"IT'S SERIOUSLY FINE, YOU stay."
"No dude, you stay. I got this."
"Dude, she's my sister. You stay."
I am sitting on the couch, my head lolling back against the arm rest, waiting for Calum and Luke to decide which one of them would take me home and which would remain at the party. Anna had kept me company for some of the time, though she had run off to chase a college boy quite a while back. In the time that she'd been gone, I had managed to down two more drinks without either of the boys noticing, though now I had become impossibly more intoxicated. Needless to say, there were two Calum's and two Luke's arguing in front of me right now.
The couch beside me sinks as somebody sits down. I spin my head to face them, the whole world blurring together as I do so and making it incredibly difficult to identify who the person beside me actually is. After a few moments, when the world finally begins to settle, I recognise the messy blonde hair and sweet smile.
"Hey, how you feeling?" Jaden asks kindly, though all I can seem to focus on is how incredibly white his teeth are.
"Better," the word escapes as a stranger slur, though Jaden either doesn't notice or doesn't care — or I'm too drunk to even identify his facial expressions. I lean forward, narrowing my eyes at his teeth. "Are those veneers?"
Jaden lets out a light chuckle and shakes his head. "I get them whitened," he reveals shamelessly. I let out an 'oh' and lean back against the couch, nodding as I take in the new information. "How much have you had to drink tonight?"
I shrug carelessly. "A lot," I guess, though it's definitely true. I would be regretting this all tomorrow. "I'm bad at drinking games."
"I know," Jaden laughs, reminding me that he was, in fact, sitting beside me throughout said games. He nods toward my brother and Luke. "What are they arguing about?"
I glance over at the boys, who are still avidly arguing, and roll my eyes dramatically. "Which one of them gets to take me home," I tell him, shaking my head as I do so.
Jaden raises his brows. "Surely Luke doesn't want to take you home," he questions, and rightfully so. Contrary to what was going on behind closed doors, I am reminded yet again of the facade that is still being maintained amongst everyone except Michael. I simply shrug in response, knowing that I'm not currently capable of producing long sentences let alone explaining how the mind of Luke Hemmings works. "Plus, he's been flirting with Cara all night — why would he want to leave now?"
My heart tugs at his words. I feel the urge to defend myself by denying Jaden's words, but I know that it will only raise suspicion which would, in turn, anger Luke even further. I don't want any more arguments tonight. "Yeah... I don't know," is what I settle on uttering. Jaden simply nods in response. After a moment of strange silence I let out a shaky sigh. "Anyway, I should go."
Jaden nods instantly, swallowing. "Yeah, of course," he says, standing up from the couch and helping me do the same. When he's sure I'm somewhat stable, he smiles sweetly down at me. "It was really nice to chat again, Rory."
"Yeah, it was," I respond truthfully with a nostalgic smile. I can't believe it's been so long since I've spoken to Jaden. I find myself missing our friendship and wishing we hadn't ruined it by sleeping together all those years ago.
"Listen, maybe we could hang out sometime?" He proposes, seeming slightly nervous.
"I..." I trail off, unsure of how to respond. Even if I weren't seeing Luke, I would be hesitant to agree to rekindling whatever I had with Jaden due to the friendship I rather seek. Thankfully, I don't have to answer because he quickly interrupts with a slightly panicked chuckle.
"As friends!" Jaden corrects himself lightning fast. "Just as friends, of course."
"Okay then, yeah," I tell him with a smile. "I'd love that."
"I'll message you," he says, shiny un-veneered teeth grinning back at me. "Get home safe, yeah?"
"Sure."
When Jaden is gone, I turn back to face my brother and Luke, who are somehow still debating who will have the pleasure of escorting me home.
"Look, I owe you for when I took the car," is what Luke is saying when I begin to tune into the conversation, appearing all grim-faced and apologetic as if his intentions weren't to lie to his best friend again.
Calum shakes his head avidly at this, refusing to accept it. "It's whatever, man. You don't owe me," he tells Luke. "Besides, I'd rather not arrive home to find you've killed my sister in her sleep. I'd better take her."
"Cal, I—"
"¿Por que nos las dos, hombres?" I interrupt, tired and, in all honesty, beginning to feel a little unwell. Both boys turn to me, bewildered at my expression. "Let's just all leave together."
Calum and Luke share a shocked yet impressed look, then turn back to me shrugging their shoulders in agreement. "Yeah, okay," Calum yanks Luke's keys from his pocket and swings them around his index finger. "I'll bring the car around."
He bounces off to the front door, not a care in the world, and Luke turns to me with a combined expression of concern and amusement.
"I don't know how," I begin, letting my shaky body lean up against Luke's much more stable one. "But I just got way more drunk than before."
Luke only laughs, wrapping an arm around me. For a moment I am surprised, looking up at him with wide eyes, but he shakes his head. "I'm just helping you to the car, relax," he explains with a cheeky eye roll. "Don't get too excited."
"I'm not," I respond stubbornly, straightening up so that I don't have to lean as much weight on him. "I don't need help."
Luke scoffs, shaking his head, but allows me to walk on my own regardless. "Sure."
For a few seconds I am walking fine on my own, concentrating hard on taking each step carefully. However, just as I begin to think that perhaps this isn't as difficult as I'd found it before, my balance gives and my body sways. I stick my arms out by my side to brace myself as I begin to topple to the floor, but I never hit it. When I look up Luke is holding me, inches away from the floor, his expression flushed with concern.
