Leave Before The Lights Come On

Chapter 6

'So, like, where do the words come from?' A ditzy, yet pretty, dark brunette asked me.
I sighed, it was gonna be a long night.
'Dunno love. So, can I get you another drink?' I asked, getting up and climbing out of the booth where I was sat with Miles, Melanie the brunette and Dana who was Miles choice of ride for the night.
'Aw, yes please. Just off to the girls room' she said, awkwardly getting out of the booth and showing a lot of leg.
I smirked and raised my eyebrows, giving her a hand.
I mooched off to the bar, it was going to take a lot of margaritas to try and forget the way I had kicked that pap earlier on.
'Er, two margaritas please' I asked the bar tender.
I leant against the bar and got out my phone from my pocket, to see a long line of concerned messages.
Alex? What do you thing your doing? You're more famous than ever now, stop making an arse of yourself. I thought better of you. Call me tomorrow when you're not drunk so we can smooth this out with the press. Not happy.
That was from my manager.
You do know your pictures all over the website of The Sun? What the hell alex? You're not usually violent. Call me when you get back from your night out with Miles. Me and Bre are worried x
That one was from Matt.
Woah Alex! Nice fight that's gone viral ALL OVER THE INTERNET ahahahah, Katie told me all your fans on twitter and Instagram or whatever have seen it and are going mental. Someone's not gonna be the most popular arctic monkey after this ;)
No, but seriously, why are you punching fat blokes before you've even got drunk?
From good old Jamie
Seen The Sun. Nice one al, call me when you've seen this
Simple one from Nick.
And that's not to mention the bombardment of e-mails and missed calls.
I anxiously raked a hand through my hair. This was why I hated the internet and good quality cameras. Now all the fans would think I was a massive dick head aswell.
'Two margaritas sir' said the bar man, handing me two glasses.
I told him the name of the tab to put it on and carefully picked the drinks up to carry back to Melanie.
I heard a familiar, heart warming laugh ring out behind me and I turned to the door.
Alexa Chung, my ex and well known stunner, was walking through the doors to the club with a group of socialites.
'Fuck' I said under my breath.
Of all nights for me to want to bump into my ex, this was the least favoured.
I quickly hurried over to the booth with my head down, desperate to find a way to get the fuck out of here with Miles and possibly Melanie so the $100 I had spent on her drinks wouldn't go to waste.
I slyly turned my head to see Alexa straight on the dance floor, looking striking with her willowy figure.
Her brown haired head suddenly turned to face me and without thinking I dived under the table around Miles' and Dana's ankles, luckily Melanie wasn't back yet.
'What the fuck you up to down 'ere? You ain't pulling one out under the table in a club? Man even for you that's new grounds' Miles said, ducking his head under the table, oblivious to the minor breakdown I was going through.
'Miles get down here!' I hissed.
Miles joined me under the table, so we both looked like prize twats.
'Whats up? Wait no, you've seen your future bride? Oh the shit shock horror!' Miles said
Melodramatically quoting my old song'Dancing Shoes'.
'No. Worse. Alexa's here'
'Oh cool, I like Alexa. Good laugh she is'
'She's also my ex'
'Oh fuck yeah forgot about that. Really? Wow. Can't believe she's your ex, no offence mate but she's way too cool for you' Miles laughed, before hitting his head on the table and swearing.
'Let me see if I can see her' he said, popping his head above the table like a meerkat.
'Nah can't see her any where. No, wait. There she is, aw she looks pretty like, nice dress. Not sure about that handbag with it though...'
'Miles! Stop thinkin' about clobber for two seconds and tell me if she's anywhere near us'
'Oh sorry, Alex. What do you expect me to say? She's about, hm I don't know, 5 and a half feet away but do you want me to convert that to meters? Or millimetres? Since you seem to care so bloody much'
'Oh fuckin hell Miles you know what I mean'
I crouched anxiously under the table whilst Miles checked out Alexa. It didn't help she was looking so hot tonight either.
'Oh look! Mr Miles Kane! I haven't seen you in ages...' A husky, female British voice sounded above the table.
'Miles? Who was that?'
'Er, sorry Alex. Alexa coming over in 5...4...3...2'
'Miles! Fancy seeing you! It's a small world isn't it? What're you doing on the floor?' A voice, which I was certain belonged to Alexa said from above the table.
I stared in silence at the midnight blue pumps that she wore which were almost eye level for me. I remember her buying those when we flew out to New York together. Funny how she still wore them.
'Oh, Alex dropped his comb...' Miles said, awkwardly getting out from under the table to greet Alexa.
I admittedly face-palmed. Of all the things that made me sound like a twat, that one won.
'Alex is with you?' Alexa asked,her voice wobbling slightly.
'Yeah, er, Alex' miles called, urgently tapping my head to get me up.
Shamefully, I carefully rose above the table, my face bright red and awkwardly nodding at Alexa.
