The Train To Nowhere

chapter 12 - it's all a blur.

Rosie sighed fast and heavily, pulling me out of my daydream.

"Are you a walking quote book today?" she smiled humorously. I pulled back slightly and exhaled too. "Next you're going to be telling me 'be a rainbow in someone else's cloud'."

"Or be your own rainbow," I added jokingly. "Unlike your pathetic ex-boyfriend, I don't tend to reference Tumblr on a day to day basis."

"And it makes me dead inside," Rosie said, her voice soaked with sarcasm. We both sniggered and then chat some more. Chatted for who know's how long. Hours and hours. I was quite sure it was at least until the sky outside started to resemble the soft lilac of dawn. Until we got pins and needles from lying in the same, slightly twisted position for so long. Til Bibi, who was very petite with a low tolerance towards alcohol came rushing in to chuck her head in the toilet basin. She flushed it and even wiped up the little orange drips from the seat, but it still stank the room out so we had to leave.

"Ugh." I climbed out and Rosie stumbled over the bathroom floor with me. "I'm so tired."

"Me too," Rosie moaned, "I think my eyelids are going to close any minute now and I won't be able to reopen them after."

I could believe that, for when I was talking about my Psychology work or something about half an hour ago, I remembered Rosie saying something along the lines of, "I'm just going to close my eyes, but I'm still listening!" before falling into a sleep like a coma, where I had to yell and shake her agressively before she so much as roused. We held on to each other for support as we swayed about and slowly but carefully stepped down the stairs. I checked my watch which said it was four something in the morning, and I took a yawn so big it made my eyes water. When we got downstairs everyone was either asleep or talking slowly and muttering. The music had stopped playing and I didn't even bother to go find Isaac to see if he would come with me.

"Guys?" Rosie whispered to the lounge, as everyone was scattered about and unmoving. Half the party were on the couches or had gone home. I saw Jayde lying in the same place I had left her, except a few people had shuffled her body up so they had space. A few snores and soft mutters were the only sounds to be heard in the shadowy room, an enormous contrast to earlier.

"Hey," I heard a voice emerge from the shadow. Ahmed lifted his hand up to show he saw us there, from his slouched position on the baby blue coloured sofa.

"We're still alive," muttered Noah, and Nina waved her hand as well. We approached them and Rosie sat on the arm of the chair.

"Are you going home?" Nina asked. Rosie yawned and shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know," I answered, "I don't really want to."
"That's fine, man!" Noah yawned, "You can stay over?"

"Can I stay too?" Rosie asked hopefully. I doubted her body would give a choice. She'd probably collapse with exhaustion if she tried to make her way home now, especially alone.

"Sure!"

"Are you sure?" I questioned him. He was my best friend but I still wasn't sure if his parents wouldn't walk in later on in the morning and freak out.

"Yeah, don't worry. My parents are away all weekend. They won't get back til like eight o'clock tonight." He sighed and sank back into the sofa.

Rosie and I didn't stay down there much longer. Noah lead us up to his bedroom that I'd been in so many times before, and Nina followed (Priya and Isaac were already in the guest room). Noah - clearly trying to be noble let Rosie and Nina sleep in his double bed, and so he and I both camped out on the floor with some cushions, pillows and blankets. We were too tired to blow up a mattress and at this hour we really didn't care. We were just so exhausted. Half way through the night people occasionally got up to go to the toilet but it was mostly quiet from that point onward, the house as silent as a grave.

When we awoke the next morning we had pounding headaches, lurching stomachs and coffee cravings. But the previous night was all a blur.