Music And Silence- A Reylo AU

Chapter 20- One Hell of a Hangover

* pleasebenaked-, estherlyh, alice-selene27 and EmilyFord739 thank you for your support.*

Rae opened one eye with a groan and placed a hand on her throbbing head.

"Uh," she groaned more loudly as she rolled onto her back and attempted to open her eyes more.

In doing so, she realised she wasn't at home, and this wasn't her bed. She didn't recognise this room or this bed; the walls, floors and ceilings were wood-clad, and she was lying in a large bed with dark sheets. The walls had a few black and white photographs of trees. A chair was in the corner, and opposite the bed was a sofa with a neatly folded sheet. She looked to the side where a bedside table with her phone on was charging, and next to it, she saw a Kindle and a selection of worn books, books Ben had said he liked.

"Fuck. Fuck."

She dragged herself out of bed in a panic and then looked down. She was in a t-shirt and a pair of boxers, and neither of them belonged to her.

"Fuck!"

Her clothes from last night were neatly piled on the chair next to the side table. There was a slightly ajar door to one side of the wood-clad box, and Rae could see a bathroom through it. Rae entered it and washed her face in the large concrete sink, hoping the cold water would clear her foggy mind. What happened last night? She stared at herself in the large mirror above the sink, trying to recall. Rae remembered being at the club, dancing with Dave and that amazing dance with Ben when the world had literally disappeared. She rewashed her face, hoping to remove the churning feeling in her stomach as she recalled the intimacy and arousal of that moment. Then she recalled Phoebe epically humiliating Corey and smiled- that was brilliant!

She couldn't hear anything, but she had a pretty good idea where she was; she was in Ben's pod, the wooden sleeping quarters above the main living space of Ben and Hux's apartment. They'd all come back here after the club celebrating Phoebe's victory. There had been lots of drinking, apparently because she remembered being in the apartment and drinking excessively to try and feel better about what had happened; correction hadn't happened with Ben after their dance. Somehow, though, she'd woken up in his bed.

"Fuck!" she swore again.

She left the bathroom, walked through the bedroom, and headed for the door. She opened it pensively and peered out. The wooden box opposite Hux's room was silent, and she couldn't hear anything from below. She tiptoed out and down the staircase, and as she turned, she saw Ben standing in the kitchen area, eating a bowl of cereal. She bit her lips and stood at the bottom of the stairs, pulling the t-shirt she was wearing down as low as possible and wrapped her arms around herself to cover as much of herself as possible. He looked up and smiled while chewing on his food.

"Morning," he glanced at his watch, "make that afternoon."

Rae groaned, and he smiled again as she walked over to the kitchen island and perched on a stool.

"Tea? Food?" he asked.

"Please."

"How are you feeling?"

"Unsure currently. Not sure if it's gonna be an eat all day kind of hangover or a don't eat at all hangover." She placed her head in her hands.

"Toast then?"