ARABELLA • Alex Turner

FIFTEEN

~
TWO WEEKS LATER

     If Alex thought that he was worried before, it was only because he hadn't anticipated the pure panic that would hit him when he and the boys touched down on British soil again after two months abroad.

   Since the release of their new single two weeks ago, he had been beyond nervous about seeing Arabella again. Every part of him was yearning to hold her, to kiss her, and to hear her voice, but he was terrified that things would be different between them now. Terrified that he had been too forward and pushed her away.

   Arabella had called him on release day to tell him that she loved the song. Her approval had filled Alex with such relief and elation that it had taken his breath away. But in the weeks since, his worries had begun to knaw at him again. Even though she remained her usual bright and bubbly self over the phone, he was still concerned that he had overstepped a line.

   What if she had only said she liked it to be polite? It was never his intention to make her even the slightest bit uncomfortable, and it didn't help that the song had gained so much traction online. It was already the highest charting single since Crying Lightning, and their fan base seemed to have tripled practically overnight.

   He didn't want Arabella to be preyed on by the vultures in the media, especially when he hadn't even asked her if she was okay with the song beforehand.

In a nutshell, he was beginning to regret all of his life decisions. Except for her, of course.

Arabella's party was in a few days time, and even though his brain was supplying him with lots of reasons to be worried, one thing was for certain.

   He couldn't wait to see her again.

Even if her birthday turned out to be the last time he ever saw her, just a glimpse of that dimpled smile and those sparkling eyes would see him through for eternity.

-

   Arabella's stomach was in knots by the time she sat down next to the coats in the corner of the living room and waited for Alex to arrive.

   It was the day of her party, and as per the movie theme she was dressed as Barbarella from the 1968 film. It was one of her favourites on account of Jane Fonda's truly fabulous outfits and, well, the fact that it was set in space. She wasn't going to let the fact that she wasn't blonde stop her.

   A silver metallic bodysuit hugged her curves and accentuated her waist and hips, paired with gorgeous knee-high white platform boots and a pair of nude tights to protect her modesty a little. Her dark hair was cascading down her back in its usual loose curls, but she'd teased a little more volume into it at the top and paid extra attention to the face-framing pieces to make sure that they were sitting perfectly.

She had lathered every nook and cranny of her body in a sweet smelling tanning lotion, and had even invested in some glitter spray for her hair, which now sparkled in a very cosmic fashion every time she caught the light.

   Sophie was dressed as slutty Patrick Bateman from American Psycho, with a black mini skirt, white shirt, red tie and clear waterproof jacket, as well as a fake axe she'd found on Ebay. Arabella's own plastic ray gun was lying around somewhere, already forgotten.

   People had been arriving for almost half an hour, and though Arabella knew that she should be greeting everyone since it was her party and all, the only thing that her brain could focus on was a certain rock star. Sophie and Sabrina had both given up on trying to get her to move, and were now busy handing out (and downing) shots of whiskey.