He laughed, adjusting his hands so they slid further down her bare back for more comfort.

“Not high,” She tried her best to shrug. “Your eyes are different. It’s like...it’s like I can actually see you. You know what I mean? I understand you better this way. You don’t have to talk to me for me to know your attitude and thoughts have changed.”

“Is that so?” He smiled at her.

“Yeah, it is.” She replied, poking his cheek. “You look much happier like this, Matthew. You smile, and you make me feel good,”

“More ways than one yeah?” He smirked lightly. Lark only had a second to give him a look before he scrunched his nose in an adorable fashion. “I’m joking...kind of. Continue?”

“Thank you...as I was saying…” She rolled her eyes playfully. “You are a different person. This Matthew, not Matty or Matt or M or whatever, is the one I’d like to get to know. Who you are right now is the most honest I think I’ve seen you since I’ve known you. You’re beautiful, Matthew.”

His small smile turned into a beaming one.

“I’d just like to say, on the record, that clearly you’re the beautiful one.” He laughed, slowly moving so that they were on their sides and then she was under him again. It was rather difficult to move without unlocking his arms, but he managed until she was on her back. He placed his elbows beside her head and bent down until they were kissing again. He loved the slow kiss, barely audible breathing and the ghost touch of fingertips trailing up and down his back.

Matthew Healy was content, and yet he felt like this was going to all go to hell. Because that’s what he does. He breaks things, and that was the last thing he wanted to do. He didn’t want to hurt her. He didn’t want to crush her heart.

But that’s what Matthew does. He breaks hearts, and leaves without offering to help repair them.