Riding in Vans With Angels

He was standing in the corridor, deep in conversation with Lucy. As she walked towards him, she realised how much he meant to her, how much it would hurt if something happened to them. He was the first good thing to happen to her since she had left University.

“Nick.” She was standing alongside them now, smiling at him.

Lucy greeted her, before asking if Jade was still downstairs. “I’ve got some paintings I want to show her.” She explained, and Scarlet nodded slowly.

“Yeah, she’s down there.”

“Cool. See you two lovebirds later.”

She lifted her hand in a wave as she turned and strutted away from them. Scarlet put a hand on Nick’s t-shirt, feeling his heart beating beneath.

“What were you two talking about?” She asked, tilting her head to one side.

“Work.” He replied, lifting a hand and cupping her cheek, running a finger from her eye to her chin. “Art. You’ve been smoking, haven’t you?”

“Yeah.” She stepped closer to him, putting her other hand on his belt buckle. “Strong stuff.” She tilted her head back, staring at his eyes. “You know, I really do love your eyes.”

He flashed her his best smile, moving his fingers under her chin and holding her there as he leant in, planting his lips on her. The kiss grew in intensity, their hands began to roam over skin they knew so well. To Scarlet, it was so familiar, so safe. Her time in University was not looked back on fondly, when she thought she had been content to chop and change lovers like underwear. No, this was what she loved; the same curve of his back, the same smooth feel of his skin.

She smiled when he slid his hands over her arse, found her legs and lifted them up. She wrapped them around his waist and steadily he held her as he pushed his back against a nearby door.

As the door slowly swung shut behind them, Scarlet giggled as Nick’s hand moved up under her t-shirt and began to undo her bra.

It wasn’t long before Scarlet went looking for Nick that Sapphire and Gwen had been in the kitchen, pouring themselves a generous helping of alcohol.

The two girls had found a bottle of Sambuka, and were entertaining themselves by doing a few shots. Gwen hadn’t been this drunk in a long time, and she relished the feeling each time the burning liquid flew down her throat. She smiled lopsidedly at Sapphire when they’d finished almost half the bottle.

“See you the found the Sambuka then.”

The voice made both girls whirl around, blushing and glancing at each other like school kids caught smoking. They were faced by two very good looking boys, one blond and one with mousey brown hair.

“It’s OK.” The blond waved his hand in the air. “Wouldn’t have brought it if I didn’t want someone to drink it.” He was smiling easily, casually, and Sapphire found herself blushing even more. She cursed herself; she wasn’t even that drunk. The whole reason she’d agreed to do the shots was because Gwen had insisted, and because she’d sobered up greatly since they had arrived.

“I’m Gwen.” Gwen flashed both of them a wide smile. “And this is Sapphire.”

“Like the jewel.” The blond mused, his gaze fixed on Sapphire. “Joey, and this is Rich.” He gestured at his friend, who gave both girls a theatrical bow.

Gwen giggled, and the four settled into conversation against the backdrop of the music pumping heavily throughout the house.

“They seem to be getting along well.” Joey commented, as he subtly shifted himself closer to Sapphire, taking a swig from his bottle of beer. Silently, Sapphire agreed. Her friend was giggling at something Rich whispered in her ear, his arm resting on the tabletop on which Gwen leant. “So, heard you were in a band.”

“Yeah, and where’d you hear that from?” She asked, determined not to be drawn in by his charm. She’d had enough crap from guys to have to deal with it again.

“From my sister.” He replied. “Lucy.”

“Ah.” She glanced at him. “You look like her.”

He rolled his eyes. “I kind of get that a lot. So what you play?”

“Guitar. Rhythm.”

“Bet you sing too.”

“What makes you say that?” She was still keeping her voice cold and steady, but now she was curious.

“Because, and don’t take this as a cheesy chat up line, please, you have a nice voice. Would suit vocals.”

She took a big gulp of her own beer, which Joey had handed her earlier, and was annoyed to find herself blushing. “You know if you start a sentence with don’t take this as, then people are going to take it exactly that way right?”

“Well, I wouldn’t like you think I wasn’t trying to chat you up.”

Again she blushed and again she cursed herself. She struggled to find something to say, before she realised that they were the only two in the room.

Damn Gwen!

“Where’d they go?”

Joey looked momentarily surprised to find them alone, and gazed at the spot where Gwen and Rich had been moments before.

“No idea.”

Their silence was broken when Scarlet stumbled in, and Sapphire felt thankful for her friend’s interruption.

Gwen giggled as Rich led her up the stairs. His hand was gripping hers, pulling her along behind him as he climbed the stairs. At the top, the pair stopped, and he pulled her into him, immediately wrapping his arms around her, holding her by the small of her back as they began to kiss.

As their mouths crashed together, all the old excitement and intensity that she used to feel when kissing someone new came flooding back. Taking in the new taste, the new smell, the different technique they used when they kissed you for the first time...

God, she had missed this.

Greedily, hungrily her hands wove into his hair, pulling him closer to him. He was pushed right up against her, her back against the wall.

