Voices • Jack Avery

25 • Hungover

The picture above is Alex's outfit

Third Person Point of View

"Good morning sunshine!" London announced as she pulled open the curtains to Alex's room, allowing sunlight to pour in. Alex let out a groan and tried to block the sunlight from her eyes.

"Someone sounds hungover" Christina teased as she sat on the edge of the bed. Alex sat up and glared at her. "I need coffee" she mumbled, rubbing her eyes in order to stay awake.

London snorted and rolled her eyes. She was used to dealing with a hungover Alex. "Then get up and get ready. We can go get some" Christina said sweetly as she stood up.

Alex groaned again and fell backwards into her sheets. "Why do we have to go out? Can't we just stay here and make it" she complained, not wanting to leave the comfort of her cosy bed.

Christina giggled at her response and got up off of the bed. "You'll feel better with fresh air" she said before leaving with London to wait for her outside.

Alex groaned a third time before eventually dragging herself out of her bed. While it was always fun getting drunk, the morning after was a living hell.

Still, she managed to find something decent to wear and fix her messy hair so that it was somewhat presentable. Skinny jeans, a crop top and a flannel were considering something decent to wear, right?

At this stage, Alex didn't care what she looked like, as long as it was good enough to leave her apartment in. Before she left her room, she grabbed a pair of sunglasses. She had dealt with a hangover too many times to leave the house without them after a night out - the sun really didn't like her.

"Look who decided to join us" London said sarcastically as Alex entered the room. Alex slid her sunglasses onto her face and flipped her best friend off. She walked over, grabbed her keys off of the counter and made her way towards the door.

Christina snorted at the encounter and followed closely behind the girl. When she got outside, she froze. "London" she said, eerily calm, as she looked around her. "Where the bloody hell is your car" she continued, slowly turning her body to face London.

London waltzed passed her, Christina in tow, smirking as she did so. "It's a beautiful day, Alex. I thought we should walk" she taunted as she continued down the street.

Alex chased after the pair, opening her mouth to complain, but she was cut off by the familiar tone of a FaceTime request. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and saw that it was Jack who was calling.

"Oh God. I do not want to FaceTime someone this hungover" she groaned, about to hit the decline button. However, before she had the chance to, London snatched the phone out of her hand and hit answer.

"Hey Al- London?" Jack said through the phone, confused when he saw London's face. London smiled and waved. "Hey. Alex wasn't going to answer since she's hungover so I answered for her" she stated as she handed the phone back to Alex.

Alex shot her a glare at her best friend before waving at the curly-headed boy on her phone screen. "How are you feeling?" he asked, smiling slightly. "It feels like the people from the club last night are still partying in my head" she groaned, hating the sun for being so bright.

"Well you don't look so bad" he said, trying to comfort her. Alex rolled her eyes at him, although he couldn't see it because of her sunglasses. "That, Avery, is the magic of makeup and sunglasses" she said, smiling slightly now.

"You don't look bad either, are you even hungover?" she asked curiously, noticing his lack of bags under his eyes. Jack cleared his throat awkwardly before answering her. "I, uh, don't get hangovers" he mumbled while his eyes darted around the place.

Alex frowned in confusion but still brushed off his strange behaviour. She looked up and noticed they had arrived at the coffee shop, meaning she had to go. "Hey, we're at the coffee shop now so I have to go. Bye Jack" she said as London held open the door for her.

"Bye Alex" Jack said as he smiled and waved. Alex waved back before hanging up and sitting down across from Christina and London.

"I'm surprised he didn't say anything about last night" Christina said as their coffee was set in front of them by the waitress. London nodded in agreement but Alex simply looked between them in confusion.

"What about last night?" she asked, her eyebrows knitted together. "You two dancing together" London said simply. Alex thought for a moment about what they were talking about, but her eyes widened once realisation struck.

"Wait, you didn't remember?" Christina asked. Alex shook her head, her mouth hanging open slightly. "Still, I was sure Jack would mention it, or at least reference it" London stated.

Alex shook her head at the girl. "We were very drunk, in case you've forgotten. Considering I couldn't remember until you told me, I doubt he does either" she said, brushing her two friends off.

London and Christina exchanged an awkward look which Alex didn't fail to notice. She put her coffee down slowly and looked between the two. "What?" she asked cautiously, scared of what answer she'd get.

The two girls hesitated before Christina eventually spoke up. "Alex, Jack doesn't drink" she explained slowly. Alex frowned at her, not sure if she understood what she was saying. "Wait, he what?" she said.

"He doesn't drink. He wasn't drunk when you guys were dancing" London's clarified. Alex's mind went into a haze as she processed what was being said. Jack wasn't drunk. He remembered how they danced together. He didn't do it just because of the alcohol, so why did he do it?

Alex could feel her chest begin to tighten and constrict as her vision began to blur. She knew this feeling all too well, it just hadn't flared up in a while. She mumbled something about having to go before running outside.

She stumbled around as her breathing got quicker and her vision became worse. She knew she had bumped into many people but she didn't care right now.

Eventually, Alex couldn't carry herself any further. She had ended up in some alley, but she couldn't tell where. Her breathing was too fast to be healthy and she collapsed against the wall as everything began to turn black.

She knew she was close to passing out, but a familiar voice calling her name allowed her to hold onto her grip on reality. "Alex, it's going to be okay. I'm here. Listen to my breathing, okay? Copy it" the person said, holding her close to their chest.

The familiar scent calmed her down a lot and she was able to slowly regain control of her breathing. Once she had the strength, she wrapped her arms around the person, crying into their chest.

They stayed like that for a while until Alex had calmed down enough to fully focus. She looked up at the person and smiled weakly at them. "Thank you Jack" she said, barely above a whisper, but Jack heard her and he only held her closer, not saying anything.