I've done a bit | An SVA stori

Chapter 24.5: There's A Leak In The Sink

Piper hadn't heard from Rowan since he spent time asleep. She was home alone when she answered the door to him, her first thought was 'His hairs too long.' Funnily enough his first thought was 'What's she done to her eyebrows?'

Pipers family would go into Lôndôn for Lucy to star in some show Piper forgot the name of so the two had the house to themselves.
In the morning they got to work. It was Rowans idea to play an original, a first for Rats In Autumn. They'd always write lyrics or poems but never play them, until now.
"I've kinda been working on something." Piper opened her note book to the fullest page.
"Quicksand Land." Rowan read the title, "Santana Park?"
"Well don't ruin it." She closed the book.
The two were comfy on her bed.
"I have these bits I just can't get good lyrics. But the chorus is like. ♩Can't step from quicksand. They'll bury me alive. Can't step from quicksand.♩ Something something revive. Or survive."
"Beehive?"
"Shell sh-i-"
"What?" He laughed.
"Shut up! Well that's it! I can't find good words."
"I can never find a melody." Rowan said.
"But you have good words?"
"I always have good words."
"...we could just do both. Put your lyrics on my melody." Said Piper.
So the two combined their songs into one.

♫ Get in the zone at the edge,
the gap between the sea and the sky. ♫

On Wednesday I think, maybe a Monday, Piper still had school, but didn't go. It was a small school and her absence would be noticed but she didn't care.
The two had one acoustic guitar between them. It was nice to have that as the biggest problem.

♫ And the lake in the middle,
is surrounded by land. ♫

On another day, or it might have been the same day, they went to Cancer Research and put together costumes. Rowans had a blue coat with big shoulders and lapels (he didn't have a good style but at least it was his own).
Piper had a tail long trench coat and big bucket hat.
They looked silly but they laughed and it only cost like five quid.

♫ The lake said to go,
but I don't know if I can. ♫

It was a few days left until their concert, but they melded together so didn't take long. Rowan and Piper stayed awake far into the night, eating ice cream and watching whatever. Piper saw the concert was the next day, although she'd argue it was that day it was so late.
Rowan pushed back the thought of outside now, but knew he couldn't forever.

♫ I've never listened to a lake before,
no sort of man. ♫

On the night they were set to play they got dressed up and covered their eyes with black.

It was exciting. Both their hearts ran away and they couldn't help grinning through stupid outfits and eyeliner.
The crowd had twenty people maybe, if they were lucky.
"Now we have, Rats In Autumn." Scott announced.

"Hey, we're Rats In Autumn." Rowan smiled through the microphone, "And this is a song we wrote."

♬Dm♬
♫ Can't step from quicksand,
♬C♬ ♬F♬
they'll bury me alive. ♫
♬Am♬ ♬Dm♬
♫ Can't step from quicksand,
♬C♬ ♬F♬
they'll bury me in five. ♫
♬Am♬

The two went to the rundown waterfall and wallowed in the post show blues, but something was different. That feeling he'd known for so long was a struggle to keep. A worry he'd let go of with the belief that nothing ever happened, came back in the town where nothing ever happened.

"Are we friends?" Rowan asked, not daring to move his eyes from straight ahead.
Piper looked at the boy.
"What is... I mean... what do friends do? Just be in each others company?"
"I don't know." Piper said slowly, "When you figure it out put it in a song yea?"
Then there was a silence as Rowan looked at her.
"What?" She asked.
"What's up with you eyebrows?" He finally asked.
"Jesus!" Piper fell and covered them.
"You just get bored or..?"
She laid on the ground with her head buried in her hands.
"I don't wanna talk about it... You wanna talk about your hand? Or your hair?"
"Oh, umm. Ye it's long."
"Really?" She sat up.
"Shut up." He grinned, "Uh, I guess, I had a big sleep."
"Hope you thought of me?"
"I mean a big- like, I was actually asleep. I couldn't message you. I was in a coma."

The wind listened to them talk.
"So what's going on?" Piper asked. She played with a twig on the ground to avoid eye contact.
"What do you mean?" Rowan asked, knowing what she meant.
"Why'd you come here?"
"I dunno. I just left, and the train was there, and, I was in Hairy Chester before I knew it. So I hopped trains down, I walked from the town across. And... now I'm here."
"In the middle of nowhere."
"...and out of place."
"You're... okay though?"
"I'm always okay." He joked.
"S-" Piper sighed, "Why'd you go?"
"I don't know." He sighed.
Piper brought her knees to her chest and snapped twigs. Rowan huffed, he wanted her to know, but didn't want to tell her.
"I've not gone to school in so long." He said, "I just... it's school. It's not important. People... no one thinks!"
The two looked down at the town they were above.
"We thought. Ire, even Kate... as- Leon thought. That's why he- they, left." He thought out loud, "It's just... the sky went red, and it might be normal, it might be fucking wind coming from Mars. But people were saying it like they knew. With all these answers, like they knew, y'know?"
"Yea..." Piper nodded, watching the cars squeak past.
"Everyone was so nice to me, I didn't like it. Like I deserve to be treated how I want." He told the air. "Wolf kissed me. I didn't stop her it's my fault. I think I hurt her." He didn't dare look at Piper, "I didn't actually want to. Do anything I mean. I don't. I came to them like Kate came to us and I've ruined everything. You're here, and I don't want any of that, I don't wanna ruin anymore I just wanna be with you!" He worked out, only realising what it sounded like once he'd said it.
Piper had frozen red. He left himself speechless. Thoughts stopped coming to him as the two stared at each other.
Rowan brought himself back down and apologised.
"No it's..." She stuttered.
"I meant like around."
"No I know."
"...this place is quicksand." He said.
He took his two pound coat off and hung it on a branch.
"What are you doing?"
"Rats In Autumn's died." He said, "Last April."
Piper looked sad, but knew it too.
"Do you wanna get out of here?" He asked.
"Yea." Piper agreed.
She hung her jacket up as well and put the hat on top.
"Should we just leave it?"
"Yea." He said, "Let it rot."

So they left. Piper packed a bag and the two caught a bus to the town over.
"We gonna just hop trains?" Rowan asked.
"If they ask us we'll pay."
"Oh that's much better."
"Shut up." She laughed.
And they went back to Spring Valley, and Rowan filled the journey catching Piper up.