Saying it was a long night was a bit of an understatement.
Ville vomitted most of what I can only assume was alcohol. My hand grabbed the nearest thing, which unfortunately was his coat, to catch the shower. I even held his pretty hair back. Thankfully, I had a lot of practice with Erin, the party girl of the physics world, and I managed not to throw up with him. He passed out after almost dehydrating himself for an hour. I almost pitied the man but then I remembered he drank himself to oblivion and possibly deserved his current predicament.
I wanted to pat myself in the back for my good samaritan deed but any self congratulatory feelings I may have had gone out of the window when I studied the sorry state of his apartment. Beer cans, assorted bottles of liquor, what seemed to be hundreds of papers crumpled and otherwise, piled clothes in the corner, probably years worth of garbage strewn across the room - and is that a half eaten burger lying on the floor? Seriously, how could I sleep with this vortex of chaos only a few steps away from my apartment?
Careful not to sit on anything unwanted or alive, I settled myself beside the cot where Ville was passed out and grabbed his pack of cigarettes from where it fell off the floor. I lit one, surely he won't mind as I essentially saved his life. I decided to just wait it out until I could confirm this man won't come to any more harm, or possibly, die. He triggered my anxiety and oh boy, I won'tbe able to rest until I know he would live another day. Dramatic, yes. But I already played different scenarios in my head on how this night will end. Like: one, he'll suffer aneurysm and die; two, he'll start choking up again in his sleep anf die; three, he'll roll over and land unto something hard, break his neck and die... well, not on my watch. Not that I know that somehow his parents got something to do with me being on the same apartment as him.
So I stayed. Burned through half his cigarette pack and managed to stay awake without coffee. I busied myself going to my safe place in my head and worked on how this universe was born with 3 spatial dimensions from 10-dimensional superstring theory in which spacetime has 9 spatial directions and 1 temporal...
Beep beep beep
I woke up with a start, my neck sore and head aching. Disoriented, I glanced at my watch with its fluttering alarm still going on. Seven in the morning. Hopefully not evening as I could not see the light emanating from the windows - wait, I didn't cover my windows with garbage bags did I? Why did my bed sheets smell like bile and why did I sleep on the side of the bed, sitting up?
Remembering the movie-like sequence of last nights merry events, I turned to check on Ville. I heard my back making small popping noises as I turned and I found myself staring at a pair of confused green eyes. He blinked several times and before I could even say "hey", he abruptly sat up in bed, looking alarmed.
"Who- what..urgh", he groaned as he cradled his head on one of his hands.
"Well...you shouldn't try to move so suddenly- "
He shot me a sideways dark look, still wincing from what I can only assume was a massive headache.
" - or at least try to hydrate yourself first", I mumbled.
He ignored the last comment and continued cradling his head. He seemed to have fallen asleep again, if not for the groans I could here from behind his hands.
I was contemplating on slipping away unnoticed, while he was still indisposed as to avoid any Q&A which would undoubtedly follow. Do I stand? Do I crawl? Do I run?
All that was in vain though when he emerged from behind his hands and eyed me warily. "Well?", he asked again. I saw him do a quick survey of his room, eyes landing on the pile of his used-to-be coat nearby.
I wanted to say something, from explaining why I was in that apartment to the perils of drinking too much alcohol to how this could destroy his health. But I kept my mouth shut, wisely deeming the topic to be unwelcome for someone who just wake up and suffering from a hangover. My experiences with Erin seemed to be useful, after all.
Ville, on the other hand, alternated between studying me and his room. I could see on his face he was trying to remember with difficulty what happened last night. His expressions were surprisingly easy to read; it changed from confusion to disbelief to guilt as his gaze finally landed on me. I offered him a reassuring smile, or at least I tried. It came out as a grimace halfway through, when I remembered how his face hit the floor the night before.
"We didn't... tell me that we didn't.... last night...", I heard him say under his breath. He was looking everywhere but me, looking upset and disappointed about something.
"Ah, no?", I offered, not sure what he meant. These artsy people were so hard to read.
"No?", he echoed back in relief, his voice deep and a bit hoarse. He looked back at me hopefully, for what I don't know.
