Lilla's POV
I groggily open my eyes on Christmas morning, the light from outside coming through a gap between my curtains.
I roll onto my back, moving onto the cold part of the bed, away from the warmth of my spot.
I sigh and close my eyes, the hangover giving me a headache as I lay there in bed.
"Wait," I open my eyes wide, looking at the cold spot on the bed, where somebody else slept last night.
"Fuck." I mumble, sitting upright.
My head throbs as gravity does it's job, making me groan in pain.
I look at my alarm clock, seeing that it is nine o'clock in the morning.
Next the the clock is a glass of water, two pills and a note.
I desperately grab the water, downing the hangover tablets and hesitantly pick up the note.
Hope you feel better, Lilla
I've gone to pick up the others and get us all some breakfast.
See you soon,
Peej
"Fuck." I repeat, shaking my head as I remember the events of last night.
"It was a mistake." I mumble to myself as I go into the bathroom to take a shower, stopping to vomit on the way.
"I'm never drinking again." I scold myself.
Last night was the second time in my life I've ever gotten drunk, the only time before that being the night I met Brent.
"I need to stop drinking around boys." I tell myself grudgingly.
I get out of the shower and dry myself off, wiping off all my makeup and drying my hair.
I get dressed in a Christmas jumper and black leggings, pulling on a pair of stripy rainbow socks to keep my feet warm.
I walk into the living room with a cup of tea, sitting down on the carpet by the fire.
I just drink the tea and look at the fire, mentally slapping myself every few minutes.
What the fuck is wrong with me?
Kissing Pj is the last thing I meant to do last night..
After an hour or so, the door opens, with three zombies being herded inside by the one person on my thoughts at the moment.
"Hey, Lilla." Chris yawns, sitting down next to me.
"Mmm." I murmur in reply, not looking up.
"Are you okay?" He asks.
I look up, turning my head towards Chris.
I can feel Pj's eyes on the back of my head, watching me like a hawk.
After a moment, I smile at Chris and nod.
"I'm fine." I tell him, "Just tired, and hungover, that's all."
"I don't remember anything from last night after the balcony." Chris scratches the back of his neck.
"Yeah, apparently passed out on the sofa." I grin, "But I don't remember much, either."
I see Pj's back visibly tense from his place at the breakfast bar, his shoulders coming together and then sagging forwards.
I focus back on Chris, my voice louder.
"I don't remember anything after when you left me." I tell him.
"Oh, apparently Pj brought you home." Chris shrugs, "He says he slept on the sofa last night."
"Oh, okay then." I look over Chris' shoulder, "Thank you, Pj."
"You're welcome." He says simply, holding my gaze. I quickly avert my eyes, turning back to Chris.
"You need a shower, my friend." I laugh at him.
He nods and we get up. Dan comes out of the main bathroom, so I push a fresh towel into Chris' hands and shove him inside.
I hear Dan walk into his room to get dressed, and the sound of Phil's shower through the wall.
I walk into my room, jumping onto my bed and grabbing my phone and checking the Christmas messages I've been sent.
As I sit on my bed, I hear footsteps come through my open door.
"Ever heard of knocking?" I don't look up from my phone, replying to texts from friends back home.
"What was that about?" Pj stands in my doorway, his arms crossed over his chest.
"What was what about?" I sass, not looking up.
"You said you don't remember anything from last night." He says.
"Yeah," I drop my phone,"Because, I don't."
I turn around and face him, sighing when I see his face.
"You're lying." He states.
"Excuse me?" I roll my eyes.
"You heard me. You remember what happened last night." He insists.
I shake my head and pick up my phone, multi-tasking checking it with tidying up my room.
"I don't know what you're talking about." I lie, not looking his way.
"Yes you do." He follows me around the room, "I drove you home, got you into bed. You were being kind to me, then we-"
"We said goodnight and you slept on the sofa." I interrupt him, "Just like Chris said."
"Come on, Lilla." Pj groans, "You know that's not true.You know the we kissed, and then you wanted me to stay with you last night."
"Think what you like," I continue, "You dropped me off in my room and left. I remember getting ready for bed and then sleeping."
"Lil!" Pj sighs in frustration, "Why are you lying about it?"
I ignore him and pick up my shoes from last night, taking them from beside my bed and putting them away.
"Those!" Pj points straight at them, "I helped you take them off your feet last night. You were too drunk."
"Nope." I swallow, biting my lip.
"Lilla!" Pj shouts, making me look up at him, our faces inches apart.
Dan walks into the room, pulling on a Christmas jumper.
"Will you two please keep it down?" He asks.
"Sorry, Dan." Pj and I chorus, not looking away from each other.
"We're doing presents in ten minutes!" He calls as he leaves the room, shutting the door behind him.
Pj and I keep looking at each other, just like last night.
"Lilla-" I interrupt him straight away.
"Listen," I hiss fiercely, tired of his complaints. "What the fuck do you actually want from me?"
Pj looks taken aback by my words.
