Chapter 13

            The film ran into the end credits and Baz pulled me back so I was putting all my weight onto him, he could manage it easily though.

            ‘I have a present for you,’ he said.

            Surprised, I swiftly sat up and went to sit on the sofa. ‘What? How? I was with you all day.’

            He shook his head. ‘You know when I left you in that dress shop to go to the toilet?’ I nodded as the memory recollected in my mind. ‘Where I really went to was the jewellery shop a few shops down. And I bought you something. It’s nothing big or too expensive, I know what you’re like,’ he added with a knowledgeable look. ‘It’s just something to show how much I appreciate you being with me, and taking on everything that my kind throws at you.’ He stood up and slipped his hand into the pocket of his jacket, he had been lying on the arm of the sofa next to where I sat now. He pulled out a little jewellery box, the kind that would fit a ring or a pair of earrings in, only this box was a little bigger. He passed it over and placed it neatly in my slightly shaking hands. ‘Open it,’ he edged.

            I shut my eyes as I opened the lid up; opening one eye at a time, I looked down at the silver chained pendant necklace. It was totally silver, no gems or sparkles; it was beautiful. The chain was just a plain, silver link one; the pendant was a silver circle, with leaves covering the top half of the circumference, inside the circle stood the outline of a wolf (the texture of the fur stood out by tiny lines that had been etched in). The wolf was howling up at a full moon, partly concealed by a leaf.

            ‘Turn it over,’ Baz added. I did so, and on the back was etched a small message: To my mate, Kerry. I love you. B. The message was etched in three lines. Baz gently took the box out of my hands and carefully took out the necklace. ‘Stand up and let me put it on you,’ he said, holding the necklace by the delicate looking chain. I stood up and turned around for him while pulling my hair out of the way. He slipped his hands each side of my head, let the necklace hang on my skin, and did the clasp back up. He pushed me over to the mirror that hung in the hallway and moved the pendant so it lay perfectly on my skin. Smiling lightly, I looked at our reflections in the silvered glass; his eyes averted from the necklace to my eyes and he met my gaze with a full smile.

            ‘It’s lovely,’ I commented. ‘Thank you.’

            ‘You’re welcome,’ he responded. ‘I was wondering if you’d like it. It’s not too ironic, is it?’

            ‘Ironic? How?’ I asked confused.

            He rolled his eyes. ‘As it’s silver, and apparently I should be allergic to it,’ he commented with a wink.

            I grinned. ‘No, it’s not ironic. It’s beautiful. But now I feel guilty that I didn’t get you anything.’

            ‘Don’t be.’ He turned me around so I faced him for real. ‘It’s a boyfriend’s job to treat his girlfriend to little things like this.’ His fingers brushed over the hand-crafted silver and down onto my skin; I watched how his eyes followed his fingers before putting my hand on his. ‘Mmmm,’ he moaned. ‘I can feel your heart beat under your skin.’ He looked up, smiling more.

            ‘What about it?’ I asked and stepped forward while putting on a sort of dark smile.

            His hand began to shake a little in mine. ‘Um,’ he coughed. ‘It’s sort of almost enticing when I can feel it. Like it’s the only way to tell what I do to you when I touch your skin,’ he described.

            ‘And what is that?’ I asked, pressing for more detail. I was still stepping towards him and he was stepping backwards away from me. It was the first time I had ever felt that I had some power over him, whatever type of power this little moment was portraying I couldn’t quite tell.

            ‘Well, your pulse quickens and I sometimes tell that your breathing becomes shallower.’ By this time, his back was against the wall and I was stood with my chest barely touching his. ‘And with it all put together, I know that you feel strongly about me. And I like all that, all the small details about you. It makes you who you are, and makes you human. I wouldn’t change one thing about you, even if it meant that I lost some part of myself along the way.’

            Not sure how he meant this, I continued to smile at him the same way and bit by bit leaned closer and closer to him until I could feel his breath on my cheeks. We stood there kissing, until he pulled away with annoyance clearly etched onto his features.

            ‘What is it?’

            ‘Oh, you can’t hear that well. I forget. The guys are back.’ And sure enough, the front door opened and in stumbled (not drunkenly however) Charlie, Derek, Toby and Kevin (our housemates). ‘I wondered where you lot had gotten too,’ Baz announced so as to diffuse the fact that they had ruined our pleasurable moment. ‘Where have you guys been?’

            Charlie, Derek and Toby walked through into the lounge and kitchen area, while Kevin stayed and explained that they had been out playing football and rugby with several other lads from our year.

            ‘It’s too bad that you had to go shopping with little Kez here,’ he said mockingly and ruffled my hair like I was an obedient puppy who had been waiting for its owner to return home. ‘It was awesome, although we did have some company in the form of a little crowd.’

            ‘And that would have been Ashley, Sharlene and that group of girls from the pool party?’ Baz asked.

            ‘Erm, Ashley is that blonde girl that pushed Charlie into the pool?’ Baz and I nodded with some giggles. ‘Then yeh, it was that group of girls.’

