Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Right, I don’t know what’s going on with you two, but it needs to be sorted out right now,” Connor said, barging through the door, drumsticks in hand. “This feud you’ve got going on is really throwing off the whole,” he flung his hands to the side and his drumsticks flew across the room, “vibe,”

Shielding his head with his hand, Tom said, “Quit throwing drumsticks around and explain what’s gotten you so worked up”

“Them!” Connor said, gesturing wildly to Milly and JD, who were sitting on opposite sides of the room. “There is something going on with them. I swear it! I don’t know much, but I do know that. And that I need my sticks back”

“I don’t know what you mean,” Milly said, picking up Connor’s sticks at the same time and passing them back to him. “There’s nothing going on with JD and I. Everything’s fine.”

“You couldn’t fool a dumb goose,”Zek said, his hands folded over his eyes as he lies on the sofa. He swings his long legs over the side, so he’s sitting up facing Milly, “There is obviously something happening. Even Connor noticed!”

Connor chucked his sticks at Zek’s head. “Guys you need to figure out whatever it is that’s bothering you because it’s causing a rift. It’s also just really annoying.”

JD sighs, placing his guitar gently on the sofa, “Seriously its nothing. We’re still a bit rattled from Mexico is all.”

“So in that case, you won’t mind working on the new album together, will you?” Tom said, his lips twitching as he fights not to smile at the look on Milly’s face.

“I think that’s a great idea,” said Gail, who must have walked in at some point. “You two, in the studio room.”

They groaned and grumbled, Milly throwing a choice gesture over her shoulder at Tom, who laughed brightly behind her.

Connor and Zek followed behind them, dancing and blowing pretend trumpets. When they finally stepped into the studio, Connor shut the door with a sharp click behind them.

Tom chuckles to himself from the sofa he’s slouching on. “Prepare for war lads.”

Milly was sitting at the piano, aimlessly playing a few notes over and over and over again, when JD slammed his hands against a table. “We need to do something-“ a small leather notebook fell out from the underside of the table.

Milly’s eyes widened and she darted across the room to snatch it up from the floor. She hugged it tightly against her chest, a look of relief on her face.

JD tilted his head curiously. “What’s in the book Mills?”

“Nothing you need to be concerned about.” She replied shortly, taking her seat at the piano.

“Really? ‘Cause if it were nothing, I wouldn’t have leaped half the room to get to it.”

Milly huffed and spun round to face him. “It’s where I write my songs, ok?”

JD looked up, astonished. “You write? Since when?”

“Since always,” She said, not offering anymore information, and firmly turning back to the piano, where she started playing those same notes again.

“Could I maybe hear one?” JD asked, dragging his chair over closer to her.

Milly sighed, her hands splayed out over the keys. She took a deep breath, as if to start but stopped and turned to JD. “Just, don’t judge it, please.”

“Never.”

With that, she began, her fingertips dancing over the keys, soft voice floating through the air. It held him in a sort of trance, wrapping around him until the very last note.

They sat in silence for a few long minutes after, until JD finally whispered, “That’ll work.”

Chapter Text

Over the next few days, Milly and JD spent all the time they weren’t training or practicing in the studio, dark heads bent together working out lyrics and chord patterns. Connor and Zek would sometimes crouch by the door, listening for snatches of laughter through the hinges, Tom and Niv looking on with bemused expressions.
“They were never disappointed, as their was laughter almost constantly coming from them, so much so that Gail often wondered if they were actually getting anything done at all.

By the end of the second week, they were practically inseparable. They were always hanging around each other, training together, eating together. It seemed as though part of them was always touching, JD’s arm around Milly’s shoulders, Milly’s legs in JD’s lap.

The studio was constantly alive, laughing and music streaming through the door at all times of the day. Once a heavy-sounding crash sounded, and Tom rushed to the door and opened it to JD and Milly lying in a giggling heap on the floor. When they noticed Tom, they just looked at each other and started laughing again.

The hugs and handshakes were constant, and Tom once saw them teaching their signature handshake to Connor, who somehow ended up slapping himself in the face.

Whenever they had the time to eat dinner as a group, they would always sit opposite each other, catching each other’s eyes and snickering over their plates.

Whenever Zek and Niv would elaborately pantomime them making out, they just laughed it off and swore it was strictly platonic. However, Tom noticed the shy glances, the furious blushing they exchanged. It stirred a feeling inside him suspiciously similar to jealousy. That laughter, those looks, used to be reserved for him, and him alone. He’s trapped himself in this now. It was his idea for them to work together, and the work they were producing was incredible. And Milly seemed so happy. Her smile seemed ever present and her lilting laugh was always curling its way into his ears, wether or not he wanted it to. Begrudgingly, he had to admit that JD seemed happier too. His smile, which used to be a rare commodity, was now flashed easily at anyone. He was torn between seeing his two closest friends be happy together, or following his own heart for once in his life.

He pushed back from the table he was sat at, and went to find JD.

Chapter Text

He found him and Milly training together in the courtyard, Milly’s ponytail swinging wildly as she ducked and dodged the punches JD was throwing in her direction. He leant against the doorframe, waiting until the sparring match was finished before approaching JD.

He watched with eagle eyes as they feinted punches and spun around each other. They looked pretty much evenly matched, and Tom could tell that JD was not taking it easy on her. His eyes were narrowed in concentration and sweat glistened on his face. He overreached slightly, and Milly wasted no time in using this to her advantage. She grabbed his arm, knocked his feet out from under him and pinned him to the floor.

The force of the impact knocked her hair out of its ponytail, the elastic pinging across the courtyard.

“Good job.” JD said breathlessly, still pinned against the floor.

“Only good?” Milly said, releasing him and offering a hand to help him up, “I floored you.”

JD only shrugged and grabbed her hand, pulling her down on top of him. Milly shrieked and braced herself over him, her hair making a curtain around their faces.

“You’re such an idiot.”

