Pretty Bird

I was seriously fucking dreading this. I really just wanted my body to have a mutiny from my brain and turn around, getting back in the car and far, far away from this flat. All it did was make me incredibly nervous, especially since what happened here last time. Somehow though, I found my index finger press into the doorbell, and I felt my legs stay put, waiting to be received.

"Sparrow, long time no see!"

Even his smile, which was normally so contagious, failed to make a lasting impression on my face. "Hi, Blake."

"Something wrong?" He asked, closing the door behind me as I stepped in. This place looked just the same as before; a hippie's paradise. Besides the loads of beanbag chairs creating a sea around a single beat up couch and the coffee table, there was a fairly impressive ceramics collection displayed on shelves on the wall, along with a plethora of abstract art, full of swirling colors and beautiful patterns. Unfortunately, there was one thing in here that was missing. It was the one thing I was actually searching for.

"I'm fine, just tired. Is Curtis not here?" I asked, walking awkwardly into the room, not wanting to collapse into a beanbag. I knew if I did, I would be offered something I didn't really know how to say no to.

"Curtis? Yeah, he was just here. He's probably in the bathroom." Blake replied, eying me suspiciously. "Are you sure you're alright? You seem really...off."

I smiled as best I could at him. "You don't have to worry about me, Blake."

"Oh, little Sparrow," He laughed, sitting on the couch. "Someone has to look after you, baby bird."

"Oliver does." I said, as if reminding him I was no longer some floating free spirit. "I think he manages just fine."

"That he does...that he does." Blake smiled, closing his eyes for an extended blink, before opening them again. "I haven't seen him around much. How is he?"

I didn't want to tell Blake the truth. 'Oh, funny you mention Oliver to me, Blake. I haven't seen much of him either. He took me on some wonderful dream date last week, and has been incredibly busy since then. Not to mention, Oliver doesn't like you too much, so I don't see why you would expect him around here often.' So, I just shrugged at Blake, making up some quick excuse. "He has been really busy with Drop Dead."

"Well, that's definitely not the Oliver I thought I knew," Blake remarked. "All work and no play? Definitely not a common Sykes characteristic."

Even though he didn't mean it, his response made me physically wince in my place. The logical side of me knew all that night in the woods was just Oliver buttering me up, especially after that mysterious 'interview' he had with Matt Nicholls. I knew that Oliver was probably out partying, a typical 'Sykes characteristic', as Blake called it. I just really didn't want to face it. I would much rather just pretend Oliver was super busy at work, to be honest. It made his absence easier to swallow.

Luckily, I was saved by Curtis walking into the room from the hallway. "Oi, Christian!"

"Curtis." I smiled as he hugged me, his long skinny arms wrapping around me tight before he quickly pulled away. His hoodie smelled fresh and clean, a very good sign. "We are supposed to be at Lee's soon."

"Are you sure you don't want to go, Blake?" Curtis turned to Blake, who was still sitting on the couch. "You haven't left the house in a long time."

Blake laughed, shooing at Curtis and I with his hand. "Ask Christian, I am a perfectly content homebody. Now, run along. You have fun, now."

"Where's Alena?" I randomly asked, her lack of presence just now popping into my mind. "Isn't her car out front?"

"She does have friends, you know. Just because I don't feel like leaving the house doesn't mean she has to be cooped up as well." Blake smiled playfully at us, until all of a sudden, a black car pulled into the parking lot across the way from his flat, the car's windows vibrating softly from the volume of the music the driver was blasting inside. Blake's demeanor instantly changed. "Go on, run along." He said more forcefully, standing up and ushering us out the door. "I'll talk to you amigos later!" He shut the door almost as soon as we stepped out, the lock clicking behind us instantly.

I didn't say anything, just nudged Curtis gently as he stared at the black car. "Come on." I whispered, unlocking the doors to Oliver's car and getting in quickly. Something about this situation just wasn't sitting well with me.

"That was weird..." Curtis finally remarked, getting in the passenger seat and clicking his seatbelt over his lap. "I wonder what that was about."

"Yeah, me too..." I trailed off, putting the car in reverse and pulling out of the space, eager to get away from the flat.

______________________________________

"It's been too long!" I exclaimed, my mood easily perking up as I stepped into Lee's house, seeing both of the Matts seated on the couch.

"Christian, you look gorgeous as always." Matt Kean smiled, taking me into a side hug as Matt Nicholls quickly proceeded to squeeze the life out of me.

