#ben hardy x ynofficial

[glamrockmonarch]

The Flu: Ben Hardy Mini Series

Part 2. Not Meant To Be

Mini Series Masterlist | Part 1 | Part 3

Words: 4335

Summary: You are an actress and worked with the boys in BoRhap, after the premiere and press tour you wind up working on another project with one of them; Ben. As your roles are tied together you find yourselves spending more and more time in each other’s company, becoming closer than ever and developing feelings. Ben cannot bring himself to ruin what you have with another one of your friends by acting on these new found love until you get sick out of the blue right in the middle of the production and this sparks something between the two.

A/N: I tried my best but I think this one is a little rushed due to the number of events I wanted to get in here (we don’t even get to the good Mozzarella Sticks bits yet!)  without making it too long... anyway, I would love your feedback on this and maybe you could help me decide if a fourth chapter would be a good idea. Let me know, and ENJOY!

You stared at Ben with tearful eyes, he looked down and licked his lips before his blue eyes full of sorrow found yours.

“I’m afraid not.” He reached up to put his right hand on your cheek.

You took a step back, a tear escaping the corner of your eye.

“We are to move to New Zealand. Your father has given his blessing and you are my wife now.”

Ben stepped closer to you and cupped your face, your chest heavied trapped in a tight corset. You felt a slow stream of tears slide down your cheek, met by his thumb. You fail to turn away to his touch although it is written on the script.

“Goddamnit!” You think to yourself. “Maybe if I tense up my neck?”

“I -“ you stuttered, “I don’t want to go.” You admitted.

Ben blinked and his eyes fell on your bright pink lips.

“CUT!” The director yelled from behind the camera, “Y/N, he is the man making you leave the love of your life, leave your home and family, you are about to leave the country forever! Is this the energy you want to give me?”

Ben stepped back and the two of you turned to look at the director.

“I guess not....but she was raised to be quiet and hold back!” You reasoned, trying to extend your back in your costume.

“Exactly!” The director grabbed you by the shoulders and shook you, “forget all that, convince him to stay! Go wild!”

Turning to look at Ben you saw him squinting at the director.

“And you,” Ben straightened up, “get out of your head, this is a tense moment. Make it count! Jack’s a villain in this moment!”

You struggled to look annoyed and uncomfortable around Ben, so the director had to intervene. You ended up ditching some parts of the script in favour of more dramatic lines.

Henry, the man directing, told Ben to go with something a lot harsher.

“Bring Percy into it.”

It was a simple instruction, but it made the biggest difference. Once the cameras were rolling again Ben was almost scary.

“I -“ you stuttered again, “I don’t want to go.” You admitted in a small voice.

Ben’s hands dropped from your face and his jaw became tense.

“Because of Percy. Right?” He stepped closer to you and you blinked in confusion.

Of course, your character was in love with a farm boy who worked for her family but she had to cut all ties to him in order to marry Mister Everleigh - Ben’s role.

“I do not know-“ you started, taking a step back.

“Oh, please Miss Jones! I am not a fool!” Ben licked his lips. “You clearly love him. Do tell me, were you expecting to have an affair with him?”

“Excuse me?” Your eyes widened. “I am offended! Mister Jones, I assure you-“

Ben cut you off again.

“I will manage my family’s business in New Zealand. And you will come with me as my wife.” He said harshly. “This... Percy boy will not be around. So forget about him. Forget about your dirty little farm and your country boy. You are Gwyn Everleigh - my wife, and you will come with your husband to New Zealand.”

You stared at Ben with tearful eyes, imagining your character’s heart to be breaking at these words coming out of his mouth. Gwyn Jones would feel her soul crushed under this burden, becoming an Everleigh and getting on that ship...traveling to another country without her family to bear some evil man’s children. Gwyn would have felt like screaming, but she would hold back because she was taught to do so.

“I understand Mister Everleigh.” You said with your voice cracking, looking down and excusing yourself before leaving through the hall with cameras following your every move.

The director cut and you let out a loud scream outside of the set. You were still in character when Ben ran outside to see what was happening with you.

Not having heard the director say cut, once Ben approached you, you lashed out.

“Don’t! Don’t touch me...” You slapped his hands. “I didn’t ask for this!”

Ben frowned, unable to understand you hadn’t heard you were not rolling anymore.

The blonde tried to touch your arm and as he did you slapped him across the face, half the crew gasping at it.

“I said don’t touch me!” I cried out.

“Y/n! Y/n!” Henry intervened while Ben held his cheek in his hand.

He blonde would hate to admit you were quite strong for your size.

“Oh, my!” You covered your mouth with your hands. “Ben, I’m so sorry!” You apologised and went to check on him.

“I like that, can we shoot that?” Henry turned to one of the producers.

You sighed and looked away from Ben.

“Shit, I’m sorry! I didn’t hear him, I just...” you admitted, “I hate it!”

Ben was confused and looked around for help, not knowing what to say. You pressed your palm against his cheek and gave him an apologetic smile.

“It got better for Gwyn,” he tried to console you, “Jack is a good man, he just...he was jealous...” Ben explained.

The director watched you talk about the scene you had just improvised and heard you go on about your character.

“She was scared!” You cried out, dropping your hand from his face, “Gwyn doesn’t even know Jack! She thought she would at least have her sisters to turn to! Now Jack is jealous? Jealous?! Of what!”

You turn to Henry and shook your head.

“And then he pretty much rapes her the second they arrive in New Zealand!“

“Hey, hey!” There was little to defend there but Ben still felt as attached to his role as you did. “He watched her kiss Percy!” Ben explained. “He didn’t mean to hurt Gwyn!”

“Well, he did!”

Before things could go any further, as usual, Henry had you go back to your marks to keep working.

“You two are gonna be fun to work with on the press tour!” Henry pat both of your backs.

It was a long week of shooting, the last one. The last scene you shot was one with Trine Dyrholm, who played your mother. It was a somewhat easy short scene, but you had to repeat it a few times before the director got all the shots he wanted.

“It’s a wrap ladies!” You were happy to hear Henry congratulate you and Trine.

You celebrated later when the whole production wrapped. Craig and Ben filmed their last scenes together and the crew cheered and clapped.

“It’s a wrap!” Everyone repeated.

You were still in costume when the boys made their way behind the monitor to hug you. Craig was the first to wrap his arms around you, having met you during readings before shooting started, he was glad to be done and promised to stay in touch with you after this.

“You better call me, Craig!” You warmed him with your eyes widening.

He laughed and turned to see Ben joking with Beth.

Everyone in the crew and cast seemed to know you and Ben had something going on between you, whether you knew it or not was something they couldn’t decipher.

“Y/N!” Ben wrapped his arms around you and lifted you up, making you hold on to his shoulders for dear life. “It’s a wrap!”

“It’s a wrap!” You grinned at each other in excitement.

Everyone was happy and sad, it was a big mixture of feelings around the set. The crew was glad it was over because they were proud of the work that they had put into the film, as the cast was too. But there was a melancholic vibe around that nobody could deny; this was the realisation that you would never be together like you had been for the past few months ever again. If there was a second part to this film, which was something possible, the crew would probably not be the same, only the main characters would get called back to take their roles and that if the characters were not written off or grown older - which could mean re-casting. It was time to face it for everyone; the production was over.

That night you had the wrap party, where you got to hang out with everyone and have a bit of a farewell. Henry, your amazing director made sure to thank his employees and you had a great time, besides, the next morning there was something to look forward to... shaving Ben’s sideburns.

Although you partied till well into the am, you woke up early and made sure to text your friends.

Gwilym was happy to hear you were free from work now, at least you would be for a couple of weeks now until you had a date for your meeting with some executives for your next big project.

“Hi, how are you?” Gwil called.

You and Gwil had been very close during the production of borhap since you played the part of his wife.

“Great!” You replied honestly through the phone and asked how he was doing in return.

Gwil had a way of speaking that seemed to soothe people, for you it was like standing in front of the calm waters of a river; hearing him talk about his projects and plans for the next few days made you feel some sense of normality, even though you felt out of place standing in your kitchen at 10 in the morning while you had been running around set at this same time for the past few months.

“I heard you are going to this fashion show next week.” Gwil inquired, he was aware thanks to Joe that it was an important trip and since Joe was his friend he had been asked to get some information from her.

Joe was nervous about asking you out, he wanted to for a long time now, ever since you were in New York earlier in the year he had been sure about his feelings toward you. Joe missed you, he wanted to talk to you, listen to your voice, see you smile, hold you, kiss you… and he knew that if he wanted to take this relationship to next level he had to get a move on. So he asked his friends to lend him a hand. Ben was supposed to get you to go where you had to go, Rami and Lucy were told to keep people away while Joe talked to you, and Gwil was given the golden task of asking if you were even interested in Joe like that.

“Yeah, Ben and I are flying there together.” You announced, your face lighting up without you noticing. “It’s a shame you aren’t coming, we will miss you!” You said.

“Aw, I’m sorry, I’ll be in America for once!” Gwil explained. “I guess it will be nice to see Rami and Lucy...and Joe…” He tried to be smooth.

You giggled at the mention of Joe; he had been adorably annoying since he heard you had confirmed your assistance to the fashion show in Paris.

“Yeah, I think Joe will tackle me the second he sees me…” You predicted, to which Gwil chuckled. “I wouldn’t blame him, he lives across the pond! Don’t we all miss his chaotic energy around?”

