Chapter Text
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We started off incredible
Connection undeniable
I swear I thought you were the one forever
But your love was like a loaded gun
You Suck at Love, Simple Plan
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People threw curious glances at the redhead sitting on the floor in Schiphol Airport, various lingerie and clothing items surrounding her. An airport security guard observed the scene from a distance, second-guessing if he should approach the distressed woman or not. She did not care about the attention, anger rising in her as she rummaged through her large pink suitcase.
“I hate this trip, I hate Harry, fuck this trip, fuck everything… Where the fuck are my things?” Penelope muttered to herself, flinging out the contents of her suitcase in the middle of the busy waiting area. She realized she left most of her clothes and a few valuables with Harry. The redhead let out a few curses, thumping her forehead against her suitcase.
“Why did I do this to myself…. Aahh!” Penelope grumbled, biting back a frustrated shriek. She would have thrown a tantrum, but a familiar voice called her name.
“Pen?”
The woman in question froze, willing the ground to swallow her up. She tentatively looked up and saw Colin Bridgerton holding a lacy black panty in his hands.
“I think this is yours? It landed on my feet earlier.” He said with a sheepish smile, extending the offending item towards her.
Of all the people in this airport to witness her at her lowest… Of course, it would be Colin Bridgerton, one of her closest friends. She bit her lip hard, hoping this was some nightmare. Unfortunately, he still stood in front of her, head tilted in an unspoken question.
Penelope grabbed the underwear from his hand and shoved it into her suitcase. She winced at the sight of her lingerie spread out around her, filling her with embarrassment. The emotions from the past twenty-four hours coupled with this fiasco made Penelope snap. Tears filled her eyes, and she let out an ugly sob, going into full breakdown mode.
Colin panicked at Penelope’s sudden outburst. He kneeled beside Penelope, rubbing her back to console her.
“There, there… Let it all out.”
Penelope threw herself on Colin’s shoulder, tears and snot pouring down between them. Colin ignored the wet patch forming on his shirt, sighing as he comforted Penelope in a half-embrace.
“Why are you in Amsterdam?” Colin asked Penelope after her crying session quieted down. She pulled away from him, rubbing her eyes before speaking.
“It’s supposed to be Harry and I’s anniversary trip, remember? We’re trying to spice up our relationship by doing something new. I told you about this trip before you left for Belgium a month ago.”
“Oh yeah, it slipped my mind. What happened?”
“Apparently, his idea of ‘spicing it up’ was to hook up with a random woman. I caught them fucking in our hotel room when I came back from shopping.”
“What the bloody fuck? Pen, I am so sorry.” Colin replied, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.
“Don’t be. I socked him in the balls before storming out of the room.” Penelope said with a small smile.
“Attagirl.”
They went silent, still slumped on the floor with Penelope’s lingerie surrounding them. The security guard, who witnessed the entire thing from a distance, approached them.
“Excuse me. I understand you two are going through some kind of lover’s quarrel, but can you please clear out and proceed to the seating area? You’re blocking the way.” The guard scolded, gesturing towards the people walking around to avoid them.
Penelope pushed away Colin’s hand from her shoulder, waving her hands frantically. “No, we’re not in a relationship.”
Colin nodded in agreement, distancing himself from Penelope. “Yeah, we’re just friends.”
The guard narrowed his eyes at them. “I do not care about your… situationship or whatever you youngsters call it. Please move.”
“Yeah sorry.” Penelope and Colin responded. The guard retreated to his post without another word, observing them with keen eyes.
Penelope picked up her underwear one by one. Colin offered to help, but she swatted his hand in embarrassment.
“Please don’t, seeing you handle my favorite black undie is mortifying enough.” Penelope said, cringing.
Colin only chuckled. “Come on, Pen. Let me help.” He picked up a piece that resembled a bunch of tangled strings, flipping it around his fingers. “What’s this supposed to be?”
“It’s a g-string, Colin! Give me that!” Penelope whispered, snatching the underwear from his hands.
“I didn’t know you’re into kinky lingerie, Pen.” He snickered, inspecting each underwear as he handed them to Penelope. She jammed the things into the suitcase, face turning redder with each item.
“I have used none of them, sadly. I bought them for Harry, and now look what happened.”
“Screw Harry, you’re better off wearing these fancy things for someone more deserving and appreciative.”
“Oh? Who?”
Colin shrugged before throwing Penelope a cheeky grin.
