Both you and Hailey limped back to your apartment before dark, the two of you heaving a big sigh of relief after the long day you had. Your feet were aching a dull pain, the amount of walking you did was way more than you were used to. Hailey wasn't much better as she flung her shoes to the side, throwing herself onto the futon so she could complain horizontally. "Ugh... God, my feet are literally killing me." She hung her feet over the side of the furniture, wiggling them slowly. "And those stairs didn't help much either. It feels like you're trying to kill your only guest."
"Psh, enough with that talk. I'm tired too. If anything, I was just trying to get our lazy asses moving for once." After putting away your coat, you shuffled over to the kitchen table, taking a well deserved seat so you could put your head down and relax. You closed your eyes with a sigh, happy to be able to sit. You could feel the exhaustion tugging at the back of your mind, a fruitless attempt at convincing you to call it a night. Yet you just couldn't; it was hardly 8:00pm and the night had just started. Depending on how alert Hailey was, you'd be in for one Hell of a chatty night.
You raised your head from the table, looking over at your friend sprawled across the futon- She had kicked all the pillows across the room. Reclined on her back, Hailey was looking through her phone at the various pictures of Dan and Phil you had captured earlier this afternoon. Her eyes were glued to the screen, an intense fire burning in her gaze. Everytime she swiped to see another nearly identical copy of the event, she would crack a wicked grin, wiggling her body excitedly. You felt a small grin spread across her face. You were happy that she enjoyed her first day.
Hailey looked up for a moment, studying your chairs with a narrowed scowl. She then rolled her eyes, scoffing with a disapproving tone. "Really, (Y/N)? You can't even put chairs together properly? I guess you never knew how much you relied on me when we lived together." Your smile quickly faded as you gave an embarrassed swallow. You looked at the upside down chairs, feeling like an absolute fool in your friend's eyes.
Just as quick as shame found you, it was rapidly replaced with a sizzling agitation. "I don't rely on you that much, I wanted them to look like that. I think they look cool."
Hailey gave a uncouth laugh, still glued to her phone. "Uh huh, sure (Y/N). They look stupid, the exact opposite of cool."
Phil thinks they're cool
You glared at Hailey, biting your lip uncomfortably. You looked back at the chairs, refusing to see anything wrong with them. Despite their unorthodox appearance, you were always filled with warmth when you saw them. They were strictly happy accidents. Especially this one, your absolute favorite; his name was Jonathan
Giving yourself a few seconds to calm down, you swallowed the remainder of your heated words. Hailey was allowed to have her own opinion. It was natural for people to disagree sometimes. Though you admit that this was one of the first times Hailey had gone out of her way to completely bash something of yours without remorse. Maybe she was so distracted that she didn't realize her words were coming off a bit harsh. You nodded to yourself, deciding to agree upon this conclusion. Besides, it made you feel a lot better.
"So, is there anything you wanted to do tonight?"
Hailey lifted her gaze, thankfully turning her phone off this time. "First, I want to get into my pjs. Second, we should raid your fridge for some food to eat. And third-" She flipped herself onto her stomach, looking up at your expectantly. "We get to talk about your time here in 'Otsville. Oi, Oi, am I roight?" Her words were bent in a lame attempt to sound British. It sounded more Australian than anything.
"'Hotsville', huh? Still delusional I see." You got up from the table, tucking in your beloved chair. You shuffled towards the kitchen, embarking on a quest for delicious food. "I've told you this so many times: Just because I've moved to a place where they have European currency does not mean I've entered the realm of polite-spoken gentlemen on horseback. I don't know why you fantasize a real world country so much. It's basically the same as everything back home, the only difference being a slight change in articulation."
"Yeah, but you're missing the point; they're British." You sighed loudly, rolling your eyes with great force. There was no talking to this woman. She was so engulfed in her own ways that she couldn't see how ridiculous her reasons were. Okay, sure. Maybe the accent was nice to listen to, but that was only because you loved hearing it from someone in particular. Other than that, it didn't count. No, it absolutely didn't.
After a while, Hailey had eventually dressed herself in her night clothes. Why didn't you refer to them as pajamas? Simple, Hailey didn't own one decent article of clothing that could even be considered as 'comfy pajamas'. You made sure to offer her a blanket with how cold she was going to get dressed like that. She was wearing nothing more than a lace bra, the sizing questionable as it accentuated her breasts a little more than you wished it would. Practically spilling out of her top half, her bottoms weren't much better. The material matched with the blue lace of her bra, frilling out with seductive potency. However, one didn't get to see sufficient lace with how much fabric was riding upwards. While it was mutually agreed that Hailey did possess a fabulous body, you would prefer if you didn't have to see so much up close like this.
You eyed her up and down, your face straight and unwavering. "New undies?"
Hailey ducked with a facade of bashfulness, wiggling her toes innocently. "Maybe~" She placed her face in her hands, pretending to fight off the 'embarrassment' that engulfed her.
Eventually you threw her one of your large, dad hand-me-down shirts. You were so thankful that she took it; you didn't have curtains installed yet.
------------
You slaved over the oven, preparing some of your favorite stir fry. You spent the hour chopping vegetables, cooking the chicken separately and mixing spices to the perfect amount. You asked Hailey to wait in the living room while you prepared dinner, insisting that she refrain from helping you. While she was your friend, she was your guest at the moment. You wouldn't make her cook on her vacation here with you. Also... she was a terrible cook to begin with.
Once and a while you would call back to Hailey and check if she was okay. She was fine laying against the couch, cuddling into a lush blanket on the futon. She had complained that your apartment was frigid, the hair on her arms raising to great heights. You had given her one of your fluffiest blankets to keep her from icing over. When that didn't work, you offered her another suggestion. Thankfully she took it; she was now wearing pajama pants.