“Well I do try.” JD said, the teasing tone evident even without seeing his face.

Tom cleared his throat. Milly rolled off of JD faster than he could blink and they both scrambled to their feet, the kicked up sawdust around them clouding the air.

“Can I talk to you for a minute Jay?” Tom asked, trying to ignore the sting of jealousy he felt at seeing them together.

“Yeah, uh sure.” JD said, dusting himself off with a confused expression, “What’s up?”

“Not here,” Tom said, his eyes darting to Milly.

“Right,” JD shifted on his feet, “Yeah ok.”

JD whispered to Milly, “I’ll be back in a minute.”

She nodded, and with a skeptical look at Tom, turned and walked away.

Tom lead JD all the way round to the garden, where he immediately turned around and yelled, “You can’t take her from me!”

JD looked shocked. “Take who- what? What’s going on Tom?”

“Milly,” Tom said, his voice worryingly quiet, “you can’t take her away from me. You can’t.”

“I’m not!” JD said, raising his hands in a futile effort to calm Tom down. “I swear I’m not. But either way, Milly was never yours to take.”
“You have taken everything from me,” Tom said, walking forward until their faces were only a few inches away from each other, “every single thing, I have ever cared about, every person that has had any meaning to me has been taken away.”

“Never on purpose Tom,” JD said, with an exasperated sigh, “you are my closest friend, you always have been, I would never take something that care about away from you.”

“But you have JD, even if you don’t realise it you have. Ever since the day we met you’ve been taking and taking and taking from me.”

“What have I taken from you Tom? You’ll have to tell me because I really don’t know.”

“Leadership of the band. Milly. My hand!”

“I did that to save your life! Maybe I should have left you for dead.”

Silence sat heavy on their shoulders, each staring at the other with fire in their eyes.

“Look, I didn’t mean that-‘’ JD started to say, but Tom just brushed past him, only pausing to say, “Stay away from Milly, and if you don’t, I’ll make you.”

Chapter Text

Over the next few days, the others noticed a change. JD and Milly’s friendship seemed to have taken a turn for the worse. They no longer trained together, or ate together, or did anything together that wasn’t writing in the studio. Milly would try to speak to him, and he’d just walk past her, or only speak in one worded answers.

Eventually, the anniversary of Milly’s father’s death rolled around, the rain matching the gloomy mood. The others did their best to take care of her, Connor making a seemingly endless amount of foamy, marshmallow – smothered hot chocolates, Zek showing her the worst outfits on the internet, Tom snuggled up beside her in bed, arms wrapped tightly around her. Even with all this love being thrown at her, she couldn’t stop weeping over her lost father. There was one person notably missing from this display of avid affection.

JD.

He was sat on the sofa, plucking a repeating pattern, the same one which Milly was playing when they first started to write together. He itched and ached and craved to go comfort her, to find some sort of way to soothe her cries. Silent tears wound down his face in a stream of overflowing sorrow, dripping steadily onto the polished surface of his guitar.

Milly’s bedroom door opened and he jumped when he saw that it was, in fact, Milly herself, standing in a pair of leggings and one of JD’s old t-shirts. His heart ached a little when he saw the faded lettering.

“I need to talk to you.” She said, her voice wobbly and thick from sobbing.

JD only nodded and gestured to the seat next to him, not trusting his voice to sound normal.

“Not here. Outside.” Milly said already pulling on her worn trainers.
“You’ll catch a chill.” JD said quietly, his voice quavering.

Milly, it seemed, did not care about her health, as she walked right out of the door into the downpour.

JD sighed, smiling slightly to himself, and followed her out.

“What’s going on?” Asked Milly as soon as they were far enough away from the house, “One minute we’re closer than best friends, then nothing? I can’t keep doing this with you JD. The hot then cold, the affection then acting like I don’t exist. I can’t handle it any more!”

“Milly, I never wanted to leave you like like that.” JD said, desperation creeping into his tone.

“So then why did you?” Milly shouted, water flying off her when she whirled to face him.

“Because I had to!” JD shouted back, running a hand through his soaking hair.

Milly walked towards him, her shoes soaked with water. She was close enough JD could see the droplets clinging to her eyelashes. “Why did you?” She repeated softly, her hand coming up to cup his face, her fingers whispering along his cheekbone.

“Because if I didn’t, I would’ve been made to, and I wanted to do it on my own terms because,” JD whispered, focussing more on how close Milly was to him and the small hazel flecks in her eyes than what was coming out of his mouth, “Because- because I love you.”

And he kissed her. Nothing else mattered but them and the way her hands were threaded through his hair, the heat of his hands around her waist, pulling her closer to him. The rain fell around them in a steady beat, soaking them to the bone but they didn’t care. All that mattered was them.

When they finally broke apart, they were both gasping for air, their foreheads rested together. Milly laughed softly as JD left small kisses all over her face, the tip of her nose, her eyelids, her Cupid’s bow. They stood there for what felt like hours, the rain bucketing down onto them, trading lazy kisses as if they had all the time in the world. However, the trance couldn’t last forever, and it was broken by Tom shouting towards them, thunder shrouding his face.

Tom didn’t seem to note Milly’s presence, just roughly pulling JD off of her and knocking him to the ground with a punch to the jaw.

Milly screamed, “Tom! What are you doing!”

Again, Tom ignored her and delivered a swift kick to JD’s side, causing him to curl up on the rain soaked ground.

“What the hell do you think you’re playing at JD?” Tom yelled, watching with some kind of vindictive pleasure as JD coughed and struggled to get up. He lined up for another punch when Milly jumped between them. He only caught himself just in time to avoid hitting her right in the eye.

“What on earth, do you think you are doing Tom?” Milly said, her confusion evident.

“This is none of your business Milly.” Tom said through gritted teeth, wanting to wipe JD’s smile off his face.

“You must be absolutely delusional if you think this isn’t any of my business. What the hell is wrong with you-‘’ the unmistakeable light of realisation dawned on Milly’s face. “It was you. You were the one who told him to stay away from me.”

