Runaway
(Sophie's POV)
I woke to the sound of shouting through a wall. This was not unusual; the amount of times my parent's weekly argument over who was going to take the bins out had interrupted my sleep was ridiculous. Annoyed, I turned over to try to get comfy again.
"Humph"
I had hit something as I turned, or rather, I had hit someone. Momentarily terrified, I opened my eyes, and was met with the most brilliant light. I felt like I was staring into the sun. Confused, I blinked to try to make sense of the situation, and when I opened my eyes again I realised I was not looking at the sun, but at the beautiful blond hair of my gorgeous girlfriend.
Then everything came back to me, being outed by Claire, Mum's disgust at the idea, feeling terrified that Sian was so ashamed that she was going to leave forever, and then finally running away out of sheer desperation.
And we must be desperate to stay here. This dingy little bed sit that we now called 'home' was beyond doubt the most horrible place I've ever had to sleep in, I'd say our tent in a muddy field in Leeds was ten times cleaner, and probably considerably warmer as well. There was more bare wall than wallpaper around the tiny room, and the wallpaper that was left looked like it was from before we were even born. The sink in the corner was leaking, and the water that came out of it was an alarming shade of light brown. The two sockets had wires coming out of the bottom, I doubted they worked but neither of us had been brave enough to try.
I now realised that the shouting that had woken me was not my parents, but the loud couple from next-door, our new 'neighbours'. The situation we were in seemed to be finally hitting me. We were two 16-year-old girls, our money was as good as gone, we couldn't get jobs because we couldn't give our names, we were vulnerable and alone. This wasn't the exciting, fulfilling independent life I had imagined we would have when we decided to run away together. Maybe we weren't cut out for this after all, maybe we should just give up and go home..
I was overcome with the wish that it was my parents arguing over the household chores that had woken me, then I would be at home in my own warm bed instead of in this dirty, infested squat. My biggest worry would be what to wear or whether a spot had appeared in the night, not whether we'd be able to pay the rent. My plan for the day wouldn't be a desperate search for some work, it would just be hanging out with Sian, maybe watch a film or….
No, it wouldn't. If I was at home then I wouldn't be able to see Sian. My parents or her parents would try to split us up, and they'd probably succeed. I looked back down at my beautiful girlfriend; I leaned over and brushed the hair out of her face, so that I could see her flawless face better. I now felt guilty for my momentary desire to give up and go home. She was worth this, all this pain and discomfort, I'd go through ten times worse just to spend one hour with her, how could I not? Without her, I wasn't me, not really, without her I couldn't be happy.
At home I may get delicious food, and here I live off cheap tasteless junk, but I'm fed that junk by my gorgeous girlfriend.
At home my room is lovely and toasty warm, here it's freezing, especially at night, but that's when I can cuddle up to Sian to keep warm.
At home deep-down I know I have the love of my family, but it's the subtle way that only comes out in a crisis, here, I've never felt more loved than when Sian looks at me, kisses me, holds me, whispers to me how she feels about me. It's an obvious kind of love that makes me feel things I've never felt before.
Life as a runaway may not be perfect, but life with Sian is. I know I'm never going to want it any different, regardless of how dirty, cold or horrible it becomes.
I let my eyes drift over Sian's perfect face, trying to take it in, before leaning in to kiss her lips softly. She stirs and opens her eyes. They light up when she sees me gazing at her.
"Hey, you ok?" she asks, sounding concerned.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm perfect."
