Drop Dead | Sam Fender

Chapter One Hundred and Eight

Aurora

"Lew, where are we gan?" I groaned whilst struggling to keep up with his long strides through the streets of London.

"You'll find out in a minute," he told me with a smirk.

"Yer haven't told me who we're meeting either," I muttered.

"We're nearly there, stop moaning," he grinned as the two of us passed through the doors of a little cafe in a quieter part of London that reminded me a lot of the surf cafe.

My eyes immediately fell on a familiar mop of brunette hair in the corner of the room causing my heart to flutter. "Er, Lewis?" I stumbled as he dragged me towards him, completely ignoring my questioning. "Lewis."

"Hello, mate!" Lewis greeted as the other man stood to greet us.

"Alright?" he replied with a wide smile as he engulfed Lewis in a tight hug before turning to me. "Hello."

"You're Niall Horan," I stammered.

"Well done, Sherlock," Lewis snorted, slapping my back lightly.

"Fuck off," I scowled as I shrugged him off. "Er, it's lush to meet yer."

"You too," Niall smiled, wasting no more time pulling me into a warm hug. "I'm a big fan, I've been begging Lewis to introduce me for feckin' ages."

"Oh, give over," I scoffed as we pulled away but Niall's face remained unchanged, his infectious smile unfaltering at my words. "You're actually being serious?"

"Yes," he laughed as the three of us took a seat in the quiet booth Niall was previously occupying solely. "I've been following your music since you released Starving. You've got some real talent, ya know that, don't you?"

My face darkened and I felt the warmth flood my cheeks as I tried to hide the fact. "Er, thank you," I mumbled shyly.

"He's so jealous I nabbed ya for a collab," Lewis grinned, entwining his hands behind his head and leaning backwards in his seat.

"I've got no shame in admitting that," he shrugged.

"You wanted to do a collab with me?" I squeaked in disbelief.

"I still do," he replied hopefully. "I'm going to be in London for the foreseeable if you'd be up for it?"

"Yes!" I blurted quickly, slapping a hand across my mouth in embarrassment, earning chuckles from the two men. "I mean yeah. I'd be daft to turn that one down!"

"Amazing!" Niall beamed.

"Er, I've actually got a song written already," I announced shyly. "My manager's been looking for someone to feature on it but if you're up for it? Obviously, I can show yer the track before yer agree and ya can't be honest if yer don't like it like!"

"Rory, you're rambling," Lewis interjected with a teasing smirk that seemed to be permanently plastered on his face.

"Reet," I blushed, scratching the back of my neck awkwardly.

"I'm not really arsed if I get some coffee or not right now. You?" Niall grinned.

"Er, no," I replied with wide eyes.

"I do!" Lewis protested.

"Tough shit, mate," Niall snorted as he pulled his coat on. "C'mon, the studio I use is just around the corner and it's pretty much always free."

"Let's go!" I smiled widely, leaping from the chair.

I was practically bouncing on my feet as the three of us made the short trek to the studio. I was like a child being led by her parents, who in this case were Lewis and Niall. Lewis had grown used to me by now, remaining completely unphased but Niall was rather amused by my behaviour.

"Are ya like this all the time?" he asked in amusement, throwing himself down on the small sofa in the recording studio.

"No, she's a moody arse most of the time!" Lewis snorted as he took a seat next to Niall and sprawled his long limbs outwards.

"Am not!" I whined.

"Whatever," he chuckled. "Come on then, let's hear it."

"Areet," I scoffed. I moved to grab an acoustic guitar from its stand and wordlessly began tuning it. Once I was sure it was all in order, I sat on the spinny chair that was tucked under a table filled with music equipment, the guitar resting in my lap. "I'll be honest, I'm all right with me. Sunday mornings in my own bedsheets. I've been waking up alone, I haven't thought of her for days. I'll be honest, it's better off this way, but every time I think that I can get you out my head, you never, ever let me forget.

"'Cause, just when I think you're gone hear our song on the radio. Just like that, takes me back to the places we used to go and I've been trying but I just can't fight it; when I hear it, I just can't stop smiling, I remember you're gone, baby, it's just a song on the radio that we used to know.

"I'll be honest, I'm all right with me Sunday mornings in my own white tee. I've been waking up alone, I haven't thought of him for days. I'll be honest, it's better off this way. Every time I think that I can get you out my head, you never, ever let me forget.

"'Cause, just when I think you're gone hear our song on the radio. Just like that, takes me back to the places we used to go and I've been trying but I just can't fight it; when I hear it, I just can't stop smiling, I remember you're gone, baby, it's just a song on the radio that we used to know. Just when I think you're gone hear our song on the radio. Just like that, takes me back to the places we used to go and I've been trying but I just can't fight it; when I hear it, I just can't stop smiling, I remember you're gone, baby, it's just a song on the radio and I've been trying but I just can't fight it; when I hear it, I just can't stop smiling, I remember you're gone, baby, it's just a song on the radio that we used to know," I sang. 

"Wow," Niall blinked, Lewis silent beside him.

"Was it that bad?" I asked nervously as I settled the guitar back on its stand, my thumb instinctively finding my mouth as I began chewing on my nail.

"Bad?" Lewis gaped.

"Rory, that was class!" Niall announced, leaning forward in excitement. "When do we start recording?"

"Yer really want to do it?" I questioned in disbelief.

"Er, yes," he laughed. "You wrote that yourself?"

"Yeah," I shrugged. It had been hidden away in the back of one of my lyric journals since August. I hadn't bucked up the courage to play it for Helen until about a month ago but she instantly loved it and suggested we start looking for someone to feature on the song straight away. Which reminded me, I probably should text her and let her know I had found someone.

I struggled a lot with my mental health whilst on tour and every time I thought I was getting better, it was like the universe would know and send something to knock me down. Something that would remind me of him. It probably wasn't the universe. The song that had become our song was one of the most popular songs in history.

I still remember the first time I heard it since things had ended. I was backstage pre-gig and the radio began playing it, turning my once happy, giggly mood into depression and despair.

"Can we turn this off?" I muttered as the familiar piano melody of Your Song reverberated around the room.

Lewis' head whipped towards me, his face wearing a frown as he stared at me in disbelief. "Ya don't like Elton John?" he gaped.

"Not this song," I told him softly. "Please, Lew."

Sensing my sombre tone, he immediately complied and switched the station over without any further argument. It was in vain though as my joyful mood had dissipated along with the sounds of Sir Elton John.

It wasn't the last time I would hear it either. The song had, for some strange reason, come back into popularity and was getting played almost every day on the radio. Luckily, Lewis soon learned not to protest, getting to a point where he didn't even wait to switch the station anymore.

"Take some notes, Lewis," Niall teased.

"Fuck off!" Lewis grumbled.