She’d been with her boyfriend from first to third year, back in University, and since coming home she had been swept up in the drama of the Angels, too exhausted watching Rivers and Melody’s turbulent relationship to seek anything out for herself.

Now though, that was changing.

Now she was actually having fun for herself, instead of watching out for the others.

She heard him groan, and suddenly she was being pulled along the corridor. Glancing once over her shoulder, automatically following a sweet smell, she spotted Scarlet close a door behind her and head downstairs.

But then she was distracted, as Rich urgently pulled her into another room. They collapsed on the bed, kissing passionately.

At some point she heard the door open and close, but didn’t care.

For once she was wrapped up in her own world, and happy because of it.

Jade watched Scarlet disappear up the stairs, and couldn’t help but smile to herself. That girl, she knew, was in a world of her own.

Lucy had asked Jade to wait here, said she had something to sort out with Nick. As it had turned out, Scarlet’s boyfriend had seen some of Lucy’s artwork and was interested in doing a piece on Art from the University. Jade wondered if he’d ask to speak to her father. Most likely. She’d have to get their first, make her dad promise not to show any of her stuff.

He would try, not because it was any good but because it was his daughter’s artwork. But Jade had given up on Art long ago, left it behind.

Along with telling people her ‘secret’. But if Scarlet knew, then who else did?

She knew it shouldn’t matter; after all if anyone knew, they hadn’t said anything. Except Scar.

“Hey Jade.” Lucy appeared down the stairs, a soft smile lingering on her pretty blonde face. “Sorry for making you wait.”

“That’s OK. So is he doing the piece?”

Lucy looked blank for a moment, before understanding dawned on her face. “Oh, yeah. Maybe. Could do.”

Jade was confused, hadn’t she just been talking about it with Nick? Wasn’t that the whole point of them disappearing upstairs?

Then, her thoughts disappeared as Lucy took her hand and led her down the corridor. “C’mon, there’s one bedroom in this house which is locked. We can go in there.”

“B....bedroom?”

“Uh huh. I want you to look at something for me. Your dad said you had an artistic eye.”

“Oh.” She was momentarily disappointed. “How many spare bedrooms do you have then?”

Lucy waved a dismissive hand. “Way too many. Especially now Joey’s moved out. Joey’s my brother, by the way. But we had an au pair when I was younger, so she had to have a room. And mummy and daddy wanted there to always be enough rooms for guests. Which turned out lucky for me when they started going away and leaving me and Joey home alone.”

“Ah.” Jade watched as Lucy slid a small silver key out of her pocket and unlocked the door they had come to. She gazed around at the bedroom, eyes scanning over the posters of male rock bands, the art prints, the collage of photographs showing Lucy with an array of people, Lucy at varying ages.

Lucy crossed towards the bed, leaning down and looking for something underneath. Jade took the time to have a better look at the photographs – there was one with a 6 year old Lucy dressed as a fairy, one of her with Mickey Mouse as Disneyland, another of her and a boy a few years older dressed as pirates. As she got older, there were a few more with the boy, then a couple of her with friends, one that looked quite recent - her in some foreign country on a sandy beach with crystal blue water, sunbathing with friends, all of them in bikinis.

“Here.” Lucy stood up, holding a large sketchbook in her hands. She grinned at Jade, who found herself smiling back. The girl sat on the end of the bed, and Jade followed.

Flicking the book open, Lucy started pointing out sketches, drawings, and asking Jade’s opinion.

They weren’t great – Jade had seen better from some of her father’s other students.

“My folks always said I was good but they would, wouldn’t they?” She smiled gently at Jade. “I need an honest opinion, I was thinking of entering this one in a competition.”

She pointed out a detailed sketch of a woman standing in front of a tree, an apple held in one hand and big black wings coming from her back. From the tree, she had drawn a snake, slithering down towards the woman.

Like her other drawings, it was OK – not great, not brilliant, and certainly not an original. It was defiantly not good enough to enter in a competition, Jade knew. And so she should, she had entered a fair few when she was younger.

“It’s great.” She lied, smiling gently at Lucy.

“Thanks Jade.” Lucy threw her arms around the older girl, burying her head in her neck. “I’ll defiantly enter it now.”

Jade never was overly comfortable with hugs, and awkwardly she patter Lucy on the back, trying to ignore the smell of her hair, the strawberry smell of shampoo or conditioner, tried to ignore the perfume Lucy was wearing.

Lucy pulled back, but kept her face close to Jade’s. Slowly, Lucy reached up and brushed Jade’s hair back.

“You have really pretty eyes Jade.” Lucy muttered, and Jade found herself blushing at the compliment, unable to remember the last time anyone had said anything like that to her.

“Thanks.” She mumbled in reply.

Then, suddenly, Lucy was kissing her, and Jade felt her tongue pushing through her teeth and into her mouth.

She was surprised, but not enough to not respond to the advance; she replied with her own kiss, amazed when she realised her hand was on Lucy’s back, and Lucy’s hand was tangled in her hair.

They fell back onto the bed, Jade not noticing the small blinking light in the corner of the room.