A Mighty Need

Six days later, it was a few hours away from the dawning of a new year. XFM was hosting a New Year’s Eve party and Lliana had been rather sweet to ask if both Noel and Audrey would be interested in attending. It wasn’t going to be just a small affair with XFM employees and their guests; it was going to be a big shebang at Brixton Academy in South London. It was going to be headlined equally by Cage The Elephant and the Arctic Monkeys and since Noel and Audrey would be considered VIP guests to the shindig, they would be able to party from the wings of the stage, backstage or out on the floor with the other paying guests. Tickets were to be limited to the general public, however, because of limited space and a good portion of the other guests would be VIPs like Noel and Audrey. Alison would be present that evening, also; there to sing the song she collaborated on with Cage The Elephant. Lliana had gotten a few of her other friends in, the same as most of the XFM employees in attendance; some Noel knew from their time together and some others she had made upon returning to work in London after her year away.

On the night of, Noel and Audrey took in dinner with both their brothers (and Lauren) at The Cambridge in Soho before any of them went their separate ways. They were all already dressed for the night so there was no need for anyone to go home and get changed. They could just go straight to their respective parties after dinner and a few initials drinks. Austin went off with Mike and Lauren when all was said and done, leaving Audrey and Noel, who footed the bill before they left to catch the tube at Leicester Square and rode it to the Stockwell station where they grabbed a cab to take them the rest of the way to Brixton Academy.

They had their VIP passes around their necks that Lliana had couriered to them the day before so they bypassed the line of paying people waiting to get in for the festivities. Several of those people easily knew who Noel was and shouted his name or snapped his picture. He smiled and waved and said hello as best he could before he ushered Audrey and himself inside.

Once they made their way to the backstage area, one of the first people they saw was Lliana who greeted them pleasantly and even hugged them both as platonically as possible. She looked rather nice in an open silver blouse over a black maxi dress. Audrey said as much, admiring the maxi dress. After further pleasantries, Lliana excused herself and Noel and Audrey went in search of drinks. They were both dressed fun enough. They had mixed their style with fancy and fun. Noel was donning silver skinny pants, akin to the mirrorball suit he’d worn several times with the Boosh, along with his silver Chelsea boots, the black blouse he’d got off Courtney Love several years prior and a black leather dress jacket. To top things off, he wore a long string of pearls, knotted at the bottom like a flapper from the 1920s, and upon his head was his fedora with the rabbit ears on either side. Audrey, meanwhile, went a bit more simple and comfortable; knowing she’d be on her feet all night. She went with a black tuxedo dress and her pair of Union Jack converse she had worn to her first taping of Buzzcocks over a year ago. She was originally wearing a pair of onyx-esque earrings but they kept snagging with her hair so she had taken them off during the tube ride and stuck them in her clutch purse. Around her neck was a simple, round silver pendant with the letter N on it that she had picked up recently. Obviously, the N stood for Noel.

As soon as they had their drinks they returned to the backstage area where they hung out with the bands and Alison before either went on to play for the growing crowd. Right now, a simple DJ system was being used and would continue to be used in between and after sets. Cage The Elephant was the first to go on when the “party” began at ten, playing a forty-five minute set. Alison joined them halfway through to perform “It’s Just Forever”. Audrey and Noel were standing in the wings of the stage with Lliana and her friend (and kinda sorta still Noel’s), Darren James; the four of them and plenty others swaying to the music. Noel kept his right hand on Audrey’s lower back for most of the night, no matter where they migrated to every so often. It seemed to be a thing of security and comfort; touching her and making sure she was there with him at all times. And, of course, it wasn’t at all one-sided. Audrey casually and lovingly leaned into his side, as if drawn to him like a magnet, unable to get away even if she wanted to, which she didn’t. It really looked as if they had been super-glued together at the hip.

It was such an amazing night and it went by so quickly that it almost came as a surprise when the countdown to midnight began. The Arctic Monkey’s set had ended a little more than ten minutes before and now both bands (along with Alison), Lliana and the other XFM DJs, as well as their guests, which included Noel and Audrey, were all out on the stage, looking at a screen that was counting down the time like a digital clock. Below the stage, on the floor, was the paying crowd of guests. Most everyone had drinks in their hands. Those on the stage were given flutes of champagne and everyone was shouting out the numbers, counting backward to one.

