Oxygen (Catfish And The Bottlemen/1975)

Van

"Cmon in here," smirked Fliss biting her bottom lip as she took both my hands and pulled me inside the bathroom, pushing me up against the door as she closed it taking me by surprise as she giggled and slipped the little bag out of her back pocket, dipping her pinky into the white powder, sucking it off like a sherbet dip.

"What is it?" I asked and she shrugged her shoulders, "saff gave it to me but I'm not sure..." she smiled, "still Saff says its the best she's had and I trust Saff..." I felt my stomach twist a little uncertain as she took another taste. "You don't gotta do it if it ain't your thing," she smiled at me but I shook my head. Something about the glisten in her eyes, the thudding of the music through the floorboards, the way her lingering glances teased an unfamiliar element of my consciousness, had me eager to remain on her level.

"You wanna bomb it?" She asked, "it doesnt hurt so much if you bomb it... takes longer though..." she was already so high, almost manic in the way her eyes would lock with mine, deep and dark, huge pupils fathomless, a hidden depth that only came out for the night.

"Whatever you like," I grinned as she smiled, she looked around for a moment beaming brightly as her eyes settled on an abandoned glass of wine by the sink. She took a sip and let out a sigh meeting my gaze before breaking into another fit of adorable giggles. She was so alive, it made me want to breath her in and take a little of the buzz for myself.

I watched carefully as she tipped a little of the powder into the glass and gave the liquid a swirl taking a few gulps herself before giving it to me.

I smiled gratefully deciding to bite the bullet and down the drink no matter how much I detested red wine.

"I hate red wine," she smirked watching the look of disgust on my face. "Always ruins the night..."

"You coulda tipped it away..." I stared rolling my eyes at her in disbelief, "theres a tap there, we coulda just used water..."

"Its not a fucking vitamin," she smirked, "you don't just wash it down with water..." she was teasing me but I didn't mind.

"Alright little miss drugs conoseur..." I winked drawing a laugh from her lips as I took her hand and led her back down to the party. Some of their uni friends had dropped in, her popularity had apparently skyrocketed since I'd walked her to class that morning, but she didn't seem too phased by the strangers making a mess of her house.

I glanced at the clock on the kitchen wall as she began mixing more drinks, 2:30am. I rubbed my eyes and tried to hold in a yawn feeling my chest begin to throb, I was coming up sooner than I'd expected. She turned to me suddenly with a smile and hopped up on the counter beside me.

"Can you feel it yet? This is the best bit... like for a moment you think youre gonna die and then you just..." she tipped her head back and smiled blissfully unaware of the way in which she was shaking, the way in which she was losing control. Or perhaps thats why she was smiling, perhaps that was how she got her kicks.

"Sit down a moment love, maybe just relax a minute..." I suggested one hand on her lower back for support but she shook her head.

"No," she giggled, "I dont want to relax, I want to dance..." she slipped down from the counter hands linked with mine, arms swaying side to side as she looked up at me with a smile tempting me to dance with her. "You and your sister live in a lemonworld..." she sang to herself as I placed my hands on her waist and swayed with her a little, smiling down at her when she opened her eyes and met my gaze.

Her beauty amazed me, this ethereal kind of pretty with slightly flushed cheeks, all glitter and freckles, eyelashes that sparkled in the light, lips that curved into a perfect smirk when she caught me admiring the fall of her necklace across her collarbones.

I grinned laughing a little as I held out my arm for her to twirl beneath it before leaning back into me, our bodies close as we danced around her tiny kitchen drunk, ears ringing with the melodies and the drums, the strings and the piano. Hearts racing as ecstacy hit our blood and left us giddy with the reckless pleasure of it all.

We were the last two to leave the party, the ones who were left to switch the music off, draw the curtains and climb the stairs to bed, counting the friends we recognised passed out around the flat, on the table, under the table, on the sofa, across the floor.

"Sleep in mine if you like, there's no space anywhere else," she shrugged hovering in the doorway to her room for a minute before falling backwards into the wood, almost collapsing on the floor, in fact she would have had I not seen her eyes struggling, threatening to roll back any second.

"I got yous," I smirked, arm snaking round her waist to hold her steady, her head lolling against my shoulder as I guided her to her bed, laying her down beneath the covers with a small smile, endeared by the innocence with which she slept so soundly. How misleading the way she sucked her thumb was, the way she curled and cuddled close to me for warmth.