Sanctuary (A Dan Smith/ Bastille fanfic)

39. Chloe

"Chris!! For christ's sake Chris you're going to be late!" I shout up the stairs for him to come downstairs. He better bloody hurry up or that guy that he's meant to be meeting will leave.

"I know, I know.. I just can't find my other bloody shoe." He runs downstairs and searches through the cupboard under the stairs where we keep our shoes. Correction, where we're meant to keep our shoes and where I keep my shoes. But Chris being the messy bugger that he is rarely actually puts things back in the place where they are meant to be kept.

"Well maybe if you looked closer." I hold up the trainer that he is looking for which I found sitting by the sofa.

"You're a genius." He kisses my forehead overdramatically and throws himself on the floor to put the shoe on.

"It was in your pile of shit in the living room. I don't want to be a nag but it's getting out of hand.." I started off by putting Chris' stuff in piles but somehow it has spread all over the house and you can't get away from it.

"You mean that you aren't going to clean it up for me?! But why am I living with you then?!" He sarcastically remarks, causing me to smack him around the back of his head. Cheeky bugger. "Abuse!" He shouts after me jokily as I walk through to the living room. I see his coat which he will no doubt be looking for in a second and so hold it out and wait for him. "Have you seen my.. Oh, thanks." He takes the coat and quickly puts it on. "How do I look? Not too old or something?"

"Shut up, you're 24 not 84, it will be fine. If it goes shit, it goes shit. If not then you've got someone to play with." I'm unusually optimistic about his forthcoming meeting.

"I've already got someone to play with wahaaaay." He laughs way too hard at his own joke and I glare at him, waiting for him to calm down.

"You're an idiot." I hit his arm playfully. "Text me and let me know how it goes." I flop down onto the sofa and grab the tv remote and begin aimlessly flicking through the channels, hoping something interesting may appear.

"Will do." He checks his phone. "Shit I'm so late."

"Where are you meeting him again? Just so when you go missing I know where to tell the police to look for your body." I joke.

"You're so funny. But in some pub near Putney East. That's near where he lives with his parents apparently."

"With his parents?! He's totally going to be some 18 year old weirdo." I laugh loudly and imagine the scene.

"You think you're so funny, don't you?" Chris teases and I nod with a proud grin on my face. "Right I need to go."

"Don't get drunk and let the 18 year old child take advantage." I call as he walks to the door.

"Hey, I'm not that easy!" He laughs and I hear the door open.

"Yes you are!"

"Am not!" He childishly yells before I hear the door slam shut.

Now I'm left on my own on a Saturday night whilst Chris goes out and enjoys himself. If I was any normal person I would go out as well, but I can't think of anything worse than going out on my own and I didn't want to tag along with Chris whilst he met this guy who was looking for a drummer for his band.

At first, I was a little bit wary. I was the one who encouraged Chris to post flyers for people who were looking for drumming lessons but I never expected someone to call him looking for a member for a band. I thought it was slightly strange, that this person knew nobody and had resorted to calling some guy off of a flyer, but then again some people just don't know many people in the area.

It could be a blessing in disguise for us. I've only been unemployed a week but without my usual pay check at the end of the month we're going to be struggling to pay the rent. I'm actively looking for a job, but no one in my industry is looking to hire, or if they are they already have the CV off of everyone else who worked in my office and got made redundant too.

So if Chris got a bit of extra money in then that would help us massively. We were considering getting a tenant for our spare room, but Chris' drum kit is in there and the house is way too small and cramped for another person, it's just not realistic. We could move to a cheaper area but I like Clapham, I've got used to it and I feel comfortable here, especially since I met Chris, and Amelie is only up the road too. I don't think I could move far away from her now that we've got so close.

I wait up for Chris to come home and I begin to panic a bit. We've joked so much that this person is going to be a serial killer that I haven't worked out what I will do if he actually is one. He has texted me a couple of times though to say that it's all going well, I just need to chill out a bit. Maybe the fact that he's late home is a good sign and him and this guy have actually been able to come to some sort of an agreement.

At gone midnight he stumbles through the door and I chuckle at his attempts to keep quiet as he shouts at the door to be quiet and not wake me up.

"Chris, I'm in here." I call and hear him fall through to the living room.

"Chloeeee." He exaggerates my name.

"How was it then?" I lift my legs up and allow him to sit down on the sofa, placing my legs over his as soon as he takes his seat.

"A lot of fun." He hiccups loudly. "A lot of beer! He seemed great, he's just been gigging for a bit and wants some people to help make a band rather than just one guy."

"So no creepy killer then?"

"Not at all. I'm meeting him in a few days again if you want to come and check for yourself." His voice is slurring further and further and his eyes have shut now. The fucker's fallen asleep.

"Chris. Chris." I shake him but he doesn't move. "Little shit." I huff. I've waited up for hours for him and now he's fallen asleep! I stand up and cover him with a blanket, deciding that I won't be able to move him for the night. He can sleep on the sofa.

I go up to bed feeling hopeful that something will come of Chris' drunken meeting with a stranger. Perhaps he could actually make some money with this, as well as a new friend.