The Radiohead Concert

 Chris hadn’t seen Kylie since they’d split up about 5 months ago. Not that they had split up really, Kylie had done the splitting. A bolt from the blue, a sudden ‘I’m leaving you,’ a unilateral decision with no leave to appeal, no chance of reconciliation. If that bolt had broken Chris’s heart, it would be broken again twice more in the next couple of weeks, once when he found out that Kylie was seeing Joe, a jumped up jock with more muscles than brains and then when he discovered that Kylie had been seeing Joe for two months before she’d ended their relationship.

Chris moped, Chris skulked, Chris cried and Chris generally felt sorry for himself. His mates had rallied round, like mates do. They’d promised him there were plenty more fish in the sea and he’d soon be swimming with those fish. They claimed they’d never to have really liked her anyway and he was better off outta there. He could smile after a few beers with them but alone in his room all he could do was try to find a way to turn back time. He didn’t want to be swimming in an ocean of strange fish, he’d been happy in the fish tank with just the one. It wasn’t healthy and deep down he knew it, but all he could think about were ways that they could be happy together again.

 And now just when maybe he was beginning to feel like he was getting over her, she'd just walked back into his life. For the first time since she’d walked out on the fateful May morning, he was looking straight at the girl who had broken his heart.

‘Hi’ she said nervously.

‘Hi,’ he said, he was both desperate to look at her but desperate to look away at the same time.

‘How are you?’

‘I’m okay, you?’ Chris really didn’t want to be having this conversation.

“Yeah I’m fine.’

‘Don’t usually see you in here.’ There was a slight aggression in Chris’s voice, this was his local, his place, she was invading his territory. And was that Joe over by the bar? How dare she bring that bastard into his bar.

‘Yeah we’re just having a drink before going to the Arena, we are going to a gig.’

‘Oh who’s playing?’ Chris had thought town was busier that usual but hadn’t really taken much notice.

‘Radiohead!’

Chris looked her in the eye for the first time that evening. Had she just said Radiohead? They’d been together 3 years and she’d never said she liked Radiohead. Chris hated Radiohead, their whiny songs and nonsense lyrics, their teenage angst that they really should have outgrown. He could have never loved a person who was in to Radiohead. Had he really spent the last 5 months moping over a Radiohead fan? He suddenly felt the worry lines on his forehead easy, he felt his shoulders unclench and he felt a genuine appear smile on his lips.

‘Enjoy it then.’ he said with that smile.

‘Thanks’ said Kylie, looking a little confused and turning her back on him.

‘Radiohead,’ Chris said chuckling to himself and shaking his head.

An hour later Chris went to the bar, he smiled at the barmaid who smiled back. When he paid for his drinks something incredible happened; the barmaid spoke to him.

‘I’ve been smiling at you for weeks that’s the first time you’ve smiled back,’ she said.

‘Really?’ Chris searched his memory, he genuinely hadn’t noticed.

‘Yeah, so now you have, I finish here at 11.30,  fancy a night cap?’ She smiled again and Chris smiled back.

Don’t forget you can still vote in my ‘favourite character’ poll It should be just to your right and up a bit -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> ^^^^^^^^^^