Oxygen (Catfish And The Bottlemen/1975)

Saffron /// The End

"Reet then my little sugar honey," smiled Kitty softly with a half hearted little sigh as she stood in the front doorway, her bag packed on her back, "I guess I'll see you in a couple of weeks,"

"I guess so," i smiled softly too, bit my bottom lip as a strangely sad wave washed over us both.

"I can't believe this is the last time I'm gonna walk out this shit little front door," she split a grin then, looking up at the ceiling which was on the verge of falling in, "like, I'm really never gonna come back," she said, her eyes a little watery despite her smile.

"Is that really such a bad thing?" i tried to smirk, tried for light hearted, nodding up at the hole in the cieling, knowing she would shake her head and agree.

"No i guess its all good ridance really,"

"really," i leant on the word, my smile impish and threatening a giggle as I paused in the moment before I pulled her into the tightest of hugs, eyes twinkling and locked with hers which were twinkling too.

"Take care of you," i mumbled into her neck, holding onto her with all the love in the world.

It would only be a couple of weeks and yet it felt like it could be years. I knew it was going to feel like years.

"Take care of you," she said, rocking me as she squeezed me tight as Fliss stood beside us leaning up against the wall with a simmering sort of smile herself.

Van was waiting just outside, quietly waiting on the goodbyes, a small smirk on his face which only grew when his girlfriend surprised him, but not us with something we'd seen her do before.

She pushed off from the wall, that familiar sunbeam impish sort of smile on her lips, eyes twinkling as she tried for smouldering and offered me her hand.

"I've, had the time of my life..." she started, her lips curving a smile as I split a grin and Katie rolled her eyes, her own smile flickering and burning still in her eyes long after the curve of her lips had twitched and slid away.

"And I've never felt this way before..." Fliss looked up at me as she dropped to her knee, as if proposing to me, a streetside serenade with a silly grin when Van intervened.

"Right come on you," he chuckled, laughing at her when he took her hand, pulled her up and tugged her back a few paces towards the car only for her to reach out to me, her voice louder, dramatic and ricocheting around the houses.

"And I swear! Its the truth!" she called out through her giggling as he wrestled her into the passenger side of the car and shut the door, only for her to begin frantically unwinding the window.

"I'm sorry love," he shrugged as he ran back to give me one last hug, "take care ey, I'll see you soon," he said holding my shoulder for a moment too long, eyes suddenly deep and serious, despite his girlfriend playing the fool behind us. "Anythin you need, any time..."

"Yeah yeah," i smirked rolling my eyes at him, "I'll phone one of you don't worry about me Van," I sighed smiling, doing my best to convince him and when Fliss finally wound down the window and cried out the last line I laughed, "Worry about her," i smirked and he cracked a laugh, glanced over his shoulder at the girl who was leaning out the window to sing for me, and though he only meant to look back for a moment she took his breath away and he didn't return to see me.

"Bye Van," i said again, knowing smile on my lips as I pushed him gently back towards the car.

I watched them from the doorway as he switched the engine on, i leant up in the doorframe and let out a sigh. Laughing loud and clapping my hands for her when Kitty leant out the window to wave and blow me a kiss and our Fliss popped up through the sun roof holding her jumper out like a flag behind her as Van drove away.