Pictures of You

Chapter Twelve

I don't know what I was expecting. I thought maybe I'd get off the train and there would be signs with arrows pointing the way, saying, this way for the train to Camden. In reality there was a map with lots of coloured lines, all intermingling in a complicated mess.

I decided to stay in Camden, as that was where Alex lived. It seemed like a really vibrant and exciting place too, and I knew I'd love staying there. But I had no idea where it actually was.

I took a deep breath, approached the map on the wall and studied it like the tourist I was.

All the lines seemed to merge into one. It didn't look like there was a direct train to Camden. Or was there? I'd have to get this train to...then get off that one and on to...

Oh come on Ash! You can do this.

I was distracted from the map by the site of a guy, maybe in his early twenties running in to the station. He stood, looked around a few times then shouted. 'Ash! Ash!'

Hearing my name at first made me think he was looking for me. But then I remembered I was in a huge city. There were probably thousands of people with the same name as me.

I turned back around to study the map again. Shame. He was pretty cute. But he didn't give up. He carried on shouting my/his friend's name.

'Ashley James,' he shouted. He got my attention again. 'Ashley James from Sheffield.'

He had been pacing up and down and was now standing just a few feet away from me. I looked up at the same moment he turned his head to look at me.

'Ash?' he said. It was a question, but I saw a flash of recognition in his face, like he knew me.

'Yeah, I'm Ash,' I said. 'Do I know you?'

He lets out s sigh of relief. 'Thank fuck I found you,' he said, 'James would have killed me if I'd let you wander off into the underground on your own and get lost.'

'You know James?' I asked him.

'Oh yeah, sorry, I should have said.' He held out his hand for me to shake. 'I'm Ben. James's cousin.'

I took his hand and shook it. I took a good look at his face and felt stupid for not seeing it before. They both had he same dirty blonde hair, the same perfectly straight teeth and dark brown eyes. Ben looked like what James would if James went to the gym.

Ben wore a tight fitting white T-shirt that showed off his perfectly toned torso. He obviously wore it because he knew that's how much attention it would draw. And why not? He'd clearly spent a lot of time and hard work sculpting that body. He had every right to want to show it off. I shook out of my trance and realised I'd been staring.

'Its good to meet you,' I said. 'Did James send you to meet me?'

'Yeah.' He laughed. 'He said that if I didn't, then you'd probably get lost on the underground and we'd never see you again.'

'He's probably right,' I said. I figured this must have been what James tried to tell me on the day we fell out. I was glad that James had sent his cousin to meet me. It showed that even though he didn't want me to come, he still had my back.

'It's Camden you're stopping, right?' he asked. I nodded and told him it was. 'Right then,' he said, 'this way.'

He walked off ahead of me to the gates that lead to the tube. I stopped just before I got there.

'Everything okay?' Ben asked, noticing I'd stopped.

'I don't have a ticket to get through the gates,' I said.

'Oh.' He laughed. 'You don't need one. You got your bank card?'

'Yeah.'

'Just swipe it across the scanner.'

He went through first to show me. I followed behind him. He laughed at me again. 'I can see I'm going to have my work cut out with you.'

'I'm sorry,' I said. 'I've never been here before.'

'It's okay. Just stay close. I don't want to lose you.'

I agreed with him. I didn't want to get separated from him. I'd only known him a few minutes, but he was already my lifeline in this crazy, hectic city.

He pointed to a huge escalator, leading downward. He stepped on first, and I jumped on the step behind him. 'Stand on the right,' he said, as he ushered me to one side. 'You'll get shoved out the way if you stand on the wrong side. People round here are in a constant rush and won't let anything, or anyone get in their way.'

'Thanks,' I said. 'I'll remember that.'

He found the right platform for the Camden train. 'There'll be one here in a minute,' he said.

'Okay, thanks,' I said. I wasn't sure if he planned on leaving me now I was at the right platform. My worried face gave me away.

'Don't worry,' has said. 'I'll take you to your accommodation.'

I breathed a sigh if relief. 'Thanks.'

'So I hear you're hear to meet some guy you met online?' he said. It appeared that James had told Ben everything. I didn't really mind. I already felt really comfortable talking to him. I told him the story up till now, and he listened with interest.

'He knows your coming though, right?' he asked.

'No,' I said, 'not yet.'

He looked shocked. 'When are you going to tell him?'

'When I get to my room. He lives in Camden, so I assume he'll want to come over and see me.'

'Does he live near where you're staying?'

'I think so. He mentioned once that he drank in the pub that I'm staying at. It's got a room upstairs.'

'That sounds handy. I'm sure he'll be really happy to see you.'

That was the kind of encouragement I had wanted from James. Ben was being much more positive about the whole thing, and I had to agree with him. Alex and I had waited so long to meet up, that I knew he'd be really excited when he knew I was here.

'I hope so,' I said.

'He's bound to be. I would be if I had a guy who looked like you wanting to see me.'

Was he...flirting with me?

'I'm sorry,' he said. 'I didn't mean anything by that. I'm just saying, he's a lucky guy.'

'So you're...'

'Gay? Yeah. James really hasn't told you anything about me, has he?'

I shook my head. I felt bad, as he seemed to know everything about me. James hadn't even mentioned a gay cousin, and we talked about everything.

He stood up. 'Come on,' he said. 'We need to change.'

'On to another train?'

'No,' had said. 'I thought we'd get a helicopter for the last bit.'

I looked at him, trying to work out if he was serious, or not. 'Yes another train,' he said, laughing. 'You really wouldn't have made it without me.'

'No,' I said.

And I really wouldn't have.

Author's Note

Hope you all had a great Christmas. I'm really excited about where thus story is going now that Ash is London. I hope you're enjoying the story so far. If so, please vote and comment.