Tom faltered slightly. “No, I didn’t- well I mean- I did- but,”

“Don’t lie to me,” Milly said, all traces of emotion gone from her eyes except from stone cold anger. “I can’t do this right now. Not today.” And with that, she ran.

Tom was watching her leave when he felt a hard punch to the back of his head. He turned to see JD risen, his lips infuriatingly swollen, a painful reminder of what Tom had just witnessed.

A fresh wave of anger crashed over Tom, all the frustration and anger he had kept hidden away had been bubbling to the top, the kiss tipping the scales.

The two boys had always been evenly matched, and today was no exception. They punched and kicked, ducked and swerved, but neither ever seemed to have one up on the other.

Until one moment, when Tom was mid swing, he halted and murmured, “What have I done?”

He turned on his heel and sprinted as fast as he could back towards the house, JD following close behind.

He burst through the door, surprised to see all the others on the sofas, blinking eyes looking up at him, confused by his sudden arrival.

“Has anyone seen Milly?” Tom asked, breathless.

“No,” Connor said, concern etched onto his face, “we thought she was with you.”

“Where is Milly?” Zek asked, shooting up from his seat, Niv a few seconds behind.

“I don’t know,” Tom said, leaning against the doorframe, “we had a fight and she ran off.”

“You guys had a fight?” Connor asked, confused.

“Obviously Connor, they’ve basically already got black eyes you blond oaf,” Zek said, clipping him behind the ear, knocking his red snapback off.

“Where is she then?” Asked JD, ignoring Zek and Connor poking each other in the core of his vision.

The room was uncomfortably silent.

Gail rose with grace, eyeing Tom and JD with piercing looks then said, “Well then, we’ll have to find her, won’t we?”

Chapter Text

Milly walked through the streets of London, wiping tears from her cheeks with a wet hand. Parents gave her worried looks, likely from her lack of a jacket, her t-shirt clinging to her body.

She dripped around, wandering aimlessly until she reached a bench on the bank of the Thames. She sat down, the puddles of rainwater on the seat not bothering her, and stared out at the water, wondering how one could feel so many emotions in such a small amount of time.

She sat there for an undetermined amount of time, the sounds of the city merging into a pleasant background. Someone sat down beside her.

“Excuse me? Miss? Are you alright?” That person asked.

Milly turned and saw a boy, round her age, looking at her, brown eyes filled with concern.

Milly nodded. “I’m fine.”

The boy did not look like he believed that. He laughed and looked to the sky, and when he looked back at her, the twinkle in his eyes raised her spirits a little. “At least put a jacket on.” He said, shuffling closer to her.

Milly rolled her eyes, but couldn’t help but smile. “I would have if I had one. I had to leave and didn’t pick anything up before I left.”

The boy looked perplexed, his brows furrowed slightly. “No worries, we can just share mine!” He shrugged one of his sleeves off and held it open to Milly, waggling his eyebrows in greeting.

She looked a little suspicious, but shuffled over and huddled underneath the jacket, her body pressed close against his. His arm wrapped around her, sealing them into a small cocoon of warmth. Milly hadn’t realised how cold she was until then.

“So why did you have to leave?” The boy asked, his brown curls plastered to his head from the rain. “Alien invasion? Robbery? Boys fighting over you?”

Milly looked at him, mock offence on her face. “You think two boys fighting over me is as unlikely as an alien invasion?” She said, poking him as if to illustrate her rage.

“No!” He said, a pink blush spreading across his nose, “That’s not what I-‘’

Milly started to laugh, and small sparks shot through him at the sound.

When their laughter died down, he looked at her, with a perfect, childish, smile and said, “My name’s Aidan.”

“Milly,” she said, a genuine smile on her face.

They sat together, huddled together under Aidan’s jacket, and Milly explained why she left, and admitted that she had absolutely no idea what to do now.

“You could stay with me?” Aidan offered, that adorable blush spreading over his cheeks again. “My family’s not like, a group of murderers or anything.”

Milly sat in silence for a second, then said, “That would be lovely.”

Aidan’s face lit up in that boyish smile again. “Ok! Great! I’m not that far away so we’ll just walk.”

Milly peeked out from underneath their makeshift shelter, and immediately got hit on the nose by a raindrop.

“And you can take my jacket,” Aidan added, wiping the droplet away.

Chapter Text

They had run through London, shrieking and kicking water at each other from puddles on the street. When they reached Aidan’s house, he had paused right before pressing the doorbell. “Just so you know, my mum can be quite, huggy.”

The doorbell rang, and the door was opened by an athletic woman, flour dusted across her cheeks, brown wavy hair pulled into a ponytail.

“Addy! You’re home! I was wondering when you’d be back. Where’s your jacket? You’ll catch your death walking around like that! Silly boy-‘’ she stopped short when Aidan stepped aside to show Milly.

Milly gave a small, shy wave. “Hello.”

Aidan’s mother looked at Aidan, as if she was asking with her eyes why Aidan had brought a strange girl home. But one more look at Milly and her dripping wet hair and she gave in.

“Oh poor child! Come in, come in! Lets warm you up now shall we? I’ve just put the kettle on, so what about a nice cuppa? Milk or sugar?” Aidan’s mother bustled Milly into the house, asking her an endless stream of questions. Milly looked to Aidan, slightly overwhelmed. Aidan just smiled and helped Milly out of his jacket.

“That’s my mother for you,” he whispered in her ear, then grasped her hand and led her through to the kitchen.

“So,” Aidan’s mother said when they were sitting at the kitchen table, cups of steaming tea in front of hem, and a fluffy blanket thrown over Milly’s shoulders, “forgive me if this is a little, forward, but why are you not at home?”

