She couldn't believe she was here. Why was she doing this to herself? She didn't even know the songs.
Luna stood at the back, able to see them without having the small chance that they could see her. Not that anything would happen but she just couldn't bare the thought.
Then they walked out and the crowd went wild. Luna thought she was going to throw up when Alex walked on stage with a bright smile. She had never seen him on stage before, this was going to be an experience.
"Hello, London!" He said with his deep voice. "We're Arctic Monkeys." He said before they broke into a heavy fast paced song.
"Brian." He sang.
Luna's heart dropped.
"Top marks for not trying
So kind of you to bless us
With your effortlessness
We're grateful and so strangely comforted
And I wonder
Are you putting us under
'Cause we can't take our eyes
Off the t-shirt and ties combination?"
Her eyes started to water.
Well, see you later, innovator
Some want to kiss, some want to kick you
There's not a net you couldn't slip through
Or at least that's the impression I get
'Cause you're smooth, and you're wet
And she's not aware yet
But she's yours
She couldn't handle it, she pushed past a few people and started to run.
"She'll be saying, "use me
Show me the jacuzzi"
I imagine that it's there on a plate
Your whole rendezvous rate
Means that you'll never be frightened
To make them wait for a while
I doubt it's your style
Not to get what you set
Out to acquire, the eyes are on fire
You are the unforecasted storm
calm, collected and commanding
(Top marks for not trying)
You leave the other stories standing
With your renditions and jokes
Bet there's hundreds of blokes
That have wept 'cause you've stolen their
Thunder
Are you putting us under
'Cause we can't take our eyes
Off the t-shirt and ties combination?
Well, see you later, innovator"
Luna couldn't believe Alex had written a song about Brian. Her chest hurt, her eyes were stinging and her lungs were rapidly vibrating.
Luna walked out of venue and towards the bar. She was so close she could practically taste the beer when someone knocked into her.
"Oh!" They both said at the same time. She looked at the woman and squinted her eyes, she looked so familiar.
"It's you!" The woman beamed. Luna's eyes widened and she looked around to see if she was talking about someone else.
"Sorry, I don't think we've met before." Luna said politely, really badly wanted a beer.
"No no, of course not sorry. I'm Alexa." She put out her hand. Why did that name sound so familiar?
"Luna." She took her hand, watching this beautiful woman grin at her.
"I'm guessing you're here to watch Alex." She said as she shook her hand. Luna pulled her hand away slowly, never having experienced this level of awkward before.
"Have we met before?" Luna asked, wondering how this woman knew her. Alexa's eyes widened.
"Oh my god, sorry! I must sound like such a nutcase!" She laughed. "I'm Alex's ex-girlfriend." She said as if that resolved anything at all. "You own the bakery, don't you?" Luna's heart dropped.
"Oh, Uh, yeah. How did you know?" She asked. Alexa looked at her as if she was mental.
"Have you spoken to Alex in the past...I dunno ten years?" She ball-parked. Luna looked at the floor.
"Uh yeah, we kind of reconnected a year ago but I haven't really heard from him since." She replied awkwardly. Alexa looked gobsmacked.
"Do you wanna get a drink?" She asked. "I know a great pub down the road." Luna didn't even think twice.
"Yeah sure." This woman knew everything about Alex that she didn't and that fascinated her. She felt slightly jealous that she had Alex to herself for a whole four years but she needed to move past that.
They both got a drink and sat at a wooden table near the window.
"So, not to get too nosy but what exactly was your relationship with Alex?" Alexa asked. "He only ever mentioned you a couple of times, the first being when we went to your bakery. I had to practically force it out of him why he was getting so weird over the owner." Luna's eyes almost popped out of her head.
"You came to my bakery? Together?" She asked. Alexa mirrored her expression.
"Did Alex not tell you? Oh my god, this boy." She threw her head in her hands.
"Alex and I...were like friends growing up." She explained. "We went to the same sixth form and we were in the same group. I was a very different girl back then, I was very sure of myself. I don't really know what me and Alex were, though I had a boyfriend I was head over heels for." She explained, sipping her drink once in a while.
"So you weren't together?" Alexa squinted, trying to figure out what she was saying.
