ohmygodwhatdidido?! is the first coherent thought that flashes through my incredibly addled brain. Somewhere between drinking, dancing and more drinking there was a kiss. But not like a chaste peck, more like a full on, up against a wall…. oh god!
Rolling over I bury my head in the pillow, there had been a moment, just a moment, where I had forgotten all the sh*t that had been going on, all the pain and loneliness and bad just been… and in that moment Luc and I had just, connected… but now, the guilt of the betrayal feels even heavier. I hadn’t looked at a man other than Ryder in so long, that I didn’t know how to process everything that had happened and the feelings it had stirred. The way it felt to have muscular arms surrounding me, a firm body pressing me back against a wall…. Groaning quietly I wish the thoughts away, the last thing I needed to be doing was replaying the moment in my mind! I wasn’t going to be that girl obsessing over something that probably didn’t mean anything! Maybe no one had seen us, and I could just act like everything was normal? That seemed the best approach, right? Complete avoidance and denial!
I did have fun, but it had been a while since I drank, so I had to admit I was a little hungover when I woke up. Even if I didn’t have a window where the sun shined in through it I still groaned a bit at the light when I opened my eyes.
I laid in bed for a little while to slowly get my body to wake up, last night had though been interesting to see everyone out of the mall and into a different zone and vibe and some really seemed to let loose. I had to in some ways, I finally got up and got ready for the day hoping there would be some breakfast or at least something to eat. I was a bit hung over but I was still hungry I felt as I walked out of my room and towards the cafe.
I wake up from the last hours of sleep that have been luckily without any further interruption. Leo has woken me up several times before and not just for his needed feeding.
I think the last weeks are catching up with him. Running away from the place he was born… Riding in a bumper car… Sleeping outside mostly… Now being stuck in a huge, kind of dark and strange building. It’s no wonder he’s restless.
Right now he is still out of it, sucking on his little thumb. I know it’s not wise to let him do thag too much as there aren’t any dentists anymore and too much of it might harm his future teeth… But I don’t have the heart to stop him every time. It’s soothing after all.
I stretch and look sideways, pulling my brows together, as I realise Andy’s side is still untouched. I wondered in the night when I woke up, but I am also used to Andy doing his own thing. We are twins, not married…thank you very much…
I wipe my head around as the door opens and Andy enters with a silly line.
I take in his look and sigh “Okay… Either you had a VERY hot night with a VERY hot girl or guy… Or you’d be ran over by a train! I don’t know what I am hoping for… But please tell me you didn’t already lay someone? And if so… Please no one from those outside our room… We don’t need any personal drama, we don’t want to repeat the old ways of the Mall Rats!”
I grab the water bottle I secured us and fill the two old cups we carried with us. One for him. For me. I reach his to him, knowing he might need it…
I’m almost a little jealous of Aurora as Patsy puts her in the carriage. My feet would love a rest aswel.
I take a sip of water, glad we were able to gather some from a stream we crossed earlier. It doesn’t taste as good as it did at home, or well… at our old home, but it will have to do.
“I hardly even remember what it looks like” I confess as Patsy mentions we’re getting close. I haven’t laid eyes on the city since I was around 4, and back then everything seemed ginormous.
“Hope you remember the way, all I recall is the fences keeping everyone without a barcode out, the big hotel with the pool and well… the stairs inside the Mall…”
Mom used to act so panicky whenever I tried sliding down the rail, the way Mouse taught me, so I did it every time she wasn’t looking…
I look at Aurora and grin “hey Rory… when we’re in the Mall, I promise I’ll teach you how to slide down the rail” @patsy
After several hours of guard-duty and a short nights sleep, I still managed to be awake at the crack of dawn. No matter how many years went by, the farmer in me was still used to waking up early.
I’d decided to let Ryan sleep in for a bit, and figured that if I was awake anyways, I might aswel do something useful.
Not knowing how things were done here normally nowadays, and not wanting to piss people off by using their supplies, I went out to the stream that ran close to the mall and washed the clothes we traveled here in.
Cleary a quick rinse with some cold water was just what I had needed myself to properly wake up.
After wringing out our clothes, I take them back inside, nodding at the person on guard duty before hanging them over the rail of the firestairs to dry.
I make my way into the cafe, the Mall still rather quiet and I’m half tempted to loudly wake some people up, as I know some of them must be hungover given the state they were in when they came home by.
But I decide not to. With all the shocks most of us had to come to terms with, they deserved a break.
I look at Jazz, though I honestly can’t recall their name right now. “Morning” I say as I walk towards her. “Is there anything I can do to make myself useful?”
Well, last night had been eventful! I wasn’t sure which bit surprised me more, Zandra’s success at the poker table, Luc’s ability to seduce someone who seemed to have a brain or how they’d all just let loose and relaxed! I’d half expected them to turn their noses up at the place but then I was only going from rumours about the mallrats and their attitudes. Apparently they didn’t all think the sun shone out their asses….