            The three of us went into the lounge and sat down with the others to have a few drinks together. The night continued on in a drunken state of affairs.

*****

            I could feel myself waking up, and my head was aching; but the more and more I became awake, the more and more the aching turned into pricking.

            ‘My head hurts,’ I said out loud, hoping Barry was nearby or next to me or even awake would do.

            ‘Mmmm,’ I heard him mumble sleepily from the floor; then I noticed I was lying on the armchair with my legs over the arm. ‘What did you say?’

            Slumping my way out of the chair, I stepped around the guys (making sure I didn’t stand on any tails that swished about) and made my way over to the kitchen to make myself a cup of tea to help my head and dry mouth.

            ‘Has someone put the kettle on?’ spoke Derek.

            Sighing, I replied. ‘Yes! I have.’

            ‘You couldn’t make us a cup of coffee could you, Kez? Pleeeease,’ he called out towards me. I stopped the kettle boiling so I could fill it to the maximum line, no doubt when all of them are awake they will probably want a cup of tea or coffee too. ‘Cheers, Kerry! My head hurts too. Does anyone remember how many bottles we got through?’ To answer his question, as he got up he kicked a bottle and this started a sort of clinking domino effect across the floor. ‘Nevermind,’ he concluded.

            Setting out six mugs, filling two of them with the right beverage ingredients, I set about making mine and Derek’s morning wake up juice.

            ‘I’ll do the milk for mine,’ Derek said as he rounded the corner, rubbing his eyes. ‘I only like a tiny bit.’

            ‘Right, well it’s pretty much done then,’ I said. When I turned around, I clamped my eyes shut immediately. ‘Derek, will you please found some trousers. Jeesh, I’ll never get that image out of my head now!’ I complained.

            ‘What?’ Clearly he had looked down at himself just after he said that. ‘Oh, sorry. Give me one minute.’ He did have some boxers on but it was way too much for me.

            Shaking my head, I picked up my cup of tea and wandered back over to my armchair. Derek walked back in, fully clothed and went to the kitchen with a slight pink tinge to his cheeks.

            ‘Sorry about that, I can’t remember much from last night.’

            Smiling cheekily, mostly to myself, I reassured him it wasn’t a big deal. ‘Don’t think about it, I really don’t care.’

            The smell of his coffee reached my nose and sure enough the others could smell it too and they seemed to wake up almost simultaneously. Pulling my legs up and tucking them under myself, I sat sipping my tea and let my banging head sort itself out before I attempted any sort of work.

            ‘Who was making coffee?’ asked Kevin.

            ‘Kez was,’ Derek answered.

            I pouted my lips at him as we both knew what was coming. ‘Aww, what about the rest of us?’

            Derek smiled; I however, decided I wasn’t going to get up from my seat again. ‘You were all asleep. The mugs are out and the kettle’s full. The rest is up to you lot. And don’t complain,’ I added. ‘I don’t know what you all like.’

            ‘But you know I like tea,’ Baz complained. ‘You could have at least made me one.’

            I looked down at him without moving my head. ‘I didn’t know when you’d wake up so I didn’t want you to have a cold mug.’

            ‘I would have put it in the microwave.’

            At this point, Charlie stepped in. ‘Alright, you two. We don’t want a domestic. I’ll make everyone’s tea or coffee,’ he offered and walked off into the kitchen. Standing up, Baz stretched then dropped his hands on both the arms of my chair; he leant further towards me and kissed my lips before he wandered upstairs (probably to get a shower).

            Looking back over at the other four, I noticed that they all seemed to look back at me with the same expression: a sort of calculating, yet still friendly stare. ‘If you’re not going to say anything then stop staring,’ I said while curling back up with my half empty mug.

            Derek decided to say something, and by the reaction of the others it was what they were all thinking. ‘So the fact that Baz got you a token of belonging to him doesn’t give us the right to watch over you?’

            I was confused. ‘Huh?’

            ‘Well, we are part of a pack at the moment and since you don’t know, we look out for each other and also for each other’s stuff.’

            ‘Stuff?’ I barked, angrily. ‘I am not his stuff, I’m his girlfriend. And that means that he can buy me things to help show that I’m his and he’s mine.’ My eyes had narrowed as I spoke and my lips were now set in a straight line.

            ‘That’s what you think; but we know what he’s like much more than you. He’s been our friend longer than he’s known you, and we know him better.’

            ‘Well, clearly you don’t. You lot weren’t here when he gave me this.’ My hand clasped around my new necklace. ‘And you don’t know what we said to each other once he put it on. So if you don’t mind, stay out of this and leave me alone.’ I slammed my cup down on the small table so hard that the handle broke off and remained in my hand; I stormed out and continued storming on up the stairs until I reached my room and then slammed my door with as much strength as each of my steps had held. In my anger, I had pulled at my necklace and, as I sat on the bed, I watched the chain dangle from between my fingers, it had snapped.

            I placed it on top of my closed laptop, and curled up on my bed to try and sleep my hangover away.