“Do you have everything?”

His eyes scanned my bags, meticulously going over my things in his head.

“Yes, mum. Passport. Other important things. Books. Clothes. My life.” “Good, good.” Henry looked me over once more, tears coming to his eyes. Before I knew it seven arms wrapped around me, each squeezing me on their own accord. The close proximity of my four “siblings” along with the stagnant air of the airport made me slightly queasy and I had to count down loudly to get each of them to pull away. Henry held on the longest.

“Oh, come on! I’m only going to University.”

Little Lucy sniffled twice, her gaze diverting to the floor. Seconds ticked by, the air thick with tension and sadness between us. “I’ll miss you. The whole lot of you. But I have to go now. Be good; take care of Lucy. And Peter! Don’t push your brother down the stairs again! He might not make it next time!”

Luca gave me a smug smile and punched his twin brother lightly with the arm that wasn’t encased in plaster. We all let out a laugh, which soon grew into a collective sigh. I was going to miss this little ragtag bunch of misfits. We grew up together. No matter what, it was always Henry and I. And Peter and Luca. And Lucy. But now I was breaking that bond to go all the way to America for something as fickle as school.

“Take care of yourself, eh?” Henry whispered as we walked to the terminal. The statement seemed light-hearted and something typical you would say to a loved one who was leaving but I knew Henry meant more by it. He meant never again. Never again was I allowed to be so careless with myself. I was a woman now, not some stupid child.

Never again.

---

Only three weeks passed before I was put to the ultimate test. The party I was invited to was in full swing and six bottles of liquor sat before me. My promise to Henry repeated in my head and I turned around, successfully beating my first challenge. I was never much for partying when I wasn’t drunk or high. It was quite boring just standing there observing the lads around me waste their trouble away with copious amounts of alcohol. My fingers itched and my mouth watered for the familiar taste to flood it. I excused myself from the small group of unknown people who clustered around me; speaking of things I knew nothing about. Silently, I counted to ten, the air growing thick around me. There were too many people around me. Too many opportunities to slip up and throw away everything I’ve worked for.

Reaching the edge of the garden I sat upon the pavement, the night air cooling my skin. The San Diego weather was a stark contrast to Bristol’s permanent overcast. It was bright and sunny and hot. I knew that it would be significantly warmer here than back home but not like this. I didn’t even have the clothes to prepare myself for this kind of weather. I could always trust the night, though. It got significantly cooler with the lack of sun and actually felt like home. If only for a moment.

I pulled my packet of cigarettes out of my left front pocket and absentmindedly tossed them between my fingers. As I pulled a fag out and placed it between my lips, a tall figure sidled up, casting a shadow over my small body. I didn’t expect company- nor did I really want it- but for some reason I wasn’t wishing this stranger away. A smile spilt his lips and he sat down a bit away from me when I acknowledged his existence. We sat in silence for somewhere around five minutes before the silence started to eat away at me. Did he not know how to talk or was he just waiting for me? I decided to take the high road for once in my life- no pun intended- and blew out the smoke billowing in my lungs before speaking.

“Do you smoke?”

He shook his head, silently laughing at what I thought was my question.

“I didn’t realize that was such a funny question.” I muttered, taking another drag and silently wishing I had not said anything at all.

“You’re not from around here.” He said simply, still smiling.

I rolled my eyes. “Glad I can amuse you.”

“I’m sorry,” he apologized, shifting his body so that he was facing me more. “It’s just refreshing is all.”

“And what would that be?” I inquired, glancing over to see him staring at me intently and I wasn’t sure what it was about him but something just seemed familiar to me. It was that feeling that kept me here.

He stared at me a little longer, seeming to study my movements and I fidgeted under his gaze before I looked away, dragging the end of my fag across the pavement by my side, effectively putting it out.

“Do you know what this party is for?” he asked and it didn’t go unnoticed by me that he didn’t answer my question.

“Not particularly. A mate of mine told me about it in class yesterday and I figured, what the hell, and somehow I ended up here.” I said casually, silently debating if I wanted to light up another drag.

“Class?” he asked, his voice filled with curiosity and I saw him slither closer to me out of the corner of my eye.

I took in a deep breath, twirling my pack in my hands as I looked over at him. “You are right; I’m not from around here. I’m on scholarship for graphic design over at the Art Institute.”

He nodded, running his tongue along his bottom lip. “So where are you from exactly?”

“England.” I answered.

“What part?” he prodded, cocking his head to the side, almost as if a thought just occurred to him and he furrowed his eyebrows.

“For now, that’s all you need to know,” I replied vaguely, taking into consideration that he was still a stranger to me and I was already sharing a little too much about myself. “Now, are you going to answer any of my questions?”