"He means you look proper mint, love." Nicholls exclaimed, his voice always a few levels higher than anyone else's. It was just one of the things I loved about him; his personality was always just 3 sizes too big for the situation. It was endearing, as long as it was in small doses.

I honestly had to question Lee's sanity at this point. I knew Molly was sane, she was sulking in the corner by herself, eyeing her dry erase board every few minutes, making sure no one brushed up against it and ruined her observations of Aubrey. Lee, on the other hand, was still greeting Curtis, smiling and looking as happy as ever, as if he wasn't incredibly sleep deprived from taking care of a baby. I knew if I had a new baby, the last thing on my mind would be throwing a party, even if it was more of a kickback. I also would definitely not throw this party if I was inviting Bring Me The Horizon either...that just made this ten times worse.

"No Oli, then?" Vegan asked as I set my purse down next to the couch, out of anyone's way.

"No, he is apparently busy with work." As I said this, I looked directly at Nicholls, trying to see if he could break his cover. I knew he knew something, he was Oliver's best friend. If there was one person who knew everything about Oliver besides me, it was him.

Unfortunately, Matt held up, just letting his smile fade the perfect amount. "Well, that's a shame. I miss him. He's good for a party, anyways." He ruffled the back of his hair. "I need more alcohol, by the way." As if he had forgotten he was in a conversation, he wandered off to the kitchen in search of drinks.

"Please don't let Matt get wasted." I said under my breath, sitting down on the couch with Vegan. He was always so low key and mellow, but said the funniest shit sometimes. It was the best kind of company for a time like this, when I just wanted to take my mind off of my current issues with Oliver.

"Hopefully someone is watching the alcohol." Matt Kean spoke up, swishing his beer around in the bottle. "I don't think Lee would let anyone be drunk around his baby, anyways."

"She's napping, then?" I asked, trying to read the sloppy handwriting on the dry erase board. Lee had definitely wrote on it, no girl could have writing that messy.

"Yeah, but probably not for long. No one can sleep around Matt." He laughed, taking a big sip of his alcohol. "Don't tell me you have baby fever."

I rolled my eyes. "Not you, too. God, you men are so weird. Oliver asked me the same thing when I brought up Aubrey."

"Well, I mean, its a scary thought! Can you even imagine Oliver with kids?!"

"Can you imagine me with kids?" I asked him, my eyebrows raised sarcastically. "No, I hope you cant. Kids and Christian just don't mix; I am not the 'nurturing type'."

"Fair enough, but you know, it happens to every bird sometime. One day, they're fine throwing back beers with the boys, the next, they're wanting to pick out baby furniture and calculate their fertility cycle."

"Ugh, shut up, Matt!" I playfully hit him in the chest, clearly desperate to change the subject. "I just wanted to see everyone again."

"It's really weird for Oli to not show." Matt pointed out, as he scanned the room. Although everyone in Bring Me The Horizon were obviously friends, there were always the little 'cliques' within the group. There was Oliver and Matt Nicholls, the resident 'partiers', who just wanted to have fun, all the time. There was also Lee and Curtis, who were so close I was beginning to wonder if they spoke their own separate language. There was also a cool dynamic between Lee and Matt K. It was interesting watching them hang out because they were both more quiet and on the subtle side. Curtis also sometimes gravitated to Oliver, when he was in the right mood. And of course, there was me, Holly, and Molly here, the 'band girlfriends'. Molly belonged to Lee obviously, I was with Oliver, and Holly basically had Curtis wrapped around her finger, which was surprisingly good for him. He was sensitive and boyish, she was firm but loving. I was completely surprised when Holly did not flip out and beat the shit out of Curtis when she found out that me, Curtis and Lee had slept over at Blake's house getting high. I think she also felt really bad for him, she knew better than any of us how much pain Curtis could be in at times. He did an amazing job at hiding it though; you wouldn't know he had any medical conditions unless he told you. But, Matt was right. The entire dynamic of our little group was thrown off without Oliver. It was definitely not like him to miss something like this.

I didn't respond to Matt though, I didn't want to talk about it. I just took his beer out of his hands and took a quick sip, the bitter taste making me shiver all over. "I just want to hang out with all of you. Oliver is clearly missing out."

"Cheers, lass." Matt laughed, taking a sip of his beer too. It was so nice to have understanding friends sometimes.

______________________________________

"Have you ever held a baby before, Matt?!" Molly asked him firmly, Aubrey smiling and bouncing around in her arms.

