Honey and Milk

5: Remedies.

George

I awoke to the sweet sound of birds and the scent of mint candles burning on the windowsill.

And a madly throbbing headache.

"Ugghhh, Darryllll!" I groaned, rolling over and clutching my head desperately. I wanted to cry but the pain was drowning out any other sensations.

"Hey bud, just lay still. Here, I've got you some water." He was there in almost a flash, sitting on the edge of my bed and holding out a glass. I rolled over, reaching blindly as I continued to curl in on myself. I heard a slight chuckle before the chill of an object touched my lip, a liquid being helped down my throat. "You're like a little toddler." He giggled, removing the glass, suddenly realizing how parched my throat felt. I sat up groggily, reaching to my bedside table and downing the rest of the water.

I sat up a bit, pulling my blanket up closer to my chest. "What even happened last night..?"

Darryl was sitting at his desk, typing away quickly at his computer. A due assignment, I supposed. "Well, you practically got blackout drunk, which I'm really surprised with. I thought you were more innocent then that!" He laughed, as if it were the most hilarious thing in the world to see me in so much pain.

I groaned, sliding down as I reached for my phone, flipping it on and immediately yelping at the brightness, nearly throwing it at the wall in reflex. "I didn't do anything stupid, did I?"

"If you consider earning the attention of the entire team stupid, then I guess so." I froze. 

"What do you mean?"

"You had a drinking competition against Dream, it was the highlight of the party! Silly muffin, you really were completely wasted." He giggled, frowning at another blast of messages. "The boys won't leave me alone about giving them your contact, but I wanted to wait for you before I responded." He opened the chat and tossed me the phone which fumbled in my clumsy fingers.

I scanned over it, my face going from a normal passive look before it turned into that of pure shock. They were going crazy over it, and I wasn't sure what to think.

----------------------------

Techno: Yo, you guys remember that guy who competed with Dream?

Sappynappy: YESSS I WAS JUST THINKING AB IT

Dre: lmao wut?

Techno: That kid had some mad abilities with the buzz.

Skeppyyy <3: wasn't he bad's friend?

Dre: oh i remember him

Sappynappy: his name was george!! he's nice, i talked w him a bit during the party

wil: guys i wasn't at the party, this isn't cool

Techno: Too bad loser.

Skeppyyy <3: we should invite him to hang out!! he definitely has the energy.

Sappynappy: lmao that kid looked like he might as well have shit himself, i wouldn't say he's a social butterfly

Skeppyyy <3: aww we can give him a chance though.

Dre: sounds fun

Sappynappy: bad send his contact !!!

------------------------------------

I stared at the screen, rereading it over a few times to really memorize the texts. I was... noticed? By the almighty athletes of the college? I knew I was close with one of them, but this was making me feel even woozier. "Th-they want to meet.. me?" This had to be fake.

"No! They love you! You just have to give me the call and I'll give them your contact!" Darryl seemed almost giddy, bouncing in his seat. He could see the hesitancy in my expression, so he immediately switched to something more appealing. "You'll be able to have tons of friends too, I promise they are the best people you'll ever ever ever meet! Ever!"

He had a point there. Even if Darryl was always there for me, I always had this feeling of loneliness constantly aching at my heart, but only now did I really recognize it. I wanted to have friends, and I wanted people to care for me. This was finally my chance.

But, there was something causing me to step back.

Clay.

I'd heard his nickname multiple times by now, Dream. He was a dream, an absolute angel of a being. And.. we would be friends? After months of silently watching behind my cups of tea in the back of a coffee shop, I'd be meeting him face to face. And my first introduction to him as a person was becoming completely drunk right before his eyes. How embarrassing.

I sighed, looking up to meet the hopeful gaze of Darryl. "Fine."

He immediately let out a squeal, causing me to recoil back and cover my ears, my senses already being tested from the hangover. "This is gonna be so fun, you won't be disappointed!" He snatched his phone back, I assumed in order to share my information with the others. Welp, no turning back now.

After a few moments, I immediately felt a buzz, looking over to my phone which lay at the edge of my bed. I picked it up, flipping it over with a flutter in my chest. I breathed a sigh of relief, seeing that the unknown messages weren't from a certain someone.

--------------------------------

???

hey ! this is nick !

i hope bad didn't prank us, this is george, right ?

8:53 pm

George

Lol, this is George, dw.

8:53 pm

Nick

great ! you wanna meet up at the natatorium @noon? i've got practice but we can get lunch or go study after ?

8:54 pm

George

Sure, see you then.

8:54 pm

Seen

                                                                           ---------------------------------

Well, that was fast. It was almost 10 by now, so I could at least try to recover from this headache as best I could. Maybe this would be the start of something new.

Possibly a new chapter? I'd never had many friends, this felt overwhelming. Would I disappoint them? Would I live up to their expectations? God, this was so stressful.

I took a deep breath, rolling over and setting an alarm. Just a little more sleep, I'll need the most energy I can get to meet up with Nick.

For now, I wait.