– Aye, right, Jasco said.

– Fuckin wis. Rinty got them fae Holland, The Poisonous Cunt maintained. It was cool, her getting involved, because it stopped Jasco nippin at me.

– In ays fuckin dreams the cunt did. Scottish fitba clubs have spent longer in Europe than any pills youse cunts have been puntin, he grumbled at her.

Ah knew that the conversation would go on and on like this aw night and ah shot the craw as soon as it was possible. When ah got oot intae the street, ah saw this boy and bird gaun doon the road thegither, obviously really intae each other, no oan drugs or nowt. Ah thought, when wis the last time ah wis ever like that wi a lassie, withoot bein aw eckied up? In a fuckin previous life, that’s when. Ah kicked a stane and it bounced up and rattled, but didnae brek, the windscreen ay a parked car.

7

AH’D HAD A good one wi Abdab doon in Newcastle, but ah wis fucked. He’d gied ays mair than a few grams ay coke for The Poisonous Cunt and the packet burned a hole in ma poakit oan the bus up. It was come-doon para stuff but ah kept thinking aboot Nukes and half expecting the DS tae come oan the bus at every stoap. It didnae happen. Ah goat hame and made some soup.

Later on that night ah went up tae Tribal wi Ally. Ah was just wanting tae crash but the cunt insisted that ah came along. Ah even had tae take a couple of my ain Es which was bad news. This batch were different again, like Ketamine or something. Ah was pure cunted, ah couldnae dance. Ah sat in chill-out and Ally spraffed with me. – How you feelin, Lloyd?

– Fucked, ah sais.

– You should try some ay that crystal meth ah’ve got back at the hoose. Didnae even fuckin well blink eftir ah’d snorted that. Ah hud a fuckin hard-on man for three days, eh. Ah wis gaunnae abandon this quest fir love n brek ma vows and bell Amber tae come roond n sit oan ma face. Didnae want tae fuck wi her heid even mair man though, eh.

– She in the night?

– Aye, she’s upstairs. Her and that Hazel and Jasco. Jasco’s been knobbin that Hazel, he observed with rueful bitterness, blowing air out through his teeth and pushing his hair back, – Ah might have tae move in thair masel, man.

Amber didnae take long to locate me. She relieved Ally, letting him have a spell upstairs on the floor. – Ye dinnae huv tae sit wi ays, ah slurred. – ah’m awright. Jist a bit cunted …

– Sawright, she snapped, holding my hand in hers, before thoughtfully adding, – aw aye, that Veronica wis lookin for you.