Slip Away.
Open up your mind and see like me;
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Three high pitched beeps shot through the darkness and awoke me sharply from my sleep. I groaned, opening my eyes and was met with darkness. It was late. Really bloody late. I could see just how late by looking at the digital clock radio to the side of me. Half past four in the morning. Urgghhh.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
The sound rang out again and I blinked rapidly, not really registering what it was. I looked to the side of me and saw Stu sleeping like a baby. It’s alright for some. He’d sleep through anything though, bless him. I smiled and reached out to lightly stroke his shoulder, before that irritating sound disturbed me again.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
“Shuttup!” I hissed wildly, throwing my hand out at the bedside table. I knocked the digital radio to the floor and saw what it was that had been making those noises. My mobile phone, glowing and vibrating across the table, was ringing. Oh...
Groaning slightly, I reached over and picked it up, pressing the green button and holding the phone to my ear.
“Hello?” I asked thickly.
“MIIKE!” Yelled a cheerful, welsh voice. I blinked.
“...Yeah?”
“HOW ARE YOU, YOU OLD CUNT?” The voice bellowed. I winced from the volume and mumbled some sort of hazy reply.
“Mate, you sound proper out of it!” Laughed the person on the other end.
“Uhuh...who’s this?” I asked, bemused.
“Harry!”
“...Harry who?”
“Harry Potter!” Exclaimed this voice, before bursting into hysterical laughter. I groaned and rubbed my temple. Stu stirred slightly beside me.
“Nah mate, nah, M’only kiddin’. It’s Harry, your old mate from Ponty! Don’t say you’ve forgotten me. I know you haven’t. You can’t have... you old rockstar prick!”
I blinked rapidly, watching Stu to see if he had been woken up, letting the pieces fall into place a little bit more.
“Ooohh... Harry Brick?”
“YEAH!”
“...Cool.” I blinked again. “...What did you want... It’s kind of late man, I was asleep.”
“Ah, don’t give me that... we all know you’re a rockstar now! Don’t pretend like you don’t go partying every night!”
I couldn’t be bothered to argue. I was too sleepy, too disoriented by the whole situation. I just lay there silently waiting for it all to make sense.
“I’m gettin’ married soon, man!” He yelled down the phone. I didn’t understand people who yelled on the phone. Just because you’re not right here doesn’t mean I can’t hear you perfectly well.
“..Uh...congratulations.”
“Yeah! I’m havin’ a stag do in Vegas!”
“Oh. Um. Cool...” I had a feeling I knew where this was going now. Oh good. The sooner I knew the sooner I could hang up and go back to sleep.
“I want you to come!”
Stu groaned beside me slightly, his body shifting about a tad.
“..You...eh?”
“Come to my stag do! Come on, you miserable git!”
“....Alright,” I mumbled. Even half asleep I knew this guy didn’t really want me there; he just wanted somebody supposedly famous. Whatever. I wanted to go back to sleep, and if getting rid of him meant I had to pretend I wanted to go to his stupid party then I’d pretend I was going to go.
“SAFE!” He exclaimed on the other end, then banged the phone down. Hearing the dial tone, I grunted sleepily and dropped my phone back on the table. I lay down properly and closed my eyes.
“...Who was that?” Oh... Stu wasn’t asleep after all.
“Uhm, some guy I knew when I was a bit younger. Lived down the street from my mam.”
“Oh, right...” Stu replied, obviously waiting for me to explain properly.
“Yeah... he wants me to go to some...party...no... His stag do,” I shrugged.
“I said I’d go to get him to fuck off, like, but I don’t think I will. He only wants me there ‘cause of the band really... and... Yeah...”
“He invited you to a party?” Stu’s voice was rather quiet, probably because he was slightly sleepy.
“Well...yeah, but-”
“I think you should go to it then, babe.”
“...Huh? No, he just...”
“You reject this stuff way too much.” Stu turned over to face me properly and propped himself up on one elbow, watching me intently. “So what if he doesn’t really know you anymore? It’s an invitation to something that will probably be fun. I worry, you know. You hardly ever go out.”
I blinked.
“I...go out...”
“Yeah, to Aled’s or Ian’s or to the supermarket maybe. You never go out. Not to a party or anything. I worry, you know... you need to enjoy yourself sometimes.”
I blinked again.
“...I... don’t....”
“I’m not going to make you. I’m sorry. Don’t get upset, hon. I just want you to be happy,” He said gently, reaching out and stroking down my arm lightly. I smiled, moving over the bed to be closer to him. Stu wrapped his arm around me and held me tightly to him.
“I love you.”
“I love you too,” I whispered. “I... just hate it when people only want me around because of the band and everything. They don’t know me. They never will.”
“Well... not if you don’t let them. C’mon, Mike, you’re so guarded. No one gets to see the guy I do.”
I wriggled, slightly uncomfortably.
“I just... don’t want to be used...”
“I know. And believe me; I’ll punch anyone who dares to treat you badly. But I think it could be a good idea for you. Just let yourself go for a bit.”
Stu’s words were simple, so were his ideas, but he wasn’t. Neither was I. I knew he was right; my own life had ended up leading me to the point where I couldn’t accept a simple invitation from an old friend because I hated to get used or mistreated so much.
I stared at him.
“You really want me to go, don’t you?”
“I really want you to be happy.”
I smiled, and kissed his chest.
“A’ite. I’ll go. And... try to enjoy it. ”
He grinned, rubbing my back lightly.
“Atta boy.”
“Time for sleep?” I asked him, but he could hear the curl of a smirk in my very voice. I heard him chuckle, then his hand began to run round to my front.
“Oh, Mike. You know that’s not what beds were made for.”