"I-" He stutters slightly, then regains his confidence. "I want you to admit that we kissed last night."
"Fine." I throw my hands up in the air in anger, "I admit it, we kissed! We then slept in the same bed last night! Now what?"
"I-" I cut him off once more.
"You what!?" I say viciously, "You think I'll immediately be your girlfriend? Ditch everything I've worked for to get where I am and spend all my time with you? You think I'll go through a fucking painful breakup just to fall in love all over again?"
"No!" I tell him in a fit of rage, "I've got too much to do. I've got Priorities, Pj Liguori, and I'm not going to forget them all just for you."
"Lilla I-"
"Forget it." I walk past him and aggressively straighten the books on my desk, then over to the door. "Like I said; I was drunk, nothing ever happened."
I walk out of my room, shutting the door behind me.
Pj's POV
I watch as she closes the door in my face, the painted wood blocking her from view.
I don't understand why she regrets last night.
I don't.
She wasn't that drunk, she knew what was happening.
She kissed me.
I sit on her bed, running my hands through my hair.
She was so beautiful last night, and her semi-drunk smile was so distracting.
She was so sweet, so cute.
And to be honest, whether she was drunk and sweet, or sober and sarcastic, I'd do it again.
I'd kiss her again.
"Fuck." I mumble to myself.
I hear foot steps, quickly straightening up and standing by the bed, pulling out my phone.
"Peej?" Phil opens the door, "You ready?"
I look up, pretending to be distracted, and nod.
"Yeah." I tell him, pocketing my phone and following him into the living room.
Lilla, Dan and Chris are all sitting around the tree, various wrapped objects scattered around them.
"Thanks for getting the presents out of my car, Peej." Chris tells me.
"No problem." I tell him, sitting across from Lilla.
"What do you mean?" Lilla asks Chris.
"We were coming here after the party, anyway." Chris tells her, "Pj's and my presents were in my car."
"Well," Lilla smiles at him, "I guess you're just lucky that I bought presents for everyone."
"Thanks, Lilla!" Chris puts his arm around her, causing me to bite the inside of my cheek.
Lilla laughs, the same laugh that usually makes me smile, but I just watch them.
"Okay, ready." Phil walks into the room, holding a video camera. "This is going on my channel, everyone.cool with that?"
Everyone nods and confirms, Lilla smiling widely.
"And, rolling." Phil walks around us all.
"Merry Christmas, Phillions." Lilla grins at the camera, "Today you will be witnessing the awesomeness of all these people opening presents, including the epic presents I got for them."
"Bull." Dan says as he coughs, making Lilla push him.
"You'll see, Daniel." She says in a sing-song voice.
Dan rolls his eyes, picking up a soft present with his name on it.
He unwraps it, holding up a black t-shirt with the word 'Peasants' on it.
"Sweet." He grins.
"Who got it for you Dan?" Phil laughs.
Dan peers around at all of us.
"Well, it was wrapped pretty badly, so I'd say, Lilla." He points at her.
"Excuse me," Lilla protests, "I wrapped that like a bad ass."
"Yeah yeah." Dan grins.
We go around the circle a few times, until we're all on our last presents.
"This one's from Pj." Chris hands her a small present.
Lilla swallows, before carefully unwrapping the paper, revealing a white box.
Lilla gently takes off the lid, her eyes wide.
She looks up at me for a moment, before speaking.
"Pj," She stutters and shakes her head, "I can't take this, it's too much."
I shake my head at her.
"Nope," I tell her, "It was bought for you."
"I-"
"Take it." I tell her.
"Are you su-"
"Yes." I laugh, "It's yours."
"Thank you." She nods, lowering her head back to what I bought for her.
"What is it?" Phil asks.
Lilla reaches her hand into the box, pulling out a gold necklace, a small heart pendant dangling from the chain.
"Wow." Chris says in awe, "That must've cost a sweet penny."
I don't say anything, just watch as Lilla holds it up to the camera.
"Did it cost a lot, Peej?" Dan asks me.
I shake my head and shrug, choosing to remain silent instead of lie.
Lilla puts the necklace carefully back in it's box, looking up at me one more time.
A grin forms on my face as everyone continues opening presents; I'm glad that Lilla liked what I gave her, immensely glad.
When it's time to open my last present, I know it's from Lilla.
I take off the neat ribbon and paper, revealing a comic book.
"Wow." I gasp in disbelief.
"What is it?" The boys crowd around.
"It's a copy of the first edition of Captain America Foils the Traitor's Revenge." I say excitedly.
"So?" Chris asks.
"It was Stan Lee's debut to creating comics." I explain, examining the cover closely.
"Open it." Lilla tells me cautiously.
I do as she says, my mouth falling open.
"No way!" I say excitedly.
"What?" Dan asks eagerly.
"To Pj," I read aloud, "I'm so glad you've enjoyed my comics for so long. Stan Lee."
"Wait," Phil says, "The real Stan Lee?"
