Grinded

chapter XXII.

The faint sound of muffled music floated down the corridor as Lily reached the top of the stairs, slightly out of breath. Taking a second to get her breath back, she listened intently, hoping she may stumble across a conversation she wasn't meant to.

But from the sounds of it, or lack thereof, it seemed that there wasn't much talking being done. And Lily couldn't even act surprised; they had that glint in their eyes, the same glint that had been flickering for months now, and so August and Freddie were probably waiting for this moment.

Too bad she was about to postpone that special moment.

She started down the corridor, making a beeline straight for her room. As she walked, she gently tugged on another doorknob, the one that lead to her mother's room, to make sure it was locked. When she was satisfied, she continued along the hallway, finally coming face to face with her own bedroom.

The music was still muffled, but had grown louder, the familiar beats of a Khalid song slipping through the cracks in the almost worn-down oak door. Before she knocked, Lily leaned in quietly and pressed her ear to the door, once again hoping to hear them talking. A few seconds went by and nothing. If the music weren't on, she would've thought no one was in there at all.

But then, she heard it. And right then she regretted trying to eavesdrop.

A string of soft, sensual moans started pouring from the room. Lily scrunched her face up, instantly pulling herself away from the door. She debated on just texting August to come downstairs instead. The only thing stopping her was the effort she put into actually trailing all the way upstairs.

Please don't give me shit, Freddie, she silently prayed to herself as she readied herself for an inevitable lecture from her friends.

She knocked lightly, smirking to herself when she heard one of the boys let out a string of panicked whispers.

"Hey, guys," Lily shouted over the music, knocking a few more times. "It's me. Can I come in?"

There wasn't a reply. The only sounds were their feet as they seemingly rushed around her room, probably to make themselves decent.

"Alright, come in!" shouted August breathlessly.

Lily decided to give them a few extra seconds. The last thing any of them needed was her getting an upclose look of her friends naked and in the middle of getting it on. After ten more seconds, she twisted the handle and pushed open the door, popping her hip out to one side and serving up a playful smile.

"Sorry to interrupt all the fun," Lily apologised, giving a wink to August when she saw him sat on the bed awkwardly, hands over his lap. "I didn't mean to cockblock or anything."

Freddie, who was laying behind August, poked his head and Lily could tell from the way his nose flared that he wasn't too happy with the interruption. She instinctively held her hands up, pursing her lips as she stepped into the room.

"I swear, I didn't do it on purpose." She glanced at her phone. Another text from Marc.

"Then why are you doing it?" Freddie asked. He sounded over the conversation already. Not that Lily could blame him; he'd been doing the groundwork for so long, her cockblocking could be the straw that broke the camel's back.

Her eyes darted back and forth between the boys. If he was pissed about that, then he was in for an even bigger surprise when she told him Quentin had stopped by.

"August is needed. Downstairs," Lily answered softly. "Quentin's here."

She watched Freddie closely after telling them, and so she wasn't surprised to see a look of frustration shimmer across his face as he let out an exasperated sigh. He seemed pretty pissed, alright.