Even though it was March, the California sun was still hot. Well, hotter than chilly London, that was for sure.

Wednesday slid into the backseat of the blacked-out car, strapping her seat belt in. A second later, Harry did the same next to her.

"Excited?" he asked with a hopeful smile.

"Yeah," she breathed out, settling back into the seat somewhat rigidly.

She wasn't lying, she was excited. It was just that her nerves also matched her level of excitement, making her feel like she was in constant fight or flight mode. Plus, she was tired. After 11 hours on the plane and even more time spent getting to the airport and going through customs, all she wanted to do was sleep. It wasn't lost on her that sleep would also be the only respite from the nausea inducing anxiety she felt in Harry's presence.

Looking out of the window as the driver pulled out of the airport, LA slowly rose from the view. The traffic was the same as always, congested and loud. On more than one occasion, she felt her eyes fluttering shut, heavy under the exhaustion. Both of them remained silent, equally as tired as the other.

She didn't know how much later it was when Harry gently shook her arm.

"Wednesday," he whispered, and with her eyes closed, she wasn't sure whether she was in a dream.

"Wednesday," he repeated, a little louder and her eyes slowly parted to see him next to her. "We're here."

She must have fallen asleep. And when she stretched and rubbed her face, she felt the slight drool dribbling from her lips.

Fuck.

If he'd seen, he didn't let on as he got out of the car and opened the boot, taking both of their cases out. Wednesday hopped out, looking up to the private, gated white condo. She could hear the sound of the ocean somewhere in the distance, the smell of the salty waves lingering in the air. Even the driveway was beautifully landscaped, with large fan palm trees and bushes surrounding the grass.

Harry thanked the driver, watching him pulling out of the drive before turning to look at Wednesday, who was still taking in the incredible exterior. If it already looked this good outside, she was sure the inside would be even more breath-taking.

She wasn't wrong.

The first thing she saw when Harry opened the front door and they walked down the entrance hall was blue. Swirling, enchanting blue. She couldn't peel her eyes away from the view. Miles and miles of ocean greeted them, all through the large windows in the living area.

The rest of the house was equally as white on the inside as it was on the outside. It had a very LA, surfer feel to it—the walls all had white wood panelling and all the furniture too was white or cream, with accents of light, chalky blue running through. It wasn't the biggest house she'd stayed in, but it was definitely the brightest and most soothing.

"This is stunning," she said absent-mindedly, sitting down on the sofa and taking in every detail like she didn't want to forget it. "Where did you find this place?"

Harry shrugged, looking around equally as impressed at it all. "A friend recommended it to me. Said it was really secluded and private and was great to stay in."

It was definitely secluded. They were hidden on the hillside, tucked away amongst the sparse trees. But it still had front row seats to the entire coastline, the large windows letting in so much light it was almost blinding.

Wednesday felt her body ache for sleep, but she knew she needed to stay awake, at least for a few more hours. It was odd, how you could set off at 11 in the morning London time and arrive in LA at 3 in the afternoon, despite having travelled for half a day. She liked coming to America. But she hated the jet lag.

"So, what work do you need to do today?" Wednesday asked, looking to him as he dropped his bag to the floor.

"I said to Jeff I'd meet him in a bit, just to sign off on some things that need my approval. Plus, just need to go over some final tour details." He rubbed the back of his neck. "You're welcome to come with if you want."

Wednesday looked up in surprise. "Oh, I...I was actually going to try and get some rest. Just wind down for a bit after the flight."

Harry nodded, putting on a small smile. "Yeah, sure. That's cool."

It was awkward. Again.

It was like Wednesday had lost the knowledge of how to act normally around him and it was awful. She wondered how much longer this tension would continue. She didn't even want to think about how much worse it would get after she told him what was really happening in her mind and heart.

"Well, I'm gonna go to my room and unpack, get settled," she said, standing up and grabbing her case.

"Yeah, I'll do the same. Need to get a quick shower before leaving," Harry said, following her movements.