The moment the countdown stopped and the numbers for 2015 blinked on the screen, confetti was shot from cannons overhead and balloons dropped down from the ceiling. It looked exactly like how Audrey pictured Noel’s mind to look like when he was in the zone and painting. She turned to him; clinking her glass against his and they downed the entire contents in one big gulp before wrapping their arms around each other for their first kiss of the New Year.

“This is gonna be our best year yet,” he whispered into her ear, to make sure she heard him over the sound of shouting and music. “I can feel it. Can’t you?”

Audrey nodded happily. “Oh, hell yeah.” She reached up to encircle her arms around his shoulders and stood a bit on tiptoe as he leaned down to press his forehead to hers.

“Do you wanna stay here or go home?” Noel just looked at her. “Wherever you want to be right now, that’s where I’m gonna be, too. If you wanna stay here and party some more, we’ll stay. If you want to go somewhere else, maybe meet up with our brothers, we’ll do that, too. Or, if you wanna go home where we can have our own private party to ring in the New Year, I will definitely be up for that.”

Snickering and narrowing her eyes mischievously at him, Audrey puckered her lips and kissed him again. “I am definitely all for a private party,” she conceded. “I can’t think of anything better.”

“Rolling around naked in a pool of chocolate pudding doesn’t even rate?”

Audrey cackled. “Eww: think of the clean-up.”

“I’d lick it off you.” Then, “Actually, I already have licked chocolate off of you.”

“Good point, so we’ve already been there and done that.”

Noel nodded and made a face. “I’ll think of something else to lick off you. There’s bound to be something in the fridge or the cupboards.”

“We did just buy ice cream yesterday.”

“What kind was it?”

“One carton of mint chocolate chip and another carton of rainbow sherbet,” Audrey responded.

“Being who I am,” Noel said, “it would only make sense if I licked rainbows off you.”

Giggling enveloped Audrey as she just shook her head at him. “Let’s be polite and say goodbye before we blow this Popsicle stand.”

Noel set his champagne flute down on top of a speaker and got distracted for a moment when someone from the crowd below shouted his name. He turned in their direction, waved and blew whoever it was a kiss. “Happy New Year,” he said to them before taking Audrey by the hand and walking off toward where Lliana was.

Audrey had followed suit by setting her champagne flute down, which was quickly removed by someone else walking behind her. She didn’t get a look at who it was. As they approached Lliana, who was talking to Alison and receiving a big smack the lips from a seemingly drunken Alex Turner. He must’ve started pounding them back in the last fifteen minutes because he seemed perfectly fine before and during his band’s set.

“Hey, Lliana, Happy New Year,” Noel smiled. He gave her a platonic kiss on the cheek. He never would’ve attempted something as bold as a kiss on the lips, especially with Audrey right there.

Lliana smiled with glazed eyes. She’d let the bubbly go straight to her head as well, apparently. “Happy New Year! Yay!” she squealed like an adorable child. She threw her arms around Audrey and then pulled Noel in for a hug as well. When she pulled back she laughed and looked between the pair. “Oh my god, I just had the most amusing thought: what if the three of us and Dee had a picture taken. Dee and I could be standing in the background, waving the two of you off, ‘cause, you know…we’re your past and she’s your present and future.”

Audrey raised her eyebrows and smiled, placing a hand on her chest. “That’s so strange and so sweet at the same time.”

“That’s mostly just awkward for me,” Noel winced.

“We were friends before we were ever anything more,” Lliana commented, waving his remark off. Then she laughed. “That rhymed.”

“You’re a bit pissed, aren’t you?” Noel snickered.

Lliana put her thumb and index finger about half an inch apart. “Just a bit.”

Audrey smiled. “It’s New Year’s. Unless you’re underage, pregnant or a recovering alcoholic, if you’re not a bit drunk on New Year’s, you’re doing it wrong.”

“You two don’t seem drunk.”

“Not drunk, but we’re definitely buzzed,” Audrey insisted.

“We’ve actually got this other party to go to now, so we’re gonna say goodbye,” Noel informed.

Lliana pouted. “Oh, but the night’s just begun!”

“There’ll be other nights. We promise,” said Audrey.

“Better.” Lliana placed a hand on Noel’s forearm. “This is gonna be a great year. Can’t you feel it?”

“I was just saying that to Aud,” he said, looking at the woman he hoped to make his fiancée in the next month and a half. Hell, he was half prepared to do it tonight once they got home. But, no, he already booked the flights and hotel stay abroad for the actual big moment. There was no turning back now. It was just a waiting game till then.

“I want you two to know I’m so happy you’re happy with each other and I wanted you to know that,” Lliana repeated herself. “You’re very lovely together and I only want you to be happy Noel, and actually, I’ve started seeing someone recently, myself, so there’s that.”

