The Bucket List // Alex Turner

PART 4: The Bucket List

"Only twelve?" Andy replied dryly. "We must be slipping. Usually we aim for at least twenty."

Alex extended his hand to help her over a particularly dodgy spot, his grip firm and steady. "Trust me." he said quietly and she did, letting him guide her to their makeshift hangout spot despite her better judgment.

From this vantage point, Sheffield sprawled before them, a patchwork of brick buildings and narrow streets that somehow looked softer in the afternoon light, almost beautiful in a grimy, industrial way.

"Worth the risk of imminent death?" Jamie asked, passing her a bag of salt and vinegar crisps.

Y/N took a deep breath of the summer air. "Ask me after I've had my beer."

They spent hours up there, talking about everything and nothing, Alex's latest lyrics, Y/N's previous life in America, Jamie's inexplicable fear of moths ("They have dust on their wings, it's fucking unnatural!"), Matt's childhood obsession with becoming a ninja, and Andy's secret talent for naming every character in Star Wars, including the background ones.

As the sun began to set, casting long shadows across the rooftop, Matt pulled out his phone and started playing one of their demos, turned up to maximum volume despite Alex's protests about the quality.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he announced in his best announcer voice, "welcome to the most exclusive Arctic Monkeys rooftop concert!"

Alex groaned but stood up anyway, using an empty beer bottle as an impromptu microphone. Jamie and Andy joined in with air guitar, while Matt drummed on his knees.

"Come on, Y/N." Alex called, extending his hand again. "Can't have a proper gig without an audience."

"Hell no." she laughed, shaking her head. "I'm perfectly happy as a spectator."

"Boring!" Matt declared. "Everyone participates in a rooftop concert."

Before she could protest further, Jamie and Andy had hauled her to her feet, and she found herself in the middle of their makeshift stage. Alex handed her the bottle-microphone with a theatrical bow.

"Ladies and gentlemen, making her Sheffield debut, the one, the only, Y/N!"

Her face burned with embarrassment, but something about their earnest, expectant faces made her push past her reservations. She took the bottle, struck a pose that she hoped channeled Debbie Harry, and belted out the chorus to "A Certain Romance" with more enthusiasm than talent.

Their cheers were so genuine that she couldn't help but continue, getting more dramatic with each line. By the time they were all singing at the top of their lungs, Y/N had forgotten to be self-conscious. In that moment, with the sun setting behind them and her voice joining theirs in imperfect harmony, Sheffield felt more like home than it ever had before. When the sun finally dipped below the horizon, Matt let out a cheer that echoed across the rooftops, startling a nearby cluster of birds into flight.

"Check number one off the list!" he proclaimed, producing the crumpled paper from his pocket with a flourish.

"Let me." Alex took the pen Matt offered and drew a careful line through the first item, a satisfied smile playing on his lips.

Breaking into the abandoned building had been number seven on their summer bucket list, scrawled in Alex's barely legible handwriting between "Go camping" and "Get Y/N properly drunk for the first time." None of them had expected to actually cross it off until Jamie informed them the security guard just quit. Two days later, they found themselves scaling a chain-link fence surrounding the condemned brick building, its windows boarded with plywood stamped "SCHEDULED FOR DEMOLITION" in bold red letters, Matt jiggling a rusty door handle while Jamie kept lookout with all the subtlety of a police siren.

"This is trespassing." Y/N stated, though she made no move to leave. "As in, illegal."

"Only if we get caught." Alex replied with that half-smirk that never failed to both irritate and charm her.

"That's literally not how the law works." she countered, but she was smiling too.

"Got it!" Matt exclaimed as the door creaked open to reveal a cavernous space filled with dust motes dancing in the beams of sunlight streaming through broken windows. "Holy shit, look at this place!"

The acoustics inside were incredible, their footsteps echoed off concrete walls, creating a reverb effect that had Alex immediately humming melodies to test the sound.

"Listen to that." Jamie whispered, snapping his fingers. The sound bounced and echoed, clean and crisp. "It's better than any studio."

Andy dropped his backpack with a thud that resonated through the empty space. "Told you the acoustics would be sick. Could record a whole fucking album in here."

They spent the first hour exploring the forgotten corners of the building, discovering odd pieces of furniture and faded posters from previous occupants. From the bags came spray paint, a portable speaker, cheap vodka mixed with flat cola, and a polaroid camera Matt had "borrowed" from his cousin. "Thought we might leave our mark." he said with a mischievous glint in his eye.

For the next few hours, they transformed the decaying walls with vibrant colors and designs. Matt, with a mischievous grin, covered them with stylized phallic shapes cleverly disguised within the swirling black and white patterns. Jamie painted abstract circular forms and flowing lines that somehow captured the feeling of their music, adding bold silhouettes against the stark white background. Andy, surprisingly artistic, added the striking colorful circular element on the lower wall that gave depth and dramatic contrast to their collective work.

Y/N found herself painting intricate caricatures across one wall, her brush creating exaggerated features and stylized faces that seemed to float against the white background. Alex worked beside her, adding his own distinctive character designs and quirky figures to the mix, his arm occasionally brushing against hers as they worked.

"This looks incredible from the outside." Jamie called from the doorway, where he'd stepped out to grab more paint from Andy's dad's van. "The artwork peeks from the windows at the right angle."

They all moved outside to see what he meant. The street light streamed through the broken windows, illuminating their artwork in fragments visible from the street. The dilapidated building now looked like some kind of urban art installation.

"Quick," Matt said suddenly, pulling out his camera. "Everyone get in front." He set the timer and ran to join them, the five friends positioning themselves in front of their creation as the sun began its descent, casting long shadows and golden light across their faces.

The camera clicked, capturing the condemned building, their artwork visible in fragments through the windows, and five friends with paint-stained hands and exhilarated expressions.

"Who knows." Y/N said, leaning against Alex's shoulder as they reviewed the photo, "maybe this'll be album cover material someday."

They laughed at the idea, none of them taking it seriously in the moment.