A/N: Hello guys and welcome to my second Merlin fanfic! This story came to me during a boring class of Math and I was eager to give it a go. This story is set in the modern day and is a modern twist on the Arthur/Gwen love story. If you haven't yet, check out my other Merlin fanfic if you're interested. If you love the story and think I should carry on, don't be shy to leave me a review. I've currently only written one chapter and I'm waiting for any responses to carry on. Anyway, enjoy and don't forget to review! ;)

Chapter 1: Misery

The sun was hitting his eyes and the smell of food was entering his nose. As he slowly opened his puffy eyelids, he noticed the curtains had already been drawn apart and his breakfast was already lying on the bedside table. He looked over at the digital clock that had fuzzy numbers on. He rubbed his eyes and once it was clear, the clock read nine thirty-four AM. He grabbed onto his phone from underneath his pillow and noticed he hadn't set his alarm. "Oh, damn it. I'm already late." He cursed at himself inwardly. He noticed his inbox was bombarded with recent messages. He opened the inbox to find four texts from his closest friend, Merlin. They had been friends for years and had met each other in High School. Since then, they became inseparable and the both now worked for Arthur's father, Uther Pendragon.

"You're late and your father isn't happy!" One of Merlin's messages read. He let out a groan and shoved the bed covers aside, slipping on the blue slippers that sat beside his bed.

He dragged himself over to the bathroom where there was already a hot bath prepared, steaming and everything, just the way Arthur Pendragon liked it. He was used to the luxury life and everything being done for him. And who could blame him considering he was the richest around in his neighbourhood? His father was the owner of the largest real estate business in London and the money would literally come pouring in. In the past few years, Uther became driven for money and power. Ever since his wife died, it was as if the Pendragon family was torn straight through the middle. Uther became a different man and eventually dragged his own son into his pit of coldness.

Arthur glared at his reflection in the clouded mirror, wiping away the steam to reveal his sleepy face. He scraped his hand along his chin; his stubble was a little overgrown but he was already late and there was no time to shave. Before entering the bathtub, he made sure to remove his expensive Omega watch he had wrapped around his wrist and placed it by the sink. He pulled down his boxers and dipped his foot first in the water. As his big toe touched the surface of the water, he let out a shriek. The water was boiling and now it seemed there was no time to even freshen himself up.

"Gaius!" He yelled for his butler. He angrily grabbed onto one of the many towels lying around and wrapped his waist to cover his crotch. At that moment, the man he had yelled for came scurrying into the bathroom, panicking and sweating.

"Yes, Arthur?" He asked him, his voice trembling a little. Gaius was the type to never get anything wrong and was highly respected by the Pendragons, hence the reason why he was instated butler of the Pendragon household.

"The water is absolutely boiling," Arthur said angrily, pointing at the water that was still letting off fumes. "Were you trying to get me burnt?"

"No, not at all, Arthur. I'm sorry, my apologies, I will try and make the water a little less hot." He lunged himself beside the bathtub and opened the tap to let the cold water run.

"I'm already late for work. Forget the bath." He moaned, letting out a huff.

"Have you eaten anything? It won't do you any good if –"

"No, Gaius. I'm late," He cut him off and reminded him sternly, still tightly grappling onto the towel wrapped around his waist. "Now, I really need to get changed." He shooed his butler out of the room.

Gaius nodded and rushed out of the bathroom, taking the fresh pancakes and orange juice on the tray away and into the kitchen; another good breakfast gone to waste. Arthur walked back into his room and opened his closest, revealing all the expensive suits of various colours and shades. He picked out his favourite navy blue suit by his personal favourite brand, Armani. He grabbed onto the suit, first placing on his white shirt and then the navy blue trousers. Then came the black leather shoes. Then he put the jacket over the white shirt and grabbed a matching tie, tying it up sloppily because there really was no more time to waste. But he was missing one thing; his gold cufflinks of course. Once he had rummaged through his drawers and found them, he quickly clipped them on and grabbed his professional briefcase.

