You Still Have Shitty Hair

Eleonora didn't know why she kept rifling through the pockets of her jeans, she wasn't going to find anything new.

She sighed, leaning her head back against the wall behind her. This was just great. Absolutely fantastic.

She'd followed everyone out of Edoardo's house, then had the terrible realisation that she didn't have her bag. When Eva had texted her that Silvia was upset after talking to Edoardo, Eleonora had been in such a panic that she'd completely forgotten to bring it. The real kicker, though, was that she kept her keys in her bag. She was at least thankful she'd remembered to bring her phone and wallet.

Eleonora sighed again, bringing one hand up to her face and pressing her fingers against her forehead. How could she have been so stupid?

She shouldn't have come to this stupid party. By the time she arrived, Silvia was making out with Luchino in a corner. At least Eleonora had got to see the look on Eva, Fede and Sana's faces in response to that.

The only true positive to this situation was that she'd spent the last hour of the party sitting on Edoardo's couch patting his dog. She would at least publicly give Edoardo that; he had a cute dog. In hindsight she didn't know why she expected Edoardo to own some kind of small, yappy dog. Arturo was a scruffy sheepdog looking thing, and Eleonora thought he was perfect.

She'd had a dog before she moved to Rome, but he'd gone to live with her mother. Eleonora shut her eyes for a second, trying to push thoughts of her mother from her mind. Now wasn't the time, she had enough to process. She needed to deal with one problem at a time.

Her mother seemed to be able to handle a dog's needs reasonably well. Weird.

Whatever. Not now.

She pulled her phone out of her thoroughly dug-through pocket, texting Filo to double check that he was out for the night. Ah, to be young and free and not deeply entangled in a Gossip Girl-style drama. Is that an out-of-date reference?

Next she brought up Eva's contact, figuring she could ask to spend the night at her house if she needed to. There was no answer, though, and Eleonora tried to think of who she should call next. Who of the other girls was most likely to let her spend the night?

She was so wrapped up in her worries that she didn't notice Edoardo's front door open next to her.

"Ele?"

She turned so fast, pushing herself off the wall, that she felt a pain in her neck. Bringing one hand up to rub the painful spot, she managed to give Edoardo a grimace-like smile.

"Hi."

"What are you doing?"

Eleonora shrugged. "I forgot my keys, so I'm just trying to figure out whose house I can stay at for the night."

Edoardo looked at her for a second, seemingly torn, and Eleonora tried not to squirm under his gaze. "Well, come inside while you figure it out then" he finally said.

Eleonora had thought about this. When she'd realised she didn't have her keys, she'd considering knocking on Edoardo's door and asking to stay until she sorted it out. But that would mean spending time with him. Alone. She knew that wasn't the greatest idea. She'd managed to keep her feelings in check so far, but after their date- and the realisation afterwards that maybe she'd been a little harsh towards him- she didn't know if she could act normally around him. Her version of normal, that is; she didn't know if she could act like she despised him anymore. But she couldn't exactly say no to him now.

Awesome. Here goes nothing.

She gave him a small nod, walking past him and back inside when he stepped aside for her.