A/N: Hello guys. I would like to thank everybody who has reviewed/favourited/followed my story. I appreciate the lengthy reviews some of you give me and I just didn't think I'd get more than five reviews on the first chapter. Thank you, thank you and thank you! I love you guys so much.

This is probably going to be the longest A/N you have read but I would really appreciate it if you could read it quickly.

I got one or two people saying that Gwen was OOC because in the Merlin series she is confident, fierce, graceful and intelligent but in my story she is inept and seems to lack all that I mentioned above. Well, I will try and explain that: when Gwen had to quit school, she basically lost all hope and therefore lost that confidence of hers and became a little sensitive and that's what I was trying to show the reader. But I probably didn't make the change clear enough for the reader to understand so my apologies. I did try to show a bit of her confidence in the last scene in the last chapter where she had that outburst but clearly it wasn't enough. I would just like to say that I made Gwen clumsy in the previous chapter because, well, she was having a bad day and I was showing how unlucky she really was. However, as the story progresses, she will gain that confidence and fierceness and strength as she learns and grows and that's what I am going to be doing with her (hopefully you understand and you'll still stick with me!).

I know I shouldn't use excuses but definitely one of my weakest points when it comes to writing is keeping a character as original to the series as possible. Sometimes I get carried away and write the character the way I want it to be. Also, I've only been on this site for a month and I haven't had much experience in writing fanfictions. So once again, I apologise for any plotholes or characters that are OOC. However, I do feel that over time, I will improve because I'm really liking where this story is going and although it's going to be a bit tricky to figure out how exactly Gwen and Arthur's relationship will spark, I'm willing to give it a go.

So sorry for my long ramble but I wanted to get things cleared up! I was not offended by the criticism I got, I think it has made me think about Gwen's character and improve it as much as possible. So if you do have any criticism to point out, do tell me, as long as you're not being rude or condescending and you actually tell me how I should improve. So here's the next chapter, I hope you enjoy it. I've already got the next chapter somewhat figured out and planned!

Chapter 3: Evil Angel

Her eyes were redder than wine after the sobbing she did all the way back home, her nose running. It seemed like the journey from the café to the flats took forever but that time was enough for Gwen to quickly regret what she had done. Despite everything and way she felt about the Pendragons, she knew she acted rash. But now it was too late to go back, no second chance. As soon as she saw the flats approaching in the distance, she sniffled, rubbed her eyes and wiped away any residues of tears on her cheeks. She had no idea what she was going to tell her father. Tom knew Gwen was a good and sensible woman, unable to do a single thing wrong or harm a fly. Yet just one bad day at work was enough to get her fired and become jobless and once again, hopeless.

She walked up the stairs of the apartment block and found Wendy, her neighbour, hanging the clothes on the rusted metal rail. As soon as the chubby woman looked upon Gwen's red-veined eyes, she knew something was off, especially because she had never seen Gwen cry in the twenty years she had lived in the flats. When Gwen took note of her presence, she made sure to rub her eyes one more time and give her a warm smile, something she would always do to everyone no matter the circumstance.

"Darlin', is something wrong?" Wendy said, her cockney accent distinguishable. She stopped picking out her knickers she had in the clothes basket beside her and lowered her eyebrows as she scanned Gwen.

She shyly nodded at Wendy who was now gazing quizzically at her. "Nothing is wrong, Mrs. Gibbs." Gwen said in an almost believable manner. She was always so formal, something Wendy admired about the young woman. Nowadays, it was impossible to find anybody her age acting the way she did or speaking the way she did. Wendy was well informed on Gwen's rocky past too and would often visit her and her father, sometimes bringing biscuits and cakes she baked along with her. In a way, Mrs. Gibbs was like the mother she never had. She too knew what it was like to lose an important part of a person's life; her husband had died of liver cancer ten years ago due to his alcoholism. And now Gwen's father was drinking more and more every day and the thought of losing her own dad haunted her mind all the time.

"Was it that Mr. Grant that gave ya another tellin' off was it?" Wendy sympathetically slopped her mouth to one side. Oh, the countless stories that Gwen had told her about Mr. Grant's outbursts and fiery temper. Now Gwen wasn't going to hear another word from him because now she had no job at the café. For a split second, Gwen thought about being honest and admitting she had gotten fired. However, she knew she'd disappoint her and she didn't want that.

"Yes, Mrs. Gibson, you know how he is," Gwen lied, lowering her head and looking at her shoes in shame. Something she hated doing was lying, especially to those closest to her heart. "But you shouldn't worry about me." She forced a smile.

