Sophie's POV

"Have you seen Isabella lately?" Elliot asked me as he leaned back against the soft material of his seat.

Myself and a few friends were all gathered in an American styled diner in town which had very quickly become our usual meeting spot. It did the absolute best and most unhealthy food imaginable and also gave free drink refills. I didn't really think it could get better than that.

"Nope, she's been so MIA. I called her the other day but she was with George." I explained as that concern rushed through me once again. "I'm worried about her."

Isabella seemed to hold a lot more trust in the guy than any of us did and unfortunately that meant there wasn't a whole lot we could do about the situation. If she was happy I didn't want to ruin that but I also didn't want her getting caught up in something incredibly dangerous.

I knew the reputation George held and had heard about the things he had been involved in. If any of that stuff was true then I was certain that Isabella had made the worst choice in allowing him to get to know her.

"It's so unlike her." Juliet, Elliot's younger sister added, finally removing her eyes from the phone in front of her.

"Yeah, what happened to the shy version of Iz who despised the male species." Elliot continued before being immediately interrupted by Jack.

"Apart from me!" He raised his hand as a cocky smile spread across his face.

I couldn't help but laugh at Jack's predictable comment, even more so as it was kind of true. The five of us had all grown up together and Jack and Elliot had really been the only boys I ever knew Isabella to speak to since her brother passed away.

She had truly lost trust for most people and although that was incredibly sad, it was nice to know that she felt somewhat protected in the bubble of our friendship.

"I'm keeping my eyes on the whole thing so if it turns to shit, we better be ready to jump in." I added, already feeling as though something like that was looming. "I can spot a dickhead of a guy from miles away."

As Jack began to laugh, I immediately turned to look at him with a frown across my face. I didn't know what he found so funny but I wasn't so amused at him seeing my comment as a joke.

"What?!"

"Really?"

"Really, what?"

"You've dated the entire population of dickhead guys. I think your radar is a little off."

As my mouth dropped open, both the Lloyd siblings also couldn't help but smile, clearly agreeing with Jack's comment.

"That's so not true!"

"Alec?" Elliot raised his brow at me, as though I was going to out-rightly agree with him. "That on again, off again thing is toxic."

"For your information we are well and truly on. So my dickhead guy radar is doing just fine, thank you!"

Although I knew they were just trying to be good friends in this matter, I couldn't help but argue their judgement. I wasn't sure why my relationship with a very normal and maybe a little arrogant guy, was a huge issue when Isabella was currently hanging out with a gang member. 

He killed people! I was sure of it and the worst Alec had probably done was punched a guy in a heated game of football. I really didn't see me as the biggest concern right now.

"Isabella's the one you should be frowning at. That girl went from hiding from life to spending her nights hanging out with some hot guy who carries a gun around on the daily."

"We are, which is why we're making it your job to keep an eye on her." Jack announced, as though this was a plan they had already figured out.

"Don't you think I'm already doing that?"

"Yeah but we mean like getting involved in her life with him." Elliot added, causing me to look at him in disgust.

"I mean, I know three-way relationships are beginning to make the news but that's really not my thing." I remarked causing Elliot to start laughing.

"Not quite what we meant."

"Then what?!"

"Go hang out with them. I'm sure that household he lives in constantly has parties. If she's invited, make sure you are too." Jack said, while I gazed over at the three of them, waiting for them to tell me they were joking.

"You want me to go to some gang party?"

"You love a party, Soph!" Juliet grinned while nudging my side. "You'll have fun."

Sitting back in my chair, I let that thought process in my mind for a moment. As much as I did love a good party, attending one held by gang members with guns wasn't really on my bucket list. However, if it meant I could finally figure out what Isabella was really getting involved in and if she did need rescuing, then I was willing to do it.

"Sure, okay then. I'll get myself an invite but if I get killed then it's all of your faults."

"Cool, it's a deal." Jack replied casually while placing his hand onto the table.

Elliot did the same and placed his on top of Jack's, causing Juliet to follow suit. As all eyes then fell onto me, I finally gave in and placed mine on top of theirs as I promised to commit to the plan.

I hated the idea of Isabella getting caught up in this mess. She was innocent and incredibly impressionable. She didn't deserve her growing confidence to be ripped from her when she realised she had been completely played by a heartless being with a pretty face.