Aidan shot his mother a warning look, “I’m so sorry Milly, she’s not usually-‘’

Milly just laughed weakly. “It’s alright. Your mum clearly just wants to know why there is some dripping wet, strange girl sitting in her house.” Aidan’s mother looked down, embarrassed, “there was an, altercation, of sorts between two people that I care deeply about, over me. It brought some troubling information to light and I just couldn’t be there.”

Aidan’s mother looked at Milly, her sympathy evident. Then she stood up, rounded the table and pulled her into a fierce hug. Milly looked over the other woman’s shoulder to see Aidan smiling his goofy smile, holding his thumb up.

When Milly was finally released, Aidan’s mother took her by the shoulders and said, “You can stay here for as long as you need. Oh, and call me Patricia.”

Patricia left to set up the guest room, leaving Aidan and Milly alone. They sat in silence, drinking their tea, grateful for its warmth. Milly was still shivering, despite the blanket bundled tightly around her.

“Your teeth are chattering!” Aidan said and scooted his chair closer to hers, wrapping his arms around her.

Milly leant into him, almost sighing at how warm he was. He rested his cheek on the top of her head, and she was so comfortable she was starting to doze off, when all of a sudden a small girl careened into the room, her brown braids swinging wildly around her face.

“Mummy told me to come say hello,” she said, her face split with a bright grin.

“This is my little sister, Leila,” Aidan said, “Leila, this is Milly.”

“You’re very pretty,” Leila said, the sincerity of it making Milly’s heart ache.

“Thank you,” Milly whispered, leaning further back into the safety of Aidan’s arms, who, in response, tightened his hold around her.

At that point, Patricia came back into the room, eyeing Aidan and Milly with slight suspicion. “Alright, I’ve fixed up the room and left some clothes for you on the bed.”

“Thank you so much Patricia, I really don’t know how to thank you-‘’

“Don’t think twice about it,” Patricia said, waving Milly’s attempts at gratitude away. “Now go change your clothes before you catch hypothermia!”

Milly grinned and hopped out of the protective circle of Aidan’s arms, missing it already.

“First door on the left up the stairs!” Aidan called after her.

The guest room was beautiful, baby blue walls, striped blue sheets, hanging wicker chair in the corner. Milly flopped onto the bed, sinking into the soft mattress. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a pile of clothes, along with a hairbrush and a toothbrush. She smiled and hopped off the bed, surveying the clothes laid out for her. A pair of dark grey joggers, a plain black t-shirt which came down to her knees, and an oversized black hoodie, which completely swamped her frame. They must be Aidan’s she thought. She sat in the hanging chair, curled up in Aidan’s clothes, the smell of him surrounding her, and she slowly, drifted, to sleep.

She woke up to a pair of smiling brown eyes looking at her. She jerked up, nearly falling out of the chair, caught by a pair of strong arms. She looked up at Aidan’s smiling face, realising her arms were wrapped around his neck and he was carrying her bridal style.

“Hi.” Milly said, feeling the heat creep over her face.

“Hi.” Aidan replied, smiling down at her.
Then, he started to walk.

“Wait, put me down!” Milly shrieked, tightening her grip and pulling herself closer to Aidan’s chest.

“No,” Aidan said, a hint of humour in his voice.

Milly shrieked as Aidan started to run down the stairs, holding Milly close to him.

He skids through the hallway, nearly crashing into the walls, Milly shutting her eyes tight and burying her face into the crook of his neck.

He scrambles to a stop outside the kitchen, carefully putting Milly down, her fingers still laced together behind his neck.

He looks down at her, pink dusting the tip of his nose. His gaze flickers over her face, resting on her lips. Her breath hitched slightly as his hand brushed against her cheek. He leant down towards her, smile itching on his face. She rose up as his hands slid around her waist. Their heads tilted and they were so close-

“Pizza’s ready!” Leila squealed, sliding in her fluffy pink socks right up to Milly and Aidan, who had jumped away from each other as fast as humanly possible.

Aidan cleared his throat, “Yeah we‘ll, um, be right there, Leelee,” he said, his hand rubbing the base of his neck.

Milly’s eyes were blurring. Pizza. It was a Friday. The boys would be sitting down to seven different pizza’s about now. And she wasn’t there. She was here, in someone else’s house, away from the only people she could’ve called family. Oh god. Her dad. He- he was dead. He died today. She felt her throat starting to close up, and her vision narrowing to a single spot on the cream wall. The world felt like it was ending- a squeeze. Someone squeezed her hand. A head of chocolate brown curls filled her vision. Aidan. He was saying something to her. Breathe. He was telling her to breathe. Okay. She could do that. So she breathed with him. In and out. In and out. Her throat opened up again, and she found that breathing really wasn’t as hard she thought it was.

After several minutes of breathing, Aidan straightened up again, never letting go of Milly’s hand. He wiped a tear off of her face.

“Are you okay to go in? I can always bring some up to your room? Actually that might be better-‘’

Milly let out a weak laugh. “I’m fine. Thank you.” She squeezed his hand.

He squeezed back.

Aidan walked Milly back up to her room after dinner, wanting to make sure she was alright. He hadn’t left her side during dinner, his leg pressed against hers, almost like a rock to keep her grounded. He gave her a tight hug when they got to her door.

“Goodnight Milly,” He said, reluctant to let go of her.

“Night Aidan,” Milly said, burying her face into his chest.

Neither made any move to leave, so they stood there for endless minutes, two rocks in the middle of an ever flowing stream.

“I should get to bed,” Milly said, finally leaning back.

“Yeah. Yeah of course, its been a long day for you.”

Milly turned to leave, but changed her mind, and gave Aidan a quick kiss on the cheek.

“Goodnight,” she said with a shy smile. She disappeared into her room, leaving Aidan standing like an idiot, fingertips pressed against his cheek.

Milly couldn’t sleep. She tossed and turned, missing the sounds of the rest of the band. The soft snores, creaking bed frames. She decided to get a glass of water, hoping that might help. She slipped silently from her room, thanking god for her careful training with the band, and started to tip toe down the stairs. She stopped short when she noticed a thin shaft of light coming from underneath one of the doors. She cracked the door open a little, and saw young Leila sitting on her floor, reading a book.