"Of course I should, you know ow' I am," She grinned, placing her hand on her large waist. "Oh, I made those cakes you and yer daddy like, wanna have some?" She said eagerly, pointing at the half open door to her flat.

"No thank you, Mrs. Gibson, but I appreciate it." Gwen forced out another smile.

"Alright, Gwennie. Take care." Mrs. Gibson said, concentrating once again on the laundry and hanging them on the railing.

With that, Gwen was about to reach for her purse to find her keys but realised she had left it in her locker back at Mr. Grant's café. Great, she knew she had to go back there and she had no idea if he was willing to let her set foot in the café, not after what she had done. She knocked on the door softly, hoping her father wasn't drunk enough to ignore the knocks. Luckily though, he was sober today and managed to pull open the door. He was surprised to see her because it was still early for her to be back home already. Once he looked into her eyes, he knew instantly something was wrong.

"Guinevere, why you home so early? You forgot your keys? What's going on?" He looked her up and down, noticing her blue dress was slightly dirty on the ends and her eyes were redder than usual.

She looked up at him and let that smile of hers fade completely. Her eyes had lost that gleam it once had and he had never seen her that way. She dragged herself into the worn, dirty flat and slumped herself on the cheap sofa in the living room that faced nothing but a white, stained wall. That very wall once hung a family photo, which was when things were still stable in her family life. On the wooden coffee table in front of her was an empty bottle of Heineken, Tom's favourite beer. She sighed as she started into the green glass, thinking maybe her father had quit his habit for at least a day. Tom worriedly scurried after her, still completely unbeknownst to what was wrong. Many thoughts raced through his mind; Mr. Grant had given her another ramble or maybe there was a boy involved he didn't know about (her father was always so protective over his only daughter). Even the possibility of rape came to his mind considering the state her dress was in and the fact she had come home without her purse. Considering all the bad things he'd read in the newspapers, he could only imagine something terrible had happened.

"Dear, what's wrong?" He sat beside his daughter who had now let her face fall into her hands. "Tell daddy what's wrong." By the sound of his tone, he was worrying a lot now. He gently ran his hand through her dark brown locks.

"Daddy, I'm such a disappointment." She mumbled, her face still stuck to her hands. He noticed her voice cracked a little as she spoke and he was certain she had been crying her eyes out.

"No you're not, sugar. You make me proud every day." He let a smile grow on his face, still running his hand through her soft hair.

Her father would always say those kinds of things to her and it really did make her happy. But once he found out about what had happened earlier, she knew all those words would automatically lose all meaning.

One thing Tom always taught Gwen was to be kind to everyone, friend or foe alike. Even though what Uther Pendragon did to him was unfair and cold-hearted, he believed that one day karma was to strike back and he stuck by that belief ever since that day he got fired.

Slowly, Gwen unglued her face from her hands and stared into her father's brown eyes in the most sorrowful way anybody could imagine. "I've lost my job," She quietly muttered. The smile her father once had slowly turned into a gaping expression. "It's all my fault. What are we going to do now? I promised you I'd work hard and look what I've done." She whimpered. She had no idea what she was going to do with her life now. She needed to find a job someplace else and desperately. The question though: how and where?

He shook his head slowly from side to side. "No… Dear, what happened?" His face said it all. He was utterly disappointed and he even untangled his fingers out of her hair.

"I was late, I made a mess and I ruined a customer's dress. I ruined everything." She was feeling the water slowly rushing out of her tear ducts and instantly faced the window, unable to cry in front of her own father. She gazed at the unclean glass and noticed there was a rainbow outside. It had stopped raining and it was slightly ironic because it seemed the weather was having a better time than she was.

Her father gently grabbed onto the sides of her face and made her turn her head to look at him once again. "Daddy isn't disappointed… You're a strong and smart woman and I know you'll be able to find a better job than working with that Grant pig," He made sure to look her straight in the eyes. He genuinely hated Mr. Pig Face especially after all the things he had made her go through. It was almost unbelievable how cold and evil the world had turned out in just twenty years. It seemed nowadays, no matter where you went you couldn't find a single decent person. "Gwennie dear, I'm not disappointed." He said truthfully and this time he made sure to say it in a more certifying tone. Gwen let out a sigh. She did believe him but now what was she going to do now that she wasn't working at the café?

"What do I do now? I can't stay home and do nothing. I don't know where else to look for a job." Gwen said.

"Don't worry. Tomorrow when the newspaper comes through the post, skim through the job section and you'll find one, dear." He smiled sincerely at his daughter. There was always a large amount of vacancies in the job section and Gwen was bound to find a new job in no time.