"Yep." Lilla shrugs, "He was at my uni last month, lecturing the art class."
"But, Lilla," Dan says, confused. "You aren't taking an art course."
"Wouldn't you pretend to be an aspiring comic book artist if you knew you'd meet Stan Lee?" She asks lightly, "I even got aplicture with him."
"Thank you, Lilla." I say earnestly.
"It's alright, Pj." She tells me.
After the presents, Chris and I gather our things, making our way to the door.
"See you guys soon." Dan and Phil tell us.
"Absolutely." Chris nods, chatting to them, whilst I look for Lilla out of the corner of my eye.
She emerges from her room, walking over to the four of us.
"Do you need help with the elevator again?" She asks Chris with a grin.
"Probably, yeah." Chris plays along.
"Fair enough." Lilla tells him, walking into the hallway and pushing the button for the elevator.
"Get in." She pushed him inside as the doors open.
"Peej?" Chris held it open for me, "Getting in?"
"I'm just going to say goodbye to Dan and Phil." I tell him.
Chris nods, telling me he'll meet me outside.
Lilla and I stand in silence after he leaves, Dan and Phil already having shut the door.
"Thanks," Lilla mumbles, "For giving me a lift home last night."
"Of course." I tell her, before hesitating. "I guess I'll see you around."
Lilla just shrugs, looking up at me.
"I don't know." She sucks in her lips.
"Come on, Lilla." I grin at her, "You know I'll be seeing you around, because of Dan. Maybe something will-"
"No." She stops me calmly, "You don't get to go there. You don't get to say that to me."
"Lilla-"
"Why can't you just leave me alone?" She asks me curiously, as if a scientist studying my thoughts.
"I-" She doesn't stop me this time, I simply trail off, swallowing my empty words.
"Exactly." She spoke as if she knew the answer all along, "You don't even have a good excuse."
She began turning around, still talking.
"You don't have a reason to be in my life. You don't need to keep showing up Pj-"
"I like you, Lilla." I blurt out to her.
Lilla's back goes stiff as she stands by her door.
"And you like me, too." I add, "You're the one who kissed me last night, and I know you weren't that drunk."
I watch as her shoulders rise and fall in a sigh, before she turns around.
"Look." She says, annoyance ringing through the air. "You may think that you can just walk into my life and pretend you're now a major part of it, but let me tell you now; You're not."
She walks back over to me.
"I spent a lot of time, dating a dick." She continues, "And I'm not about to jump straight on the bandwagon again just to date another one."
I don't say anything, just watch her as she reaches me, looking slightly upwards, straight into my eyes.
"I don't like you, Pj." She whispers harshly, "So stay away from me, or else."
I can't take it anymore; I lean down and press my lips to hers, kissing her in the hallway of the the apartment building.
I swear kisses me back for a moment, but she quickly pushes me away.
She looks at me in disbelief, her mouth slightly open in astonishment.
"Lilla, I'm sorry I-"
She cuts me off for the final time, but without using any words.
Lilla's right hand comes upwards and slaps me heavily across the face. My head goes sideways as her hand hits my cheek, the pain ringing in my mind as my eyes water.
Lilla stands back as I grab my face, almost as if she's fearful, but her composure quickly hardens.
"You stay away from me, Pj Liguori." She says, "If you keep away from me long enough, maybe I'll come to like you."
Lilla turns on her heel and enters the apartment, slamming it shut behind me.
I watch her go, still clutching my cheek, before entering the elevator.
As I go downwards, I inspect my face in the mirror.
A pink hand print stretches across my right cheek, stinging slightly.
I silently pull up the hood of my jacket, hiding it successfully.
"Why is your hood up?" Chris asks as I get into his car.
"It's December." I say in a monotone voice, "I'm cold."
"I'll turn up the heater, then." He says.
I look out the window as we drive past the building, my eyes fixed on Lilla's bedroom window.
Nobody passed by the curtains, the first time Lilla hasn't watched us leave when she thought I wasn't watching.
I turn back around, my stomach dropping as I realize, what Lilla said was true.
Lilla's POV
I slam the door and lean against it, my legs shaking slightly.
"Lilla?" Phil walks past, glancing at me, "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine." I smile kindly at him, "Just a bit hungover, still."
"Maybe you should go lie down." Phil suggests, "You and Dan are going to visit your family tomorrow, so you'll want to feel better."
"Good idea." I nod, walking slowly to my room and shutting the door behind me.
I sit on my bed for a few moments, my arms hugging my elbows, before getting up again and walking over to my window.
I look down at the road, just in time to see Chris' car drive around the corner.
I ease myself slowly onto the floor underneath the window, leaning my head against the wall as tears start falling down my face.
- - -
YEAH, OKAY.
I THINK I KNOW WHERE I'D LIKE TO GO WITH THIS STORY.
I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY CHAPTERS I'M GOING TO WRITE, BUT KNOW THAT THERE IS STILL SO MUCH MORE TO COME.
ALRIGHT,
NAINAI x