Authors: Fay Darbyshire
Alex slides his hands down the back of Abbey’s thighs and lifts her up, causing her to instinctively wrap her legs around his waist. She is running on pure instinct, without thinking or analysing anything. She is just there in the moment, completely losing herself in Alex like he is in her. All their worries and problems, the drama and stress… it is all forgotten as Alex carries her into his room and they collapse onto the bed.
A patch of sunlight breaks through a crack in the curtains and falls across Abbey’s face, steadily bringing her round from sleep. She props herself up on her elbow and glances drowsily around Alex’s room, surveying it properly for the first time. It is modern and minimalist, very much in keeping with the rest of the flat. It has cream walls and a cream carpet, a large black leather sleigh bed takes up the majority of the room and there are two small bedside tables on either side of it. The only other piece of furniture is a huge, black gloss wardrobe with sliding doors stood directly opposite. The bedding she is wrapped up in is a dark maroon colour and there is a grey and black mural on the wall of another city skyline, although she doesn’t recognize it. The toilet flushes and a few moments later Alex leaves the en suite in just his boxers. Abbey blushes as he smiles at her.
“Welcome back…” He laughs gently as he climbs back into bed. He turns onto his side and rests his arm across Abbey’s chest, causing her heart to skip several beats. She was almost convinced it had been a dream, but here she is, lying in Alex’s bed, feeling warm and content… and very satisfied. He tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and follows her gaze to the wall.
“It’s Dublin…” He says, answering her unspoken question. “A little piece of home…”
Abbey rolls onto her side to face Alex and he pulls the covers closer, wrapping his arm tightly around her waist.
“Are you from Dublin?” She asks.
“No, I lived there for a couple of years but I’m originally from North Antrim. I was born in a little town called Ballycastle…”
“Do you miss it?”
“Not really…” He muses, “I don’t have many happy memories from my time there. My Ma died when I was seven and my Dad wasn’t exactly father of the year, if you know what I mean? He was into his drinking and gambling, never really had much time for me. I got out of there as soon as I turned sixteen…”
“On your own?”
“With my Uncle Graham. We were always close so when he told me he was leaving I wasn’t about to let him go without me. We moved to Dublin, then London two years later…”
“And you met Tom…” Abbey smiles.
“Yeah, and I haven’t been able to get rid of him since…” Alex laughs affectionately.
“Where’s your Uncle now?” He blanches at Abbey’s question before quickly composing himself.
“He died.”
Abbey reaches up and places her hand on Alex’s cheek and he holds it in place, turning his head slightly to kiss her palm.
“I’m sorry…” There is a brief moment of silence and Abbey can hear the soft hum of the traffic outside. It is strange to think that the world is still turning below them; she is so completely engrossed in Alex that it is easy to pretend that there is nothing outside the four walls surrounding her, like they really are the only two people in existence, locked away in their own little bubble.
“So how did you end up in Leeds?” Abbey asks with quiet curiosity. The silence between them isn’t in anyway awkward but she desperately wants to keep Alex talking. She wants to get to know him, to learn about his life, his past, his likes and dislikes… plus she could happily listen to his soft, honeyed accent all day long. It is like a lullaby when he speaks.
“It was time for a change…” He shrugs, “Probably the best decision I ever made to be honest. Me and Tom got this place and we met this bunch of mad heads…” Abbey can see the affection on Alex’s face every time he mentions his friends. For all his front and tough guy attitude, it is plain to see how much he loves them.
“How did you guys meet?” Abbey is genuinely intrigued by the back story. She had heard a lot of tales from the past -most of them from Tom earlier that morning - but she had never been told how they all became friends in the first place, she just knows they have been together for a long time.
“Well, Tom met Gemma on a night out when we first moved here. They were texting and meeting up for a while and through Gemma we met Soph and Darren…” Abbey knew there must be some sort of history between Tom and Gemma, as it is obvious - on Tom’s part at least - that it isn’t completely over, “Then as Lucy got older she’d come round here and hang out. It drove Darren fucking crazy at first, but in the end it became normal for her to show up at the door with Nathan and Liam in tow. And then you…” He smiles, casually tracing his fingers up and down Abbey’s back as he talks, sending shivers through her whole body. She wants to lean forward and kiss him, but despite the past few hours, she still isn’t sure if she is brave enough to make such a bold move.