Gwil agreed. “Sounds like that’s gonna be a hard goodbye.” He commented.

“I mean…” You heard a car outside, “Joe’s lovely to have around, but so are the rest of you. I think I might just hide in someone’s luggage and see where that gets me…” You rambled absentmindedly with your eyes scanning the windows to look outside and see who it is.

There is a knock on your door and you apologise to your friend.

“Why don’t you text me later, we should go out for coffee or something, could tell Lucy and Ben too.” You proposed as you left the open kitchen area to go to the door.

“I’d love that.” Gwil sounded pleased.

“I’ve got to go, Gwil...but seriously, congratulations on Top End Wedding.” You reached out to the doorknob. “I’ll see you soon! Bye!”

“Thanks, bye!”

Hanging up the phone you turned the knob and waited to see who it could be on the other side of the door. Not too surprisingly, you found Ben there and let him in without saying anything. He pressed a kiss to your cheek and you gave him one back, stepping aside so he came in and closed the door behind himself.

“Time to get rid of this thing!” Ben announced once you turned to him.

He rubbed his jaw and touched his sideburns.

“Guess you couldn’t wait then.” You said.

Ben was unable to refute you, he was eager to get rid of the hair, it was starting to become too much, so he wanted the sideburns gone and a haircut to go with his polished look. You extended your hand and Ben handed you a small bag with the necessary utensils to shave. Together, you walked down the hall and into your small bathroom.

“So when are you leaving?” Ben asked from his improvised seat on the edge of the bathtub.

You prepared everything on the counter next to the sink and tried to count the days.

“I think I’m going back home next month.” You announced.

The truth was, you were not used to living in London. You just went there regularly, but you still had your home in Cardiff.

“I’ll miss you, you know?” Ben said, biting his tongue after, mentally cursing at himself for admitting this.

“I’ll miss you too, Ben.” You turned to him in your pajamas and offered him a side smile.

You noticed Ben wore a pair of trainers and sweatpants. He nodded his head and his expression mirrored yours.

Clapping your hands and sighing, you got to business and grabbed the razor to shave the sides of his head. You were careful and kept focused on not cutting him, your eyes on his face and one of your hands cupping his cheek while you run the razor down his face. Ben did not dare speak, so he wouldn’t distract you or make you move the blades wrong. It was not possible to avoid, Ben put his hands on your hips while you stood between his legs to shave the rest of his face. Once you were done you pressed the lotion on his skin and ran your fingers along his chin.

“Served, mister.” You smiled down at him and caught him staring.

Ben’s hand did not leave your hips and you were made aware of the contact as you dropped your hands on his shoulders. You remained like this for a few minutes before you gathered the courage to move.

It had been enough, too long since you deciphered the meaning of the fluttering in your stomach when you were together. You ran a hand through Ben’s hair and leant down to press your lips against his. Ben did not move, too scared, too involved to pull away.

He let you kiss him and even worse, he kissed you back. Moving his lips against yours and breathing in the sweet scent of coconut coming from your hair. You cupped his face and Ben’s arms wrapped around you to pull you closer. He would later regret it, but now he could not deny: your lips felt like heaven and he was craving for more. You parted your lips and let his tongue come in contact with yours, it was much more than it had been when you were on set. This was not a pretend kiss, this was real and it felt like it too. You moved your legs so you could straddle Ben and once you did, Ben’s arms tightened around your middle, his hands finding the small of your back and your neck.

As you pulled away for air you pressed your nose against Ben’s cheek and suddenly it all came crashing down on him.

Ben was not supposed to kiss you, he was meant to stay away from you. Joe had told him how he felt about you, this was a horrible thing to do to a friend… so ben did what he had to make it right to his friend because he owed him at least this. He pushed you away and rushed to pick up his stuff.

“What-what’s wrong?” You jumped back as Ben put everything back into his little bag.

“This.” He said, shaking his head. “Y/N, I...I’m sorry.” He blinked because he had to say things he did not feel, but he needed to make sure you would forget about this. Ben could not stab Joe in the back like this. “This is wrong… I’m sorry if I led you on…”

“Lead me on?” You frowned, “Ben…”

“You are my best friend,” Ben reassured you, although he was trying to convince himself. “You are, and I want it to be that way.”

You were shocked, embarrassed...terrified! What had you just done?! It sounded like Ben meant this, you were fooled. He looked serious, you were unable to tell if he was mad, but he did not look like someone who was making this up.

With a hand on your mouth, you nodded and then you looked away. How could you make it right with a friend who you had just kissed under the impression that your feelings would be reciprocated? You felt all colour leave your face and a sudden need to run and hide settle in your stomach making your hands shake.

“I’m so sorry, Ben!” You rushed to explain, “I...I…” You covered your mouth again. “It won’t happen again!” You frowned.

Your voice was small and shaky. Ben looked at you over his shoulder and felt sick to his stomach. Your concern was visible. He looked away again, picked up his stuff and sighed.

“Please don’t go?” You whispered.

It was too late, you had ruined everything. Ben gave you one last glance and mumbled something about seeing you later before he stormed out of the house. You were heartbroken and felt tears stream down your face the second you heard the front door close.

Ben decided he would act as if nothing had happened when he met you a week later at the airport. You did not speak about what happened, in fact, you did not even speak for days after the bathroom incident. Ben was feeling guilty about it and you were sure that if you tried to talk about it with him you would only ruin your friendship - which you felt was hanging by a string.

Without making a big deal out of it, Ben assured Joe that he would be fine asking you out and when the time came to meet up at the airport, you were past the initial shock and made no effort to bring up the topic of your status.

It was clear to the two of you that friendship was all there would be between you, even if it broke your hearts, but you dealt with it as you sat together on the plane. The flight was short and you spent the whole time talking.

“This haircut really suits you,” you said to him and then touched your own hair, “I think my manager is sending me to the hairdresser soon, honestly I wouldn’t mind.”

Ben chuckled.

“You look beautiful as it is, no need for any changes.” He assured you.

Knowing better than to take his comment as a compliment bigger than it was supposed to be, you made a mental note not to blush.

“Thanks,” you changed the topic, “I am going to New York next week.”

Ben frowned, intertwining his hands on his lap as he heard you. He waited for you to elaborate and when you did he felt his heart sink. Of course, once Joe heard of this he would be thrilled. And he himself was happy for you, although his stomach turned to the thought of you being so far away for what would probably be a long time.

“I am being offered a roll by Netflix. I’m meeting with the producers and maybe signing before coming back.” You smiled. “It’s a series, but I think…” You nodded, sucking air through your teeth, “I think it could be big. I like the script very much.”

Ben blinked and forced himself to smile, reaching out and squeezing your hand.

“That’s great! You’ll do amazingly, Y/N! You are very talented, I bet you’ll snatch some awards soon.”

You blushed at that and looked away, raising your brows and squeezing his hand back before leaning your head on his shoulder. You sighed and closed your eyes.

“I know you’ll make it big soon.” You mumbled, “so I hope we can both have what we want.”

Arriving in Paris things became hectic. You were separated from Ben to go to your hotels, an assistant helped you with your things and after a quick lunch at a local café, you were whisked away again into your hotel to get ready for the show. A “glam squad” ready for you.

You had your hair done and your eyebrows waxed, your toes pedicured and your dress ironed to perfection. With your hair and makeup all done you were helped into a dress by the same designer you were seeing that evening.

“Alright, alright, we need to go!” Your assistant said once the car stopped outside the venue.

Looking around you could not see any of your friends, so you walked through the hall on your own. Some cameras shot pictures of you and you offered friendly smiles at them, not knowing what was coming your way…

“Would you take the picture?” A voice you knew too well said behind you as the weight of an arm was placed around your shoulders.

Your brows shot up with your eyes widening. Turning your head you saw the dark hair and the long nose. The friendly smile made you feel better about everything, your confidence boosted and your still sore heart felt slightly lighter and warmer.

“Joe!” You giggled and wrapped your arms around him, letting him hold you too while the camera flashes went wild. “Oh, I missed you!”

Joe chuckled and kissed your temple before pulling away, he grabbed your hands and looked down at you, pointing at your outfit.

“You look beautiful…” He brought a hand to his chest and his brown eyes looked into yours. “Come on, we should be goin’ in there!”

You nodded and turned to wave at the cameras. Joe’s hand found yours and you smiled back at him while you walked into the showroom together. Your seats were right next to each other so while people poured in you two had a chance to catch up, ignoring everyone around you. As you laughed with joe you forgot to catch up with Lucy and Rami, although they knew of Joe’s plans and did little to still your attention.

The show passed you by in a flash. The show was great, while Joe made smart little comments on your ear and made you bite your tongue to keep from laughing out loud you set your eye on some of the pieces, ready to ask if you could wear them later for events, maybe during promotions for projects or appearances.

“Y/N, how long will you be in Paris?” Lucy wondered after the lights went down once the show was over.

Being on the front row, the smartest move from you was to wait till the people left the room before you even attempted exiting.

“I’m leaving on Monday morning, you?”

Lucy giggled and intertwined her arm with Rami’s as he talked to Ben, who had not said a word to you all night except for a weak “hello” from earlier.

“Me too… we should go somewhere! Rami is trying to find his mum a gift, thought we could help him.”