“I don’t recall you asking anything,” he said slyly, a hint of a smile playing on his lips.

“What about me is so refreshing?” I explained with a slight eye roll.

He chuckled lowly. “You don’t know who I am.” He said then, lifting his shoulders in a small shrug.

I cocked my eyebrow at him. “Am I supposed to?”

He grinned. “Most people here do.” He said vaguely and I sighed. I wasn’t sure what this man’s goal was but if he was trying to keep me interested, I was ashamed to admit that it was working.

“What is this party for?” I asked then, remembering that he never explained himself for that either.

“It’s a bit of a welcome home party for some band that just returned home from tour.” He said impassively but there was something about the way he said it, how he carefully chose his words that made me believe there was a hidden message behind his explanation.

I nodded my head though, choosing to ignore it. “How exciting.”

“I can tell you’re just bursting with excitement.” He noted with a hint of sarcasm laced in his words.

I let out a small laugh, barely a breath as I once again toyed with the packet of cigarettes in my hand. “Not much excites me anymore.” I replied vaguely, staring out at the night, pushing the enticing thoughts that were slowly creeping to the surface away. There was something that excited me but that was in my past and I made a promise to myself, and most importantly, Henry, that it would remain in my past.

Never again.

“What’s your name?” the guy asked suddenly, glancing down at his phone.

“What’s yours?” I countered, still not over the fact that I had answered more of his questions than he did mine.

He let out a low chuckle. “My name is Tony.”

“Just Tony?” I challenged, looking over at him with a raised eyebrow.

“For now, that’s all you need to know.” He said with a shrug, tossing another smirk in my direction and I couldn’t help but scoff slightly as I shook my head at him, noticing how he repeated my words from before.

“Now have I earned the prize of knowing your name?” he continued to pry.

“I’m hardly a prize,” I mumbled, opening up the packet of cigarettes and pulling one out, sliding it between my fingers.

“What’s your name?” he repeated with a roll of his eyes.

“Georgie,” I finally sighed out, pulling my lighter back out of my pocket. “My name is Georgie and for now, that’s all you need to know.”

I stood up then and he followed a few seconds later. I lit my cigarette, trying to convince myself that this was all I needed in this moment. I was in control. I looked back over at the guy – Tony - noticing the way he was once again just staring at me, as if I were a statue of some sort that he found interesting. I released my puff of smoke in the air surrounding us and I was just about to turn, to head back toward the entrance when his voice stopped me.

“Are you going to stay and watch the show?” he asked, shifting on his feet as he once again glanced down on his phone and I came to the conclusion that there was somewhere else that required his presence.

“Show?” I asked, slightly confused; I had thought this was just a party.

“Yeah,” he said with a small nod. “That band I told you about, they’re going to play a couple songs.” He said and shrugged and I once again noticed the way he seemed to choose his words carefully, as if he was afraid he would say the wrong thing and scare me away.

I thought about it for a moment, taking another drag from my cigarette. “I don’t see why not.” I finally said with an impassive shrug.

“Do me a favor?” he asked just as I was about to turn away again. I turned around, looking at him with a cocked eyebrow, willing him to continue. “Meet me here again, after the show? If you want to.” He said, his tone taking on a nervous note and I wondered what he meant by, if I want to.

“I’ll think about it,” I said blankly, not wanting to admit that I found him enticing and I had already been hoping this was not the last I would see of him.

He nodded with another smile before he turned around and then quickly turned back and headed toward me. “Oh, and Georgie?” he said and I didn’t say anything as he pinched the rolled tobacco hanging loosely from my mouth and tossed it to the floor. “You shouldn’t smoke; it’s bad for you.”

“How would you know? You don’t smoke,” I pointed out, fully aware that my remark was both childish and a little dense; everyone knew smoking was bad.

He gave me a small smile though and I couldn’t help but notice the way his dark brown eyes held me in their gaze and I once again felt that feeling of familiarity return. Something about him was drawing me in, holding me in place and for the briefest moment, I could have sworn I had been in this place before.

“I did, once.” He mused and I couldn’t help but notice the hint of nostalgia that flashed in his eyes and as he stared down at my bright green eyes, I couldn’t help but wonder if he felt the same way I did.

With that he gave me another small smile before he turned and walked away, pulling open the back door of the club and disappearing inside.

Notes

hello lovlies! winny here and I am proud to announce a collab between me and the coolest person ever- lostinthemusic!

it is such an honor because she writes the best stories ever.

now for the majority of this story, the chapters will be written collectively by us but we may have some where we write them solo! i am so excited.

title credit: Funny You Should Ask- The Front Bottoms

xx.