Chapter 24

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Surviving the stairs made her feel more proud than she had any right to be and once downstairs she decided to look for the group of girls. The big crowd of people made it hard to see where everybody was and the fact that her vision blurred around the edges didn't help either.

"Ava!" someone called from somewhere to her left. It was Olly again, as it turned out she wasn't as effective in shaking him off as she thought she'd been. Awkwardly, she walked over to him and he stepped back a little to allow her to stand next to him in the little circle of people around him. "I was starting to feel worried there, you were gone for so long!"

"Oh," she laughed nervously. "Sorry, there was a line in front of the bathroom."

It wasn't exactly a lie, when she'd returned from her own bathroom she'd seen the line that had formed for the downstairs bathroom. Olly nodded solemnly at her reasoning. "Don't worry about it. Here, I got you this while you were gone."

She only now noticed he'd been holding two cups in his hands but she couldn't bring herself to take the second one. "Thank you, but I've already had too much to drink."

"One more won't matter, then," he said while wiggling his brows and holding out the cup again.

"I really can't," she said, feeling bad because he'd been nice enough to get her a drink while she was gone but she also knew she wasn't thinking right anymore and she shouldn't have drunk anything in the first place.

"Don't be a buzzkill," another guy complained, making Ava look up to notice the whole group of people had stopped talking and were now staring at her.

"I can't," she tried to plead but another guy shook his head. "That's a waste of alcohol, just drink it."

"Yeah, what's the problem? Why are you at a party if you're just going to be boring?" someone else added.

Her cheeks burned fiery red from the unwanted attention she'd drawn to herself and she quickly turned her gaze back to the cup. It was almost filled to the brim with a dark liquid and she didn't even know what it was.

Just do it, she thought. They'll stop looking at you then.

After a deep breath, she lifted the cup to her lips and took a gulp. The burning in her throat was worse than with the previous drinks and while she didn't cough, she did need a moment to regain her composure. "See? It's not that hard," one of them laughed before their conversation picked up where they left off.

"I'm proud of you," Olly beamed at her. "It's easier to have fun this way, anyway. Who wants to be sober, right?"

"Right," she replied distractedly while the room tilted a few degrees around her. It felt like she was barely controlling her own body as she moved and talked while barely registering any of it. Time flew by until she couldn't keep track of it anymore but to be honest, she didn't care anymore.

"And then I said, what sound would that even make? You know? But then again, I'd never heard of it before either so it could be completely normal." She'd forgotten that Olly was still talking to her, even when the rest of the group had dispersed and she had trouble keeping track of what was going on. No answer was required when he talked, he just went on and on.

Occasionally, she had to shift her weight in order to not fall over, and somewhere along the way she'd lost the entire cup in her hand. When she felt her stomach turn and her grip on her consciousness started fading a little she knew something was up.

"Ava?"

"I'm... I'm going to need a moment," she said while turning away towards the hallway. Everything around her moved in a blur and she stumbled every few steps. It was hard to think about anything but getting to where she needed to go, which was her bed where she knew she couldn't hurt herself.

"Whoa, watch your step, baby," Olly laughed as she almost fell against the wall. She hadn't noticed him following her but she had no idea how to get rid of him now. He looped his arm around her waist and pulled her to his body. "Come on."

The steps of the stairs were hard to locate but Olly carried most of her weight. The arm around her made her feel icky and she hated their close proximity but she needed his support to reach the top alive.

"I can walk," she murmured while unhooking his arm from her waist after getting to the upstairs hallway. The room was so close yet every step was harder to take as her stomach hurt and her head started to pound. If she fell now she was sure to wake up in that same spot the next morning and she didn't want anyone to find her that way.

"If you say so, cutie."

She was vaguely aware of the fact he was still walking after her but she was too distracted to wonder why. The only thought she had was getting to her bed before she could embarrass herself in any way but the moment she hit the wall because the world suddenly tilted the wrong way she knew she'd already failed.

"Damn," she heard Olly mutter before he grabbed her arms to pull her up again.

