Worlds Apart, chapter 7
It was a pretty messy night. After a few rounds of shots I was feeling a little out of it, and I hadn’t even been there an hour. Some of the guys’ crew came over with Chinese take away and more alcohol and I was having the best time. Ellen loosened up a lot once she had a few drinks and spent most of the night making and sampling new cocktails with Tre and Jason in the kitchen. Really it sounded like she was just ordering them around but either way I didn’t need to worry about her anymore. At about midnight we ran out of alcohol and had to go and raid the mini bar in mine and Ellen’s room. Ellen was pretty preoccupied with her cocktailing, so Billie Joe joined me on the mission.
We stood at the door to the room for what felt like forever while I tried to swipe my key card, repeatedly missing the slot. Jagermeister isn’t good for your depth perception.
“Jesus Christ, Sophie� Billie Joe groaned, taking the card from me and nudging me out of the way. I had the giggles really bad, and it wasn’t helping. After he’d had a few failed attempts at swiping the card himself, he took to pushing the door.
“Oh wait� I said, giggling, as he eventually slumped against the door, defeated, “Maybe you have to push the handle down…�
I pushed it, and the door swung open fast with Billie’s weight against it. He fell into the room, landed on the floor, and I collapsed against the wall laughing.
“Fucking stupid door� he grumbled, lifting his head and rubbing it. I took both his hands and tried to pull him to his feet but the giggling had made all my muscles go floppy and I couldn’t move him an inch.
“Maybe we shouldn’t be getting more alcohol� I suggested
He looked at me,
“You’d better be thankful Tre wasn’t around to hear you say that� he said, finally managing to stand up, slowly.
He put an arm around me to steady himself.
“Ok� he breathed, once we had composed ourselves, “To the mini bar – let’s go!�
When we got back to their suite armed with alcohol, Tre launched himself at me and took the bottle of vodka out of my hands.
“What took you so fucking long?� he asked, “Or would we rather not know the answer to that?�
I started giggling, which I’ve decided is my drunken equivelent of blushing.
“These jokes are gonna get old very fast Tre� warned Billie, as he slumped down on the bed with a bottle of beer. “And don’t forget I can get you back tomorrow. We’re doing Top of the Pops remember? Let’s see how many Tre Cool and Fearne Cotton jokes can be made in one morning.�
“Fearne Cotton?� Ellen piped up
“Ok, ok� said Tre, smiling and waving his drink around so silence us. He ended up sloshing it all over Mike, who was already too drunk to notice. “I was drunk, ok? Just…blame the Cheech or whatever crazy-ass thing I’d been drinking that night�
“Oh my God� I laughed, “Tre, that’s shocking�
“Um. Coming from you?� he smiled, raising an eyebrow.
“But Fearne Cotton!� Ellen exclaimed, “She’s so “rock chick��
I laughed at her “rock� hand signals. So did Billie Joe. Tre just shook his head.
“I had just met her� he attempted to defend himself, “Oh come on, she isn’t that bad�
“Isn’t she going out with that bloke from the Lostprophets anyway?� Ellen asked. She’s the fountain of knowledge when it comes to celebrity information.
“Shh� grinned Tre, sheepishly, holding a finger to his lips.
“Oh my God, Tre� I laughed, shoving him, “That’s wrong�
“So anyway� he laughed, changing the subject, “Shit, what time do we have to be at the TV place tomorrow?�
“Eight thirty� replied Jason, “We’re going to be fucked�
“How exciting, Top of the Pops� commented Ellen, “Not that I watch it or anything�
Mike grinned,
“You guys watch it?�
“Well…sometimes but only when we’re hung over or avoiding work� Ellen said sheepishly.
“You college students� said Mike, shaking his head, “I swear you don’t really do any work at all�
“Especially, Sophie, she’s an art student� added Billie Joe, “She just sits around painting and customising her jeans�
“Hah� I said, “I’ve just handed in an 8000 word essay on the different periods of Picasso. Don’t tell me I don’t work hard�
Billie Joe grinned and stuck his tongue out at me. I swear he lies about his age.
