Oxygen (Catfish And The Bottlemen/1975)

Van

"Yous should come back to ours for a bit, if your management aren't whisking you away again..." smiled Fliss looking from Benji and Bondy then up at me, leaning back on me as we stood drifting down the escalator.

She was clearly pinging on something, eyes kind of glazed and hazy, like she was sugar coated, but I let her lean on me all the same because I liked to pretend it was real. I liked to torture myself by giving myself a taste of what could be if only she saw me in the same light sober.

"Careful love almost sounds like you enjoy our company..." I teased my arms round her waist keeping her close.

"Don't be a tit yous know I do," she giggled, the sure sign that she'd taken copious uppers and wouldn't be settling down anytime soon.

"We're not off again till tomorrow afternoon," confirmed Benji when I looked to him, "wheres Katie tonight?" He asked, I smirked and shook my head looking over at the adverts on the walls. Theatre, how to get a 6 pack in 6 days, McDonald's, Budweiser...

He still hadn't told us about Llandudno, where the two of them had disappeared to, why he couldn't help but smile every time someone said her name, but I was beginning to think I knew the answer.

"She has a fever, proper delirious like, Allypallys lookin after her cause shes been talking more random than duckshite for the last two days..." said Fliss absentminded in the way she pushed her hair from her face and tried to stand on tiptoes looking for Saff and Bob. They were a little way behind us but I could see them.

I kept my arms round her as she wobbled a little and rested my chin on the top of her head to try and calm her down. She was still shaking a little, bristling with the fight or flight of the fight she'd nearly jumped in the middle of five minutes before.

"Shes probably watching Blue Planet again..." smirked their friend Rudy, I wasn't sure how they knew the two lads that were with them, our introductions being cut short by Rhys, but the way his eyes lingered on Fliss had me a little jealous.

When we reached the tube it was of course packed and for awhile we were all squashed up against eachother, the close proximity of having Fliss pushed up against me driving me insane. Every rattle of the carriage had her jerk, our bodies clashing, her thighs brushing mine.

After a minute or so she turned around leaning her head against my chest, I could feel eyes on us, on me and the lads and then on Fliss and I knew that whether or not anyone said anything, the chances of a rumour or two breaking out the next morning were now incredibly high.

I rested my chin on her head and began winding her ponytail round my fingers making her giggle into my chest, tightening my grip on her waist a little more to keep her close and steady as the train rattled to a halt.

"What did yous take tonight love?" I asked with a smile when she looked like she might be about to drift off or pass out. She wrapped her arms around me and hummed quietly shrugging her shoulders.

"Coke," she smiled softly, I relaxed then knowing that she'd be a little easier to settle. Cocaine wore off quickly especially once something killed your buzz and I knew that by the time we got back to hers she'd be holding onto me barely even awake, half the world away in a glazed state.

"You're still shaking," I smirked rubbing her back gently, paying no mind to the eyes on us and the people who were suddenly very interested in the "couple" standing not so far away.

"I'm still angry," she said quietly, she didn't sound angry, she sounded tired and soft, almost tender, but I didn't realise that perhaps that was simply because she was talking to me.

The moment a seat became available I sat her down in my lap and let her drift in and out of sleep on my shoulder, her breath warm against my neck as she finally relaxed.