“Leila? What are you doing up?”

Her little face snapped up, guilt written plainly across it. “I couldn’t sleep.” She admitted, looking down at the floor.

“Here, get back in bed,”Milly said, shutting the door behind her.

Milly began to tuck Leila back into bed, smiling when the small girl snuggled deeper in the covers.

Milly had just turned to leave when she heard the young girl say, “Wait! Could you, maybe, sing me to sleep?” She was huddled under her blankets, as if she was embarrassed to ask.

Milly laughed softly, “ Of course.”

Milly sat down on the edge of Leila’s bed, and began to sing. She sang a lullaby her mother had written when she was little. Leila’s small eyes fluttered shut, and her breathing became more even. She kept singing even after Leila had fallen asleep, then got up and walked back to the door, turned off the light, and shut it with a click.

“Well hello there fellow insomniac,” she heard a voice say behind her.

She jumped and turned to see Aidan standing there, leaning against the doorframe with his legs crossed at the ankle, and his arms folded across his chest. His very bare chest in fact. His hair was tousled, eyes slightly heavy with sleep.

“You look tired,” Milly said, walking past him. “Get some sleep.”

“Maybe take your own advice,” Aidan said, following her down the stairs, “You need to sleep Mills.”

“Mills?”

“I thought it worked,” he said, grabbing two mugs and flipping the kettle on.

“So,” Milly said, slipping onto one of the breakfast bar stools, “why are you up so late?”

“I’m writing a song, and I couldn’t get a verse right,” Aidan explained, leaning against the counter top.

“Need a hand?”Milly asked offering the seat next to her.

“Yes, actually that would be great,” he said, handing her mug to her handle first.

Aidan drops down into the seat next to her, slapping a notebook down in front of them.

“So,” he says, “this is where I’m at right now.”

He started to sing a sweet melody, his voice strong and smooth. Milly listened carefully until he stopped.

“That’s the verse I can’t get quite right.” He said, taking a sip of his tea.

And so they sat, until tentative of sunlight began to creep in through the blinds. They sat and sang, and wrote, and laughed as quietly as they could so that Leila didn’t wake up. They sat until their eyes got too heavy to stay open. So, they leant together on their stools, Milly’s head against Aidan’s chest, his cheek against her hair until Patricia came in to start on the breakfast.

Milly blinked herself awake, nestled comfortably against Aidan. A mug of steaming coffee is placed in front of her, right next to her empty one from last night. The smell woke her up even more, and she was finally aware of Patricia sitting across from her and Aidan. She was looking at them with a knowing smile. She jumped and tried to untangle herself from Aidan.

Patrica just laughed. “It’s alright love, I’m just glad you’re sleeping.”

Milly blushed, looking down at the floor.

Patricia laughed again, “Right love, I’m going to get Leila up. There’s toast and butter on the table.”

Milly just nodded, leaning back against Aidan. The movement seemed to wake him, and he slowly opened his eyes, blinking sleepily.

“Morning gorgeous,” he said, his voice low and rough.

Milly giggles and shoved him playfully, whilst reaching for a piece of toast , trying not to think about what the boys are doing this morning.

Chapter Text

“Bloody hell, where is she?” Tom said, dropping his head into his hands. His curls are matted against his head, the outcome of spending the whole night searching in the downpour.

JD didn’t answer, he just stared out the window at the grey sky.

“We’ve searched everywhere,” Zek said, flopping into a chair.

“Clearly not everywhere or we would’ve found her by now,” Connor says, sitting next to Tom. “We will find her.”

“We won’t just siting here, I’m going out again,” JD said, grabbing his coat and opening the door.

Right at that moment, a ping went off on the DAD system.

Niv jumped towards it, typing a long string of numbers and letters into the computer. Somehow his brain manages to decipher it, and he starts signing frantically.

Zek translated, “ Alert for demonic type activity near here.”

Gail looks to Tom and JD, “We’re gonna have to deal with this before we find Milly. She’d want us to.”

They only nod, silently standing up.

“Suit up boys, its slay time.”

“So, what do you want to do today?” Aidan said, tousling his hair.

“I don’t know,” Milly said, idly stirring her tea, “see a film?”

“Asking me out already huh Mils?” He said, raising his eyebrows.

She flushed red, “Oh god, no, that’s not-‘’

He just chuckled and looked across the table at her. “Sure let’s go see a film,” he got up and started walking over to the stairs, “oh be warned, I have band practice later, you should totally come!”

“Well I don’t have anywhere else to go, or anything else to do,” said Milly following him.

“Oh and I’ll chuck some more clothes your way,” he said as he walked upstairs.

“Thanks!” She shouted up after him.

“Why don’t you jump in the shower love? Just use whatever you want,” said Patricia, settling down with a crossword puzzle.

Milly nodded and headed up to the bathroom and jumping into the shower.
When she got back to the guest room, hair smelling of strawberries, she found a pile of clothes folded neatly on her bed.

She pulled on a Van Halen band t-shirt, that felt worn and smelt of Aidan, a pair of baggy jeans and a black leather belt. She braided her hair into two simple french braids, hoping it didn’t dry too frizzy.

She went downstairs, where Aidan was already pulling his shoes on. He glanced up, and did a swift double take when he properly saw her. His eyes tracked down her body, and he smiled when he met her eyes.

“What?” Milly said, reaching to put her own shoes on.

“I like seeing you in my clothes.” He stated, “We’re going out!”

“Alright love! Text me when you’re on your way home!” Patricia called from the kitchen.

Aidan smiled and opened the door, bowing and beckoning he through, “Mi’lady,”

“Thank you Sir Aidan,” Milly said, giggling.

He shut the door, grabbed her hand and they ran off laughing.