"No, I can do it myself,' she said while waving away his arms in order to make him let her go, which he thankfully did. "I just need to lie down," she whispered as an afterthought.

"Me too babe, come on."

After trying to stand up and fail a few times his patience ran out and he grabbed her arms again. "This is ridiculous," he complained while pulling her up. His grip on her upper arms hurt her but she didn't notice it as much as she just wanted him to let go of her.

"Let me go," she slurred as she tried to unsuccessfully pull herself free before falling forward and into him. His right hand left her arm to grab her waist to press her against him, making her struggle even harder.

"Please, let go," she said a little louder. She knew he'd heard but he ignored it and just pulled her forward through the hallway. Panic surged through her veins and her heartbeat pounded in her head as she tried to wiggle herself free. "Please," she pleaded to no avail.

Suddenly everything happened too fast for her slow-moving brain but she managed to catch a glimpse of another person before the steel grip on her body faded away and she had to hold the wall for support all while trying to figure out what was happening.

Her legs were unsteady underneath her body and she felt herself slowly slip to the floor where she could see nothing but a blur of legs and feet before pressing her eyes closed in an attempt to clear her vision. The reason everything had been extra blurry was that she'd been crying, which she only found out when she reached up to rub her eyes.

"Ava," a voice addressed her, making open her eyes again. The intense brown eyes she'd come to appreciate looked back while his handsome face showed nothing but concern. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she whispered just loud enough for him to hear. The tremble in her voice betrayed her feelings so she quickly added, "I'm not feeling very well, I just need to lie down." The wall provided enough support for her to get back up by herself but as soon as she let go she fell forward.

The only thing she could do was close her eyes and brace for an impact that wouldn't come. Sébastien had stepped forward to steady her before she could fall and while he did hold her arm, his grip wasn't nearly as painful as Olly's and in any other situation, she might even have enjoyed it.

"I thought you didn't drink," he murmured while guiding her to the room. I thought so too, she thought to herself.

"They said I'd be a boring buzzkill."

"You shouldn't let people pressure you into doing those things," he sighed, sounding annoyed. The doorway was too small to fit the both of them and he had to briefly let go of her. It was a miracle she didn't immediately fall over but he still took her arm again to get her safely to the bed in the dark room.

"Sit down," he said before looking around. "One second," he added while walking out of her field of vision. The bed was soft and comforting and exactly what she'd been wanting to feel the last few minutes.

Her headache had only gotten worse and her stomach burned, sending all sorts of uncomfortable pains through her body. Why anybody would want to do that to themselves willingly she had no idea but she knew she never wanted to feel this way again.

"Are you sure you're okay? You're still crying," he asked. She'd closed her eyes again and she wasn't sure if the feathery soft fingers running along her cheeks were from him or if she was imagining it. "I'm feeling sick," she cried softly, not knowing how to deal with all the foreign sensations thrust upon her at once.

"Change into these and go to sleep," he suggested, making her open her eyes to find him holding out a shirt and some shorts. "These aren't mine," she said confusedly. The clothes weren't the only thing that weren't hers. She only now realized she wasn't even in her own room and she'd failed at the one task she set out to do.

"This isn't my room," she murmured while sitting up. Immediately the world started spinning again and she regret the action. "No," he replied slowly. "It's my room, and these are my clothes."

"I'm sorry," she said while trying to get off the bed. "I didn't mean to walk in here."

"No, I did since I'm the only one capable of anything that even resembles walking. Just change and go to sleep, please."

"But my room—"

"Your room is occupied at the moment. Just sleep in here."

"Occupied? But I thought it was my room? Unless you want me to sleep somewhere else, which is fine, just a little unep- unxep, unex...pected," she said, falling over her words.

"People are fucking on your bed, Ave. Alright? It's fucking disgusting but unless you want to walk in there and stop them and then sleep in those same sheets this is the only available bed left."

"Oh," was all she could say. The word 'fucking' coming from his mouth made her feel hot on the inside and all words seemed to fail her.

