Smashed Pianos ~ Liam Gallagher

GREETINGS AND FAREWELLS

"So," Liam begins, collapsing down onto my bed. "I'm thinkin' of droppin' out of school."

I pause my essay writing and close my notepad pointedly, crossing my legs whilst swivelling round to face him. "You what?"

Liam only shrugs and stares up at the ceiling contently.

I knock his foot with my own, "Liam come on, we've got half a year left until we finish. It'd be a waste to quit now."

"I knew you wouldn't get it." Liam grumbles and starts to get up when I pull him back down.

"No, that's not it. I just want to understand your reasoning. I'm not going to manipulate you into changing your mind, you know I'm not like that." I raise an eyebrow and start to gently pull his hair (which I know really gets him going).

He sighs before nodding his head, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "Noel came back last night."

"Mmhmm."

Liam catches my hand and stares directly into my eyes, "Are you even listenin'?"

"Of course I am!"

He rolls his eyes and carries on, "Well, as I was sayin', Noel came back and heard me and the lads playin' and that and was all like 'mate your band is proper shite' and I agreed with him-"

"But you're not shite!" I argue, hearing Ruth's nosey footsteps settle outside of my bedroom door. "Ruth, bugger off." I mutter.

"Mum asked me to keep an eye on you. Please tell me you're not doing sex!"

"Doin' sex?" Liam chuckles, "Who even says that?" He throws his head back against the headboard and rests both hands beneath it, laughing like mad.

I ignore him and return to the current issue of Ruth spying on me and Liam. "Ruth, if you piss off I'll take you to see that science film thingy at the weekend." I bargain, feeling Liam's intense state on me the entire time.

Ruth ponders but eventually agrees, rushing back to her own room presumably feeling like a winner, but Liam and I both know that I won't be taking her to the movie, she will have forgotten about it by morning, the children are like that.

"Can I continue please Arden?" He says in a deliberate posh voice.

"You certainly can."

"Well Noel offered to help us out a bit and then bam, we found our sound, just like that, a bloody miracle if you ask me. He thinks we could be well good Arden and if you heard us you would agree, we already have gigs booked and I won't have any time for school and that on top of this band malarky." Liam argues his points well, and for a second I forget that he is talking about such a serious matter and instead picture him in a court room settling a case between a bitter divorced couple. He'd be good at that. "Would you like to say anythin'?"

I shake my head, "It seems to me like you've made up your mind."

Liam grumbles and sits up opposite me, taking both of my tiny hands in his. "Arden, I can tell you aren't happy about it. Please say somethin'."

I gingerly sweep his hair out of his eyes and kiss his forehead, "It's not my decision, it's yours, and only yours to make."

Liam seems fairly happy with my response and leans in to kiss me, but despite him being happy, I'm far from from it.

I know what this means. This means Liam will leave me.

:-:-:-:

Liam takes my hand and tugs me along the pavement and apologies every time we accidentally knock into some elderly woman or a man with a pushchair. "Liam slow down! We've got loads of time." I say in between breaths as the wind whips through my hair, but he can't hear me, instead we continue weaving in and out of the pedestrians manically, and I can just make out the faint grunts and cursing coming our way from passersby.