Chapter 1 

Chapter 1

Lee had only been part of the lifted community for a few months, but somehow, he’d already found his people.

Especially Neil.

The two had clicked almost instantly—bonding over the darker stuff first. Mental health struggles. The things blokes rarely admitted out loud. The weight of life when it all got too much. Then came the easier things: late-night gaming sessions, kids driving them equally insane, and the quiet understanding that sometimes a simple message saying, “You good?” meant more than most people realised.

Before long, the friendship circle had grown.

And like every chaotic friendship group, it came with a ridiculous group chat.

KTC — Karen’s Trumpet Club.

Nobody outside the group would ever understand the name.

Karen—who everyone agreed was one of the strongest women they’d ever met—had become the centre of a long-standing inside joke, and somehow Karen’s Trumpet Club had stuck. No one even questioned it anymore. It was ridiculous, chaotic, and somehow perfectly them.

Karen herself was lovely. The type of woman who had been through absolute hell and somehow still came out the other side smiling, checking on everyone else before herself. A straight-up warrior.

Everyone adored her.

Though, if anyone asked the group what Karen was really famous for…

“Well,” Neil had once typed into the group chat, “those boobs have got their own fan club.”

Nobody disagreed.

Least of all Karen herself.

Karen: As they should. Survived trauma and still look fantastic x

The group had absolutely lost it.

Lee remembered nearly choking on his brew laughing, while Neil had somehow managed to make the whole thing worse by declaring himself “Vice President of the fan club.”

Karen’s only response?

“At least someone appreciates my hard work x”

And honestly?

That was KTC in a nutshell.

Chaos. Dark humour. Checking on each other at stupid o’clock in the morning. And somehow making life feel a little less heavy.

This version reads more like the opening of a proper chapter and gives the group a warmer “found family” feel.