Status: wip
Temporary Fix
the end
I planned this story in one sitting at 4 in the morning two years ago. I had just read The Duff and I really wanted to write an enemies with benefits AU. However, the past two years have been a bit crazy and something that was meant to be a small project, quickly written and posted, just kept getting delayed.
I genuinely really wanted to finish this, but every time I opened the document, no words poured out. I was so annoyed at the thought of having to write it and I hated that because I really liked this story. I didn’t want to think of it as a chore, or something I just needed to get over. Some of the later chapters are evidence of my reluctance because they’re not as good as the first few were. They were rushed and half-assed. The characters just outgrew me and the plot wasn’t working anymore. It was really difficult to finally admit that I didn’t want to write this anymore. I have tried many ways to change that, but at some point, I knew I had to pull the plug.
I apologize to everyone who was reading this, left me sweet messages, and wanted me to continue. I’m so sorry I couldn’t do it. However, below are lengthy descriptions of how the rest of the parts/story would have gone. I hope it’s enough to make up for me abandoning this story.
Thank you for everything.
VI. my lover’s the sunlight
This part starts out with Mara waking up and going on Instagram to see that Liam proposed to Penelope. He put up a post of their engagement and she’s devastated because it dawns on her that they can never be together again. Deciding to ignore it, she suppresses her feelings and heads to work, but she’s really distracted the whole time and keeps messing up. The entire time, she’s thinking about Liam and Penelope, and how that should have been her. She should have been in LA with Liam, with a job, with her friends. Instead, she’s back home with her parents and she’s got a low paying job and has no idea what she’s doing because her time back at Laguna Beach was supposed to be her figuring shit out. She didn’t really do that, so she ends up having a breakdown at work in the bathroom.
After her shift, she heads out and picks up dinner on the way since her parents went to a friend’s place for dinner. While eating dinner, Mara speaks on the phone with Ava, who is catching her up on all things back in LA. Ava’s close to a promotion at work, further making Mara insecure in where she is in life. They say bye and Ava makes Mara promise she’ll come back to LA soon, and Mara agrees half-heartedly because she’s not sure that’s possible anymore.
Once the call is done, Mara hops on the computer to apply for a few jobs. She’s jittery, unable to contain the energy she has from a sudden rush to do something right away. Not being able to concentrate on the applications, she heads over to Harry’s next door. When he opens the door, she starts kissing him and then ends up crying. Harry immediately gets concerned, asking her what’s wrong, and she spills that day’s events to him, opening up about everything she’s been feeling. Harry is a great shoulder to cry on and she feels better once she unloads everything on him.
They do eventually end up having sex that night, but it’s different from the times they’ve had sex before. This time it’s a bit more slower and the emotions Mara is feeling is passing onto Harry, who is trying to be there for her. Mara senses the shift in their physical intimacy and starts to wonder if she has actual feelings for Harry.
VII. let's not leave it all behind
It’s another day at the bookstore and Mara’s half-assing the entire time. This time, Zayn approaches her and tells her that as a friend, he sympathizes that she’s going through some things. However, as a boss, she’s going to have to pull it together lest she wants to get fired. She starts panicking because she can’t lose this job either, so she tells Zayn some of what’s been happening. Zayn’s there for her and tells her he’ll let it slide for now, but he’s there if she needs any help in figuring things out. He does point out that at some point she is going to have to do that, rather than worrying about it.
Through the rest of her shift, as much as she tries to figure out a game plan, her mind drifts to Harry and what happened between them the other night. She doesn’t really have the time or emotional capacity to have feelings for him, but it doesn’t change the fact that she does. She’s also pretty sure that he likes her as well and she doesn’t want to hurt him. Mara realizes that that this is something she’ll have to put aside to gather herself and then get back to, if Harry was willing. When she heads home, Harry catches up with her and she’s a bit dismissive and non-responsive. Taking the hint, Harry leaves her alone and heads home.
The next couple of days, Mara’s reclusive and working hard at the bookstore while going through her options. She tries her best to stay away from Harry and thinking about him, but isn’t as successful with the latter. One night, Harry finds her on her porch and confronts her about ignoring him. He tells her that he knows they feel the same way, but she’s just too scared to admit it or do anything about it because she’s letting the picture perfect life vision she’s had for years blur what she’s got right now. Mara doesn’t argue back because he is right, and Harry leaves her once again.
VIII. crept up in you and wouldn’t let go
Mara heads back to LA, but only to pick up the last of her things and send it back home to Laguna. After days of thinking, she’s decided that she needs to stay in Laguna, ground herself and then slowly start building herself again. She doesn’t want to have to worry about moving back to this city that was only going to depress her and stress her. She wants to stay where she is at the bookstore. However, she doesn’t want to stay in her parent’s basement or get her old room back. So she asks Zayn for some help and turns out, he’s got an empty room he’s been meaning to rent out, so she moves all her things in his apartment.
For the first time, Mara’s smiling and she’s actually happy with where she is. She doesn’t mind the book store and she finds she doesn’t mind Laguna Beach either. Finding a real adult job in some corporate company was going to take a while and she was willing to wait and not rush herself. After properly moving in with all of her things, Mara unfollows Liam and Penelope on Instagram, letting that part of her life go as well. She only wishes them well.
The last thing on her game plan list, but possibly the most important, is Harry. She shows up to his bakery and is happy to see him in his cute little apron behind the counter. Upon seeing her, he looks surprised, but doesn’t turn her away. She approaches him and apologizes for shutting him out, but says it was only to figure a few things out. She confesses that she’d like to start new, filling him in on all the ways she’s been making progress in her plan. He asks where he fits in on all of this and Mara smiles and tells him she’d like to go on a date and do this properly, if he was up for it as well. Harry comes around the counter and kisses her, accepting the date.
