Mask off

Blackout

Mara woke up feeling the worst she has ever felt. Her head was pounding, and she felt like she was about to puke. Light filled the room coming from the window. Mara squinted, trying to block out the sun with her hand. Her hair was up in a bun and her whole body ached. She shifted in the bed, then felt an arm around her waist. She turned her head to the side, noticing Evelyn lying in bed. Evelyn was still passed out; it didn't look like she would wake up anytime soon. There were hickeys all around her neck, making her look similar to a chew toy. It all came rushing back to Mara. The party, the drinks, sleeping with Evelyn. 

Damian was going to kill her.

It was an hour later before Evelyn woke up. Mara had already taken a shower and gotten changed. When Evelyn woke up, she groaned. She rubbed her eyes and stretched out her body. Mara threw a bottle of Tylenol on the bed. "For your hangover," Mara said before going back to brush her hair. Evelyn gave a small thanks before taking some. The room was filled with an awkward silence, but nobody mentioned it. Evelyn looked over at the mirror next to her and noticed her neck. She winced, rubbing at all of the hickeys. Evelyn gulped, looking over at Mara. Mara didn't look back at the girl, just continued to brush her hair.

"Did we sleep together" Evelyn blurted out. Mara looks over at the girl, keeping the calm composer she always seems to have. "Yes, do you not remember?" Evelyn just gave Mara an awkward smile before looking away. Mara continued to look at the girl. "Do you regret it?" Mara asked. This panicked Evelyn, "Oh no! Of course not, I'm just, erm, shocked." Mara nodded, slowly turning her attention back to her hair. Evelyn starred up at the roof. SHe wanted to say something but didn't know how to. 

"We can't tell Damian this ever happened," Evelyn said, giving a pleading look to the other girl. Mara looked over, tilting her head in confusion. "I wasn't planning on telling Hafid," Mara answered. Evelyn smiled at the girl's advanced English. "You know you can call him Damian; he doesn't mind," Evelyn said, slowly changing the subject. Mara nodded, "It feels odd to call him that. I prefer Hafid." Evelyn hummed in agreement, letting silence fall over them once again.

Mara sighed, putting her hairbrush down. "We have to discuss this," Mara said, turning her chair to face Evelyn. Evelyn looked at Mara, "Okay." Mara nodded, trying to figure out the words to say. "This was a one-time thing, no more of this," Mara spoke brokenly. Evelyn nodded, "We can't tell a single soul. Nobody will know what happened except us." Mara smiled slightly, "except Sam and Layla." Evelyn looked confused for a second before it dawned on her. She groaned, putting her face in her hands. 

"Don't worry, we can talk to them. I'm sure they won't tell anyone" Mara tried to comfort the girl. Evelyn took a deep breath before nodding. "We are only friends, okay? No falling in love or any of that shit," Mara said. Evelyn nodded, "Don't worry, I'm not in love with you." Mara snorted before going back to her hair. Evelyn laid back down, staring back at the ceiling. 

Layla had woken up first out of the two. Sam was still passed out on the bed. Layla had her hair in a messy ponytail. Her coily hair was sticking out in odd angled, but she was too busy to worry about it. Did Sam remember that he asked her out? Did he just say that on impulse? What if he didn't actually want to date her and was just drunk? Layla sighed, looking down at her phone. There were photo's online of the party last night. She laughed at the drunk teenagers trying to dance. There was a photo of Kamilah and Damian dancing that made her heart hurt. Would she be able to have something like that with Sam?

She scrolled through social media more before she saw a photo of Sam. He was clearly too drunk to remember anything, but he looked so happy. Layla wasn't in the photo, but you could see her hand beside Sam's hand. Layla liked the photo and saved it. There was movement in the bed, and Sam huffed. He rubbed his eyes. His hair was sticking in every direction, and his face had a red tint to it. 

Sam smiled at Layla when he noticed the girl starring at him. "What" He laughed out when Layla kept starring at him. "Did you mean to ask me out?" Layla asked, biting her bottom lip. Sam stared at her for a moment, "Of course I did?" Layla looked in disbelief for a minute, "Are you sure you weren't just drunk?" Sam snorted at the comment, sitting up in the bed. "I wanted to ask you out even before I was drunk. I promise it wasn't because I was drunk" Sam laughed. 

Layla smiled at the boy. She stood up and practically threw herself in Sam's arms. She let a little giggle out before hugging the boy. Sam smiled, hugging the girl back just as enthusiastically. They stayed like that for a moment before Sam spoke. "We should tell the others." Layla nodded, putting her head on Sam's shoulder. "Soon, let's enjoy this moment right now," Layla said, letting a comfortable silence fall over them. 

Sam sat up a little. Layla made a noise of disapproval but did nothing to stop him. "Are we going to talk about Mara and Evelyn?" Sam asked, snickering at the memories. Layla laughed, "No, we can let them figure it out."