Maybe It's Been You All Along - Alex Turner

61

It had now been a year since Alex had opened that package that revealed Rosanna's album. His life had been monotone. No big changes. No spectacular or notable events. He just enjoyed himself touring with the Shadow Puppets until the tour eventually came to an end.

He found himself using up the majority of his money from 'Everything You've Come To Expect' to travel to and fro different countries to visit friends and family. He was already in the talks with Matt about getting the Monkeys back together for a sixth album and found himself writing a lot of content on the grand piano Andrew had gifted him for his birthday that year. It was a change of scenery. A change of sound and kept his mind occupied.

He hadn't found anyone else and if he was honest, he wasn't really looking. He wasn't still stuck on Rosanna, he'd finally accepted that there was no possible timeline in which they ended up together again, and let the idea of winning her back fade away. In saying that, he still missed her, loved her, and wanted to see her again. It had been years, two to be exact, since he last saw her beautiful face. He wondered if she still looked the same or if time had changed her appearance.

He let her become a person of his past as best he could but still found himself alluding to her in the few songs he had written.

He felt he was getting too old to be a fool with love. He still wanted it but was willing to wait however long it took for it to happen naturally.

He'd sold his apartment in Sheffield some time after he parted ways with the Shadow Puppets and purchased a flat near London for practicality. It was easier to fly to and had more around it for whenever he visited. There were more studios in the big city and it gave him the fresh start he never got living in his house in LA.

However, it also meant that he had no excuse to not attend things such as housewarming parties in the London area, as he used to claim it was too far to travel from Sheffield. And a housewarming party was exactly what he was on his way to. He didn't really understand the point of them but felt obliged to go seeing as it was Andrew's and Andrew had bought him that piano that was worth a damn lot of money.

  Matt, Nick, Jamie and all their wives were going to be there so Alex knew he wasn't going to be alone but still, dreaded having to appear in public and meet new people.

  Alex wasn't in his most glamorous state of mind either but it had been far too long since he drank a little and let loose with his friends. He would admit that he'd let go his physical appearance a little bit but was never really in a place where he cared enough to trim his hair or shave off the beard that had grown along his jaw and chin. If he was honest, he liked the way he looked.

  He arrived at Andrews a quarter of an hour early so that no one could bully him for being late like he always was and so that he could help Andrew set up before, what he assumed would be a lot of guests, arrived. Much to Alex's disappointment, at least seven other people were already there.

He had an expensive bottle of tequila with him as a gift — he felt a little embarrassed that it was all he could muster but Andrew didn't seem to mind in the slightest.

"It's good to see you," Andrew said to him and showed him into the house. It was luxurious to say the least. Andrew had invested well.

Alex didn't know any of the seven guests and to avoid that awful sense of awkwardness, offered to make everyone a round of drinks to keep himself preoccupied for the time being. This is why you come late. Andrew showed him to his bar and left Alex to his own devices. Mixing up a round of his infamous margaritas, Alex snuck a few tequila shots just to get the night going.

  As he poured out several different glasses with the margarita mixture, Alex felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. It was Matt.

  "Ay how far away are ya?" Matt asked after Alex picked up. "Have you left the house?"