“Congrats,” Audrey said, not knowing how to respond.

“It’s so cliché, like out of a romcom, but we totally met on the tube. It was packed to the gills and he got up and offered his seat to me, and we just started talking and he’s really great. I really like him.”

“That’s great. I’m happy for you, too,” Noel smiled. “Is he here tonight?”

Lliana shook her head. “He had to work, but he’s meeting me here in about an hour. I was hoping you could meet him, but another time. You two go off to your other party. I don’t want to hold you up.” She gave them both a playful shove. “Go on, go. Have fun, play safe.”

“We make no promises,” Noel quipped, starting to turn away.

“Bye,” Audrey gave a wave, but Lliana was already distracted by someone else pulling her in another direction. Audrey looked up at Noel and smirked as the two of them went in search of their jackets and then, hand in hand, exited the building.

They were immediately met with a face full of brisk winter air. And rain. It hadn’t been a snowy winter at all recently in England. Noel had commented that he hoped it wouldn't be as bad, rain-wise, as the year before. Because they hadn’t brought umbrellas, they had to pull their hoods up and make a run for it to the nearest tube station since they hadn’t bothered to call for a taxi cab in advance.

They squealed and laughed down the remainder of Stockwell Road and turned right onto Brixton Road. Just before reaching an underpass for a train track, they passed a pub called The Beehive where some patrons were spilling out onto the sidewalk and drunkenly wishing, to any who were listening, a very happy New Year. Noel shouted the same thing back at them, from across the street where he and Audrey were and the pub patrons shouted hellos and then ducked back inside the pub when they realized that cold water hitting their faces was rain.

After the second train track underpass, Noel and Audrey crossed the road to the Brixton Station, heading down to catch the next tube back north toward the city. When they reached the Warren Street station they had to leave the tube they were on and walk only about a minute to their connecting tube at Northern. About ten minutes after arriving, the tube departed further north to the Highgate station some fifteen minutes later. It was about one-thirty in the morning when they arrived. They still had to walk a ways before they got home because, again, they hadn’t bothered with calling for a taxi cab, but that was plenty okay. In the time they spent traveling underground by tube, the rain had stopped. It was still cold out, but the night was a good one for walking. In Highgate, things were quiet; not like it was closer to Camden where the traffic and nightlife got to be a bit heavier.

It’s not like it was a long walk after all. Fifteen minutes tops.

They walked along south on Archway Road, past a few shops on their right that were closed before the rest of the road seemed to be nothing but rows of terraced houses. Noel hand his left hand stuffed in his coat pocket while his right held Audrey’s hand. Warm puffs of breath continuously billowed from between their lips with each step they took.

“Someone passed me LSD at the XFM party,” Noel commented casually.

Audrey whipped her head in his direction, confused and unsure she heard him correctly. “Seriously? Who?”

“I prefer not to say as not to incriminate anyone.”

“So, it wasn’t a random stranger? You know you’re not supposed to take things from strangers, right?” She nudged him in the side with her shoulder and smirked. “Do I need to have a talking with your mother on the things she forgot to teach you in your formative years?”

Noel gave a sarcastic laugh and nudged her back. “Ha ha. Funny.” They walked a bit further, coming upon more closed shops once again, this time on both sides of the road, which eventually included a corner pub, The Winchester, which had a few straggling patrons outside smoking and talking amongst themselves. “Is it something you’d be interesting in doing or do you want me to throw it in the bin?”

Audrey twisted her lips in thought and shrugged. “The only time I ever did acid was at a Velvet Revolver concert in May 2004. A friend gave me a tab and about ten minutes later I was trying to walk up some stairs and I thought they were melting.”

Noel chuckled in response. “Sounds like something that would’ve featured on one of my shows.”

“I told my parents about it a few years ago, and my dad just laughed it off and told me about one of his adventures with acid in the seventies, just after he started dating my mom. They had just gone to a Christmas party and he was supposed to come over to my grandma’s house afterward; my mom’s mom. My grandma lived with her parents then because she was a single parent with no help from my deadbeat grandpa. My mom and older uncle were out of the house by that point, but my younger uncle was only in junior high and my great-grandpa was the only father figure he really had.” Audrey realized she was rambling and cut herself off. “Anyway, so at the party my dad accepted a tab of acid from a friend of a friend or something and by the time they got to my great-grandparents house, my dad was out of the car — my mom had been driving — and he was running through the snow without a coat on, and hopped the fence to the neighbor’s yard to chase the rabbits. Of course, the neighbors had no rabbits.” Noel laughed again. “My mom finally got my dad inside and my great-grandma was there to put a blanket around my dad’s shoulders and give him some coffee to warm him up. He said he remembers sitting in front of the fireplace and looking at the Christmas tree and freaking out because he thought the lights were melting off.”

