Oxygen (Catfish And The Bottlemen/1975)

Saffron

"what about Love is Dead?" i yawned, lying on my back across two chairs in the dining room of the lads hotel where we'd wound up crashing the night before.

I'd left Johnny passed out upstairs, gotten up early to meet Fliss, Kitty and Jazz to go over the set for tonight.
It felt important now that we knew the lads would be there, Sam and his band, his manager and our manager probably trying to hash out some kind of plan. We'd been trying to pretend things weren't that important, the gigs and the band, since the 1975 tour had gone a little sideways. The industry was a brutal place when it felt like you needed it, when it felt like your whole life depended on it.

Wed been trying to detatch ourselves lately, to protect ourselves if nothing else, but this morning we'd all woken early to shake the hangovers off quickly and prepare for the last show in Paris.

"Oh that is a pretty one, we do sound pretty don't we," smiled Fliss.

"I like that one," sighed Katie, "whats that one we used to do all the time? You know, the one thats like oh we'll stay together for the weekend..."

"Woman that loves you?" Fliss chewed her cheek, "it was Alice's..." she simmered which drew a little laugh from me.

"Fliss that was yours," i said, "Alice wrote about two lines you dickhead, its our song... And kit kats right, its a gooden,"

"We don't need it anyway, we've got enough," she shrugged, "and I'd rather play all Saffys new ones than an old one like that... Don't wanna sell ourselves on what we used to sound like or else we'll end up trapped pretending we're people we're not..."

I watched her chew her cheek, sip her orange juice and wince and when I nodded and lay back down, closing my eyes I only remained undisturbed for a minute or two.

"Mornin girls," yawned Bob, pulling up a chair to my left and pouring himself a glass of orange juice from the jug we'd more or less commandeered. "You're up early," he took his glasses off to rub his eyes and leant back in his chair.

"So are you," smirked Fliss knowing that that wasn't really anything noteworthy.

"He's always up early," yawned Jazz, "the sticks always have to be, who else would keep you lot and your wayward egos in check,"

Bob smirked and nodded along backing him up.

"We were up dead early every mornin of that tour,"

"Havin little breakfast dates together cause you lot were always sleepin and complainin you were hungover," carried on Jazz with a teasing smile on his lips as he leant down to pinch my cheek.

"Fuck off," i flinched swatting him away a smile popping my dimples just in time for us to be joined by another.

"Oh an I thought you were the nice one Saffron," tutted Van leaning on the back of the chair where my head lay. He was looking down at me with a smirk when his eyes lit up. "Tried wakin your boyfriend up by the way love, i think he might actually be dead this time..." he cracked a grin and licked his lips, waiting to see whether he could wind me up, before the setlist Fliss was scribbling caught his eye and distracted him.
"These what youre playin to... Wait now hang on a minute hang on a minute!" he cried standing up again, plams flat against the table and then suddenly not, one finger pointed and raised as if to profess or raise a question in court.

"What?" asked Fliss deadpan but knowing, definitely already knowing what was about to be asked.

"Hang on a minute!" gasped Van horrified apparently, "Wheres bondys song? Where is it? Saffron? Your song.. Bondys song... Where is it?" he cried turning on me with one hand on his hip.