I open my eyes wearily, a bulging headache taking force. It takes me a few moments to realise that I am not actually in my bed at home, but in an unfamiliar room, settled in a large double bed, which definitely makes a change from my single bed. I groan, rising myself up from the bed with the little strength I have remaining. I almost stumble over my own feet as I head over to take grip of the bedroom door handle. I open it with little force and it takes my hazy eyes a moment to focus. I squint them, and roughly make out the silhouette of a person walking towards me. That's when I realise it's Noah.
"Hey, you're awake." Noah whispers
"What am I doing here, what happened?" I panic
Noah puts his finger to his lips and signals for me to quieten down "Don't worry, you were just.. a little.. drunk after the party so I brought you back to my place. I figured that you wouldn't appreciate me making your parents aware of you going out to a party"
"No, definitely not. Thankyou" I say softly, feeling the hangover drill through my entire body. Then I realise, does that mean- I blush red and my eyes widen "Was I in your bed?!"
"Yeah?" He replies in confusion, then he stumbles on his words when he realises what I am thinking "I uh, I slept on the couch, not with you"
My body relaxes, and I breathe out a sigh of relief. He stands awkwardly in front of me. The atmosphere is tense.
Noah looks up at the clock and says, "So.. It's half six. Would you like me to take you home now? Before your parents wake up?"
I peek through the window of the front door and notice the rain lashing down ferociously from the heavy clouds, "If you don't mind, that would be great, thankyou" I smile. I then quietly grown and hold my face in my hands, "I can't believe I drank that much last night, my head hurts so bad"
"Here, have a glass of water before we set off. There may not be a cure for hangovers but it sure does help" he moves over to the sink and pours me a glass of water. He places it on the counter and sits down on one of the stools beside it. "Come sit" he taps the stool beside him. I perch upon the beige padded stool and take small sips of the water.
"Please don't say I did anything embarrassing last night, Delilah would never let me hear the end out it."
"Besides from climbing up onto the table and dancing in front of everyone, I think you were well-behaved."
"Oh shit" I cover my face in embarrassment "Why do I do this to myself."
Noah chuckles, then leans against the top of the island with his elbows. "It could've been worse." he pauses for a moment and then reveals "I once went skinny dipping in the pool when I was drunk, it was the worst experience seeing my friends the day after"
I laugh "I didn't know people even skinny dipped anymore"
"Neither, to make it worse I was the only one"
I burst out laughing, now that is pretty humiliating. We chat for a while, till I finally finish the endless glass of water he offered me. I shift in my seat and then recognise the cold breeze blowing against my uncovered skin, realising that I am still dressed in the revealing fabric from last night. Noah notices this and then rises up from his seat and grabs a khaki green hoodie which hangs on a hook beside the front door. "Here, take this." he gestures, handing me the sweater and smiling generously "It's clean, I promise. I doubt you would want to go outside in that weather in a dress, I know I wouldn't"
"Since when did you wear dresses?" I tease.
He stops, laughs to himself and then let's out a smirk "Are you questioning my style, Avery?"
I smile back at him, my cheeks rising profusely. I take the hoodie from him and slip it over my head. We both leave the house and hurry towards the car, avoiding staying in the rain for any longer than we need to. When we climb into the car, I take a few seconds to admire Noah's hair wet, but then I am suddenly embarrassed by the thought of me finding any part of him attractive. We are just friends, good friends. He starts the engine and we drive off as the sun rises in the previously moonlit sky.
-PING PING -
Our phones chime in sync, which makes my eyebrows furrow in confusion. I grab my phone out of my pocket and my pulse begins to quicken. My shock is clearly legible as Noah quickly glances out me and speaks out, "What is it?" I turn my phone in his direction and let him view my phone. There have been videos, photos and comments posted about my performance last night, both cat-calling and overall hurtful. I swipe through the posts in utter shock and then come across a post uploaded by Aaron. Noah is focusing his attention on and off between my phone and the road, but his gaze holds on longer when he sees that Aaron has posted a video of me dancing, showing me body from several different angles, even to the severe extent of under my dress, showing a revealing flash of my underwear, with the caption 'Guess the desperate one would be better to look at without her clothes'. I see a flame of anger emerge in Noah's eyes, which is then quickly interrupted by an excruciatingly loud car horn, coming from the car which we are currently a centimetre away from crashing into. Noah swerves the vehicle fast enough to keep us away from danger, making me gasp for air in relief.
"That was close" I quiver
"Tell me about it" he breathes out scarcely and then returns his focus back to the situation at hand whilst now looking directly at the road in attempt to not get us killed "That son of a bitch, just wait until I-"
I interrupt him, "Please, just drop it Noah. I really can't deal with this today" I plead, referencing to my still pounding headache.