“Are you sure?” You frowned and mimicked her but with Joe instead of Rami. “Won’t I be third wheeling?”

Joe put his chin on your naked shoulder and pouted. “‘course not! I could go to…” he said smoothly, “make it a double date instead!”

You laughed at that and watched Lucy bite her lip.

You sensed the air change and tilted your head to the side to put your eyes on a curious looking Joe.

“Mozzarella Sticks,” you used his nickname, “are you for real?”

Joe had turned to Lucy when Ben explained to him that he was going to be late to the show, he was supposed to help him as you out, but he backed out last minute, so yes, he turned to Lucy for help. And here you were, caught off guard and surprised.

Still, Joe felt confident looking at the way your eyes lit up.

“I am.” He straightened up and put his hand on your thigh with the palm looking up.

His eyes fell to his hand and yours followed. With your heart shrinking, you remembered how embarrassed you had been after Ben rejected you. How could you reject Joe?

With a small smile, you told yourself that there was nothing to lose. Joe was your friend, the one who made you laugh without fail. He had made sure to ask how you were doing when you got sick and he even sent you a big bear when he had the chance, although by the time it had arrived you were back working.

“Well...” You put your hand on his and watched your fingers intertwine. “I’d like that.”

An excited looking Joe leant forward to press a loud kiss to your cheek while Lucy clapped in the background, Rami mumbling a “finally!” and a quiet Ben nodding at his friends with a forced smile.

taglist: @shanetoo @artemisiaarm @sarai-ibn-la-ahad @wint-er-voices @onceuponathreetwoone @imamazzellhoe @mrsmazzello @kyleetheeditor @godessforyou @gwilymswife

[glamrockmonarch]

The Flu: Ben Hardy Mini Series

Part 3. On The Agenda - Finale(?)

Masterlist | Part 1 | Part 2

Summary: You are an actress and worked with the boys in BoRhap, after the premiere and press tour you wind up working on another project with one of them; Ben. As your roles are tied together you find yourselves spending more and more time in each other’s company, becoming closer than ever and developing feelings. Ben cannot bring himself to ruin what you have with another one of your friends by acting on these new found love until you get sick out of the blue right in the middle of the production and this sparks something between the two.

A/N: Sorry guys! I did something awful and the first half of this finale is freaking angsty af, so proceed with care! Also, I kinda want to write a part 4 (you’ll see why at the end).

You stared at Joe with your small handbag in your hand, the long strap hanging as you waited for an explanation. 

“Lucy and Rami kinda left without me!” 

Joe shrugged, although it did not look like he was too concerned with the fact that your friends had left without you. Indeed, this was all part of what he had planned. 

You sighed, looking around the large space in the lounge, Joe stood across from you with a hand behind his back. Of course, he did not come unprepared; once you wrapped your small bag across your body and walked up the rest of the way to him, he brought his hand out and offered you a bright pink Peruvian lily. You stopped dead in your tracks and your gaze fell on the flower, although not fully aware of the exact meaning of this flower, you were no fool to the gesture of a flower being given to you. 

With a small smile and a bright blush you accepted the flower and looked up at Joe. Biting your lip you thanked him. 

“What are we doing then?” You asked him.

Joe linked his arm with yours and together you walked out of your hotel. You started walking through the narrow streets and enjoyed the afternoon sunshine. 

“I was thinking we could be tourists together for the day.” 

Looking down at your feet you were glad you were wearing comfortable shoes. Nodding, you leant your head on his shoulder as you walked. While you two put on your sunglasses and went around the city centre you could not help but laugh. If you were honest with yourself, Joe was the funniest guy you knew; he certainly had you in a great mood anytime he was around. Although you did not feel passionate about him, while you fooled around at a small bakery, taking pictures and trying to read the names of the pastries on the menu in a language neither of you could read, you saw all too clear.  He wanted to be more than friends, and although you were sure you were not looking for that, you could not deny that Joe was an amazing guy...and you were tired of being alone. Tired of being a friend to every guy you ever liked. 

“We’ll take two madeleines and four macarons, please,” Joe said to the young girl behind the counter. 

As he chose the macarons from behind the glass, you wrapped your arms around his middle and looked up to him smiling down at you as he also wrapped his arm around you. 

While you tasted the sweet cookies and walked around a large park, Joe draped his arm over your shoulders. 

“These are really good.” You pointed out as you pushed the lily behind your ear to be able to have a free hand. 

You reached up over your chest and held your friend’s hand before you turned to him eating one of his macarons. He nodded and smiled so bright his eyes seemed to light up, wrinkling at the corners. 

“I owe you a whole day.” You joked. 

Joe shook his head and led you through the park. He had everything figured out and although Ben had acted weird, he stood true to his promise and helped him set a picnic a few feet from the Eiffel Tower. And now, Joe was able to see the blanket on the grass, which is where he directed you. On the blanket, a basket was left perfectly closed. An extra blanket laid next to it, as well as a small note. 

You saw where you were heading and rolled your eyes at it. Did Joe not know he could just say he liked you like a normal person? No. Joe had to go the extra mile. Make it a big, fancy thing. You indulged him. 

“Oh, Joseph...you did not!” You shook your head but laughed. 

He gave you one of his Deaky smiles, which he could not help doing since the movie wrapped and you giggled. 

“I know, I know...it looks like a lot...” Joe let go of you only to offer his hand out for you. “But I think you are worth it.” 

You felt a knot in your throat and pursed your lips as you took his hand. It was a little much. 

While you sat together in the blanket and had a heart to heart you could not help but feel your stomach turn and your heart beat faster with every word coming out of Joe’s mouth. He was so sure of his feelings for you it made you feel guilty. Having second thoughts, remembering your conversation with Ben the night before you could not help but remain disappointed. 

“Are you leavin’ already?” You asked Ben when you stumbled into each other near the exit of the night club. 

The guys decided it would be a good idea to go party somewhere after the show ended. You wound up in a popular night club where the music was so loud you could barely listen to your own thoughts. Joe had been all over you the entire night, although at least for the last hour or so you had been dancing with Lucy, allowing for Rami, Ben and Joe to have fun on their own at the table you were given in the VIP area. 

“Yeah, I've got a flight to catch tomorrow morning.” He lied. 

With the drink in your hand and possibly a little encouraged by the loud music and bad lighting, you stared up at him and asked about the kiss. At last, you brought up the topic and watched Ben’s green eyes look away and scan over the crowd behind you. He dug his hands inside his pockets and shook his head. 

“I think Joe might be lookin’ for ya.” He commented and cleared his throat. 

You nodded and reached to pat his arm. 

“Did it not mean anything to you? At all?” You ignored him and continued. 

While Ben looked down and smiled at himself you stumbled back in your heels, making a mental note that you did not intend on getting drunker. 

“Ben, I thought...” He cut you off and put his hand on your shoulder. 

“Don’t worry about it.” You stared up at him and failed to notice how much these words were weighing on his heart because as he pushed you away for Joe’s sake, he was hurting himself. “I thought I liked you too for a second...but,” he pretended to chuckle, “it was Gwyn! I was seeing you as Gwyn and I guess you saw me as Jack.” 

It made no sense in your drunk mind, even in the morning, you thought it was one of the most stupid things you had ever heard. And still, Ben seemed to be uninterested in whatever you wanted to offer. So as you sat with Joe you decided to move past whatever this nonsense was with Ben. 

“Did I tell you I will stay in New York for a few days?” You asked your American friend. 

Joe poured a glass of wine for you and stopped once he heard this news. You bit your lip and smiled at him with your teeth still trapping your bottom lip, wiggling your brows at him. He put the glass down. 

“Really?” He was cautious. 

You nodded and watched him grab the glass and finish pouring the red liquid into it, passing it to you before grabbing the other glass and pouring some wine for himself without you knowing this was Ben’s pick - a wine you had drunk several times before when you had dinner together during the long months of shooting. 

Clinging your glass and drinking you watched the sun set behind the horizon. 

“You are such a dramatic little man...” you told Joe. 

He chuckled and put both of your glasses down, leaning forward, he did not even warn you before he was touching your face with his soft hand. Joe caressed your cheek, making it burn with a blush. You saw his face come closer and put your hand on his shoulder once his breath was on your face. You tilted your head to the side and met his lips when he kissed you. The touch gentle and soft, Joe had no rush; he cupped your face and moved his lips on yours in a slow thoughtful kiss, you slid your hand from his shoulder to his neck and to the back of his head, playing with the short hair on the back of his head. It felt good kissing him, not perfect, not magic...but good. You knew what he meant by this, and you smiled at him once he pulled away with his eyes still closed. 

“I’d like to take you out more often. As...you know, my girlfriend?” he wondered in a low voice once his brown eyes opened and they met yours. 

With your fingers still playing with his hair, you nodded at him, unable to break his heart, to break yours anymore if saying no meant hurting your friend. 

His eyes looked small with the smile that spread through his features. Giggling at him you wrapped your arms around his neck and Joe pulled you closer, laying down on the blanket with you, kissing your hair as you lay together. 

The cold wind hit his face as he left the building. Talking to his manager Ben now had a lot of work to do. It had been a busy year for him between shooting projects and going on another press tour, he was about to embark at last on the press tour for you New Zealander period drama; he was not gonna deny how nervous he was meeting you again...it seemed like your friendship took a big blow once you moved to America to shoot your Netflix series, and the fact that you started dating Joe - quite publicly too - had put the nail on the coffin. 