I knew I needed to get my ass in gear and check in with the others before facing the day, but the thought of moving is not tempting. It wasn’t that I’d had a lot to drink last night, I’d only had a couple of cocktails and shots so felt pretty much ‘normal’.
Finally persuading myself to move I grab my shower stuff and head downstairs, I can hear sounds of life but there aren’t many people about. Those who went out were probably sleeping off their hangovers and the others were probably doing their own thing.
As I head to the showers I think over last night, hopefully I’d hear back from my notes and get an update sooner rather than later. It would be so much easier if I had answers but life didn’t always work like that.
After a quick, and very cold, shower I head back to my room to get dressed. Someone had obviously been using the power so the hot water was cold… we really needed to sit down with the mallrats and have a chat about resources so this didn’t happen again… I didn’t cope well with a change to my routine.
Once I’m dressed I head into the cafe, noticing Alice and Jaz I raise my hand in greeting before heading into the kitchen area. ’Morning,’ I call out as I locate the coffee, luckily Jaz had already put a pot on so I pour myself a cup, it’s bitter but does the job. ’Anyone else surfaced yet?’
“Morning” I smiled “Yeah sure, could you get the bowls out” I say and motioned to the cupboard “Its just porridge but we have some fresh fruits and honey so hopefully it’ll do for the morning” I tell her.
Turning I look at Callan “There has been bits of movement everywhere so it wont be long” I say as I mix the porridge.
Until we have a good discussion about rations and such I didn’t want to do anything elaborate and I knew what we all liked but god knows what kind of meals the Mallrats are used to.
I kept the shower short this morning, though I’m sure today we will get a better idea of what’s allowed and of course how we can all do our part and help out.
While I wasn’t going full-on with the makeup, I added some tinted lipgloss and mascara, I get it’s not for other girls but I like it.
Slipping into a pair of black skinny jeans and a tight emerald green top I played with my hair for a moment before heading out of my room. I briefly thought back to the conversation Danni and I had with Callan and Luc, downstairs was quickly filling up and if more turned up there wasn’t going to be enough room, we volunteered to go upstairs… If they’d have us, but they did say they would discuss it with the other Serpents.
“Morning” I smiled as I walked into the cafe “Anything I can help with”
Glad to be of use, I start setting out the bowls.
I’m actually impressed that they managed to get some honey.
Not everyone was good with bees, if you weren’t careful you’d end up getting loads of stings. Unfortunately I had learned that the hard way when I was younger.
“Surely the smell of coffee will lure them out of bed soon enough” I say cheerily to Zane just before someone else walks in.
“Hi… you’re Zandra right?” I ask the stylish lady that just entered the cafe. “I guess I never really introduced myself to you, I’m Alice”
Jaz tells me there’s been movement and I nod slightly, it’s her subtle way of telling me she’s been keeping an eye out… which doesn’t surprise me at all, she was very observant like that.
Zandra joins us and Alice introduces herself properly, it’s so weird thinking that the mallrats don’t all know each other. The stories compared to the reality were very different.
’Think we could do with having a chat with everyone today, I had a very cold shower which…. Wasn’t what I wanted!’ I knew we also needed to go over the security again and make sure everyone was on the same page to, hopefully, prevent any issues with the rest of the city.
’Hows your head this morning?’ I ask Zandra after she’s responded to Alice, ’not too sore?’
I don’t know how long I’ve laid in bed thinking over last night, I’ve gone through more emotions than I thought possible from embarrassment to excitement and back! I couldn’t quite decide if avoidance was the best option but had decided I’d see how Luc acted and follow his lead…
Moving was a bad idea but I needed to get out of bed and face the day or I was never going to leave this room again. Pulling out some clean clothes I wrinkle my nose slightly, I really needed to add to the clothes I’d brought with me. It wasn’t that I was planning on staying for longer than necessary BUT if I was, I wanted to make an effort….
Once I’m semi presentable I head towards the sound of voices, the cafe was quiet but a few had already woken up. Morning,’ I pause looking around ’is there caffeine?’
Not long before sunrise, out of nowhere the skies had opened. The rain pelted down for mere minutes. We were all grateful to the everchanging weatherman from above as it meant we now had rain water to boil and use to wash with. Myself and The Everglades wherever possible whilst we reside with The Serpents, knew our part we had to play, rely on nature etc and not their already limited resources… Their occupancy had probably tripled and could potentially increase with more Mall Rats arriving.
Time ticked by… Dawn washed first using the salt scrub and boiled rain water away from the tents. Will stayed put under his covers whilst I checked in with Nate. All was well his end.
Dawn managed to say ‘hi’ and ‘bye’ as I was switching off. I quickly washed and slipped into a nice clean outfit.