Three high pitched beeps shot through the darkness and awoke me sharply from my sleep. I groaned, opening my eyes and was met with darkness. It was late. Really bloody late. I could see just how late by looking at the digital clock radio to the side of me. Half past four in the morning. Urgghhh.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
The sound rang out again and I blinked rapidly, not really registering what it was. I looked to the side of me and saw Stu sleeping like a baby. It’s alright for some. He’d sleep through anything though, bless him. I smiled and reached out to lightly stroke his shoulder, before that irritating sound disturbed me again.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
“Shuttup!” I hissed wildly, throwing my hand out at the bedside table. I knocked the digital radio to the floor and saw what it was that had been making those noises. My mobile phone, glowing and vibrating across the table, was ringing. Oh...
Groaning slightly, I reached over and picked it up, pressing the green button and holding the phone to my ear.
“Hello?” I asked thickly.
“MIIKE!” Yelled a cheerful, welsh voice. I blinked.
“...Yeah?”
“HOW ARE YOU, YOU OLD CUNT?” The voice bellowed. I winced from the volume and mumbled some sort of hazy reply.
“Mate, you sound proper out of it!” Laughed the person on the other end.
“Uhuh...who’s this?” I asked, bemused.
“Harry!”
“...Harry who?”
“Harry Potter!” Exclaimed this voice, before bursting into hysterical laughter. I groaned and rubbed my temple. Stu stirred slightly beside me.
“Nah mate, nah, M’only kiddin’. It’s Harry, your old mate from Ponty! Don’t say you’ve forgotten me. I know you haven’t. You can’t have... you old rockstar prick!”
I blinked rapidly, watching Stu to see if he had been woken up, letting the pieces fall into place a little bit more.
“Ooohh... Harry Brick?”
“YEAH!”
“...Cool.” I blinked again. “...What did you want... It’s kind of late man, I was asleep.”
“Ah, don’t give me that... we all know you’re a rockstar now! Don’t pretend like you don’t go partying every night!”
I couldn’t be bothered to argue. I was too sleepy, too disoriented by the whole situation. I just lay there silently waiting for it all to make sense.
“I’m gettin’ married soon, man!” He yelled down the phone. I didn’t understand people who yelled on the phone. Just because you’re not right here doesn’t mean I can’t hear you perfectly well.
“..Uh...congratulations.”
“Yeah! I’m havin’ a stag do in Vegas!”
“Oh. Um. Cool...” I had a feeling I knew where this was going now. Oh good. The sooner I knew the sooner I could hang up and go back to sleep.
“I want you to come!”
Stu groaned beside me slightly, his body shifting about a tad.
“..You...eh?”
“Come to my stag do! Come on, you miserable git!”
“....Alright,” I mumbled. Even half asleep I knew this guy didn’t really want me there; he just wanted somebody supposedly famous. Whatever. I wanted to go back to sleep, and if getting rid of him meant I had to pretend I wanted to go to his stupid party then I’d pretend I was going to go.
“SAFE!” He exclaimed on the other end, then banged the phone down. Hearing the dial tone, I grunted sleepily and dropped my phone back on the table. I lay down properly and closed my eyes.
“...Who was that?” Oh... Stu wasn’t asleep after all.
“Uhm, some guy I knew when I was a bit younger. Lived down the street from my mam.”
“Oh, right...” Stu replied, obviously waiting for me to explain properly.
“Yeah... he wants me to go to some...party...no... His stag do,” I shrugged.
“I said I’d go to get him to fuck off, like, but I don’t think I will. He only wants me there ‘cause of the band really... and... Yeah...”
“He invited you to a party?” Stu’s voice was rather quiet, probably because he was slightly sleepy.
“Well...yeah, but-”
“I think you should go to it then, babe.”
“...Huh? No, he just...”
“You reject this stuff way too much.” Stu turned over to face me properly and propped himself up on one elbow, watching me intently. “So what if he doesn’t really know you anymore? It’s an invitation to something that will probably be fun. I worry, you know. You hardly ever go out.”
I blinked.
“I...go out...”
“Yeah, to Aled’s or Ian’s or to the supermarket maybe. You never go out. Not to a party or anything. I worry, you know... you need to enjoy yourself sometimes.”
I blinked again.
“...I... don’t....”
“I’m not going to make you. I’m sorry. Don’t get upset, hon. I just want you to be happy,” He said gently, reaching out and stroking down my arm lightly. I smiled, moving over the bed to be closer to him. Stu wrapped his arm around me and held me tightly to him.
“I love you.”
“I love you too,” I whispered. “I... just hate it when people only want me around because of the band and everything. They don’t know me. They never will.”
“Well... not if you don’t let them. C’mon, Mike, you’re so guarded. No one gets to see the guy I do.”
I wriggled, slightly uncomfortably.
“I just... don’t want to be used...”
“I know. And believe me; I’ll punch anyone who dares to treat you badly. But I think it could be a good idea for you. Just let yourself go for a bit.”
Stu’s words were simple, so were his ideas, but he wasn’t. Neither was I. I knew he was right; my own life had ended up leading me to the point where I couldn’t accept a simple invitation from an old friend because I hated to get used or mistreated so much.
I stared at him.
“You really want me to go, don’t you?”
“I really want you to be happy.”
I smiled, and kissed his chest.
“A’ite. I’ll go. And... try to enjoy it. ”
He grinned, rubbing my back lightly.
“Atta boy.”
“Time for sleep?” I asked him, but he could hear the curl of a smirk in my very voice. I heard him chuckle, then his hand began to run round to my front.
“Oh, Mike. You know that’s not what beds were made for.”