"Let's go with no". I absolutely had no idea what we were discussing but it seemed to be the correct answer to whatever burning question he had as he looked more dishevelled than upset.
He released an audible sigh of relief and tried to move to a more comfortable sitting position with this long legs stretched in front of him and back against the wall, wincing all the way. With that copius amount of alcohol he threw up, its a wonder he could move at all. But then again, Finns and alcohol.
He eyed me a less warily now, particulary looking as disturbed as he should be with a stranger in his apartment. "Sorry, I didn't catch your name the last time", he said while reaching for his pack of ciggies.
"Weil. Dr. Weil"
"Doctor?", he asked. He lit one before offering me some.
"Not the medical kind"
"I see."
Silence.
"I found you passed out in the hall- " "Are you some sort of -"
"You go first", he offered with a hint of amusement, his mouth in a loopsided grin.
"Okay, well I found you passed out in the hall. I tried to wake you up but you won't budge. So I had to drag you inside your... " I gestured the room with my hand. "It's getting too cold out". No need to mention the weird name calling and the accidental floor kissing on his part.
He was about to put the cigarette in his mouth but his hand froze midway. "Wait, what are you doing in this building?", he asked suspiciously.
"I live here too. I mean, the apartment just across the hall. Your parents - Anita and Kari - were kind enough to help me find a place".
"I see".
No follow up questions nor comments after that. He just continued sitting there, smoking and looking at the wall across him. I just sat there at the floor, waiting for a hint of appreciation for helping him out and holding his hair back while he expelled all the ghastly contents of his stomach. So much for niceties. But then again, the Valo spawn didn't come across as a nice person anyway.
I looked at my watch and ran my Saturday schedule in my head. Time to solve the mysteries of the universe again.
"Well, this was nice. I gotta, ya know, go" I quickly mumbled as I stood up and stumbled towards the door.
"Wait."
"Yes?", I glanced back and saw him standing too, a safe few feet away from me. He let out an audible sigh and looked at me with... understanding?
"Look, sweetheart", he said, his voice resigned. "Do you want an autograph or a picture, perhaps?". He was holding a pen in his right hand.
"Autograph? Picture? Of what?"
"Isn't it what all this is about?", he asked genuinely confused. "The dinner with my parents, the unfortunate incident at my house, the one in the hospital..."
I felt my cheeks heat up in embarassment.
"I truly appreciate your support with our music and the band, but please do respect my privacy," he continued. "I am flattered that you would go to such lengths. But these attempts, they became intrusive and unsettling."
Huh?
He quickly added, "There is nothing wrong with idolizing someone or in being a fan. Hell, I certainly am one. At some point in our lives, it can become some sort of escapism as well. But pretending to be someone else, a doctor at that, does not seemed to be..."
I was speechless but it didn't last long. I didn't hear the rest of the words spewing from his mouth as my ears tuned out everything after hearing the implied condescension.
I faced him and with as much coldness I could muster:" You know what, I understand how you could mistake me for - what you called it? - a fan, seeing I'm a stranger and have no business being here in your apartment . But I assure you, I have no interest in you nor your music - which I never even heard of by the way. I was minding my own business and happen to owe your parents a lot which is why I helped you in the first place. To be pretend to be a doctor? How ridiculous! For your information, I got my two PHDs before I even turned 20 and I am a published theoretical physicist. So again, I have much better things to do which actually matters in the real world, unlike whatever it is you do here!"
He looked dumbfounded at first with my angry tirade but his expression turned dark as he processed my words in his headache ridden head. I didn't wait for his comeback though and turned to walk away. "Hold it right there! That was uncalled for -", he started hotly but I was already out of his apartment and halfway to mine. Thankfully he didn't follow me out.
"A thank you would have been nice!" I yelled from the safety confines of my door as an afterthought before slamming it behind me.
A wave of exhaustion washed through me as soon as the door closed. Coupled with my highly strung nerves and the fading effects of adrenaline, I half stumbled half crawled to my room.
He really got such beatiful eyes.
I was already asleep before my face could even hit the pillows.