(044)
“It’s bullshit is what it is.” Jake says, his hands busy in the gloom trying to roll a cigarette. “Hold it still.”
Harrison moves his phone to the right again to spotlight the procedure, all the while scrolling his feed.
Peering through the trees in the direction of the music, Callum can just make out the faint glow of coloured lights that marks the entrance. “That’s probably pretty visible.” he says, his voice low in the dark.
“So?” Jake looks up, squinting across to where he thinks Callum is, his hands crumpling the cigarette ever so slightly, “are we not even allowed to be near the place without paying for it?” He looks down and begins fixing the newest fuck up, grumbling under his breath as he does.
“No I’m just saying, if we wanna get in…” his voice trails off.
“I don’t even wanna go, to be honest.” Lucy says from Callum’s right. He looks over at her and they share a murky glance, the phone’s light glinting in their eyes.
“It doesn’t matter, it’s the principle.” Jake says, his mouth mimicking his hands, rolling the cigarette as tightly as he can manage, “It’s always been free, and now they’re just making it another thing for the rich to do.” He holds it up to assess his work. It folds a tiny bit below the filter, but generally holds its structure. “It’ll do,” he states, “who’s got the lighter?”
Dom prods him in the ribs and he takes it from him, lights the cigarette and takes a shallow drag. The pained look in his face is revealed in cherry red for the briefest of moments, before he immediately puffs the smoke back into the air.
“Alright,” he says, his voice nasal and dry, “let’s go.”
The 5 of them move in unison down the pitch-black pathway, Dom and Harrison flanking either side of Jake and Lucy and Callum bring up the rear. No-one speaks, but during Jake’s occasional drags of his hard-earned cigarette, Lucy and Callum catch each other’s eye.
On the bend up ahead of them the entrance is clear to see, with lights lining the path all the way down the hill. The foliage to their right thins and a fence comes into view, with tents and cars lined up against the other side. Falling in line behind Jake they drift from the path onto the hard-packed earth, heads turning and eyes watching for potential onlookers, skirting the treeline. When the entrance is no longer in sight they move towards the fence.
“We can climb that easy.” Dom says, running his fingers along it. Jake pulls him back and shushes him, pointing at the tents on the other side. Despite the blaring music he leans close to whisper: “might be someone in there.”, then nods his head for them to carry on.
A little further along they find their answer: a single tree standing just outside of the fence, with branches low enough to climb. On the other side there’s a gazebo with its back side covered and enough space to drop down into without landing on anything. Jake’s pace increases, then so does everyone else’s.
“I’ll go first,” Jake says, passing the half-smoked cigarette to Callum, “hold this.”
He takes a step away from the tree and runs at it, kicking off the base and grabbing the lowest hanging branch, scrabbling to lift himself. He picks his way up and through the middle until he’s over the fence, then shimmies to the lowest point he can and drops to the floor, landing with a wobble but staying on his feet. Harrison takes the opportunity before Dom and launches into the tree, following Jake’s path.
Jake points through the fence at them, then back over his shoulder, mouthing the words:
See you in there.
Then he’s gone, squeezing between the gazebo and the stall beside it.
Before Harrison has even landed on the other side Dom is in the tree behind him.
“I don’t think I can do that.” Lucy says, touching Callum’s arm, drawing all of his attention.
He looks down at her hand, then up at her.
“It’s okay,” he swallows, smiling, “I’ll help you over.”
She bites her lip, sighing, then nods at the cigarette. “Can I?” She asks.
“Oh,” Callum checks his shoulder and sees Dom disappearing through the gap, “uh, yeah…of course.” He holds it up for her to take, revelling in the feel of her hand round his as she does. She brings it to her lips and pulls, holding it in her lungs and letting it trickle from her mouth in a way that makes Callum salivate, then passes it back to him. Suddenly aware he needs both hands, he puts it out against the bark of the tree and drops it to the ground, locking his hands together over his knee for her to step on. She places her foot in them and he lifts her so she can pull herself onto the branch, then signals for her to move forward.
With a short run up he fires himself beside her and they squeeze their way through, until the spot behind the gazebo is beneath them.
He leans in close to her and smells the sweet scent of her shampoo mixed with sweat and smoke. “Go as low as you can and I’ll hold onto you for the last bit.” He says, not moving away after he does.
“Okay,” she whispers, “but promise you won’t drop me.” She cocks her head to look at him, a serious look on her face, but laughter in her eyes.
“Promise.” He says, grinning.
She follows Jake’s shimmying technique and Callum lays on his front, resting his hand on the back of hers. She takes it and lowers herself almost to the floor, pressing a twig hard into his sternum, not that he cares. With her on the ground he makes his way over, landing face to face with her on the cramped spot just big enough for one. Her scent floods his senses once more, and he inhales it gratefully, but he’s caught off guard when she suddenly plants a kiss on him that’s neither lips or cheek, but somewhere in between,
“Thanks,” she says pulling back, almost as shocked as him, “for…not dropping me.” She smiles and takes his hand before he has time to answer. “Come on.”
She squeezes through the gap with him in tow, both buoyed by the budding flame between them, unaware of the wisps of smoke they’d left behind, snaking out from the roots in long white tendrils.
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