"It's not that easy, father." Gwen made sure to mention. She knew that because of the colour of her skin, many would turn her down. Basically, anybody that wasn't white coloured was perceived as different, inadequate and in some cases, incompetent and dangerous. And there was enough proof to prove that; just the other day when Gwen was still at the café, she skimmed through the newspaper during her short lunch break. One of the headlines was about a black man who had been turned down for a job in a factory because of his colour. Yep, even in the twenty-first century, things like that were still pretty much fresh and it seemed such racism would never die out.

"I know it's not," Tom said. "But do you remember what I used to tell you when you were still a little girl, Gwennie? You know that quote Martin Luther King said?" He grinned at her hoping that something in her memory would spark.

Gwen couldn't help but grin along with him. Ah yes, who could possibly forget that quote Tom used to always say in dire situations? "We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope." They spoke simultaneously. Gwen then relived that day when she came home upset that she had got a low score in maths. She was certain she wasn't going to get any better at it. But of course, her father made sure to cheer her up and used that very quote to make her feel better. And it was as if it was magic; the next time she did a maths test, her score had improved greatly. Gwen knew if it wasn't for her father's motivation, she probably wouldn't have managed that score. Martin Luther King Jr. had always been one of Tom's heroes and that quote was of many that stuck by him.

As they smiled at each other on the sofa, the rusty, metal flap from the letterbox clanged against the door and the sound of letters being dropped on the mat was heard. Their little moment of happiness was stopped and Gwen immediately lifted herself up from the worn sofa and strolled towards the door. Lying on the mat was a bunch of letters and she didn't even have to be up close to them to know what they were. She walked over towards them and grabbed them. One by one, she glanced at the company logo on the corner of each envelope; all of them were just bills. Gwen let out a huff and hesitantly walked back to the living room. Her father glanced at the letters in her hand and he too knew what it was. His smile he had was wiped again.

"Bills." Gwen muttered, placing them on the wooden coffee table. She picked one up and opened the gas and electricity bill first. She read the bold number at the bottom and it was oddly cheaper this month, which was a relief of course. But considering the other bills still left to open, the amount of money collectively was probably going to be over three hundred pounds. To them, three hundred pounds was like gold. To others, it was almost like a five pound note and nothing else.

"I'm so sorry, Gwennie, you don't deserve this." Tom looked up at Gwen and noticed her face as she read the numbers. He knew in that brain of hers she was adding up all the numbers.

"For what, daddy?" Gwen asked, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion.

"For making you worry about these things so early in your life. You should be at university." Tom glanced sorrowfully at his daughter, pointing at the bills on the table. Although Gwen wasn't aware, there wasn't a single day that went by where Tom wouldn't think about Gwen's future. When he was drunk, he was an idiot and was rash. But when he was sober, he was different. He was his old self. He often felt self-pity for choosing alcohol as an escape from reality and his responsibilities as a father.

"I know I should," Gwen lowered her head. "But what else is there for me? I must work. I'm doing this for both of us, daddy." She smiled meekly.

"That girl is going to pay for this; I don't care how or when!" Vivian fumed as she attempted to wipe the coffee on her dress with a thin tissue. It was only smearing the dress even more. "Useless." She angrily tossed the tissue out the window of her boyfriend's Maserati.

"She will, Viv." Arthur assured her as he drove to Vivian's apartment. He still couldn't take his mind off what the waitress had called him. "A snob?" He constantly repeated in his head. Not only was he deeply offended by the remark but he was angry that she had the guts to say something like that to him, considering everybody knew who he was and who his father was. He was used to receiving the utmost respect from everyone.

"It was just an accident." Merlin muttered quietly, seated in the back seat of the car. Although Merlin was never going to admit it, he had never really been fond of Vivian. Everything about her just annoyed him, every little thing. Even being Arthur's friend, he knew he could do much better; someone who wasn't an attention seeker at least.

"An accident?" Vivian turned around to look at Merlin, glaring at him. It seemed she had heard Merlin speak but he was glad she did hear him. "This was anything but an accident." She said, letting out a loud huff. "Did you see the way she looked at you?" She whined and looked over at Arthur who was concentrating on the road. She rolled her eyes in annoyance and crossed her arms like a little girl. "God."

"Look, I promise I'm going to get this sorted. Don't worry about it. Forget her, Viv." He quickly glanced over at his girlfriend and smiled. He was definitely not going to let the waitress get away without paying for the damage she had caused.

