A/N: Wow, thank you everyone for the feedback! I didn't even expect to get one review! Thank you a million! And thank you Sherri for your advice. You're more than right. I've updated earlier than expected, enjoy! Apologies for any mistakes and grammatical errors.

Chapter 2: Clash Between Two Worlds

Arthur walked into the meeting room, or more like stumbled, causing everyone to look up at him. Uther turned to look at his son and all Merlin did was shake his head in disappointment. He quickly scurried to the spare seat on the long table and everybody watched him carefully as he set his briefcase and the mountain of papers on the table. He stretched the tight collar around his neck nervously, knowing he had probably embarrassed his father.

"I apologise for my son's late arrival," His father said to all the other suited businessmen sat on the table, a fake smile stretched across his face as he spoke. Once he said those words, he looked over at his son and his smile was quick to vanish. His face screamed 'we'll talk later'. He turned back to face the PowerPoint he had projected on the screen. "Anyway," Uther took in a rather long breath. "As you can see, this large area contains semi abandoned flats, mostly populated by the lower class," He said, his hand hovering over the large area on the map. "I believe we could use this space efficiently to allow space for businesses."

All the men nodded eagerly, stopping to take notes every time Uther would start a new sentence. Meanwhile Arthur sat there trying his best to be attentive but it was proving hard; oh, the countless meetings he had attended in the past few years. He was dragged along everywhere his father went, mostly because Uther loved showing off his fantastic, successful son who had achieved many things before even reaching twenty three. Arthur was well aware of the fact his own father looked at him as a trophy more than a son but then again, he couldn't complain. That's where Merlin would normally come in; it seemed Merlin was the only person who cared about his friendship than his status in society. That's why Arthur considers him his best friend and at times, his brother.

Arthur would always try to push the negative facts at the back of his mind and concentrated on the positives. He was rich, he had everything any man would want and most of all, he had a beautiful girlfriend, Vivian, she too being the daughter of a successful business man. Their fathers had been friends for years and Uther had always said they were a perfect match, even when the two were still little kids. They grew up around each other and eventually began dating a year ago. Arthur felt he was doing it more for his father than for himself. Lately, it seemed the relationship was going downhill; most of the time, they fought and bickered about the most useless things, causing Arthur to become distant. And even that caused more fighting.

Arthur quickly slipped out his phone from his pocket and checked the time. It was already quarter to one and he had no clue how he had managed to survive the whole meeting.

"It has been a pleasure to listen to your pitch, Mr. Pendragon." One of the business men said, shaking Uther's hand and smiling away at him as the other men left the meeting room.

"The pleasure's all mine." Uther smiled back at him. Eventually, he too left, leaving Uther and his son alone, something Arthur wasn't exactly looking forward to.

"Father, I –"

"No, Arthur. How could you turn up late for such an important meeting? Are you trying to purposely embarrass me?" His father cut him off.

"No, I…" He sighed. He wasn't going to listen to Mrs. Gareth's advice and make up an excuse. He had to be straight with him. "My alarm didn't go off, okay, I was late, I'm sorry father, it won't happen again."

"Well, it's too late, you've already embarrassed me." Uther said before eventually turning his back from him and storming off. He noticed as he walked down the corridor, he came across some women and smiled happily at them as he walked by. It was typical of his father; he acted one way with him and another way with everyone else.

His phone vibrated, a sign he had received a text message from someone but he had no idea who would be messaging him now. He reached for his phone in the deep pocket of his trousers and unlocked the screen. Written in bold was Vivian, 1 message. He was surprised to get a message from her, especially after all the fights they were having. He reluctantly opened the it, hopeful it wasn't another silly message where she'd provoke and belittle him. Much to his surprise, it was something he wasn't expecting.

"Hey babe… I really want to start fresh. I know, lately I've been acting like a pure cow and I'm sorry. Want to meet up? Café later, downtown? Meet me there at one! x" It read. He found it odd that she had lightened up so quickly but at least it seemed the fighting had finally ended. It was almost one and he was thankful that Vivian had messaged him to meet up at the café; at last, he was free for a little while, away from his depressing job and away from his father.

For some reason, he went to his photos and flicked through them, most of them being photos with Vivian and Merlin. He laughed at one when the picture of his face smeared with cake showed up on the screen. He remembered that birthday party; things with Vivian were great then and he was actually happy in the image. Those were the times.

"What you up to?" Merlin asked his hands in his pocket as he stared at his friend.

"Oh, nothing," He quickly shoved his phone back into his pocket. "Hey, um, Vivian wants to grab a coffee… not sure if I want to go alone. Up for a Latte?" He asked him, smiling. He didn't want to go all by himself, especially because things were still a little 'sensitive' between the couple.

His best friend grinned stupidly at him. "Oh, you're all in love again." He said playfully, patting Arthur on the arm.

"Yeah… Anyway, let's go, we don't want to be late." Arthur joked, a small laugh escaping from Merlin's lips.

"So, you drive or I drive?" His friend asked eagerly.

