The fith.

A Story by Scisenheart

the start of a novel, I'll keep going soon I hope, but I'm not going to commit to it quite yet :P

Pub. Chip shop. Bookies. Indian, Chinese, chip shop. Pawn shop. Pub. Pub. Guen hated walking down Dumbarton road, it either smelt of f*g smoke and booze, making her stomach wretch and her lungs ache, or of warm, fat filled, gorgeous fast food, reminding her of her mum’s hatred of it. Shame, it smelt wonderful. She reached the corner where the string of charity shops began. Turning to look back at the library she had just left as she went to press the buzzer for the traffic lights, then turned resentfully back to face the road to her house, past her old primary school. One more day. Just one more then you’ll be with the people you care about, who care about you, she said to herself. She closed her eyes and wistfully thought of how it would be when they got to a wigwam. She couldn’t wait; Her, Eddie, Poppy, William and Vincent were going on holiday together, all on their own! She grinned widely, eyes sparkling beneath her closed lids. Just her, her four best friends and beautiful Scottish countryside for four whole days. The lights began to screech and she snapped open her eyes to find the green man on the lights waving at her on the lights on the pavement opposite her. She stepped forward and across the road. She’d pack when she got home, just one day left.

Work had been shite, Vincent thought to himself as he walked back to his parents’ house from Thornlibank station. He didn’t want to go home. It wasn’t home really though. On stage with Eddie and William and Poppy and Guen, that was home. Just hanging out with them, that was home too. He looked around at the grey houses that surrounded him, at his old secondary school, he shied away from the painful memories it brought back to him. God he hated this place. He turned up the road behind the school, a gust of wind blowing back his shoulder length dark blond hair. He almost cringed as he faced his front door, don’t worry mate, he thought, just one more day then we’re going back to where we belong. He forced a smile, readying himself to face the world that lay beyond that door. Just focus on how great tomorrow’s going to be, he said over and over in his head as he walked through the threadbare front garden to the front door. This weekend is gonna be f*****g awesome.

Poppy’s house was blissfully quiet. Her dad was at work, her mum had taken Nikki, her little sister, to her dance class. It was just her, echo and spider, the dog and cat, who were currently locked in a feud over who got to sit on poppy’s lap. She finished her tea, her mum would be home in fifteen minutes, and then she would never get peace to play her piano. Why didn’t Leo call her? She asked herself staring curiously at the phone. They’d met up today, along with Violet, Unna, Kat, Harry and the two Stewarts, but Leo had only wanted to talk to the guys. She was his girlfriend after all, didn’t he want to speak to her? She noticed she had been absent-mindedly playing with the necklace he had bought her for her 16^th birthday. She’d only had it for four days and already the paint that covered the little transparent plastic birds was beginning to peel off. She sighed. Her piano would cheer her up she though as she wandered into the downstairs front room. So would the holiday tomorrow, she’d never been away from the watchful eyes of grown-ups for that long, now she would have a full five days with her friends from Norrithing, the theatre company they had started. It felt wonderful to be part of that, she was the youngest there, but no one viewed her as a silly child. She was the MD. Musical director. In Norrithing People didn’t shout at her for constantly playing the piano and singing, she was praised for it. The daft little songs she wrote down in jotters she’d nicked from the school were now a key part of the musicals they put on. She was making money, albeit next to nothing, from her voice and her music. And tomorrow they were going on holiday to celebrate this. And to celebrate her birthday. She couldn’t wait. She let her fingers fly across the keys, she could wait, she could contain the anticipation, while she poured her heart into song.

“Edwina Daisy Dearheart don’t go back into your room, I’m talking to you” Eddie ignored her mother’s soft plea, filled with anger and disappointment. F**k her, she was wrong, she had proved to her mum already that she could make money out of Norrithing. Why did she doubt Eddie’s dreams? Why could her mum not understand that she couldn’t spend her life doing what people told her to do, that she had her own hopes and ideas that would be ignored if she tried to worm her way into and acting company that was already successful? Besides, it wouldn’t be the same without them, the people who had helped make her dream reality. She could hear her mother down on the landing telling her to come out and talk to her. She thought of all her friends who would take her away from this tomorrow. She thought of Vincent and his cool stunts when they did the sword fighting scenes, of Poppy’s insane talent and beautiful voice, and all the songs she had written to transform her plays into thoroughly unique musicals. Her mum stormed into her room and ranted about how she couldn’t keep avoiding her, like she avoided life. Eddie just zoned out. She thought of Guen, wonderful and sweet Guen who had unknowingly helped create the idea of Norrithing, and had convinced her it was more than just a dream, it was their future. Guen who had always been there when she needed to talk to someone. Her mum was getting angrier now that she wasn’t responding. F**k her. Eddie thought of William, the one who….who was everything. He was William, her Will. She loved him. He would be there soon surely. It was then she noticed the door bell was ringing. She barged past her mother, who protested loudly, but it was Will that mattered. She flung open the door to see him standing behind the storm doors, sheltering from the gale that was beginning to forming the darkening sky. “Hello my love” Will kissed her quickly before letting himself be dragged upstairs.