“Your dad and my dad would’ve had a time of it together in the seventies.”

Audrey nodded in agreement. “Eventually our parents will have to meet each other.”

“I think they’ll get along really well.”

“I totally agree with that. Both our parents seem to have the same temperament. And, obviously, our mothers gave birth to some fucking amazing people.”

Noel bobbed his head. “Definitely.” Upon turning onto their street, Noel nudged Audrey again. “So what’s the verdict on the acid?”

“Well, how long do you think it would take to kick in if we took it now?”

He shrugged. “Twenty minutes?”

“How long will it take to get home from here?”

“Five minutes.”

Audrey stopped walking and looked mischievously up at Noel, holding her hand out. “We’ll have to make a run for it to play it safe,” she remarked. “I don’t want to be outside when I start to trip.”

Noel swatted her hand away and pulled a tiny baggie out of his pocket containing two small tabs of acid. He removed them from the baggie, shoved the baggie back in his pocket and then broke them in half. “Open your mouth and be prepared to kiss your common sense goodbye for the next several hours.”

Giggling, Audrey obeyed. She opened her mouth and stuck her tongue out. Noel placed one tab on it and then did the same. As he felt the tab dissolving, he just stared at her and he could already feel his heartbeat speed up from anticipation and anxiety about how the night would go.

Smacking his ass, Audrey laughed again and began to run up the sidewalk.

“Hey, no fair,” he called after her. “You’re in Converse.”

“Quit your bitchin’, pussy.”

“Oh, it is on like Donkey Kong,” he announced and did his best to run on the slippery sidewalk in his Chelsea boots, only slipping once and nearly falling to his knees. He was fortunate to be able to catch himself in time by grabbing onto a tree trunk. “C’mere, Foo Foo. I’m gonna get you!”

They arrived to their terraced house in possibly under five minutes but they had miscalculated how long it would take the effects of the acid to kick in or just how strongly laced it was. Running on a cold night and on an incline also didn’t help any. By the time Noel had reached the front steps, Audrey was already collapsed upon them, lying on her back and looking glassy-eyed toward the cloudy night sky. Noel was fumbling for his keys; staggering back on the steps and when he found the right key, trying to get it into the lock was like trying to thread a needle.

“What the fuck,” he grumbled.

“Hey, at least if anyone walks by and sees us right now, they’ll just think we’re drunk from partying ‘cause it’s NEW YEAR’S FUCKING EVE!” Audrey shouted the last bit.

“Shhh—shut up. Someone around here has a baby sleeping.”

“Do they really?”

“I dunno. Maybe. I don’t know all the neighbors.” He was still struggling with the damn key and lock. “I know lefty and righty,” he gestured to the houses on either side of him. “And one or two across the street. Maybe. I can’t remember. Hey.” He cut himself off, abruptly, turning to look at her. “Do you wanna make s’mores in the microwave when we get inside?”

“No, we gotta be smart. We could blow the country up.”

“The whole country?”

“Maybe most of it.”

“Okay, no s’mores. Oh!” he said as he successfully opened the door and fell face first into the entrance hall. “Ow, hey…we gotta have ice cream.”

“Shh, get inside. You’re a public nuisance. I can’t be seen with you like this, it’ll taint my completely normal persona or something,” Audrey cackled, getting up and shoving him further inside.

Eventually they were both inside and the door closed. Luckily, in all that, none of the cats got curious and came to see what was up, otherwise they would’ve had ample opportunity to escape out of the house. Noel and Audrey got to their feet and wandered into the kitchen. Noel began to laugh, bumping in to doorway before making a beeline for the fridge.

“Get some spoons.”

“Why? We have hands.”

“Good point.” Noel opened the freezer and pulled out the rainbow sherbet. “This is the one we decided on, right?”

Audrey nodded. “Mmhmm.” Then she turned around and began to take her coat and shoes off, throwing them to the floor in her wake. “I’m hot. I’m going to go upstairs.”

“Heat rises. We should stay down here if you’re hot,” he called after her. But she was already out of earshot. Noel sauntered out of the kitchen with the carton of sherbet and walked up the staircase, following the trail of clothing. Audrey’s tuxedo dress was at the top of the stairs, resting on the bannister, and her bra was a few feet away on the floor. He continued on, soon finding her in his studio.