"I know, Arty, but you know how I am," She smiled stupidly at him. "I'm the jealous type; I don't want any other girl to have you." She said, pouting her lips in a playful manner.

"I only have eyes on you and you should know that," Arthur made sure to mention. Vivian smiled at her boyfriend's remark while Merlin cringed as he listened on. "I saw that, Merlin." Arthur looked into the rear-view mirror and noticed Merlin's nose was shrivelled up and he knew it was because his friend hated witnessing the couple's romantic antics. No wonder Merlin was still single; he found the whole love thing slightly disgusting.

"Saw what?" Merlin asked back, looking at his friend through the mirror.

"Forget it." Arthur quickly changed the subject and concentrated on the road again. They were already nearing Vivian's apartment by the amount of nice looking houses on both sides of the street.

"When are we going to have a date when he's not around?" Vivian asked, not mentioning Merlin's name, although that's exactly who she meant.

Merlin felt slightly offended by her words. "I have a name, thank you very much." He said to himself inwardly as he squinted his eyes. In her eyes, he was just an annoying fly that got in the way of their relationship.

"I – "

"Right," Arthur made sure to cut off Merlin. He knew whatever was going to come out of Merlin's mouth would only cause bickering and tension between the three. "Here we are." Arthur said, slowing his Maserati down and parking in front of a tall and modern apartment block.

Merlin opened the Maserati's glossy, black door and stepped outside. Before he could swing the door shut, Vivian stopped him. "Don't worry. Me and Arty will be back in a sec." She smiled at him, fluttering her eyes in a childlike manner. While Vivian was turned away, Arthur mouthed 'sorry' to Merlin and his friend simply rolled his eyes. Merlin had no idea how much longer he could possibly tolerate Vivian. Her attempts to try and separate the two at all costs were very blatant.

With that, he frustratingly sat himself back into the car and huffed, rolling down the window using the little button. He then peered his head out of the window. "Don't do anything stupid." Merlin joked.

Arthur turned around and gave Merlin a glare that screamed 'shut up, Merlin'. He noticed Arthur's cheeks had gone slightly red and it seemed Vivian had picked up on it too, which was why she was grinning. "We won't, Merlin." He then pressed the button on his car keys to lock the car which also automatically rolled up all the windows.

"Oi!" Merlin's shout was muffled as his voice was unable to escape to the outside.

The couple entered the apartment block and headed straight to the elevator. Vivian made sure to walk quickly though it was proving hard in her high heels. She was eager not to let anybody see her in such a horrible state especially because everybody knew her as the woman who was always looking good. After about three seconds, the elevator gave out a ping and the doors slowly opened and Vivian's worst nightmare was coming true. Stepping out of the elevator was Sophia and her boyfriend, Vivian's worst enemy to say the least. Sophia worked in her father's business and ever since the brunette stepped foot in the place, Vivian grew a certain hatred towards her simply out of jealousy.

"Had an accident?" Sophia raised an eyebrow, pointing at Vivian's coffee stained dress. Vivian noticed she snickered slightly but tried to mask it. Sophia's boyfriend just grinned like it was the most hilarious thing in the world. There had always been competitiveness between both women; who had the best clothes? Who had the best looking boyfriend? Who had the best jewellery? The list was never-ending. Vivian fumed as she watched the flamboyant couple walk away looking rather content with themselves.

"Come on, Vivian." Arthur said, walking into the elevator and pressing the number twenty button which was the floor Vivian's apartment was located on. Angrily, she stomped into the elevator and crossed her arms. The doors closed and now the couple were both incubated in a room of silence.

"You didn't even defend me." She said crossly. She inched slightly away from Arthur.

"Vivian, you –"

"You never say anything nice to me. Sophia's boyfriend always does. He sends her flowers to work and all." She moaned, cutting Arthur off before he could say anything else.

"I…" He had just said something nice to her just a few minutes ago in the car and it seemed she had already forgotten completely about it. Arthur was well aware of the competitiveness there was between Sophia and his girlfriend. His father making him feel like a trophy was already hard enough but his own girlfriend too? "Forget it." Arthur sighed. There was no point in even trying to say anything else. Even after the attempt to fix things, they both ended up back on square one. They remained in silence all the way up until the ping of the elevator broke it. As soon as the doors opened, Vivian stumbled out and instinctively, Arthur grabbed onto her arms to stop her from falling.

"I'm fine, Arty." She muttered, pulling away from Arthur's grasp.