“I appreciate seeing them now. What more if I see them on you?” He flirted.
Penelope tossed a bra at his face, laughing. “Shut up, playboy.”
Colin caught the item with ease. He rested his hand on his chest in dramatic fashion, still clutching her bra. “Ouch Pen.”
Penelope chuckled, trying to grab the bra from his hand. “Based on the way you flirt with anyone within a ten-feet radius and the number of people who appear on your insta stories, I say you are.”
Colin tossed the bra back to her. “It’s not my fault people fall victim to my charms.”
“You’re tooting your own horn way too much, Colin.”
The two friends made jokes as they packed the rest of the scattered clothing. Colin helped Penelope to a nearby bench, hauling both of their luggage behind him. She observed her friend as he fished out his phone, reading and responding to his messages.
Penelope appreciated Colin’s godsent timing despite her embarrassment earlier. His presence felt like a bandaid on her broken heart, distracting her from crying.
Her friendship with Colin was born out of proximity, but their common interests and traits brought them closer.
Penelope became friends with Eloise Bridgerton in primary school, which led to her spending most of her younger years hanging around the Bridgerton home. The Bridgertons were an old-money family. Their fortune traced back to a Viscountcy a dozen generations ago. They were a far cry from Penelope’s own family, who were middle-class and burdened with financial problems.
Eloise’s family was down-to-earth and welcoming despite their affluent status, accepting Penelope into their fold. It was during this time she met Colin, Eloise’s older brother. He befriended and entertained her whenever she hung around. Penelope developed a crush on him, which deepened over time into love.
She knew Colin had an inkling about her feelings for him, but he never led her on or outright rejected her. There was that incident during her secondary years when she overheard Anthony and Benedict teasing him about their closeness. Colin brushed them off, saying he did not see Pen as someone he could date.
The comment stung, but it helped Penelope get over her feelings. The timing helped too. Penelope focused on her schooling while Colin took off for a couple of gap years to travel with his friends.
Their friendship picked up again when Colin enrolled in the same uni and program as hers. They ended up working in the same publication company after graduation. Colin quit the job a couple of years later to pursue his love of traveling as a career. He went jet setting around the world as a travel vlogger.
They became close friends ever since.
Colin was her first unrequited love, and she was glad for the experience. Too bad she fell in love with Harry Dankworth, otherwise she wouldn’t be in this hellhole. She sighed.
“What’s the matter?” Colin asked, noticing Pen’s heavy sigh.
“My other things are with Harry. We shared his luggage to cut costs on this trip. I didn’t know that would backfire when I walked out on him. I left my camera, clothes, and some money at the hotel.” Penelope replied, shaking her head.
She patted her carry-on bag.
“I got the important stuff here. As for the suitcase, honestly, I carried the wrong one out. This one is just my underwear, toiletries, and a few dresses.”
“Yeah, I noticed,” Colin teased, to which she only rolled her eyes.
“We planned to be away for a month, okay? A girl must pack for emergencies!” Penelope responded, blushing.
“A suitcase full of racy underwear isn’t an emergency.”
Penelope huffed, ignoring Colin’s amused giggles. “This is an emergency. I didn’t plan to break up with Harry on the third day of our trip.”
Colin’s eyebrows shot up to his forehead. “Third day. Wow, what an asshole.”
“I know. He claims it was an accident, took too many mimosas in the hotel bar. One thing led to another, blah blah blah.” Penelope said in a mocking tone. “Accident my foot! Harry said he felt sick, so I left him alone. I’m so stupid, Colin!”
“Hey, you’re not stupid. Don’t be hard on yourself.” Colin said.
“I’m out of luck! The attendant at the counter said I can’t rebook my flight because of some bloody policy. I can’t buy a ticket because there are no more seats. I don’t have my things. My bloody boyfriend cheated on me, and I am stuck here. I am in hell!” Penelope ranted, trying to contain her tears.
“I understand your frustration, Pen, and I’m sorry you’re going through this. We’ll get your things back. I’m here to help you, okay? Just let me know what you need.”
“I don’t care about my things anymore. Harry can send them back to my flat or whatever. I don’t want to see him.”
Colin nodded in agreement. “That’s okay. Leave him a message instead.”
“Yeah, that’s a great idea.”
“As for your flight, I can help you. We should be able to rebook your flight at an additional cost. What’s your PNR?”
“What the heck is that?”