Chapter Text

“Fucking hell that was close,” Zek swore pulling off his goggles.

“You don’t bloody say,” Connor said, kicking the demon’s body as if to make sure it’s definitely dead.

“Quit it Con,” Tom sighed, pushing his hair out of his eyes, “You’re right though, that shouldn’t have been so hard.”

“I suppose we’re used to fighting as a six now.” JD murmured from where he’s standing, wiping blood off of his katana.

Everyone was silent, the background noise of London filtering through the air.

“Let’s get this cleaned up.” Tom said quietly, handing a body bag to Connor.

“What do you mean? It was a great film!” Aidan said as he stumbled out of the cinema.

“It was not,” Milly said, out of breath from laughing. “It was terrible.”

“Was not!” Aidan grinned, wrapping his arm around her.

“Was so!” Milly exclaimed, weaving her arm around his waist.

They laughed and chatted about the film as they walked, getting dirty looks from everyone they passed.

“Wait, where are we actually going?” Milly asked, looking around for anything familiar.

“To my band practice,” Aidan said walking up to a beautiful townhouse, and knocked on the door.

The door was answered by a blond boy, who called something over his shoulder before greeting Aidan with a smile and a hug.

“Will, meet Milly,” Aidan said, gesturing to where she was standing behind him.

“Hi,” she said, giving him a small wave.

“Hey, nice to meet you!” Will said with a bright smile, sticking his hand out between them.

Milly took it, “Ditto.”

Will looked slightly confused, but shook it off and invited them in.

Aidan tilted his head to Milly’s and whispered, “Ditto?”

“Shut up,” she said, taking off her shoes, “I was nervous.”

Aidan laughed under his breath, whilst Milly shoved him and muttered something about killing him later.

“You guys done flirting yet or do you need a minute?” Will asked jokingly, a twinkle in his eye.”

“Get lost mate,” Aidan said, giving him a playful shove, “are we actually going to play or just muck about up here for an hour?”

Will chuckled, “The others are downstairs,” he turned to Milly, “you coming?”

Milly shifted, “Uh, yeah, sure.”

The three of them clattered down the stairs, and walk into a cavernous room, filled with guitars and mic stands, and chattering boys.

“Hey guys,” Aidan said, “meet Milly!”

They all looked at her, still standing on the stairs, staring down at the boys below her. “Hey,” she said, trying to stay calm.

Luckily, Aidan came to her rescue. He put his hand on her arm and led her down the stairs to face the band. “Milly, meet Cole,” a boy with black hair and his hand on a bass nodded at her, “Jasper,” a brunette spinning a drumstick waved, “and Michael,” a blond boy with his hand on an amp gave her a cheery wave. “Oh and you already met Will.”

“Hi everyone, you can just ignore me, you won’t even know I’m here,” she said, walking backwards, and subsequently tripping over a wire.

Aidan caught her hand and pulled her up next to him, holding on a fraction of a second longer than he should have. “Nonsense, we love an audience! Don’t we lads?”
“Yeah!” They all chorused back to him before getting back to setting up.

Aidan led Milly to a sofa set up against the wall, “Just sit here whilst we set up, okay?”

Milly nodded and sat, drawing her knees up to her stomach.

Aidan kissed her on the cheek before heading back over.

She sat and watched as they ran through their basic set, and Milly had to admit, they were pretty damn good.

Aidan sang and played guitar, Cole played bass, Jasper played the drums, Will was on keys and Michael played secondary guitar. They meshed well, bounced off each other and seemed like they were having fun. It made Milly’s heart ache more than a little watching this group of boys who reminded her with every chord of her boys that she had left.

She missed Connor and his goofy jokes, Zek and his snarky comments, Niv and his sincere advice, JD and his honesty, and even Tom and his protective streak. She couldn’t help but feel like she had made a mistake not going back, and staying with Aidan, even though he was quite literally perfect.

“Milly?”

She shook herself out of her trance, “Sorry, what was it?”

“ I just asked if you had any lyric ideas, we don’t have any,” Aidan said.

“Could you maybe play through it again?” She asked, moving to sit on the floor right in front of them.

“Sure,” he said, and counted them in.

As they played, words started to appear in Milly’s head, weaving themselves into a character, then a story, and finally, a song.

“So, any ideas?” Aidan asked, smiling and slightly out of breath.

“Maybe one or two,” She said, smiling coyly at him, pushing herself up.

“Well, the floor is all yours,” he said, handing her his guitar, and gesturing to the mic with a sweeping bow.

Milly took a deep breath, took Aidan’s guitar, and stepped up to the mic.

She looked up, and her eyes met Aidan’s. He gave her a double thumbs up and mouthed, “You got this!”

She smiled and counted the band in.

By the end, Aidan was staring, open mouthed and wide eyed as the rest of the band whooped and cheered, and Milly smiled down at the floor.
Cole walked up to Milly and gave her a high five, then clapped Aidan on the shoulder and said, “Your girl’s good A, like, really good.” He smiled at her for the first time, then hopped up the stairs, disappearing into the main house.

Milly blushed and caught Aidan’s eye, and he smiled. “He’s right you know, you are really good,” he said getting closer to her, “I myself would say incredible, but I might be partial.” He tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, then went to join his band.

Milly sat on the sofa for the rest of the practice, but she called out little changes that maybe needed made, and joined in with the jokes.

It was almost like she was home again.

By the end of practice, Milly was bright eyed and rosy cheeked from the laughter, and was promising the other boys she’d see them again soon.

Milly and Aidan tumbled out of the front door into the cold air, shouting final farewells behind them, residual laughter seeping out of them.

Milly couldn’t help but feel slightly paranoid as she walked home, coming from months of hunting at night she supposed.

However, they made it back to Aidan’s safe and sound. Aidan bade her goodnight and left her at her bedroom door with a mug of tea he made for her.

