This song finds singer-bassist Oliver Sim broodingly lamenting, "Why do I refuse you?" Unusually for The xx it finds Sim singing on his own without singer-guitarist Romy Madley Croft. DJ-producer Jamie Smith told Spin magazine it is, "a song Ollie started. We wanted it to show his strength, especially as his voice and ability to write has gotten so much stronger."

Madley Croft added: "['Fiction'] is something that I loved and I thought very much that it didn't need me on the song. I really feel that it's [Oliver's] moment to shine."

The song's music video was directed by Young Replicant and shot in Palm Springs, Florida during The xx's early 2013 tour across North America. The clip features Sim performing the track while wandering about and dancing outdoors under a full moon. His bandmates had decided very early on that the bassist would be the star of the clip. "We love to be really involved in our videos, and the idea came out of a conversation," Madley Croft explained to MTV News. "I really wanted it to be all about Oliver, really, as it should be; that's his song on the album, 'Angels' is my song, so it should be about him ... The idea of him performing a bit more was a big focus."