Maybe It's Been You All Along - Alex Turner

60

art by @ liizoni on Instagram. in no affiliation, just the inspiration for an image later described. definitely not claiming as my own.

carry on : )
xoxo

- - -

"Where are you off to next?" Matt asked Alex the following day over breakfast.

"Liverpool then Sheffield," Alex responded. He was beyond ecstatic to see Matt again.

"How long you got left?" Matt asked.

"Ah about...five months not including December," Alex said. "How's the baby?"

"Not born yet," Matt chuckled, "but she's on her way."

"Names?" Alex asked curiously.

Matt smiled softly, "Amelia."

Alex smiled, "I love it. Who chose it?" It was mind blowing to him that his best mate was a couple months out to being a father to a baby girl. Jamie and Katie had just had their first child as well. Nick and Kelly were married. Alex just couldn't keep up.

"It were mutual," Matt smiled.

"What else you been up to other than tending to your father-to-be duties?" Alex asked.

Helping your ex-girlfriend produce an album, Matt thought internally — he always felt bad for hiding it from Alex. "Ah nothing much, just visiting friends and all," Matt said instead.

"Have you seen Rosanna?" Alex asked hopefully. He missed her dearly. He hadn't so much as heard her name since Matt's wedding a year back.

Matt noticed that Alex didn't sound heartbroken or wary when he asked about Rosanna. The way he spoke was very casual, hiding how he really felt beneath.

He thought it best not to lie to Alex more. "Yeah, not much but since she lives 'ere," Matt said, meaning London.

Alex nodded. "She doing alright?" He asked, this time the emotion in his voice was much more evident.

Matt smiled, "yeah. She's doing really good." This was the truth. Alex was glad to hear that. He wanted nothing more than for her to be happy. He wanted to ask Matt if he thought he'd ever get to see Rosanna again but remembered Miles telling him that everyone was sick of being the middle man and having to deal with Alex begging for information about Rosanna. It was the tough love he needed.

He wondered how many times in a day she was smiling. He wondered what she was doing. If she still liked one sugar in her coffee. What music made her dance now. What her favourite song to play on the guitar was now. If she still liked keeping roses in a vase on her dining table. All the little things he used to know off by heart were now a mystery.

"Performing tonight?" Matt spoke up after about twenty seconds of silence. Alex seemed lost in thought.

"Hm?" Alex hummed, snapping out of his thoughts. "Oh right. Yeah. Just the one show," he nodded.

"I heard you've been very animated on stage these days," Matt chuckled and sipped his coffee.

Alex laughed, turning a little red, "well uh...you could say that. Animated. Yeah. Good word for it."

"How does Miles react?" Matt laughed.

Alex pushed his fingers through his ungelled hair, "think he might be getting sick of me. But I think the way I act on stage is the last thing he'd be upset about," he admitted.

"What's that mean?" Matt asked.

"I sleep talk a bit and we share a bus," Alex said. "He's a bit sick of it." Matt nodded. Alex didn't say what he slept talked about.