"There's no way in hell I'd let you touch my baby." Arthur said, grinning. He flicked the car keys in the air and caught it in his palm, Merlin rolling his eyes at him.

The rush hour was only about to begin. Lance was getting everything heated up in the kitchen working at one thousand miles per hour to make sure the food was always served up quickly. Gwen was taking orders left, right and centre, constantly jotting down every word the customer would say onto her small notepad.

As she was making a hot chocolate for one of the customers, she accidentally knocked it off with her elbow, spilling the milk all over the already dirty floor and the glass cup shattering everywhere. "Oh, no!" She clenched her head with her hands as she watched the milk rush in all directions.

"Where's my coffee already?" One of the customers moaned in the long line.

"Hurry up!" Another yelled, frustrated at the long wait.

"I'm sorry; I'll be as quick as I can!" She told them both, grabbing onto the mop nearby and wiping the floor quickly before her boss saw it. That was the last thing she needed. It seemed luck was not in her favour.

"What's all the racket about?" Her boss came storming from the back of the café.

"Your waitress is making me wait ten minutes for a coffee!" A man all suited up told him. "He's part of the rich clang." Gwen said inwardly. It could only have been one of those rich snobs. They loved to belittle the people below them so it was no wonder he made the most of the opportunity he had to get Gwen into trouble.

"You can't be serious," He stormed into her direction, forcefully yanking the mop out of her hand. It made Gwen shrink slightly. It was as if at any minute, he'd just give her a big slap across the face. "Leave this to me!" He yelled at her, angrily throwing the mop into the corner. "How can I help you?" He turned to face the customer in front who had been waiting for ages, smiling as if the customer hadn't witnessed what had just happened. Gwen wasn't having her best days and she didn't even understand herself why she wasn't getting things done properly.

"Yeah, that'll be a hot chocolate, please." The customer glared at Gwen in disgust before eventually looking away, rising their head slightly in a way that screamed 'I'm better than you'. It angered Gwen so much and she felt so helpless. She just wished everything would change. She just wished everything at home would go to the way it was. She just wished she was happy. Her father was constantly telling her she was a good woman and that she'd be happy one day. However, she knew very well it wasn't ever going to happen. She practically lived the life of a slum, how on Earth was she going to ever be happy? She tried fighting back the tears, her fists clenching in irritation. All the anger she had felt over the past few years was bottling up inside of her more and more each day.

"What you standing there for? Do something useful and wait the tables with Stephanie!" The boss yelled at her while the coffee machine buzzed and fuzzed.

She snapped out of her daydream. "Yes, Mr. Grant." She forced those words out although what she wanted to do most was leave London and go far away, away from everybody, especially the Pig Head of a boss. Reluctantly, she got out her notepad once again from the pocket in her apron and wandered over to the tables where newly arrived customers had sat on. She looked over at Stephanie who was waiting on another table and they shared a glance. Steph saw the sadness in her eyes and forced a smile, making Gwen force a smile too.

"Welcome to Grant's Café, what will it be today?" Gwen asked the blonde woman sat alone on a table. She was smiling so excitedly at her, flicking through the pages of the menu. Her nails were French manicured and her earrings were a bright gold.

"Um, my boyfriend hasn't arrived, so um, could you wait?" She bit her red stained lip and flickered her eyes, her eyelashes almost the length of her hair. Gwen was certain she was part of the rich clang too. Most of the upper class came to Grant's place mostly because they sold low priced coffee and it was close to the Pendragon Real Estate, a large business down the road.

Gwen's hatred for the upper class spurred six years ago; her father worked in the Pendragon Real Estate building, the one that towered up in the skyline, covered with glass. He worked as the caretaker and the pay was good, although the job was really nothing special. The marriage between her parents was perfect; things couldn't have been going better.

Gwen's father, Tom, was finally managing to save up money for her to go to university. She was an aspiring student, always the best in her class. Her dreams of becoming a doctor were shattered when one day, Uther fired her father from the job, stating that he couldn't allow light-skinned people to work in the building. Somehow, he managed to get away with the racism and eventually, the family were slowly losing money to the point of bankruptcy.

Soon enough, her father had to sell their beautiful home and had to go live in cheap flats down the road. After that, her father started to drink and Gwen's mother was gradually distancing herself. She tried her best to make some money, working in a day care, then eventually getting fired. She then decided to work in a grocery store but eventually getting fired once again for her bad temper. After that, she gave up and started to leave the house often, leaving scraps of takeaway she would buy on the kitchen counter every morning.

Then one day, without a warning or a simple goodbye, she left her wedding ring beside a goodbye note and left, never to be heard of again. The money which was once for Gwen's university fees was all used up to pay the bills and she had to quit school and find herself a job to sustain herself and her father. He began to drink and there was no way he was in good conditions to work. One day, she just came stumbling into the Café on a cold, rainy morning, begging Mr. Grant for work. Despite his coldness, he managed to give her a job but she didn't realise how sucky it would be. And that's her life up till now; terrible and hopeless.

