A New Beginning (RaishexScarletAngel)

[Raishe]

A fuzzy inkling of faint shapes around. Pain, his head pounding in time with the beeps of his alarm clock. "...uggghhh..." He mumbled. His mouth was dry as if he had been sucking on cotton all night and his throat was constricted. He tasted Captain Morgan, vomit, and bad decisions. It was Jake's first hangover of the new year and hopefully his last. He stood, his vision clearing as he crawled out of bed to his bathroom to relieve himself with a much needed piss before he walked to the mirror and splashed water from the sink on his face. He chugged a glass of water and then looked dead at his reflection. "Fuck... that was one hell of a party" his voice cracked as he took in the face in the mirror.

His eyes were a striking green, a ring of copper around each pupil and he had medium length reddish brown hair which he kept pulled back into a ponytail. He had a kind and handsome face with high cheekbones. Standing at six foot two, he had broad shoulders and slender yet strong muscles. His stature was proud and strong and his smile stunning.

Groggily he attempted to recollect the events of last night. There was a party, alcohol everywhere and music loud enough to prevent one from hearing their own thoughts. He'd gone with his long time best friend, Ashlyn, and had taken quite a few shots with her. His memory got hazy soon after they arrived, although he remembered going around the party with Ashlyn. Socializing as they made their way through, always side by side. He vaguely remembered them finishing a can of beer before deciding to call it a night, and then him walking her home. They had gotten to her door, and he remembered hugging her before turning away. Then came her voice, soft but insistent: "Wait..." The next thing he recalled he was in her room, twisted in a sweaty, naked knot with her.

"Oh fuck..." He said. "I-... we... didn't, did we?" His mind was trying to wrap around this information. He and Ashlyn were the best of friends, why would they even... but there it was. They had fucked in a drunken stupor. He even remembered kissing her goodnight before throwing on his clothes and walking to his own house. He ran to his bed and grabbed his phone from his bedside table, calling Ashlyn in such haste it surprised even him. He considered what to say as the phone rang and when she answered his mouth went dry. "We need to talk..."

 

[ScarletAngel]

For the most part Ashlyn did not party; she didn’t go out with the sole purpose of getting hammered and having sex with a random stranger. Sure plenty of girl’s she knew did, they said it was fantastic especially when caught a hottie for the night. No the slender brunette was just as happy as watching a movie curled up on the couch with her best friend and enjoying one or two drinks in the process. However last night had been special the one time when she allowed herself to cut lose and it had not ended the way she anticipated.

Most of it was a blur when she woke up shortly before her phone rang. She too remembered going to the party and enjoying several shots before socializing with several other blurry faces. Then heading home, she’d been in the process of unlocking her door to go inside when she stopped him. Then she remembered hot intoxicated kisses dotting her flesh and hard body above her. Hands caressing her breasts her face mindless words of affection being uttered as the sound of skin on skin filled her bedroom.

It was around that point the payback for getting drunk struck her. Dashing to the bathroom she folded over the porcelain throne and threw up everything she’d eaten the night before while the throbbing in her head sounded a bit like the cha-cha. She wasn’t disgusted with herself for sleeping with him. She was worried thier frienship was damaged. Shakily getting to her feet she walked to the sink and rinsed her mouth out before peering at the mirror.

A pale face with big blue eyes peered back at her, her usually pristine brown curls resembled more of a rat’s nest and the rings under her eyes gave her pixie like face a great degree of age. “I look like death warmed over.” She grumbled to herself before the phone rang. Stumbling over to her side table drawer she looked at the screen before taking a deep breath. “Yeah I suppose we do.” She responded softly. “We should probably do it somewhere sort of private yeah? How about the booth at the back of the cafe?”

 

[Raishe]

"The Booth it is" They had spent more than a few days in that booth, drinking coffee or tea and laughing at the pretentious snobs that frequented this particular shop. Normally when he was going to hang out with Ashlyn, he simply threw on clothes, his appearance not an issue or even something he though she'd notice. This time, however, he looked over every shirt trying to find the perfect one before settling on a black shirt with green celtic designs covering it and black shorts. He put on his faded green converse and grabbed his wallet before shouting "I'm going to hang out with Ashlyn" to his mom and rushing out of the house.

The Cafe was only a few blocks away, the same distance from both of their houses and he made his way there quickly, ignoring the people and places along the way. He couldn't stop thinking about Ashlyn's body pressed against his. Fuzzy as the memory was, it made his heart and mind race. Distracted as he was he almost got hit by a car as he crossed the street to the cafe. He checked to see if Ashlyn was at the booth yet and, finding she wasn't, he bought himself a coffee. After two sips his headache began to recede which greatly improved his mood. Unfortunately, without the headache his brain could focus more, which might not be so good. So he waited until she approached the booth and gave her his warmest smile as she approached. "Hi, Ash..." He said, his voice trailing off.

 

[ScarletAngel]

Ashlyn hung up and almost immediately went to work on her tangled mass of hair. Generally she’d just put it up this early in the morning but she remembered how much Jake liked it down. Walking over to her closet she hunted in her wardrobe and finally pulled out a low cut lavender top. The neck scooped low displaying her modest cleavage, a silver chain was fastened around her neck and she pulled on a pair of dark blue jeans and her favorite boots. They added several inches to her comfortable 5’7” height and made her legs look fantastic in the process it was only then she made her way to the café. Her parents were already at work for the day.