Last time you met Ben was at Gwilym’s birthday party. Ben could not help but wonder if he had made a mistake by not being frank to Joe. He saw you arrive at Gwilym’s place with Joe, the two of you held hands or touched each other somehow the whole night Ben noticed with a heavy heart. When you sat down in the living room and Joe went to find Rami Ben had the chance of speaking to you. 

The connection between you was still there, you could tell, it was just that you put up a wall between the two once you said yes to being Joe’s girlfriend. You had been scared of messing things up with Joe, you thought you might end up ruining both friendships...and although they both meant the world to you...you sacrificed one for the other. 

As Ben walked to his car he could not shake the look in your eyes when he leant to whisper in your ear. He did not mean to make you uncomfortable, and yet that was exactly what he did. The music was loud and he thought you would still be okay with this closeness. 

“I heard you’re staying in America permanently.” His breath hit your cheek and you pulled away, crossing your arms over your chest as you avoided his gaze. 

Joe had asked you to stay for a while between projects and since your relationship had been so stable, you decided to rent a small apartment near the Hudson. 

Sitting inside his car, Ben looked down at his phone and then forward at a BMW parked ahead of him. 

“I am.” You almost yelled to be heard over the music. “Hey, Lucy!” 

You patted Ben’s knee and stood up, he watched you call out your friend but he stood too, pulling at your hand to catch your attention. With wide eyes you turned to him and stared, at last, you stared into his eyes and Ben’s stomach turned. He felt his breath catch in his chest, a string of pain pulled on his heart but he opened his mouth to speak. 

“Have you been avoiding me?” He wondered. 

Sliding your hand out of his grasp you wrapped your arms around your middle, it felt like your insides would pour out any minute and you had to keep them from doing so. 

“Have you?” You asked back. 

Pulling out his phone from his pocket Ben unlocked it and went through the contacts on his agenda. 

“Ben, you’ve got to come here!” 

Joe rushed to get Ben and as he did so, broke the eye contact between you two. 

His heartbeat quickened as he red the name on his screen. Ben wanted to call you. It had been like that for months, but it seemed you far away from him, out of reach. 

And Ben’s heart had never felt as empty as it did that night when he said goodbye to his friends. Duty called and the blonde had to get some rest before heading to meetings with his manager the next morning. At this point Gwil and Rami had their doubts about you and Ben, how things were not right between you; the only one who knew how things were was Lucy, but she did not dare bring up the subject to her boyfriend. So everyone stayed out of it. Except, when Ben came to say goodbye, you were wrapped in the always welcoming arms of your boyfriend - Ben’s best mate. Joe smiled down at you, saying something funny enough to have you giggling.  The blonde thought he could stand it, but you pressed your nose to Joe’s and he met you the rest of the way, kissing you the way Ben could not. 

He closed his eyes and put his finger on the name. With the phone in his hand, he brought it up to his ear and listened for the beeping in hopes that you would pick up soon.

Halfway across the globe, you tackled Joe on the sofa to reach for your phone. 

“Joe! I need to pick up!” You laughed, unable to pretend you were mad at him. “Joe!” 

“I’ll take it, it’s...” he looked up at the screen and read the name on the caller id. “Ben.” 

You felt a pang of pain in the pit of your stomach and frowned knowing what it would be about. When Joe brought the phone to his ear you fixed your shirt and sat back on the opposite end of the sofa, unsure you wanted to hear.

“Yeah, she’s right here...no, I was just playing with her. Why do we owe you the pleasure, Hardy?” Joe smiled, amused by his friend’s voice until he heard him say he wanted to talk to you about not coming to the press tour for your biggest movie yet. “Wait, what?” 

Your boyfriend straightened up on the couch. 

“Not even an interview?” His brown eyes fell on you and you turned away. “She’ll call you back, buddy. Thanks. See ya.” 

Joe hung up the phone and put it down with his eyes fixed on you. While you remained quiet he tried to make sense of this. Putting his hands out and shaking his head. 

“What are you doing?” 

You looked up at the ceiling and shrugged. This was unexpected from you. The only thing he figured you would love more than working with Ben on that film would be going on a press tour around the world with the main cast. You would have fun, see new places, put your name out there... and instead you were hiding. 

“Don’t you want to tell people how hard you worked for that movie?” He blinked a few times in confusion, “What’s wrong?” 

You frowned and looked away. 

“I cannot go, Joe.” You mumbled. “I...” 

Joe got scared watching you shake your head, a defeated look on your face. Your arms wrapped around your body. He thought you looked withdrawn, sad and everything he knew you were not. 

“Why?” He feared the worst from your answer with everything that had been happening in the film industry the past few years. “Y/N, talk to me...please.”

You felt tears sting your eyes and bowed your head, your fingers played with the small wishbone hanging from your necklace. 

“I can’t tell you.” You admitted with your eyes closed after he insisted. 

The thirty-five-year-old knelt in front of you with his hands placed on your knees. He wanted to know what was making you so upset, it broke his heart to see you cry and now your tears were spilling down your cheeks regardless of your resistance.  Your hands reached for his and you gave in to his pleading brown eyes boring into your e/c ones. 

“I cannot see Ben.” You said at last, which made Joe frown for a moment before he understood. “I don’t want to hurt you too...”

To your surprise, Joe was aware of the distance between you and his friend. It only hit him then why it was. You reached to brush his dark hair back and pouted with a trembling lip. 

“I’m sorry!” You apologised to Joe. 

A frown settled on his face and he nodded, standing up he put his hand on the back of your head and pressed a soft kiss on your forehead.  

“Who else?” your boyfriend tucked your hair back behind your ears, “you said “I don’t want to hurt you too”...” 

As a reply, you grabbed his hand and put it up to your chest with a sad smile. 

“I did this on my own...” You told him, and in your head, you believed it. 

“No...” 

Joe knew how to soothe you, he sat beside you and pulled you into his arms, allowing you to bury your face in his chest as you let it all out at last. You cried for what seemed hours, in the meantime, Joe could do little for you, besides rubbing your back and listen to your senseless rambling between sobs and try to keep himself together while you clung on to his shirt as if this could help you stay afloat. 

It seemed you tired yourself out, when you stopped crying and Joe looked down at you, your eyes were closed and your breathing was slow and regular. He pulled you up and carried you to bed, laying you down on his bed. 

Grabbing the phone Joe called Lucy not knowing how else to make sense of all this. 

By morning you were both tired and embarrassed to talk to Joe, but lucky for you he had gotten on the phone with Lu the night before and gotten up to date with what seemed to be happening between you and Ben. 

It would be an understatement to say that Joe was heartbroken, in fact, he was devastated to find out that you had feelings for his best friend Ben...although it made sense. And he could not deny that even though it pained him he had to be your friend first. Wanting only what was best for his friends, Joe broke up with you and convinced you to go to the premiere and press tour. 

“We are friends before anything else,” he reassured you kissing your knuckled one last time before you left to go home and call your manager in London. 

.

A week went by in a flash, with everything you needed to arrange to leave America and go to England again, to get your stylist to plan out all of your outfits for the next couple of months that you would spend on the road with the cast and director, you barely had any time to hang out with your friends or even call any of them. 

When the night of the premiere in London came, you had been running around your hotel room with a stylist, hairdresser and makeup artist following you. As you got your hair done and makeup applied, you had your nails did and an impromptu meeting with your manager. 

“We will not speak about your private life, I already warned the press. If they try to sneak a question about it during an interview feel free to dodge it, ignore it, joke about it, whatever you want but don’t answer it.” You were instructed. 

The thing you enjoyed the most was nothing that happened in your room before walking a red carpet, you were most thrilled when you got to the theatre and started making your way down the publicity isle - as you jokingly called it -, you watched the cameras flash before you and posed in a black Gucci dress with  little white lace details. As you had predicted a long time ago, your manager and stylist had you colour and cut your hair for the press tour. You looked younger and refreshed with the new look that complimented your skin tone and face shape, although it was completely different to the look you had in the film, which you thought would play in your favour. 

Posing for the cameras you spotted your cast mates, Craig and Bill, upon seeing you they opened their arms at you and the three of you posed together before Ben and his manager joined in, warned that you should rush inside after a couple of shots. With Bill’s arm around your waist and Ben standing to your left, all four of you posed together, you wrapped your arms behind the two blondes. 

“I didn’t expect you to make it!” You commented at Bill, thinking he would be busy with bigger projects, seeing as his character had little screen time according to the script, being killed off in a tragic accident. 

“Oh, I would not miss it!” Bill smiled and his boyish grin reminded of his other more sinister role as Pennywise. “This is going to be huge, Y/N!” He gestured with his hands and you scrunched up your nose. 

For months you had been a little bit skeptic about the film being a big hit, it was after all a period piece, a drama too, with a very traditional take. Of course, it would be a matter of time.

Bill walked into the theatre and you found yourself searching around the space for your manager, she had to be somewhere near, though you did not see her in the sea of heads and suits. Instead, you felt the familiar touch of a rough hand on your arm, the fingers covered in small blisters from the sporadic drumming sessions. 

Turning your head, your curled hair fell over your shoulder and your eyes met a childish face you recognized and knew all too well. 

“Y/N, can we talk for a sec?” Ben said, losing no time. 

