Langour ・❥・Joost Klein・❥・

4.

Fenne was glad that she had stopped drinking when she did.

It was obvious on Sunday morning that neither she nor Hanna would be venturing out of their apartment. The train ride home was long and by the time they were passed out in their beds, it was nearing the early hours of the morning.

After a long sleep, Fenne was able to make it to her friend's room, where her slippers shuffled in obnoxiously loud. The noise and the extra presence made Hanna groan, her hand on her forehead and her bed sheets up to her chin.

'I need a Big Mac,' she mumbled without opening her eyes. Fenne lowered herself onto the corner of Hanna's bed and let out an exhausted sigh.

'I'll order it if you get it at the door.'

Somehow, it sounded like a fair trade in Hanna's swimming mind.

Fenne heard a confirming groan and pulled her phone out from her sweatpant pocket. The dark room lit up with the light of her screen. The blackout curtains that remained closed let Fenne see her immobilised friend amongst the duvet. She turned to her phone, which she hadn't looked at since checking the time on the train.

Her pale pink background that was bordered with bows held the numbers 11:30am and a handful of notifications. Bank transaction alerts sat in a cluster, varying from €5 to €15 charges. Fenne didn't want to see how much she had spent, as all she could remember were the three drinks they had at Club Up. They had predrinks for a reason and her part-time job didn't warrant her to be spending as her intoxicated heart desired.

As she unlocked her phone and searched for the UberEats app, a symbol by her Instagram caught her eye. The red and purple square usually sat idle and was only tapped when Fenne was bored in her theory classes. But when Fenne saw the red circle with the number '3' inside, she put off ordering hangover food to tap on Instagram.

Joost Klein started followed you.

Joost Klein sent you a new message.

Joost Klein liked your post.

Fenne's churning stomach leapt. For her own sanity, she tapped on the user in doubt that it was a verified acocunt. She ignored Hanna's mumble for a strawberry milkshake as her eyes frantically analysed the account that had a blue tick next to it's username. Seeing the most recent post of a blurry blonde with the flash lighting up the stage, Fenne realised that Joost Klein had beaten her to it.

'I have a faint memory of you talking to someone last night,' Hanna said, her voice strengthening with every word. 'Outside the club. Wasn't it a guy? All I could focus on was the cigarette he was smoking.'

'Joost just followed me on Instagram.'

It took a moment for Hanna's arm to fly off of her forehead. Her ascent from the mattress was slow, but held the urgency and intent of lightning. Hanna hunched over, but held wide eyes with her hair falling into her face.

'What?! Was that who it was? Did you talk to Joost Klein last night?!'

'I-I dropped my train card,' Fenne lowered her phone to explain to Hanna. 'He picked it up for me. We talked a little.'

'And he asked for your Instagram?'

'He asked if I had it. But you were practically falling over, so I said I'd find his account. Looks like he beat me to it.'

A brief pause blanketted the two. Fenne sensed that Hanna was trying to recollect the last part of the night, and she used the time to look at the other notifications on her Instagram.

The post that the verified account liked was her most recent upload. It was a picture that Hanna had taken of Fenne while at university. They were having lunch at the campus cafe and while holding up a heart-shaped cookie, Fenne smiled. The lush trees in the background brightened her round face, even eccentuating her green eyes.