Chasing Starlight

Chapter 5 - Hangover Punch

  Samia awoke to a painfully dry throat. Water. The thought screamed out to her as she sat up. A bone crushing pain in her head throbbed loudly, making her wince and pull her hand up to her head. She felt something drop when she did and blearily looked down, expecting to see her phone.

"What..the fuck..." Samia gasped, her head throbbing in response.

  Elliot was passed out...on the floor..with his head resting on his arms on the bed and his hand outstretched to where she had just  dropped it. She warily pulled back against the wall, and looked down, checking her clothes. Hmm... Fully dressed in what I went out in last night...though my shoes aren't on. She eyed his sleeping form as she trudged through her foggy memory of last night.

  Let's see...I went to the pub that Mr. Nichols from the flower shop recommended...I got chicken and beer...what else.. A hazy image of Elliot walking up with another pitcher of beer in his hand popped up. That's right! He came up...I decided to drink with him before I left...and somehow..that turned into a contest of sort. Samia sighed and covered her eyes with the palms of her hands, the pressure and darkness helping her think. Damnit Samia.. that was so stupid and reckless, if someone caught you guys, you would be absolute toast!

She peeked through her fingers at Elliot's sleeping figure. The sunlight hit his curls and turned the edges golden, and his shoulders were relaxed but she could still see how broad and strong they were. She looked away, reddening, realizing it was a bit pervy of her to be staring at him while he slept. Ah! That's right! Why the hell is he sleeping here?? Okay so we drank... And then he walked me home..  The memory of being on the stairs came rushing back, and she groaned and slapped her palm against her forehead. Ohhh God. I passed out like a goddamn drunkard.. oh Samia, can't you ever be cool??  She silently lamented her habit of causing embarrassing situations.

Elliot stirred quietly and sat up, looking around and seeing Samia sitting on her bed, covering her eyes with one arm and softly knocking the top of her head with the other, mumbling quietly to herself.

"Pfffft!" Elliot put his fist to his mouth, unable to stifle his laughter. He couldn't help it, she always had the cutest reactions to things, she took everything so seriously.

  Samia's head shot up, shit! He woke up! The awkwardness of the situation gently settled in around them. Ughhh, what the hell do I say in this scenario? Thanks for putting my drunk ass to bed?? Sorry you had to sleep on my floor all night??

"..ffee?"

"Huh?" Samia blinked, realizing Elliot had said something.

"Need some coffee?" He repeated, leaning his chin on his hand quizzically toward her.

"Oh! No.. I can never drink coffee when I'm hungover, I always get sick."

"This is you hungover, huh?" He laughed, "I didn't know you could still have so much energy with a hangover."

"Haa..." Samia chuckled weakly, trying to hide her embarrassment. "I only take one cure for my hangovers... luckily I think I have all the ingredients."

  She threw open the covers and sprang to her feet, thirst and a headache screaming at her louder than the impossible situation she woke up in. Reaching into her fridge, she shuffled things around before pulling out a bottle of tomato juice, a lime, celery, tabasco sauce and a carrot. She dumped them all onto the counter and pulled out her blender that was thrifted from a garage sale several years ago. It was louder than hell but still worked. She poured in the tomato juice, and reached into her meager seasonings for chili powder, tossing that in. She grabbed her only knife and started to chop the carrot into chunks before quickly realizing she forgot a cutting board. She tossed the knife in the sink and just dumped the carrot and celery on the blender whole, stabbing the lime with a fork and draining it into the concoction. Finally she topped it with a generous shake of Tabasco sauce and threw the lid on top.

  Elliot watched bemused from his position against the bed, she had the most deadly ill look on her face but still went about putting this 'cure' together with absolute focus. He peeked around at the place, even though it was shabby and could barely be called more than a room, it had a really light and warm feel to it. Blindly brilliant sunlight came in through her patio door, and small touches of some personal items graced windowsills and her table. It was neat and tidy, he could picture her eating, or reading or grading her papers here so easily. He got a strong urge to see those images for himself, and wondered if she remembered his confession last night.

"Here." Samia handed him a glass full of a something red and smelling strongly of tomato. His stomach dropped at the smell. He really hated tomatoes.

"Drink up now." Her face looked expectant, and she held her own glass out and lightly clinked it against his. The night before came back into his mind and he smiled, how could he ever turn down a drink when she looked at him like that?

  Samia tossed her head up and drank quickly, almost as fast as she had last night with the beer. The hangover punch, as she called it, was taught to her by her father. Wether or not it really worked could be debated, but it was to date the only thing she could intake without getting ill and the nostalgia made her feel a bit better if nothing else. She wasn't really sure why she gave one to Elliot, he'll probably hate it, crossed her mind. It just felt odd to make something without offering some to her guest as well.

As she set down her glass, she saw to her surprise that he had finished his glass as well. He exhaled with a 'whooo' and wiped his mouth with his sleeve.

"That was surprisingly spicy...and good."

Samia hid her grin and grabbed his empty glass, rinsing the dishes and leaving them for later in the sink.

"It's a special recipe from my papa, he made it for me after my first hangover when I turned 21."

"Oh yea? I'd like to meet him someday.." Elliot blushed, "Y'knw, to thank him for teaching you that."

Samia also felt her face heat up a bit, realizing all over again that she was alone, with Elliot, in her apartment. This is sooo bad, you gotta fix this, girl, and fast. He seemed to notice her getting quiet, and quickly stood up and stretched.

"Ahhh, I should probably go. I need to shower and get changed.." He wished he could stay longer, but remembering what she told him last night about her not being allowed to spend time with other teachers outside of school, he didn't want to make her uncomfortable.

Samia nodded and bit her lip. Part of her wanted to invite him to stay for breakfast, but the louder part, the one she had ignored last night, was telling her to take the chance before it got weird. She walked him to her door, and held it open behind him, hiding a bit in her doorway to remain out of sight from outside.

"Th-thanks, by the way.. I don't usually get to that point around other people. I can hold it down but once I hit my limit my body just kinda, shuts off." She mumbled, chewing nervously on the end of her sleeve.

Elliot reached over, and pulled her chin up towards him. His heartbeat loudly in his chest and he ached to lean forward into her full lips that were parted slightly in surprise. He sighed and let go, straightening up and turning.

"I'll keep that in mind..for next time."

  He smiled with his last parting shot, feeling triumphant as he saw her face get pink and her hand fly up to cover her mouth. With that, he thudded down the steps, feeling giddy as he replayed his favorite images of her in his head. There's no way I can leave her alone now...

As he strolled down the road in high spirits, he failed to notice a familiar face sitting across the street outside the small cafe that was wedged between a gift shop and a bookstore.

Royce set his coffee down, watching Mr. Webb's figure walking away. He wouldn't have felt anything beyond mild interest, but he knew without a doubt that it was little Miss Hawes who had peeked out of that doorway from the upstairs apartment Mr. Webb had just walked out off. First thing on a Saturday morning, huh? He smiled to himself, taking another sip of coffee as he gazed up at the apartment. I think I found a way to play with my new toy...