Please

Hangover

Jo woke in Kate's room, sunlight poking through the shut blinds. The heat forced her out of bed and onto the carpeted floor. Kate left her to crash after they stumbled back to her house, well past one in the morning, and had giggled as Rhys mumbled sweet nothings in her ear. Jo was asleep before she might have heard any suspicious sounds coming from Rhys's study.

After the awkward encounter by the bathrooms, Jo was intent to leave logical Jo behind and embrace fun Jo a little longer. It took more shots than she would have considered reasonable, but the jitteriness from earlier had been sufficiently buried under a layer of inebriation. The consequence of that was a throbbing headache and slight queasiness that greeted her when she stumbled to the door.

Jo tiptoed around to the bathroom and quietly shut the door. Jesus. Her hair was a mess and the mascara she had on the night before had smudged below her eyes while she slept. It took a few minutes to wipe the black goop from the bags under her eyes (those didn't come off so easily), and when she was done, her eyes were slightly red. Jo thankfully hadn't worn any foundation for the night, happy for once that she had no major pimples to hide. She rinsed her face and grimaced at her hair. Brushing it with the bright pink brush on the counter that probably belonged to Kate would only make her look like a tumble weed, so she combed through it with her fingers as best as she could before slipping out of the bathroom.

Jo continued to tiptoe, making for the kitchen, where she probably left her bag. It was a Sunday, so there was no rush, but like all people in the 21st century, she couldn't go very long without her phone.

"Fuck." She breathed, startled when the figure sitting in the kitchen looked up when she entered.

"Morning." Marco sniffed, switch off the phone he was just scrolling on. "You look like you had a good night."

"Thanks." Jo avoided looking at him.
She spotted her bag on the dinning table and moved toward it. She slipped it over her shoulder and turned back to head to the door, which was back through the hall. Marco was leaning against the wall, blocking her way.

"I'm just gonna go before Kate and Rhys get up, I don't want to wake them."

Jo went to step around him but Marco shifted, and took a step toward her.

"They left ages ago, went to go get breakfast."

Jo breathed out through her nose, looking anywhere but at him. Even with his baggy shirt and loose jeans, he was obviously athletic. Jo hoped she wasn't blushing.

"You should get that cleaned up first." He pointed to her hand.

Jo didn't look at the scabs forming on her knuckles, but she curled her fingers to test them. She finally looked over at him and forced herself to hold his gaze, keeping her expression as blank as possible.

"I'll be fine."

"Kate's got a first aid kit, better safe than sorry."

Marco turned and stepped back into the kitchen, expertly locating the first aid kit. He was obviously living there with Kate and Rhys, which irritated Jo because she'd never seen him before last night.

"Here." He pulled out a tiny bottle of saline and wiggled it between his fingers.

"It's fine, I don't need anything." Jo was struggling to keep the annoyance out of her voice.

"Humour me." Marco closed the box and picked it up, walking back out of the kitchen.

Jo hesitated. Eventually, she sighed and parked herself in one of the dining chairs. Marco quickly set up his nurse station and held out a hand. Jo blinked at him for a second before murmuring an apology and holding out her hand.