I genuinely really wanted to finish this, but every time I opened the document, no words poured out. I was so annoyed at the thought of having to write it and I hated that because I really liked this story. I didn’t want to think of it as a chore, or something I just needed to get over. Some of the later chapters are evidence of my reluctance because they’re not as good as the first few were. They were rushed and half-assed. The characters just outgrew me and the plot wasn’t working anymore. It was really difficult to finally admit that I didn’t want to write this anymore. I have tried many ways to change that, but at some point, I knew I had to pull the plug.
I apologize to everyone who was reading this, left me sweet messages, and wanted me to continue. I’m so sorry I couldn’t do it. However, below are lengthy descriptions of how the rest of the parts/story would have gone. I hope it’s enough to make up for me abandoning this story.
Thank you for everything.
VI. my lover’s the sunlight
This part starts out with Mara waking up and going on Instagram to see that Liam proposed to Penelope. He put up a post of their engagement and she’s devastated because it dawns on her that they can never be together again. Deciding to ignore it, she suppresses her feelings and heads to work, but she’s really distracted the whole time and keeps messing up. The entire time, she’s thinking about Liam and Penelope, and how that should have been her. She should have been in LA with Liam, with a job, with her friends. Instead, she’s back home with her parents and she’s got a low paying job and has no idea what she’s doing because her time back at Laguna Beach was supposed to be her figuring shit out. She didn’t really do that, so she ends up having a breakdown at work in the bathroom.
After her shift, she heads out and picks up dinner on the way since her parents went to a friend’s place for dinner. While eating dinner, Mara speaks on the phone with Ava, who is catching her up on all things back in LA. Ava’s close to a promotion at work, further making Mara insecure in where she is in life. They say bye and Ava makes Mara promise she’ll come back to LA soon, and Mara agrees half-heartedly because she’s not sure that’s possible anymore.
Once the call is done, Mara hops on the computer to apply for a few jobs. She’s jittery, unable to contain the energy she has from a sudden rush to do something right away. Not being able to concentrate on the applications, she heads over to Harry’s next door. When he opens the door, she starts kissing him and then ends up crying. Harry immediately gets concerned, asking her what’s wrong, and she spills that day’s events to him, opening up about everything she’s been feeling. Harry is a great shoulder to cry on and she feels better once she unloads everything on him.
They do eventually end up having sex that night, but it’s different from the times they’ve had sex before. This time it’s a bit more slower and the emotions Mara is feeling is passing onto Harry, who is trying to be there for her. Mara senses the shift in their physical intimacy and starts to wonder if she has actual feelings for Harry.
VII. let's not leave it all behind
It’s another day at the bookstore and Mara’s half-assing the entire time. This time, Zayn approaches her and tells her that as a friend, he sympathizes that she’s going through some things. However, as a boss, she’s going to have to pull it together lest she wants to get fired. She starts panicking because she can’t lose this job either, so she tells Zayn some of what’s been happening. Zayn’s there for her and tells her he’ll let it slide for now, but he’s there if she needs any help in figuring things out. He does point out that at some point she is going to have to do that, rather than worrying about it.
Through the rest of her shift, as much as she tries to figure out a game plan, her mind drifts to Harry and what happened between them the other night. She doesn’t really have the time or emotional capacity to have feelings for him, but it doesn’t change the fact that she does. She’s also pretty sure that he likes her as well and she doesn’t want to hurt him. Mara realizes that that this is something she’ll have to put aside to gather herself and then get back to, if Harry was willing. When she heads home, Harry catches up with her and she’s a bit dismissive and non-responsive. Taking the hint, Harry leaves her alone and heads home.
The next couple of days, Mara’s reclusive and working hard at the bookstore while going through her options. She tries her best to stay away from Harry and thinking about him, but isn’t as successful with the latter. One night, Harry finds her on her porch and confronts her about ignoring him. He tells her that he knows they feel the same way, but she’s just too scared to admit it or do anything about it because she’s letting the picture perfect life vision she’s had for years blur what she’s got right now. Mara doesn’t argue back because he is right, and Harry leaves her once again.
VIII. crept up in you and wouldn’t let go
Mara heads back to LA, but only to pick up the last of her things and send it back home to Laguna. After days of thinking, she’s decided that she needs to stay in Laguna, ground herself and then slowly start building herself again. She doesn’t want to have to worry about moving back to this city that was only going to depress her and stress her. She wants to stay where she is at the bookstore. However, she doesn’t want to stay in her parent’s basement or get her old room back. So she asks Zayn for some help and turns out, he’s got an empty room he’s been meaning to rent out, so she moves all her things in his apartment.
For the first time, Mara’s smiling and she’s actually happy with where she is. She doesn’t mind the book store and she finds she doesn’t mind Laguna Beach either. Finding a real adult job in some corporate company was going to take a while and she was willing to wait and not rush herself. After properly moving in with all of her things, Mara unfollows Liam and Penelope on Instagram, letting that part of her life go as well. She only wishes them well.
The last thing on her game plan list, but possibly the most important, is Harry. She shows up to his bakery and is happy to see him in his cute little apron behind the counter. Upon seeing her, he looks surprised, but doesn’t turn her away. She approaches him and apologizes for shutting him out, but says it was only to figure a few things out. She confesses that she’d like to start new, filling him in on all the ways she’s been making progress in her plan. He asks where he fits in on all of this and Mara smiles and tells him she’d like to go on a date and do this properly, if he was up for it as well. Harry comes around the counter and kisses her, accepting the date.
♠ ♠ ♠
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