24

My stomach flipped wildly as the nerves coursed through my system. Matt had asked me to meet him in The World’s End. I’d been a few times before, as it was one of the most well-known pubs in Camden. Letterbox red brick walls held my destiny.

Predictably, I was stopped by the bald-headed bouncer. He looked at my ID suspiciously, but eventually gave a harsh grunt to tell me he was satisfised.

The pub was rammed. It was Saturday night, so it was to be expected, but I wasn’t sure how I was going to find Matt in the throng of people. I did a rather unattractive impression of a meerkat, looking for any sign of my date. My search came up empty, and a dark feeling crept into the base of my stomach. What if he wasn’t here? What if I’d been stood up? I began to panic, conscious that people may already be staring at the girl without any friends.

“Rosie!”

Relief flooded through me. It was him. I swivelled round quickly to see him