Closer // Graham Coxon

the challenge

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the same night graham went home with a clear conscience. things with you were sorted out & he was feeling quite positive that day & on top of all that, he was excited to plan something for your birthday. he wanted your 22nd birthday to be the best one.

he didn't bother to take off his shoes & threw himself on the sofa, he turned on the TV at a low volume & let it melt into the background. he then pulled out a pack of ciggarettes from his jean pocket. tho, the lighter wasn't in sight.

he let out a groan of annoyance while slamming his hand on the drawer beside him. it didn't work. he had to leave his comfortable position behind & sit up. his eyes landed on the telephone on which the toner was placed quite oddly. he picked it up & placed it against his ear only to realise he had many voice calls & missed calls from damon.

instead of wasting time & listening to all the voice mails one by one, he decided to dial his mate. he was worried that there was an emergency.

"hello? " graham asked when damon picked up.

"so you're alive? " he replied with a question snarkily.

graham stood up & rested his hands on his hips, "why wouldn't i be- i'm just worried about seeing so many missed calls from you, are you okay mate? "

he scoffed, "you lied to me graham. "

"what? " he was flabbergasted.

"you fucking lied to me! i was right there is a girl in the picture & she is rude, she will wreck everything. damon explained.

graham had started pacing around his flat by then, " don't talk about her that way, you don't even know her! "  he defended.

"i don't need to know her, she picked up my call today & told me to shut up then hung up & prevented you from returning my calls all day. that's all i need to know about her graham. " damaom practically shouted at him.

this had officially turned from a confrontation to a full on argument.

"she didn't prevent me from returning your calls! i didn't see them because i not home! i was busy! i was busy last night too! i went clubbing with y/n and- and- i forgot to drink because of her and- damon you're a bit thick in the head, you don't understand that she is actually good for me!! " graham reciprocated the same energy which raised the tone of the argument.

"so you've replaced one addiction with the other? " damon asked.

both calls went silent for a mere moment.

"no it's not like th-"

damon cut him off, "you haven't wrote a single bit of any song, i bet. "

"i haven't-" he replied truthfully.

"right. i can tell that you won't be able to write songs or focus on the band while being in this relationship. it's impossible. " damon stated but to graham it sounded like a challenge.

"is this some sort of challenge damon? because i can do it! i fucking will! i will write songs while being in a relationship. don't fucking underestimate me. " graham invited the challenge head on.

"it's won't be easy. "

"i will do it damon! i will! " he snapped back with confidence.

"sure we'll see what you do. " damon replied. he was hopeless.

after that call graham spend the rest of his days trying to write a song. he was unsuccessful but motivated. something he did success at tho, was finding a way to treat y/n for your birthday. he had the perfect plan.

-

while graham was tackling his challenge, you were faced with a challenge of you own too. your manager/new coworker kate had arrived. she was a woman in her 50s who owned the arcade. she lived in town but she barely visited.

due to ray being gone, she came to the arcade after so many years as she didn't trust you to run this place all alone. she reclaimed the arcade completely & unfortunately for you this meant new rules like no smoking in the vicinity, no bringing your guitar, no bringing your sketchbook, she had taken over your desk, you weren't allowed to put your feet up on the table, no radio, no smiths, no breathing too loudly. etc.

you respected her rules but she didn't respect your space. she would become extra curious when you'd be on a call with graham. she asked many questions & eventually restricted you from calling him during work. she wasn't too stoked about you having a boyfriend.

she doubled your chores yet your salary remained the same. she always complained about you not cleaning the machines properly. she had a habit of knit picking & always found something wrong about you or your work. at every step of the way, she tested you. it was almost like she was waiting for you to make mistakes.

you theorized there was something bitter going on in her life so she made your life bitter too.

but on the bright side, you talked with graham on the phone everyday after going home of course. you'd update him with your life & he'd update you with his. you two missed each other dearly but he told you to be patient & wait for your birthday to come around. he had a grand surprise for you & good things take time he said.

on one out of these 4 days you even hung up your finished london skyline drawing on the wall of your living room. you were getting somewhere with life it felt like.

-

(a/n): ik this is kind of a short chapter but the next one is going to be long & super interesting.

hint: bday chapter!!!!!!!