Milly sipped at the tea as she sat in her hanging chair, and felt her eyelids grow heavy. She clambered under the covers. Milly slept soundly that night, a smile on her face as she dreamt of sweet brown eyes.

Chapter Text

She woke up the next morning and hurried downstairs, and didn’t see Patricia, which she thought was strange, but maybe she just slept in. Then she checked Leila’s room, and she wasn’t there either. Her room was a mess, lamps knocked over, papers scattered all over the floor, duvet and pillows strewn everywhere, and perhaps the most worrying thing, her window was wide open.

Milly went into panic mode.

She ran through the house, shouting for Aidan and Leila. Her worry only grew when she didn’t get a response. She barged into Aidan’s room and felt tears well up in her eyes when she saw his room tarnished as well, and his window open.

She sunk to her knees, and picked up one of his shirts . She buried her face in it and sobbed uncontrollably. She knew deep in her soul that he was gone, and so were Leila and Patricia. These kind people who had done nothing wrong were gone and she knew that is was her fault.

She slowly lifted her red -rimmed eyes from his shirt, and started running through the house, shoving things into a bag. It was her fault they were gone, so it was her responsibility to get them back. Milly had an idea of what had taken them, so she knew what she needed to defeat it. But there was only one place she could get that.

Home.

JD’s heart nearly jumped out of his mouth when he heard the knock at the door. And his eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw who was there.

“Milly?” He whispered, almost not believing she was real. At the mention of her name, all the others draped across the sofas pricked up, heads swivelling towards the door.

“Yeah, it’s me, pick your jaw up off the floor,” she muttered, pushing past him.

“Milly!” The rest of the boys said in chorus, tripping over themselves to get to her. Eventually they all made it and enveloped her in a massive hug.

She kept fighting her way out of it, and when she eventually got free, she yelled, “I don’t have time for this!”

She used the few seconds they were stunned to open the hidden wall compartment and pull out some throwing knives, a foldable bow, arrows, a selection of daggers and her whip. She chucked them all on the sofa and stalked off to her bedroom to pull on her combat gear.

“Hey what’s going on?” Tom asked, blocking her way.

“Just let me through,” she grumbled, trying to shove past him.

“Milly,” Tom begged, “Please just tell us what’s happening, we can help you-“

“No you can’t!” Milly shouted, barging past him and grabbing her combat clothes from her closet. “I have to do this by myself.”

Tom and the others averted their eyes as she pulled her shirt off, which JD couldn’t help but notice wasn’t the one she was wearing when she left.

They chanced a look up a few minutes later and saw her lacing up her boots.

She walked past them again, while throwing her hair up into a high ponytail, the few pieces she missed framing her stormy face.

“Milly, whatever it was that happened, you don’t have to do this by yourself, we’re all here to help you if you’d just let us,” Connor pleaded as she strapped the various weapons to herself, making sure they’re concealed.

“No,” she growled, the severity making the others jump, “you can’t help me. You don’t understand.”

Tom opened his mouth to answer but she silenced him with a finger, “and I don’t have time to explain. The best way you can help me is to leave me to deal with this by myself.”

With that, she stormed out, grabbing her helmet on the way. The rest clambered out after her. She secured her helmet, tested it, then jumped on her motorbike and sped away, leaving the others shouting after her.

Milly felt tears streaming down her face as she raced away. She kept seeing the hurt on their faces as she shouted , but it was the only way to keep them safe. She had to keep them as far away as possible from this situation, so she didn’t hurt more people she cared about.

She wove through traffic ignoring the horns honking and people yelling at her. She had to get there.

Finally, the bench came into sight. She leapt off her bike and ran to it. She found a small note between the slats. She pulled it out and hurriedly unfolded it, revealing a message that read :

Lamis Avenue, Tonight, 9pm. Come alone.

She could have wept she was so relieved, but she didn’t have time for that, so she hopped back on her bike to find a place to plan.

Her heart thundered as she walked up to the door. She wished that if she knocked, she would be greeted with Aidan’s smiling face, wondering where she had gone. But alas, the key was right where she had left it, and when she opened the door she was faced with a mess that Patricia never would have stood for.

She wanted to just fall to the floor and cry into hands for hours, but she knew that she couldn’t. She had to stay strong. Strong for Aidan. She had to find him. She just had to.

She walked up to what she’d begun to think of as her room, and sat on the floor. She grabbed the bag she’d filled earlier and emptied it. Maps and pencils and pens scattered all over the floor, along with one of Aidan’s hoodies. She pulled it on, the worn material swamping her frame and the comforting smell filling her nose. She snatched up one of the maps, and began hunting for Lamis Avenue.

Several hours and many mugs of tea later, she had formulated some sort of plan. But those several hours had taken her up to 8pm. She shrugged Aidan’s hoodie off, and planted a soft kiss against its centre, and gently laid it across the bed. She checked all her weapons over, and made sure her laces were tied in double knots. Even though she was sick with nerves, she managed a few sips of water and half a cereal bar. She double checked her weapons again, grabbed her helmet and walked out the door. Locking it behind her felt like a finality of sorts. She would never open it again. Even if he saved Aidan and his family tonight, she could never see him again. It was just too dangerous.

She took a deep, steadying breath, and disappeared into the night.

Chapter Text

Why’s she stopping there?” Tom wondered aloud as they all stared at Niv’s computer screen. They were tracking Milly’s bike and she’d stopped in a seemingly random place.

“Who cares why she’s stopping, but she has, and we need to get there now,” JD said already grabbing his helmet.

The rest of the group looked at each other, matching grim expressions on their faces. It had been an obvious decision when JD had suggested that they follow her, but they’d only gotten the tracker working around an hour ago, and she’d been on the move since then.

They moved like a well-oiled machine when it came to getting their bikes out. JD and Tom took the front, Connor and Milly, usually, in the middle, with Niv and Zek bring up the rear.

Tom and JD shared a quick nod before securing their helmets, an acknowledgment that whatever is wrong between them, Milly comes first. Always.