They both walked with their cases in hand down the wide hallway, Harry pointing out her room before walking to the one next to it. With a quick forced smile at each other, they went into their respective rooms. Wednesday closed the door behind her with a grimace, almost wishing back the numbness she felt in January to not feel this weird.

About an hour later, after she'd put away the last of her clothes, Harry knocked on her door to say he was going.

"Okay," she shouted through to him, hating that when she heard the front door shut, a flood of relief overcame her.

How was she going to get through this trip? Maybe she could put some vodka into her water bottle, so that at every moment, she was always a little bit tipsy. Tipsy Wednesday had a level of confidence and a lack of inhibition that sober Wednesday just didn't possess.

But the thought of a constant hangover made her strike that option from the list.

Pulling out her phone, she began to type.

She hit send, waiting for Zara to type back.

The one thing she hadn't told Zara about was the night at the Liverpool game and that moment in the car. After days of agonising over what had happened, she was sure she'd mistaken what was happening. He'd been moving her hair, no big deal. And when he'd leant in, maybe he'd wanted to tell her something, right?

It was a simple enough explanation. It didn't explain why he was still acting awkward, but it made more sense to Wednesday than the alternative explanation.

Her phone buzzed with a message.

Wednesday rolled her eyes. She didn't know why she thought Zara would offer any sage, non-horny advice. Her answer to everything was to shag it out.

She opened up the sliding doors in her room, standing out on the balcony and overlooking the beach. It was so calm and serene. It felt like the exact opposite of her mind and maybe that was why it was so alluring.

She spent the rest of the evening doing various, boring tasks that made her almost wish she'd tagged along on Harry's work visit. At least the tension would offer her something other than boredom. Her eyes flicked to the clock with every growing hour.

6pm. 7pm. 8pm.

But there was no sound of him arriving back. Her stomach grumbled and she was half tempted to ring him and ask him to bring her back some takeaway food, but she decided against it, eating whatever snacks she had left from the flight.

She didn't know what time it was that sleep finally overcame her—all she knew was that he still hadn't come home at that point. Her slumber too was disjointed and restless, no doubt thanks to the jetlag.

Eventually, she opened her bleary eyes to the sun just rising, streaming through the curtains. It was early, she could tell from the way there was only the sound of the waves rolling in and out outside of the window. Rubbing her tired eyes, she breathed out her exhaustion.

It didn't take long for Harry to come into her mind.

Only this time, it wasn't about how to avoid him or the tension between them. Rather on the contrary, she felt determined to bridge the awkward atmosphere between them. At least, for the rest of the trip. She didn't think she could go a whole 5 days barely speaking to him or having pathetically rigid conversations like they'd had so far. It seemed intolerable.

Above everything else, he was still her best friend.

And so, she dragged herself from her bed, padding down the quiet hallway into the kitchen. Looking through the bare cupboards with pinched eyebrows, her plan to make breakfast for both of them was foiled by the lack of food. But not letting that defeat her, she pulled out her phone and scrolled through post mates, ordering them some pancakes each from a café a few minutes away.

It turned up remarkably quickly, along with their drinks. As Wednesday emptied the food onto plates and sourced some cutlery, the sound of a door opening down the hall made her stop. A second later, a very sleepy Harry appeared from around the corner, his eyes droopy as he took in the scene before him of her preparing food.

"What's all this?" he asked, his voice raspy as he looked down at the stack of pancakes on each plate with a confused stare.

She forced a smile, looking up at him as confidently as she could. "I ordered us some breakfast. I was going to make something, but I forgot we have nothing in."

He took a few steps forward, looking down at the food with a growing smile. "Blueberry pancakes?"

She nodded with a small smile. "And a green juice for you. Iced coffee for me."

His tongue darted out to wet his lips, looking back up to her face. And then, with a small grin, he nodded in the direction of the outside. "Want to eat them on the balcony?"