"I knew he had a crush on me and me being the attention seeking hoe I was, I took advantage of it." She shrugged. "We became really good friends but like, i was his first kiss and we kissed a few times when we were drunk." She shrugged.
"So what happened?" Alexa asked, intrigued and still not quite understanding.
"My boyfriend cheated on me with my sister so I ran away to Manchester until sixth form was over." She replied nonchalantly. Alexa's eyes widened.
"That was you?" She gasped. Luna's eyes widened again.
"What?" She asked worriedly as Alexa gulped her beer.
"Well, Alex and I would have these deep conversations a lot about you know, heart break and first love and what is love? And all that. Once, you came up. He told me how heartbroken he was when you left." She explained. Luna's heart ached.
"Oh." She gulped her beer too.
"So, you reconnected last year?" She pushed for the whole story. Luna couldn't believe she was telling all of this to Alex's ex girlfriend.
"Yeah, he started to come into my bakery again. I think it was just after you two broke up, he talked about you a lot." She pointed out. "Anyway, he stayed in High Green for a couple of weeks so we just became friends again. And then, on his last night he asked me to dinner so I said yes and things kind of just went from there, if you know what I mean." She eyed Alexa, who was following.
"So, what about after that?" She asked. Luna shrugged.
"Your guess is as good as mine. He said he'd come back and never did so I just assumed it was a one night stand." She shrugged but it hurt a lot to say.
"What a prick!" She burst.
"It's okay." Alexa shook her head and got up from the table, ordering another two beers before allowing her to continue.
"So you guys slept together, he promised he would come back and never did. He never called or anything?" She couldn't quite believe she was talking about the Alex that she had known.
"Nope."
"I just can't believe he did that. He always spoke about you with such light and even when I got him to talk about you in the bakery, he described you so beautifully." She sounded sad as if the Alex she had once known was not there anymore.
"I guess he's got some other girlfriend now. Maybe he just fell in love." She shrugged, knowing what love can make people do.
"Oh, Arielle? Yeah, I guess he is in love but he shouldn't of done that to you." She said as if it were obvious. Luna just stayed quiet.
"I guess I was just a rebound." She shrugged before sipping her second beer. Alexa gave her a sad look and shook her head.
"Having a rebound is fair enough but leading them to believe otherwise is not fair." She sighed. Luna liked her, she was concise and wise. She seemed to know a lot about relationships, she could see how Alex would be attracted to her.
"So what about you and Alex. You dated for four years. How comes your here?" Luna wondered. Alexa took a gulp of beer.
"Oh, the break up wasn't messy. Yeah we were both heartbroken, I mean we dated for four fucking years. It was so hard to get used to not always having him there with me or being able to just call him up whenever. We're mates now, once we got over the heartbreak." She explained as if it were nothing. Luna was dying to know what Alex was like in a relationship.
"That sounds...healthy." She laughed slightly. Alexa nodded.
"Yeah well." She laughed as well. They finished their beers and walked out of the pub. "Are you staying in London?" She asked.
"Uh, yeah. Just some ibis on a corner somewhere. I leave tomorrow morning." She explained. Alexa nodded.
"I'll give you my number. Call me anytime." She got out her phone and Luna got out hers. They pressed them together to look at each other's numbers when Alexa's started ringing.
'Al' it read.
She took in a sharp breath and answered it. Luna stood in shock, she was about to witness a phone call between them.
"Hey." She sighed down the phone. Her eyes flickered to Luna, who stood there sheepishly. "I ran into a friend so we went for a drink." She put her nail in her mouth. "I've seen you play a million times, Alex." She scolded. Luna felt guilty. "I'm coming now don't get your knickers in a twist." She said and hung up.
"Sorry, i didn't realise you were meant to be watching them." Luna apologised. Alexa shook her head.
"Trust me, I didn't miss out on much. It's the same songs every night. There's only so many times you can hear him go on about that Brian lad." She joked. Luna couldn't help but laugh harder than she probably should have. Alexa eyed her for a second.
"Sorry, just that Brian was my boyfriend." Luna explained. Alexa's eyes widened before she started laughing.
"Jesus Christ. Al really did a number on you." She shook her head as they laughed. "Right, I guess I should get going. It was really nice to meet you." She grinned at her. "Call me whenever." She gave her the rest of her number, a swift hug and she was gone.