So I head out to the shops to pick up facewipes and change for laundry.
It's pretty chilly so I have this whole leather-hoody-snapback outfit on and I probably look like token shady character.
Walking down the main street, I hear buzzing.
At first I think "Well hey I have a hat on and a hood over it so it's probably vibrations or wind or something", trying to dissuade myself.
But no, here comes the familiar pressure behind my eyes, the murmurings of an oncoming cluster headache.
"Not too bad" I think to myself. "I'm heading to the shops anyway so I could grab some painkillers and write myself a note to get a repeat prescription of my pills."
Five minutes later it hits. I'm caught offguard and almost sit my ass down right there in the Overgate. This is pretty early for a cluster period, I usually get around half an hour of "warning".
I sit down on a bench nearby. Dry swallow an Aspirin and an Ibuprofin. Put my earphones in with a queue of The XX or otherwise calming songs.
Sort myself out, stand up slowly and begin walking towards the exit.
I get paranoid that people can hear me breathing so I take one earphone out. The clash of ambient mall-music and my own shuffle hurts my head, so I conclude that maybe music isn't a good idea.
My vision blurs and I find myself sitting down again. This time on a wet bench outside. My eyes tear up. Not only through pain but simply from being alone and confused and yes, in pain.
About ten minutes later I set off for home again. Music back in.
I stop outside Tesco to switch my songs up, and catch someone's eye. I stare for slightly too long. Head back down again, hood up.
He might not have noticed, maybe assumed I usually wear glasses or something.
I look back up, he's slyly gesturing to his friends to check me out.
I try to convince myself it's sheer paranoia, or he's talking about my stretched ears or something.Â
I hastily retreat, beelining for home again.
I make it pretty far, before I hear my music cut out and my ringtone plays. "Shit".Â
Glancing down at my phone, I see Aaron calling. Sigh of relief. He's probably asking about when i'm heading over to Connor's to pick up the stuff I left at the party. He left his jacket.
"Heeyy buddy, where you at?"
"Oh hey man i'm just heading home from the shops"
"Oh shit where are ya?"
"Near Cafe Bistro"
"Shit man i'm like 2 secs away meet me at the high school?"
"Yeah no sweat okay"
"byyeee!"
"catch"
I breathe a sigh of complete relief. Never before have I been so happy to see a friendly face. He notices my bloodshot eyes and assumes i'm high. I explain. He puts an arm around me and I bury my head in his shoulder.Â
"s'alright buddy lets get you home"
We walk back to Parker Street, not a lot of conversation is had but I certainly appreciated the company.
We say our goodbyes and I head back into the flat.
I decide to post my experience, because I can guarantee in a couple of hours it'll seem silly. It took me 4 attempts to log into my laptop and a further half an hour to type this out. The screen brightness is as low as it will go.Â