Colin patted her head. “Nevermind. Give me your ticket. I’ll take care of it.”
Penelope grimaced. “Crap, I’m so busy bothering you that I forgot to ask about you! I thought you were in Belgium? Oh god, did you miss a flight because of me?”
“Slow down, Pen. I came to Amsterdam to explore some hole-in-the-wall restaurants for my Europe food trip series. My flight is in a few hours. I’m going back to London.”
“You’re going home?”
“Only for a couple of days. I’m meeting a few prospective sponsors before I head to my next destination.”
Penelope’s phone rang. She pulled it out of her bag, grimacing when she saw Harry’s name on the screen.
“Ugh, he’s been ringing me nonstop since I left. I don’t want to deal with him. I just want to escape somewhere he couldn’t reach me.”
Colin’s eyes lit up after a few seconds, grinning.
“You should come with me!”
“What? Where?”
“The Philippines!”
Penelope cackled. “Are you crazy?”
“No, not at all.”
“Please tell me you’re kidding.”
Colin gave her a deadpan look. “I’m serious. Look, you want to run preferably somewhere far away. This is the perfect solution!”
“I’m not going halfway across the globe just to escape Harry Dankworth!”
“You won’t go there just to run away from him. I know you well, Featherington. You filed your PTOs at least three months in advance, maybe even got a remote work arrangement. You already took the month off. All of your preparations flew out the window when Harry fucked up. You wouldn’t let him ruin everything, would you?”
Penelope’s cheeks turned pink. Colin read her like a book.
“Don’t waste your vacation, Pen. You can choose to go back to London and mope in your flat. Or… you can join me in the Philippines and distract yourself with some tropical fun. What do you say?”
“I don’t know, Colin. Your idea of ‘distraction’ sounds expensive to me.”
“I’ll take care of everything!”
“I don’t want to mooch off you, Bridgerton, no matter how rich you are.”
“You won’t be mooching off, I promise. I have a lifetime’s worth of mileage points with any airline you can think of. We can use them for your flight anytime. My booked accommodations are spacious enough for us both. You can pay me. I’ll even let you make those little expense spreadsheets you like, heck I’ll introduce you to Splitwise. You’ll love that.”
“I already use Splitwise!”
Colin laughed, scratching his head. Penelope bit her cheek, deep in thought.
“C’mon Pen. You told me how you wanted a little spontaneity in your life. This is your chance. Let loose and have fun with me.”
Colin nudged her shoulder with his, grinning and throwing her puppy-eyed looks. Penelope chuckled under her breath.
“Fine.”
“Alright!” Colin squeezed Penelope in a bear hug, making her laugh.
He stood up and gathered their things. “Let’s get your flight to London sorted.”
Colin brought Penelope to the business class counter, working his signature charm on the ground staff. He rebooked Pen’s ticket, even securing an upgraded seat beside his own in business class. Penelope shook her head in disbelief.
Penelope reflected on her seven years with Harry during the flight. They were happy and in love at first. Somewhere down the line, their relationship went stagnant. Where did it all go wrong?
“Pen, you okay?” Colin asked. He handed her a few tissues. Penelope raised her hands to her face, feeling the tears on her cheeks.
She didn’t realize she was crying.
“I’m fine, it’s just… Everything’s sinking in.”
Colin looked at her with worried eyes.
“You’ll be fine, Pen. It’ll take time, but you’ll be fine.”
He reached out and squeezed her arm, before turning back and typing on his laptop.
They arrived an hour later in London. Colin took their bags, pulling the luggage in one hand and taking Penelope’s hand in the other.
“Everything’s going to be alright.” He said with a smile.
They proceeded to the taxi rank when Colin’s phone rang with notifications. He stopped to check them, his mouth crooking up in a grin.
“Good news! I messaged the sponsors I’m supposed to meet up with here in London. I told them I have a few abrupt changes to my schedule. They agreed to move our meetings via Zoom.”
Penelope perked up an eyebrow.
“I’ll use the free time to prepare for our trip to the Philippines! We can book your flight, buy whatever you need, and pack your things. This is so exciting, Pen. Our first long trip together!”
Colin’s excitement was infectious. Penelope smiled at him, her sadness from earlier evaporating a little.
“Oh, and don’t bother unpacking this luggage of yours. I have a feeling you’ll need the fancy undies there.” Colin joked, winking suggestively at her.
Penelope snorted. “Yeah right.”
She had a feeling this would be a trip to remember.