Harlow's bed was so nice and warm. The blankets were an inviting nest, the mattress an inescapable sinkhole. She had not left her bed all morning, and time rolled over into the early afternoon before she started to wake.
The girl rolled over towards the edge of the bed, an anguished groan escaping her lips. Her head was splitting, stomach churning and nauseous. Harlow cracked an eye open and promptly shut it when she noticed the amount of light flooding in.
"Holy shit, I hate everything." She muttered, forcing herself to slowly open her eyes again. She knew she was in her bedroom, but wasn't quite sure how she even got home from the club last night. Or maybe this morning.
This was a monster hangover, her body and head punishing her for her fun. As she lay in silence a wave of nausea rolled over her, causing her to spring up and bolt to the bathroom. Harlow flung open the toilet in the nick of time. After a long while she flushed the toilet and rinsed her mouth before popping her toothbrush in to scrub away the taste. There were few things Harlow had experienced that were worse than this hangover. While brushing her teeth Harlow heard a rhythmic tapping noise coming from somewhere nearby.
Tap, tap, tap. Pause. Tap, tap, tap, Pause.
She spat her toothpaste into the sink, swiping at her mouth the with back of a hand. Her toothbrush made a clanging sound as she tossed it into the holder near the sink. The repetitive noise of the tapping was bothering her head enough that she popped a couple of ibuprofen tablets before leaving the bathroom.
Harlow trudged into the main living area of her apartment, pausing to listen again. Her head was pounding, convinced that someone most definitely had left a hatchet embedded into her skull.
Tap, tap, tap. Pause. Tap, tap, tap, Pause.
The sound was coming from her front door. "What the bell?" She muttered, slowly stepping up towards the door. The tapping continued at the same pattern without fail no matter how long she stood there, trying to keep her breathing quiet. It felt like hours before Harlow built up the courage to look through the peep hole.
Her eyes met a moving shadow. It seemed to come towards her and pause at the same intervals as the tapping on her door, though she couldn't make out who — or what — it was. Harlow leaned away from the door and took a deep breath in. Once her nerves were as steady as they were going to get, she flipped the lock on the door to open.
All at once the sound stopped and she stood in silence. The only noise she could hear was her own heartbeat pounding in her head. The girl swallowed a lump growing in her throat Harlow grabbed hold of the doorknob and pulled it open, her mouth opening in surprise.
Standing before her was Kiran, hair a mess and bags under his eyes. He had a small, circular red mark near the top of his cheekbone. He looked just as surprised as Harlow did, taking a step back. Neither of them moved or spoke for a long while, stood awkwardly in the doorway just staring at one another.
Kiran broke the heavy layer of silence first. "Nice pyjamas." His accented voice was raspier than usual.
Harlow took a moment to peer down at herself before feeling heat creep up her cheeks. She donned a pair of watermelon printed pyjama shorts and a Bowfield University t-shirt. "Thanks.." She muttered, face falling into a frown.
The pair didn't move, falling into silence again. This time it was Harlow that spoke. "What are you doing here? How did you find out where I lived?" She asked in an accusatory tone. Instantly on the defensive, she placed a hand on the edge of the door to slam it if need be.
Kiran raised his hands up in surrender, not bothering to move from where he stood. "You gave me your address last night and told me to come by at one. I've been knocking for twenty minutes."
"Oh," Harlow spoke softly, not quite able to recollect that from her adventure last night. "Well why didn't you just call me?" She raised an eyebrow at the sheepish looking boy.
"I did. Like ten times." The corners of his mouth lifted into a small smile.
Harlow immediately snapped out of her defensive state, instantly put at ease by his nature. "Well I am beyond hungover so I'm sorry about that. You can come in but you need to just over there and be quiet until my ibuprofen kicks in." She pointed towards the couch, stepping aside to let him through the door.
He chuckled softly, stepping into the apartment and taking his shoes off. He glanced around quickly before striding over to the couch and sitting down. "You may have even more attitude now than you did last night."
Harlow followed him over, curling her whole body into the oversized chair across from him. She rested her head on the padded arm, lifting a finger up to her lips in a move to silence him. Harlow lay there for a couple of moments until the hatchet was removed from her head and only a dull throbbing remained.
She sat up in her armchair, tucking her legs underneath of her. "Remind me again why I invited you over?" She inquired, absentmindedly moving her hand to flatten her wild curls.
Kiran furrowed his brow for a second. "Do you not remember?"
"No, not really. I guess I drank more than I meant to." She replied, shrugging her shoulders.
"You," Kiran paused, seemingly to catch his thoughts. "you invited me to move in with you. Since Amelia left." He seemed confused as he spoke.
Harlow was taken aback. She could recall most of the night, but only bits and pieces after she sent Amelia and Damian home. She definitely did not remember inviting someone she barely knew to move into her apartment.
Kiran stood and walked over to her. He gently rested the back of his hand against her forehead before pulling it away. "You're warm, let me get you a glass of water. You just try to remember." He meandered over to the kitchen and fumbled through the cabinets to find a glass.
Harlow said nothing in return, her eyes following Kiran as he moved. It was almost as if she were in a trance, strangely unbothered by his weird actions. As she watched, she thought about the night before, mind jumping between scenes she remembered and gaps she couldn't.
Slowly, those dark gaps began to clear and bits she was missing flooded in. Dancing, more drinks than she realized, and getting a bit close with Kiran. What the actual fuck.
The final memory of the night that cleared was Harlow and Kiran sitting together in the back of a cab. Her head was tipped over into his shoulder.
"I'm serious. Come move in with me, we could be best friends." She said, more coherently than expected.
Kiran chuckled, turning his head to look down at her. "If you're sure, that would actually be great," He said quietly. "Though it is going to be hard to be friends with you." Kiran added, too quiet for Harlow to make out.
Harlow nodded slowly, closing her eyes. "I'm sure. You seem like a good person."
Harlow scrunched up her brows, breaking out the memory state she was in. Her headache had nearly disappeared altogether, and the nausea in her stomach was starting to diminish. In front of her stood Kiran, holding out a glass of water which she graciously accepted.
Harlow drank greedily until the glass was drained. She turned back towards her possible roommate who had sat back down on the couch. She inhaled deeply before speaking. "Alright, I guess I did invite you to live with me. I'm not necessarily opposed to it, but I need to get to know you a bit better." She offered a small smile.
Kiran nodded, his eyes crinkling up as he smiled broadly. Those damn dimples were right on display again. "Ask whatever you want. I'm an open book!"
"How old are you?" Harlow asked first.
"382 years old." He replied as if it were the most normal thing in the world to hear.
Harlow jerked a bit, taken aback by that response. "No, actually how old are you?"
Kiran chuckled. "I'm 23. Just figured I'd have a little fun, I'll be serious now."
"Okay, do you work?"
"At the pizza place near the University." He answered quickly that time.
"Can you pay $750 every month for rent?" Harlow asked. This was her biggest worry, she wouldn't be able to pay the full amount and needed someone to help out.
"Absolutely."
"Alright. This is the most important one," Harlow started, resting her head on her hand. "do you clean?"
Kiran laughed again, mimicking her head in her hand. "Like my life depends on it."
"Well then. Welcome home, roomie!" Harlow smiled at him and pointed towards the room behind him. "That's your room back there. You get your own bathroom and it comes with a bed already."
Getting up from his spot on the couch, Kiran walked over into the room while laughing. All was quiet for a few seconds before he popped his head out of the room. "I think this is going to be lots of fun."
• • •
This one is a bit short but it's more of a filler chapter right now :) I may go back and edit it over the next couple of days.
Leave your feedback!!!
Love, Ari