"Fine." He put his hands up and let her walk on her own. He hesitantly followed after her although he knew exactly where the apartment was. Once they reached the brown, oak door, Vivian reached into her Dior purse and grabbed onto the apartment keys. She shoved the keys into the keyhole and pushed the door open, revealing the modern and extravagant interior. She chucked her purse onto the corner sofa and pulled off her heels with her feet, leaving them on the animal carpet.

"I'll be back." Vivian mumbled as she walked away and into her room. Arthur simply nodded and sat himself on the corner sofa and waited for Vivian to change clothes. He had been in this very situation before and he knew he was probably going to be waiting for a while. Unfortunately, he and Merlin still had to go back to work and finish off any business they had left. It's not that Arthur hates his job; it's just that sometimes it's too stressful and very time consuming. As he sat there blissfully, he remembered that when he was still a young lad, he often dreamt of becoming a footballer. His mother was always supporting him and telling him to chase his dream. He had the potential, the skill and the experience. His father on the other hand was on the other end of the rope in the tug of war game; he wanted Arthur to continue managing the Pendragon Real Estate business. Looking at his life now, his father had basically won the game. When Uther is to retire, Arthur is to take his place and he is very much not looking forward to that day.

Arthur huffed and took out his phone from his pocket to look at the time. Vivian had spent over fifteen minutes and she still wasn't ready. He could hear the sounds of clothes hangers clanging in the wardrobe so he knew she was doing something. As he scanned the living room, he thought about switching on the LG Plasma TV to check if any football matches were on but he soon decided to scrap that idea. He glanced at the dining table not too far from him and noticed a pile of magazines piled on top of one another. Since there was nothing else to entertain him in the meantime, he curiously wandered over to the table. He picked the first one up which was about losing weight. He really didn't understand what all the fuss about losing weight was about; Vivian was perfectly fine. In fact, there were probably women out there begging to have a figure like Vivian's. He slopped that one down and grabbed the next one; it was a weddings magazine. He curiously flicked through it and the pages contained dresses, accessories and tips for a wedding. After scanning through that one, he noticed the other magazine was also a wedding one. And then the one underneath that one was a wedding one, and then the next and then the next. Oh God, a whole pile of wedding magazines?

"What's that Vivian planning?" He asked himself, feeling almost daunted by the whole wedding thing. There was however one exception in the midst of the pile; a copy of a GQ magazine. On the cover was Channing Tatum, that attractive actor Vivian wouldn't stop going on about. "He's not even that special." Arthur gazed at him and pointed out all his flaws in his head.

"Why couldn't you be more like him?" Vivian interrupted Arthur's thoughts, pointing her finger on Channing Tatum's face. He let out a sigh. He put the magazine down and turned around to find Vivian in a different dress and looking all freshened up. "Um, anyway… I decided I'm going to be driving back to work in my car. You can go already." Not only had she made he and Merlin wait for no reason but he could have been using that precious time to be finishing off important things.

"Vivian, why didn't you tell me that before?" Arthur furrowed his eyebrows.

"Sorry, Arty… You're not mad at me, are you?" Vivian flustered her eyebrows and gave Arthur that puppy dog look that nobody could resist.

"I… No, Viv. It's fine. See you tomorrow." He waved her goodbye but Vivian pulled him back and gave him a kiss on the lips, surprising him a little. Even though a minute ago they were annoyed with each other, they were once again in normal mode. Their whole relationship was even worse than a rollercoaster.

"Bye, honey." Vivian smiled eagerly, leaving a red stain on Arthur's lips. Arthur quickly smiled at her before eventually walking out of the apartment. Was it normal to feel so frustrated with your own girlfriend?

Arthur clicked the unlock button on his car keys, making an asleep Merlin jolt, startled by the sound. He opened the door and slumped on the driver's seat.

"About time." Merlin moaned, rubbing his eyes, straightening his suit and flicking off dust particles.

"Sorry about that." Arthur replied, starting his Maserati's engine.

"Nice lips," Merlin laughed. He noticed Arthur's lips had a redder tinge that usual. Of course he knew how he got that colour. "Ew, don't tell me you guys…" Merlin slammed his index fingers together in hopes that Arthur would understand what he was talking about.

"No, no. No, of course not, Merlin." Arthur furrowed his eyebrows. Merlin was always so childish.

Merlin grinned at his friend, placing the seat belt around him once again. "Back to work, right?"

"You know how it is." Arthur slopped his mouth to one side. Back to work it is.

A/N: Chapter three done and dusted! I'm really liking where this story is going. I've already started on the next one and I can't wait. Thanks for the support guys!

Until next time, which I hope will be very soon.

P.S Channing Tatum is absolutely perfect! I love him! No hate intended haha.

~Maddie