It had taken him longer than it should have because he got lost in his own house for a moment.

Audrey was standing by the CD player and was playing Jefferson Airplane. “Rather fitting, don’t you think?”

She had heard him enter into the studio which was much emptier than it had been in the past. Her big Christmas gift to him that she had surprised him with when they got back to England after Christmas was a new studio she rented in Soho for him. It was a larger space for him and it was closer to Maison Bertaux so transferring his art from studio to gallery would be easier. In the last couple of days, Noel had moved some art supplies there. It was a gradual process.

Right now, the sounds of ‘White Rabbit’ were filling the current space and Audrey was swaying her hips to the music. She turned around and took the sherbet carton from him and removed the top, tossing it to the floor somewhere while Noel finally removed his coat and leather dress jacket, dropping them to the floor. He watched as Audrey dug her finger into the sherbet and stuck a dollop of it into her mouth, squinting at the coldness on her tongue and teeth. It caused the usual stirrings in him and he quickly went about removing his shirt from Courtney Love and pulling his pants off. When he was standing there in only his underwear, socks and pearl necklace, he took the sherbet back from Audrey and shoved his hand in it. Scooping out a handful, he smeared it across her chest and she jumped at the cold sensation.

“Omigod that was fucking cold,” she squealed.

Noel just laughed and did it again, this time wiping it down her face.

“You bitch,” she muttered, spitting some of the sherbet out of her mouth. Audrey grabbed his pearl necklace and pulled him closer, claiming his lips with hers. While she had him distracted she scooped some sherbet out of the carton and then shoved it down the front of his underwear.

Noel just about jumped out of his skin. He spun around and cupped himself as Audrey took the carton from him and began to just throw clumps of the sherbet at him. He retaliated by turning about-face and grabbing sherbet and doing the same. In just under thirty seconds, the two of them were involved in an all-out sherbet war. They were laughing, squealing, hurling light-hearted insults and tossing sherbet at each other; the latter of which was starting to melt and turn into nothing but colorful soup.

When Audrey slipped and fell backward on her ass, she cried out in initial pain but then just laughed it off.

“You okay?” Noel asked, scooting up to her on his knees. His hair was sticking up in several directions and matted down in other places from the sherbet in it. Even his eyelashes seemed caked with the soupy goo.

“I have enough padding. Although, I think I broke my ass,” she said, leaning forward to whisper in his ear. “There’s a crack in it.” Before she waited for his reaction, Audrey tossed her head back and laughed at her own lame joke. Lying back on the floor, she reached her hand up and once again grabbed his pearl necklace and pulled him down over him. “Paint me with your tongue, Picasso.” Audrey pouted at him like a sex kitten or as best as she could muster, considering she was becoming fucked out of her mind on acid and probably looked like lunatic having a stroke. Either way, Noel was game. “I’m all sticky and sweet,” she added, running her fingers up her body and dancing along the contours of hips and breasts.

Noel grinned at her with a clown-like Cheshire cat grin as he peeled her panties away and then his own. He started at her legs with his tongue, licking at the stickiness the sherbet had created. When he reached the apex of her legs, she gripped his equally sticky hair with her fingers and mewed like a cat. He stuck in two fingers and let his tongue roll around until she was squirming underneath him. After she peaked, she rolled him off her and began to return the favor until there wasn’t one spot of sherbet left anywhere on his lower half. She “painted” him with her tongue and mouth like it was her job and she definitely deserved a raise. Noel was left panting. He pulled her up to him and rolled her back over so that he was on top again, but she twirled out of his grip and rolled again until she was on her stomach. With him bent at the knees, she lifted her ass toward him, bracing her hands on the ground as she pushed her body up and ground against him.

The entire time, it looked as if the room was covered in vibrant colors. He thought the paintings of his that had remained in the studio were moving and coming to life like perverted spectators watching them fucking on the floor like animals in the jungle. Noel placed his hand on the small of Audrey’s back and pushed her back down to her stomach and lowered himself as well, poking his tip at her womanhood and pushing in. She arched her back slightly and rocked back into him with each push forward he made.

“For fuck’s sake,” he grunted.

“What?”

“The paintings are wanking off at us.”

Audrey just giggled. She leaned up, forcing Noel to lean with her so that she was pretty much sitting in his lap. He encircled an arm around her waist and another across her chest to hold her close. “Let’s give those fuckers a show, then.”