Eddie’s mum had given up her attempts to reason with her daughter, she had known there was no point once her daughter’s latest boy had arrived, so her room was empty. Eddie made an attempt to pick up a handful of the vast amounts of clothes and junk that lay around on her floor. No, she thought, it wasn’t junk, there was a purpose and a point to everything there, even if it wasn’t where her mum deemed “the right place”. She heard a thud as will dropped his rucksack on the floor, obviously he intended to stay at her’s and leave from here tomorrow. She giggled to herself; she loved it when he spent the night at her’s. She turned round and uttered a gasp of surprise; he had stripped to his boxers. She stared at him, raising one eyebrow, though not the death stare she had a reputation for giving. “Well, it was going to happen anyway” he said in a matter-of-fact tone, flashing her an apologetic yet cocky smile. “And anyway, I’m freezing, and wet clothes would have stopped me from warming up” they laughed in unison. She walked up to him, running her hands across his damp chest as she pulled him in for a hug. “Dude, we live in Scotland, what more do you expect?” his laugh was muffled, as he had buried his head in her short brown hair. Still, it had been unusually cold and blustery for the summer. Hopefully it would improve overnight, and the weather would be perfect for the wigwam. It would be perfect anyway though; she’d have her best friends and her wonderful, wonderful boyfriend, all in the one place for five days without her parents upstairs. They walked over to her bed as one, beginning to kiss as they sat down on the higgledy-piggledy array of duvets. She had never felt more at ease in her life, Ross, her ex, had made kissing gross. Will had made it magical again.

There! Guen had finally managed to close over her rucksack. She always packed too much. It wasn’t like she was a total girl and brought loads of unnecessary clothes. It was sensible things like blankets and a spare bikini if poppy or Eddie forgot theirs. Not that they’d need them if the weather stayed this bad. Dour, that’s the best word to describe it, she thought, or dericht. She loved words like that. Anyway, she was a guide, it was in her nature to be prepared, even if she often over prepared. Her phone beeped again. Argh! 19 messages from Vera. She wished that girl would just leave her alone. She threw the phone onto her bed, before slumping down on it too. She wished she didn’t always ignore Vera’s texts, it made her feel so guilty. But she couldn’t help it, she was so clingy, and Guen had changed, she had grown up. Vera was still the same girl she had been in first year. At least she wouldn’t have to see her in school anymore, or any of the people she called friends. It was a poor use of the word, Eddie, she was the perfect example of a friend. Not to say Eddie was perfect, far from it. She had once been an hour late meeting Guen in central station. But instead of being angry with Eddie when she showed up, Guen only loved her more. That was true friendship. Inexplicable love when you should be angry. Not the discontent and loathing she felt around her school friends. Oh, f**k it, she was getting teary now, reminiscing on her fond memories of Eddie. Guen sighed, this was getting her nowhere. There was no need to cry, she’d see Eddie soon, and crying wouldn’t help her get ready. She heaved herself up and began scurrying about her room, just in case she found something vital she would otherwise have forgotten. Humming to herself, she traced her fingers along the bindings of the tightly packed regiments of books on her shelves. She felt guilty that she had to leave them all here, she loved being in Norrithing and wanted her books to be with the people she cared about most, she was surprised she had managed to cut it down to two- both beautiful volumes of le morte D’Arthur, this would be the third time she’d read them, and they were still as magical and confusing as ever. But they were Arthurian legends, so she endured the confusing language of the 15^th century, to feed her appetite for a fantasy which was capable of being real.

Her phone was buzzing again. Please let it be Poppy telling her she was outside to pick her up. Poppy’s mum was going to drive them to central station to meet the other three. Her heart leapt when she quickly skimmed the text.

I’M OUTSIDE!!Get down here!!

Eeek!!! Can’t wait! :D :D

She hoisted her rucksack on to one shoulder, surveying the room one last panic stricken time. Relax Guen, she told herself, you won’t need what you’ve forgotten, you’ve packed enough s**t already. She tried to hurry her goodbyes, but her parents would lecture her once more before she left. They had never understood that she was in fact, a very sensible teenager. Yes she drank, not that they knew this, and yes she often got carried away in dare games, but despite this, she had never actually been peer pressured into anything. She trundled down the stairs, bashing the close walls with the side of her rucksack when she tried to reach her phone. It was Poppy again.

