Wirral Riddler [Milex]

New Brighton : 1

A/N | Quick note, I'm aware that the majority of the Arctic Monkeys are from Sheffield, though I'm more familiar with the Wirral than I am with Sheffield so bare with me, man. I hope you don't mind that this is set in the Wirral. Anyway, enjoy! :)

Though the young boy lived in Meols, he often spent his time in Birkenhead, a town nearby. It was still on the same peninsula, and it wasn't too far away, so his mum let him go there as often as he liked. Sometimes, he'd go to New Brighton as well, a place with an excellent chippy and a decent beach. Frequently he was joined by his mates, though he sometimes liked to be on his own, like right now as he walked down the promenade, admiring the water. Going on walks often brought creative ideas to him, and right now that was exactly what he needed.

Running a hand through his Beatles-esque hair, he strided down the streets, passing a coffee and donuts shop (which smelled amazing) and the arcade until he soon reached The Rock Shop, where he excitedly purchased some pink candy floss.

Chewing on the pink 'cotton candy' as the Americans say, he debated on going to the cinema, but decided against it, and instead roamed around, head practically empty until he spotted his friend. Although he really didn't feel like communicating, Jamie had a friend who Miles would like to befriend. That being said, he didn't see the nice-looking boy anywhere with Cookie, so he happily resumed the avoidance of human interaction.

Right now, what he should've been doing was revising for his GCSEs, though instead he was thinking of ideas for songs that he'd never even be able to produce or release.

Everything was tranquil, Miles was left to be at peace with the various tunes that desperately wanted to escape him and parade in front of an audience. That was until he spotted exactly who he had been hoping to see just a few minutes ago, but now wanted to be as far away from him as possible.

A lad with somewhat neat hair - more tidy than it had been the previous year anyway - was slowly walking towards the exact spot Miles was at. Oh dear.

Kane didn't know whether to be disappointed or relieved when Alexander stopped at the chippy rather than coming just a building closer... Then he realised that he also wanted to go to the chip shop. Deciding not to risk it, he waited outside of the bowling alley for the fella to exit.

Within a few minutes, Turnip (was that his surname? Or was it Turner? Miles couldn't recalll) came out holding a portion of chips. The guy looked so cute in his sky blue lacoste that made him stick out from everyone else. Cute boy. No, Miles you are heterosexual. Women are cute, not boys. Though he told himself it regularly, deep down he knew it was a lie, but he'd hate to ever admit it.

Alarms rang throughout his head. 'Cute boy' was approaching him. His mind went into panic mode, and seemingly alerted the rest of his body to freeze. Throat closed up, Miles tried to look away but even his eyes couldn't do anything but occasionally blink. What was he meant to do if Alex tried to talk to him?

For a second, it seemed as though he was safe and the pretty-looking lad hadn't even noticed his presence. But of course, that was too good to be true. Instead, the fella was going to walk past him, but when he went to be polite and just smile at him, he noticed the state Miles was in.

"Aye mate you okay? You uh, you go to me school don't ye? Ohh, yeah, yer in me music class, okay err, breathe, in for five out for seven, it's um, it's gonna be alrigh'." Alex tried to comfort the now shaking boy, but he didn't realise all he was doing was making him worse. Well, that's what Miles had expected anyway. Surprisingly to him, Alex's presence made him feel at peace again, despite the boy being the exact cause of his sudden stiffness. He longed to be hugging the lad, holding his small body between his arms. Imagining how Alex would feel in his arms helped calm him down too, if only it was real.

"Better?" Asked Al, locking eyes with the now steady fella, when he received confirmation from Miles nodding, Alex gave him the most adorable smile ever and continued talking (Miles had thought he was shy, bloody hell), "What's yer name?"

Blinking rapidly, Miles replied with his name, which Alex complimented, the Sheffield lad soon left him with a 'See you at music class tomorrow'. Having completely forgotten that it was Sunday, Miles groaned and forced himself to return home.

Just. His. Luck.

Oh you'll never guess who was on the same bloody bus as him. That's right! None other than Alexander T (he still couldn't remember his surname). Of course he was there, of course. At least he wasn't sitting anywhere near him though right? Ahah, if you said that you'd be wrong. There were only two available seats, and both were incredibly close to the lad.

Seriously life? Seriously? Uncool.

Now for decision making, something Miles was rubbish at. In front or behind? Well, assuming that Alex hadn't spotted him already, if Kane could manage to get on the seat right behind Al without him seeing him, he'd be safe for the next ten minutes!

After a deep breath, Miles took his seat, making himself comfortable on the dark blue chair. He took a quick glance to see who was next to him and was glad to find it was nobody who he knew, just some random old woman. She smelt of really bad body odor, but he'd already picked this seat now, no going back.

The entire time, his mind made him imagine the worst scenarios possible. When the bus finally came to his destination, he hurriedly got off the bus.

What was odd was that Alex hadn't gotten off yet, Miles could've sworn he'd heard people say he now lived in Birkenhead after he'd moved from Sheffield. Whatever the reason for staying on the vehicle was, it didn't affect Miles so he chose not to investigate.

As usual, when he stepped into the house, his mum greeted him with a hug, which he returned. They'd always been close, and whenever he returned home they'd embody it with a tight hug. He'd always admired his mother, and as he got older his respect for her only got higher and higher. She had to look after both her own mum and a lad, the latter often on her own.

"How was your day dear?" Asked Pauline, entering the kitchen with her son close behind her.

Unsure of how to respond, he hesitated for a moment. There were various responses he could say, but he didn't know which to say. His mum had always been better at understanding his own emotions and feelings than he was, so telling her would probably help. However, he was afraid of how he was feeling. So afraid.

Lying to his mum was the last thing he'd ever want to do, he really did want to be honest with her. But he could barely be honest with himself without returning to that frozen state.

Now or never.

Barely even aware of what he was saying, his thoughts all spilled out. Reciting the events of the day and how he'd felt. Somehow, they were understandable enough for her to follow along with his words. Midway through the spillage of a million feelings, he noticed that tears had begun to pour along with the words.

She wiped her apron and spread her arms out for yet another embrace, which Miles gratefully took, sobbing quietly into his mum's shoulder. Patient as ever, she waited for him to finish crying. When he wiped the last tear, she calmly spoke, "Do you think you might have a crush on this Alex fella?"

Again! There it was, that wonderful lady understanding his own brain better than he ever could.

As much as he hated to admit it, he knew the truth.