Milly stopped a few streets away from Lamis Avenue. She left her bike and, after a few moments of deliberation, her helmet, hoping no one would steal it while she was gone. As she walked, she ran through her ‘plan’. From what she’d gathered, Lamis Avenue was a dead-end street, and she figured that the demons who took Aidan would be right at the end. Milly’s plan wasn’t so much of a plan as it was a wish. She would ask what the demon’s wanted, and if it was something she could give, she would. If it was something she couldn’t, she would have to fight her way out. She hoped it wouldn’t come to that.

She rounded the corner, and slowly walked down the street, scanning the building walls for signs. Until, finally, she saw it.

Lamis Avenue.

“Hello?” Milly called as she turned to face down the street. “I’m here, and I’m alone.”

“Of course, you are,” a voice hissed, “you always do follow the rules.”

A figure emerged out of the dark, a figure Milly knew painfully well.

“Aidan?” She whispered, running to him. “Oh god, Aidan, are you okay? Where are Leila and your mum? Are they alright?” She was rambling, and only stopped when Aidan pulled her against him.

“I’m okay, they’re okay,” he mumbled into her hair, stroking her back.

“For now,”

He flipped her around so her back was against his chest and held a knife against her neck.

Chapter Text

Milly struggled as much as she could, cutting herself a little on the blade.

“Shuh, don’t struggle my dear, everything will be alright,” he murmured into her ear, catching a drip of blood and licking it off his finger.

Meanwhile, Milly’s brain was in overdrive, the adrenaline and fear bringing everything into sharp focus. One thing was apparent, she needed to get out of this position. So, while Aidan was whispering comforting things in her ear, Milly was feeling for one of the daggers she had hidden in waist of her trousers. When she felt her fingers brush the handle, she nearly grinned, but she managed to keep it under wraps as she wrapped her fist around it.

She could guess that there were other demons here, but she had no idea how many. But that was a problem she would have to deal with later.

In one swift, practiced motion she pulled the dagger out, and slashed Aidan across the thigh. The shock made him loosen his hold, and Milly seized that and slipped away from him. As expected, many demons materialised from the darkness, but what she had not predicted was quite how many there would be. There were more than she’d ever fought with the boys, let alone by herself. Milly debated running from this situation, but she reminded herself that Leila and Patricia were still here, if she was taking Aidan’s word for it. However, even if it was just a tiny, one in a million chance that they were still alive, she would have to take those odds.

So, with fingers loaded with knives, and daggers in her hands, she charged headfirst into battle.

She ducked and slashed, dodged and stabbed, her months of training showing its worth. The adrenaline had kicked her reflexes and focus into high gear, and that and her skill together was a deadly combination. Her daggers and knives were like extensions of her arms as she dove and slid, almost like it was the most natural thing in the world. The bodies piled up around her, she kept dispatching wave after wave of demons with ease. She was so intent on killing them all, that she barely even felt it when one sunk its teeth into her calf. She just gave it a swift stab to the head, and it fell, dead, right at her feet. She kept surprising herself at just how many she could kill, wondering how she always knew just where the next one would attack.

At last, no more demons came. And the adrenaline left her body just as quickly as it had come, and she suddenly didn’t have the strength to stand. She sunk to her knees amongst the sea of bodies, and hung her head, eyes to the floor.

The sound of clapping from the end of the alley made her snap her head up. She struggled to her feet as she saw Aidan ambling towards her, clapping slowly at her.

“An impressive display, really, very entertaining,” he drawled, looking bored, “however, we really must get to the main ceremony.” He clicked his fingers and yet another two demons appeared and grabbed both of her arms.

She slashed weakly at them, but couldn’t summon the strength to continue, and so she just went limp and allowed herself to be dragged to the end of the alley.

“What ceremony,” she choked out, the pain her leg screaming at her to stop moving.

“Ahhh,” Aidan gasped, “I was wondering when you would ask.” He signalled for the demons to stop, and took her arm gently, leading her up to what looked like a makeshift sacrificial altar. Scenes from Mexico flashed before her, of Tom bleeding in front of her, of JD’s ashen face as he realised what he’d done.

“Please don’t come, please, stay safe,” She pleaded silently, a single tear dripping solitarily down her face.

“You, my darling, are something very special,” Aidan marvelled, standing opposite her, “I knew it from the moment I laid eyes on you.”

He began to walk around her, clearly enjoying this dramatic moment. “Now, I must admit, I was not expecting you to have so many weapons, nor so much training, but it was an interesting surprise.” He nodded, almost in disbelief, and Milly noted that somehow, his eyes weren’t black.

“Tell me, honey, did you ever wonder why fighting came so easily to you? Fighting demon specifically?” He asked, tilting his head in question.

Milly nodded. She had wondered how she was able to pick it up so quickly, she's just figured she was good at it.

At her nod, Aidan grinned, a smile which didn’t quite reach his eyes, and continued his spiel. “A fair thing to wonder, but I know why. It’s in your heritage, to hunt demons,” he grabbed her arm, “to kill evil,” he slashed her palm open, “to light up the dark,” he slammed her hand down on the altar and watched as her blood seeped down the crudely carved lines, “daughter of Quetzalcoatl.” As he finished speaking, her blood reached the centre of the lines, and a blazing beacon of bright white light shot up from the altar, illuminating Aidan’s grinning, smug face.

Milly just gaped, shaking her head in disbelief. “That doesn’t-I’m not, I can’t be,” she pulled her hand away from the altar and the beacon immediately disappeared.

“But you are,” Aidan said, slicing his own palm open and placing it on the other side of the altar, his blood trickling through the channels.

Realisation dawned on Milly just as his blood mingled with hers in the centre, and a beacon of black, swirling smoke, appeared in place of the light.

“Son of Tezcatlipoca,” Milly breathed, everything clicking into place.

Aidan smiled, with just a few too many teeth showing, “Bingo, darling.”