Milex - SOULMATE AU

CHAPTER 5

Miles wakes up to an insane amount of noise, apparently coming from the living room. It seems to be music, though he wouldn't necessarily call it pleasing to hear. He's ready to scream to his sister to cup the crap, when he hears voices.

"Oh", he thinks. Janet sometimes brings her party back home, and Miles knows not to take notice of the unknown people in his house in various states of inebriety. His sister is often passed out somewhere in the midst of the dancing party, but when he gets out of his room, still shirtless, he doesn't find her anywhere.

"Janet, you anywhere in here?", he calls out, and hears a feeble answer coming from her bedroom. Bracing himself for the worse, he cautiously opens the door and is greeted by the sight of his thankfully alone sister. She looks terrible, like taken straight out of an apocalypse movie, but Miles knows better than to leave her in that state. He does his usual routine of shifting the temperature of the tap water from the bathroom until it's just right, and proceeds to bring it to her. Janet doesn't have to say anything, but her brother understands right away she wants everyone out. He gets himself downstairs and bellows:

"Okay everyone, thanks for the party, now it's out! Go home, shower, sleep, whatever, just leave my house!"

Some people seem to take notice of him, and tug the sleeves of the rest that was too drugged up to hear anything. Miles can hear the people brushing past him whispering about where they should go next. He doesn't understand what life must be like for these people, and feels a pang of guilt at the idea that his own sister is one of them.

"Whatever", he thinks, getting back upstairs and into his room. He picks out his clothes even more carefully than usual, and settles with a striped shirt and black jeans. He should be going to class by now, but with the gig in the evening, he's decided to skip it altogether. Plus, some free time can only do him good.

Miles spends most of his day hanging around the house, playing guitar and caring for his sister. Cleaning up Janet's vomit isn't necessarily what he had in mind when thinking about his free afternoon, but nothing can really bring his spirits down this particular day. He still doesn't really believe he's gonna see the actual Arctic Monkeys live. It's not that he's a huge fan or anything, they're just big and very talented. They just came out with a new record that Miles doesn't know very well, so he spends the rest of the time listening to it, which only hypes his excitement up.

At 4pm, he receives a text from Amy asking him to meet her at the train station. Miles already feels full of regrets at the amount of money he's making her spend, but then it's not like he had any choice. He knows the girl, she wouldn't have taken no for an answer.

When the time comes for him to leave, Miles puts his dad's old leather jacket on, grabs his keys and his phone, and heads out the door. He texts Janet, telling her that he'll be home in the evening, and heads for the station. When he arrives there, he has a hard time spotting Amy in the groups of people, most of them wearing Arctic Monkeys t-shirts and looking as excited as he feels.

"Behind you, shithead!", he finally hears after a while of looking around for her. He notes that she also has an Arctic Monkeys shirt on as she hands him his train ticket. He doesn't feel like bringing down the mood right now, so he'll just scowl her later. Miles doesn't have the time to think of something to say before he gets showered by Amy's excited ramblings about how good looking the singer is and how she can't wait. They get into the train last, not wanting to take part in the pushing crowd trying to get seats.

When they arrive there, Miles know they won't have to worry about finding the venue, since pretty much everyone around them is going to the same place. They follow the groups of young boys and girls to a huge looking venue Miles has passed before. He doesn't come too often to Liverpool, but he still knows the city very well, which is why he's even more hyped when he realises that this is the place they're gonna spend the evening at. The arena has a huge capacity, and when they finish passing security and finally arrive inside, Miles can't believe it. He looks around in amazement, trying not to feel too anxious at size of the crowd pushing him around. Amy is equally as surprised, and they snake their way through the masses, trying to get as close as possible. They're in the pit, and Miles knows his friend would like to be at the barricade, but he's quite content not being totally squished by metal like people at the front seem to be. They have an hour to kill before the show start, and most people are sat on the floor, but Amy wants to be sure they can't lose their spot and she forbids him from sitting down. They start chatting with people nearby, and Miles can hear the sounds of a thousand conversations around him, all revolving around the same thing:

"What'd you think he's gonna be like? I've heard he has long hair now."

