The Art of Obsession
J.S.Danskin

Author's Note: Okay, this is a new one so it needs support. It's quite a slow story at the start and has a kind of "Vanilla Sky" plot but it's actually a bit less surreal than that, okay? Okay. Let's go lotsy!

Prologue

He first met Kim at a nightclub in London. He was taking a "gap year" between high school and university, and had travelled down from his home in Glasgow with his friends for such activities. To go clubbing, get overwhelmingly legless and pull some women in a very undignified manner.

Kim would not be swayed easily, after he had grabbed her arm and swaggered with her to the bar, drunkenly slurring his not-too-subtle offer to join him back at his - or rather his brother's - place. She, not so very slammed, had complained, "I don't even know who you are! I don't know your name!"

Despite her shouting and he being deaf to almost everything around him, he miraculously detected the twang in her accent. He gave a little gasp, exaggerating the new-found information about the cute, short-haired woman.

"You're Scottish!" he drawled, "From Glasgow!"

"No shit, Sherlock!" she laughed, then held out her hand for him to shake. He took it in an effort to be sophisticated and kissed it, but ended up slobbering all over her sleeve, "Charming," she noted, through gritted teeth, wiping the back of her hand on her skirt, "I'm Kimberly Harley. I'm living here before I move in to the Houses of Residence in St Andrews. I'm going to the Uni there in autumn."

"Jack West," he obliged, "I'm taking a Gap Year, too. But I'm going to Glasgow University next Octrober . . . October."

"Oh, I'm not taking a Gap Year"

Bored of where this conversation was going, he offered to dance with her, no longer feeling he would be able to score with this woman after all. Not really turned on by older women - even if it were only a year - Jack was just about set to give up on the articulate Scotswoman until she put forth an offer he was not about to refuse, even if he was aware what a mind- boggling hangover he'd have the next morning.

"Why don't you join me for dinner tomorrow night, so we can become better acquainted?" she proposed sweetly. Jack broke out in a smarmy, drunken grin, winking at his friend a couple of seats away, signifying victory with this undeniably sexy woman.

"You bet your high-heeled booties on it," Jack slurred inelegantly.

"So I'll take that as a yes then? I've written my address down and put it in your jacket pocket. And right now, I'm writing my name on your hand . . . so you won't forget to take your ibuprofen." Kim said, smiling.

"Aye . . . my, you're mighty efficient, are you no'?" Jack laughed, looking at the neat handwriting on his sweaty, grubby hand.

"Indeed," she agreed, "well, Jack, I have to go now, but it was nice meeting you. I do hope you'll show up tomorrow. I bet you're charming in a far more attractive state."

"Well, you found me attractive tonight to invite you to dinner!" Jack pointed out.

Kim smiled, said, "I saw potential," and turned, moving over to collect her long overcoat from the reception area, covering up her small red skirt and low-cut blouse.

Jack stood staring after her long after she had gone until his big brother, Nick, shook him on the shoulder. Nick was even more drunk than Jack, which was very drunk indeed. So drunk, in fact, that five minutes later he spilled his heart to Jack that he had cheated on his fiancé Marilyn with an ex-girlfriend(of which there were many) before puking all over his brother's suit and collapsing in a heap before him. It took three of the group to carry Nick back to the flat.

For those in a piss-up or pub, once they get started they think "I'll be careful. I won't drink too much", but alas, alack, it is never so for the common man. The hangover is far into the distant future, dwelled upon about as much as an adrenaline-addict's fear of death. Surfers are in it purely for the fun, and men in a piss-up are in it purely for . . . the atmosphere? . . . Social activity? . . . Careless freedom? . . . What is drink for, if not for the hangover? These were all questions appealing to Jack West as he lay in his bed at five o'clock in the evening, tossing and turning occasionally in a desperate effort to roll onto the floor. But not having enough energy/caffeine, he didn't manage to roll any more than half the way across the double bed.

It was a sad yet extremely amusing spectacle when he opened his eyes finally. His hand was spread across him face, the words on his hand screaming out at him in big, dirty (but slightly smudged) letters: "KIMBERLY HARLEY, 6PM"

"FUCK ME!" yelled Jack, and (somehow) managed to find the energy to spring to his feet and attempt to be a woman - by multitasking, that is - he brushed his teeth in the shower, shaved while he was washing the ink/dirt/grime off his hands, and dressed while he attempted to comb his hair, which he was trying to grow for rockstar effect.

By this time it was eight minutes to six. The address in Jack's jacket pocket told him her house was at least twenty minutes away, and he was in no state to drive. After smoking a cigarette while taking his Nurofen, Jack was already late so he was a lucky asshole the taxi service wasn't too busy and was ready by the time he finally was. The taxi driver seemed to be the only one in the car that found Jack's scenario amusing, although half the population of London would no doubt laugh at his misfortune too.

Although annoyed at him, Kim could see he had not been late deliberately, and his intentions were good. Despite the rush and the all-too-attractive hangover, Kim seemed to enjoy Jack's company and slept together that night. They promised to see each other again, maybe keep up a relationship, even.

But as far as Jack was concerned, it was a one-night stand, and never imagined for a moment that after they had both left University, Jack with a degree in English, settling down in West End Glasgow, likewise with Kim (except with a degree in Human Biology). He never thought they would meet in a Starbucks' franchise over a Caffe Latte, falling for each other all over again. But it was serious this time, because this time they got engaged and moved in together.

A/N: Next chapter up soon folks! Review!