Couch Surfer

Primark

"Ugh! I fucking hate clothes shopping!" I heard David moaning from the changing rooms. "Oh just get on with it! You're the one who wanted new clothes anyway!" I call back calmly.
"Don't mean I have to enjoy getting them."
"Are you ready yet? Because you're taking ages to put those pants on." I sigh, looking at some notifications on my phone, David slides the privacy curtain, standing there in slightly ripped black jeans, a black shirt and grey nylon blazer. I raise my eyebrows, nodding my head. He looked at me with some annoyance. "My feet kept going through the wrong holes." He muttered, adjusting one of the tears on his knee. "So, how does it look?"
"It looks good, you look pretty cool... I do still think you should get some jogging bottoms though, just for lounging about the flat or something to wear when you go food shopping."
"Alright, but I am not trying them on, I know my trouser size, no more changing rooms."
"Alright, get changed into the other clothes and we'll go get some." I say, pushing him back into the changing cubicle, he shuts the privacy curtain with a huff.

DAVE:

We paid, or rather, Alex paid for my new clothes, but not before she picked up some new things for herself, and making me come back to the changing rooms with her. She looked good in everything she had picked out. But now we were free from that place and now just walking around Lakeside aimlessly, I felt my stomach rumble, I was getting hungry. I think Alex was getting hungry too, as she put a hand on her stomach and pulled a face. "Ooh, I'm getting a bit peckish... should we get something to eat?" She asked, looking up at me. She was considerably shorter than I was. "Taco Bell." She said, a statement and not a question. "I want Taco Bell." She said again, grabbing my arm and steering me in a new direction. Food court. I notice people looking at us, at me, not really young people, older people, people definitely in the age range to know of Depeche Mode, though there were some younger people, late teens and early twenties, all in a group while wearing clothes that made them look like 90's witches, they stared. Alex was adorably unaware as she dragged me to the hole in the wall that was Taco Bell. "Anything you want?" She asked, looking at the menu herself. "I'm just looking." I say. The girl at the counter calls out. "Are you guys ready to order?" She said cheerily, Alex smiles. "Yeah, thanks." She said, I look at her. She knew there was no time for me to decide. She continues. "I'll get a quesadilla with some cheesy topped fries please." She said sweetly, the cashier looks at me. "And you sir?" She asked, causing me to wake from my trance. "Oh, uh... same as her please." I say. I don't even know what I was getting, I was hoping it would taste nice. Alex pays the money and is handed a slip of paper. "Your order number is 2117, just wait over there and we'll call you when your food's ready." The lady at the till says, chirpy still, Alex and I take a seat nearby the serving hatch.

We eat our food at a table near the lifts. I'm sitting on on a plastic chair while Alex gets the booth seat. One thing I learned, quesadillas are nice. So are those cheesy topped fries. "So, what's next on the itinerary then?" I ask, forkful of cheesy chips. Fuck I loved these cheesy chips. Sour cream. Alex looks towards the escalators. "I'm going into HMV for some movies. You can wait outside or come with. Either way, your personal opinions won't affect what movies I'm getting."
"How could I resist such an offer." I say sarcastically, Alex chuckles. "Alright, I might let you pick one." She said. We finish our food and chuck the rubbish in a nearby bin, heading down the escalator and directly into HMV. Alex walks off instantly, leaving me on my own in the store. People are looking at me. Double takes, I feel weird. I browse the LP's to keep myself from being in open sight. I see a familiar pattern, a rose. I smile to myself. "Pretty." I jump, I hear a voice behind me, Alex. "Hey, you spooked me." I say turning around. She takes the vinyl from my hands, flips it over and examining it. "Violator by Depeche Mode... hey, I've heard of these guys, they're alright!" She says brightly.
"Really, you know them?" I say, stepping back, slightly surprised, but she doesn't recognise me to be their frontman. I guess I was just David to her, I kinda liked that. "Yeah, they came from Basildon... it's hard to believe that..."
"Hey, what's wrong with Basildon?" I say, jokingly defensive, she gives me a look. "Seriously? It's a shit hole."
"Yeah, I know..." I smile, looking down.
"Anyway..." She says, sliding the record back into its designated pouch. "Are you gonna help me choose some movies or you gonna leave me alone to do it myself?" She said, and that was when I felt something. A small thing. Too early to tell what feeling it was. "Oh, yeah, what kind of movies are you into, anyway?" I say, rubbing the back of my head. Smooth Dave, smooth. "Eh, I like comedies, wacky slash dark comedies, a little bit of action here and there and a rom-com or two." She shrugs.
"Fair enough, know what you're looking for?"
"Not really, no... but there is this one film I've been wanting to try out, it's called Set The Thames On Fire and it looks funny from what I've seen, plus, it's got Noel Fielding in it and I love The Mighty Boosh so..."
"Why not give a try?"
"Yeah, why not?" She says.
"What about Lynn, she into the same sorta stuff?"
"Round about, what about you?"
"Action and comedy's good, but I do like a little bit of Judge Judy."
"Eh, could never get into reality TV, don't even like watching I'm a Celeb all that much. Mind you, that Goggle-box, amazing, who knew watching other people watch TV could be that entertaining!" She states, searching the DVD's before finding the S section. She's looking for that movie, finding it eventually after squinting at the shelving for a good few minutes. She takes it. "See anything you might like?" She asks me. "It's a two for one deal."
"Oh, there's this film, it's kinda old though..."
"That's fine, depending on how old."
"Eighties. Nineteen-eighty-seven to be exact."
"Eighties is fine, what's it called?"
"The Lost Boys."
"What's it about, any good?"
"Yeah, it's about these two brothers who have to deal with some vampires going around killing people and being dicks, it's sort of action and I'd think you'd like it."
"I guess I'll just have to take your word for it, go find it, I'll be looking at the earphones." She said. I go off browsing, keeping my head low. I'm surprised no one has recognised me yet, or maybe they have but just haven't come over, I don't think I want Alex to know, like I said, I kinda like being 'just David' to her.

ALEX:

We walk out with our new purchases. "Alright, we're gonna go home now, because I have spent way too much money." I declared, after getting David and I a smoothie from Boost. We walked to the car park, took the small elevator to the third floor. The elevator smelled, it smelled exactly how you'd expect. Pissy. Could be worse, could be taking the stairs. We find the bright green Citroen with little trouble, as it was bright green and almost glowing in the dark of the multi-story park. It was that luminous. I put the bags into the back seats. David looked at the car with slight disdain. "What?" I ask.
"I miss my car, it was much nicer than this." He said, I look at him. "Well, that's a shame, guess you'll just have to deal with taking my car to my flat while wearing the clothes that I bought you. Get in." I say a little harshly. He really was not in a position to judge my ride. It was like somebody complaining about a free sample. "I didn't mean it like that..." He stuttered. I ignored him and we drove home in silence.

It was two O'clock, David and I were sitting the Lynn wouldn't be back another two hours. "I'm bored, let's do something." I say, getting up from the armchair, David was laying across the couch, which had been returned to its usual sitting form, feet hanging over the arm. He looked at me. "Why do I have to do something, can't I just lay here and watch daytime television?"
"Nope. We're going to the park! I want to go on the swings."
"What? What the fuck?"
"Come on, it'll be fun... I'll even help myself to a little something from Lynn's special 'evidence' stash." I say. I see gears turn in Davids mind. "Yeah, fuck it, I'm at rock bottom anyway."