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They stopped at the cashier’s desk. “Lucy might kill me when she sees me walk out of here with this, but we can’t please her all the time, can we?” He smiled at Alex and handed his credit card to a green-haired punk.

“But what about you? I know absolutely zip about your family. You never mention them.”

“Not much to tell,” said Freddie. “My family isn’t the most ‘gay friendly’, put it that way. My twin’s a good guy, but I don’t see him that often. He lives in Kent.”

“You have a twin? You mean there’s two of you roaming the earth?”

“Yep, there’s another me, although we aren’t identical. In fact, Joe’s chubby, blond and straight. Go figure.”

• • •

Cigarette in hand, Lucy sat in a metal chair outside a coffee shop on Oldham Street.

“I figured you wouldn’t get far.” Freddie nudged Lucy playfully with his purple plastic bag.

“Since when do you smoke?” asked Alex.

“When I’m stressed. See, it turns out that online friendships aren’t real friendships after all. There’s so much you don’t know about the other person.”

“I guess I deserve that,” said Alex.

Lucy looked away and blew smoke over her right shoulder.

“I should’ve been honest about my intentions for this trip. It wasn’t fair to you or Freddie.”

“You think?”

Freddie stepped in. “Hey, hey, c’mon. She’s apologized.”

“Did she?” said Lucy. “I didn’t hear I’m sorry.”

Saying ‘I’m sorry’ when it really mattered wasn’t Alex’s forte.

“Being pissy isn’t helping anyone, Lucy. And it’ll ruin the rest of our visit,” said Freddie.

Alex gulped. “I’m…I’m sorry…and I’ll find a way to pay you back the seventy-two pounds.”

“I only said that to hurt you,” said Lucy. “It’s okay. I was having a great time up until thirty minutes ago. There’s no need to pay me back.”

“I hate when we fight,” said Alex.

“Me too. Apology accepted.” Lucy flicked the cigarette into the street.

“Okay, good,” said Freddie. “Now make it official. Hug it out, bitches.”

Alex leaned down towards Lucy who rolled her eyes at Freddie. They embraced briskly and let go. “But I’m still cross about the Florida thing,” said Lucy.

“Dad wasn’t happy about it, either. That’s why he wrote the cheque—I didn’t ask for it. He wants me to stick it out for a few months longer—he made me promise I’d give it more thought. He thinks that once I’m out of Harry’s flat, things will improve—I’ll be less stressed out, more settled.”

“Yeah, that’s what we’ve been saying,” said Freddie.

“I guess, but it all depends on finding somewhere decent to live—and fast.” Alex picked at her cuticles. “Otherwise, I’ll be trading an umbrella for sunscreen.”

• • •

Freddie showed off as much of Manchester as he could. They explored more of the Northern Quarter, including Forbidden Planet, roamed around the central retail district, and snapped photos in front of Manchester Cathedral. They skipped the Arndale Centre (“too many of the same shops we have back in London,” reasoned Freddie), but made a point of finding the Royal Exchange Theatre, and Barton’s Arcade, a stunning iron and glass-domed shopping arcade built in the 1870s.

Manchester Town Hall proved to be Alex’s favourite. “It’s so gothic and spooky, especially the clock tower. I love it.”