"Oh, my hair." He sighed and quickly rushed back to the bathroom and noticed his golden hair was still a mess. With a bit of gel, he rubbed it into his hair and once it was looking good again, he darted to the front door and rushed out, leaving the door for Gaius to close.

Parked right in front of the mansion was Arthur's black Maserati, his beauty and pride. Once he reached its door, he scrambled through the papers and other items in his briefcase to find his keys right at the bottom. He quickly shoved the keys into the car's keyhole and twisted it. Once he was in, he chucked his briefcase violently onto the seat beside him and all the papers that were once in the case spilled onto the car's floor.

"I swear this only happens to me!" Arthur yelled at himself. Instead of picking up the mess, he left the papers and turned the car on, the vroom from the car making a loud but pleasant sound. Before he could even drive anywhere, his phone in his pocket vibrated. He unlocked the screen and it was yet another message from Merlin.

"Arthur, are you sleeping for goodness sake?" It read. He looked at the little clock in the corner of the screen and it was already ten AM and he still wasn't at work. Two hours late; his father wasn't going to be pleased at all. With no hesitation, he pushed on the throttle and drove as fast as he could.

Gwen woke up with the sun hitting her eyes. Once she was fully awake, she looked over at the clock hanging on the wall. She needed the change the wallpapers desperately but she could hardly afford a carton of milk. The wallpapers were stained with strange, brown markings and she preferred not to know what the previous flat owners had done with the place. It was ten AM and she was late for work, the third time in only a week. As soon as she had actually realised what time it was, she jumped out of her bed and grabbed onto the first dress she saw. She threw off her pyjamas and put the blue dress on as quickly as possible.

She headed to the bathroom where she looked at her reflection through the cracked mirror. She puckered up her lips and painted her lips with a bright, red lipstick she had lying around and done up her brown locks in a ponytail.

She headed to the kitchen and opened the fridge, only to find out of date milk, tonnes of beer and a few vegetables on the verge of rotting. "Gwen, dear, you're late!" Her father came stumbling into the room with his beer in his hand. Although he was drunk most of the time, when he was sober, he was the kindest father anybody could ask for. But with hardly any money and Gwen's mother leaving them for another man, everything slowly went downhill.

"I know, dad. If I had an alarm, things would be so much easier," She sighed, throwing the fridge door closed. She wandered over to her father and gave him a peck on the cheek. "Love you." She told him and he simply smiled at his daughter. With that, she rushed out of the flat and ran as fast as she could to the bus stop.

As she was running on the pavement, she glanced down at her cheap, Casio watch and realised it was ten past ten. Her boss was strict and she was lucky if she'd only give her a rambling and let her off for the fourth time. She was struggling to run in her flat shoes that had a gaping hole on the sole. She tried begging the boss for a higher pay but he wouldn't listen. All she wanted was a new pair of shoes yet she couldn't afford that.

She looked up and it seemed grey clouds were forming. "Rain." She mumbled under her breath. She managed to reach the bus stop and sat on the red bench as she waited for her bus to arrive. She couldn't stop looking at her watch and it seemed time was flying fast. After at least ten minutes, her bus still hadn't arrived and she knew she couldn't wait any longer. She stood and squinted her eyes to see if she could see a distinctive red bus approaching in the distance but there was none in sight. She sighed and knew there was only one way to reach work; she had to run, and fast.

She darted as fast she could, feeling the ping drops of water falling from the sky. She still had a while to go before she was anywhere near the café she worked in. She was crossing a road when suddenly a black Maserati came rocketing in her direction, making the car screech as the driver forcefully hit the pedal.

Arthur rolled down his window and peered his head out to look at the girl in front of his car. "Watch it!" He yelled at her. She glared at him in disgust because she knew very well who he was; he was a Pendragon and nobody around her area liked him or the family. They were just a bunch of rich people who were always up to no good.

