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

2.26

'Oli, Mat! Dinner's ready,' Alison's voice hollered from the kitchen. We got up and walked back, and Nicholls got excited when he realized what was for dinner.

'Oh my God, you made katsu curry?!,' he said happily when he sat down next to Chloe. I helped Alison dish out the food and then we sat down too.

'If the eggplant tastes off, it's Oli's fault,' Alison said while sitting down.

'Oi, why my fault?,' I asked her, playing being offended.

'You made it,' she chuckled. I did too, rolled my eyes and sat down next to her, and we all started eating while catching up over the last few months. Nicholls and Chloe had been renovating in their home to kill the time in lockdown, and were now finishing up the living room.

'Next dinner will be on us, and you'll see how hard we've been working,' Chloe told Alison. She smiled widely and nodded, happy to be socializing again.

'Ali, this curry is delicious. And Oli,' Nicholls said, looking at me. 'The eggplant is the grossest thing I've ever eaten.' I gave him my middle finger and we both started laughing. Alison and Chloe just gave each other a look, and both shook their heads quietly. We just talked and enjoyed each other's company, laughing at jokes and memories, and then Alison got up saying she also had some dessert. I gave Nicholls and Chloe another drink and helped Alison clearing the table and organize the kitchen for a moment. Then she pulled some ice cream from the freezer and made up some plates.

'You got sesame and matcha ice cream?,' I asked, getting excited. She nodded and smiled happily at me.

'I know you liked it in Japan, so I figured I'd buy some when I was at the toko anyway.'

'Hmm, reason number three hundred seventy four why I love you – you bring me home treats you know I love,' I said, pulling her in and kissing her. She chuckled.

'Of course I do.' She pulled away and handed our guests their dessert, and Nicholls visibly went on a trip down memory lane back to tour in Japan because of the ice cream.

'Ali, what happened to that photo of us on Shibuya crossing you took back then?,' he asked.

'It became a poster in Rocksound Magazine,' she answered. Nicholls smirked and looked at Chloe.

'Seems like you're dating a poster boy, after all,' he said, wiggling his eyebrow at her. Chloe chuckled and rolled her eyes.

'Time for you lads to hang out again as men amongst themselves, he's becoming unsufferable,' she told me. I laughed.

'Well, same goes for me – ask Alison,' I answered. Alison looked at me sideways and bit her lip, and my smile disappeared. Nicholls noticed.

'A lad-date has been way overdue anyway,' he said, looking at me intensely. I knew he meant he wanted to talk to me about how I had been.

'I'd love to hang out with everyone again,' Alison sighed. 'I miss everyone. So much has happened, and we hardly stayed in touch, because...' She made a face and seemed to think what to say next. I looked at her, wondering whether she was going to tell what had happened, hoping she didn't. 'Well, I guess everyone's just been really busy with themselves,' she finished.

'Surely so,' Chloe said. 'But yeah, we need to get everyone together soon. Would be fun to spend time together again. Lockdown has been hard enough on everyone already.' We all agreed, Alison and I with a pained smile and a careful glance at each other.

'Glad the world is slowly opening up again,' I said, meaning it. Church was getting back to opening again, with social distancing rules as standard, and Drop Dead had been back in business too. Shops and restaurants were slowly opening up, and the city center wasn't as dead as it had been anymore. The world felt a little back to what it had been, and it helped my mood a bit.