Joanna had once again attached her lips to Alex's. He felt powerless with her but he didn't mind. He was sat in a big arm chair with her legs flung over his lap. He couldn't move so he just kissed her back until she would eventually get fed up.
The boys were all sitting round while the party went on around them. Everyone had been to the fair and bumped into some kids from school who said they were having a party down the road. They'd moved from sitting in a cold field to now sitting in some random boys living room from their school.
They spoke about songs they could cover in their newfound band, they all seem pretty pumped about it. Alex especially was but he wasn't currently participating in that discussion.
"With Alex's songs I reckon we can get the attention of some record labels." Jamie expressed.
"Alex does writes great songs." Matt piped up, feeling proud of his best friend. Alex pushed Joanna off his lips for a second.
"Thanks lads" He laughed. Joanna grabbed the collars of his jacket and yanked him towards her again. The others ignored it.
"Okay so we should get as much rehearsal in as possible before our next show on Saturday." Jamie agreed. "Tomorrow night? My garage?" He suggested. They all agreed and Alex gave them a thumbs up so he didn't have to feel Joanna's wrath.
They all continued to chat and laugh together downstairs while upstairs Luna and Brian were having their biggest fight yet.
"You don't fucking care about me anymore Lu! You'd rather hang out with that stupid kid, Alex and his loser friends" he yelled. Luna was trying to hold herself together.
"Why are you so fucking insecure? So what I have friends? They don't mind you being around and I don't care when you hang out with your dickhead friends" she argued. Brian was losing it.
"We just don't work anymore. You drive me crazy and force me to do things that I shouldn't do." He became mellow all of a sudden which terrified Luna.
"What do you mean force you to do things that you shouldn't do?" She asked. He looked away. "What did you do Brian?" She became slightly louder. "What did you do Brian?" She screamed.
"You gotta understand Lu that we hadn't had sex in months and I have needs." He started. Luna thought she knew what was coming. "You two look so alike, I was so drunk and I thought she was you" that threw her off completely.
"What?" She asked, her eyes watering.
"I fucked your sister, Lu. I'm sorry." He said to the floor. Luna let out a scream of disgust, anger and hurt.
"What the fuck!" She screamed. He reached out to her to try and get her to calm down and she slapped him round the face so hard it hurt her hand. "Stay the fuck away from me you creep. I don't want your hands anywhere near me." She yelled. "Oh my god." Disgust rippled through her.
She marched downstairs where the party was still in full swing. She managed to hold in her tears until she saw Joanna on top of Alex, in a full on kissing sesh.
"Joanna" She yelled, tears streaming down her face by now. Everyone looked at her, horrified. No one, except Alex, had seen her cry. She didn't cry. Joanna broke away from Alex, who looked distraught. "I need to go to yours." She finally said. She couldn't go home now and face her sister.
"My keys are in my bag." She said as if her best friend wasn't having a full mental break down in front of her.
Alex stared at Luna who looked completely broken. He had to comfort her, it wasn't in his nature to ignore her. He stood up and propped Joanna up as Luna ran out of the room.
"Alex! What the fuck?" She yelled. All the boys watched him stumble over bottles and the table to get to Luna.
"Oh no." Matt mumbled. "Jo, love. Leave it. He'll make sure she's safe." He pulled her back from following them. She pouted and sat back down.
"Luna!" Alex yelled as he followed her down the street. She turned around, looking completely foreign to him.
"What, Alex?" She growled. He raised up his hands in fear.
"Let me call you a taxi. You shouldn't have to walk back this late." He reached for her to comfort her but she slapped him round the face. He took a step back in shock.
"What the fuck was that for?" He grunted, not being able to help himself get angry. Luna started to cry again, she was a mess.
"Alex, I'm so sorry. You're too nice to me. You're such a nice lad and look what I've done to you." She motioned to how he looked. He looked down at himself but didn't understand what she meant.
"I'm calling you a taxi." He pulled out his Nokia and dialled the number his mum had made him memorise. "And we're sharing if I'm paying." He added unnecessarily.
They waited for the taxi to pick them up. Alex was angry with her for assaulting him and didn't feel like being comforting at the moment. Luna just wanted to get as far away from high green as she could.
