"Ah ya bastard," I heard Liam groan in pain as I walked down the back alley to his back gate.
"What you doing mate?" I asked him, but then I noticed the paintbrush in his hand and the scraggy clothes he had on.
"I dropped the fucking paint tin on my foot," he told me, and I watched the paint roll around on the floor towards the hose pipe.
"You painting the fence like?" I asked him.
"Yeah, me mam says I don't do enough around the house so she's got me out here," he told me, sitting down on the bench.
It was one of them days where the sun was blazing and I had the day off work, and unfortunately everyone was busy. Even Liam. But I decided to visit him anyway.
"Can I help?" I asked him, and when he handed me a paintbrush I was buzzing. I always liked painting, just I was never very good at actual art.
"LUV, LUV," I heard the familiar Irish accent coming from the kitchen window. "The fuck are ye doing?"
Peggy looked at me with a smile as she done the washing up, stretching up to open the window and shout me.
"Get in here, I'll make you a cuppa," she shouted.
"Can I have one?" Liam asked cheekily.
"Feck off," she said, laughing. "You've got a fence to paint."
Liam's face fell glum.
"I'm alright thanks Peggy," I said, "I was just gonna help Liam."
"Don't help him, that's letting the lazy bastard off," she said and I laughed awkwardly. "You do more than he does."
Peggy seemed to like me. I've been round loads in the three months me and Liam have known each other and I still feel bad when she makes me tea, so I'm still always offering to help about. Liam pointed out to me the other day that she acts like I'm his bird, and she seemed to like me more than she liked him.
Peggy reappeared in the door frame of the backdoor.
"What are you doing in the window of the Arndale?" She said. "I've been battered with phone calls left right and centre asking why our Liam's bird is modelling adidas. Since when did you do that?"
"I've been doing it a couple of months now," I laughed. "I keep getting phone calls n all, telling me I'm all over the place."
"Bloody mental," she said, and then slapped my cheek lightly. "You're a bonny lass like."
"You're a bonny lass like," Liam muttered, mocking his mam as she retreated back into the kitchen and I burst out laughing. "I told you she likes you more than she does me."
"She's just taking an interest in your friend's life," I said, tutting and putting my hair up in a ponytail. "Now eyar are we gonna paint this fence or wha?"
"Yeah," he said, picking up a flat ended screwdriver and knelt down trying to drive the top of the paint tin off. Eventually it came off, flying across the garden like a ninja star in the process.
I dipped my brush in the paint, and started applying the white paint in thick strips.
The first 10 minutes we were concentrating on the fence so much that we forgot to talk, then the silence was broken by Liam humming.
"Are you humming what I think you're humming?" I asked him with disgust.
"What's that?" He said to me with a smile.
"What's that Electronic song that came out the other year?" I asked him, laughing. "The one that's like 'I love you more than you love meeeee'"
Liam joined me in my laughing as I started singing to him.
"Yeah I was," he said, and then started getting jokingly confrontational. "What's your fucking problem like?"
"Fucking hate that song me," I said, leaning down to dip my paintbrush again.
"So do I," he said, shaking his head with a grin, "Mams had it on the radio."
"By the way, Li," I said, remembering what happened with my sister the other week and he basically snapped his neck turning to look at me.
"Yeah?"
"Did you find out about me sister and then them lads?" I asked, I'd been avoiding asking.
"Yeah, I was waiting for you to bring it up," he said, "and I forgot to tell you. But I dunno if you want to hear it."
"Just tell me, I'm not gonna go in a pure state again," I said.
"Gaz's cousin is one of dodgy Ian's inner circle, and apparently they get the girls proper plastered," he stopped painting to tell me tentatively. "And yeah, most of the times they shag them while they're shitfaced but sometimes they don't even get a shag. Just watch them flail about and that. It's sadistic."
"That's grim," I said, disgusted. I broke eye contact with Liam and resumed painting the fence. I know I said I wasn't going to go in a state, and I'm not but it's still awful to think my little sisters getting herself involved with all that.
