No. 1 Party Anthem// Alex Turner

30 Past Tense

Arabella's pov
I crossed my arms on Alex chest and rested my chin on the back of my hands. I looked at Alex's side profile. His straight nose, his fairly marked jaw. I was admiring every inch of his face.
We had just woken up, naked in my bed. His body gave off heat and kept me warm between the fresh sheets.
He turned around and met my eyes. «What?» he softly smiled.
«Your beauty is truly unreal.» I said.
He tried to hide a smile by turning the edges of his mouth downwards. «What?» he said.
«I'm serious, I could literally stare at you for hours.»
«I would do the same with you.» he said. «In fact I did multiple times.»
I just smiled and grabbed my phone from the bedside table. «You texted me?» I asked. «I haven't checked my phone since yesterday morning.»
«Did I?» he asked. «Probably told you I was almost at your house.» I turned the phone in his direction to let him see he was right. He started chuckling. «Did you really saved my number as "alex band guy"?»
I turned my phone towards me to see it. «Yeah, I had another Alex in my phone book and we didn't really know each other at the times.» I said putting my phone back on the bedside table.
«Well, now you can change it.»
«Nah, I think I'll stick with it.»
He smiled and kissed me.

Like we planned a week before, me and Alex had to go to a pub, to meet up with Evie and the guy she was going out with, Chase and Jess with Kristen. After dinner, we went to the same pub as always.
It wasn't so crowded: just a couple of people at the booths and tables, some occupying the stools at the counter and a group of five men playing billiard.
«So if I give you a classical guitar you'll play me The Four Seasons?» Alex teased me as we entered the pub.
We were talking and somehow we ended up talking about the fact that I used to play classical guitar. «You're not funny,» I said. «I have nothing against Vivaldi, but my teacher made me hate him.»
We met Evie's date: a guy named William, from North Carolina, with blue eyes and dark blonde hair, slicked back. I noticed how tall he was just when he stood up, 6'2 as he said when I asked him.
«I want a gin and tonic.» I said.
«You wanna get drunk?» Evie asked me.
I frowned. «I just want a gin and tonic.»
«Then it comes the second, the third and then you break your wrist.» Chase said.
«They say it boosts your body's ability to burn calories,» Kristen said. «but I'll just take a water.»
«Yeah no I don't care about calories.» I said.
«I think they have Mexican coke again.» Chase said.
I raised my eyebrows in surprise. «No way, I'll have a Mexican coke then.» I said.
«What's different from a normal coke?» William asked me.
«You kidding?» I looked at him. «It's way better than the American one, I would let you take a sip of it but I don't wanna share it.»
He smiled. «I trust you, I'll get one too.»
As we talked I got to know William better. We talked about the music he liked: basically everything; and his studies to become a physiotherapist. He also told me he liked cinematography and by then, he started talking with Chase about it.
Our orders arrived, the chatting increased and so did the laughter and the noises. «Arabella, can you lend me a cigarette?» Kristen asked me.
«I finished them.» I said and got back to my conversation with Evie, William and Alex.
After a couple of seconds, I heard Jess's voice. «Sara, that's enough,» he said. He never called me Sara before. «seriously, why do you hate Kristen so much? Are you jealous of her?»
I frowned. «What?»
«She just asked for a cigarette and you're so jealous 'cause she's dating me that you don't even give it to her?»
I looked around and saw everybody from our table looking at us. «I don't-»
Jess interrupted me. «I though we agreed that was just meaningless sex, nothing more, but it looks like you have a crush on me or something.» he said.
I instantly looked at Alex, who listened to the whole conversation.
He was shocked and dragging the chair on the floor, with a screeching sound, he stood up and walked away.
«Jess what the fuck?» I said before going after Alex.
I rushed outside and looked for Alex. The sky was dark and the streets crowded. After what seemed like an eternal minute of searching, I saw Alex going to his car. I reached him as he was about to get in the car, with his hand on the door.
I didn't know exactly what to say, so I stood there, waiting for something to say. He looked at me waiting. «I asked you if something ever happen between you and Jess and you said nothing ever happened.» he said disappointed.
«'Cause it's true.»
«Then he was lying?» he asked.
«Well... no.» I shyly said. «I didn't tell you because it was when we were in college, we had just met and to me it meant nothing.» He stared at me silently. «You don't trust me, don't you?»
He sighed. «I'm not mad because you had sex with your best friend like... five years ago, it's because you didn't tell me, I just don't like secrets.» he said.
«It wasn't a secret, but just something I didn't care about... and I bet you don't have secrets, right?» I said.
«My only secret was you... our- whatever that was.»
His use of the past tense hit me. I instantly bit my lower lip as I felt my eyes burn.
«Good night.» he said to then enter his car.
Without looking at me once, he drove away, leaving me almost in tears, standing alone on the sidewalk. I stayed there for several minutes, waiting to wake up from a dream, or him coming back to tell me he was joking, anything, that of course didn't happen.

I got back in the pub just to take my things and without answering all the questions everybody was asking me, about what happened, I left and took a taxi, that drove me to my house.
I felt like something was covering my ears, their voices were muffled.
I threw myself on the couch and left my phone on the floor. I put on a film that I didn't watch, not even for a second, because the tears in my eyes tarnished my sight.