"Right, okay. If he says anything you though-"
"Then i'll let you know, or i'll just kick his ass myself. You know, female dominance and all that"
I see him smile slightly as we finally pull up to my house. I sneak in the back door, and head upstairs to my bedroom as quietly as possible. I make it inside and flop down onto my bed, roll my eyes and stare longingly at the ceiling. I then mope about the idea of me now having to attend school with 1. A Hangover and 2. The absolute humiliation of last night. What am I going to do?!
I get dressed and ready for school, slipping Noah's hoodie back around my torso after getting changed.
I catch the bus this morning, dreading sitting in the noisy bus jam-packed with smelly teenagers, but I suck it up and get it over and done with. I climb up on the bus and notice that my usual spot has been taken up, and well, every spot has been taken up except one seat next to one of the members of the rugby team. Harley Walsh, biggest flirt in the squad. Some say that he is the most handsome, but I disregard him as a complete douche bag like the rest of them, and this bus trip will prove my point. My facial expression changes to pure disgust as I plant myself on the seat next to him. The bus sets off and he focuses his attention from his giggling teammates to me.
"Well hello there-" he smirks
"Not interested." I interrupt
He scoffs, "Suit yourself" he then looks me up and down "Wait, your the girl from the party"
I scowl at him "So you've seen."
"Front and personal, I must say you put on a good show"
I roll my eyes to the back of my head, angle my body uncomfortably away from him and shove my airpods in my ears, blocking out any upcoming words that may fall out of this idiot's mouth. All I hear for the rest of the drive is the songs that are blasting my eardrums, which was exactly my intention. The bus finally stops outside of school and I am the first to rise from my chair and quickly leave. I remove my earphones, cutting off the music which was my only motivation and storm into school. I expected to feel self conscious about the videos that have been posted around, but right now, right now I i'm just thinking, what's the point? I stride though the corridor, ignoring the rumours visibly spreading uncontrollably around me. I stop at my locker, slamming it open, making the students beside me stare but I again pay no acknowledgement to them. I want to at least make it to first period before the hidden emotions inside of me come out, i'm fed up of getting upset in this hellhole of a school.
The bell rings and I grab my books and then close my locker. I scurry towards my next class and step inside. Suddenly all of my feelings ride dangerously back towards me when I see Aaron slouching down in the seat next to where I am assigned to. I take this as a sign and quickly dash the opposite way in defiance. There is no way I want to be in a classroom with Aaron after that disgusting post, nevermind sat next to him, even if it means I have to skip class for the first time. I head over to the entrance to the school gardens, a place that I haven't visited since the start of school. I walk out and notice a tall, billowy pink blossom tree swaying peacefully in the gentle breeze. I sit beneath it, chucking my backpack onto the emerald-green grass.
"I didn't think i'd see you out here." I hear a familiar voice laugh. I jump, and turn my head to see Noah.
"Noah?"
"The one and only. What are you doing out here?"
"Didn't really feel like going to class. You know, hangovers aren't exactly my best studying condition." I say, fiddling with the ring which sits on my index finger "What are you doing here anyway?"
"I spend some lessons out here, it's just peaceful to be honest."
"So this time it's me stealing your spot then?"
"Nah, it's fine, don't worry about it. I enjoy company sometimes" Noah chuckles "Not as protective over a certain spot like you, Av"
"Oh! I almost forgot, your hoodie." I begin to take it off.
"Keep it, it looks better on you anyways" he glances over at me and I feel a warm feeling emerge in my stomach.
"Thanks." I smile softly
"Have you had any bother about the party?" he asks, his jaw tightening slightly
"No, not really. A few stares when I walked in, i'm sure the gossip will die down eventually."
What about Aaron, have you seen him yet?"
"No."
"Avery."
I huff, "I saw him sat in the seat next to mine in history, but, obviously I didn't end up going so it's all okay"
"Tch, of course he was. By the sounds of it he's the desperate one."
"Yeah, what was that about anyway? The desperate thing."
"There was actually something I didn't mention, it wasn't a big deal though." Noah admits "When we left the party you saw Aaron, and you were kind of a little excited. You just shouted him over a few times, nothing to worry about." He somehow portrays a small amount of hurt in his eyes as he speaks, which I silently question.
"You aren't still hung up on him, are you?"
"No, definitely not. I was drunk. And if he takes that as me begging for him back then he's delusional" I laugh.
We chat until the end of period one, and then get off to our lessons for the rest of the day. I witness plenty
of sniggers and whispers throughout, but I chose to ignore them and focus on the two people who really matter, Noah and Delilah. Delilah apologises for letting me get THAT drunk, but I assure her that it was my own fault and that she can't take blame for my actions.
I carry on with school as normal for the next few days, and I notice that the posts are slowly being removed from social media after I scroll through and report every individual one.