It wasn’t long after that I decided it would be a good idea to stop drinking. My vision was blurry, my legs weren’t working properly and it was taking me about five minutes to get out a sentence. Let’s be honest, we know what happened last time I got in this state. Unfortunately, Tre chose this moment to start up a game of “Incoming� and scoffed at me when I said I didn’t want to play. If you haven’t played “incoming� before…you probably aren’t missing out on much. It’s only funny when everybody’s very drunk, which we were, and when everybody’s very drunk pretty much anything is funny anyway. I’ve always found the funniest part of drinking games to be watching a very drunk person trying to explain the rules of the game. That would be Tre, who had to explain the rules to Jason.
“Ok, ok, the deal is, you take it turns for everyone in the room to shout ‘Incoming!� in the most dramatic way you can….and loudest. It has to be loud…loud and…loud�
“Ok, dramatic and loud. What’s the point?�
“Uhhh, right…well…when the call of “Incoming!� is made, everyone has to get down on the floor and cover their heads. Or you’re lost…I mean you’re not LOST� he giggled, “You lose the game…for that round. And the last person down has to do a shot. Or something�
He started giggling again. I decided to take over
“But you forgot to say everyone has a number so we’re all in an order. You take it in turns to shout it in that order. And if you fuck up the order, you have to do a shot too…I think�
“Yeah!� shouted Tre, even though I was right next to him, “Yeah, you have to do it in order….or it wouldn’t make any sense�
“Right…� smiled Billie Joe, slurring. “It all makes sense now, Tre. Now we have an order and shit�
“You have to do it when no ones expecting it though� Ellen reminded me, “Or its no fun. And only once every like few minutes or it gets out of hand. That makes it harder to remember who went last�
Ten minutes later Mike was on the floor after three incomings, and wasn’t showing any signs of getting back up again like everyone else. I giggled, poking him with my foot,
“Mikey, are you ok?� I asked,
“Yeah.� He said slowly, “Uhhhh…count me out of the game. I’m going to sleep here tonight�
“You don’t look very comfortable�
“Looks can be deceiving�
I sat down on the floor next to him,
“You know what?� he said suddenly, opening one eye and looking up at me.
“What?�
“I’ve only seen you sober for like a half hour the whole time I’ve known you�
“That’s because you’ve really only known me two nights�
“Hmmmmgh. I guess. Feels like longer though…what with Billie Joe going on about you in between�
“Huh?� I tried to focus on him better, I wasn’t sure I’d heard him right. “Billie said what?�
“Nothing bad….don’t worry…he was just stressin about what to do about you….after you guys had your fun in Newcastle�
“Why was he stressing?�
“Cause he felt bad for screwing you then not calling….I think he just likes you a lot….he wouldn’t shut up about it…whose idea d’you think the badly addressed parcel was?…..I thought it was worth a shot to get him to shut the fuck up�
I smiled. I hadn’t really thought Billie Joe would have been thinking about me these past couple of weeks. I’d hoped he had, but I’d never really believed it.
“What’s with the big grin…you like him a lot don’t you�
“Yeah. We’re friends me and Billie�
“Right� Mike smiled. He could tell I wanted more. I didn’t care if he thought that, as long as he didn’t tell Billie. I was about to ask Mike whether the skittles and the eyeliner had been his idea too when Billie Joe leapt onto the couch,
“IIIIINCOMIIIIIIIING!!� he shouted, so loudly that covering my ears wasn’t just part of the game as I dove down onto the floor next to Mike. I heard a loud crash as everyone dissolved into giggles, and looked up to see Tre flat out under the table, apparently completely unconscious.
“What happened?� Mike asked, attempting to lift his head,
“Fuck!� shouted Billie, still laughing as he got off the couch, “He smacked his head on the table on the way down.�
I groaned as we gathered round Tre. Jason gently slapped him on the cheeks,
“Tre…are you ok, dude?�
“He hit his head pretty hard� said Ellen, sounding worried, “What if he’s concussed?�
“How will we tell?� I replied, “He wasn’t making any sense anyway�
After a bit more poking, Tre finally groaned and opened his eyes halfway.
