Heir of Ice

Chapter 8

Erik

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Erik woke up the next morning with what felt like the worst hangover of his life. 

He groaned as he rolled over and fell off of the couch, banging his head on the coffee table before slamming it on the floor. His ears rang loudly when he heard Rune and Sten's laughter from the kitchen. 

"Shut up!" He yelled out. That only made them laugh harder. 

"Here, try this," Astrid said, walking over to him with a mug in hand. "I made you tea because I knew you would be hungover... it might be a little cold because you woke up later than I thought you would." 

A smile slipped onto Erik's face. "Thank you so much," He took a sip and the tea was indeed very cold, but he didn't dare complain. "It tastes amazing." 

"If you want I can try and heat it back up for you-"

"No, don't worry about it. This temperature is amazing." 

Astrid smiled, before sitting down on the couch. "We have to leave in an hour by the way. It's our day to sell." 

Erik sighed, before turning to the kitchen to where Rune and Sten sat, giving him the dumbest grins. "Can one of you guys cover for me today? I'll make it up to you."

"Not a chance dude," Rune said, standing up from the small table in the kitchen and walking into the living room. He crossed his arms. "You trashed the living room last night, so I'm going to have to stay and clean it up a little bit."

Erik looked around and Rune was right. Empty bottles and glasses were littered all around the floor, there was food everywhere as well as clothing, a couch cushion had been ripped apart and there was a wet spot in the corner. Erik cringed thinking about what he possibly could have done to create that wet spot. 

He looked back up at Rune with sympathy. Rune returned the look with a cold hard glare, his dark brown eyes steady. 

Rune had always been the most strict out of all of them. He still had his fun, but he was sort of like the dad of the group. A dad who also happened to be devilishly handsome and get hit on by prostitutes every night, thanks to his midnight dark skin, beautifully defined muscles, and neatly braided hair. Erik was never really jealous of him unless he caught Astrid looking at him in a way that made him start to think she might have feelings for him, which he really hoped wasn't the case. 

"Ok what about you Sten," Eric asked the idiot who stood at the doorway between the kitchen and living room with a stupid smirk on his face. "Will you do me a solid and cover for me today? I know you have nothing else going on." 

"Actually," Sten said as his smile grew wider. Oh god. "I do have something today." 

"What is it?" Erik asked with a sigh. 

"I have a date today!"

There was a moment of silence before everyone erupted in laughter. 

"What?" Sten exclaimed. "Is it that hard to believe that I could get a date?" 

"Yes," Astrid giggled. "It is." 

Sten rolled his eyes. "Well for your information, not only did I get a date, but she happens to be the prettiest girl I have ever seen." 

"What's her name?" Astrid said, turning away from Erik to facing Sten. 

"Hazel," Sten said. "Like the color."