Oxygen (Catfish And The Bottlemen/1975)

Saffron

"In the town, where I was born, there lived a man who sailed the sea," I smirked as I heard her singing the opening lines. She was lying on her back with her head resting in Jazzs lap as he played her guitar, badly, and she annunciated her scouse accent with a stupid smirk, "and he told us of his life, in the land of cream cheese...."

"Oh for..." started Katie who was lying beside them cigarette unlit between her fingers.

"We all live in the land of dairy lee, the land of dairy lee, the land of dairy lee,"

Jazz grinned trying not to laugh over her creative genius as I filmed her wondering whether to update my instagram story with her, or whether to simply send it to one of the lads. One the lads being johnny of course.
We'd only been home a few days but I was beginning to find myself missing him more than I'd expected to. Especially with Rhys knocking around all time, because he was.

It was strange because I don't remember any of us ever inviting him in and yet here he was, smoking in our back garden with Gerren and Rudy, winking at me as if he were still mine.

"You're fellas mellowed a lot, maybe its the rain, washed him clean," Harry had said having not been around all year, having no idea that he wasn't my fella anymore. That I didn't really want him around.

"Has he?" Id raised my brow, hummed along, hadn't really asked a question at all.

"Says its down to you, he's gone soft," chuckled Harry leaning back against the wall, lighting up a cig, "who you texting?"

"Jus a mate," I shrugged, and he shrugged too.

"Well duh," he rolled his eyes, pulled a face and I felt myself falter because I'd had the chance to correct him and I hadn't. I could have told him it was over between us and I hadn't.

I bit my lip, chewed my cheek, tuned back into Fliss and Jazz, cracked a smirk.

"We all live in a magic tangerine a magic tangerine a magic tangerine, we all live in a magic tangerine, taking lsd and dancing with the queen,"

"George Harrison is reelin in his grave sugar lamb!" I called out to her with a laugh, lighting a joint and inhaling slowly struggling not to choke as I giggled along with her.

"Saffrons jealous cause Georgie loves me, cause Georgie loves me, cause Georgie loves me," she carried on and when I turned to Harry he was smirking along. He held his hand out for a drag of my joint and I obliged.

"I'd almost forgotten how mad she is," he chuckled, watching her with a new affection, "her Dannys a..." he trailed off and I rolled my eyes pushing myself up.

"Where have you been living Harry," I grinned with an accidental harshness in my eyes.

"Two roads away..." he said dumbly, "sorry love must be the drink, gettin to me head,"

"Thats what they all say chicken," I smirked taking my joint back, wandering over to Fliss and Jazz, resting my head on his shoulder, a serene half smile on my lips when Kitty snapped the picture.

She joined us then, crossed legs in the grass placing her phone down, kicking her shoes off.

"Howre the lids?" I asked knowing she'd have just come off the phone with Benji. She smiled softly.

"Yeah they're sound," she was missing him already.

It had taken a little time to sink in for all of us, and I wasn't quite used to it yet, but America had been it for us and the boys. That was the tour we'd been given, 2 months, 24 hours a day, and then that was it.
Once the tour was over there were no more plans for us to share. They would go back home, and we would go back home and we'd all carry on with the lives we'd been living before we met.

They'd start recording the third album and we'd start doing whatever it was that we were going to do. Not that we knew that just yet.

All we knew is that it would be awhile before any of us saw any of them again.

And then my phone screen flashed on in my lap and a facetime request lit up the call button, and when I answered I saw Johnny Bond stoned and stupid, grinning back at me.

"Howay lass lets have a listen to the genius at work shall we?" He chuckled, "me mates are all very intrigued..." I smirked back at him turning my camera onto Fliss who was wearing star shaped sunglasses despite the grey skies above us. It was early december now and the weather hadn't changed, it should have been raining but there we were lounging around in a humidity more akin to early August.

"We all live in a hive of killer bees we tried to steal their honey but we got caught cause Kitty sneezed, the bees held us hostage and took us to the queen, the queen fancied Jazz so now we're all free,"

"Jeez louise," chuckled Bondy, "and she's the brains behind yous four is she?" He raised his brow, teasing of course. I opened my mouth to correct him, but when I did I felt my heart drop and sighed, just agreeing instead.

"We all live in a tub of margarine, got spun up with some flower because someone wanted cake, had a party in the oven and now were all baked,"

"She'll carry on like this for hours," I smiled.

"God I bet you miss me," he winked, "my sanity," I grinned at that, rolling my eyes back into my head. "Hey! I saw that Saffy,"

"Then we understand eachother perfectly," I bit back a laugh trailing off, about to open my mouth once more and concede, tell him he was my best mate and that I did miss him, everyday, but someone else cut in.

"Ey Saffy get off your phone you antisocialite!" Laughed Rhys and Gerren, Bondy must have seen my eyes roll even futher back, my smile dead as you like because his faded too.

"Is that Rhys?" He asked then, suddenly he looked let down, a little wounded and suddenly I felt like I had to defend myself.

"Yeah," I said a little guilty, "I dont know who let him in but he hasn't really left all week,"

He cracked an underwhelmed smirk.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," I said a little dead to it myself, "but its fine though," I forced a smile when I remembered where I was, who I was talking too, who I was.

"Is it?"

"Yeah course it is, its like you n your guru advice said, hide in America and think about it when you get back, well, I'm back now..." I tried to shrug it off, "time to start thinking about it,"

"And what do you think about it?" He was unamused and cynical all at once, almost cutting, almost detached.

"I think," I tried for another smile, I tried for lighthearted, "that if I can't hide from it forever I can drink my way through his company and hide in my room for the hangovers,"

And suddenly it was his turn to roll his eyes.