"Here," he said, handing her the clothes and helping her off the bed and into the bathroom before helping her sit down on the side of his tub again. "Call me if you need anything."

She waited a moment after he closed the door before attempting to get out of the dress she wore, which was a whole struggle as the zipper seemed to elude her. It took her embarrassingly long to succeed but it felt like smooth sailing after that. Until she had to lift her legs to get into the shorts.

The first one made her stumble, but she put it down again fast enough to keep her balance. The second one wasn't nearly as successful and shortly after stepping into it she misplaced her foot and she fell for what felt like the hundredth time that night.

"Are you alright?" he asked from the other side of the door, apparently having heard her clumsy body hit the floor. She quickly pulled the shorts up so that she was at least covered before answering. "Perfectly fine, thank you."

"Are you dressed?"

"Ya," she slurred out from her spot on the floor. The door opened and she saw that he'd changed into new clothes as well. He'd traded his jeans for a pair of sweats and she wasn't sure if his shirt had changed at all. "Did you fall?" he asked while crouching down before reaching out to brush her hair out of her face.

The action surprised her and she suddenly became all too aware of how close their faces were. An intrusive thought about kissing him entered her brain. They were close enough to do it. The thought left as quickly as it had appeared, she knew no matter how much she drank she'd never find the courage to do so.

Besides, he would have to like her back for something like that to work.

"Can you stand up?"

"No."

There was no reason to think too hard about her answer, she knew she was in no state to fall up without falling again. So, he looped his arm around her waist and pulled her into his chest before standing up and taking her with him. "You're really warm," she murmured into his chest, just loud enough for him to hear.

"I'm sorry," he replied while trying to maneuver her stumbling body to the large bed.

"Don't be," she sighed. "It feels nice."

He chuckled after hearing it, making his chest pleasantly rumble against her cheeks. The action sent tingles down to every part of her body and she enjoyed the moment for as long as she could.

Eventually, they reached the bed and he let go of her so that she could get in. The soft mattress made her instantly relax but her misery continued on. "Sébastien?" she asked while trying to follow his moving figure after he'd turned off the lights.

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry I drank so much, I really shouldn't have."

"It's not your fault, Ave. I shouldn't have let you alone in there. Here," he said as he grabbed her hand to guide it to the bottle of water he held out to her. The bed dipped under his weight as he sat down and she wasn't sure if she imagined the warmth radiating from his body since they weren't even touching.

"I'm not thirsty," she replied quietly. The evening had been nothing but drinks and she was sure she'd burst if she had to drink even more.

"Your hangover will be less bad if you drink this, trust me."

She did trust him, so she suck it up and drank it all. It was hard to drink it all at once but she really wanted it to be over with.

Downstairs, the party was still going on in full swing and it made her wonder why he'd even changed into sweats if the party wasn't finished yet.

"Don't you want to get back at your party?" she asked while trying to out the empty bottle on the nightstand. It was too dark and when she thought she found the little table she confidently set it down.

Only to hear it fall on the floor.

"Ow," she sighed tiredly. "I'll pick it up tomorrow, I promise."

Her clumsiness caused him to laugh. It sounded like music to her ears, deep and rumbling and very masculine. But she didn't know if she should be embarrassed he was laughing at her or if she should ignore it and just enjoy the sound. There was no energy left to feel much at all so she just enjoyed it for the short period of time that she could.

"It's fine. And it's pretty late, I think I'd rather go to sleep too," he replied while pushing himself off the bed to walk away. "And you should too."

"Where will you sleep?"

"On the couch."

"But it's your bed, you should sleep in here," she said while trying to get off the bed. "I can take the couch."

"Stop arguing, just go to sleep," he said tiredly before adding, "please."

The room was too dark to move safely to the couch and frankly, she didn't have the motivation to either. With a sigh, she resigned and leaned back into the bed. "Good night, Sébastien."

"Good night, Ava."



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Don't give into peer pressure, kids.

What did you think of this chapter? I always love hearing what you guys think :)

See you guys on the next chapter,

xx May

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