Outside

9

It was around 6pm when I got back home, and stepping through the front door, being fully engulfed by warmth and the strong smell of takeout food, I take off my coat and hook it beside my dad's, kicking off my shoes at the same time and placing them neatly where they aren't touching anyone else's. I know for a fact my mother would scream the house down if she found that my boots had been anywhere near to touching her easily marked, colourless stilettos.

Hearing my mother calling my voice from the living room, I follow the muffled sound and meet the gaze of my dad who's stuffing his clean shaven face with pizza, and my mum who's delicately sipping her glass of white wine with her pinky fingered sticking out like she's some kind of superior.

Before I even greet them with words, my phone vibrates in my pocket and I see my mum's face drop slightly, like it always does. Sliding the buzzing device from the small pocket of my skirt, I murmur a quick "sorry" and send my parents a slightly fake apologetic smile and head up to my room for some privacy.

"Hey Lyla! the stars about to fall, so what you say Lyla!" The distinctive Welsh voice sings out loudly on the other end and I giggle out loud at the sound.

"You're such an arse" I laugh, secretly smirking to myself and gladly knowing he can't see me, "what's up then Taxi?" I return the joke.

I hear a gasp and I can already imagine what's going on behind the phone, "I'm offended" Van jokes, chuckling to himself, "are you free? I'm dead bored"

"Buy me food an' I'm deffo free" I return the jest, knowing deep down that I would never allow him to buy me food, ever.

Laughing even more on the other end of the call, Van replies "whatever you want lass, the park then yeah?" He asks, and I give him a quick 'yes' before hanging up the call to sort my hair out after it'd been blown everywhere by the wind.

Chucking my dark locks into a slightly loose ponytail, I pull a few strands out at the front and make my way out of the door. The cold air hits me hard the second I step out into the icy outdoors, my black teddy jacket not even warming me up. The foggy October air tickles my nose, I can already see it fading into red in the corner of my eyes as I walk along the winding footpath leading to the park.

Thankfully it's quite empty today with it being a Monday, children are all probably at school so the only sound coming from the park is the creaky swings due to the wind, the trees all rustling above me, the crunching leaves under my feet and the sound of Van's little puppy along with his own voice shouting 'for fuck's sake' after she jumped up at him, presumably marking his black trousers.

"Sounds like you're having fun" I joke as I edge closer to him, tucking my hands into the pockets of my fluffy jacket.

His smile appears as he locks his eyes with mine, the twinkle in his eye was always there though, "gosh, look what the cat dragged in" he laughs, pulling me into some sort of side hug like he did last night, unknowingly warming me up slightly.

"Piss off" I return with a giggle and stare out at the lake rippling far in front of us, whilst Van bends down the rub off the dirt his dog had left on his left leg.

"Let's go somewhere else" he randomly pipes up, his words surprising me as he faces me straight on with a somewhat excitable expression, widened eyes and a childish grin.

I nod warily and he suddenly takes my arm, randomly threading it under his own, and passes me the yellow, stretchy lead to walk the little barking fur ball. Giggling to myself, I willingly take it and enjoy the little bit of calming silence before it ends.

"Lois told you about Bob's little idea?" Van's voice comes out with a cloud of condensation as he turns to face me, a curious look on his face.

"Yeah" I breathe, "she's not excited you know, must be a really hard decision that" I suggest, hoping he doesn't disagree and start listing the reasons why it's actually a brilliant idea why Lois should most definitely go with them on tour. Because I know full well that it is something Van would do.