Oxygen (Catfish And The Bottlemen/1975)

Saffron

"Alreet ma wee sugarlamb where are you, where is my favourite little sunshine child?"

Fliss came home on a Monday morning full of life, glowing in the sunlight which streamed in through the doors.

It spilled in and soaked us all, me and Kitty, Jazz and Rudy who were all sitting in a circle on the floor doing some daft cleansing séance thing Rudy reckoned would cleanse the house of all its "bad vibes."

"Bad Vibes" were the excuse I'd made for being so jumpy, the excuse I'd made when they'd caught me hiding in the cieling. Id claimed to just be looking for something but they were all joking I was doing a Shining on them. Slowly going crazy sitting in all day on my own.

And i was just laughing along, going with it because it wss easier to let them believe I was haunted than it was tell them about Rhys. Tell them about how he was haunting me.

He hadn't been back since Kitty had come home but whenever I was left in the house by myself my nerves started to play havoc with my mind and every day felt like I was just waiting for him to show up.

"Oh don't worry about the rest of us darlin..." grinned Rudy, watching the girl in question stood there just beaming. Her eyes were glazed over and I could tell she was half cut.

"Are you drunk?" I grinned pushing myself up from the floor and breaking the circle much to Rudys dismay.

"I'm sound," she giggled, dimples popping as Van shoved his hands in his pockets and cracked a grin.

"Aye someone decided to stay up all night drinkin whiskeys with me dad," he chuckled watching her fondly. He rolled his eyes at her, pretended like she'd been doing his head in all day but I saw the glow in his eyes. The love that lingered. He looked proud, quietly proud that she was his and he'd had to drive her home all the way from wales because she got on so well with his dad that they'd stayed up all night talking, drinking together.

Van was the sentimental sort, he'd adore that.

"I don't deserve you," she turned back to him with a daft smile on her face, leaning into him as he draped an arm over his shoulder and cracked another grin.

"No," he chuckled, "no you bloody don't," he winked trying to wind her up some more, painting a smile on her cheeks wider and more in love than any I'd seen on her for a long time. "Aight love you know I'd love to stay and join in whatever all this is," he smirked nodding to our little circle, the candles and the tarot cars, the dried up flower petals scattered around, "but I promised me mam I'd get home in time for tea like,"

"Oh I'm sorry," i popped a smile for him, "didn't realise you were such a little mammys boy,"

"Ey you we'll have less of that cheers," he grinned sorting through his pockets to check he had everything, though he'd hardly had time to put anything down.

"Sure you don't have time for a cheeky little séance?" smirked Kitty leaning up in the frame behind me, resting her chin on my shoulders with sparkling eyes.

He pretended to think about it and for a moment I thought he was going to get away with shaking his head.

"Oh boo you whore," pouted kitty, Fliss pouting too before she rolled her eyes at him and pretended like she was about to go flouncing off, dramatic as you like.

"Its fine," she sighed, "its fine we dont need him," she said but she was smiling and she was winding him up and I wondered how long it would take for him to crack and give in.

"Oh, wait," he said, pretending to have already given in, pretending to have changed his mind, "actually..." he split a grin and then his grin lit up dancing cheeky on his face as he turned to me and produced a book from behind his back, "Our Bondy was round the other week an he told me to bring these down for yous," he said handing them to me, making me smirk at the tatty copy of Vincent Van Goghs letters. "He said you'd get it but if you don't lass I can't help you because I can't read," he said with another stupid smile, waiting for me to take it from him and explain why his best mate was giving him books to drive half way down the country and give to me.