Bucket List | Jack Duff

t w e n t y

We went to sit on one of the stone statues that stand in Euston Station (these aren't actually here anymore and it makes me really sad), to get out of the way of all the running passengers, while Jack played me our meeting video, something I hadn't seen in a long time. I remembered it like it was yesterday - Andy and Brook were there for support when Jack came back to England after his band trial had finished, and filmed me meeting him for the first time. (If you imagine two internet friends meeting, this is basically what it was like. The jump hug, the leg wrap and all the getting emotional. Add everything. Imagine everything) It was really special to me to see this video again and look around at the station, finding the exact place it happened with my eyes and picturing it all over again.

"You're making today really special and it's only 10:30," I chuckled at him and he smiled. "Have you got more to surprise me with?"

"Of course I have more," Jack chuckled, getting up off the statue and offering me his hand to leap down. "Who do you take me for? Unfortunately though, for the next part of our adventure, we have to get on the the tube again and I know from experience that it's absolutely horrible at this time of day so I apologise in advance for what I'm about to put you through, but it'll be worth it"

I chuckled as we walked hand in hand, back down to the tube station and onto our tube. Jack wasn't wrong when he'd said it was going to be horrible as everyone was heading to either work, meeting or business trips and it was the most crowded tube I'd ever been on - but he protected me right until we got off at our stop. I had a feeling I knew where we was taking me immediately, I recognised all the landmarks and the route from the tube station to wherever he was taking me, but I kept quiet.

It turned out that I was right in my guessing when we ended up outside the London Eye; I remembered this being the first place he brought me when we met, telling me how for our first day together he wanted to be my tour guide for the day, even though I'd been living in London a lot longer than he had. I let him guide me, helping him out when he got lost and I probably wouldn't have wanted our first day together to go any differently than it had. We'd never actually been on The Eye together, only wanting to admire it on that first day, but today he was getting us on it.

The London Eye is huge, and I'm not exaggerating. It was a long trip upwards as the wheel would stop every now and again to allow the people at the top to view London in its prime and then it stopped, right when we were at the very, very top and we could see out the whole of London and not one part was missed out. It was admittedly one of the most beautiful, breathtaking things I'd ever been able to see and I felt blessed to have been able to share the view, and the moment, with Jack.

"I've never had somebody go all out for me like this," I said to Jack out of the blue as we were slowly making our way back down to the ground. "Like, obviously I've had people be nice to me before but I think that was just them feeling sorry for me as they knew what was wrong with me, but you, Jack Duff, are one of the most genuine humans that walks planet earth and anybody would be lucky to have you as a best friend. And thank the heavens that, that lucky human turned out to be me"

Jack smiled and then blushed slightly, flustered.

"You have the biggest control over me," he said, chuckling. "And I'm not even scared to say it today. I would happily admit that to the world"

I leaned against him as I watched London lower down to the ground outside the window of our capsule. Even then, after we'd been on the London Eye, the trip wasn't over yet. Jack still had something up his sleeve, and I had a feeling it was a big thing.

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"You look kinda nervous love," I said to him, placing my hand on his knee. We were sat on the tube to Hyde Park, our last destination, and throughout the whole tube journey, Jack had been biting his lip and his foot had been tapping, a nervous tic he'd acquired whenever he was heading towards something big like a gig or an important meeting. I couldn't put my finger on why he was so nervous.