Dalliance (on hold)

Stephanie

The world was gone, because I had drank it, and it was now imploding inside my head. Why did I not drink water last night before bed? I opened my eyes a fraction to let the sun filter through into my pupil; I'm sure it was much brighter than it usually was in March. I closed my eyes again and just tried to focus on the feel of the duvet on my chin. The sound of the birds outside. And the damn screaming kids.

"Urgh." I groaned loudly as I sat up at the pace of a sloth and swung my legs round to the side of the bed. I sat with my head in my hands for a short while; everything took so much longer when I was hungover. I stood and looked back at my bed; the duvet had managed to make a full 180 degree turn in the night. I corrected it and pulled back the edge, noticing a scrap of paper.

Nag,

Thanks for a great night, hope the hangover isn't too bad!
Sorry I left early,

Colton

I stood in a state of confusion. Who is Nag? This must be for someone else. I took some aspirin with a big glass of water and then wandered into the kitchen, holding the note.

"Morning, Maddison." I said.

"Morning."

"Where is everyone?"

"Still in bed I think." She shovelled a huge mouthful of cereal into her mouth.

"Quick question." I laughed nervously, "did I bring someone back last night?"

"I don't know," she frowned. "I came home before you. Though when I left you were with some guy, maybe you brought him back?"

"I don't remember." I sat down at the stool opposite Maddison and handed her the note.

"Hmm," she studied the note for a while. "Who's Nag?"

"I don't know! That's what I thought." I said, exasperated. Connie walked into the kitchen clutching her head, and laughed when she saw me. "What?" I asked.

"Have a nice night?" She asked sarcastically. I looked at her, confused. "Colton." She prompted.

"That's who the note's from!" I took it from Maddison and handed it to Connie.

"He didn't leave a number?" She asked.

"That's all he left." I took out my phone and searched his name on Facebook. "What's his last name?"

"I've no idea." Maddison said. I typed in 'Colton' and a whole list of names came up. I didn't recognise any of the profile pictures coming up. There! I turned my phone towards Maddison and Connie.

"That him?" I asked.

"Yup." Connie grabbed a glass from the counter and filled it with Apple juice.

"And he just left?" I frowned.

"I guess so." Connie said.

"What a dick!" Maddison shouted. Connie and I both looked at her, surprised. She was sweet and innocent, and rarely swore. She looked particularly innocent this morning wearing her flannel pyjamas and her hair in a messy bun. I usually would have laughed at something like that, but it wasn't so funny this morning.

"It's coming back to me slightly now." I said. "I remember dancing with him. And I remember asking him where he most wanted to go, I think we were outside."

"He called you Nag when he first spoke to you, because your name was too long." Connie jumped in.

"Yeah, I remember that, we were all walking from The Nag's Head, weren't we?"

"Yeah."

I stalked off back to my room to get dressed, and the night started to come back to me. I remember drinking at the bar, and asking him to dance. We walked home. I think we watched the stars.

I pulled on some black leggings, washed my hands, and then pulled on a university grey hoodie. My room seemed to be light, yet dim at the same time. I drew back the curtains to let the sunlight flood in, and squinted slightly, before brushing my hair and pulling it back into a loose ponytail.

44 minutes and 8 seconds past 9. One two three four, one two three four.

How come he didn't leave a number? Did he not want to see me again? Or maybe he's just a twat who sleeps around and then never calls.

"I'm going out," I shouted down the hallway.

"Mm-kay." Connie called back.

The headache had worn off slightly after taking an aspirin and brushing the alcohol taste off of my teeth. I jogged down the stairs to the ground floor, and then down to the Themes for the first rowing practice of the season. I was pretty early, but I just felt like I needed to get out, so I planned to go sit in a nearby cafe and have a coffee to wake me up a bit. The streets were busy with the Saturday Tourists, as we called them. Kids pulling on their mother's arms towards the ice cream van that was strategically placed among the hustle and bustle of families on day trips out.

The cafe I was aiming for was within sight. I gasped. That's him. That's Colton right in front. I turned around frantically searching for somewhere to hide from him.

"Oi! Twat!" What was that?!! Why am I shouting him. Damn, nowhere to hide now. I stood awkwardly as he, and a number of other passers by, turned to face me. Recognition crossed his face and he strolled reluctantly towards me, a guilty smile on his face.

"Hey." He scratched the back of his head.

"Don't 'hey' me!" I shouted, suddenly filled with anger that I hadn't felt until now.

"What do you want me to say?"

"I want you to explain what the hell happened!"

"I left a note." He said.

"A note that explained absolutely nothing, you didn't even leave a phone number. You may be someone who just sleeps around, but I'm not. And you knew that."

"Well what do you want me to do?" He shouted.

"Don't shout at me!" I yelled. "You have no right to shout at me when you're the one in the wrong."

"How did you know I didn't have to leave for some sort of emergency?"

"Did you?" I raised my eyebrows.

"No, but-," he stumbled.

"Exactly. Don't try and make me feel guilty for this!" I yelled again. We were starting to make a bit of a scene; people walking by were stopping to earwig on what was going on. "I thought you were a genuine guy."

He stood for a while, not knowing what to say.

"Well it's clear we both want different things." He said finally.

I scoffed at his comment. "Fine. Be a dick, see what I care."

"So, what? We just leave it then?"

"I guess that's all we can do." I growled.

"If I knew you were this uptight, I never would have bought you a drink." He laughed.

"If I knew you were an arrogant dick, I never would have accepted your drink."

"Then let's just forget it ever happened." He said with a smug smile on his face that I just wanted to slap right off.

"Fine."

"Fine."

"I have to go." I snapped. "I've got rowing practice in 20 minutes."

We stood in the middle of the path, letting people filter by either side. He looked at me right in the eyes.

"So do I."