I'd Like to be Somebody Else

Chapter 31

    Noel rang nearly every day until the 30th September. They'd been to Tokyo, Seattle, San Francisco and other places I wished I'd gone to already.

I assumed he was too busy but he didn't ring for days after that. On the 5th I tried calling him, his phone was off, I tried Liam next, I had no idea where they were staying so I was running out of people to contact.

"What do you want Stacy?" he sounded really angry and frustrated.

"I want to talk to Noel."

"Yeah? Well if you fucking find him, let us fuckers know."  

"What do you mean "If I find him"? He's with you, y'know he's kind of your band's lead guitar." I misjudged the situation.

"Stacy. He quit the fucking band and fucked off to fuck knows where." he said pronouncing each word slowly and clearly.

"What are you talking about? When did this happen? Why did no one tell me? I could have..."

"You couldn't do shit." he interrupted. "You're half way round the world. He just walked off stage in LA on the 29th. We've been trying to get hold of the bastard ever since."

"Calm down, he's just..." I had no great explanation or any explanation. "He'll probably be in a hotel room right now writing songs, clearing his head. You know he'd rather be alone sometimes."

"Well you find him and you bring his arse back here or there will be fucking trouble."

...

   The next day Tim Abbott (someone from Creation Records) called me inviting me to Las Vegas. I resented my injuries and I resented work. I couldn't believe I was declining an invitation to "The Entertainment Capital of the World" but I doubted it would be much fun with broken bones. Noel took the phone off him and we ended up in a long, long conversation with him trying to convince me to join them.

"If you promise me that this is just a quick, emergency holiday and you definitely haven't actually quit."

   He agreed and made me promise I wouldn't tell anyone where he was until he was ready to go back to them.

   Before I knew it I was on a plane to vegas, paid for by Creation. They picked me up in a clearly unnecessary limo and took me to the hotel they were staying at.

"Are you going to tell me why we're in Vegas and not wherever Oasis is supposed to be?" I asked as I got sat on the hotel bed.

"Don't know if you know this but my brother's a dickhead."

"What? Paul? No way, he's so unassuming." I smirked.

"I wish it was Paul I was touring with. Y'know I fucking wish Mam never had him, wish I'd never had to fucking put up with him."

"Woah, you can't say that, you don't mean that." I stared at him wondering how things had gotten that bad in less than a month. "What happened?"

"Don't tell me what I don't mean. Liam was singing shite over and over again, kept abusing the Yanks. We had a fight and I've had enough so I walked."

"Had a fight as in..."

"Well he hit me over the head with his instrument and if I see him again I'm going to leather him."

  I couldn't take the tambourine attack seriously. I had to force myself not to laugh or even smile at the thought of the incident. "So, what, you're just going to walk away and let them use your brilliant songs without you?"

"I'm going back." he reluctantly admitted with a sigh. "I definitely haven't actually quit... they just think I have." he repeated my words. "I've got to, I've got another song to record."

"Ah thank fuck. Thought I was going to have to find a new band to sponge off of." I smirked again.

"The fucking cheek! D'you want to hear it?" he got his guitar.

"I'm going to say no since you're going to play it anyway." I was in a really unusual mood since landing in America.

   He got comfy on the bed next to me and started playing. "Sittin' on my own, chewin' on a bone. A thousand million miles from home..."

   I listened carefully to each and every word, trying not to let my odd mood distract me.

"I know I'm leavin'. But I'll be back another day. I wanna talk tonight, until the mornin' light. 'Bout how you saved my life." he finished.

   I took a really deep breath and sighed. It was so sad, I was fighting tears. "It's so... moving, who's it about? Who saved your life?"

"Just some girl who saw me standing on a ledge..." he put his arm around my shoulder to comfort me. "It's not meant to make anyone cry, it's just a thank you."

"Should I have written you a song?"

"Nah, the shagging and simply knowing I saved someone is enough." he boasted.

   We spent the rest of the week partying typical Las Vegas style. Gambling and drinking too much, all day long. Since it was us we scored coke to and took dangerous amounts. Nothing was enough in this city of excess.

...

"We could do that." he pointed at a couple celebrating their marriage outside a really cheesy looking chapel.

"Ha, ha, no way am I getting married here!"

   It was my last day already, in fact Noel and Tim were flying to Minneapolis to rejoin the tour later as well, I had no intention of wasting our time in a dodgy Vegas wedding.

"Why not? Don't you want to be Mrs Gallagher? Don't you want to marry me?" he questioned, trying to sound upset.

"Maybe when your money's in the bank." I shrugged. "If you're going to marry me, you're going to do everything properly."

"I'm going back to those idiots because of you, if that's not a symbol of how much I love you, I don't know what is."

   He waited with me at my gate at the airport even though his flight was still hours away and kissed me goodbye as I left.

   The journey back to london was way longer than it had been going, I suppose it was because I was going to be in the house alone again and I wasn't entirely sure he would get on the plane to Minneapolis.

...

   Bonehead rang while I was at work the next day. I hid in a toilet cubicle hoping no one would notice I was gone, I wasn't much use anyway with my wrist and ankle still in casts.

"What's up?"

"Just wondered if you had a good time in Vegas?"

"Yeah, it was alright. He made it back then, how's things?"

"Last night, yeah. They kissed and made up, everything's normal again." he said really casually. "Think we're all just sick of America, it's so... full on, all the time."

"You've only been there like three weeks." I tutted.

"We'll be back in Europe the day before bonfire night, we'll be happier then."

"Have you spoken to Kate?"

"Yeah, I miss her like I didn't think I'd miss anyone." I heard someone shout him, it sounded most like Guigsy.

"Sorry, we've got to go to dinner. Bye!" Guigsy said and the phone cut off.

Author Note- LFC are out of the FA cup but I bring brilliant news

http://www.theladbible.com/articles/oasis-set-to-reform-as-gallagher-brothers-bury-the-hatchet-once-and-for-all