Like Clockwork

two

"Ow, ow, OW!" Markus puts his hands to his head as he sits up, "Harry why did you insist on us all basically blacking out last night?"

Our post-graduation celebration ended up taking us out to nearly every bar we were regulars at, and had us acting as if we were on the last bar crawl of our lives. It was an incredible night, however I wouldn't say it was one to remember... I'm sure half of us don't. We ended up all crashing at the house me and the girls share, and everyone but the lovely couple wound up on either the floor or the couch. I guess at some point throughout the night they snuck off into their room, most likely due to Cynthia wanting a mattress under her and refusing to go without Venice.

"Shut up, you're the one who ordered that last round last night," Harry retorts from the ground, pulling his blanket over his face.

"You idiots are both to blame." I hear James groan on the extended portion of the sectional couch next to me.

I finally muster up the courage to open my eyes, and immediately regret that decision once the light hits them, "I'm with Jame. Fuck you both."

Within seconds, I feel a pillow hit me and my glare shoots towards Harry, who's trying hiding his pained grin behind said pillow.

"I. Will. Murder. You." I threaten, my pounding head, "And I won't be sorry."

Suddenly, I hear the front door open and all of us look in the general direction of the entryway.

Moments later, a smiley Venice walks into the room with two stuffed grocery bags and two carriers full of coffee.

"Well, well, well. Look at you shitshows." She chuckles.

"How the hell are you standing upright, Vennie?" James asks groggily while trying to prop himself up slightly.

"Because while you morons were throwing back drinks all night, I was happily sipping and focusing more on my weed."

"Ah, so you're fine because you're lame." Markus jokes.

Venice raises her eyebrow as she looks at him, "Says the man who was drunkenly begging me to roll him a joint and then got all emotional when I made fun of him for not being able to roll his own."

His eyes widen in response, "I did what now?"

All of us let out a weak chuckle before realizing that laughing is adding to our pain.

"Anyways," Venice sets the coffee down and starts rustling through her bags, "I took the liberty of running out and getting the best hangover cures in anticipation for what is happening right now. So I would be nice to me since I have the goods that will end your suffering."

Before I know it, she's tossed each of us our own bottle of water, Pedialyte, and ginger ale, as well as a community bottle of ibuprofen. She then went around and set our respective coffee drinks by us before clapping her hands together.

"Alright, all of these beverages are courtesy of Cynth's card. I'm gonna get started on breakfast, which I hope stays in all of your systems and doesn't come up in our toilet."

And with that, she grabs the remaining bag and heads to the kitchen to set it down, before grabbing Cynthia's bottled drinks and coffee and taking them to their room for her.

"And this is why having a friend who likes weed more than alcohol always works in our favor." I grin, tossing back two ibuprofens with my water.

Harry's already guzzled down half of his water and about a quarter of his bright orange Pedialyte, "Agreed."

"So..." Markus smirks after taking a gulp of his grape flavored electrolytes, "Shall we place our bets on how put together Cynth looks this morning?"

All of us let out a laugh. Due to Cynthia's fabulous nature, she almost always looks perfect and presentable, no matter what she's doing or where she is. So, a fun little game we like to play after long nights out is guessing how much of a mess she'll be the next morning. It sounds cruel, but in reality, she's just so perfect that even the slightest hair out of place is a rare sight.