"i'm crazy but you like that" - skins

(2) Episode 1.2

Cook and I walked out the front door of my house to see both Freddie and Effy standing near my gate.

"Why do you always take so long?" Freddie asked.
Cook and I answered by pointing at each other in unison and then giving each other a playful nudge.

The four of us walked the ten minutes to the nightclub with Freddie and Cook in front and Effy and I tailing behind.

"Good summer? Barely seen you," she pointed out with a raised eyebrow.
"Well, we've been -"
"Honeymooning?" She winked.
"If that's code for constantly shagging, then yeah." I shrugged. "Anyway, have you two not been doing the same?"
She chuckled. "I think we've been slightly more social than you."

Effy pulled a small bottle of vodka from inside her leather jacket pocket and took a swig before handing it to me. "Here."
I did the same, neither of us wincing at the familiar burn.

"I'm ready to get fucked up tonight," I grinned.
"I'm not really feeling it, to be honest." She shrugged.
I frowned. "Wow. Being in a relationship really has made you a boring bitch. Is that why you haven't wanted one so far?"
She scowled with a small smirk and shoved me hard enough to cause me to topple into the bush of the house we were walking past and I laughed before shoving her back.

"Listen to that fucking music! This is going to be a fucking good one." Cook called from ahead of us as we rounded the corner to the nightclub where the music was blasting and the streets were packed.
Cook and Freddie both began making their familiar 'wolf calls', causing Effy and I to both grin at each other.

"Come in, come in!" Thomas ushered the four of us into the nightclub, avoiding eye contact with Cook in an attempt to stay civil. "It's so good to see you," he smiled to Effy and I.
"You as well, Thomas," I grinned.

I jumped forward as we entered the club, swinging my arms around the back of Cook's neck and leaning into his ear.
"Thomas still hates you." I told him.
"I know." He scoffed and then shrugged. "Don't blame him."
"You should apologise. He's a nice guy, right?" I pushed.
Cook laughed. "Me? We'd have been fine if you didn't start blurting out shit while you were fucked."
"Don't blame me!" I yelled.

Cook turned to face me, speaking louder over the noise of the music now we were inside. He placed his hands on either side of my face and spoke as he chuckled. "We are not arguing tonight. Not about this. This is a good fucking night. Now let's get fucking pissed."
I held my angry look for a few more seconds before giving in and showing him a smile. "Let's get pissed."

***

I was several drinks and multiple shots in and I was starting to feel slightly drunk.

I stumbled across the dance floor, unsuccessfully attempting to locate Cook.

Instead, I bumped directly into Naomi, who threw her arms around me in her mutually drunken state and hugged me tightly, something that she rarely had done in our entire friendship.
"Jofie!" She yelled, with a slight slur, splashing the drink she was holding onto me.
I laughed it off and hugged her back. "Hey."
"Where the fuck have you been?" She rolled her eyes. "Let me guess. With your little lover boy?"
I giggled like a lovesick schoolgirl. "Maybe."
"Well, it'd be nice to see you at some point!" She scolded. "Catch me some time when Cook has his dick out of you?"
I rolled my eyes and shoved her. "It's just been a... romantic summer."
"'Romantic'?" She laughed loudly. "I better it fucking hasn't been."

Emily wandered up beside Naomi and Naomi put her arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer to her.
"It's nice to see you two happy." I pointed out.
"Yeah. It looks like everything came properly together this summer," Naomi beamed, before leaning in to kiss Emily.
I smiled before lightly shoving them. "Get a room." I teased, before walking off towards Effy, who was dancing alone in the centre of the dance floor.

"Dance with me?" She grabbed my hand. She was also fucked.
And I didn't hesitate.
We both danced together in the club for what felt like an eternity, the walls spinning around me and the lights flashing and the noise making me feel like I was in a dream.

"Here." Freddie snapped me out of it, passing both Effy and I two full drinks.
Effy and I both immediately started swigging them as we danced.
"Where's Cook?" Freddie shouted over the music to ask me.
I shrugged. "Who knows?"

But Freddie had reminded me that I didn't know where he was, and even for twenty minutes, I missed him.
I began scouting the crowd again for his face, narrowing my eyes to try and focus while the effect of the alcohol did the opposite.

But despite the blurriness and the amount of people and the blindingly flashing lights, I saw him as soon as he emerged, and he stood out from everyone to me.

He immediately grabbed my waist and started swaying.
"Where were you?" I questioned.
"Toilet." He immediately answered.
"You were fucking ages." I said. "Don't tell me you did a shit in a fucking nightclub."
He laughed and shook his head. "Just got talking."

I nodded to his response, and then we quickly started dancing close together.
His hands were placed on my hips, then rapidly made their way up to my waist, up my back and into my hair as he swayed his hips with me.
I smirked and bit my lip as our faces moved inches together, but we were interrupted before our lips had a chance to touch.

We immediately broke away from each other and spun around to Effy and Freddie at the sound of her scream.
And as we looked to where she was looking, we caught the last glimpses of a girl our age falling from the tall balcony and onto the concrete floor.
The music was too loud to hear how loud the screams actually were, but everyone who could see where she'd fell to was screaming and crying.

I pushed through the crowd to where she'd fell, unsure of what I'd hoped to see or do, and I saw her. A beautiful, young girl, lay face down on the stone floor with blood pooling around her head.

Cook swiftly came up behind me, clutching onto my arm.
"Fuck." He muttered under his breath. "Jofie, let's go."
"Go? What do you mean 'go'?" I yelled.
"You don't need to stand there and see that."
I rolled my eyes at his selfishness and completely dismissed his words. "We need to find Thomas."
"Thomas?"
"Yes, Cook! Find Thomas! Get him here! Get this stupid fucking music off!" I near shrieked, and Cook got the hint and scurried away, desperately shoving through the crowds in order to find Thomas.

Effy and Freddie showed up immediately behind me.
"Are you okay?" Freddie asked.
"Yes. Yeah. We just need Thomas." I insisted, needing the chaos around me to stop.
"I'll go try and find him." Freddie also offered, setting off immediately in his search.

Effy moved directly beside me, her eyes filled with tears. "Shit." She muttered.
"Yeah. Fucking shit." I muttered back.

Instinctively, we both grabbed each others hands as we stood and watched Thomas run over, desperately signalling for the music to stop.