Madferit: The Novel

Chapter 56

           

The streets were clogged with traffic but not enough to slow things down. The sun was bright and it warmed my face as it shined through the backseat window.

            We were on our way to the rehearsals for MTV Unplugged and Noel was rather quiet. He stared off in front of him, his eyes as pensive as ever.

            He had his arm around me and squeezed me tight. The closer we got to the venue the tighter his grip became.

            I put my hand on his knee and ran my fingers in a circular motion on his skin. It was warm enough for shorts and I was glad he chose to wear some as jeans would've blocked me from giving him my hopeful comfort.

            Finally, the car pulled up to the curb.

            "How the fuck did they get here before us?" Noel exclaimed looking out the window at Paul, Emma, Bonehead, Guigsy, Alan, and Phil standing on the sidewalk having cigarettes and chatting. Well, Emma wasn't smoking but she was certainly participating in the conversation.

            "Hiya!" I said after I got out of the car.

            "Hi!" Emma beamed right back. "'Bout time you all showed up."

            "Oi!" Noel chimed in nodding and pointing at her. "You mind who you're gobbin' off to or we'll take back your bloody ticket!"

            "Oh!" She playfully tapped him on the forehead as she walked past to be closer to Paul.

            He twisted his face up in anger. "You-"

            "Oh, lighten up, Our Kid!" Paul interrupted as he linked his fingers with Emma's while he stood behind her. "She's just havin' a bit a fun."

            "Yeah." Noel huffed as he pulled a cigarette from his pack and put it in his mouth. He reached towards Paul. "Let us borrow your lighter."

            Paul gave him the lighter and he sparked up. Now we had reason to stay out and enjoy the sun...for a bit longer anyway.

            Paul, Emma, and I took a seat across from the stage, giving us a perfect view of the boys' "praccy" session. Technically, Emma and I were on duty with our "managerial" tasks but it was easy enough to forget while watching the band tune their instruments.

            "Where the fuck is Liam?" Noel asked no one in particular.

            Liam was late. Go figure.

            And I was getting a bit nervous.

            He wasn't downstairs when I went to check that morning. He disappeared. No note or even a simple goodbye...not that I really expected much different.

            He'd done it since I met him and he did it to other people besides me. I heard he got lost at Glastonbury of '94. Just walked off and was gone for like a whole night and reappeared the following morning in the same clothes from the previous day.

            Noel couldn't be arsed to wait on him of course so the rehearsals began without him. It was a nice change. There was something really special about hearing Noel sing the songs. His gentle voice was perfect for an acoustic set. Sometimes I wondered why he hadn't fought harder to be the frontman especially since he wrote all the songs.

            Liam finally strolled in when the band was finishing the third track. He hopped up on the stage and went to his microphone and smirked while watching Noel.