“You’re all so close… I’ve never really known that before. I mean I had friends at my old school but, not like the type of friendship you all have…”
Alex appraises Abbey with a half-smile on his face, his electric blue eyes soft and curious, and she can feel herself blushing again under his stare. It’s as though she can’t look at him for long without her thoughts and feelings showing all over her face. He is so beautiful, lying in front of her with his dark hair all messy and ruffled, and his toned, muscular arms snaked around her. Abbey can’t believe her luck; it seems far too good to be true.
“You talk about the group as if you’re not a part of it…” Alex notes and Abbey frowns slightly. She wasn’t really aware that she spoke in that way, but then being the new girl, it is to be expected. She has only known them for such a short amount of time in comparison to their ten plus years, “You’re very much a part of the group…” He adds, shyly.
Abbey’s heart swells and she almost has to stop herself from crying. She can’t believe that this is the same person who made her feel so unwelcome just a short time ago. Alex ‘isn’t good with strangers’ and he had his guard up at first - he explained that to her - but this is still such a huge turn around. To go from complete hostility to ending up in bed together; it is everything Abbey had hoped for and more. To have Alex in this way is something she has secretly craved from the very first moment she saw him.
“We are close…” He continues, “We’ve been through a lot together and some of us, mainly Tom, Daz, Lucy and myself… we don’t have anyone else. Apart from my Uncle I never really had any family as such so I’ve spent a fair bit of time on my own… I know how it feels. That all changed when I met these guys. They are my family…” Alex looks so lost and vulnerable it makes Abbey want to reach out and take his pain away. She understands exactly how he feels and wants him to know that he never has to be on his own again. She leans forward and plants a soft, tender kiss on the corner of his mouth and smiling in response, he rolls over onto his elbows so that he is looking down at her, running his thumb gently across her cheek, “Are we done with the interrogation now?!” He asks, and she laughs, nodding in anticipation, as he kisses her again.
In the days that follow, Abbey feels as if she is floating along with her feet barely touching the ground. She is still in her warm, contented little bubble after her perfect afternoon with Alex - excluding of course the very heated argument in the kitchen - but that feels like a distant memory now compared to what transpired afterwards.
She sits in her English lesson and stares blankly at the whiteboard as her mind constantly drifts away into a glorious daydream. Mr Harper is scribbling down notes about Shakespeare’s Othello while dictating over his shoulder to the class, and despite trying hard to focus, all Abbey can think about is him. The image of Alex is such a distraction, his eyes, his smile, his voice, the way he makes her feel… it sends an ache right through her and she longs to be with him. She replays that afternoon over and over in her head. The way he picked her up and carried her so effortlessly, the way she ran her hands across his flawless chest as he kissed her. She wants to do it again, right now, and she wishes more than anything that she could be back in his room, curled up in his arms instead of being stuck here at school.
Abbey swallows hard and shakes her head, trying to dispel her thoughts and focus on her work. She picks up Othello and starts flicking through the chapters, looking for some inspiration that will help her answer the practice exam question that Mr Harper has set them. As she is about to continue writing, a slight movement at the classroom door catches her eye and she sees Liam and Lucy standing in the window, grinning like idiots and waving at her before they quickly duck out of sight. ‘What the hell are they doing?’ Abbey thinks to herself, confused and more than a little concerned.
She sits up straight in her chair and cautiously looks over towards Mr Harper’s desk. He has his head down and is concentrating on marking the pile of exam papers stacked up in front of him. Thankfully he seems completely oblivious to Lucy and Liam outside in the corridor. If they get caught they will be in so much trouble, but then that has never really bothered them before.
