Stay | Arctic Monkeys Fanfiction

Fifteen- Love Is A Laserquest

[A/N As you can tell, I shortened the title a bit :) Also thank you for all your support of the new story so far, I love every one of your comments and votes <3]

2004

I woke up in the middle of the night to my phone going off.  I didn't even have to look at it to know who it was.  There was only one person in the world who would call me that late.

"What the fuck do you want, Al?" was the first thing I said when I answered.

"I'm coming to get you," he said.  His voice sounded distraught and every cell in my body seemed to wake up at once.

"What's going on?" I asked him, suddenly worried. 

"Just be ready, okay?"

I didn't hesitate.  "Okay." 

Ten minutes later, Alex's mum's car pulled up in front of my house.  I snuck out the front door, careful not to wake my parents, and ran out to him.

The car light lit up his face when I opened the door.  The only word that accurately describes how he looked right then and there was heartbroken.

I knew then that it had to be that girl he'd been seeing, Claire.  But I didn't say anything.  Neither of us did until we made it to the Peak thirty minutes later.

We drove past the hiking trails and up to the cliffs, which were a series of rocky bluffs that overlooked a valley that we'd gotten drunk on more times than I could count.  But we were empty handed tonight as we got out of the car and headed up to the highest bluff.

"You're going to freeze to death, ye idiot," he said to me, breaking the silence.

I looked down at my baggy t-shirt and my brother's old boxers I'd worn to bed.  "Well someone rudely awoke me in the middle of the night for a stroll, so..."

He didn't laugh, and that's when I knew something was really wrong.

We made it up the cliffs and took a seat on the edge, our legs dangling down. I was shivering by this point, so I sat as close to Al as physically possible.

We didn't speak for a long time, even though I wanted to.  I wanted to ease his pain in any way I could.  But I wanted him to open up to me first.

"She cheated on me," he said finally.

"She's demented," I told him, meaning it with every ounce of my being.  I wanted to tell him that nobody in their right mind would cheat on him.  I wanted to tell him that if he were my boyfriend, I'd never do anything to hurt him.

I wanted to, but I didn't. 

"I loved her, Dav," he said, his voice breaking up.  "I think I loved her, at least."

I looked at him in the dim light.  His hair was getting long now, hanging into his eyes.  I pushed it off his forehead. 

"Love shouldn't feel like this, Al."

His eyes fell.  "What should it feel like?"

I thought for a moment.  "Remember when we went into London for Jamie's birthday last year?  And we went to that arcade and played Laserquest?"

He looked at me like he wasn't sure where the hell I was going with this.  "Yeah..."

"And remember how you and I kept shooting each other?  And then you tackled me and we laughed harder than we ever have in our entire lives?"

He finally smiled just a little.  "Of course."

"Well love should feel like that," I declared.  "It should be like a Laserquest.  It should be exciting and electric.  Your heart should race and it should be fun. "

He was silent for a long time, staring at me and then out into the valley.  The breeze picked up a bit after a while and I started shivering harder up against his side.

"You know, Dav," he said, removing his jacket and putting it around my shoulders.  "You're pretty fucking wise for someone whose never been in love."

I wrapped myself in Alex's warmth and scent, leaning up against him more.  His head fell against my shoulder and the two of us sat there staring out at the star-dusted valley, lost in our own heartache.

And all I could think was,

"If only you knew."