"Why don't you watch it, rich snob!?" Gwen yelled back at him, pointing at him in an intimidating way before eventually storming off out his car's way.

Arthur rolled up the window once again, steaming at what the woman had called him. Once again, he pushed on the pedal and went driving off in hopes his father wasn't going to be too angry with him.

He piled up all the papers once again and placed them back in his black briefcase. He straightened his tie as he made a quick run for it, and placing his briefcase above his head as protection from the rain. He rushed to the receptionist's desk, where he came face to face with Mrs. Gareth, her face saying it all. He threw his briefcase on top of the wooden desk and tried catching his breath.

"You're late," Mrs. Gareth glared at him from underneath her specs. She grabbed onto a pile of papers and contracts and chucked them right in front of Arthur's face. "You've got a lot to do. And if I were you, I'd start making a good excuse for being late. Now." She warned him.

"I know, I know but my alarm didn't go off, things happen." He huffed, grabbing onto the heavy pile of papers and placing them under his arm.

Mrs. Gareth picked up the phone on her desk and dialled a number. She twisted and played with the phone's cord as she waited for the person on the other end to answer. "Yes?" She said. "It's Mrs. Gareth. Your son's here. Should I send him up?" She looked up at the man who was now trembling in fear. Arthur knew very well that his father was strict and he wasn't prepared to get a rambling from him. "Alright, Mr. Pendragon," She put the phone down. "You'd better get your ass up there as soon as you can cuz' he isn't happy." She told him, a small laugh escaping from her mouth. Arthur sighed and then darted for the steps instead of using the busy elevator.

Gwen almost slipped as she ran through the café doors. It made a ringing sound as she pushed the door open. As soon as the sound was made, her boss emerged from the kitchen with the angriest expression anyone could ever imagine. Gwen's dress was soaking wet from the rain and her hair was all ruined, not like it mattered anyway because now she had to face her boss.

"Gwen!" The fat, man came storming into her direction. "Guess what?" He said, grabbing onto her arm violently. "You're late!" He yelled, balls of spit landing on Gwen's face. "For the fourth time this week!"

"I… I know, Mr Grant but … But… I woke up late. I promise this will be the last time, I promise!" She trembled, her arm hurting from his grasp. He glared into her eyes.

"How many times have you promised?" He asked her. Too many times and she knew that.

"I know, Mr. Grant, I've promised too many times but I need the money, you have to understand that." She was almost on the verge of the tears but she fought it back. She wasn't willing to cry in front of a heartless man like Mr. Grant.

He let go of her arm, shoving her slightly. "Get your apron on and hurry up!" He ordered her. She nodded sheepishly at her boss and darted into the changing rooms, not even daring to look back. She opened her locker and threw in her purse, removing the apron that sat on the shelf. She began to tie the apron around her waist, noticing all the oil stains on it. She'd also promised her boss she's get it cleaned but not even that she could manage.

"Gwen," A recognizable voice said. Gwen turned around, startled to find the chef, Lance, in the room as well. "I heard the ramble outside." He let his mouth slop to one side.

"Yeah... I was late, again." She sighed, tying her wet hair up in a ponytail again.

"Is he firing you?" His eyes widened.

"No, no. At least I don't think he is." She lowered her head slightly.

"Well, we'd better get to work before Mr. Pig Face comes in and tells us off." He tried lightening up the situation and managed to make Gwen grin.

"I'll be out in a sec." She told Lance. He nodded and headed to kitchens where the sound of burgers and chips sizzling could be heard.

As she walked into the bar, she noticed a handful of customers coming through the door probably to get some warm hot chocolate after the cold rain. She sighed and reluctantly went up to the first customer, faking an eager smile. "May I help you?" She asked the customer warmly.

A/N: I know, I've already asked but please review. I don't know if I should carry on but I would definitely love to because I think a Modern Day twist on the love story would be interesting. R&R!

~Maddie