Nine Lives

Drunken Underground

Above us was the big white circle, with a red rim and a blue stripe - UNDERGROUND - casting a ghostly shadow over his wide spread cheeks. The hole entrance was deserted, the late night leaving us alone. "The underground?"

"Bingo." Blake smiled, grabbing my wrist and pulling me down the concrete steps to the station below. We came speeding out onto a massive platform, vending machines laying dormant and fluorescent lights highlighting two corresponding train tracks. I spun around, taking in the industrial feel. To my left, a wall of benches lay vacant, looming on as far as I could see. Our side of the platform was empty, only a few overflowing rubbish bins and long-forgotten train tickets scattered the floor. Opposite us, platform two was nearly identical, except for a couple standing at one end, hugging and kissing under one of the broken bulbs and a homeless man with a bushy beard curled up under a poster for The Lion King that was framed above one of the metal benches.

Blake whistled as we walked along, jumping on the benches and balancing on the yellow line "Be careful!" I fussed, following close behind. The line was severely scuffed and worn, more a dirty lime than an illuminous yellow. "Blake..."

"Come on, darling! I'm no where near the tracks." He whistled, balancing like a circus act.

I smiled, leaning into his care free energy. He was right, there was at least a 10cm gap between us and the tracks, plus, there was no one around to tell us off...maybe letting loose wasn't a bad thing after all. I followed in his danger free footsteps, joining the act as I stumbled along the leading line. We half skipped, half balanced our way to the end of the platform, another set of stairs leading upwards drawn dark under the influence of another broken bulb. Blake spun over to an adjacent bench, draping his body over the rusty metal and panting with adrenaline. I flopped myself next to him, still wondering what the hell we were doing in this ordinary underground.

He read my mind. "So, now the fun begins..." Blake unholstered the bag from his back, rounding it into the gap between us and pulling Velma from the cushioning. He stared into the unicorns eyes, a slight look of wonder crossing his face. I watched in curiosity, his face quickly morphing to represent sudden sadness. I put my arm on his, watching as he pulled his eyes away from Velma's and latched onto mine.

He was sweating from all the running and jumping and skipping, a small hair falling over his ocean eyes. Insintictively, I lifted my fingers to curve the hair behind his ear, but stopped myself before reaching the slit of his lips. Suddenly, a flush of embarrassment rushed over me, red rising to my checks as I looked away and wrung my hands together. Blake seemed to notice, but sat unmoving. I sensed his head manoeuvre away from me, back onto the bottle.

Pop. I looked up, surprised to see Blake covering Velma with a paper bag and taking a swig from the now opened bottle.

"What a beauty!" He cooed, wiping rogue whisky from the cracks in his lips.

I sat a little astonished. "You opened it? I thought you said it...she...travelled all over the world with you?" Why in hell would he want her opening ceremony to be in a deserted London tube station, and not on top of a guzzling waterfall in Iceland?

"I did." He said, matter of faculty, holding the bottle under my nose. "Want a swig?"

I didn't take it, but stared up at Blake. I didn't say anything, but my earlier question hung in the air. He placed Velma beside him on the bench, and shuffled closer to me, knee to knee. Taking my silence as his answer, Blake spoke again. "You see, I've travelled far and wide. The world is a magnificent adventure, but one i've already lived. I no longer have the need to delve into different cultures. Believe me, they had enough bitter vino in France and overpriced beer in Switzerland...Velma here is born and bred British, so where's a better place to experience the speed than in the most ordinary place in London?"

Experience the speed? What the hell did that mean?

"I hate it when you talk in riddles...please repeat that in English." I sighed, confusion painted on my brow.

"I know i'm a little voluptuous, but you'll see. The world is a lot duller without colour to fill in the blanks."

Yet another riddle. I was seriously starting to think the crazy guy on the train tracks was just the crazy guy on the train tracks.

"Just trust me." He said, cutting into my thoughts. "This is our first stop on the adventure train."

"A deserted tube station?" I questioned, sarcasm oozing from my voice.

"I thought id start off where it all started...less than 48 hours ago, the train tracks were all we knew about each other. Our only connection." He sat back, brushing the uneven hair behind his ears. "I've got a lot planned for the next few days."

Song Dedication - Chained to the Rhythm, Katy Perry