stories from the city; damon albarn

44-

Damon Albarn had become more of a mess over the span of 1996. After the events of the Hans Erlich show he'd become increasingly more aggressive towards his own band members, as well as isolating himself from them as well. Something Graham Coxon wasn't exactly happy with.

Alex James was happily coked up and couldn't really tell if there was a difference in his friend's behavior or not. Besides- he was having the best time of his life, and never had he found life more enjoyable.

Graham Coxon was growing begrudgingly more unhappy with his band's dynamic as he was getting consistently more experimental, something neither the label nor the band could really compute with at the moment. He'd been specifically ranting about it to Avery Pince- who had been expressing the same feelings about her former band to him years prior. Ironic right?

And now it had all amounted to here. He was having a weekend getaway with his lovely girlfriend Justine Frischmann- the two were both at Cannes since they'd contributed music to the film Trainspotting. While Justine had been thrilled with the invite, let alone the compliment of being credited on the firm- Damon Albarn was not as it meant he had to interact with his least favorite and favorite person in the world.

After the events of the Hans Erlich Show and what came after- Damon Albarn had made the executive decision to stop chasing after Chloe Erlich. She'd made the choice to leave the hotel. Whatever.

He had later learned that she'd tried to get the show cancelled, out of fear for his mental state and reputation. But the damage was already done.

Ewan McGregor and Chloe Erlich were dead to him.

Well, Ewan McGregor already had been.

But Chloe? That was new.

In the following weeks she had called, trying to see if he was in fact okay and recovering. But he'd declined his calls, changed his number and had management keep her on hold. Alex would chat her ear off. Graham would hang up and Dave would be honest.

One time- she'd called Justine when Damon was at home and she'd actually given him the phone. However, the minute she said anything he hung up.

What a joke.

So when Justine had happily trotted over to the table where Erlich and McGregor were sitting, he couldn't help but feel his stomach churning with hate. These were the last people he wanted to be around. Especially now.

Chloe looked at him strangely, a look of fondness on her face. She wasn't angry or anything.

It pissed him off. It was like he hadn't even phased her.

As Justine sat down, he followed, unwillingly taking the spot beside Chloe.

"How are you?" She asked gently

"Fine. I've been fine. Toured America. Saw your brother a few weeks ago."

She stiffens. Maybe there was still damage to her relationship with Hans. He hadn't asked when they last spoke.

"That's nice. East or West Coast?"

"West. Only a few dates on the East coast. I'm glad to be back in Europe."

"Of course you are. You were never one for America."

He rolls his eyes "I hate that place. It's been that way since 1991. Maybe earlier."

Justine snickers "and yet you still bought an I Heart NYC shirt."

"It was a souvenir. You asked me to get you one."

"Liar." She teased.

Ewan, felt more and more relieved as the conversation moved on. It was as if his girlfriend had never been around Damon Albarn, and as if his interest in her had completely stopped. That was good. He worried about that a lot.

He felt bad about it too, he would deny it if Chloe ever asked him. But deep down he did think that she loved him, and had fears that it would lead to the termination of their relationship.

For years he'd heard "Chloe and Damon this." He'd seen photos of the two. Personal photos. That had been by accident when he went through Chloe's archives one time. It had been an accident. No harm done. And besides, it was before the two had ever known one another.

But it still hurt.

It was like a shot to the heart. Seeing his girlfriend with someone else. Someone else that he knew. That he'd met. That he'd wanted to befriend. That he held sympathy for. God it stung.

Despite everything new and old that was tying the pair together, he couldn't help but feel that there was someone coming to rip them apart. And perhaps that person would be Damon.

Coming back to the present, Ewan watched as Damon fumbled with his cigarettes.

"Want one?" He offers to her "Not sure if you still smoke these." He mutters under his breath

She shakes her head politely.

"No thanks. I'm trying to quit." Chloe says with a grin.

Damon frowns. When had that happened? Chloe had always been a notorious smoker. Especially when they had gone out. Graham had called her whole family chain smokers because of the amount of cigarettes Blur had seen them smoking in that weekend alone at Glastonbury.

"Can we not smoke at the table?" Ewan questions "The air feels rather nice. Could we not fill it up with smoke?"

Damon narrows his eyes. "Are you quitting too?" He asks

Ewan shrugs "I'm taking a break. Not trying to catch cancer and all. Maybe you should try too."

Damon laughs "I'd rather not. It's a rather critical part of my persona. Besides- Justine thinks it looks cool." He leans over and kisses her gently, forgetting his prior confusion that he had noted on before.