She arrived at the café about ten minutes after him and smiled back almost without realizing it. The sight of him sitting there with coffee in his hand was so familiar but instead of feeling safe she felt nervous, for when she looked in his eyes she saw flashes of last night. “Hey.” The soft response came as she sat down across from him and ordered her own coffee.

When it arrived she added a liberal amount of sugar before clearing her throat. “Look we were both drunk last night right?” she suddenly blurted out. “So this doesn’t have to change anything does it I mean….we can still be friends.” She wasn’t looking at him and it betrayed her nervousness on a monumental level. Ashlyn had always been so careful not to cross boundaries with Jake even though at time she wanted to. He was handsome, sweet and girls flocked to him. “I don’t want to lose you…”

 

[Raishe]

Her voice came, so soft. He was shocked when the softness made him think of her moan. That train of thought led to him taking in her outfit. Her hair was down-he loved when she kept her hair down, it made her gorgeous- and she was wearing modest jewelry and a somewhat low cut shirt, something that made him groan as she sat down. He hoped she didn't notice. But as he saw all of this his mind started racing It's Ash, dude. Your best friend. This will not ruin your friendship So it was with soft eyes that he looked at his long time friend. "Yes. We were very drunk... Yes! Please, just let us be friends. Like it never happened?" He said, smiling wide. In that very instant he saw flashes from the night before. "Just friends" He whispered.

He took a sip of his coffee then cleared his throat. "Now that that's over with, Happy New Year? How can you look so good with a hangover?" he grinned and placed his hand on hers. Another sip of coffee and he looked around for the barista. His cup was empty. He drank coffee fast when he was nervous. He was craving a cigarette. That happened when he was nervous too. He ordered another coffee and checked his jacket for a pack of cigarettes. He found a shape like a pack and pulled out an almost empty pack of Marlboro's. There were three left. "Do you want one, or have you quit?" he said, shaking the pack. As his coffee arrived he stood. "Wanna go for a walk?"

 

[ScarletAngel]

The brunette could not hide her pleasure at his agreement to pretend it never happened. She’d half expected him to try and convince her that they could still be friends while sleeping with one another. Oddly enough there was a slight hint of disappointment lingering in the back of her mind which was of course ridiculous friendship was way more important then sex, no matter how right it felt at the time…

Finishing up her coffee she raised a brow when a cigarette was offered and held out her hand. “Sure why not, I can work on my new years resolution tomorrow.” Ashlyn responded with a laugh before standing as her own coffee was refilled. “Sure why not, it’s not too cold outside today the fresh air will get rid of the rest of my hangover. As for why I look so good, it’s a girl thing.” A slight grin followed the statement before the pair headed out into the cool winter air and across the street to the heavily wooded park.

“I don’t think I’m ever going to drink again. It makes me so sick the next day, I should’ve known better.” She finally said. “I spent ten minutes huddled over the toilet trying to keep down dinner.” Too much information she assumed but she was always completely honest with him.

 

[Raishe]

"Ahhh, yes. I've never understood resolutions. If you really wanna do something won't you just do it?" He grinned as he teased her. She always pretended to be so offended. It made him laugh. He pulled out two of the cigarettes and lit his, offering her the other. Reaching in his pocket for his zippo he said "Need a light, Missus?" He lit his own cigarette and then hers before starting to walk, leading her to their favorite park in town. They would swing and talk.

"Never again?" he poked her side. "But... what about next time I wanna get drunk? I can't go by myself! It'd be like missing my right arm! I guess I understand. I didn't need to vomit. I did piss like a race horse this morning." He smiled, not even considering the excess information he shared. He had never censored himself for Ash and he wasn't about to start now. "You know what I don't get? Why does alcohol have to fuel bad decisions!? I saw this kid at the party last night making out with Harriet Linkley!" He said with a laugh, Harriet being very ugly and rather rude besides. Unfortunately he had spoken without thinking and blushed when that thought led him to a recollection of last night. But hot damn did he like that image.

 

[ScarletAngel]

Shaking her head slightly she blew a stream of smoke from her mouth before heading towards the old playground set they liked to spend time at. “I’m sure you’ll survive without me and I can always come and pick you up if you get too hammered.” A soft snicker followed. Ashlyn had no intention of drinking anytime soon much less with him. The teen wasn’t certain their relationship would survive if they ended up in bed with one another again. Sighing softly she forcibly move her mind from lingering on such thoughts and focused on just remaining friendly.

“Not all the decisions are bad, alcohol lowers inhibitions and it’s the only way Harriet is going to get someone to kiss him ever.” She laughed softly keeping her mind focused on the twisting stone path that led to the swings. “Some people do stupid crap and other people just do things they’ve always wanted to do but were too scared…or something.” She added the last bit hastily a flush staining her cheeks which vanished as quickly as it appeared. They made it to the swings and she sat down looking at her black leather boots. “I think it would be better if we didn’t drink together for a little bit don’t you?”