Will then emerged and headed away to wash. Unlike Dawn and I, Will was visible from where we were. His lily white bum kept being exposed, but thankfully his manhood stayed pointing the other way. I had got used to seeing Will’s full moon over the years, he had no shame. He had a nice rump although I had nothing to compare it too what with still being a virgin…
Dawn and I were snuggled together sat up under a blanket, I place my head on my shoulder. “I’ve only ever seen Will’s butt.” She sniggers and says, ‘Well count yourself lucky, that’s a pretty perfect peachy one.’ I giggle. “Dawn! You naughty minx. He is like our brother!” My head comes away from her shoulder as she looks at me, ‘From another mother.’ She smirks and continues, ‘I know, I know, I am just being a daft brush… Plus I only said it so you don’t become a sex beast grabbing butt cheeks, no need when you have seen the ultimate rear!’ I then begin to laugh hard, which then sets off Dawn… I couldn’t bring myself to look at Will’s butt again, I knew he would be shaking his head at us though…
“That’s me, it’s nice to meet you Alice” I said with a smile, I knew I had to shift a bit of my hostility and thankfully that was easier with new people. I was curious how much the Mallrats who came after me knew.
I turned to Callan “A little, nothing too drastic, though it could be my fault about the shower, I only kept it to a few minutes but perhaps too long so apologises” I say offering a smile.
Maybe I was in longer than I had realised, the little bar I had been at before here didn’t have one, so it was basic washes or going down to the stream which in the current weather wasn’t a fun experience. And before the bar showering alone wasn’t allowed.
As more movement seemed to happen I decided it was safe to head to the cafe knowing breakfast was likely ready, the Serpents knew me well enough to know I don’t do cooking, some people are just bad at cooking, me… I’m terrible and it was a fact we all learned early on and avoided it happening again.
Grabbing a t-shirt as I sat up and sighed, walking around topless and probably shouldn’t be on the agenda for a while. With a swift motion I pulled it on and headed out my room to the cafe “Morning” I grinned walking in “Hopefully no one is feeling too rough today”
I didn’t want to be over familiar with Danni but at the same time I didn’t want to ignore it “Did everyone have a good night? I know I did” I said slightly cocky.
’We usually have enough hot water for the whole tribe, which I doubt you used up in one go…’ I couldn’t imagine she’d showered for that long, although I could be wrong.
Danni comes in looking slightly worse for wear and asks if there’s caffeine, i gesture towards the pot, ’help yourself. It’s not the best but will wake you up!’
It doesn’t take long before Luc joins us, the smirk on his face implying he had a very good night, I briefly wonder if they’d continued what they started at the club but don’t ask… ’Jaz made porridge which is great for a hangover.’ I add glancing back at Danni, before returning my attention to Alice and Zandra. ’You mentioned a farm yesterday, that might have supplies?’ I hadn’t missed the weird exchange between Alice and the others yesterday but wasn’t going to pry, however ’we could do with stocking up, supplies aren’t low but I don’t know how much everyone eats and the last thing we need is to run out of food… that’s when people get stupid and mistakes are made. This city is dangerous enough without adding in additional stupidity.‘
Callan tells me there’s ‘coffee’ but before I can pour myself a mug Luc enters the cafe, he asks if everyone had a good night and his comment that he did brings a blush to my skin. Oh god…! It takes a second for me to focus my thoughts on now rather than last night, the way it had felt as he pressed up against me, his fingers tangled in my… goddamnit!
Biting my lip I move to get myself a drink, hopefully coffee would help me focus on the here and now rather than the how good it had been to just be in the moment, to feel desired.
Pouring out the coffee I just focus on making sure I actually get it in the cup, last thing I needed was to make a fool of myself!
“Oh I definitely wasn’t in that long, just a few minutes tops” I tell him feeling relieved that I hadn’t used all the hot water “Ooo porridge” I head over grabbing a bowl and smiling at Jaz as she pours some porridge into the bowl “Thank you” I said and poured a little honey into the porridge, I was trying to be careful not to waste resources.
I looked over at Danni when Luc announced he had a good night, I’m not sure who else spotted the two of them but I had noticed their moment
Heading towards a table, I purposely walk past Danni “Come on, lets sit over there” I grinned heading to the table ready for a bit of gossip.
Hearing Callan I moved closer to join the conversation “I agree, more mouths to feed will mean alot more supply runs but if we have a place we can use while you guys are here that would help massively. I know one of your guys said he’d come (KC) but I’m sure Zane and possibly Jaz or Bekah would help as well” I knew none of them would have any issues with helping out.
Being at the farm wasn’t going to be a quick trip so it’d be better for me and Callan to stay here for any new arrivals and of course if any trouble happened.
Zandra walks past me and gestures to a table and I nod slightly, having a sneaking suspicion she is trying to distract me from the situation. I quickly go and get a bowl of porridge from Jaz, thanking her before going to sit down. ’I’m guessing there’s no chance we were as subtle as I like to think we were?’ I ask her quietly. I was slightly mortified at the thought everyone saw us last night.
“I doubt most of them would have seen, Lottie was chatting with KC, Gel was dancing, I’m not sure about Callan, he seems quite observant so he probably saw… Though I’m more surprised Luc didn’t say something more obvious, he seems the type to brag” I raised an eyebrow “Though possibly he doesn’t want to ruin a good thing” I suggested.
I’m pretty sure if someone else had been caught in a similar position Luc would have pretty much announced it by now.
