London Calling

Somewhere in Central London

Brian took a taxi to the Intrepid Fox; he thought he could get himself lost in the crowd, but upon arrival, he was disappointed to discover that it was empty.

‘Go figure.’ He thought to himself, no one wants to get smashed on a Sunday.
Noticing an off licence across the road, he hatched a new plan, walk around London getting drunk. Satisfied with his newfound genius, Brian bought a bottle of Captain Morgan’s and a pack of smokes.

Even though it was a Sunday, London was still full of people. He made his way through the crowds until he found some empty steps outside an office block where he could sit down. He watched and drank as couples walked by him, happy, lost in their own little world. Just like he and Zack were.

‘Fuck happiness.’ He thought, downing about half of the bottle. He sat back against the cold concrete wall, staring at the sky.

‘I wish I was a star, and then life would be simple.’ Brian considered staying in that spot, waiting for the stars to take him away from his life.

To passersby he looked like a crazy tramp and a very well dressed one at that, but some people still found it in their hearts to throw him a bit of change. Feeling offended that he had been mistaken for a tramp; Brian pushed himself up from the floor and began stumbling around the streets once more. Having now finished the bottle and lost his cigarettes, Brian thought he would try his luck getting into club, which wasn’t a very good idea considering his current state. He stank of booze, his cheeks covered in smudged eyeliner and he could barely walk straight. After stumbling around for ten minutes, he came across a club that is never a good idea to enter unless you’re completely drunk. The Village was possibly one the gayest clubs in London; complete with rainbow flags outside and half-naked male dancers in the windows.

Brian made his way to the entrance only to be stopped by one of the bouncers at the front door.

“Hey! Let me in. I want a drink!” He demanded, wobbling a little as he tried to stand his ground.

“Nah, I think you’ve had enough mate. Why don’t you head on home.”

“I don’t live here. I AM AN AMERICAN! I AM A ROCK STAR! DON’T YOU EVEN KNOW WHO I AM?” Brian hadn’t noticed that his little outburst was attracting a bit of a crowd.

“I’m sure you’re very famous, but right now you need to go back to where ever you came from and get some sleep.” The bouncers had dealt with many a drunk in their time; they assumed that he would give up and go home eventually.

“FUCK YOU! I WANT A FUCKING DRINKING NOW LET ME IN!”
The bouncer wasn’t in the mood for a drunk on an ego trip, so without thought he grabbed Brian and dragged him round the corner calling for back up on his walkie – talkie at the same time.

“We got a bit situation here; he’s a bit out of it. Best take him down the station let him cool off, then he can get picked up.”

A crackly response came back and soon enough a police car turned up. Two officers stepped out and attempted to get Brian in the car.

“Alright mate, I’m Fiona. I think you’ve had a bit too much to drink. Come on we can take you down to the station, get you some water then get someone to take you home. How does that sound?” She asked waving a hand in front of Brian’s face to see if he was still conscious, while the other officer spoke to the body guard.

“I has no home here.” Brian sobbed. “I’m on holiday, but everything is fucked up. I want to go home.”

“Let’s get you the station first. Don’t worry you’re not in trouble, but if you stay out here you will be. So why don’t you come with me.”

Brian nodded, he was barely able to think straight and didn’t get much of what the officer was saying but her calming voice told him that he could trust her. Even though he was sitting down, it felt like the world was spinning and his eyes were getting heavy.

“I feel sleepy.” Brian mumbled, as he passed out on the pavement.

Brian’s POV

2:00am at University College London Hospital (UCLH)

When I woke up I thought I was in heaven. White walls and bright lights, then I saw Matt asleep in a chair, mouth wide open and dribbling. I suddenly realised that I wasn’t dead, I was very much alive and in hospital. I checked myself over to if I could find any signs as to why I was here, but with only a drip thingy in my hand I knew I had wake Matt to get some answers.

“Hey Matt, wake up.” I said poking him in the face.

“Dude, you’re finally awake. About time.” He said rubbing his eyes. “How are you feeling?
Although you’re probably feeling fine since they give you a hell of a lot of drugs when you get your stomach pumped.”

“What? My stomach...oh yeah.” My memories suddenly came back to me. I was drunk, really drunk. I couldn’t think why I thought it was a good idea to drink a whole bottle of Captain Morgan’s but I guess I suffered for it, not that I could feel anything now.

“Yeah well I was just about to send Jimmy out to look for when I get a call from the police saying that you were going to be taken in because you were bothering some security, but you were taken to hospital instead because you passed out.”

Matt didn’t look to happy with me and couldn’t blame him. The last thing we needed would be me getting myself arrested.

“Wow I’m sorry; I don’t know what came over me.”

“You were upset and drinking always seems like a good idea, I just wish that you had gotten pissed at the hotel bar. At least then we would have been able to keep an eye on you.”

“I needed to get away. Um how is Zack?” I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to know the answer to that question, considering how he was when I last saw him.

“He’s calmed down now. I told him to concentrate on getting to know Tommy and I will deal with you.”

“What do you mean deal with me? I’m not a child you know.”

“Yeah right, look at yourself. You’re in hospital ‘cause you got your stomach pumped for drinking too much, you almost got yourself arrested and you almost killed Zack with a bottle of rum.”

I was starting to wish that I was in heaven, no matter what Zack had done to me it was nothing compared to what I had almost done to him. I don’t know what I would have done if that bottle had actually hit him.

“Look, when you get home just talk to him. He is really sorry and you guys have got to deal with this now, there’s no point getting angry because it doesn’t lead to anything.” I was starting to feel like Matt was my dad; this would be the kind of stuff he would tell me any time I got myself in trouble.

“Yeah man, this is so messed up. Just when I thought shit was going to get simple, so much for a fucking holiday.”