stop the clocks | oasis

e l e v e n

Filled instantly with regret, I stared at the floor, refusing to look into his eyes again. There was no doubt he heard everything I said.

"April," he repeated softly.

I was suddenly snapped back into reality when Alice reappeared. "Liam! I guess you've seen April?"

"Yeah," Liam said quietly.

Andy and Gem slowly continued to drink their lagers, trying their best not to interfere.

"Uh, April, can we talk? Please?" Liam asked.

I sighed. "Okay."

He led me into the other room, which was almost the exact same, except a couple of guitars stood against one wall.

He sat down on the sofa and patted the space next to him. I sat down and stared at the floor.

"April, I'm just gonna say it. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." He rubbed his eyes before continuing.

"I had no fuckin' idea you felt this way. I was just thinking about myself, like you said. I wasn't thinking about how it would affect you... I..."

I looked up at him and his eyes were glassy and brimming with tears. I momentarily thought about giving him a hug, but he then continued to speak.

"I'm sorry. How can I make this up to you?"

He reached out and held both of my hands, his eyes still glistening with tears. I desperately wanted to comfort him, but I needed to tell him how I felt.

"Liam, I'm sorry I hid this from you-"

"I don't want you to feel like you need to hide things from me."

"You definitely made me feel like I needed to. I've never been able to spend time with him in public, and I've never been able to go to his birthday parties. Not even his most recent one..."

"I know," Liam said, closing his eyes and letting a few tears fall. "I'm so sorry."

I gave in and tightly wrapped my arms around him. He gratefully accepted my hug and sobbed quietly into my shoulder.

After a while, he stopped. "April, what are we going to do now?"

"I don't know."

"I'm breaking up with Alice, first of all-"

"You don't have to-"

"I want to make this work again. I want us to be together again," he stated, before pulling away from the hug. He didn't waste much time before cupping my face and smashing his lips against mine, taking me by surprise. And it felt exactly like the first time.

~

april 27th, 1996.

"MAINE ROAD!" Liam screamed as he pulled off his sunglasses and leapt into the backstage area. The rest of the band - except Noel (he wasn't there) - cheered loudly, and so did I. There were a few other people there who I wasn't familiar with, mostly roadies and a few fans, cheering as well.

Seconds later, Noel appeared through the door and flopped down on the floor exhausted. It was the band's first instinct to leap on top of him, causing Noel to gasp suddenly for air.

"Get off him!" I slurred, placing a cigarette between my lips and lighting the end. Liam took notice of this and got up, sauntering towards me.

"Can I have one?" he asked sweetly, batting his eyelashes.

I looked directly at him.

"No."

Liam started fake sobbing and I knew I'd have to give him one - I just couldn't resist those eyes. I threw one forcefully at his chest and he giggled, causing me to blush profusely.

Liam lit the cigarette and stared at me. "Whatcha thinkin' about, April?" he asked.

"Nothing..."

Liam's attention was diverted to Noel, who was yelling at him. "What?" he said, a little venom in his voice - before Noel threw him a can of lager and he caught it with one hand.

He turned back to me, cracking open the can and taking a sip. "Are you sure you're alright? You sounded pretty drunk earlier."

"I'm fine! I'm still a little pissed. Woo!"

Liam chuckled and offered me a sip of his drink and I happily accepted. After taking a few long gulps, I handed it back. "Now tell me what you're thinking about!" he whined.

"Fine! I was thinking about how nice you look in that jacket." I raised an eyebrow.

"April, darling, are you making a move on me?" Liam smirked.

It was only then that I noticed he'd backed me into the wall. He placed his hands by either side of my head.

"Are you making a move on me?"

"Depends," Liam replied, chuckling again. "How many drinks have you had?"

"Three."

Liam looked me right in the eye.

"Me too. Then I guess I am," he said quickly, before slamming his lips against mine. His hands slowly worked their way down my back as our lips moved in sync.

"FINALLY!" Noel screamed from the other side of the room, followed my a mass of cheering. I couldn't help but notice a few quiet "boo"s, probably from the roadies who were expecting a shag or two from Liam. We ignored them all as he pressed me harder against the wall, his hands now in my hair.

"Fucking hell," he growled against my lips, clearly turned on. Before too long, his tongue had made its way into my mouth, and we were full-on making out backstage while everyone (mostly) cheered us on.

Eventually, we both grew completely exhausted, and Liam pulled away slowly. Even with his hair messed up and his lips slightly swollen, he looked stunning.

"Wanna get out of here?" The question came quicker than I expected.

"Of course."

~

Liam seemed to notice I was thinking because he pulled away from the kiss and frowned.

"Sorry, I'm just thinking about, you know... how things used to be, in the 90s," I said.

He nodded. "The best time of my fuckin' life."

We slowly moved closer together and kissed again - this time, I didn't let my mind wander as much.

Eventually, I pulled away and rested my head against Liam's chest.

"Fuck this, I want Oasis back," Liam stated. At this, I jumped up in surprise.

"You what?"

"I fucking want Oasis back," he said again, louder this time.

"Are you serious?"

"I'm more serious than I've ever been." He stood up and rested his hands on his head. "Wow, April, I'm really fucking doing this."

"You're what?"

"I'm speaking to Noel."