She looked beautiful. With glowing tanned skin and the beautiful eyes I had fallen for. Hair elegantly tied in a bun and for once wearing a shimmering lilac dress, but of course putting her tomboy twist of throwing an oversized loose navy jumper over the top with a leopard print coat over her arm.
'Hi..I Alexa' I stuttered, awkwardly tugging at the edge of my shirt.
Alexa stared at me for a moment in bewilderment, before professionally getting over the initial awkwardness and giving me a dazzling smile.
'Alex! It's been a while! Congratulations with the AM tour ending' she said happily, kissing me on each cheek in a way of greeting.
'Thanks er, darlin. Congratulations with whatever you've been up to like. You published your book?' I asked awkwardly.
'Oh yeah, a while ago. It's doing well. Out on paper back now' she said, in an almost robotic monotone.
'Oh...' I said.
The three of us stood in an awkward triangle, me and Alexa wanting to check each other out but despising of the awkward eye contact that kept forming.
'Right well, I'll get us some drinks then and we can have a nice catchup' miles said, breaking the awkward silence and rushing off to the bar, mouthing 'sorry' at me as he went.
Me and Alexa stood in silence for a few seconds, trying not to look each other in the eye.
'You wanna, er, sit down then darlin?' I asked, my voice coming out in a croak.
'Sure' she said, her voice equally croaky which somehow gave me reassurance.
'So, you and Miles working on any new stuff for The Last Shadow Puppets?' She asked In a desperate attempt to spark some conversation that wouldn't bring a wave of nostalgia from when we were going out.
'Nah, I mean, I dunno. Taking a bit of a break like' I said, shifting about in my seat and resisting the urge to stroke back my hair.
'Ah right. The other day I posted a video on Instagram which accidentally had 'the age of the understatement' in the background. A lot of your fans were commenting about it...I er, oh never mind' she said finally, as she saw my eyes glazing over at the name of a social media site.
'So erm, what are you gonna do on your break? You got a girlfriend or...?' She asked, biting her lip in an irresistibly cute way.
'Nah, not got me-self a bird yet. I broke up with er, Arielle a while ago... So yeah. Not sure what I'm gonna do in my break, maybe join the circus. Always wanted to do that like' I said thoughtfully.
Alexa burst out laughing and my heart warmed.
'I know, you used to tell me about it' she smiled warmly, her eyes twinkling in the fluorescent lights of the club.
For a moment, me and Alexa laughed together and it was like the past couple years of heartbreak never happened, and we were still going out and having lazy lie-ins together whilst she listened to my music and I held her bags when she would drag me shopping in little unknown shops with her.
Happy days.
'Bought us three margaritas. Can't beat 'em' Miles said, accidentally killing our moment as he placed the signature drinks on the table in front of us.
As soon as Miles sat down him and Alexa launched into conversation about clothes and bands I hadn't heard about since I was on tour and took photos of their drinks for Instagram.
I watched them with green eyes. I could see them together. Both tall, skinny, fashionable, irresistibly cool. Yeah, Miles and Alexa. They sounded good together, it would be almost like Miles was taking the role that was originally mine-Alexa's brown-eyed British boyfriend who was in a band.
I downed the last drops of my drink, trying to ease the pain of seeing my ex doing so well without me.
'Just off for a fag... Need a bit of fresh air' I said, wobbling slightly as I climbed out of the booth.
As I crossed the club it felt like the 'Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High?' Video as I felt the world turn at a strange speed, or maybe it was my head.
Also, across the room I could see a girl a lot like Melanie grinding on a big blokes leg. I squinted my eyes, trying to focus on the dark haired girls face.
'Oh for fucks sake' I sighed, it was, in fact Melanie.
And of course, Dana was there as well dancing with another guy. Seemingly ditching Miles as soon as Alexa came along.
Tonight was just not our night.
I stumbled out of the club, the cool air hitting me and making me reel.
Suddenly, the 7 margs I had consumed in the past two hours didn't seem like such a good idea anymore.
'Oh bloody hell me head' I winced, leaning against the cool wall.
I fumbled in the pocket of my leather jacket for a pack of fags and a lighter, I was gasping for one.
I picked one of the slim white bodies out of the packet and stuck it in my mouth, digging about for a lighter.
'Aha' I said, as I pulled one out, one I had picked up in Brazil that had the drawing of a naked Brazilian woman on.
I repeatedly tried to get it to light up, failing miserably each time.
'Oh fookin' 'ell just work ya stupid thing' I said miserably under my breath.
'You alright Alex?' A voice said, coming out of the club door.
I turned to see Alexa elegantly exiting the club by herself, looking anxiously at me.
'Yeah, just the bloody thing don' work' I said, holding the lighter up.
I angrily threw the lighter as hard as I could into the pitch black night, so far that I couldn't even hear the noise of the plastic flimsy body smashing on the pavement.