"Are you okay?" Liam asked, putting his paintbrush down and his hand on my shoulder.
"Yeah, I dunno whether to tell my mam," I said, scratching my head. "Cos I'm not a grass but she's not alright d'ya warra mean?"
"Yeah," he said softly. "D'ya want a cuppa now?"
"Please."
-
After I'd done a few modelling things, Rob started getting phone calls left right and centre from people trying to get me to do shoots, but it mainly started after The Charlatans video was released.
It was stressing Liam out, I could tell, as he kept trying to make plans with me and I had to keep pieing him off. The girls all had their own stuff to do so I hadn't really seen any of them either. But although I'd speak to Liam almost every night on the phone, in the space of about three weeks I'd see him only maybe once or twice a week.
"Where you off today?" He asked me and I leaned against the wall of the dirty payphone.
"I've just finished so I can meet you if you want," I told him.
"What've you been doing?"
"On the cover of this magazine," I replied with a smile as it was actually really fun to do. "It's dead cool, it's a local magazine but it focuses on local and nationwide music and culture and everything. But what are you up to?"
"Er well I'm taking this girl out tonight, so we can't actually meet up," he told me and I fell into disappointment.
"Oh," I said, "who are you taki- Liam, if you're taking Bella Jackson back out I'm gonna kill you."
"I'm not," he said, "do you know Erin Samson?"
"Yeah, she's a bitch," I said. I was exaggerating like, I knew her from out and about town but whenever I spoke to her, she seemed really stuck up her own arse. I couldn't imagine her being Liam's type.
"Well, I met her at your dads shop when I was going in to see if you were there, and I thought she seemed sound and she's fit. She was asking me for suggestions so I told her to get Revolver, and she did."
He sounded so excited, so I decided not to say anything about her slagging the Beatles a few weeks ago, saying that 'Especially for you" by Kylie and Jason is better than anything that the Beatles ever made.
"Aw bless," I said, cooing at him like a child, "where are you taking her?"
"Well, I asked her if she wanted to go for a drink but she said she doesn't really like pubs, so we're just going to sit about the Northern Quarter," he asked and I was shook. I can't imagine her being comfortable in the Northern Quarter if she tried.
"Mate," I said in a serious tone. "What if she becomes your girlfriend? What are you gonna do? You live down the pub."
"Nor I don't," he defended himself.
"Yes you do," I laughed, "if you're not on site, or on the field round yours, you're in The fucking Beacon."
"Well, she'll just have to be a man and come with us."
"Okay the pips are going, let me know how it goes."
"Yeah, I will," he said and I hung up.
I started walking home, having nothing to do or anywhere better to go. My stomach dropped when I remembered Erin was friends with Bella, and I wondered if Liam knew. She was one of them private school girls as well, explaining her excessive snobbery. Her potential trips to the pub with Liam will undoubtedly be awkward.
It was getting to that point in the night where everyone was out, but inside, leaving the Manchester high street stranded. I quickened my pace to get to the bus station, as it was basically a stones throw away and the bus was approaching around the corner, and to quickly get passed the multitude of alleyways between each building.
I groaned as the bus flew past the stop when I was mere steps away from reaching it.
"Holl!" I heard someone shout, and I looked around the empty street from my seat at the bus stop, waiting for a bus that wasn't due for another 20 minutes.
"Holly?" Someone shouted again. I couldn't see anyone so I grew increasingly confused.
"FUCKING CLARKY," The same person shouted, and my neck snapped upwards. I seen Noel hanging out of an upstairs window, and then Lucy and Archie came swinging out of the door, all absolutely shitfaced.
"Get in here, you absolute mad woman," Archie said, hooking his arm over my shoulder and dragging me inside.
"What's up there, a doss house or somet?" I asked, laughing at him as walked up the stairs.
"This is working class Manchester's answer to the Groucho club," he told me and I smiled as the bass increased in volume as we grew closer to the door.