Abbey looks back towards the classroom door and her mouth drops open in disbelief as a small, dog hand puppet suddenly appears in the corner of the window, with a sticker on its chest that has her name scrawled across it. She stares in shock as it waves at her before dropping back out of sight again. She runs her hand through her hair and glances over her shoulder as inconspicuously as possible, trying her best not to draw any attention to herself as she scans the room. It appears that everyone else is oblivious too, hunched over with their heads down, feverishly writing away or sat with their noses buried in their battered copies of Othello.
“Abbey…” She whips round and looks over at Mr Harper who is eyeing her suspiciously, “Is there a problem?” She smiles and shakes her head in response, picking up her book and pretending to be utterly engrossed in Shakespeare’s tragedy.
After another minute or two, she senses that Mr Harper is no longer watching her and after finally plucking up the courage to check, she very cautiously glances back over at the door. The puppet re-appears, but this time another one pops up beside it, with a sticker on its front that reads ‘Alex’.
‘Oh for god sake’ Abbey shakes her head as both puppets wave in unison and drop out of sight. She knows exactly where this is heading.
Why are they doing this to her? Not only is she in class she is sat in a mock exam, in absolute silence. Harper is already sulking with her for missing some of his lessons. Sulking wouldn’t normally be the right word to use but in this case she can’t think of any other way to describe it. He definitely isn’t happy with her and Abbey doesn’t need this tipping him over the edge. As the two puppets re-appear again, Abbey bites her lip and tries with all her strength not to laugh as they start bumping and grinding erotically against one another, slowly at first, but getting faster and faster as they simulate rampant sex.
Abbey can feel herself going bright red as she laughs under her breath. She covers her mouth with the sleeve of her jumper and stares down at her desk, with her shoulders shaking as she desperately tries to bring her hysterics under control. The puppets quickly drop out of sight and Abbey turns back to the front of the room to see Mr Harper staring at her with a disapproving look on his face. He frowns, and looks over at the window where Lucy and Liam had been performing their warped, puppet porn only moments ago. He pushes his chair back very slowly and approaches the door as Abbey looks on in horror, unable to warn her friends. Unbeknownst to her, Lucy and Liam can see both of them clearly through the keyhole and as Mr Harper makes his way towards them, they scramble over one another - still laughing at their hilarious prank - and race down the corridor where they dive into an abandoned cloakroom. Mr Harper opens the door expectantly and Abbey breathes a sigh of relief as he steps out into the empty corridor.
When the bell finally rings for lunch Abbey packs her books away, still smiling but also mentally preparing herself for the barrage of questions, jokes and innuendo that she is about to face from her friends. She knew this was bound to happen. Abbey had spent all day with Alex on Saturday - in fact she had spent almost the entire weekend at the flat - and when the others had joined them they had picked up on the change in their body language straight away.
It is unsurprising really. Even a blind man probably would have noticed. They had been acting like love sick idiots, stealing little looks and smiles, sitting together constantly and holding hands when they thought no one was watching. It certainly wasn’t subtle. How ridiculous that it has only been a few days, yet she can’t imagine it any other way. She misses him already and can’t wait to see him again. As Abbey reaches the door with her thoughts a million miles away, Mr Harper holds out his arm, abruptly snapping her out of her loved up daydream.
“Can I have a word please?” His tone isn’t angry but it’s clear that he isn’t impressed. She follows him reluctantly back inside the classroom and sits in the empty seat beside his desk.
“What’s this about?” She asks.
“I just wanted to see how you were doing. You’ve been with us, what almost 3 months now?”
“That’s right…” Abbey nods.
“I just wanted to see how you were getting on really…”
“I’m fine.”
“Anything you want to talk to me about?”
“Nothing I can think of…” Abbey tries hard to keep the petulant tone from her voice but doesn’t quite manage it. Mr Harper is wearing his concerned, pity face again and she would rather him be angry at her.
“OK, Abbey…” He leans forward, resting his forearms on his knees and clasping his hands, “I’m obviously aware of the fact that you’ve been missing quite a lot of lessons lately and not just in this subject either…” He waits for Abbey to react, but she says nothing, “I notice that you’ve become quite good friends with Lucy Blake?” Abbey rolls her eyes and shifts in her seat, folding her arms defensively.