Nodding, you offered a small smile and followed him to the side and into a small empty showing room. 

“What’s up?” You asked him. 

Ben cleared his throat and looked down at his hands nervously. He licked his lips and slapped his hands together, rubbing them he blew the air out of his mouth and looked back up at you. 

“I spoke to Joe,” he admitted, “and I think we both know what he said.” 

You shrugged, bracing yourself out of habit, shaking your head you waited for him to tell you. 

Ben sighed and narrowed his eyes. 

“Fine.” He raised his brows, “he said that you broke up.” 

“We did...” you rubbed your nose with the back of your hand and crossed your arms tighter around your middle, shifting the weight from one foot to the other. “Well, Joe broke up with me. But we’re still friends.”

Ben stared at you with his mouth half open, he frowned and nodded quickly. 

“Yeah, he mentioned it...” the blonde reached forward and put his hand on your arm, pulling at it so you took a more open stance. “He also said that it was because you were in love with someone else.”

Looking up you felt your heart sink in your chest and cursed at Joe, of course, he was an angel. He was a sweetheart and could not resist the temptation of fixing things for you. With a nervous chuckle, you glanced away from Ben’s handsome heart-shaped face. 

“He is not wrong. I’m in love with an idiot. A complete idiot.” Once you spoke, you could not shut your mouth so you rambled, “the man is so stupid he rejected me with the lamest excuse, he said he was seeing me as my character and not as myself...of course, he must think I am stupid, I know an acted kiss from a real one, but he can fool himself if he wants for all I care!”

Ben laughed at this, missing your little rambles about random stuff. You would have them on set, it might be because of something your character was doing, or about the food that day, maybe you would go on and on about equivalency of comfort and ugliness in Christmas sweaters... being the subject of your ramble made a smile creep up all the way to his eyes. 

“What are you laughing at?” You frowned at him. 

Ben put his palms up and opened his arms at you, offering you an apology, at last - encouraged by Joe and every single one of your friends in common, Ben finally told you that thing that he failed to tell you that night at the hospital almost a year ago. 

“I love you.” He blurted out, like logorrhoea, he could not be stopped. “I’m sorry...I know I didn’t tell you when I should have, and uh, I thought it was the best. I heard Joe go on and on about you and how much he liked you. He wanted to ask you out, be with you - all I wanted too, but he said it first!” He opened his eyes wide and put his sore drummer hands on your wrists, “And I thought I would be such a shitty friend to him if I told you how I felt!” 

You nodded and slid your hands so they were holding his. 

“Again; stupid!” You remarked. “I thought I ruined everything with you! I thought it would be so shitty reject Joe...and I felt so lonely without you!” 

His eyes stared into yours and the sadness leaking through your irises spilt around your entire face, Ben was ashamed of himself because he put you through that. 

“And I am so sorry!” He dropped your hands and cupped your face. “I will never hurt you like that again!” He stepped closer and spoke with conviction, “I promise.”

The feeling of your lip quivering made you bite your lip and hide it under the top one. You were unable to say anything and as a tear fell from your eye, you wrapped your arms around Ben’s waist. The blonde actor held you close too, brushing your hair and rubbing your back as he kissed the top of your head. 

“I missed you, you idiot!” You said, “and I am not forgetting all this so soon,” you pulled away and wiped your tears carefully as to not mess up your beautiful makeup. “I expect you to work very hard to get on my good side again.”

“Seems fair...” Ben agreed, “as long as you give me a chance.” He nodded. 

“And let’s go now, we should be watching our film!” You reached out and grabbed his hand. 

Your friend did not move, he pulled you back and stared into your eyes. 

“Wait, I need to know something...” You nodded at this, with an arched brow. “I might be spending some time in Cardiff this summer...I was thinking you could show me around?”

A side smile appeared on your face and you nodded, chuckling at him.

“But you’ll have to help me with my stuff when I move here.” 

“I’ll put it on the agenda.” He replied. 

Before you left the room, Ben came to the door and you felt his breath on your face. He pushed your hair away from your cheek and you put your hand on the lapel of his jacket as he brought his lips down on yours, giving you a soft kiss that melted your sore heart and made your stomach turn - in a good way. 

Pulling apart, you smiled at each other. 

“God...” You closed your eyes, “I do love you, Ben. I really do.”

He blushed, a gleeful smile directed your way.

“I love you too.” He chuckled, “and I’ll do things right this time. No pushing you away anymore.”

Blinking you opened the door and walked out.

“Have you watched the final cut?” Ben asked. 

“No. You?” 

He pushed the door open and licked his lips, still tingling from your lips. 

“No, but I got a call earlier already. They’re making a part two, the writer published the second book last Friday. Apparently, we should be shooting sometime in 2020.” 

taglist: @shanetoo @artemisiaarm @sarai-ibn-la-ahad @wint-er-voices @onceuponathreetwoone@imamazzellhoe @mrsmazzello @kyleetheeditor @godessforyou @notevenlxvely @gwilymswife

[glamrockmonarch]

The Flu: Ben Hardy Mini Series part 3 teaser

Series Masterlist | Part 1 | Part 2 |

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You sighed, looking around the large space in the lounge, Joe stood across from you with a hand behind his back. Of course, he did not come unprepared; once you wrapped your small bag across your body and walked up the rest of the way to him, he brought his hand out and offered you a bright pink Peruvian lily. You stopped dead in your tracks and your gaze fell on the flower, although not fully aware of the exact meaning of this flower, you were no fool to the gesture of a flower being given to you. 

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Date with Joe? What does Ben have to say about it?

[glamrockmonarch]

BEN FINDING OUT YOU FAKED AN ORGASM PLSEASE

A/N: Hahaha, I didn’t know I needed this idea until now! It will be short though, tell me if you want more I kinda enjoyed this particular couple. Also, somehow this got angsty, sorry not sorry!

“Why did you do it?” Ben demanded. “How could you?!”

You looked to the side as you heard him go on about it. You thought it was no biggie… you faked an orgasm, so what? One fake one in a two-year relationship, what was the problem?

“Ben, I just didn’t want to hurt your feelings…” you said and lamented in your inner monologue “and I wanted to go to bed already…”

It was true though, you had been overworking yourself lately. While Ben was chilling between projects you were preparing for a play. More accurately a musical. You had met during your senior year at performing arts school, although it took a while for your friendship to blossom and become something more romantic, you both were always in tune. Until…well, until you landed the role of the queen of the night at the Royal Opera production of the magic flute.

The play was demanding, you had crazy schedules and difficult parts to learn and sing. You loved the challenge but you were both mentally and physically drained, so when you came home and Ben was more than eager to have sex, you had given in every single time, only last night you couldn’t bring yourself to enjoy it quite as much. You sure liked to be touched and Ben knew exactly what to do to make you cum on the regular, but with a tired body and tired mind you were not in the moment and as Ben kept going you had decided to use the oldest trick in the book to get off the hook and get a much-needed cuddle from your boyfriend so you could fall asleep in his arms before yet another day of rehearsals. 

“Well, you did!” Ben crossed his arms over his chest and looked away with a pout on his face, his voice was softer when he spoke again, “I thought you liked it when we have sex...” 

“And I do!” You practically begged him to look at you but it was impossible: he was hurt and would not even turn his body your way. “Benny...”

“Don’t Benny me!” He sniffed, and you rolled your eyes at his dramatism. 

“Benjamin!” You tried away, this time using a harsher tone. “I love having sex with you, but seriously? Every goddamn night? I am exhausted!” You plopped on the edge of the bed. “I have been for weeks...” you cried in defeat. 

At the sound of your strained voice, Ben turned and hid his face as his eyes found you from behind his shoulder. You cried in silence and put your hands on your face to hide the ugly face you supposed you made any time frustration took over and you let out the tears. Your boyfriend hated to see you like this, and you had never had this sort of issue. Your sex life was - and this is not an exaggeration - amazing. When you were together you were in tune, always in sync; missing out on each other’s company while one of you was working on a project always made the longing turn into lust when you were reunited and it kept that fire burning between you. Sometimes you were needy and got right to it, some other times you wanted to show each other how much you loved the other and went at it slowly. But it had never been the way it was all of last week. 

Ben was hurt, and he had a right to be; you had been distant even in bed. He did not notice it at first, too lost in his desire to please you - which he did every night except for last night. And now here you were, having a breakdown. The poor blonde had no idea where to turn or what to do to make this right, he feared you would break up with him over this, regardless Ben still believed that you needed to talk about it because although Ben had a grand time and came inside you he was no fool and recognised the way you felt when you had an orgasm, he knew the face, the twitch of your leg, the curling of your toes and the sound of his name falling from your swollen lips. He did not want to fight last night as you were so happy to curl up to his side and rest your sweaty forehead on his bicep, as he wrapped his arm around you. 

“What is it, y/n? You’ve been acting so weird lately...please. Talk to me?” Ben wrapped his protective arms around you and rubbed your shoulders as if he was trying to get you warm. 

You let it out at last and looked up to him, his fingers wiping away the tears staining your skin/colour cheeks. 

“I am raddled, Ben! I cannot do this anymore...” Your e/c eyes looked down at your hands on your lap, sniffing you took a couple of sharp intakes of air. “This part is so difficult...I can barely do it as it is and the belting... I am so tired, and we have to learn choreography...Ben, I am burned out! I can’t! I’m so sorry!” 