“What happened?� he mumbled,
“You hit your head on your way down to the floor?�
“Oh Jeez� he groaned, attempting to sit up,
“You ok, Tre?� I asked, sympathetically, ruffling his hair,
“Yeeeah…oh man. Wait. Was I the last person down?�
Standing up, Jason replied,
“Ummm…yeah, but don’t-“
“Ok� said Tre, “Pass me the vodka�
We stood at the door to the room for what felt like forever while I tried to swipe my key card, repeatedly missing the slot. Jagermeister isn’t good for your depth perception.
“Jesus Christ, Sophie� Billie Joe groaned, taking the card from me and nudging me out of the way. I had the giggles really bad, and it wasn’t helping. After he’d had a few failed attempts at swiping the card himself, he took to pushing the door.
“Oh wait� I said, giggling, as he eventually slumped against the door, defeated, “Maybe you have to push the handle down…�
I pushed it, and the door swung open fast with Billie’s weight against it. He fell into the room, landed on the floor, and I collapsed against the wall laughing.
“Fucking stupid door� he grumbled, lifting his head and rubbing it. I took both his hands and tried to pull him to his feet but the giggling had made all my muscles go floppy and I couldn’t move him an inch.
“Maybe we shouldn’t be getting more alcohol� I suggested
He looked at me,
“You’d better be thankful Tre wasn’t around to hear you say that� he said, finally managing to stand up, slowly.
He put an arm around me to steady himself.
“Ok� he breathed, once we had composed ourselves, “To the mini bar – let’s go!�
When we got back to their suite armed with alcohol, Tre launched himself at me and took the bottle of vodka out of my hands.
“What took you so fucking long?� he asked, “Or would we rather not know the answer to that?�
I started giggling, which I’ve decided is my drunken equivelent of blushing.
“These jokes are gonna get old very fast Tre� warned Billie, as he slumped down on the bed with a bottle of beer. “And don’t forget I can get you back tomorrow. We’re doing Top of the Pops remember? Let’s see how many Tre Cool and Fearne Cotton jokes can be made in one morning.�
“Fearne Cotton?� Ellen piped up
“Ok, ok� said Tre, smiling and waving his drink around so silence us. He ended up sloshing it all over Mike, who was already too drunk to notice. “I was drunk, ok? Just…blame the Cheech or whatever crazy-ass thing I’d been drinking that night�
“Oh my God� I laughed, “Tre, that’s shocking�
“Um. Coming from you?� he smiled, raising an eyebrow.
“But Fearne Cotton!� Ellen exclaimed, “She’s so “rock chick��
I laughed at her “rock� hand signals. So did Billie Joe. Tre just shook his head.
“I had just met her� he attempted to defend himself, “Oh come on, she isn’t that bad�
“Isn’t she going out with that bloke from the Lostprophets anyway?� Ellen asked. She’s the fountain of knowledge when it comes to celebrity information.
“Shh� grinned Tre, sheepishly, holding a finger to his lips.
“Oh my God, Tre� I laughed, shoving him, “That’s wrong�
“So anyway� he laughed, changing the subject, “Shit, what time do we have to be at the TV place tomorrow?�
“Eight thirty� replied Jason, “We’re going to be fucked�
“How exciting, Top of the Pops� commented Ellen, “Not that I watch it or anything�
Mike grinned,
“You guys watch it?�
“Well…sometimes but only when we’re hung over or avoiding work� Ellen said sheepishly.
“You college students� said Mike, shaking his head, “I swear you don’t really do any work at all�
“Especially, Sophie, she’s an art student� added Billie Joe, “She just sits around painting and customising her jeans�
“Hah� I said, “I’ve just handed in an 8000 word essay on the different periods of Picasso. Don’t tell me I don’t work hard�
Billie Joe grinned and stuck his tongue out at me. I swear he lies about his age.
It wasn’t long after that I decided it would be a good idea to stop drinking. My vision was blurry, my legs weren’t working properly and it was taking me about five minutes to get out a sentence. Let’s be honest, we know what happened last time I got in this state. Unfortunately, Tre chose this moment to start up a game of “Incoming� and scoffed at me when I said I didn’t want to play. If you haven’t played “incoming� before…you probably aren’t missing out on much. It’s only funny when everybody’s very drunk, which we were, and when everybody’s very drunk pretty much anything is funny anyway. I’ve always found the funniest part of drinking games to be watching a very drunk person trying to explain the rules of the game. That would be Tre, who had to explain the rules to Jason.
