supersonic | liam gallagher / damon albarn

twenty nine

I was sat opposite Damon in a coffee shop in south London on a rainy Friday afternoon. I had taken the day off work and travelled down south on the Thursday evening with the intention of spending the whole weekend with Damon as he had it completely free.

I hadn't had much of a break recently, I'd been working overtime and any evenings I did have free, I'd been round at Ryan and Stacey's house helping to look after baby Zach, letting them have some much needed alone time.

There wasn't much reason to complain, though. I'd been much happier spending more time with my brother and I'd grown to really enjoy Stacey's company, the two of us becoming close friends the more time we spent together.

It was coming to the end of November now and the whole of London had looked like a Christmas fairytale for the past two weeks. Sparkling lights were strung from building to building and you didn't have to walk more than 30 yards to come across a street vendor selling mulled wine.

The dark nights were something I'd always enjoyed. There was something comforting about being wrapped under layers of clothing in a busy city with an ebony sky and warm yellow lights glowing from inside shops and offices. It was busy, yet peaceful.

That particular afternoon, the sky had turned dull at three thirty, the clouds thick with snow that was forecast to cover most of the south east that evening. Damon and I were sat in the window of the café, a cappuccino in front of me and an Americano in front of him.

"America?" I said, puffing out my cheeks as I questioned what Damon had just told me.

"America." He confirmed, "Four months."

Blur were absolutely smashing the music industry that year. They were climbing to the top end of the charts with each release, more interviews and more shows, and more people coming up to Damon every time he and I were out in public.

All I wanted was to see Damon and the band succeed. Seeing how happy he was when he was on stage and the buzz I felt from his energy straight after a show  when he came and kissed me, dripping in sweat with half a pint in his hand was one of my favourite things in the whole world.

I thrived off Damon's happiness.

"Four months," I said in barely a whisper, "That's..."

"A long time." Damon finished my sentence for me.

His eyes met mine and he took my hand from across the table, holding it in his own. He held it tightly, bringing it up to his lips to place a kiss gently against my knuckles.

"A very long time. And you're far away."

The thought of not seeing Damon for four months felt like what I'd imagine as being shot through the heart felt like. All the mornings waking up alone, all the mixed up, confusing time zones and the lack of phone calls and texts, having no kisses, not even a hand to hold, it was a pain that was bad enough thinking about, let alone actually having to experience.

"I want you to come with me, Britney."

My heart still fluttered whenever he used my full name. To be honest, it fluttered when he said anything in his southern accent that was still alien to me.

"Come with you?"

"Me and you, the boys, America. I want you with me. This could be massive for Blur, but just imagining not seeing you for four months it's, well, horrific."

Damon cracked a half smile and I couldn't help but smile back. He was my everything. I planned my whole life around him, my free time, my week nights, taking holidays from work, anything I did, I did to spend time with him.

Even though we were still technically in a long distance relationship, I had grown so used to being with him, getting in the routine of being woken up at 2 am when he needed the toilet every night without fail, and coming home on a Friday night to him sat at my kitchen counter with two glasses of white wine already poured for us both, or making the walk from my office to Picadilly train station to catch the train down to Euston for the weekend.

I wasn't sure if I could go from all that, to nothing.

"Damon my job, I can't just quit, I only started working there a few months ago I don't want to-"

"Brit," Damon looked at me with a raised eyebrow, his head tilted to the side and a small smirk playing on his lips, "I know that you like to work, like to earn your own money, and I'm proud of you every day for it, I admire you. But I can give you and me the life we want without you having to work another day, ever."

Damon was right. I wasn't sure how much money Damon was making, but I knew it was more than enough for him to tell me to quit my job and not have to worry. The principle didn't sit entirely right with me, though, since Ryan and I had always been taught from a young age to earn your keep. Though I suppose now, maybe I'd just got lucky with Damon.

"I'm crazy about you," Damon continued, noticing that my mind was racing with a million different thoughts and he knew he needed to convince me a little more, "Just picture it. We don't have to be apart. We can go and visit all the places we've talked about in America, make so many memories together. I don't want to do this without you, Brit."

He bowed his head, looking up at me with those deep blue eyes, and that was it. That was all it took for me to melt into the palm of his hand and say yes.

I'd have done anything for Damon, truth be told. I was totally and utterly in love with the him and although it was a scary thought for me to recognise how much I'd let my guard down with him, I couldn't stop myself. I wanted him forever.

"I have something for you."

Damon let go of my hand for a moment and reached into the pocket of his jeans. He pulled out a small black leather box.

I hadn't even realised how much my face must've fallen before Damon began laughing quietly, shaking his head with a huge grin on his face.

"It's not- I'm not proposing, don't worry."

My heart rate returned to normal after he clarified that, though it did force my mind to wander, imagining what it would be like if Damon ever did propose.

He cleared his throat and I snapped out of my daydream, my gaze meeting his, the both of us smiling at one another. The way he held my stare for so long was another way he told me he loved me.

He opened the box, gently pulling out a sterling silver band and holding it up between his thumb and forefinger.

"I got you this." He smiled, twisting it in the light, "It's a promise ring. I wanted to give it to you in case you said no to coming with me. I just wanted you to have something that reminds you that you've always got me."

He leaned closer to me across the table, showing me the ring, pointing out the small engraving on the inside. A tiny 'BG & DA' was etched onto the inner side of the ring.

"I want you forever, and one day I'm going to marry you. But until then," Damon took my right hand in his own, biting his lip slightly as he slid the ring onto my finger, "You can have a ring that goes on your other hand."

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an; why am I crying I want Damon to give me a ring???????? Life is unfair
thank you for your continued support, it means so so much to me I can't even explain🤍🤍

-martials