“It’s okay...” Ben tried to understand, and he could almost. 

He knew you liked to challenge yourself with the parts that you took, your roles were always interesting and the technical difficulties were your cup of tea - as to say. Ben was the proudest boyfriend when he heard your voice resonate through the theatre accompanied by the beautiful sounds of an orchestra. A couple times he got the chance of watching you rehearse and it had him stunned to put his hand on your arm and realise your whole body was shaking with every note you sang. 

“You can. I know you can.” He reassured you and you looked at him dead in the eye with a quivering lip and a sadness that rose up all the way up to your eyes. 

“I can do the play or I can be a good girlfriend. Ben, I don’t have the stamina for both. I cannot take singing lessons twice a day, rehearse, learn the play and come home to please you. I am running on fumes!” 

“Wow,” Ben put a hand on his chest and gave this a thought. “I’m...I’m sorry I made you feel this way, love. Why didn’t you tell me you were so overwhelmed?” 

You explained to him that you did not want to bother him, besides, you felt like refusing to sleep with him would hurt him, although - and you also admitted this - you didn’t think of the consequences of him finding out you had faked an orgasm. 

“I want you to tell me this kind of thing! I would love to be a good boyfriend too!” He commented in an annoyed tone but his expression was soft. “I want to prepare baths for you and make sure you’re comfy in bed at night after a long day at work... you are not the only one who gets to be concerned about your partner!” He caressed your cheek. 

Pointing his finger at you he gave you a stern look once you let out a small smile his way. 

“No more faking orgasms, young lady!” He grabbed your hand and kissed your knuckles. “I will make some dinner and you can take a bath, okay? And we can do anything you like this weekend.”

You giggled. 

“Anything?” You wondered with narrowed eyes. 

“Anything,” Ben assured you, liking his small lips before smiling. 

Before he could stand up you pulled his hand and stopped him. 

“I want to take Frankie to the dog park.” You said, and he nodded with a satisfied smirk, “and then I want to go to take a long bubble bath with you... maybe give I can get a re-do for that orgasm I faked?” 

Your boyfriend chuckled and looked down. 

“Course you can...” 

[glamrockmonarch]

The Flu: Ben Hardy Miniseries

Part 1. Bless You.

Mini Series Masterlist | Part 2 | Part 3

Summary: You are an actress and worked with the boys in BoRhap, after the premiere and press tour you wind up working on another project with one of them; Ben. As your roles are tied together you find yourselves spending more and more time in each other’s company, becoming closer than ever and developing feelings. Ben cannot bring himself to ruin what you have with another one of your friends by acting on these new found love until you get sick out of the blue right in the middle of the production and this sparks something between the two.

Words: 7220.

A/N: So this is the first one! I have to warn you, although there will only be three parts, they will be long. Also, I mention a fictional movie (a story inside the story I made up as well, I know how meta, right?) and it’s based on Sarah Lark’s books that I’ve read and loved. There are some adult topics being mentioned and of course, someone gets ill in this. I still have great hopes you’ll enjoy this!

You sniffed and texted Joe to stop texting while driving, which you were aware defeated the whole purpose of telling him that via text while he was driving.

Your room was dark, the curtains pulled closed and your body already covered by the bedsheets of the small house your manager had rented for you while you were shooting in England.

Knowing Joe you did not want him to get hurt and he could get distracted on the phone with ease. This both concerned and amused you.

The day went by in a flash. It had been the first free day you had had in about two months and you decided on spending it with Ben.  Ben was a friend of yours from a previous project. You worked together when you played a minor role in Bohemian Rhapsody, Queen’s epic biopic. You had been good friends before and stayed in touch after production wrapped and you were doing other projects, but once you realised you would be working together once again, you two became almost inseparable. 

Gwilym was the first to predict it, seeing as Ben was already there at what would be your home for the following two months on the east side of London when he arrived to help you settle in. 

“You’ve already had her for all of three months, let me give her a proper welcome now!” Gwil had said as he pushed Ben away from the doorway and extended his long arms towards you. 

In fact, by the time production started in England you had already filmed all you needed in the beautiful southern island. You had a ton of pictures of Ben killing or taking out huge spiders and weird bugs that managed to crawl into your hotel room.

“Oh, that’s the thing!” You smiled with your face buried on his chest, covered by a fluffy sweater you nuzzled into.

Although Gwilym was tall and lean, he gave the best of hugs, wrapping his arms around you in a soothing manner that was all too Gwilym. 

Now that you are a good four months in, your relationship with Ben had flourished. You considered him your confidant and trusted talking to him about anything. Ben was comfortable allowing himself to be candid with you too, both of you sometimes finding yourselves deep in conversations about failed relationships, lactose intolerance, fear of where your careers were heading, and whatnot.

In truth, it would be weird if you did not find each other’s company adequate - at least. Your director threw you two right into the water, shooting the most difficult scenes right away and giving you a bad case of “we filmed live aid on day one”.

The story was quite complex, being set in the latter half of the 19th century, you were portraying a girl from a middle-class family whose father had recently fallen ill. Your character is then forced into a marriage with a strange man, Ben Hardy’s character, a man who comes from a wealthy family, who would inherit what little your father had once he passed. It is not romantic, Ben’s character is portrayed as some kind of insensitive monster for the first few pages on the script. Your character loathes him for what he represents and sees little in him but a man who has never worked a day in his life and expects women to give him whatever he wants. Of course, Ben would not take a role with such little depth, in fact, his character grows out of the initial repulsion to become a Mister Darcy of sorts. His character grows through the story and the relationship between him and his wife gets better and even friendly once the pair are shipped to New Zealand so he can take care of his father’s mine in a small town called Christchurch. That was where the real story developed, surrounded by the beauties of the island and the local Maoris, the story serves to speak of the differences between the two people who now live there. The hard work and sacrifices the first colonizers had to go through to bring prosperity to the country.

You like this transition and you get to experience it with your character as you too start learning more and more about Ben. 

So after spending a good hour in hair and makeup on your first day, fooling around while you had your hair curled and messed with, you were greeted on set by the whole crew expecting you to to get into a bed and pretend to have sex. Of course, it was awkward for a few minutes, your character was supposed to have had a fight with Ben’s character before this, and the whole night was supposed to be horrible for her. It was not the first time you filmed a scene like this, but it was the first time your character was not into it. Ben’s character was supposed to be drunk and get violent, it did not sound like your friend at all. It was also your characters’ first night in the foreign country, their first evening together alone at last. Neither one of them wanted to be there, but they were, so these characters had to fulfill their duties and get on with life.

Once the camera started rolling you two went at it like professionals. You stood still in an embarrassingly transparent white gown while Ben circled you with a glass of whiskey in his hand. The scene started slow and it took you and the director a couple of takes before you got the rhythm right. Pacing yourselves, you and Ben worked it out in front of the camera.

You yelled at him. He pushed you back on the bed. You slapped him. He pulled your hair, and when his character was supposed to be forcing himself on yours, you cried and pulled your hands away from him, turning to look away as the script dictated your character to do. Crying and whining, you shut your eyes with a camera angled only inches away from your face.

Ben had a hard time after this, he apologized to you about a thousand times.

Although you were going to use a wig for most of the scenes, the ones where you were supposed to go to bed were the only ones for which you wore your blonde hair down. Ben thought he had been too aggressive, he did not think of it while you were filming, he just let his character take over and when the director called for cut-scene after only a couple of takes, he looked at your face and saw the mess of tears that it had become. You had to recover your breath from the fake sobbing, you worked yourself up for the scene but since the director liked what he had already there was no need for you to keep the intensity.

“It’s okay, Ben,” you patted his shoulder as you sat up in the bed on set while the crew came around to do their magic. “You did great! Didn’t think you had it in ya...” 

Ben frowned, there were tears streaming down your face yet you smiled. 

“I didn’t know you could actually cry on command.” He admitted, sitting next to you. He touched his cheek. “You ever thought of boxing?”

You laughed and leant on his shoulder, smiling as the makeup girls came to examine the damage done to their work. 

“Oi, why do I get to wear a ridiculous piece of tape down here,” You pointed down at your lap as you saw the wardrobe woman come in, “and Ben gets real size pants?”

Ben chuckled and put his hand on your knee, squeezing it as he thought of what you said.

“Hey, I paid my dues on Eastenders!” Ben looked you dead in the eyes, “I was a piece of meat for the producers.”

You stared at him and lifted your head from his shoulder.

“Are you joking?” You put your hand on his and smiled. “That how I feel right now. They gave me a piece of yellow tape to cover up my vagina.”

Ben’s eyes narrowed and he looked away for a second.

“Why not just a thong? Wouldn’t that be easier to hide?”

“I told them that but they brought me flip flops!” You explained, interrupted now by the makeup artist retouching your makeup.

“Oh, that will get red in a few hours.” Beth, the makeup artist said as she stared at Ben’s cheek, giving you a chastising look. 

“Sorry.” You mumbled. 

After this first experience on set, everything else was like a walk in the park. The director had put you through the toughest parts early onto production to get you two to work up your chemistry from there.

It turned out to work so well that you were at the moment getting a facetime call from Ben. Considering if you should reject it and go to bed you turned on your side in the comfort of your warm bed and rested your cheek on the plush pillow. In the end, you slid your finger and watched your screen darken when his face came up in the middle of a dark square - he was in bed too. 

