The Draw

10

The boys were driving across to the other side of the States via Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, Navada and finally California. So that meant Stacey would have to leave the next day. She had so much work to catch up on for university, not to mention working extra shifts for the people who had covered hers. But it had been so worth it. Every moment was amazing. And that night she was finally able to go and see Bastille play live. She'd just never had a chance to go before and back then she'd liked to keep Dans work and home life separate. Now those two things were so very important to her.

They spent the morning sleeping off their hangovers, cosied up in bed together. To her, that was perfect. She loved nothing more than dosing in and out of sleep, clinging to Dan as he snored softly. The sound didn't even wake her anymore, it was like a lullaby to her. The thought of having to say goodbye again was too painful to imagine. If anything, it was even worse than the first time. She wished she could stay over there with him but her education meant so much to her. Not to mention it had cost her thousands of pounds already. She'd be finished by the summer and then hopefully she'd be getting straight into a job with the police force. She was ever so slightly anxious about how Dan would fit into her life when that happened. There certainly wouldn't be any 'nipping across the Atlantic on a plane' when she had a real job. And Dan would never be home if things carried on the way they were with the band. She tried her best not to get too ahead of herself.

'Looking forward to tonight?' He asked. It was time to crawl out of bed and get dressed. The van was waiting for them outside.

'Yep! Finally get to see you do some work.'

He tossed a pillow at her head.

And that night, just when she thought she couldn't possibly fall any harder for him, she did. She stood at the back of the venue, behind what had to be thousands of people all singing along with Dan. This was the first time she'd even heard most of the songs. She recognised a few of them from Dan humming them and playing them on his keyboard in his room. He literally blew her away. They all did. And as she gazed over everyone's head, watching her amazing boyfriend blast his lungs out, she felt like the luckiest person in the world.

Her trip was over. It was time to go home. Back to reality. Back to an empty house.

'I'll be back in just over two weeks. And no one is stopping me.' He stroked her face and she clung onto the back of his trousers, playing with his belt.

'Thank you so much.'

'I will see you back home.' They kissed one last time before she walked through security, waving at him. He stood there, watching, his head above the crowd. She kept on waving until she could no longer see him.

Back home in England, she felt so deflated. It had been the perfect couple of days. And now she was back at work and studying every hour of the day. She'd love to just everything and join him on the road. Spend every waking hour with him. But she was so close to finishing her degree in forensics, so close to goal of working with the police, catching criminals. She had a little over four months to go. And what then? A full time job, she'd still not be able to see him as much. And if Bastille kept getting bigger...

She didn't want to think too far ahead. She just wanted to cling onto this feeling she had right now. And she was fairly sure it was love. Did love make you feel sick constantly? Did it stop you from falling asleep and being able to concentrate? Her mind was just so full of Dan, constantly. It was all she could think of. And him not being home meant the feeling didn't really go away until he rang. And then it only got worse.

A week after she'd flown home, she was lounging on the sofa with her text book. Muttering details out loud to herself, occasionally a word would sink in. She had her onsie on. It was now mid October and England just kept getting colder and colder. And she'd always refused to put the heating on before Christmas. There were cups of half drunk tea's scattered about the house, not a tin or packet of food in the cupboards, only biscuits and tea bags. There must've been an inch of dust on every surface.