I wanted her to be happy but I wanted her to find that happiness in something a little less criminal and a lot more legal. There were hundreds of guys out there, so I still wasn't quite sure why she had made the most bizarre choice.

"Just don't get distracted, alright? The party is to keep your eyes on Isabella only." Jack warned, making implications based on his unfortunate knowledge of my weakness.

"How dare your, Jack Lawrence!" I gasped, while circling the imaginable shape of a halo over my head. "I am in a very... I mean partially committed relationship with my amazing boyfriend. No other boy could distract me."

As if on cue, my phone began buzzing on the table signalling a text and Alec's name was presented across the screen.

"Speaking of that amazing boyfriend, I have a date to get to."

Waving my phone at them, I grabbed my things before beginning to make my way out of the booth. 

"I look forward to the phone call later when you're arguing and you claim it's over again." Elliot mocked and unfortunately, that had happened way too many times for me to accuse him of lying.

"Set your alarm for 2am sharp." I played along with a grin on my face, just about to wave them all goodbye and make my escape before Juliet jumped to her feet.

"Hey Soph, can you give me a lift home?" She practically pleaded and I immediately wondered why a lift home with her brother and Jack wasn't so appealing today.

"What are they up to this time?"

"All I know is that it involves lots of cars as I switched off after that. It'll be torture." 

"Then consider me your much more enjoyable taxi ride home." I sang, hooking my arm through hers as we made our way out of the diner.

Juliet was like a little sister to me. Although we did hold very differently personalities, I loved the relationship that had grown between us. Being able to teach and guide her through these teenage years, having made many mistakes myself at her age to save her from the backlash, was incredibly fulfilling. I felt an intense need to protect her from everything, very much like the situation that was currently occurring with Isabella.

The Bad News Series has began to be edited over the past few months & is continuing to be over the next 2 years too! This means the chapters will likely change slightly and additional chapters will be added too so things may get a little confusing just while it's all sorted out. Lucy has help though so it hopefully won't stay that way for too too long!

This all also means all of those events and scenes we heard about but never got the full story will finally be addressed! All of the George/Isabella/Gang chapters will be edited (/have already started to be edited) but we'll also get more details on the other characters. This will either be added to the current chapters or in new ones.

ALSO I get to post any new chapters/new scenes onto the blog before they get put into the actual story on wattpad. As it's going to take a fair amount of time for all the chapters to get edited, you would have been waiting a LONG time between getting to see a new chapter. So instead, as new chapters/scenes are written, I am going to be posting them on here first and they will eventually be added to the book!

You can see all of the new covers for the books below:

My theory on the Sophie-Aaron situation!

With the recent chapter and an upcoming one, I wanted to give my theory on whether or not Sophie does truly still love/want to be with Aaron.

It's clear that she is bothered by the fact that he's planning on having a baby with his new girlfriend but is this just because he's not still waiting around for her?

Obviously it would be upsetting to see your ex have a happy life with someone else, especially if you still had feelings but it's so difficult to judge with Sophie. She loves attention from guys, we all know that. We also know that she loves when they still trail after her once she's ended a relationship and she makes a conscious effort to mess around with them a bit.

HOWEVER, is it different with Aaron?

He wasn't just some ex boyfriend. He was her husband and also her longest relationship. Yes, they had their ups and downs but there was no doubt that she really loved him.

It also needs to be remembered that their final breakup was over Aaron cheating on her. I know Sophie has done that in the past on Elliot and she has never been an angel but I think having Aaron do it to her would have come as a HUGE shock. It would have hurt her 100%. He is probably the one guy she trusted most. They went through a lot together.

I think because of that cheating incident and the way she dealt with it (acting like she didn't care and running off to New York to forget about everything) meant she never fully got over it. How could she have got real closure from their relationship when she left that abruptly. It's not possible in my opinion.

Therefore, I think when she left she did still care, she was still upset - she wouldn't have fallen out of love that easily. However, she just got on with life and created a whole new one for herself in New York.

That would have been fine if she had of stayed in New York. She may not have even flinched if she'd found out Aaron had another baby while she was continuing her life out there. It's the fact that she actually returned to Brighton and saw him face to face.

Every feeling she previously had for him MUST have come back. How could it not have done? Surely she never fully got closure from their relationship before.