"It cant be that difficult, right?" Nicholls laughed, sitting down on the couch next to me, his arms outstretched. "Just let me play with her!"

Molly sighed, taking Aubrey out of her arms and gently handing her over to Matt. "Just try and support her head, please. And don't jerk her around, Matt. She's fragile."

"She's in the good hands of Uncle Matty, that's what she is." He cooed, bouncing her up and down gently in his arms and making the silliest faces at her.

"Me next, Matt!" I said, watching Aubrey's blue eyes sparkle and shine, her mouth twisting up into a joyous smile as Matt continued to play with her. She looked like the happiest thing I had ever seen, like there were no problems in the world at all. For that moment, all I wanted to do was be her, just happy to have someone playing with me, without any other care in the world.

All of a sudden, Lee's front door slammed open and closed, and three pairs of shoes scuffled into the living room.

"So, the Sykes did decide to show up!" Curtis exclaimed.

"Yeah yeah, we made it." Oliver said, scanning the crowd. "Where's my bird?"

"I'm right here." I spoke up, my eyes just fixed on him. His presence just overpowered me when we were in the same room.

He smiled, and walked over to me, kissing me quick on the lips. "And this must be Aubrey." He smiled, turning to face the baby.

"Hands off, its my turn right now." Matt playfully glared at Oliver, before his face turned into a joyous smile all over again. "Besides, she likes me more."

Oliver rolled his eyes, before sitting next to me on the couch. "She's a baby, Matt. All she likes is pooping and sleeping and eating."

For the first time, I noticed Tom and Caroline in the room as well, Caroline clutching onto Tom's arm as Tom said his hellos to everyone before heading off to get drinks. One golden rule for Tom was that he had to be drinking in social settings, or else he would never let loose and let himself out of his shell. We had all just accepted it as typical Thomas and moved on. It was nice he had decided to come anyways. Caroline, on the other hand, didn't look too pleased at all. Something about her just always rubbed me the wrong way; she was not an easy person to get along with. Funny how someone like her and someone like Tom could be together.

"Alright, alright, pass her on!" I took Aubrey off of Matt's lap. "We all wants turns here, Nicholls."

He didn't even respond, just continued making silly faces at the baby. Sitting on my lap, Aubrey's vibrant blue eyes stared into mine as if I was the most interesting thing in the world, her skin soft and silky under my fingers as I propped her up into a sitting position on my lap. She drooled slightly, her mouth hanging open as she smiled inquisitively at me, her eyes still set on mine. She lifted one of her hands and immediately stuffed it in her mouth, drooling all over it as he squealed happily, bouncing up and down on my lap.

"So adorable," I cooed, smiling and mimicking the same facial expressions as Matt. Aubrey giggled even louder, sucking on her fingers and smiling excitedly at me. Her other hand was whipping around excitedly, up and down as she bounced on my lap. "What a pretty little girl you are, Aubrey!"

"It's her first American Accent!" Nicholls exclaimed, his eyes still on Aubrey.

I rolled my eyes at Matt. "It's not like she can tell the difference yet anyways. Maybe I'll teach her to fully pronounce her words." I turned to Oliver. "You want to hold her, Oliver?"

He nodded, wiping his hands on his jeans as I lifted the giggling baby off of my lap and onto his. She smiled at me brightly before turning her attention onto Oliver, his face now the one captivating her. He just stayed silent for a while, his tattooed hands looking so out of place next to the baby's soft, powdery smooth skin. Aubrey noticed this too, touching Oliver's fingers with her hand and patting it excitedly, the colors and patterns on his skin completely entertaining her. She looked up at his face and shrieked excitedly, bouncing up and down on his lap and hitting his hand excitedly. She then stuck her hand in her mouth again and drooled all over it, her eyes switching between Oliver's face and his arms. Oliver looked completely stunned and taken aback, his mouth curled into a small smile as he watched Aubrey smile and laugh at him. Finally, he moved, bringing her off of his lap and holding her close to his face, their eyes only inches apart. Aubrey was silent for a second, before she smiled again, her hands reaching out and touching Oliver's face all over, from his mouth, where she was excited about his lip ring, to his fringe, which she pulled on and giggled. Oliver just let, smiling huge as she got more and more excited. Gently, I leaned onto his shoulder, watching Aubrey along with him.

"So, whose the one with baby fever now?" I whispered, smiling wide for Aubrey.

He didn't answer, just kept his eyes on Aubrey, her joyful cries filling up the room.