“What’re you doing Miss Everleigh?” He asked in a low voice. 

You snorted at him using your character’s name. You had a usual joke with it, everyone on set called you the Everleighs and it was easy to see why. You two were always hanging out together between takes, and if you were not you would still know exactly where to find the other. You would bring cookies to set, Ben would walk in with coffee for everyone. You two were ridiculously connected, though the crew knew better than to tease you for it. 

“I am about to go to bed.” You explained to him, “I have to be on Beth’s chair by 4.” You ran your hand through your face. 

“Sucks. Me too.” Ben sighed for a long moment. “Want me to pick you up?” 

“Is it a bother?” You scrunched up your nose. 

Ben laughed and stuck his tongue out at you. “Never, Y/N.”

You smiled at him on your screen and noticed him yawning. 

“Thanks, we should get some sleep now.” 

“Yup.” He agreed, “see you in a few!”

“Bye!” You waved and finished the conversation. 

It was still funny to you that after all the time you spent together that morning, Ben still managed to forget to ask if you wanted a ride for the next day. During the last couple of weeks, you were going to be shooting scenes with different units. You were going to Wales next month to shoot some of the initial scenes on the script and Ben would stay in London with the first unit. So, for the time being, you enjoyed the couple of times a week when you and Ben could ride together to work. 

As you set your phone down, you felt if buzz and turned it around again to see a notification on your screen. A text message followed by a second and a third one. All from the same person. Joe. 

You smiled and put your finger on the white circle of your phone, the only button available, to unlock it. Reading the messages in silence. 

“I’m not reckless, you know? And I am at a coffee shop fyi.”  

“I just checked and it is getting late there, are you going to sleep soon?”

“Goodnight y/n. Call me when you’re free. Love you.” 

Joe was a sweetheart. And he also hated to be missing out on your and Ben’s adventures while working on this project. From his whining via voice notes on the group chat when Ben sent a picture of you learning how to ride a horse like a lady, to the time when he actually exited the group after you sent a video of Ben and yourself doing his BAB dance in full costume featuring your hairstylist in the middle of a farm in NZ.

“About to doze off. We have an early morning tomorrow. Love you too, silly!”

You turned your phone off and put it on the nightstand to leave it to charge while you rolled on your back and pulled the covers up to your nose.

Spending the day laying on Ben’s couch playing Fifa and watching films really was a good way of spending your free day; topped only by you two venturing outside in sweatpants to get to Ben’s favourite sushi place for dinner.

You closed your eyes and saw black, tired, you were pulled from the world in an instant.

You sighed, waking up suddenly to the sound of your doorbell ringing. Pushing the covers away, you noticed a light layer of sweat covering your body. Forgetting about it you put on your robe and walked through the long hall, passing by the bathroom, kitchen and living room. When you opened the door, you knew who to expect.

“Morning!” Ben smiled from behind a pair of squared sunglasses.

You grunted your response, leaning on your door for support as you stepped to the side to let him in.

Ben stepped inside, kissing your cheek and waiting for you to close the door. He watched you go back to your bedroom and followed.

“I feel sick.” You admitted, walking past the bed to go find an outfit for the little time it would take to go to set and back home.

There was a light pounding on your head, you thought it might go away after you had coffee, so you did not complain too much about it.

“Anyone awake at this hour has to feel sick, Y/N.” Ben sat on the edge of your bed and saw you throw some clothes to the side on a chair.

You huffed and threw yourself back on your bed.

“I don’t want to leave you!” You cried out, the sound muffled from the thick bed covers.

While you savoured the last seconds in your bed, Ben took his chance and snapped a picture of you, which he would proceed to post later on his Instagram to further tease your fan base. Everyone went nuts when the news that you were working on the same project broke, the fans had been loving the content you two created on your social media accounts, with the interventions of your friends it was even better.

Ben knew the routine already, he patted your back and then saw you get up and make your bed with a pout. He helped by tossing some pillows at you, and straightened the duvet on one of the sides before you announced you would get chanced in the bathroom.

Your friend liked this natural feeling of domestic life. Picking you up was the part of his day when he felt like any other person working a job in the world. He would help make your bed and if there was any time he would brew some coffee. You would come out of your room wearing some jeans, a shirt, and hoodie, and you would tell him where the cookies were. It was like this all the time, he thought he would miss it once the production wrapped shooting. But he was thankful he got a stronger friendship from it.

“Hey, Ben?” You walked into the kitchen this morning with a tired expression.

It was odd, by this moment you should have gotten to terms with the lack of sleep. You should be more upbeat, but even your face seemed to refuse to show colour.

“Are you alright?” The blonde wondered, placing his hands on the kitchen counter behind him. “You look...”

“Sick?” You cut him off, rolling your eyes, “I feel sick, I think I’ll catch a cold or something.”

Ben offered you a thermos filled with coffee. You took it with a nod and thanked him. Grabbing your hoodie and jacket you walk outside to Ben’s car.

“You can nap while we get there,” Ben said to you once you were both sat inside his vehicle.

“I’ll do that. Thanks.”

You put on your seatbelt and curl into a ball on the passenger’s seat, falling asleep in a matter of seconds.

Ben had to admit that this was a little odd, but this late into the shooting it might just be that you were experiencing some degree of exhaustion. He tries not to worry as he woke you up once the car was parked.

“We’re her,.” Ben announced.

You sniffed and blinked. Wiping away the sleep from your eyes as Ben got out of the car and came to open the door for you.

You felt dizzy and your head was starting to feel more like a drum than a head. Not wanting to delay production or cause concern to anyone, you smiled at the crew members you ran into on the way to the makeup trailer and sat on your usual chair.

Everything else went as normal, you reviewed your lines while Beth worked her magic on you and heard Ben joke around. You replied a few times but watched him leave before you did.

“I’ll see you at lunch!” He called back when he exited the trailer.

Today you were shooting some scenes with other actors, in fact, almost all your scenes together were done; so next, you would be going to film the basis of your characters. This morning you would be filming your character explaining herself to the boy she loved, she had to give up on him to make her mother at ease and marry Ben’s character. It was a conflicting scene where you would have to show love, remorse and grieve, but your character being so righteous proved to hide these emotions well, making it difficult for you to convey them in a believable manner.

Your next scene was one at a dinner party, then you would play the piano and meet other characters important to the plot later on.

Had it not been for the tight corset you might have had a chance at pulling through the day of shooting.

Followed by an assistant you were directed into a barn, inside the lights were set, mics too. You saw the rest of the actors standing back behind the monitors as you approached Craig.

“‘Sup Craig!” You greeted him, kissing his cheek.

You had met before, having filmed already a few scenes together.

“Not much, how you doing?” He looked you up and down and pointed at the waist on your dress. “That looks surreal!”

“Well, breathing in it is surreal!” Your eyes widened but you both laughed.

The scene was set and everyone stood on their marks when the director asked them to. Once the camera started rolling, you remembered the words on the script.

“I am so sorry,” you said, holding Craig’s hands as he stared with a confused expression on his face. “I tried to talk to my mother, but... Father has already expressed his desires. I am to be married to Mister Everleigh.”

Craig’s face showed confusion and he squeezed your hands, showing how his character reacted with desperation as he first heard the news from his beloved’s lips. 

“But...a marriage without love?” Craig shook his head, “you said you would never...how can you agree to it? Will you not fight it?”

“Father has fallen ill.” You rushed to explain. “He has been clear he wants things this way. I cannot go against his will.” 

“I-I-I...” Craig looked down at your hands as the camera came closer to the two. “I will ask for your hand!”

You close your eyes, a sting of pain shot through your stomach at this moment and you struggle to think of the lines. 

“No,” you began, placing a hand on your abdomen over the thick fabric of your tight costume, “No... Percy...” You used Craig’s character’s name. “It will be no use. Mister Everleigh has already set the date, mother has fitted me into the dress...”

You opened your eyes and took a deep breathe, watching him cut you off, as the script dictated. 

“I do not care!” He pulled you closer, cupping the back of your head and pressing his nose against yours. “I love you. I will speak to your father, there must be something-”

You pushed Craig away, both confused and scared for what you were feeling at the moment. Your head spun around as if the earth was shaking beneath your feet. Sighing you shook your head and slapped Craig’s hands as he tried to hold you again. 

“It has been decided. Percy, I will not defy him on his dying bed.” You cried out, before storming off out of the barn followed by another one of the cameras. 

“CUT!” The director called. 

You stopped and brought a hand to your head, trying to regain composure. You and Craig repeated the scene a couple of times, by the time you were moving on to a different scene your head about to blow, you could barely stand it and asked your assistant on set to bring you some paracetamol to try and help out. 

For about half the morning it sort of did, but then it all got far worse. You were in the middle of shooting another scene involving Craig, this time you were supposed to get off one of the horses with his help while Ben’s character watched from a distance. The meeting with him had been already filmed, but this was somewhat important to the storytelling or at least to the director’s creative vision of the film. Having learnt months ago how to ride a horse you encountered no problems getting on the saddle and riding around in a circle with the horse while the crew set up for the scene. 

