Party 'til you pass out / When the party's over

Alison

Even though I had sworn to never come to Sheffield again since I had left, I made an exception every now and then. I loved to come back for photoshoots, especially when it was May and the meadows and hills around the city were covered in flowers.

The couple I had met up with wanted me to do their engagement shoot; although Oliver and I had split up and I had left the area, my name was still singing around here when it came to photography. So I had happily obliged, knowing that the chance I would run into Oliver was very small, and had come all the way to Sheffield to take their photos at golden hour tonight. The couple was lovely, the setting sun had been excellent, the hills as a backdrop had been dreamy. We made it back to the city before the weather changed and clouds were packing above the hills. I was excited to start working on their photos on the train home to London tonight - if there was a train to bring me home.

'Due to severe damage from a lightning strike on the track, all trains going south are cancelled until further notice,' a voice through an intercom blared over the platform.

'What?,' a few people muttered. I frowned and looked up at the information board, surely seeing the departure time of my train to London turn from '10.34' to 'cancelled'.

'Are you fucking serious?,' I let out. Fuck. 'Oh my God...' I sighed deeply and looked around, thinking about what to do. The rain was pouring heavily on the tracks, and a low rumbling in the distance made it clear the thunderstorm was incoming to Sheffield. I decided to call Tom - forever my go-to person when I needed someone.

'Ali!,' he said happily when he picked up. 'It's been a while!'

'Hey, you,' I smiled, hearing his voice making me happy. 'How are you? How's Lizzy?'

'We're fine. How are you? Heard from Oliver lately?' My smile dropped at hearing his name.

'No, why would I?,' I asked.

'I don't know, I thought maybe you guys would be back on speaking terms after New York.' I made a face and bit my lip, thinking about those twenty-four hours in New York two months ago.

'No, we're not...'

'Shame,' Tom just said. I sighed and shook my head, not wanting to explain the complicated situation about Oliver and me once again to him. Tom had been surprisingly calm when I had told him about running into Oliver on the other side of the world. He had seemed unphased, smiling a bit while sitting across from me when we were out for lunch in London. When I had asked him why he seemed so calm, he told me he had already heard the story from Oliver. Of course.

'Tom, my train is cancelled,' I then said.

'What train?,' he asked.

'My train from Sheffield to London.'

'You're in Sheffield and you didn't even tell me?,' he said. I chuckled at his pretended hurt voice.

'It was a bit of a last minute appointment,' I answered. 'Anyway, the weather is awful and due to a lightning strike all trains south are cancelled. So I am stranded...'

'Oh shit... You know, we wouldn't mind having you over to stay the night, you know that. But we're not at home tonight, I'm sorry. I took Lizzy out for the weekend for her birthday.' My heart sank at that.

'Okay... Well, I'll figure something out then.' I sighed and looked around the platform, contemplating my options.

'You can book a hotel, or you can call - you know.'

'Are you insane?,' I hissed at him. 'What am I gonna say? "Oh hey Oliver, sorry to bother you after everything that has happened, but do you mind me staying over since I am stranded"?' Tom laughed at that.