“Ok, ok, the deal is, you take it turns for everyone in the room to shout ‘Incoming!� in the most dramatic way you can….and loudest. It has to be loud…loud and…loud�
“Ok, dramatic and loud. What’s the point?�
“Uhhh, right…well…when the call of “Incoming!� is made, everyone has to get down on the floor and cover their heads. Or you’re lost…I mean you’re not LOST� he giggled, “You lose the game…for that round. And the last person down has to do a shot. Or something�
He started giggling again. I decided to take over
“But you forgot to say everyone has a number so we’re all in an order. You take it in turns to shout it in that order. And if you fuck up the order, you have to do a shot too…I think�
“Yeah!� shouted Tre, even though I was right next to him, “Yeah, you have to do it in order….or it wouldn’t make any sense�
“Right…� smiled Billie Joe, slurring. “It all makes sense now, Tre. Now we have an order and shit�
“You have to do it when no ones expecting it though� Ellen reminded me, “Or its no fun. And only once every like few minutes or it gets out of hand. That makes it harder to remember who went last�
Ten minutes later Mike was on the floor after three incomings, and wasn’t showing any signs of getting back up again like everyone else. I giggled, poking him with my foot,
“Mikey, are you ok?� I asked,
“Yeah.� He said slowly, “Uhhhh…count me out of the game. I’m going to sleep here tonight�
“You don’t look very comfortable�
“Looks can be deceiving�
I sat down on the floor next to him,
“You know what?� he said suddenly, opening one eye and looking up at me.
“What?�
“I’ve only seen you sober for like a half hour the whole time I’ve known you�
“That’s because you’ve really only known me two nights�
“Hmmmmgh. I guess. Feels like longer though…what with Billie Joe going on about you in between�
“Huh?� I tried to focus on him better, I wasn’t sure I’d heard him right. “Billie said what?�
“Nothing bad….don’t worry…he was just stressin about what to do about you….after you guys had your fun in Newcastle�
“Why was he stressing?�
“Cause he felt bad for screwing you then not calling….I think he just likes you a lot….he wouldn’t shut up about it…whose idea d’you think the badly addressed parcel was?…..I thought it was worth a shot to get him to shut the fuck up�
I smiled. I hadn’t really thought Billie Joe would have been thinking about me these past couple of weeks. I’d hoped he had, but I’d never really believed it.
“What’s with the big grin…you like him a lot don’t you�
“Yeah. We’re friends me and Billie�
“Right� Mike smiled. He could tell I wanted more. I didn’t care if he thought that, as long as he didn’t tell Billie. I was about to ask Mike whether the skittles and the eyeliner had been his idea too when Billie Joe leapt onto the couch,
“IIIIINCOMIIIIIIIING!!� he shouted, so loudly that covering my ears wasn’t just part of the game as I dove down onto the floor next to Mike. I heard a loud crash as everyone dissolved into giggles, and looked up to see Tre flat out under the table, apparently completely unconscious.
“What happened?� Mike asked, attempting to lift his head,
“Fuck!� shouted Billie, still laughing as he got off the couch, “He smacked his head on the table on the way down.�
I groaned as we gathered round Tre. Jason gently slapped him on the cheeks,
“Tre…are you ok, dude?�
“He hit his head pretty hard� said Ellen, sounding worried, “What if he’s concussed?�
“How will we tell?� I replied, “He wasn’t making any sense anyway�
After a bit more poking, Tre finally groaned and opened his eyes halfway.
“What happened?� he mumbled,
“You hit your head on your way down to the floor?�
“Oh Jeez� he groaned, attempting to sit up,
“You ok, Tre?� I asked, sympathetically, ruffling his hair,
“Yeeeah…oh man. Wait. Was I the last person down?�
Standing up, Jason replied,
“Ummm…yeah, but don’t-“
“Ok� said Tre, “Pass me the vodka�
