Since I Saw Him Last: A Gary Barlow Fanfic

Chapter Twenty Five

The three of us walked into the living area, most of the party had already left. There was a couple standing by the door and were the last to leave, I hadn't spoken to them but they seemed to be close friends of Mark. "Before you go, could you take a photo of us with the girls?" Mark handed his phone to the lanky blonde male, "Sure, Mark." We all gathered in a huddle to pose for a photo. "Say Take That and Party," the blonde guy said. "Take That and Party!" We roared as we smiled at the camera. The camera flashed, we parted from the huddle and laughed. "Alright, Mark. Guys, we're off." The blonde guy saluted us, grabbed his girlfriend's hand and waved as they walked out of the door. "What you doing Mark?" Charlotte asked him. "This is going straight on social media." I was a little wary, I knew for a fact that the Take That fandom would be going stir crazy once the photo was posted. There'll be so many questions about where the party was and who the girls were in the photo. I hope we wouldn't be hounded by them. "So, lads, ladies. Doug and I are going to find a club that's open, Sophia and Zoe said they're coming with. Anyone else?" Jason announced. I looked over at Zoe and Sophia, I could tell Sophia was swooning inside. Zoe looked back at me with a 'what' kind of expression. She wasn't the spontaneous type, she liked to plan and would need lots of encouragement to do something like this, I was proud that she was taking this experience in her stride. "Rob? You coming?" Howard asked casually. "Nah, you're alright. I'll be going in a bit." "Fair enough. I'm sure the two sets of lovebirds will be staying here." Howard said in jest. Gary put his arm around my shoulders with a glass of brandy in his hand, "You bet." I looked over at him, he's still annoyed with Howard. "Victoria?" Jason asked. "I'll stay here for a bit. You two girls have fun with Howard and Jason." Victoria said as she winked at the boys. "Let's make a move then." Howard said. The obligatory hugs and kisses travelled around the room and the rest of us waved them off. The six of us walked over to the sofas, Gary hung back to steal a few pieces from the food table, I looked over at him with a questioning look. "What?" he said through mouthfuls.

We were all sitting on the sofas with our glasses of brandy. "Gaz, how long's it been with Tash?" Rob asked. He's abbreviating my name now, he's barely said two words to me. Gary looked at me and smiled, a little embarassed. "How long's it been?" Rob inquired further. Gary raised his eyebrows and shot a look at me, "Oh, you expect me to be counting the days, hours and minutes? Go on, let's see how your memory fares." I jeered. "It's been about, three weeks?" He looked at me unsure of whether he'd got the answer correct. I nodded, "Yeah, that's about right." I giggled. "Well, I must say Gaz. It's lovely to see." Mark said. "Yeah, I don't think I've ever seen you like this." Rob agreed with Mark. "Is that supposed to be a good thing or a bad thing?" Victoria asked. "No, good. Let's just say that we were thinking he'd be announcing his coming out of the closet." Rob joked. I think that's a slight exaggeration Rob. I rolled my eyes slightly. "Gary. You, Tash, Charlie and I should go on a double date. What you reckon?" Mark suggested, Charlotte started clapping her hands together in an excited fashion, "Oh, yes Markie, that sounds fabulous." "How about it?" Mark urged. "Yeah, why not? Double date won't be so bad." Robbie stood up, "Right, it's been great seeing you all and nice to meet you ladies. I better be off. Vick do you want to come with me?" I couldn't hide the shock on my face. What the hell happened tonight? It seemed like all my friends were pairing off with the boys. I looked over at Charlotte, her face was beaming. She was trying to set this up the cheeky... "Come on Vick. Lets dash." The both of them made the rounds and hugged Mark, Charlotte, Gary and me. "Vicky, make sure you message us you sexy bitch!" Charlotte cackled. She was a little intolerable when drunk. After Victoria and Rob left, Charlotte said, "I totally saw that happening. I totally had to set that up." "I think they're a good match, they've both got spunk." Mark agreed with Charlotte. Charlotte started laughing hysterically, "SPUNK!?" Mark joined in too and they were sat there laughing in unison. Gary looked over at me, he didn't look pleased. "I think we better go." He stood up, Charlotte and Mark were still laughing. "Guys. Guys! Hold on a minute, you can continue this after we're gone." "Oh you're going?" Mark said, his face dropped a little. Charlotte's face on the other hand didn't hide any emotion, "Oh, Tash, Gaz. Please don't go! Stay, Mark has spare rooms, don't you Markie? Stay, we can have lots of fun together!" Charlotte really needed a glass of water, some paracetamol and sleep. "No, no. We want to give you both some privacy." I replied as I walked over to hug her. "See you mate." Gary said as he hugged Mark. "Yeah, I'll see you some time next week Gaz." Mark patted Gary on the back. "Tash, Tash, TASH." Charlotte shrieked. "Yes?" "I'm glad you and Gaz made up. You're the greatest love story I've seen. Please stay together." She started slouching on the sofa. I kissed her on the forehead and hugged Mark. "Look after her won't you? Make sure she gets hydrated and sleeps well." I felt protective over Charlotte and hoped Mark would take care of her. "I've got it all sorted. I'll look after her." As Gary and I walked over to the front door I could hear Mark in the background, "Come on love, lets get you up. You need some sleep." Bless him, he's such a sweetheart.