The bell hanging above the door rung, causing the bubbly woman to clap her hands together like a little girl. Gwen looked over and noticed the two suited men who had entered. One of them was certainly her boyfriend considering her reaction when they entered. As she looked closely, she recognized one of them; it was that rich Arthur Pendragon that had almost run her over. He was probably the last person she wanted to see.

"Arthur!" The woman beamed, revealing her shiny, white teeth underneath her lips. "Oh, you bought him?" She pointed at the man standing alongside The Pendragon. His friend glanced over at the blonde man, slopping his mouth to one side.

"Yeah, he wanted to come too." The Pendragon said, elbowing his friend, almost as if to say 'keep quiet'.

"Oh, it's fine," The woman gave out a laugh, snorting as she did so. "Arthur, come sit next to me!" She said a little loudly, patting the wooden chair beside her. Both men came over to the table, the blonde one obviously seating himself beside his girlfriend. He placed his hand on the back of the woman's chair and leaned back casually in his seat. She leaned in and gave him a quick peck on the lip and then smiled all excitedly again. "So, what you going to have?" She asked them. Gwen was tapping her pen against her notepad, waiting for them to hurry up with their order.

"A latte for me." The friend said, lifting his finger in the air.

"I'll have a coffee, two sugars." The Pendragon ordered. When he glanced up at her, his mood clearly changed. He too had recognized the woman.

"I'll have what he's having." She smiled, placing her hand on her boyfriend's chest so that his gaze was cut off with the waitress. Gwen quickly scribbled the order and then looked up at them again, waiting for them to order something else.

"Well?" The woman furrowed her eyebrows. "Off you go." She told her, fanning her hands at her like she was an annoying fly.

"Oh, sorry. I'll be back." Gwen smiled but once she turned her back, she rolled her eyes. Angrily, she ripped the paper off the notepad along the dotted lines and handed the paper to Mr. Grant who was busy away making coffees.

As she waited at the bar for their coffees to be made, she looked over at the table and noticed how eccentric the woman really was. She wouldn't stop throwing her arms in all directions and one thing she wouldn't stop doing was touching her boyfriend constantly. The friend seemed to be the third wheel, sitting their awkwardly, constantly giving the Pendragon a weird look. Arthur noticed Gwen staring and glanced up at her but she was quick to look away. Oh, the disgust and anger she felt. If only that Pendragon knew what his father had done to her family. One act he did and her entire life was ruined forever.

Once Mr. Grant was done with the order, he carefully placed the coffees on a tray and placed it in front of Gwen. "Watch your step." He glared at her, making Gwen nod sheepishly.

She reluctantly strolled over to the table being careful with her footing. Once she arrived at the table, she slowly put the tray down on the table. "Latte," She said smiling, placing the hot cup in front of the black haired boy. "Coffee," She grabbed onto the other hot mug, placing it in front of the Pendragon and refusing to look up at him. "And another coffee." She grabbed onto the third cup which was oddly hotter and was almost about to place the cup in front of the woman, only to drop it as the cup burnt her fingers. The lady instantly jerked up from her seat as the hot liquid spilled all over her pure white dress.

Gwen placed her hand over her mouth to muffle her gasp. "Oh, I am so sorry!" Instantly, she grabbed onto the napkin box on the table and yanked out several tissues and reached out for the woman's dress.

"No!" She yelled, shoving Gwen's arms away from her. "Look what you've done you stupid girl!" The lady looked down at her dress and it was now stained with a large coffee patch.

"Can't you be a bit more careful?" Her boyfriend shouted angrily, stepping in to defend his damsel in distress. Gwen noticed his friend was snickering away and they were too worried about her to even look at him.

"I'm sorry, oh my god, I'll get a towel if you want, another coffee as well." Gwen panicked.

"Haven't you realised what dress you've just ruined?" She pointed at the waitress. "This cost me hundreds!"

"What's going on?" Mr. Grant came to intervene and once he caught sight of the coffee stain on the woman's dress, his eyes widened.

"Your 'waitress' here spilt coffee all over my expensive dress and she will be paying for another one!"

"Right," Mr. Grant turned to face Gwen who was now trembling in fear. "You're fired!" He pointed his hand at the door and grabbed onto her towel, yanking it off her waist.

"What!" Gwen looked at everyone and they all glared at her in anger, except the black haired boy she noticed. "No, please, Mr. Grant, it was an accident!" She begged.

"Accident?" The woman furrowed her eyebrows. "She did it on purpose! She clearly had her eye on my boyfriend and just got jealous." She spat.

"I did not!" Gwen let her temper boil. "You're just as snobby as he is!" She spat and she didn't realise that those words were only getting her into more trouble.

"Excuse me?" The Pendragon said, shocked at what he had just heard.

"Get out before I force you!" Mr. Grant shoved Gwen and she stumbled to the floor, the woman smiled as she watched. "Get up and go! And don't think you'll ever come back here!" He made sure to tell her. A tear began to roll down her cheek as everybody in the café now watched on, laughing and giggling. Without hesitation, she darted out of the café in tears. She had messed up everything. Now what was she going to do? How was she going to explain this to her father?

A/N: What'dya think? Let me know! Until next time.

~Maddie