The cab came and they got in. They had a bit of a journey on their hands considering they were in Barnsley. Alex said High Green and the two addresses. The man wasn't very nice, making comments about the state Luna was in.
"What happened, Lu?" He finally asked. She rested her head on the seatbelt and stared out with dead eyes at the passing by houses.
"Brian fucked my sister." She said aggressively. Alex's eyes widened.
"Holy fuck." He said loudly. Luna closed her eyes and seemed to be annoyed.
"Please don't swear Alexander, it's just not you." She pleases. Alex didn't understand what she meant so he ignored it.
"I'm sorry Luna. You don't deserve that." He pitied her and she felt weak and below him for it.
"I'm leaving, Alex. I'm going to stay with my aunt for a while in Manchester" she decided. "I can't face my sister right now and I can't face Brian. Soon everyone will know and I won't be able to show my face anywhere." She explained as Alex sat there in shock.
"Please don't leave." The new Alex fell away for a second and that scared inexperienced boy she had met six months ago had come back. She looked into his eyes and started to cry again.
"I'm sorry. I can't. I just can't be here right now." She cried. He shook his head and grabbed her hand but she pulled it away. She placed it on his cheek and wiped away the tear that had escaped his eyes. "You're the last person I want to leave, Alexander. I'm sorry that I brought you into my mess. I was selfish for wanting you around all the time." She squeezed his face while she cried.
"Lu, please don't leave. I'll take care of you. You can live with me." He pleaded. She shook her head.
"I can't be in High Green right now." She repeated as the car pulled up to Joanna's house where she was staying. She leant over and kissed Alex for what was supposed to be a short goodbye kiss. He grabbed her neck and pulled her in for a proper goodbye kiss, one he would remember. She pushed him away after a while and kissed him shortly.
"I have to go." She whispered before getting out the car. Alex watched as she ran into the house.
"Where to now?" The taxi driver asked. Alex told him his address and banged his head against the headrest. He cried, he just started blubbering in the back of the taxi.
He watched as the taxi driver unknowingly passed his turning. He was taking the long way round and Alex wasn't doing anything about it, he didn't have the energy.
"That'll be £10 please." He finally said. Alex gave him a funny look, it should've been way more than that.
"You sure?" His innocence asked.
"Mate, I heard what went on back there. It's £10" he replied. "Get out before I change my mind." He added. Alex passed him a £10 and got out of the car.
He walked up to his house and knocked on the door. It took a few tries before his mum answered.
"Mum." He crumbled and hugged her tightly. She had no idea what was going on but she just hugged him back.
"You okay, Al?" She asked. Alex buried his head in her neck and sobbed. He wasn't okay. His mum managed to shut the door behind him but after that she just let him cry into her.
Alex never cried this hard. It could have something to do with the alcohol but he had felt like his heart had been truly cracked.
"Alex baby." She rubbed his back as he finally finished crying. "What happened, take a deep breath." She wiped a few stray tears and pushed his hair back to see his face.
"Lu-Luna's boyfriend cheated on h-her." He blubbered. "W-with her sister and then she found out and now she's leaving." He explained. His mum stared at him as if she didn't know who he was.
"Okay." She said slowly. "What has this got to do with you, Al?" Alex pushed her away and sat on the stairs. She sat next to him and wrapped an arm around her.
"I know you liked Luna, Alex. Anyone could see that. Clearly, she's got some stuff to deal with though and if running away is her way of dealing with it then there's nothing you can do about it." She advised. He moaned slightly.
"She just doesn't deserve the shit that she gets." He leant his head against her shoulder and she kissed it in the midst of his mess of hair.
"I know." She didn't know, she didn't know Luna that well but she saw the affect she had had on her son. She could only feel pity and a hint of resentment for this girl that had broken her son by simply moving somewhere else. "Come on. I'll make you a cup of tea." She kissed his head again and pulled him up.
"Do you think she'll come back?" He asked weakly. His mum truly didn't know but she was a teenage girl.
"Most likely." She said as she put the kettle on.
But she didn't, well, not at least while Alex was there.