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One Tuesday, Alex decided to take a day trip to Sheffield. He slipped out of Miles's bed early in the morning and at the last minute took a bus instead of a plane. The ride by bus would take approximately four hours, but he would arrive by dinnertime and it would give him some much needed time to think.
He stuck his AirPods in his ears and spent the first half of the ride staring listlessly out the window. The sights of the city and its immediate surroundings gave way to the villages of Middlesex, then the farms and fields of Hertfordshire.
Alex drifted off at some point. He woke up when he felt a gentle but persistent poke on his shoulder blade. He snorted and wiped the little string of drool that dangled from his mouth on his sleeve as he paused the song on his mobile. He looked up and blinked a few times, not quite believing what he was seeing.
"Morning, mate. Is this seat taken?"
"Liam? Liam Bloody Gallagher! Go on and sit down. 'ow long's it been? What are you doing here?"
Liam smirked and sat down. "I'd apologise for taking the window seat away from you, but then I'd be being insincere, and you know me, lad. Well enough, I mean, to know that whatever else I am, I'm not an arse-licker. Anyway, it's been ages. About three years, I think. How've you been?"
Alex tittered nervously. "Alright, more or less. I've mostly been keeping to meself the last year and a half, or at least I had done until July."
He waited for Liam to ask him what had changed. When no question was forthcoming, he was a little disappointed but shrugged and smiled drily. "My mate Miles saved me from an overdose, and I've been staying with him ever since. We're flatmates now, I reckon."
Liam's eyes narrowed. "You overdosed? Fuckin' hell, lad! I thought you had calmed down a little bit. You promised me you were gunna ease up back in Budapest, remember?"
"Yeah, yeah. If it's any consolation to you, I 'ave kind of 'eased up' on the whole...but y'know, it got awfully lonely there for a while, and the voices in me head wouldn't shut up. I s'pose you could say I 'ave been a good boy for the most part, just had a few really bad days. Lucky Miles were there to save me, innit?"
Liam closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He leaned back against the cool plush seat. "Yes, you were lucky. Miles is a good lad, a right good lad. I ain't seen or talked to him in a bit, but he's like a lit'l brother to me. If he helps you stay sane, and keeps you off that shite, I'm all for it. Just be good to 'im, alright? If you break his heart I'll have to break your face, like."
Alex laughed in genuine amusement. "Oh, no worries there, mate; no worries there at all."