"Yeah he does, I've seen the band in London this summer and he was growing it out!"

"Wow lucky, I haven't seen them since '06."

"What about you", a man asks Miles and Amy, "have you seen them before?"

"Nah, we've never been to a show before!", Amy replies enthusiastically

"Never? Woah, you'll enjoy yourselves, you'll see".

After a while, the crowd starts getting restless, and when the lights come on, noise erupts, coming from everywhere. The support band come on, and Miles had never heard of them before but he finds himself nodding along, their songs not half bad. The crowd moves slightly around them, but Miles feels that this is not the wildest it can get. He stops listening to the music to take a look around him, and even though most people are carefully watching the band onstage, it's like they're all holding their breaths for what's about to come. After all, they're all here for the same reason.

The band end their last song and walk out under a thunder of applause, the tension still palpable through the deafening noise. The lights go out but no one dares to speak, their eyes glued to the empty stage. Finally, finally, after what feels like forever, the Arctic Monkeys come out, and the crowd explodes into a roar, Miles included. Alex Turner steps to the microphone and Amy squeaks beside Miles.

"Hello girls and others, you're looking beautiful!", Alex shouts, and Miles freezes. It suddenly feels as if he can't breathe, and everything around him goes out of focus; he's vaguely aware of the music now coming through the speakers, feeling like nothing makes sense anymore. Because he knows, he's a hundred percent sure, that this sentence is the exact one he's obsessed over for years in front of the mirror, the one tattooed across his back. The first thing he'll ever hear his soulmate speak.

He turns to Amy, trying to make sense of what just happened, but she's far too into it to notice her friend's distress. He decides there and then that he only dreamt, and shakes it off, feeling ridiculous. THE Alex Turner, his soulmate? A man? He scoffs to himself, and starts to pay attention to the concert, full of questions and embarrassment. 

The rest of the show goes on marvellously, and Miles manages to loose himself in it almost completely, ignoring the nagging voice in his head. After the band finishes the encore and the arena slowly empties itself, Amy suggests that they should go out for a pint. They're both still buzzing with energy, and discuss the concert all the way to the nearest pub they can find. It's musty and smells of piss, but the beer isn't half bad, as they come to realise.

"I'm a bit sloshed and tired, what do you say we go home?", Amy enquires half an hour later. Miles, however, is having the time of his life, away from the misery of his drugged-up sister and lonesome house.

"I think I'll stay the night here? I'm sure I'll find some bird and crash at hers, but you can go on Ames!"

Amy reluctantly agrees to leave him out on his own, but not before giving him money for drinks and a possible hotel room. She tries to give him a lecture on the dos and don'ts, but Miles shrugs her off, already passably drunk himself. He gives her a peck on the cheek and she walks out between the tables of drunk men, smiling nervously. 

Miles starts chatting up a girl near-by, but knows it'll only go nowhere as she shouts incoherent answers to his questions. He's about to give up and move onto someone else, when he feels a hand on his upper back.

"You're doing it all wrong, mate. She's way too drunk for you."

Miles scoffs, turning around to tell this stranger to mind his own business. He's met with a pair of brown eyes he's seen only an hour before, in a completely different setting. On a stage.

"Alex Turner", he replies, unable to say anything else.

"That's right", the singer answers uncomfortably.

Miles feels his mind starting to awaken again, past the initial shock of Alex Turner actually talking to him, and extends his hand.

"Miles Kane, nice to meet you"

"Likewise, Miles Kane", Alex answers, the ghost of a smile on his lips.

// Hey, just a quick note to apologise for how long it took me to come out with this, I've been in the hospital for a while and couldn't continue writing! I'll try my best to be consistent from now on, in case anyone starts reading this story :)