ecstasy // willne x imallexx au

xlv

alex - 17th january 2019

"wow, i'm proud you know. thought you might have forgotten," i said, watching a beaming will enter through the front door holding a humongous bouquet of red roses — a pretty difficult thing to locate in mid-january, so fair play to him.

"what the fuck are you waffling about? look at these roses a' bought for me mam, cute innit? four quid, bargain like."

"oh, of course they're for your mum, who lives up north, silly me! how shall we mail them to dear sharon, first or second class?" i replied sarcastically.

"sure second's fine, flowers don't die in three to five business days do they?"

"absolutely not."

"so, are you gonna help me wrap them up or what?" will asked. i stared at his face: it appeared dead serious.

"are you..." i started, however he turned away from me and went over to the cupboard to take out mugs.

"tea? oh yeah, and what was that thing you thought i'd forgotten? was it milk or something? because in that case, i did." will crossed his arms and turned to me, leaning casually against the counter as he waited for the water to boil in the kettle.

"o-oh, erm, nothing. i'll go and get the milk then, it's fine..." i turned away from him, a knife twisting in my chest. there was silence for a few seconds.

at that moment will burst out laughing and rushed over to my side to envelope me in a huge hug.

"fucks sake, does it say gullible on the ceiling or some shit? how little faith do you have in me, babe? i couldn't forget our anniversary if i tried." he kissed me briefly before turning away and picking up the large bunch of flowers. "of course these are for you," he offered them to me.

"fuck you, will, you're so cliché, you know that?" i chuckled, almost staggering under the weight of the roses.

"shut up, man, how did you even believe that i'd forgotten?"

"you forgot your own birthday once."

"i was probably drun—"

"stone cold sober, will."

"ehh, it's like, what is time anyway? my birthday is somewhere in the general vicinity of mid-march, which is at the general beginning of spring and that's all you need to know really. who can we trust to have been counting the days accurately since the dawn of time anyway? social construct innit like... gender an' that."

"fucking hell, you're such an idiot," i chortled.

"but you love me."

"most of the time."

-

the street lights blinked on above us as will and i walked hand in hand down the street. the crescent moon had begun to peek out from behind the overcast clouds, giving the sky a navy tinge. will let go of my hand to swing around a lamppost pole, giggling like a child. momentarily, i stopped to take out my phone and capture a candid photo of him as he started talking about a bizarre brand deal someone had proposed to him and his agent last week. he smirked when he noticed the camera, rearranging his hair before immediately replacing his cap back on top of his dark locks.