Paper Cuts (COMPLETED)

Chapter Eleven: The Lost Weekend

Harry always seemed to have the house to himself. As an only child to two lawyers, he was frequently abandoned in his Chelsea townhouse for a firm cocktail party or weekend business trip.

That's why it was our pre-game destination.

I slammed a six-pack of cider on the table, pointing at the frosted glass bottle of vodka beside it.

"Ooo. Save that for the party," I insisted, and then frowned at an expensive bottle of champagne also on the glossed-wood table.

"Harry," I said, and he turned around from where he sat on the couch, game controller in hands and beer between his knees, with raised brows. "Did you raid your parent's cellar again?"

He shrugged, turning back to the FIFA game as Matt jammed his thumb on the controller.

"Their store is so big I doubt they'd miss one."

I shook my head scoldingly and popped the lid of a beer off with a bottle-opener. The lid fell to the floor with a hollow metal clang, and I bent to pick it up.

The door opened, and Shiloh shuffled in and took off her coat. Matt turned around and failed at suppressing a stare, his hands going slack around the controller. Harry chuckled maliciously and continued to play around him.

"Hey," I said. Shiloh smiled, taking off her coat to reveal pinstriped pants and a purple singlet that sat snug against her thin, flat frame.

I wandered over to the couch with Shiloh and passed Matt a beer. He shook his head.

"Not tonight."

I shrugged, "Alright," and offered it instead to Shiloh, who put the top between her teeth and jerked her head, popping the top open. I stared.

"Fricken hell! I thought people only did that in movies," I shook my head in disbelief, and Shiloh shrugged with a laugh.

"My dad showed me when I was five."

"Five?!" Harry yelled, and then put his hands in the air with a disappointed yell as Matt scored against him.

Shiloh slid onto the couch next to Matt, and I next to her.

"Don't question it," she said, and took a swig from the bottle, "So. When are we to get the pre-game going?"

The two boys looked at me, and I looked around with a nervous laugh.

"This is our pre-game."

Shiloh scoffed, "Really? You're kidding, right? This isn't a pre-game. This is watching two boys play X-Box and drinking like a bunch of forty-year-olds."

She stood, and all three of our heads followed her as she pulled her phone out of her pants and walked towards the speakers either side of the T.V. She crouched down and pulled a cord from the speaker, plugging in her phone.

Rihanna blasted through the speakers and I stood if only just to humour Shiloh a little. The beat ran through the whole house, causing photo frames to rattle in their place.

Shiloh pointed her fingers and moved her arms and hips in time to the music, and I joined her. We danced together, bodies close and hitting each beat. I felt silly but right at the same time, letting loose the seemingly eternal tightness in my chest, if just for a moment. I glimpsed the boys out the corner of my eye, staring dumbstruck as we danced.

Soon, Harry, who was always one to party, stood, his knees bobbing comically. Shiloh dragged Matt from the couch and moved his arms, which he let hang limp in her hands. He gave a protesting groan, but eventually gave in. I drank some more of my beer, and laughed.