First I want to thank xCaTTeHx for pointing out my annoying habit of tense switching, hopefully I've stuck to one tense in this. I get carreid away with writing then when I proof-read I find myself changing loads of stuff but I must have missed some.

And I tried posting this last night but the site wasn't having it, sites don't like me recently like Deviantart 8-) But today it's behaving so enjoy this drunken angsty chapter :) Yes he's drunk again 8-)
xx

Drunk again?

Make me stay. Say something sweet and tender and untrue and make me stay.

Five hours had passed since Vince stormed out of his bedroom and left the flat, Howard hadn't bothered stopping him to ask where he was going. He just assumed he was out for a walk and would be back later but after the second hour he had started to get slightly worried even though he didn't show it.

He flicks off the television impatiently and picks up his mobile, searches for Vince's number and dials. Soon he hears 'Cars' playing in one of the bedrooms and angrily cancels the call and slams his phone back down on the coffee table.

"Where the hell is he?" He asks to the flat not expecting an answer back, out of boredom he shrugs and heads to the mod's bedroom and slowly opens the door. He peers into the darkness, the duvet is scrunched up and most of Vince's pillows are lay on the floor in a pile, the room smells strongly of marker pens and hairspray. Howard fumbles for the light switch and floods the room with light revealing Vince's masterpiece on the wall, he approaches it and reads it carefully with a frown set upon his face.

"If he thinks I'm cleaning that off his wall he's got another thing coming!" He mumbles again to no-one then reads the title to himself several times, even out loud, next he examines the purple circled sentence figuring that must be the reason why Vince had left the flat and had been out for so long.

Howard's eyes drift downwards towards the last item on the list, a heavily decorated sentence which looks as though Vince had tried to disguise it with daft doodles and colourful squiggles, the rainbow runs straight through the words but doesn't to the others. His eyes widen and his heart beats a little faster as he takes in what the last bulletpoint says, he doesn't even want to think about it. It makes him sick to read it to himself "End everything." He reads out loud but it sounds worse, had he made his friend want to end everything?

Howard reaches for the large black marker lying innocently on Vince's duvet; he uncaps it and lets the aroma waft around the room then places the nib to the wall. Furiously he scribbles out the last bulletpoint until they are simple, ugly, thick black blocks on the wallpaper. His anger gets the better of him as the pen runs madly through the whole of the list not caring that Vince would be extremely upset if he saw what had happened to his fabulously colourful work. He wasn't prepared to let Vince ruin his life over one stupid little crush he had on him, he wanted to tear down the wallpaper and dispose of the insane list, he wanted to burn it, erase it forever, paint over it with happier thoughts or plaster it in photographs of cheerful memories.

Soon enough the marker runs out and he drops it back onto the bed not even bothering to cap it then stands back and leaves the room as though no one had been in it.

The hands of the clock creep into the early hours of the morning, Howard sits down at the sofa with a hot cup of coffee, the television is on but he doesn't pay much attention to whatever was playing.

He glances at the window every so often for no reason at all, it wasn't like he could see the street or the front door to the flat from there. All he saw was the moon surrounded by grey clouds, and a couple of stars were dotted about but that was it. An orange glow emits from the street lamps and lights up little areas of the road; the air is silent outside. No cars rush past and no footsteps or voices can be heard but then came scratching noises against the door, several scratches, thumps and curses later a key is pushed heavily into the lock and turned followed by a cold breeze and the stench of alcohol.

Howard sighs and sips his coffee trying not to express that he was annoyed at Vince, not that the young man would even notice or remember in the morning. He watches as Vince clambers the steps on his hands and knees then fumbles for the banister missing it completely nearly planting his face in the top step. His sunglasses sit wonky on his nose covering his probably blood shot eyes, his clothes look rumpled and even stained with some type of alcohol and his hair is a tangled mess.

"Drunk again?" Howard asks resting his mug on his lap even though the heat burns through his trousers scorching his skin beneath. Vince looks up suddenly and smiles dizzily and shakes his head in a disbelieving way giving himself head rush.

"I'm fine." He slurs crawling off the stairs and into the flat, he pushes his legs up into a crouch then waves his arms about as though he is surfing and tries to stand up. Half way he grins then straightens and takes a couple of dizzy steps then sits himself on the sofa "I'm great." He nods again flopping his head back onto the cushion, Howard just shakes his head at him and takes another mouthful of coffee "What have I done?" Vince asks innocently blinking several seconds longer than he should.

"Went out, got plastered, didn't even tell me where you went."

"Sorry." He slurs back trapping his hands between his knees like a child; he giggles softly then tries to prise off his shoes.

"Where were you anyway?"

"Leroy's place. Drinking and...Stuff." He spits the last word out and tosses a boot across the room letting it thump against the wall then shrugs off his coat but shivers as the cold air in the flat hits his sleeveless arms "S'cold in here." He mumbles "Warm me up?"

"What?" Howard looks his friend up and down and examines the state he is in; he feels a pang of guilt knowing that was his fault.

"Or I could warm you up." Vince rises unsteadily and makes his way over to where Howard is sat, he stumbles clumsily over his feet and falls into the chair on top of Howard spilling hot coffee all over them both.

"Vince, be careful!" He moans shaking his burning hand and trying to brush coffee off his leg to stop it scolding him "You got it all over your arm, hasn't it burnt you?"

"Can't feel it." He mumbles hazily trying to get comfortable on Howard's knee who had tensed with his friend sitting on him. Vince leans forward, the alcohol stronger close up and crashes his lips against Howard's top lip and cheek; quickly he pushes him away but the younger man proceeds and forces himself upon him violently trying to kiss Howard.

"Vince...Vin-" Howard's body tenses as he struggles with the drunk against him, the coffee cup spills it's remaining contents all over the chair and his leg "Get off!" He yells pushing the smaller framed man away, Vince tumbles backwards in a drunken state smashing his head against the coffee table on his way down, he lays sprawled out on the floor motionless "Vince?" Howard mutters quietly "Vince? Come on, stop mucking about!" He laughs slightly and drops to his knees on the carpet; he crawls to Vince only to find him knocked out cold "Shit." Without thinking he scoops up the small man and carries him to his bedroom and sets him down on his bed by his now scribbled out list.

Howard checks for a heart beat and finds one then turns Vince on his side incase he vomits and chokes during the night from the alcohol, he flicks off the light and leaves the door open slightly and goes straight to the kettle for a fresh cup of coffee.

It was going to be a long night.