CHAPTER TWELVE: ED

Knocking on the door, Diane felt apprehensive. Liz had not come home last night and David had been frantic. Diane had been as well, but had not resorted to charging around the flat, proclaiming that 'LIZZIE HAS BEEN KILLED!' in a high pitched voice and flapping limbs about like a startled bird.

She had managed to calm him down by concocting a large cup of tea which he had downed almost straight away, regardless of how much it scalded his windpipe. This morning, Diane had soothed her boyfriend's nerves by promising to find Liz and two hours later after stating those cherished words, Diane was struggling to keep her fear of finding Liz, injured or worse dead, at bay.

Her lips stretched into an uneasy grin as the soft padding of bare feet was heard from inside. The door swung open, the man revealed to her, commenting kindly:

"Should have just pushed the door, it was unlocked and open anyway."

Diane tittered, then exclaimed: "Hi! I'm Diane! I'm looking for Liz! Oh... Shaun does live here right?"

"Shaun? Oh yeah! Fucking wanker is my best mate! And Liz? Yep, she's here! They're upstairs."

He moved back slightly. "Come in, come in. Do you want tea?"

Diane smiled at the man as she passed him, venturing into the living room. "No thanks, but thanks!"

Diane observed the living room warmly. It was an utter mess. And she loved it. It reminded her of home and though she valued her accommodations now, her childhood home still remained a special place within her heart. Slumping back onto the sofa, she beamed brightly at the man, who leant against the doorway.

"So Diane, you live with Liz?"

"Yeah, I share a flat with her and David."

Instantly, fury clouded the man's eyes, and he clenched his fists tightly. Frowning, Diane enquired:

"What? Do you not like him?"

The stranger scoffed, biting out:

"Nah, I fucking HATE the guy! Mr Big Bollocks goes round, spouting shit like he's the fucking King!"

Collapsing into helpless giggles, Diane replied: "That's t-true!" As the man grinned, Diane managed to muster enough control to quieten down her giggles, muttering solemnly:

"But you are wrong on one thing."

"What's that?"

"David doesn't have big bollocks."

Ed's eyes widened, followed promptly by his mouth as he caught on. "Fuck! You've shagged him?!"

"Yep! He is my boyfriend, after all."

The man shook his head, exclaiming: "Really?! What you doing, shacked up with the cunt?! Man, you could do so much better, Diane!"

Diane winked at him suggestively. "You trying to chat me up? Erm... I didn't get your name."

"Oh! It's Ed."

Diane held her hand out. "Nice to meet you, Ed. And I know David's… flaws, but I love him so have to deal with it."

Ed snorted. "Better you than me, love."

Diane smiled and the pair of them proceeded to engage in a friendly conversation, at times interrupted by the buzz of the PlayStation or Ed's angry mutterings about the prick. Diane glanced up when there was the sound of footsteps shuffling down the stairs, grinning as Shaun and Liz entered the living room.

Whilst Shaun drifted over to Ed, slouching on the settee and picking up the spare controller, Liz bounded over to Diane, encasing her in a hug.

"Sorry I didn't come home last night, Di! Me and Shaun got so drunk! He didn't think it was safe for me to go back to the flat so I stayed here!"

Waiting until they had broken apart, Diane flapped a hand, indicating that it was fine.

"Don't worry! I'm sure David would do the same for me! Now, I would love to stay, but David was near to tearing his fucking hair out last night so we should get going."

Rolling her eyes at the mention of David's worrying, Liz nodded and blew a kiss to Shaun.

"Bye babe."

Shaun's eyes flickered to his girlfriend. "Bye Liz. Hope the prick don't give you trouble. Sorry Diane."

Diane laughed it off. "It's fine, Shaun. Bye. See ya, Ed."

A grunt was his response, but Diane felt pleased when he also flashed a smile at her. As Liz and Ed exchanged good-byes, Diane wondered how David was exactly going to react to Liz's return.

"LIZZIE!"

Well, she wasn't surprised when David shouted out her best friend's name and leapt onto her like a crazed animal. Neither was she shocked about the endless barrage of questions aimed at Liz about where she had been last night. Diane sighed and slunk off to her and David's bedroom, preparing her bag for tomorrow's Drama class.

As she packed it, she thought: 'I wish he was like that when I go out and don't let him know where I am.'