Vagabonds

playing over the loud PA system. It was dark, noisy and not at all suited to quiet conversation, which Adam valued much more than loud dancing.

As he took in his surroundings, someone caught his eye. Sitting across the pub at a romantic table for two was Josh, with another girl who definitely wasn't Emily. Curious, Adam watched for a few moments and his suspicions were realised then they kissed passionately. Turning back to his original position he reached into his phone and sent a message to Emily. The response came a couple of minutes later. She told him she wasn't seeing Josh tonight because he was doing something with his family, but she would be seeing him the following day. It was all Adam needed.

As he got up from his chair, the events of the previous months flooded through him. Before the protests and the fights, he would never have confronted anyone. He had been, he realised, a coward. He talked tough, talked about hatred and disgust, but never acted on it. Now he had grown and the fear he previously had of pain and fear were, for the most part, gone, replaced by a confidence that wasn't instantly obvious but it sat behind his eyes, strong and unwavering. Now he approached problems head on, he tackled obstacles as they appeared rather than putting them to one side and letting the mountains become mole hills.

He approached Josh and he harnessed all the hatred, anger and helplessness he felt. He took him in, his smug smile, finely groomed hair, designer clothes and that practised smile that made the ladies swoon. He gathered up all the negativity and frustration and built it all up. Josh stood atop this mountain of shit, previously untouchable, made invulnerable by Emily's love for him. Now Adam would change that.

'Having a nice evening Josh?' Adam asked, approaching unnoticed. Josh looked up at him and flashed him that smile, Adam felt his anger flare.

'Hello Adam, didn't see you in here tonight. Yeah, I'm just here with my cousin Bianca,' he gestured to the girl opposite him, who looked confused, but smiled and nodded anyway.

'Uh huh, in my family we frown upon kissing cousins, guess you guys must do it differently.'

'It was just a friendly peck. A small show of affection.' Josh's smile had faded. He wrung his hands nervously.

'Cut the shit Josh, you were some dimmed lights and porno music away from fucking on the table.' Adam made his anger obvious.

There was a tense silence that followed. Adam studied Josh closely, watched the minute movements of his face, the subtle changed in body language. He was thinking of a way out of it; and failing.

'And what are you going to do?' Josh asked at last, his tone mildly threatening. 'You're not gonna do anything.

If you tell Emily you'll hurt her poor feelings. I've seen the way you follow her around like a puppy dog, you'd never do that. A man like me has his needs, understand? Now why don't you go pester Emily and-' Adam's fist crashed into the side of Josh's head, knocking him from his chair. Adam leaned over him and grabbed him by the cuff of his shirt.

'Listen up you arrogant cunt,' he hissed. 'You're making two very bad mistakes. One, I'm not afraid of hurting Emily, not if it's better for her in the long run. And two, I'm not afraid of hurting you either. If I ever so much as see a shadow that resembles you anywhere near Emily, you can bet that I will come after you and then you can try pulling off that charming smile with broken teeth.' Adam slammed Josh's head into the tiled floor. He became aware of the chatter surrounding him and the shouting of Bianca, his actions had not gone unnoticed.

He stood, straightened his shirt, then spied Josh's starter; a bowl of steaming hot tomato soup and a devious thought came to him. He shrugged.

'Fuck it.'

He knocked the scalding soup onto the dazed Josh, who shouted and writhed as it covered the skin of his face.

Adam turned and walked, unmolested, through the crowd that had gathered. He fought to keep the smile from his face.

His legs felt like they weren't there, his lungs burned and even the cold rain that beat down all around him did nothing to stave off the heat he felt as he ran up the steep hill towards where he knew Emily would be. Even though it was a dreary day, with ironclad clouds disgorging heavy rain, he knew she'd be there, sat atop the hill overlooking the town below.

As Adam pushed harder, he wondered how Emily, poor asthmatic Emily, would ever have been able to get up this hill alone. As he the ground levelled out into a plateaux he saw a small car park nearby, her silver hatchback was parked there and he cursed his stupidity. He saw here there, as he knew he would, silhouetted against the cityscape, hood up, shoulders heaving sporadically. Around her feet was the mush of several discarded tissues, she'd been here a while.

He sat down next to her, but said nothing. There was nothing he could say. Though he thought he understood the pain she was feeling, he knew Emily would only open up on her own terms. It was just a question of patience.