Smiling Politely

Tom sat at the table at the front of the bus uploading photos from his camera to his laptop and saw Matt glance at his phone for probably the third time in five minutes, "Wha's got ye all antsy?"

"Wha'?" his friend asked, looking up.

"If ye check yer phone one more time, I'll chuck it under the bus," the younger Sykes smiled.

Matt shook his head, "Promise not t' tell?"

Tom nodded, sliding to the edge of the seat so he was closer to the couch.

"Lex's comin' over an' we're goin' out."

"That's it?" Tom frowned, "Though' it was summit excitin'."

Matt raised his eyebrows, "It is. Well not excitin' but ye never know."

"She's with someone though, in't she? Wha' makes you think she's just gonna come back to ye? An' what makes ye think she'll stay?"

His friend just narrowed his eyes at him in response.

"Look mate, 'm jus' playin' Devil's advocate a'right? I wan' you guys to get back together as much as you do," Tom held his hands up in defense.

"I know and I dunno why 'm all worked up 'bout it but I though' I was over 'er an' I'm obviously not if she has this effect on me. Anyway, she were the one who kissed me yesterday," Matt said with a small, triumphant smile.

Tom smiled, "She kissed ye?"

Matt nodded, "Mus' mean somethin', right?"

"Wha' mus' mean somethin'?"Oli appeared at the top of the bus stairs, girlfriend Amanda in hand.

"Nothin'. I'm goin' for a walk," Matt shoved his phone in his pocket and quickly descended the stairs and disappeared round the corner of the venue.

"Was it somethin' I said?" Oli asked his brother, who only shrugged.

***

Lexi literally bumped into Matt before work, "In a hurry?" she asked with a smile, the first one to grace her face since her fight with Josh last night.

"Shit, sorry," it took him a second to realise who he had almost crashed into.

"S'alright," she shrugged and motioned across the road, "Want to grab a coffee?"

He nodded and the pair ventured over the busy road to the little cafe with the blacked out windows. He'd been here before he remembered as they wandered past the booths at the front to the squishy couches near the back with dark wood coffee tables between them.

"So I'm guessing after tonight you guys are headed off?" she asked once they were settled and had ordered.

"Yeah, Newcastle next."

She nodded and ignored the pang in her chest at the thought of him leaving.

"Ye back at college soon?"

She nodded again, "Tomorrow."

Back to the real world.

"Tonight should be good, playin' 'ere's always fun," he tried to keep the conversation light and general.

"More obnoxious scene kids," she raised her arms in mock celebration and smiled as the barman set their coffees down.

Matt laughed, "They're only jealous, love," he nodded a silent thanks to the guy as he left them alone again.

"I'm not sure what of," she mumbled into the froth on her caramel latte.

"Come on Lex, ye know those little girls 'ave nothin' on you."

She made a face and focused her attention on the mural of Dimebag Darrell on the wall, "Not everyone shares that opinion it seems."

Matt raised an eyebrow behind his mug.

"Josh and I had a fight," she shrugged.

"Not goin' to pretend I'm disappointed," he glanced up from the cocktail menu he had been fixated on.

"Don't be like that," she sighed.

"Wha' do ye wan' me t' be like? There's nothin' wrong with me not wantin' t' see ye with someone else."

"So you'd rather I was single and unhappy?"

He shrugged, "Jus' cause yer single don't mean yer unhappy. Yer hardly ecstatic to be wi' him. In fact, did ye not spend some o' the other day tryin' to talk yerself out of yer relationship?"

She eyed him carefully, he was right but she wasn't about to admit it, "I wasn't talking myself out of it."

"Could've fooled me."

"I didn't come here for a fight Matt."

"Neither did I. I jus' don't like how much yer lyin' to yerself to make it work wi' him."

She ran a hand through her hair, this wasn't what she wanted, she just wanted to spend time with him. Not to fight with him, "I need to get to work," she tossed a five pound note on the table and made a break for the door.

"Ye can't jus' run away again Lex," he called after her as she crossed the road.

He wasn't far behind her when she reach the other side, he grabbed her wrist and turned her to face him, "I didn't mean t' upset ye, never have. I don't wan' ye to run away from me again."

She almost laughed, "Don't you get it?" she asked, tears forming in her eyes, "That's what I do. I get scared and I run. The way you make me feel terrified me because I knew it might not last forever and the thought of how much it would hurt to lose you... I couldn't take the chance that you would hurt me so I hurt you first."

"You don' have to go Lexi-Mae," he was trying hard not to plead with her.

She shook her head, "Don't you see? Running is what I do."