5: About Last Night

Turns out, it was not a dream. And I did not wake up a happy girl. I groaned loudly as a burst of sunlight hit my eyes. "Ow, it burns"

"I think I would know if my best friend was a vampire" I could hear Liz's voice from somewhere in the room.

"As my best friend, you should know when your best friend is hungover" I said groggily, my throat feeling scratchy.

"Well, as you are in my room and you threw me off the bed last night, I think I reserve the right to wake you up whenever I want" Liz grinned.

"How are you so happy and cheery in the morning? You're so weird" I mumbled into the pillow.

"Come downstairs. I think Jason's making pancakes"

That got my attention. I grudgingly got out of bed with a yawn and a stretch. "Pancakes, you say?" a smile now on my face.

"I knew that would wake you up" Liz grinned triumphantly.

Liz made her way to the door, but I stopped her in her tracks. "Wait" I shouted. "I really meant it when I asked why you were so happy and cheery and full of life this morning. Shouldn't you be hungover too?"

Liz smiled and sighed dreamily as she sat at the end of the bed.

"I'm guessing it went well with Ian then?" I smirked; my interest piqued.

"More than well, it was amazing" Liz grinned. "He managed to get us into the VIP area upstairs, apparently he knows the owner, and we danced all night. It was just amazing. Being so close to him felt so great and wonderful and – "

"Amazing?" I finished for her.

"Yes" she sighed. "Thanks for distracting Jason for me so I could spend some time with Ian. Now I know for sure there's a spark between us. I think he might be the one Rosie"

"Ooohhhh" I squealed, causing a slight headache while I was still in my hungover state "I'm so happy for you Liz" I said as I reached over the bed to hug her. "Tell me, did he kiss you?" I asked with eyebrows raised. Liz's lips pursed slightly as her gaze wandered to the floor, her cheeks turning a deep shade of pink. I gasped "He did, didn't he? Liz, this is big. Tell me everything"

Liz's smile turned into a full blown out grin "Well- "

"Girls, breakfast is ready" Jason's voice shouted from downstairs.

At that moment my stomach growled. "I don't think you can tell that story on an empty stomach. First, we eat" I declared and jumped out of the bed, following the smell of delicious fresh pancakes.

"Mmmmm.... I love the smell of pancakes in the morning" I beamed as I grabbed a plate and added a pancake from the stack on the work top.

"Thought you'd like it" the chef smiled as he stood in front of the stove, making the last few pancakes.

"How come your up so early as well? Shouldn't you be nursing a hangover too?" I questioned, annoyed that he looked as fresh as a daisy.

"Trust me, I am" Jason winced.

I shook my head as Liz and I made our way into the living room. This family were weird, so dedicated to getting up early, even with hangovers.

"Your brother makes the best pancakes" I said with my mouth full of Jason's delicious pancakes.

"Well, he got the cooking gene whereas I got the good look genes" Liz grinned, digging into her pancake.

"Hey, that's not true" Jason chuckled as he sat down beside me on the sofa and laid his plate down on the table. "I got both the cooking skills and the good-look genes" Jason smirked at Liz.

"You wish" Liz blew out a raspberry towards her brother.

"So, how are we feeling this morning?" I asked, the pancakes making me feel slightly better. I received groans in response. The feeling was mutual.

"Last night was rough" Jason said.

"You can say that again" I groaned, throwing my head back against the sofa.

Liz's attention turned to me; her eyes looking sharp. I knotted my eyebrows together, wondering if she was okay but she returned her attention back to her plate before I could ponder over it.

"Where did you and Ian end up last night?" Jason questioned, almost scornfully. My eyes widened as my mind scrambled for an excuse, ready to defend them.

Liz shrugged, "I could ask you the same thing"

I could feel my face heat up as I tried to look anywhere but at the Agreste siblings. Jason did the same thing, picking at his plate, trying not to make eye contact with either myself or his sister. The awkwardness in the room was palpable.

Liz sighed, picking up her plate and without a word, left the living room. I felt like I could breathe again. I took a risk and turned to Jason. He gave me a sheepish smile to which I gave an awkward giggle in return. I looked away, feeling my face flush from embarrassment from last night. I didn't think Jason would want to be my friend after the events of last night.

Jason was the first to break the silence; "Listen, about last night-"

"Can we forget about it, please? I don't want it to ruin our friendship. And I don't want it to be awkward between us" I pleaded.

Jason's eyes bore into mine for what felt like an eternity, as if he wanted to say more, waiting for his answer. Then his mouth turned upwards into a grin "You're just scared that you'll miss my pancakes if you're not friends with me"

"Yes, that's it. I couldn't live without your pancakes" I breathed a sigh of relief and laughed, glad the awkwardness between us was now broken. I guess we were both determined not to ruin our friendship.

"So about last night-" I started

"I thought we weren't going to talk about it?"

"I know, I just have to mention one thing"

"Okay?"  he replied his eyebrows drawn together in confusion.

"Did you twerk?" I grinned, remembering some of the more glorious moments from last night.

His eyes widened and his lips pursed into a thin line as the memories of last night came flooding back. "No one else is to know about that, got it?"

I moved my hands to my lips and pretended to zip it up. "My lips are sealed" I laughed. "Who knew that you could – "

"Not another word "Jason interrupted his face turning pink.

I couldn't help but laugh again. "Aye, aye captain. I'm just wondering if I managed to capture that moment on video" I said slyly as I ran from the living room to see if I had indeed captured it on my phone.

"There better not be" Jason shouted from behind me as I laughed my way back to Liz's room.

I found my phone on Liz's s bedside table and grinned as I scrolled through my phone at some of the crazy pictures and selfies we took last night.

"Someone looks happy" Liz said as she walked into the room.

I looked up from my phone "I was just looking at the photos from last night. What a night it was" I chuckled.

"It certainly was" Liz replied her expression turning sombre. "So, about last night..."

"Yeah?" I asked slowly as I put my phone back down. Liz wasn't happy about something.

"I saw you kiss Jason" Liz said, folding her arms.

"Oh" I said, not knowing what else to say. Liz stayed silent and stared at me, waiting for me to say more. "It was nothing. It was just a harmless kiss. We were drunk, we didn't know what we were doing. It meant nothing" I explained, hoping that was enough justification for what had happened. And it wasn't exactly a lie either.

Liz continued to glare at me, not saying anything for a while before nodding her head. "I believe you. Just make sure it doesn't happen again. It's weird thinking about you and my brother together like that"

I scoffed "Don't worry, it won't"

I got back home later on that afternoon. Mom and dad were home since it was the weekend. Mom was in the living room, watching television, and dad was in his office doing paperwork. I knocked on the door to my dad's office and walked in.

"Hey Dad, what are you doing working on the weekend?" I asked. It was rare for him to work on weekends. He always tried to put work aside on the weekends and spend it with us.

Dad sighed "There is a big client coming in next week and I need to be prepared"

"Tell your father not to take too long" my mother shouted from the living room.

I laughed as my dad shook his head "You heard the boss, try not to stay in here too long. I don't want you cooped up in here all day long either. I'll need your help with some application forms"

"How is that going anyway? Any luck?" My dad asked

I shrugged my shoulders "I've got a couple of interviews next week. I'm just going upstairs to my room and try to apply for more"

"You'll get something, don't worry about it too much" my dad smiled, having more faith in me than I did.

"Thanks dad" I went up to my room and switched on my laptop, ready for another exciting day of filling out application forms. As I searched through numerous job opportunities, one caught my attention. It was for the role of finance assistant at Cerulean Ltd. I was sure that was the company Jason worked at. I looked over the job description and shrugged my shoulders. No harm in applying.