Hurry up! I want to be there already

Can’t believe we’re actually going!!! :D

She smiled, jumping two steps at a time now. After yanking it open she flung herself out the close door, scanning the familiar street, filled with half a dozen ford focuses, and one weird, ugly pink car with a sparkly black bonnet, searching for the yellow mini cooper, or mini muffin as everyone called it. As she homed in on the car, poppy burst out, prancing up to Guen and practically dragging her along the street. Obviously she was a bit excited. Actually, Guen was surprised at herself, she was being relatively calm. But she was always like this before she met Eddie, always thinking about how awful it had been without her. She shouldn’t dwell on the past so much. It was the past now. Their house on the east coast was nearly ready to be paid for, she would be starting at Edinburgh uni, studying archaeology, Eddie at Queen Margaret’s, and Vincent would get a job. And they could start up Norrithing there too. One big, happy, Norrithing family. Living in a two room flat, sharing a bed. Guen smiled to herself, she really had changed.

Vincent sighed, slumping back in his seat and staring out the window. He couldn’t look across the train boot to his two best friends, not while they were this happy. They we’re always polite in public, never went too far, though that was probably down to Eddie’s bad public experiences with Ross. He glanced down at their intertwined hands, so innocent and sweet, then up to their smiling faces. Why were they so happy? How come he didn’t get to be like them? He had to accept it, women just didn’t like him; his black clothes, his love of heavy metal, his weird interests and obsession with samurai swords, it just scared girls off. He shook himself out of his melancholy musings, re-joining the conversation before they realised he hadn’t been paying attention. He shouldn’t be sad. He wouldn’t let himself be, not while he was with his friends. Besides, he should let them be happy, it would kill the two of them when it came to September, and William went down south to scuba training, and Eddie went to live with him and Guen. Oh god, he couldn’t wait till then, he should feel bad for Eddie, but mostly he was just ecstatic for himself, because he was finally going to be well and truly free. All his anger and depression about his s****y life would once and for all be tamed and he would be with them. The train pulled in at central station, as tanoids rang and the doors buzzed, fierce and metallic, he began to try to come to terms with the fact that things weren’t going to be perfect, but they would be bloody brilliant.

Poppy stood their awkwardly, knowing that it was Guen they wanted to see the most. But still, the stampede of three crazy teenagers bounded her way, rucksacks bouncing on their backs and faces on fire with joy. Guen pounced on Eddie before she had the chance to stop running, wrapping her legs round Eddie’s thighs and allowing herself to be twirled round and round. The look in their eyes…it was beyond beautiful, so much love and devotion in a single moment. They didn’t even speak, but she knew what they we’re saying. Their eye told how much they loved each other and how dreadful being parted was. She had once looked at Leo like that. Poppy didn’t want to think about Leo though, not now. She hugged will, the poor bloke must have felt awkward, Eddie was his girlfriend after all, and the scene between her and Guen looked like something pinched out a cheesy rom com. Vincent pulled her in for a hug too, while waiting for Guen and Eddie to stop acting like the loveable twats they were. She found herself suddenly in the firm grasp of Eddie’s arms. “Hey wood” the tall girl, almost three years her elder, whispered fondly too her. God that was an embarrassing nickname, Eddie was lucky, Dearheart was a much better surname than blackwood, you’d think it wold be easier to make fun of though. However, somehow her brain didn’t register this affectionate torment. In fact, torment wasn’t even the right word, it was just a joke, one often looked back on fondly. Poppy didn’t understand how she could be so hurt when teased by friends in school, yet Eddie’s words only strengthened their friendship. Some things made no sense.

Poppy looked over Eddie’s shoulder to see Guen giving Vincent what looked more like a rugby tackle than a hug. Eddie let go of poppy, and would have probably slipped her hand back into Williams if Guen hadn’t moved on to violently attack him, or as she called it, hug. S**t, they better get moving, she thought as she scanned the notice boards to see that their train was leaving in six minutes, and it was all the way over at platform 11. She felt her excitement rising like a tidal wave as Eddie and Guen linked arms with her on either side. Her body filled with warmth as they skipped through the crowd of people, waiting for trains, waiting for loved ones, waiting to run away to horizons new or dive back homewards. There wasn’t even a ticket barrier to stop them as they pranced up the platform. They days they had been dreaming of for the past 5 months were about to truly begin.