"'I don't need help' my ass."
—
By the time Calum pulls into our driveway my stomach is churning, ready to release the contents of what it had consumed over the course of the night.
Luke keeps checking in the rear view mirror to see how I am doing, flashes of concern showing before vanishing as Calum continues speaking. When we pull in, however, this all seems to disappear as Luke is the first to my door, helping me out of the car.
"I'm fine," I tell him, though my words are slurring together in a way that he probably doesn't even understand.
"You nearly broke an ankle back at the house," Luke reminds me, his hands hovering nearby even after he steadies me onto the concrete.
"Fake news," I deem with a shrug. Calum giggles from the other side of the car. "I don't feel—"
I don't have the opportunity to finish my sentence before something shifts in my stomach and I feel bile climbing up my throat. I turn instantly to the bushes lining our fence and lean over, allowing all of the alcohol to burn back up my throat and land in a clumpy, gross mess in the garden.
"Oh god," I hear someone — I think Calum — groan behind me. "I can't look."
I feel a hand rubbing my back soothingly and my hair being swept up into a small bunch so that it is out of my face as I continue to vomit. "It's okay," Luke's voice coos softly, somehow easing my discomfort. "Let it out."
And I do exactly that. I'm not quite sure how much time goes by before I finally stop throwing up, though I still feel sick when I plop down onto the pavement and lean my head against the fence with a loud groan. Luke is squatting before me, a half-concerned half-bemused smirk on his face, and Calum is standing behind him with a completely disgusted expression as he tries not to look at the mess I've created in the bushes.
"Feeling better?" Luke asks with a cheeky smile.
"No," I groan, letting my head fall into my hands. "But I don't think I have anything left to throw up."
Calum gags visibly at the mention of vomiting, clamping his hand over his mouth. As soon as he does it, he sends me a sheepish expression. "Sorry. You know I'm no good with this stuff," he apologises, to which I shrug nonchalantly. Normally I wasn't either.
"So much for that Spanish lesson we were supposed to have tomorrow," Luke jokes. I send him a soft glare.
"Don't even talk to me about fucking Spanish right now," I scold him, mumbling, "bane of my fucking existence..."
Luke only chuckles, slipping an arm around me and hoisting me up off the ground. I waver, my legs feeling wobbly and unstable, but Luke's hold is a firm support and I know that I will not fall. Calum watches warily as we walk toward the house, stretching out an arm as I approach him, though I shake my head to deter him.
I gesture to my vomit-stained shirt. "Probably best to stay back," I advise him, to which he nods.
"Yeah, you don't wanna smell this," Luke jokes, contorting his face into one of disgust.
I smack his chest weakly, though I know that he's probably right — I'm just too drunk to realise at this point. Inside, Luke helps me up the stairs and into my room, Calum trailing behind like a lost puppy. I sit down on my bed, the world spinning before me as I watch Calum pull a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie from my wardrobe and set them beside me.
I glance between the two of them, watching them stare back at me expectantly. "You guys can leave now," I tell them, gesturing wildly to the change of clothes by my side.
Calum scoffs, rolling his eyes. "I'm your brother — besides, I'll look at the wall," he reasons.
"Yeah, and I'm—" Luke begins, appearing as though he's about to admit to us being something that even I'm not quite sure that we are. He stops himself before he can say too much, however, his eyes wide in a fleeting moment of shock before he continues. "—going to get you a glass of water."
Luke disappears from the room in a blur without another word and I am left alone with my brother. I widen my eyes at Calum, gesturing for him to turn around while I change, and he complies instantly (but not without an eye roll). I find it harder than I should to unzip my dress and pull it down my body, and even more difficult to tug my sweatpants up my legs. Thankfully my hoodie slips over my head nicely, and I collapse onto my bed when I'm dressed, letting my head fall against my pillows.
I let my eyes flutter shut, a wave of fatigue coming over me as I do so. I feel so tired from the night — from dealing with Cara, the games drama, fighting and making up with Luke. Being with him was beginning to feel extremely exhausting. Even amid my drunken euphoria, I can't shake the way that Luke made me feel with his harsh words. Perhaps I provoked him — I know that I'm not entirely innocent in the scenario. I said things to evoke a response, but I never purposely wanted to hurt him. Not the way that he did when he brought up the song.
"Rory, you okay?" Calum asks. I let my eyes open and smile at him perched on the end of my bed with a concerned expression.
"Fine," I mumble my answer, shutting my eyes again. "Tired."
"I'll let you sleep," Calum announces, to which I hum an illegible response.
I hear soft footsteps padding against my carpet, followed by the flick of my light switch bad my door clicking shut, and I know that I am alone. I pull myself under my duvet and snuggle into my bed, letting out a long sigh. I am moments away from falling into a deep slumber when I hear my door click ever so softly open again. I do not open my eyes even as the person patters across my floor and sets something down on my nightstand. My eyes still remain shut when my bed sinks slightly and I feel a hand stroke my hair gently.
The perpetrator plays with my hair for a few short moments, feeling the strands between their fingertips, before leaning down and pressing a soft, sweet kiss to my forehead.
"Good night, Rory," Luke whispers into the dark, the absence of his touch leaving me cold but happy, and sending me to sleep with a giddy smile.