Painkiller

Ten

"Holy fuck, my head," Xavier mumbled as soon as he woke up.

He sat up on the air mattress to find out he was tucked in and everything.  Madeline wasn't in her bed, which meant she was up and around.  Xavier looked on the side table, and sure enough, there were three ibuprofen and a glass of ice water.  Xavier took the pills and drank a decent amount of water, before he could feel the vomit coming up.

He jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom, barely making it before he let out everything in his stomach into the toilet bowl.  When he finally finished, which felt like forever, he stood up and brushed his teeth.  The pounding headache didn't feel better, so he decided to go back into Madeline's room and lay down.  When he grabbed his phone, he saw a text message from Eden.

Eden

October 27th 10:42 AM

Hey Xavier!!  I hope you feel
okay, probably have a massive
hangover, make sure you take
medicine and drink a lot of
water!

Good morning to you too, Eden,
I took some ibuprofen and threw
it right back up so that was a
pleasant way to start my morning

Ah I'm sorry, I hope you're
feeling better soon

I, ah, have a question actually

Yes?

Do you, y'know, like me I guess?

Xavier started freaking out.  He couldn't remember what he did or said last night.  What if he told her he liked her and she rejected him?  He couldn't deal with the embarrassment.

No?  Where'd you get that idea
silly

Ah, I was just wondering, I
heard it somewhere and I was
just wondering if it was true

Yea, no, I mean you're awesome
and all but like I don't like you
y'know

Yea, I know

I'm gonna go, I hope you
feel better

Yea thank you

Where had she heard that from?  Xavier was freaking out.  She must know he's lying, that's why she's acting all weird.  What was he thinking?  He should've known it was a bad idea to go and especially to drink.

Madeline walked into the room, a lose Blink-182 t-shirt and grey sweatpants on. When she noticed that Xavier was awake, she smiled at him, giving him a plate and said, "Good morning."

"Morning, Maddie," he replied, looking at the plate in front of him. On it sat a pile of scrambled eggs and a couple pieces of buttered toast. He didn't hesitate to dig in, eating as quickly as his body would move. Madeline plopped herself next to him, taking her time eating. When Xavier finished, he set his plate on Madeline's white side table.

"So," Madeline started to say, drawing out the 'o'. "Do you remember anything from last night?"

Xavier shook his head and explained, "Everything is a big blur. I remember arriving and somebody handing me drinks and that's about it."

Without a response, Madeline just looked at her feet. Xavier thought she looked upset, but he knew she would explain if she wanted to. If it had been with anyone else, the silence between them would've been awkward, but Xavier was so comfortable with Madeline that sitting in silence was fine with her. She soon rested her head on his shoulder, and he wrapped his arm around her, closing his eyes. "You know Maddie, you can always talk to me," he reassured her in a soft, quiet tone.

Without moving or opening her eyes, her small voice replied, "I know." She then lifted her head and looked Xavier in the eyes as soon as he turned his head. "Have you talked to Eden today?"

Xavier freaked out for a second. Why would she ask? Did she tell Eden about Xavier's huge crush on her? His head started swirling with accusations that he knew better than to say aloud, just in case it wasn't accurate. "Yeah, I did a little bit," is all he answered.

Madelyn just nodded, clearly not knowing what to say.  "Maybe I should get going," Xavier said, standing up.

Madeline looked at him, and he could tell he did something wrong, but he wasn't sure what. "You might want to change into your regular clothes first," she suggested, pointing to the bathroom where his clothes must've been.

He walked towards the bathroom, disappointed in himself. What did he do to upset her so much? He stripped out of his outfit and changed into the t-shirt and jeans he had worn the day before. He looked at himself in the mirror. His hair was messy and he looked upset. "How did you manage to mess up with your best friend and the girl of your dreams all in one night?" he asked himself, putting his face in his hands.

He just stood there for a minute, trying to think of anything he could've possibly done, before there was a knock at the door. "What are you, constipated?" Madeline joked from the other side, not knowing he was inside hating himself.

He faked a laugh, "Ha ha, you're funny.  I'll be out soon."

Xavier looked back up at himself for a second, before standing up straight.  He grabbed the clothes on the floor and walked out of the bathroom.  Madeline was sitting on her bed, looking at her phone.  When Xavier walked out, she looked up to see him.  "Took you long enough," she grinned, rolling her eyes at him.

He just looked at his phone and asked, "Should I text my mom?"

Madeline nodded, so Xavier shot his mom a text, which she replied telling him she was on her way.

When Xavier knew she was close, he looked at Madeline.  "Look, I don't know what I did to make you upset with me, but whatever it is, I'm sorry," he apologized, feeling terrible without even knowing what he did.

Madeline sighed out and replied, "You really didn't do anything Xavier, just don't worry about it.  I'm not mad at you."

He didn't completely believe her, but he decided to take it.  He smiled at her as he put his shoes on.  Soon, his mom was outside.  "I'll see you Monday, Maddie," he said before walking out of her house.

The whole way home, Xavier just laid his head against window.  Madeline told him he didn't do anything wrong, but he could tell she was upset.  It didn't help that Eden was also not happy with him.  He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying his best to relax.