THEREFORE, in my theory I think it does really bother her that he wants another baby with someone else. I think she is confused about how she feels about him. Don't get me wrong, I don't think she's 100% sure that she's in love with him and wants him back. I also think she does genuinely love Jace but I think coming back to Brighton has confused her so much.

She's going to have these feelings for Aaron, that's normal in my opinion as she's seeing him for the first time in ages. He's a comfort for her. That's why she feels so hurt and bothered by how quickly he's moved on even though she has too.


If he asked her if they could try again and he would leave Georgia do I think she would say yes? No, I don't. I definitely think she would spend a night with him but I think that would probably be her closure.

IF she does love him still I think she's smart enough to know it wouldn't work. They live two completely different lives. Aaron wouldn't move to New York and there is no way Sophie would move back to Brighton Therefore, I think this whole thing is just a slap in the face for her as she's realising that she's never going to be with him in that way anymore. It's made her realise that they can't play games anymore like they used to. They're older and both have to fully move on and be mature about it. It just so happens that Aaron's been the one to make that move this time.

But what about Aaron? I did find it kind of strange that he asked her about the baby thing. I get that he wanted her opinion on when to tell the kids and that he knew she would probably criticise him for making the wrong decision but surely he can handle it?

He's used to the criticism from her? So why can't he just shrug it off this time.

THEREFORE, part of me thinks that he wanted her to know and wanted to see her reaction. In a way I felt like he was shoving it in her face. That's what makes me question his feelings for her?

Did he want a reaction so he could have the upper hand for once? Or did he want a reaction because he wanted to see if she felt the same about him?

I don't know. I do think he's trying to move on but I'm not convinced he's fully over her. THE SCENE OUTSIDE THE PUB confirms that in my mind.

But yeah, that's just my theory!


I'm kind of sad because I love Sophie and Aaron together but I also think they are very toxic together too.

So I thought it would be cool to share a playlist for the characters... this list will be added to constantly because obviously I can't remember all songs that relate off the top of my head. So this is the current list and I will repost the link as I add!

Let me know if you have any of your own suggestions too :)

Jess

Her relationship with Jack ~

Beautiful Trauma - Pink

Delicate - Taylor Swift

Red - Taylor Swift

Starving - Hailee Steinfeld, Grey, ft. Zedd

Poison - Rita Ora

T-Shirt - Shontelle

Her 'relationship' Jay ~

Ruin the Friendship - Demi Lovato

Jack

His relationship with Jess ~

Perfect - Ed Sheeran

Toothbrush - DNCE

U Got It Bad - Usher

Dusk Till Dawn - ZAYN ft Sia

Sorry - Justin Bieber

What Do You Mean - Justin Bieber

^ I had to add those haha

Sophie

Her relationship with Aaron ~

Getaway Car - Taylor Swift

Dress - Taylor Swift

Cry Baby - Demi Lovato

Sexy Dirty Love - Demi Lovato

Rock Bottom - Hailee Steinfeld

Write On Me - Fifth Harmony

Her relationship with Elliot ~

Let Me Go - Hailee Steinfeld & Alesso

The Girl I knew - Lawson

Her relationship with Jace ~

Call It What You Want - Taylor Swift

Her relationships in general haha! ~

Break Up Every Night - The Chainsmokers

Aaron

His relationship with Sophie ~

Bad Reputation - Shawn Mendes

Unforgettable - French Montana

Earned It - The Weeknd

Chainsaw - Nick Jonas

Touch - Nick Jonas

Let Me Love You - DJ Snake, Justin Bieber 

Juliet

Her relationship with Matt ~

Tell Me You Love Me - Demi Lovato

Into You - Ariana Grande

California King Bed - Rihanna

I Won't Remember You Tomorrow - Alli Simpson

Impossible - Shontelle

Matt

His relationship with Juliet ~

Roses - Shawn Mendes

Location - Khalid

Two Ghosts - Harry Styles

Love Me Now - John Legend

So there is a character profile change for Jace Rivera! This post will also give you a little bit more info about Jace. As the story is only an update, we might not get loads of info about Jace therefore this will give you the basics (and there might be more in one of the chapters at some point).

Jace Rivera

Age: 42

Lives: New York, Manhattan

Occupation: Police Force (NYPD)

About:

Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. Moved to Manhattan and joined the NYPD. 

Previously married - divorced 6 years ago.

No kids.

Met Sophie and moved in with her within a year.

Was played by: Ben Aldridge

Now played by: Chace Crawford