Look East | A Hozier Fanfiction |

7

Oil sizzled in the frying pan as Andrew slid two chicken breasts into it. He was in the kitchen at Molly's making dinner for the two of them. She was on the other side of the kitchen chopping items for a salad while James Brown played softly in the background.

"Chicken's in," he said, walking over behind her. "Should be done in ten. How's the salad coming along?" He slid his hands around her waist.

She finished chopping a green bell pepper and slid it into a large serving dish on top of lettuce and grape tomatoes. "Done," she answered. "I'll go set the table."

He returned to the stove and watched her set the table outside on the patio. Several candles flickered in glass jars at the center of the small table and the setting sun was reflecting off of the pool's rippling surface. He turned the chicken over and sprinkled some pepper on the cooked side just as Molly came back in.

"That smells divine," she said with a smile. "When did you learn to cook so well?"

"My mum," he answered proudly. "She always insisted that Jon and I help prepare meals so that we could, and I quote, 'learn to survive an apocalypse'. I guess she thought us living on our own meant we'd be starving otherwise."

"Your mother is quite the character," Molly said, leaning against the bench top. "I liked meeting her. I'd love to see some of her work sometime."

Andrew smiled and scratched his head nervously. "I - ehm - sure. I'm sure she'd like that."

She cocked her head. "Unless...you don't want me to spend any more time with her?"

He shook his head. "Its not that," he stammered. "It's just..." he bought himself more time by flipping the chicken and removing it from the pan. "It's just that she doesn't usually show her studio to people. So I don't know if she'll open it up to you."

She followed him out onto the patio carrying a bottle of wine and two glasses. "What have you been up to since we got back?" she asked, sitting down across from him.

"Writing mostly," he answered. "It takes a lot longer than most people realize."

"How long does it usually take?"

He tilted his head as he thought. "Sometimes a few months, sometimes a year. 'Take Me to Church' took a year to write and find the melody."

"A year?" Molly said in surprise. "That seems like a long time to write just one song."

He smiled over his wine glass. "Its not like I'm only writing that one song the whole year. I work on a lot of things simultaneously."

"Do you have completed songs you haven't released yet?"

He shrugged. "Maybe," he smiled coyly.

"What was it like the first time you heard your own song on the radio?" she asked as she brought a piece of chicken to her mouth.

"Like heaven," he grinned, remembering the moment keenly. "I remember it exactly. I was waiting for a train with Alex back from Dublin and we caught the hind end of 'Church' from the station master's office. We almost missed the train because we were too excited to pay attention." The moment of happy shouts and screams as a train blew past them still rang in his ears like it was yesterday, his voice blaring from the speakers of the shitty radio. "Easily one of the top ten moments in my life. Easily."

"You and Alex are pretty close, huh?" she remarked.

"Yeah," he nodded. "I'm really, really lucky. We met at Trinity and just managed to stay in touch and keep a friendship going through the years, even when I dropped out. And to get to tour with him and live this crazy life with him is just an intense blessing." He took a bite of food. "You know, a lot of musicians don't have the luxury of having familiar faces around them. Your touring band just comes and goes. But Alex - and Rory, my drummer for that matter - has just always been constant."