taking acid

He must have passed out at that point, because when he opened his eyes again he was back in the living room of the cottage near the studio. 

“You're a proper twat Mickey,” Jonno barked. “Oh shit, he's awake.” Then he blinked twice and had to sit down before he fell. “Fuck me.”

“I can't believe you're all wasted,” Des said.

Carl was suddenly in front of Phil, his eyes wide open and worried. “Are you alright, man? I'm sorry, man, I’m sorry, man. You're alright though. We're all tripping is the thing.” He was nodding and Phil withdrew himself into the sofa.

Des came towards Phil, but leant far too close, forcing Phil to withdraw. “Are you alright mate?” Des asked, and Phil realised that he hadn't leant in at all, because he was still on the other side of the room. 

“I think it's important for you to understand what's happened here,” Des said. “Mickey gave you all acid, ok?”

And Phil remembered it.

“You're all tripping, alright,” Des said. “So this… bit of it… is… it's not real. It doesn't have to be, you know.”

He held the silence for a bit. Matty mumbled: “You alright mate?” but it was a little pointless and everyone ignored it.

Phil looked at them all. Sitting in different parts of the room and for a moment he saw them poised. There was a click as Jonno took a photo. 

“For fuck's sake, give it a rest,” Des snapped.

“Sorry,” Jonno mumbled, carefully placing the camera onto what he thought was the table, but actually just dropping it onto the floor. “Shit.” Then he sat back down onto what he thought was a chair but since it was actually a small coffee table it collapsed. Under normal circumstances, for a room full of people on acid, that would have set them off, but the slapstick was lost in here.

“Look… I'm alright though.” Des seemed to say that partly to remind himself of the fact, and partly for everyone else, and partly because he knew he was being challenged and it firmed his resolve to take control: “Look, we're all gonna be alright, you know. It’ll pass over.”

And then Phil noticed who was sitting in the armchair: It was the young guy with the white t-shirt on. He was nodding at what Des was saying, and he looked calm and calming.

“Look after them,” said the man in the white t-shirt.

“I'm gonna look after the lot of you,” Des said, with a tone that sounded like it was a self-depreciating joke and it raised the room slightly. 

“Especially Phil,” the man in the white t-shirt said. “Look after Phil the most.”

“But you're my man Phil,” Des said. “You’re my man.”

Phil allowed the statement to settle him, and his eyes drifted down to the guy on the chair, who smiled and said: “It’ll be alright.”

Des repeated him.

Then Phil said: “There's someone over there.” 

He felt the room turn to ice, and the guy in the chair winced slightly.

“What do you mean?” Des asked.

Phil stared at the guy. He knew that he wasn’t supposed to say any more but he repeated himself anyway: “There's someone sitting in that chair.” Phil stared at him in defiance.

The room didn’t move. Des calmly raised his game, knowing, when he’d taken charge, that this would be a long night. 

“Where?” Des asked, calmly. “In this chair?” He approached the guy but gestured to what he thought was an empty chair.

“Yes,” Phil said.

“Ok…” Des said, then added in a tone that tried to make this seem as normal as hallucinating on a trip should be. “What's he doing?”

The guy didn't do anything for a moment, as if thinking. Then he leant forward and said: “Maybe don't tell them about me, Phil. Maybe that would be better.”

“He’s asked me not to tell you about him,” Phil said.

There was silence in the room. Everyone was staring at the chair. Then Jonno said: “Look, Des, is it alright if I just go with this. I mean, like, as part of a trip. I think that's what Phil needs at the moment.”

“Yeah right,” Matty said. “He’s wearing a white t-shirt.”

Phil stared at him. “A white t-shirt, jeans and…” he looked down. “Slippers.”

The guy shrugged slightly: “I was cold,” He said.

“He says he was cold,” Phil repeated.

“Fucking hell,” said Jonno, waving his hands around in front of his face, and then suddenly becoming very drawn into mapping his veins.

Carl wouldn't look at the chair, Matt was just standing still and blinking really hard and staring at the floral carpet and then Mickey left the room.

Des took a deep breath.

“Why don't you just play some music,” the man said.

“I think you should just play some music guys,” Des said, before adding, with some determination: “I think that would help.”