fly | madderton

SIX

The next morning was treacherous.

Richard and Taron staggered, bleary-eyed to the train station in the very early hours of the morning, meeting up with their other two friends shortly after five. Every single one of them was regretting the decision, but it had seemed like a good idea when they planned it.

Sick of being trapped in quiet, rural wales, they'd all decided to catch a city escape for a day. And, well, if you want to visit a city, you might as well go the whole hog and make it London. Deep down they all knew it would be a great day, but having barely slept in order to catch the trains was certainly a damper on the mood.

Luckily, not many people were getting the half five train, meaning they could take up two tables between the four of them and each have a window seat to sleep at. They slept the majority of the first train, but they only had a few stops to pass on the second, and were too excited to sleep by the third. Richard was the only of the four yet to visit the city, which was another reason they'd picked it specially. It was very different to what they were all used to, and they were hoping it would be a nice, stressful break from the ever too peaceful fields they were used to. The third train was a little busier, meaning they had to sit around one table, with Taron and Charlie on one side, and Richard and Jamie sat on the other. Although the others may have been too excited to sleep on this train, Taron found a pretty comfy spot about an hour in and passed out against the window. He was very rudely awaken by a slap on the arm from Charlie, just in time to hear the typical female voice crackle over the tannoy.

"We are now approaching Euston Station. Please remember to take all of your belongings, and mind the gap between the train and the platform as you alight. Thank you for travelling with us."

"Come on, T. We're here. No time for sleeping, we've got lots to do and not a load of time," Charlie said, beaming at his incredibly tired friend. Still a little out of it, Taron just nodded and rubbed his eyes before casting his gaze over to the empty seats opposite, and then to Richard and Jamie standing in the aisle. They were pulling rucksacks out from the overhead compartments, and putting them on the table. Richard leant over to set Taron's in front of him, receiving the most energetic thanks Taron could muster, a faint nod. It brought a smile to Richard's face, and he returned the nod. Taron looked so peaceful and childlike in his sleepy state, it seemed a shame to wake him. Especially in the manner Charlie decided to do it.

They all pulled their bags on as they stepped out onto the platform, and the rush of cool air was enough to bring Taron around. He was suddenly awake enough to know they were pressed for time, and took the lead through the station and towards the next train they were taking. This time they were headed underground, and Richard was just blindly following wherever the others went. How the hell Taron and Charlie knew which line they wanted and whether they needed to be on the Northbound or Southbound platform, he had no clue. They tried to show him the map, and all it did was hurt his head. Far too many colours and far too much tiny writing for his taste. He was certainly happy just blindly following the others.

Until they took him onto the tube, that was. It was far too small, and there was way too many people crammed into it. Not one of them had manners, and all of them seemed to be ill. The people sat down seemed to have no clue how to cough into their hands. The only people who seemed to understand how to do this were those stood up, who would then put their germy hands back on the pole they were holding onto for balance. He couldn't have been more excited to step off the moving sick bay, but was heartbroken when instead of taking the stairs up, they descended further underground towards their next platform.

"Circle. Westbound. Come on." Richard had no clue what language Taron was speaking, but simply let himself be dragged through the crowd when Taron grabbed his hand. Behind him, Jamie got a hold of Richard's hand, and the Scot glanced backwards to smile at his two friends and check nobody had been lost. Somehow, they had complete faith in Taron's navigation skills. He'd never been particularly good at navigating, but Richard hoped that was due to them essentially living in a field with no landmarks, and it would be easier in a big city. Or, the busy city would put him off even more, and they'd somehow end up in Belgium.

Somehow, it seemed as if Taron had got it right, for soon enough they were walking through a gorgeous park, one so scenic that Richard could never have placed it in central London. And soon enough, they were stood beside the huge Victoria monument, staring at Buckingham Palace.

"D'you reckon she's in?" Charlie asked, sitting on one of the steps to rifle through his rucksack.

"Nope. Flag's up." Jamie pointed at the building, and Richard followed his gaze to see a Union Flag billowing above the building.

"I thought that meant she was in?" Taron asked, turning to check the flag for himself.

"Yeah. Surely they'd have the flag there if she was in?" Charlie piped up, pulling a small compact camera out of his bag. His dad had let him borrow it for the day so they could capture some memories, so long as it was always kept in a secure place, in its case, and returned in one piece. Easier said then done, when all his mum had done prior to the trip was tell him every single person in London was a pickpocket, and he'd probably have most of his belongings stolen during their day out. Needless to say, he was on high alert.

"Different flag, I reckon," Jamie said, seeming certain in his answers. Richard, on the other hand, hadn't the foggiest idea. He was just distracted watching some tourists in their 'I heart London' hoodies tucking into their lunch. He really wanted lunch.

"Here, you three stand in front of it, I'll get the picture," Charlie zipped his rucksack up and swung it onto his back, moving to stand closer to the monument so he could get a good shot.

"Do you want me to take it?" Jamie asked, moving to stand behind Charlie. He never was one to have his picture taken, even going to the lengths of making himself ill the day before picture day at school so his mum would keep him home. Charlie, being quite content with the strap of the camera around his wrist, shook his head.

"I'm fine. You two, look happy."

Taron grinned, looking at the palace behind them before wrapping his arm around Richard's waist and leaning his head towards the marginally taller boy. Richard similarly posed for the photo, grinning wide down the lens.

To follow were pictures of them all over London, in front of Big Ben, the Eye, you name it. Richard insisted they got pictures wherever they could, desperate to make as many memories as possible before he had to leave. He'd had practically nothing to remind him of home when he'd left, and even less to remind him of Taron, other than a few pictures of them from very young ages. As much as he didn't want to think about it, going back to Scotland was constantly on his mind, and he was practically counting down the seconds. They'd even managed to convince Jamie to get in a photo, and convince Charlie that if they asked a police officer to take a picture of the four of them, his camera wasn't going to get stolen. It took a lot of convincing to get him to give it up, and unsurprisingly, the officer didn't run off with the device. In fact, she was lovely about it, and laughed with them about Charlie being overprotective, whilst essentially repeating what his mum had said about pickpockets.

Before they all knew it, they were headed back to the station and staggering onto the train. Ever the child, Taron rushed to the window seat, and Richard slumped into the seat beside him. The four had been split up for this train, but were lucky enough to get two pairs of seats, as opposed to anyone being alone. Too tired to hold conversation, Taron rested his forehead against the cool window of the train and watched the lights outside fly past as the sun began to set. It wasn't long before he felt hair tickling his neck, and he tilted his head to see Richard's pressed against his shoulder. Taron couldn't help but crack a smile at the sight, and gently rest his head atop Richard's.

That boy was doing something to him.

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