'Here, I've got one' she said, rummaging in the pocket of her cheetah printed jacket.
'Thats magic, in a cheetah print coat' I sang hoarsely, smirking at her.
'Just a slip, underneath it I hope' she sang back, not even looking up from her pocket but I could tell she was smiling.
She handed me the cool body of the lighter and it successfully sparked up. I politely lit Alexa's first before lighting my own.
We stood in the dark in silence for a moment, the faint sound of LA traffic echoing in the not so far distance. Both of us thinking about each other without saying a word, the only thing coming from out of our mouths the smoke from our cigarettes.
'Just a bit lonely you know?' I whispered, not looking at Alexa and opting to look into the distance through the shades of my glasses.
Alexa turned to me and pulled the shades off my face unexpectedly. She carefully held my head in both her hands and turned my head to face her. I closed my eyes for a moment, savouring the feeling of having someone I once truly loved hold me in such a gentle manner.
I sleepily pulled open my eyes to see Alexa's beautiful green-blue ones staring right back at me. Staring into my soul and seeing me through my brown eyes in a way I realised very few people could.
'I know' she said in the faintest of whispers.
She removed her hands from my face and let her arms drop by her side.
We returned to the silence, it feeling more haunting as both of our heads filled with worries and thoughts as we realised we were no longer in our twenties and able to go to parties everyday and night. That we had to start making something meaningful of our lives before it was too late.
'Can I be honest with you Alexa?' I asked.
She silently nodded.
'I'm not going to pretend I haven't changed, and maybe we're not as suited to each other as we originally were. But there's always going to be that part of me. That one, small part of me that will never stop missing you. That small part of me that will wake up alone on a tour bus in Chile and have a dry taste in my mouth because I dreamt I was still with you but then woke up to the reality. The small part of me that will take a girl home and when she falls asleep in my arms I will close my eyes for a second and picture that it's your slender body. The small part of me that will look at pictures of you and smile because you're just so fookin beautiful to me no matter how much I change. The small part of me that can never resist adding the odd line in a song that's written about you as I sit with my guitar, drunk out of my mind with my notebook and pen at 3am. The small part of me, that will never really fall out of love with you Alexa'
I waited as the silence set between us as my Yorkshire accent finished it's spiel.
Without saying a word, I felt Alexa's hand reach out and hold mine in the dark.
This isn't to say we are back together, but somehow in that LA night as I held Alexa's hand and nothing, not The Sun article, not the having no direction, not the having no girlfriend: mattered.
Because somehow in that LA night as I held Alexa's hand, I realised that no matter what. Someone loved me unconditionally.
And to me, it meant I finally found somewhere I truly belonged.
But was it what I wanted?
Without thinking properly I unlaced my hands from Alexa's, and she looked at me in confusion.
'Alexa, I'm a mess right now. A right fucking mess I am. I need... I don't know what I need. I know I need time to figure out if it's you that I need. I just... I'm lost at the moment. And I need to realise that a girl isn't gonna change that. Is it? No matter how special she is' I said, mainly to myself as this was the first time I was having these thoughts.
'Yeah, I gotta, gotta think. Think about what I'm wantin from, ya know: life as a whole. Cos I plan on making my life a fookin story book 'lex' I smirked.
Alexa looked at me for a moment, eyes twinkling.
'You know Alex? There's always a small part of me that will never stop loving you too. But I'm now past thirty, and I haven't got time to wait. So, good luck with your story book, I'm honoured to be a chapter' she smiled, meaning every word.
'Yeah... You're a real, like, friend 'lex' I smirked.
'Do me a favour though Alex? (Sorry for the song reference) Never forget those lazy Sunday mornings we spent listening to The Beatles vinyl's in bed as you read me John Cooper Clarke poems. Those were some of my happiest days' she said, a small tear leaking from her eye.
'Me too. I miss 'em' I said sadly.
'Go' she gave me a watery smile.
I gave Alexa one last look, one last look that held the world, held everything I had ever felt towards her.
Then I turned away.
I strutted off into the night, popping the collar to my leather jacket and smirking, feeling something I couldn't quite put my finger on.
At the last second I turned around
'May I just say Miss. Chung? You looked very fookin good on the dance floor tonight' I shouted down the road to her, my voice echoing over the valley.
I heard her warming laugh as she replied 'you too Mr. Turner' her voice cracking at the end with what I could presume was tears.
But I didn't go back.
As I walked off into the night, with an idea of where I was going, yet without an idea of how I was gonna get there.
The next chapter for me, was back to High Green mate, via hillsborough please.

(A/N I'm laughing so hard as I write this cringey af chapter I'm sorry for this I couldn't resist.
I don't want to make this story all romance because there's so many romance fan fictions for Alex and I want to make this different but there's gotta be a bit of romance I guess.
Thankyou for reading, commenting and voting 💘💘)