Sidewinder

Chapter 9

You and Van sit there for a while, entwined around each other on the white duvet of your bed. It's quiet, but the good kind of quiet, the kind were you just sit and take in your surroundings. Streams of light come through the window and cast shadows on Van's face. You kiss him again. And again. Each one was perfect, your lips pressed together, each of us having our own particular taste, Van's being tea and cigarettes.
"Fancy a brew love?" He says at last, pulling away.
"That'd be nice thanks," You smile. He gets up and heads down stairs. After a few short minutes he comes racing up the stairs.
"Shit Mary Todd! I just realised I don't know where anything is!" He says, flustered.
"Hang on, I'll give you the full kitchen tour then, eh?" You giggle.
"Oi, shut up!" He laughs, going back down the stairs. You give him a full tour of the kitchen, showing him where all the stuff to make tea was and how to work the kettle (he seemed to particularly struggle with that). After the tea was made you both go outside and sit on the wooden bench on the porch. A crisp autumn breeze blows through the red and amber leaves of your garden. You move closer to Van and he puts his arm around you. You take a sip of your tea and breath in the cold air. The tea warms you from the inside which brings a smile to your face. You wish that you could stay frozen in this moment forever; huddled into Van, the autumn leaves rustling  in the breeze and the setting sun painting the sky pink, purple and red. You smile. It was perfect.
As soon as the sun merged with the horizon you and Van go back inside. Your phone buzzes and you check it. There was a text from Liv, it read:
"Hey Mary, sorry won't be home tonight, going out with Larry X."
"That's fine, aw so things went o.k with him then last night? ;)" You reply. "I think we may of made the perfect match." You say to Van.
"Sorry, who?" He says, looking up from your c.d collection.
"Larry and Liv," You laugh. "They're going out tonight."
"Ooooo." He winks. "Larry might be getting some tonight!"
"Oh my god Van." You gasp. "Are you obsessed with his sex life or something?!"
"No, I just get a feeling when one of my mates his gonna get laid." He smirks.
"You are truly disturbing sometimes, you know that right?"
"I get told it frequently."
You shake your head and smile. He could be so immature at times. But then again, so could you. Maybe that's why you got along so well.
"Hey! You like 'The Streets'?" He gasps, taking out the 'A Grand Don't Come for Free' c.d from your collection.
"Yeah," You say. "His songs are catchy."
"Are you a Terry or a Tim?" He asks, eyes wide.
"I'd like to think of myself as a Tim." You say.
"A pothead?" He laughs.
"No, because I don't like to pick fights and I'm a relatively peaceful person." You say, stacking the tea mugs into the dishwasher.
"'Relatively peaceful'" He teases, mocking you.
"Oi! Shut up!"
"Hey! I'm a Tim too!" He throws up his hands in the air defensively.
"Says the person who threatened to punch my Dad in the face if he laid a finger on me!" You laugh.
"Hey! I'm dead peaceful Mary Todd!"
"'Dead peaceful'?" You giggle.
"Yeah I am!" He says coming closer.
"Hello, I'm Van Mccann and I'm dead peaceful!" You say mocking him.
"Oi! That's enough right there!" He picks you up and puts you over his shoulder. He carries you into the lounge and throws you onto the couch.
"Arghh!" You scream. He sits on you and proceeds to tickle you. You're in fits of laughter. You squirm under him, squealing, trying to escape. "Okay! Okay! I'm sorry!" You say, desperate to get out from under him. You use every ounce of self-control you have in your body to stop yourself from kicking him. You absolutely hated being tickled. If anyone tickled you it would most likely result in someone getting hurt and that person wasn't you. But you didn't want to hurt Van.
"And you won't mock me again?" He asks, still tickling you. A smile was spread across his face.
"I can't promise that," You laugh. He doesn't appear to be stopping anytime soon. "Okay! Okay! I won't mock you again! Just please stop!" He does, you breath a sigh of relief. "Oh and next time you tickle me, don't be surprised if you get kicked in the face." You say, pulling the cheesiest smile possible.
"Fine then," He replies, with an equally cheesy smile. "Now about that Streets c.d, can I put it on?"
"Sure," You giggle. As soon as you said that his eyes sparkled, like a child's on christmas morning. He rushes over to your c.d player and puts in the disk. 'It Was Supposed To Be So Easy' blasts over the speakers.
"Ayyyeee!" He shouts. "Fancy a dance Mary Todd?" Offering you his hand. You blush and take it. You two dance around the living room until the c.d has played right the way through.
"Want a drink?" You puff.
"Yeah, do you have any beer?" He asks, puffing too.
"I'll get you one." You smile. You open the fridge and grab two bottles. When you go back into the lounge you find Van rummaging through your c.d's again.
"Can I put this one on please?" He asks, holding up 'Favourite Worst Nightmare'.
"Go for your life." You giggle, handing him the beer bottle.
"Cheers love," He says pecking you on the cheek. You blush, you still can't believe he asked you out.
"Brian! Top marks for not trying!" He sings. You giggle. "Oh Mary Todd! I forgot to tell you! The lads and I are in a band!" He shouts over the music.
"You're what?" You say, absolutely gobsmacked.
"Yeah!" He says, pausing the music. "You're not mad, are you?" He asks, looking concerned.
"No! Not at all!" You say, pulling him into a hug. "So, tell me about you guys then!"
"Well, Benji plays the bass, Bondy is on the guitar, Bob's our drummer and I sing and play guitar!" He says, a look of excitement on his face.
"Oh Van, that's wonderful! Do you guys have a name?"
"It's 'Catfish and the Bottlemen'" He smiles. You both sit on the couch. You were eager to hear more.
"I love that!"
"Thank you Mary Todd," You could tell that it made him happy that you were impressed. "In fact, we've scored ourselves a recording deal!"
"Oh my god! That's wonderful!" You lean in and give him a kiss. "If I go and get my guitar, could you please play me some songs?" You ask.
"Of course Mary Todd, I'll play you a concert, it'll be dead romantic." You roll your eyes and go to your bedroom to collect your guitar.
"Ooo acoustic," He smirks, "Even more romantic." You laugh and sit next to him. "This ones called 'Cocoon'." He begins to strum, his fingers dancing over the frets.
"I fell straight into your arms,
Like a drunk,
Who's been on it,
All morning,
And the sun's up,
And my head's fucked..."
You fall into this trance, leaning forward, listening to his voice. He continues to sing into the early hours of the morning. It was 3:00am before you both decided to go to bed. You tie your hair into a messy bun and put on an oversized red flannel shirt. You jump into bed next to Van and cuddle into him. He wraps his arms around you.
"Thanks for tonight," You whisper. "I loved hearing your music."
"We've got a band meet up tomorrow if ya wanna come and hear them with all the instruments," He says.
"Really? That'd be amazing!" You sit up, feeling excited.
"Yeah! I've been hanging out for you to hear us!" You give him a kiss and lie back down. Your eyes shut and before you know it, you've fallen into a deep sleep.