Observing the stir fry, you decided it was nearly done. You called Hailey over, encouraging her to grab a plate and not to hesitate if she wanted seconds. Hailey raced to the kitchen, hungrily scooping large amounts of the stir fry into her bowl. When she had her share, you grabbed yours and walked over to the couch. You glanced at the TV to see what was on. It was some British sitcom from the 90's. While British humor was a mystery to you at first, you had grown to love the cheesy and brash comedy they had to offer.
You and Hailey sat in silence for a while, eagerly scooping up the food in front of you. Every bit was like an angels blessing, the flavors too heavenly to describe with proper words. While you failed at some foods, stir fry would always be one of your specialties. You were the first to finish the meal, offering to take Hailey's plate when she had finished. Unfortunately Hailey had taken more than she could finish, the poor girl groaning from how full she was. She complimented you on the delicious meal and she was terribly regretful that she couldn't finish it all. You promised to save her the leftovers for breakfast in the morning.
When all had been cleaned and put away, the two of you sat comfortably on the couch. The atmosphere was relaxed, reminding you how much you missed hanging out with your friend like this. Sure, somethings had been a little odd at times but that was probably because you hadn't seen each other for so long. Spending time together would definitely mend what was lost during those two months.
"So," spoke Hailey, intruding on the pleasant silence. "give me names. I wanna hear them."
"Huh?" You tilted your head to the side, genuinely confused by her sudden question. "Sorry, I don't quite understand."
"Oh come on! There has to be some guys you've been seeing. You even told me that you talked with some guys when you were here, so spill it! Who are they and are they hot~?"
You sighed, letting out a low groan. You had completely forgotten about your little slip last month over the phone. You had hoped that Hailey would take your comment as a general, nothing-special kind of talk. Obviously she took it the wrong way like she was prone to doing. You looked her straight in the eyes, your gaze narrowed and serious. "No boys. I guarantee this."
This wasn't a good enough answer for your friend as she was soon throwing herself over your lap, rolling around in an annoying fashion. "Ugh, I'm trying to make your boring life sound more fun, (Y/N)! Can you just say that there's a boy? For me?"
"Hailey," You looked directly at her, your stare intense. Then you flicked her nose. "There are no boys. End of story."
Hailey whimpered, eventually accepting her defeat. "Fine, so maybe there aren't any boys you're seeing. But at the very least you must have had contact with a male citizen at one point. If that's the case, I'll accept it for now." She snickered to herself, looking up at you mockingly. "How is it that you've been here two months and I was able to pick up a boy's number in 5 minutes?"
"C'heh, because you love prowling after men?"
Hailey shrugged. "I mean, yeah. Have you seen me, (Y/N)? I'm always down for some action. Especially if it's with some hot little fancy boy. Do you think he'll be calling out to the Queen when I get him going in bed?"
You grunted, crossing your arms disapprovingly. "Hailey, that's inappropriate. Come on, you're not sneaking out to have sex with a random guy while you're here with me, okay?" You let out a frustrated sigh. "I know you want to but please don't. For me, okay?"
Your friend sighed, falling into the cushions. "Oh alright, for you I'll make a promise."
"Good."
She suddenly jumped up. "But oh! Guess what?" Hailey pulled out her phone, hastily scrolling through her contacts. "Remember that guy? Thomas, the one I promise not to fuck? Well, he told me there's a party happening this weekend; Saturday night! He said he's going to invite all his friends- he said they're really nice people- and we'll be going to a bar to get a little wasted before hand. Doesn't that sound awesome?!"
"Eh..." You scrunch up you face, thinking the proposal through. Parties weren't exactly your forte, but that didn't mean you couldn't handle them. Bars too, you've been to a few when you were living with Hailey and the experiences were never excessively negative. It wasn't your first choice when thinking about having a good time, but it did have its perks.
However that being said; you looked over at Hailey, taking note of how excited she was thinking about this party. Her eyes were wide and pleading, practically screaming for you to approve. You hummed and hawed in your mind, weighing the advantages and disadvantages of the situation. On the one hand, you could have a fun time getting a little tipsy with your friend, perhaps meet some new fiends. On the other hand, you might have to play look out for Hailey and make sure she didn't run off with any random guys during the night. But if you didn't go with her, she might get into serious trouble, trouble you could've avoided if you were by her side looking out for her like a good friend.
"I... don't know-"
"Please, (Y/N)? For me?" She was pleading ever so pitifully, successfully making you feel bad if you didn't let her go out for the night. This was all the more reason as to why you had to watch out for her. God knows what she would get up to if she was left unattended.
"Oh, alright. We can go to the party tomorrow." Hailey cheered loudly, hugging you to show how thankful she was. "But on one condition! You have to buy your own drinks. You have to find out the currency system some of these days."
"Oh yes! I'll study hard tonight! Thank you (Y/N)! We're going to have so much fun, trust me!"
You nodded, flashing her a reassuring smile. You silently hoped Hailey would magically turn into a mirror so you could see yourself smile. You needed someone to give you a reassuring look right about now. Maybe it was the nerves talking, but you felt really unsure about this idea. Hopefully Hailey would behave so the two of you could enjoy yourselves responsibly. Seeing as Hailey promised you she wouldn't sneak away in the middle of the night, you felt a little better. Whenever Hailey made a promise she always kept it. This was one of the qualities you admired in your friend.
"Now with that out of the way, I need to tell you about this guy Kyle at my work-"
A/N: Sorry if this is a little short and rushed; school has entered it's more challenging time. My brain is fried! Take this as a preview for what's to come~
(Also we're almost at 8000 views! Wooo!)
-B