16 December 2014
"Here you are. Tuck in, kids!" Frankie put the large dish of piping hot lasagne on the table. Tom was the quickest to grab the spoon and the spatula and made himself a big serving. A minute later everyone had managed a slice and were enjoying their food when there was a knock on the door.
"Who can this be?" Jack went to check. There was no-one there. He went downstairs to the pub to ask whether Darren had seen anyone going upstairs to the flat. He hadn't. Jack shook his head as he returned to the kitchen.
A few minutes later someone knocked again.
"Stop joking, Darren, I know it's you!" Jack shouted as he stood up from the table and walked to the door again. "Craig?" He shouted with surprise. "Was it you who knocked before?"
"No, I just…" Craig didn't manage anything else before he was engulfed by his mum who'd come running from the kitchen upon hearing his name.
"You're back!" She cried. "Why didn't you tell us?"
Everyone was now cramped in the hallway and when Craig had given all of them a massive hug, he could start answering all of their questions. First though, he wanted to take his things to his room. "You go back to your dinners and I'll join you in a minute," he said.
Returning from his bedroom, he was surprised by the silence from the kitchen. He entered and found his family standing there, all of them completely gobsmacked.
"What's wrong?" He asked his mum.
"What's wrong?" She repeated in a high voice. "What's wrong is that someone's eaten our food. It's all gone."
Craig looked at the table and realised that she was right. All the plates were wiped clean and there was nothing left in the glass dish. Suddenly the silence was broken by a loud burp outside the window. Looking out, they saw a small man with a large belly climbing down the wall.
Spike had already made himself comfortable on the sofa when John Paul came over from the kitchen with two cups of tea and a plate full of biscuits.
"What am I? Your nana?" Spike joked as he accepted his cup. "Ta! Nice!" He lay back on the sofa after taking a drink. "Come here." He patted the empty spot next to him.
John Paul hesitated for a second before doing as he was told. "So what are we watching?" He asked.
"We're watching Breaking Bad, the first few episodes. You haven't seen it, right?" Spike replied.
"No, I haven't. No-one in the house wants to watch programmes like that." John Paul complained.
"Well, I can amend that. The disc's already in the DVD player." Spike pointed at the TV.
John Paul reached for the remote controls needed to change channels and start the first episode. "So what's this about?" He asked.
"Are you telling me you don't know anything about the greatest TV-programme ever made?" Spike retorted mockingly.
"Yeah, I mean, I've heard about it, of course, but don't know what it's about." John Paul felt a bit awkward admitting this.
"Well, it's about this science teacher who's diagnosed with cancer and decides to start making crystal meth to get some money because he doesn't have any insurance to cover the treatment. It's very dark, but funny." Spike explained.
"Okay, sounds interesting. Bring it on!" He said as he pressed play.
Spike wasn't exaggerating in his description, John Paul thought as they started the third episode. Little by little they'd got more comfortable on the sofa and were now lying shoulder to shoulder, heads sometimes touching as they'd lean towards each other.
Suddenly there was a knock on the door. With irritation John Paul struggled to his feet and went to open. He was surprised to see who was stood outside.
"Craig?" He whispered.
"Hi, John Paul. Can I come in?" Craig asked with a hesitant smile on his lips.
John Paul couldn't speak but moved aside, allowing his ex-boyfriend to enter. Craig's smile disappeared when he saw Spike, who'd stood up from the sofa.
"Oh, I'm sorry. You're already together?" Craig asked, trying his best not to shout in anger and embarrassment.
"No, we're not. We're just hanging out, watching Breaking Bed… I mean Bad. It's not like we were having sex." John Paul raised his voice in defence.
"Oh, so this is not a date I'm crashing?" Craig retorted in disbelief.
"Okay, you might call it a date." John Paul admitted. "But I was in full right to be on a date. I mean, you'd already left town. I tried to catch you at the airport." He tried to explain.
"What?" Now it was Spike's turn to be indignant. "You're dating me, and still you tried to stop him at the airport? I can't believe this!" He picked up his jacket from the railing knob where he'd left it earlier. "Goodbye, John Paul." He said as he stormed out, slamming the door behind him.
"Spike? You forgot…" John Paul tried to call after him, "your DVDs." He whispered the last two words as he let himself fall down on the sofa.
Craig was still standing near the door, fidgeting with his hands, not knowing what to say. After a while he took a decision and walked to the easy chair next to the sofa and sat down.
They didn't speak for a while.
"So, you're back?" John Paul finally whispered.
"Yes. I'm back. For good." Craig replied. "I want to be a part of yours and Matthew's life. I knew you'd come to the airport. Shiv thought she'd seen you, but you were gone once she told me. I couldn't see you anywhere."
"Yeah. I thought it was destiny telling me to let go, leave it. Maybe we should. Do just that. Leave it." John Paul said in surrender.
"Is that what you really want, John Paul? In here?" Craig pointed at his heart. "'Cause I don't. I want to try and see whether we can have a future together. Here in Hollyoaks. No more hiding away in Dublin. No more living my life in shame." He paused. "I love you, John Paul. I want to be with you."
John Paul started crying. Craig stood up and moved to the sofa to take him in his arms. John Paul pushed him away and left the sofa.
"Do you know how much I've wanted to hear those words in the last couple of years? I've longed for you, Craig. I almost went back to Dublin a few times. I even booked the flight a couple of times. But then the doubt returned. 'He'd come for me, if he really loved me.' 'He'd never have left me, if he really loved me.' So I never went there."
"But now I am here. I know it's taken me too long, but better late than never, right?" Craig asked in a hopeful tone of voice.
"I guess… I don't know. Craig, I don't know what to do." John Paul let his hands fall to his sides before moving them up to hide his face. A while later he revealed his face again. He'd stopped crying. He looked at Craig and said calmly, "Go."