HeartLESS (Fransykes)

6. I never wanna be apart

CW: Homophobia, bullying, slurs, hate speech, abuse, anxiety/panic attacks, grounding techniques.

Oli's POV

So, they're called You Me At Six, huh? I wonder briefly what that means, but scroll back down to Josh's last message.

Josh, 26:

I'm happy to hear you're in a better mood, I assume everything was okay at the shelter today? I'm sure your housemate won't kick you out for being a bit messy, but I get wanting to respect someone else's property. I write the lyrics for most of our stuff. Hopefully you can hear some of it really soon. And I hope you like our stuff enough to carry on listening. Ugh, this sounds like I'm only talking to you to get our music heard and that's totally not it! I'm just really passionate about music and it's my dream to "make it", you know? But I do like you and because I do, I want you to like our music too. God I'm just rambling now. I'll shut up and go and rage clean or something! x

I drain the last of my coffee and find myself giggling at his message again. I can feel the judgemental look Luna gave me the other day even though she's not here and I flick my eyes across the shop quickly. Thankfully, it's empty as it usually is on a Tuesday afternoon. There's only been one other customer so far apart from the man who dropped off the flyers and it's likely to stay this way for the next half an hour at least until the schools kick out. All of the initial jobs on the list are done, so I make the most of the time while I can.

Oli, 29:

Yeah, the shelter was much better today, thanks! One of the pups we have in at the moment has defied all the odds and I'm taking him for some home rehab for the rest of the week, hopefully to get him into a regular routine so he's ready for adoption once he's old enough. I'm glad you mentioned the music, actually. Something interesting just happened in the shop... Someone dropped in some flyers to advertise their band who coincidentally are playing the same date, time, and place as the gig you've invited me to! I might have trouble deciding which one to go to 😉 x

Was the winky emoji too much? The cocky attitude? Fuck!

I hate my insecurities sometimes! I mean, I don't think anyone particularly likes the things that make them insecure, but this is just so much worse because I'm so attracted to him already and everything about this feels right.

Right. It feels right.

I need to take this feeling and roll with it. Fuck the insecurities! Everything I've said to him so far has been because I've had a good feeling and he's not proven me wrong yet, so I push the negativity away. It doesn't disappear completely though and I jump a little when my phone goes off again.

Josh, 26:

Oh my god, that's SO weird 😂 You must have just met one of our guitarists, Chris! He's a graphic designer so he does all the artwork for the flyers. Glad he's getting out and doing the promotion himself too, he's quite reserved most of the time. Me and Dan are usually the loudest - Dan's the drummer. Then there's Max who's the other guitarist, he works with me in the bar. And finally there's our bassist, Matt. I'm sure you'll get to meet them all eventually, they're all pretty cool guys. I'll admit that I'm a bit jealous that Chris got to see your gorgeous face in real life before me though 😳 And fab news about the pup! I'm sure you're going to take excellent care of him 😊 x

Yet another giggle escapes my throat and the sound of the shop bell alerts me to the first of the school kids coming in. Two teenage girls around sixteen start giggling in the corner as they flick through a stack of CDs, but they're no trouble, so I take the opportunity to reply to Josh before it gets too busy.