Vince stumbled along the murky street which he no longer knew the name of. He felt a little too nauseous and the neon signs of the fish and chip shop he faintly recognized blurred in front of him. Leaning against the wall of a blissfully dark alleyway, he tried to remember how exactly he had got drunk. Vince hadn't intended to, and had actually bought the alcohol for New Years Eve, as the god-awful mulled wine Howard had taken a liking to was actually disgusting. Still. There remained the question of how to get home – not that he particularly wanted to, but after ringing the house phone several times only to find it engaged he had no choice. Somewhat desperately, he tried again, an intense feeling of dread clouding his mind as the street lamps began to flicker on.
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Back at home, Howard was still more than a little worried, but for everyone else's sake, assumed his friend had gone shopping or something- rebelling in the wake of being forced into hospital. Mel, at least, was happy, and was currently snuggled against him, seemingly engrossed in The Railway Children. Bollo, meanwhile was trying to get through to Argos, after the keyboard he purchased on Boxing Day had no keys, and was stabbing at the number pad of the phone as a monotone, recorded voice told him "The choice you have made has not being recognized. Please try again." Meanwhile, Naboo was somewhere in his room "entertaining" Corrine, his girlfriend, but the fact the volume on Mr Benn was turned up to its maximum level was a bit suspicious. Howard shook himself distractedly. Why was he worrying? This kind of thing was typical Vince behaviour, and if he was acting more like his old self, it couldn't be a bad thing. The house was warm and contented. Everything was fine for once. Fingers crossed.
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Meanwhile, somewhere a little closer to home, Vince had managed to hail a cab and somehow splutter out his address to the female cab driver who appeared to be dressed as a belly dancer, and was wearing a string of fairy lights. "Ahh, I know your type" She said, tapping the side of her nose. "Go out with your mates, get plastered early and get back, no?" Vince made a non-comitial noise, feeling quite sick. "I think it's only sensible, me. I mean, if you've gotta be up for work or some'ink then its better to get an early night, int' it?" Her tone was immensely annoying, but then again it was good she didn't expect a reply, as she was far too busy giving her life story. "I'm Janice by the way, who are you?" Vince gulped painfully and looked up, vision not entirely in focus. "M'Vince" "Hey up Vince! Now you're probably wondering why I'm dressed as a belly dancer. Well. It's a long story it is..." Vince decided to tune out, figuring that even if he actually told her to shut up, she would launch into an entirely different rant about why she was talking in the first place. At least she wasn't trying to perv on him though, like countless male cab drivers had done before. Howard was going to play hell with him – not to mention Naboo who didn't want to leave him alone anywhere, let alone out on his own. And he was rat-arsed. This wasn't going to go well.
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Howard was, by now quite worried. Mel, ever the optimist had decided to fall asleep on the sofa, dismissing Vince as being nothing but "attention seeking" and kicking the cat off the upholstery so she could lay down properly. Pacing the room clearly not helping matters, he decided to go and see Naboo, who probably wouldn't be too happy about the disturbance, but desperate times... Striding somewhat purposefully to the silent bedroom door, he knocked once, and stood back politely. A shout of annoyance resounded from the room, before it was wrenched open a crack by the tiny shaman. "Howard!" Naboo hissed, wrapping a dressing gown around his otherwise naked self. "What do you want?" He stepped outside and carefully shut the door behind him. "Um, its Vince." He began. "Is he alright? What's wrong with him?""Well. He hasn't come in. We've tried to phone him, but it won't dial..." "What?!" Naboo shouted, talking as he descended the creaking stairs. "How many times have you tried? Have you tried texting? Why didn't you stay with him you ballbag!" He picked up the phone and pressed redial. Nothing happened. After pressing it multiple times – still nothing. Bending down, he shifted the magazines obscuring the sockets to reveal the landline was not plugged in, a telltale smudge of nail polish on the cable. Melinda.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Like I said...Vince was it? I like you, so I'll let you off. But if I see you again, I want my fare!" Janice seemed annoyed, but slightly amused. Vince failed to see the funny side and stumbled out of the car and onto the marred grass verge. "Give me a call, yeah?" She handed him a scrap of paper, and drove off into the night, leaving only a trail of choking exhaust fumes behind her. He opened the creaky gate and tripped up the path, standing before the door with a somewhat ominous feeling. Inside, shouts were echoing off the walls, and the voices were worryingly familiar. Jamming the key into the lock, the door swung open to reveal hell.
Melinda was stood, pulling a jacket on whilst screeching at Howard and Naboo who were yelling at her, and dodging the random items she attempted to throw. "Why the hell did you unplug it?" "Oh come on, he's always getting in the way! You lot mollycoddle him! He needs room to breathe...mind you, he wouldn't have been breathing altogether if... " Howard had slapped her, hard across the face, ending her sneered outburst prematurely. Corrine meanwhile had repacked her rucksack and was saying a hasty goodbye to Naboo, figuring it was not best to stick around. On her way out, she brushed past Vince who was leant against the doorway, as yet unseen. Smiling sympathetically, she headed out, closing the door behind her.With the door shut, the shouting seemed to intensify. "Howard, leave it! She's not worth it!""Not worth it? I'm worth ten of the lot of you! It's not ev- "Naboo, gerroff me! If she doesn't get out now, I'm not gonna be held responsible for her actions!" He turned to his former girlfriend, glaring intently. "Get out. Now." "As if I want to sti-" "Get out!" Howard screamed, tripping slightly over the rug as he lunged. "No." The voice was startlingly quiet amongst the shouting. Everyone turned to see Vince, stood slumped against the doorway, obviously drunk, although his words were lucid. "This is all your fault. Everything is your fault!" He went a shade paler – if possible and shuffled a little further into the lounge. He turned to one side and retched, emptying the contents of his stomach onto Melinda's suitcases, which had been thrown haphazardly onto the floor. "I hate you all." He muttered, before turning and running up the stairs.
Yes, I'm evil, but, the bitch has gone! Whooo!Please review?