Audrey and Noel woke up the next morning, still sticky, still naked, covered in a few cat hairs, acrylic paint, with their hair a complete disaster and sleeping in what seemed to be a makeshift tent fort in the living room. The cushions had been removed from the couch and formed the walls which held up a bed sheet that was dipping in the center. Inside the tent fort were pillows they were laying on, an empty bottle of wine and a notepad with scribbling and doodles all over it. Audrey was the first to stir; lifting her head and looking at her surroundings with confusion. She gave herself a once over and felt like retching. It could’ve only been a few hours since they fell asleep and her head still felt wobbly. It seemed like little colorful bubbles were forming and popping in front of her face. She kept wincing at every imaginary pop. One seemed to grow so big, she covered her ears and she could’ve sworn it was so loud when it popped. She screamed out and bumped against a cushion, causing the bed sheet overhead to fall down over her and Noel.

Her scream and the sheet falling was what finally woke him up, and very frightfully so. Noel, too, was still reeling from the effects of their acid trip. He began to flop around, thrashing at the sheet, thinking he was being smothered to death.

“Get it off, get it the fuck off,” he whined.

Audrey covered his body with hers and pushed the sheet away. “Shh, shh,” she hushed. Closing her eyes helped keep the colorful bubbles away.

When Noel sensed her wrap around him, he calmed down a bit but his eyes were wide, wild and his pupils dilated. The full effect of the acid had completely taken them on sometime after their sex session on the studio floor. He barely remembered much of what had gone on after that point. He didn’t remember building a tent fort in the living room or painting each other with his acrylics.

“There was a plane,” he muttered, turning to look at Audrey. “When we came downstairs, I saw it out the window. There was a big passenger plane. It was white and there were red wings or something and it was driving down the street. I swear it.”

“Did we get more cats?” Audrey asked, lifting her head and ignoring his comments. “I think I saw more than our three. There were a ton of them and they were all meowing and climbing on the furniture.”

“Shh, not so loud. My ears are ringing.”

Her voice was barely above a whisper, but she wasn’t about to correct him. She simply shut up and laid her head back on his shoulder.

“You two are finally awake.”

Both jumped at the third voice and lifted their heads to see none other than Diane standing in the doorway to the living room. Audrey squeaked and pulled the bed sheet up higher to cover her and Noel’s bits and baubles.

“Mum? What are you doing here?”

She just smirked knowingly. “Your brothers and Lauren crashed at our house last night. I offered to give them all rides home after they woke up instead of making them take the tube,” she explained. “Poor Austin got an eyeful when he looked under your tent. The two of you as you are was the last thing he expected, I wager.”

“What time is it?” Noel asked.

“Half past eleven.” She eyed the two up, still smirking. “What did you two take last night?”

“How do you know we took anything?” Noel jerked his head back. He could’ve sworn he saw the plant in the corner moving on its own.

“Darling, I was a young woman in the seventies. Your father and I tried it all.” She pointed at the uncovered parts of their bodies that she could see. “Judging by the mess in your studio and everywhere else, and the paint all over your bodies, I’m guessing acid trip.”

“Good guess,” Audrey murmured, laying back with her head on one of the pillows. “There are bubbles popping around me. Do you know how to make it stop?”

“Just let them pop,” Diane chuckled. “It’ll all fade away on its own shortly, I suspect.”

Noel glanced back at his mother who was jostling car keys in her hand. “Are you leaving?”

“Yeah. I’m heading into work. I took a half day, going in late.”

“Oh.”

“By the way, love,” Diane said before she headed out. “Your neighbor across the street, the old bloke with the white hair, he asked me to tell you that the next time you feel the need to be naked in your own home at four in the morning, to please do so with the curtains closed and not jumping around. He says he got up to use the toilet and looked out his own window at the wrong moment.”

The sound of Diane laughing followed after her as she left, closing the front door behind her after shouting out a quick “love you” to the pair of them. They were left to deal with coming down from their acid trip and wonder how much of a mess they made and generally feeling grimy and desiring a hot bath.

“However bad the mess is, I have a feeling I don’t want to clean it up,” Audrey commented, turning to look at Noel.

He was trying to run his fingers through his hair, unsuccessfully. The dried rainbow sherbet and paint in it was stopping him and getting his fingers stuck. “Let’s take a bath or a shower and later we can call for a maid service to come tomorrow morning or something.”

“Okay.”

Noel jerked again. “Why the fuck is that ficus moving?”