Mirroring his expression, she nodded enthusiastically. They both grabbed their plates and drinks, cutlery in hand as Harry pulled the door open, letting them onto the paved balcony area that overlooked the coastline.

Wednesday sat down with a triumphant feeling in her belly. She'd managed to break the ice—now, she just needed to keep the conversation flowing.

"Did you manage to finish all the work you needed to do yesterday?" she asked once they were settled, cutting up her pancakes.

Harry nodded as he sipped the juice, one eye closed as he looked out at the sea. Wednesday noticed he must have just woken up hearing her moving about in the kitchen—his eyes were still puffy from sleep, his hair ruffled and wild. "I did. Went over to Jeff's after, just hung about for a bit. When I came back, I knocked to see if you were still awake, but I think you were fast asleep."

"I must have been because I didn't hear anything. I'm still kind of tired now, but I'm pushing through," she smiled, looking up to him as he took the first bite of his food. "So, do you have any work you need to do today?"

"Not really. I have a few things to drop off downtown later, but that won't take long. I did say I'd meet Jeff and Glenne for lunch though if you want to join?"

"I'd like that," Wednesday nodded before she could overthink it, looking out along the long coastline as she chewed. She hadn't seen either of them in months—not since her mini breakdown. And then, a thought hit her as she watched an early morning surfer in the waves. "Do you want to go for a run after breakfast? Along the beach?"

Harry looked up at her as if he didn't expect her to suggest it. After yesterday, she couldn't blame him. She'd put as much distance between them as she could muster and today, it was like she was trying to do everything in her power to keep him by her side.

A small smile came up onto his lips as he looked over at her. "Sure. Sounds good."

An hour later, once their food had settled and they'd both got changed into their running clothes, they began their run down the long winding beach. The weather was perfect; it was still only around 9 in the morning, the world only just starting to wake up. And there was something different but enjoyable about running somewhere other than the misty London roads they were both used to. Though they only spoke occasionally, there was a comfortable silence between them.

It was nice, feeling the sun on her skin and seeing nothing but golden sand and blue ocean.

"I thought we might do the vineyard tour later today, if you want. It's perfect weather for it," Harry said as they walked back to the condo once they'd finished, both of them sweaty and red-faced.

"Yeah, sounds good," Wednesday replied, shooting him a small smile. "I'm down to taste test all the red wine they have to offer."

Harry laughed, breathing heavily as he cooled down.

This was what she wanted. Normality. There was still a degree of formality between them, she could tell in the way they hadn't teased each other yet or made any off-hand comments. But it was getting better and that was all she could hope for.

After showering and getting ready, picking out a simple outfit that consisted of long Levi denim shorts paired with a white bodysuit, black blazer and black Birkenstocks, Wednesday threw her hair into a low bun. Applying some makeup light enough to withstand the humidity, she eventually left her room, seeing Harry waiting for her.

Quickly, her eyes dragged up his body, seeing that he was wearing a vintage tee and wide legged trousers. And those bloody trainers.

"You ready?" he said, looking down to her outfit for a split second before smiling at her.

"Mhm," she hummed, following him out to the Mercedes that he'd brought back from Jeff's.

Thanks to the little to no traffic, they got into downtown LA quickly enough around 45 minutes later. Harry was right when he said what he needed to do wouldn't take long—they were in and out of the building Wednesday vaguely recognised as having something to do with the record label in ten minutes.

And then, they set off for lunch. Harry and Jeff had agreed on a vegan place called Gracias Madre in West Hollywood, a quaint but popular little restaurant. Pulling up, a few heads turned as they walked in, Harry's presence forever creating a buzz and Wednesday swallowed as she saw phones flash. But she tried to push it to the back of her mind as they were shown to their table outside, trying to remember what Sade had told her.

Almost immediately, they spotted Jeff and Glenne, sat chatting and gazing at each other like they were the only people around.

It was odd, how sweet and yet completely sickening couples could be.

"Ah well, would you look at who's finally shown up. Hello stranger," Jeff said upon spotting them both walking towards, his eyes landing on Wednesday.

