beetlebum - oasis/blur

I BUY HER RECORDS TOO!

DAMON'S POV
flashback; 1984, jess' back garden.

Sitting out Jess' back was truly one of my favourite parts of our history class that we obviously never attended. Who the fuck would? It's not like I'd be able to concentrate anyway with all the staring I do. Our history teacher-who was referred to as Mr superuglycunt by numerous pupils-had called me out on it a few times, thankfully Jess took no notice.

'Fat bottomed girls' was playing quietly in the background, Neve had put the record on before her and Graham had left, both of them had actually decided to go to History-that was a first. The song was keeping me happy, it was such a tune.

Jess was nodding her head to it and she ran her hands through the grass, a cigarette lay in-between her fingers. She seemed happy, wonder why. Maybe it was because of me?

Then I remembered him.

"So," I started, "how's things with Tom?" I dreaded the answer, I didn't want to fucking know but the little smile on her lips when she thought that I cared about her relationship was enough to make me weak at the knees. That sounded bad-it's not that I didn't care. I cared too much.

Jess shook her head, "not Tom, it's Tim, Timothy." Who gives a fuck what he's called, he's still a dickhead. "Things are going sweet, he's sound and so are his mates." Suddenly she perked up, "he gave me a Rolling Stones record the other day, said he wanted me to have it." Now she was just gushing and I couldn't bare to listen to it.

I just fancied her so much.

"Did he now?" I questioned, quirking my eyebrow. I'd bought and given her a plethora of records-she wasn't ungrateful, don't get me wrong. She just didn't realise why I'd gotten them for her. She didn't see me run round and buy records for Gra or Neve did she?

"Yeah! Oh, he's been so good to me Dames." Not Dames, fuck me it makes me go wild. She's the only one that's allowed to call me it. "We're meant to be going out on Saturday, think he might ask me to be his girl." I was about to be sick.

"Oh," I gulped. Here's the thing, obviously I didn't like Timothy because he was going out with the girl I fancied, but I also had heard things about him, he wasn't a nice bloke. "Right, just be careful."

"Are you alright Damon?" She asked in her soothing voice, her eyes peering up at me.

Kiss me.

Kiss me.

KISS ME.

I tried to laugh, it came out like a pathetic little wheeze. "Yeah, just watch that Timothy one."

"So you know his name now, do you?" She joked, leaning into me. "What do you mean be careful, what's the matter?" Her eyebrows were knitted together in confusion. I didn't want to crush her happiness.

"It's nothing," I replied with a tight-lipped smile. Had I perhaps seen Timothy feeling up Mickey Wellers' girlfriend? Yeah, but Jesus she just looked so over the moon. "I'm happy for you, Jess." No i fucking wasn't, the lies coming from my mouth, I swear. I tried to shrug off the previous conversation, "You know how you've wanted that David Bowie record for ages since your cat scratched it up?"

"Yeah?"

"It's sitting in my house," I grinned at her, "maybe I snuck round and bought it for you."

"Damon you didn't!" She exclaimed, "I swear to fuck, you're too good to me!" She reached over and kissed me on the cheek multiple times. "You're my best friend, I love you to bits."

Best friend.

That was the thing, she just saw us as best friends. All those times I'd told her I loved her back, she'd thought it was platonic, but the truth is that she'd never known platonic Damon Albarn. Since we'd become mates in year 7 I'd always fancied her. She didn't realise I was in love with her because I always had been, so she'd never seen a shift in my behaviour since it'd been the same from the start.

Of course I never expected her to love me back, that would be selfish.

"Love you too Jess."

NOTE
teenage Jess and Damon have me in tears yousins 💔
-ur bestie xx