Oxygen (Catfish And The Bottlemen/1975)

Saffron

"Lets just go through it once more rate?" Sighed Katie, she knew just as well as the rest of us that it wasn't happening, that we were all on the verge of falling a part.

"It sounds fine," groaned Fliss rubbing her eyes where she sat crossed legs on Katies bedroom floor, drowning in Vans hoodie and a pair of leggings.

"It sounds like shit..." smirked Alice rolling her eyes but I only rolled mine.

"Yeah because we sound like shit,"

"Because we feel shit..." Katie finished for me, "to anyone else im sure it woulda sounded class... its just you know, the comedown isnt it," she shrugged. Part of me knew she was right but part of me refused to agree and unfortunately that was the part of me I found it easier to believe.

"Yeah well," sighed Fliss getting a strop on, "my head hurts, my glands hurt, my teeth hurt, my back hurts, my arms hurt, my legs hurt, my brain hurts..." she would have continued had Alice not cut her off with a smirk.
"We get it Fliss, or did you wanna carry on all night?"

"I want to go back to bed!" She moaned pouting up at us from where she sat. She was the youngest by a year, younger than Alice and I by two years and though it rarely shone through, it always became apparent when she got like this. Restless.

I was just about to cut in and put my guitar down to announce a tea and paracetamol break when someone else cut in for us and I saw the girls faces fall before I'd had the chance to turn around.

"I thought I'd find yous up here," I recognised Rhys's voice instantly and despite my smile I struggled to hide the fact that it hurt me, knowing it had been Rhys to put those frowns on their faces.
It left an odd taste in my mouth, almost bitter, knowing how little they liked him. How quick they'd been to change their opinion of him. How one day he'd been Fliss's second best friend and the next she'd looked straight through him. Refusing to acknowledge any of the good in him.

It hurt that when Katie and Benji were seen alone together there'd be hopeful smiles and hopeful whispers among the group but when I was seen alone with Rhys there seemed to be nothing but dark eyes and warning tones.

They couldn't understand why I was still with him, and I could sympathise with them to an extent. Rhys had done some awful things, he'd been a terrible person on more than one occasion, but he was only human. Just like they were only human. I loved him and that should have been reason enough for them.

When Fliss was with Van people would smirk and shake their heads, they'd say things and allude to hidden meanings, thered be gossip and bets being placed quietly as people watched them mess eachother around.
When me and Rhys were winding eachother up no one seemed to get the joke. No one ever seemed to get the joke.

"Rhys," I turned round with a smile which only disappeared when my eyes settled on the side of his face, a bruise on his jaw, a graze that still look sore. "What the fuck rhys?" I jumped up despite the sick feeling in my stomach, despite the weak feeling in my bones.

"What?" He asked with a bemused grin holding his hands out in surrender as if to say, 'I didn't do anything'

"Saff careful," Katie jumped up to take my waist as I trembled and swayed a little unstable.

"I'm fine Katie its fine," I said quickly still smiling through the pain and the dizzy haze washing over me like waves.

"Hey its cool babe I got you," Rhys snaked a hand around my waist helping me down the ladder when I insisted up sorting his face out and grabbing painkillers for the rest of the girls. "You dont need to do that they can look after themselves,"

"Don't be a jerk off," I rolled my eyes and shrugged him away as I tiptoed up and stretched for the comedown tin. I emptied it of painkillers and sorted them into doses for each of the girls before putting the kettle on and turning to rhys with an antibacterial spray. "Come on love you know the drill," I smiled playfully as he leant against the counter with his arms folded and smirked wincing when I sprayed.