I don't own Night World. This'll be updated Fridays-Sundays. Depending on school and piano workload.

Chapter 2

The single is released the next day, and is even performed on the radio as I'm having breakfast. Pierce grins at me before saying, "Go squeal with Val."

I pat him on the shoulder as I pass and opened the door, coming up to Val and Hugh's door. I really wish I'd knocked that time, though.

Because when I opened the door, I came face-to-face with woman, a few years older than me, leaving the flat. She was gorgeous in one of those obvious ways, long blond hair, several inches taller than me and tanned, flawless skin. A typical California girl, really. I didn't really register what was happening as she gave a short laugh. "Sorry," she said. "You'll call me, won't you, Val?" she called over her shoulder. She shrugged past me, not waiting for an answer.

And then it catches up to me.

I stare wide-eyed at Val, who is frozen and gaping at me, before spinning to go back to my own flat. "Jez!" he says, coming up behind me. He holds my hands down by my hips and picks me up as if I weighed nothing more than a pebble, and brings me back into his flat as I'm shouting at him and trying to kick him. "Listen Jez, please!" he says as he shuts the door firmly, letting me drop to the ground. I try to wrench him away, but the guy's built like a bull. No-one can move him if he doesn't want to.

"You idiot!" I shout at him. I hit his shoulder.

"Let me explain-"

"I don't want to listen!"

"Jez, just let me-"

"No!"

He puts a hand over my mouth, ignoring me when I bite him.

"I don't know what happened, okay?" he's refusing to look at me straight. "I had… a bit too much to drink last night."

"Mmph!"

"I know. It's exactly what we said we would never do, but I lost control."

I try to drag his hand away from my mouth.

"Please, Jez. You're my friend too. Can't we just talk about it?"

I glare at him furiously, but nod curtly. He lets me go, but still keeps a hand on the door handle. Crossing my arms, I motion with my head for him to continue.

Val ducks his head down. "I don't understand why. I'm usually in control, but just thinking about how long it's been since I've seen Raven… it got me depressed. Usually I'll go to Pierce then, but he was… otherwise occupied. So I started talking to Annie and…" he frowns. "I don't remember after that."

"You got depressed because you haven't seen Raven, so you cheat on her?" I say sardonically.

"I know it was stupid. I regret it. Just… please don't tell her. I'll sort it out."

I clenched my hands into fists. "Let me go."

"Jez-"

"Let me go."

He stepped aside.

I ignore him for the rest of the day, though he tries more than once to get my attention. The injustice of it all is what hurts me; I can never get who I really want, but Val is so sure of it he plays with it, like a cat playing with a dying mouse. He had loved Raven almost his entire life, but he was so sure of her that he was flirting with danger.

Would Morgead have become like that after a few years? I wouldn't be surprised, after watching Val fall off the wagon. It was probably a blessing that our 'relationship' would probably never resolve itself.

He probably forgot me months ago, anyway.

…nw…nw…nw…

The bombshell, what I think all the feelings of trepidation were leading up to, is realised the next morning. Whilst preparing to go to the recording studio, the phone rings. It's Raven.

"I think Val's out. He didn't pick up."

I push away all my instincts which are yelling at me to tell Raven what had happened. I would have to let Val explain it himself.

"He might be. I haven't seen him yet."

"Well, anyway, I'm coming next week on Tuesday."

"Good."

"Are you alright, Jez? You seem a bit off." I bite my lip against the flood. Tell her tell her tell her. "Is it Morgead?" she asks in an undertone.

My breath hitches through my throat. "Can I talk to you about it when you get here?"

"Sure."

We hang up.

I curl up on the sofa for a few minutes. If I was thinking only of myself, I would be happy that Raven was coming, but I was terrified for both of them. They'd been together for over ten years now.

The door opens, and Val comes in, looking sheepish.

"Yeah. She called," I answer the question he was asking with his eyes.

He twists the doorknob uncomfortably. "We have to leave."

I just nod, unable to look him straight in the eye.

I wonder how long it will take to be able to look at him as I did before.

…nw…nw…nw…

I feel myself relaxing as I'm playing and singing, though I refuse to be alone with Val. Pierce and Hugh are looking at each other worriedly; Val and I are usually the happy ones that are always joking around, and they don't know what's going on. I go for a walk again, to the same place, afterwards, and feel my thoughts drift inexplicably to the boy from before. What would I say to him if he were here? I play through a few possibilities in my head before shaking my head and laughing quietly at myself. It's ridiculous. I my get a few decent lyrics out of it, but hoping or thinking of anything more is childish.

When I got home (Pierce was there this time, though he still hadn't told me what had happened), I tried to figure out whether I could tell anyone about everything going on in my life. It didn't seem likely. Apparently I was doomed to spend the rest of my life putting everything in coded words into songs.