"Long time no see," she said, a large grin coming up onto her face.

Before she could protest, Glenne had stood up and wrapped her in a hug, her small height meaning her head landed smack bang on her boobs. Wednesday awkwardly hugged back, smiling over her shoulder down at Jeff.

"I've missed you! It's been too long," she said, pulling Wednesday to sit down next to her.

"I know, I missed you both too. I needed a breather from everything, but I still missed everyone," Wednesday said, shrugging off her blazer.

"But are you feeling better now?" Glenne asked, concern in her eyes as her hand reached across to Wednesday's.

Sometimes, you forget how much you miss certain people until you're back in their presence again. Glenne was definitely one of those people.

"Yeah, I'm doing a lot better, thank you," she smiled.

And the best part was, she meant it.

"Wednesday's going to be back on stage, rocking out and stealing all the spotlight again in no time, aren't you?" Jeff said with a grin.

"You know it," she said with a smile. "I can't keep away from those drums for too long. Plus, I can't let someone else replace me and become more liked than I am. I won't have it."

They all laughed, Harry's eyes crinkling as he looked over at her. She caught his eye for a second, until the sound of Jeff's voice brought her attention back to him.

"So, birthday girl, what plans do you have for tomorrow?"

Wednesday looked to Harry sheepishly, realising that they'd actually not planned anything solid. She didn't mind though—birthdays were overrated. She'd much rather spend the day doing things she enjoyed that were calm and relaxing, as opposed to planning entire meals or parties that would inevitably be better in her head as opposed to the actual thing. No large expectations meant no disappointment.

"Probably go for some lunch and a little hike? I haven't really planned anything to be honest. As long as I get to have a swim in the sea, I'll be pretty happy."

Glenne's eyes flicked over to Harry, who in turn looked over to Jeff. Wednesday looked between them, noticing that whilst Jeff tried to hide a smile, Harry cleared his throat and spoke up.

"There's a new café that's just opened up in Santa Monica that I've heard is pretty good, if you want to go there," Harry said to her, to which she nodded.

"I'm happy to go anywhere, as long as they do iced coffees," Wednesday smiled.

"And just when I thought Glenne had taken the crown for being the most basic..." Jeff said, rolling his eyes with a grin and instantly regretting it as Glenne punched him in the arm playfully.

"Hey, I'll have you know I'm a basic bitch and proud," Wednesday chastised, making Jeff hold his hands up in defeat.

"Do you know what? I admire you for admitting it. Unlike Glenne."

Another punch. Laughs echoed around the table from them all and Wednesday felt a semblance of the life she'd previously lived coming back to her. Filling her with a happiness she wanted to last forever.

They stayed at lunch for two hours, talking and joking like they hadn't seen each other in years. The dynamic between them was so easy and carefree—any slither of tension left between her and Harry melted away during it. By the time they were all parting ways, they'd already agreed to about a hundred other meet ups and meals, especially Glenne and Wednesday.

As Harry and Wednesday drove back to Malibu, in high spirits from the events of the day, Harry turned to Wednesday.

"You can choose the music for the ride back."

She was never one to back down from being given complete control over the aux. And she instantly knew what vibes she wanted to go for—something to match the happiness in the air. Scrolling, she found her Motown playlist and pressed play.

Instantly, cymbals and snare drums sounded out with the familiar song. Harry looked over to her with a smile as he realised what song she'd picked, at the same time Marvin Gaye's voice sang.

"10/10 choice," he commended with a grin wide enough that his dimples appeared.

Wednesday smiled back at him, brushing the flyway hairs from her face. She wasn't sure whether it was the wind on her skin or his happy gaze that made goosebumps erupt on her skin. Either way, she never wanted the view to end.

Looking out to the road ahead, Wednesday knew the female lead in the song was coming up. Choosing not to think about it too much, she opened her mouth at the right time.

"If you need me, call me. No matter where you are, no matter how far."