Once you were rolling you figured your stomach would be fine, since you had been experiencing little discomfort since popping the small white pill into your mouth. Of course, things went wrong quick after you stopped the horse at what was supposed to be the Jones, your character’s family, small home. You jumped off the saddle with your hands on Craig’s shoulders and as soon as your feet touched the ground, you watched the world revolving around you come down along with you. 

Everything looked blurry and judging from the director’s call on cutting the shot, it was evident. A second later you found yourself staring at Craig’s face as if he was staring from above, the sky grey as usual on the background of this image of his dark hair and protuberant nose. 

“Y/N? Y/N?” A voice echoed in your ears and struggled to make out the voice, “Y/N? Are you okay?” 

It was your assist. Next, you thought to hear her saying she had brought you some painkillers for your head, the director agreed and someone else got on the phone, you were pulled up and sat. Only now did you realise you had been laid across the entrance of the state. 

“What is it?” You closed your eyes but felt the now familiar touch of Ben’s hands on your face. 

Your friend pushed the fake hair from your wig away from your face and watched intently. You looked paler than usual, a fake blush had been put on your cheeks to make you appear okay, but the lack of spark in your eyes gave it away fast. You were starting to sweat and as he ran his fingers along your face he noticed the reason: you were burning up. 

“I think...” you managed, feeling a strange sandiness in your mouth, your tongue moved in an odd way and your chest squeezed into itself. “I’m gonna be sick.” 

Just the moment you pushed past Ben and stumbled onto the corner your stomach flipped and you fell on your knees as you threw up. Crying out, at last, you were surrounded by crew members and actors. Craig and Ben helped pull your hair away and one of the cameramen held your hand as you got back to your feet. 

“I feel like shit,” you admitted to Ben once your assistant wiped your face to get rid of some vomit staining the corners of your mouth. 

Ben frowned, concerned about what could be wrong with you. 

“You should rest.” He said and turned around to see the director coming up to talk to you. 

He stepped away to let you have a word with the director of the film. 

“Y/N, what’s wrong?” The old man asked, fixing his glasses on his nose. 

“I feel sick, sir.” You replied in all honesty. “But I can go on!” 

To prove your point you tried to stand up, only to shake in your feet for a few seconds and have Craig hold you back up, Ben rushing to your aid as well. The director held your hands and pursed his lips in a tight frustrated smile. 

“Call the medics,” the director instructed his assistant and put his eyes back on you. “I do not mind figuring out what to do without you for a few days, go get treated. You can finish up later.” 

Like a child, you nodded and the man kissed your cheek to let you know it was fine. 

Ben wrapped his arms around you as the director called the crew in for a quick meeting, they would have to rethink the day of shooting and figure out what to do while you got better. 

You leant on Ben’s chest and let your head sink on the crook of his chest while the paramedics arrived and put you on a stretcher to take you to the hospital. You were ushered back to your trailer and Beth helped you take the wig and costume off before heading to the closest hospital. 

“Do you have your phone?” Ben asked, walking along with the paramedics as you were rolled through the parking lot. 

“Yeah, I’ll text you when I know what’s wrong.” You promised. “Call me when you have time!” 

“I’ll come to see you when we’re done!” Ben stopped walking once you were carried inside the ambulance.

You waved at him before the paramedics closed the doors of the ambulance. You had never been on an ambulance before and it felt like you were in deep trouble. The paramedics started asking you questions about your symptoms, checking your vitals and feeling your stomach, finding a spot where it hurt. 

“Stop!” You pushed the hand away, feeling a strong pain shoot right up your abdomen. “That hurts.” 

After a short ride to the hospital and some tests, you were informed by the doctor that you were dealing with food poisoning. Since being in the hospital you had not stopped throwing up, unable to be medicated without a diagnosis by the time the information from the laboratory was delivered to you, you had already been given an IV. The doctor thought you might as well make the best out of it, and gave you the medicines through it.

You fell asleep a few seconds after you were medicated, but you were glad you would not need surgery or any other more invasive treatment.

���••

Ben didn’t get a text from you but he made sure to send you flowers at the hospital and went straight to see you after the shooting was done for the day.

You texted Joe while you waited for Ben to come back. He wanted to know how you were doing since he heard you were sick. After telling him you were alright he asked if there was someone home to take care of you while you recovered.

“That seems a little bit extreme, Joe. I’m just fine!” You texted him.

Changing the subject you sent him a picture of Ben’s hair and laughed at his reply.

“Don’t make me laugh! My tummy hurts!” You write back at him, and he texts an answer quickly enough.

“Sorry! Damn it, kinda wish I could be there!”

You glance over at the door and watch Ben come in with a coffee from the machine and pudding from the cafeteria. He shakes it a bit and extends it towards you.

“For me?” You wonder, brightening up to the small gesture. “Aw, Benny!”

You bring a hand to your chest, and text Joe back.

“I wish so too! At least I could punch you every time you made me laugh!” You added some emojis to soften the message, although you knew Joe would know you were playing.

“Who are you talking to?” Ben wondered once he put the pudding on your side table and sat on a chair next to your bed.

“Mozzarella sticks, Ben.” You joked.

The blonde snorted and threw his head back, rolling his eyes at your lame joke.

Ben knew it was wrong and not normal, the way he could not help but stare at you while you laughed and giggled at whatever Joe was telling you.

“Okay.” you put your phone down and looked up at your friend with tired eyes. “How was it without me on set?”

As Ben thought of the way to answer, he realised something. And he looked away from you for a moment.

“Absolutely boring.” He smiled up at you, placing his hand on yours.

You turned your hand and squeezed his, now Ben couldn’t help but wonder what your feelings were about this. About how close you had become. What would you say when he told you that his heart skipped a beat when he saw you faint? What would you do if he admitted his skin tingled now as you rubbed the back of his hand with your thumb?

Expose YN and Joe’s closeness. YN gets sick progressively worsening until she faints during a scene. Ben gets concerned, they spent a lot of time together before and now she is sick he wants to be with her, noticing how much he misses her. He realised he likes her more than just as a friend.

Ben stays with her one night to take care of her. As he is about to admit his feelings for her his phone rings and answering it turns out Joe wants his help to ask YN out on a date when they go to a fashion show in Paris the next week.

Taglist: @shanetoo  @artemisiaarm  @sarai-ibn-la-ahad 

[glamrockmonarch]

The Flu- Ben Hardy MiniSeries

Summary: You are an actress and worked with the boys in BoRhap, after the premier and press tour you wind up working on another project with one of them; Ben. As your roles are tied together you find yourselves spending more and more time in each other’s company, becoming closer than ever and developing feelings. Ben cannot bring himself to ruin what you have with another one of your friends by acting on these new found love until you get sick out of the blue right in the middle of the production and this sparks something between the two.

A/N: So I’ve been playing with instagram edits and I made this story up in my mind, now I HAVE to share it! Making this my first official super tiny mini series! It’s only a three parter (might extend to four - not longer) but I hope you will enjoy it! I’ll be seen you around for updates on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday!

Part 1. II.XIII.

Part 2. II.XV.

Part 3. II. XVII.

[glamrockmonarch]

The saga continues...

You have been shooting with Ben all month, the movie you’re working on has your characters running around from the country side to the city, and you finally get a day off.

How do you spend it? You decide on sleeping in late, going out for brunch and binge watching “Sex Education” on Netflix!

Of course, Ben likes to see the world burn so what does this punk do? He snaps a picture and posts in on Instagram later at night.

Cut to the next day, when Joe wakes up and sees the picture he has something to say about it! He hates not being in England. He absolutely loathes not being included in your day of fun. He tries to sound cool but you can tell he is mad.

And Gwil? Gwilym is just having a ball with all of your on-set selfies - you know, the ones you send through the group chat - so watching Joe go mad on multiple platforms is delightful to him.

Rami and Lucy try to stay or of this instagram drama, commenting about the pictures privately through texts or Dm’s, but seriously how long can they pull it off?

[glamrockmonarch]

The Flu - Ben Hardy Mini Series Teaser

You texted Joe while you waited for Ben to come back. He wanted to know how you were doing since he heard you were sick. After telling him you were alright he asked if there was someone home to take care of you while you recovered.

“That seems a little bit extreme, Joe. I’m just fine!” You texted him.

Changing the subject you sent him a picture of Ben’s hair and laughed at his reply.

“Don’t make me laugh! My tummy hurts!” You write back at him and he texts an answer quickly enough.

“Sorry! Damn it, kinda wish I could be there!”

You glance over at the door and watch Ben come in with a coffee from the machine and pudding from the cafeteria. He shakes it a bit and extends it towards you.

“For me?” You wonder, brightening up to the small gesture. “Aw, Benny!”

You bring a hand to your chest and text Joe back.

“I wish so too! At least I could punch you every time you made me laugh!” You added some emojis to soften the message, although you knew Joe would know you were playing.

“Who are you talking to?” Ben wondered once he put the pudding on your side table and sat on a chair next to your bed.

“Mozzarella sticks, Ben.” You joked.

The blonde snorted and threw his head back, rolling his eyes at your lame joke.

Ben knew it was wrong and not normal, the way he could not help but stare at you while you laughed and giggled at whatever Joe was telling you.

“Okay.” you put your phone down and looked up at your friend with tired eyes. “How was it without me on set?”

As Ben thought of the way to answer, he realised something. And he looked away from you for a moment.

“Absolutely boring.” He smiled up at you, placing his hand on yours.

Tag list: @shanetoo @artemisiaarm