the hangover

Luckily, it wasn't that late in the morning, so the sunlight wasn't that bright. Iris groaned and clutched her head tightly, getting up and trying to look around her surroundings.

Where the fuck am I? Was her first question.

She felt silky sheets beneath her fingertips and figured she was on a bed. Her shirt was askew and so was her hair, by the feel of it. She turned to the side and saw Alec, who looked just as fucked up as she did.

She relaxed a bit but the panicked as she tried to remember what happened the previous night. She was tempted to throw a pillow and wake him, but felt too tired.

Laying down once more, she used his shoulder as a pillow and hoped he'd give her a hangover potion when he wakes up.

Alec groaned when he felt something on his shoulder and rolled over in the bed, bringing the pillow to cover his face from the light and trying to get back to sleep. After a few minutes, though, he gave up. Sighing, he sat up and, pinching the bridge of his nose, found Iris at his side. When had she gotten there. . .? He couldn't see her eyes, and he supposed she might still have been sleeping.

The Prideux groaned once more and rested his head on the wall, rubbing his eyes and trying to ignore his head throbbing. Damn, what a headache. Thirsty, he grabbed the waterbottle near the bed and gulped it down as he tried to recall what had happened the previous night.

Looking to his side once more, he realized his best friend, much like himself, was still dressed, and couldn't help letting out a sigh in relief. Well, at least he knew what hadn't happened.

Iris felt some sort of movement and as she opened her eyes, she saw that Alec was awake as well. She covered her face with a pillow, just wanting the headache to go away. Not working, she threw the pillow aside with a frustrated sigh and sat up on the bed.

She looked at her best friend's tired face, half unbuttoned shirt and messed up hair and attempted a smirk. "You look pathetic," she stated. "But then again, so do I." Grabbing the waterbottle from his hand, she gulped down the remaining in one go. "Do you have some sort of hangover potion? I don't think the water's going to be enough."

Frowning as she felt taste of salt on her lips with alcohol, she turned to him once more. "What the hell did happen last night? And why the fuck do we look like we got snogged to the end??"

Alec saw her wake up and rolled his eyes at her comment, a hand on his head. "Well, good morning to you too, sunshine," he said in a sarcastic tone, and opened his mouth to protest when she took his waterbottle, but found he was too tired to argue. All he wanted to do was sleep until this headache and nausea were gone. He closed his eyes and shook his head slowly at her question, "I took all of it last time I got a hangover. Although I shouldn't have because that night seems like it was much easier than last night." Keeping his eyes shut tight, he shrugged, "I'm sure the ingredients are around here somewhere... If you want to make it, suit yourself."

"Do I look like I know?" Alec snapped, opening his eyes and turning his head to look at the girl. He felt so... stressed and anxious and- and- he turned to the side of the bed and threw up on the floor.

Remembering about her purse, Iris saw it lying on the ground. She reached out for one of the waterbottles, and threw it at Alec. "There you go," she muttered and ran a hand through her hair. "You have the ingredients? Right, I'm going to go make the fucking thing and I don't care if your father sees me." She grumbled and got up from the bed, forgetting about her dishevelled look.

Poking around the kitchen, she found everything and mixed it in the blender, mentally thanking her Muggle foster parents for teaching her how to work a blender. Pouring it into two glasses, she went back to the bedroom, only to find that the Priduex had puked.

She shook her head and placed both the glasses on the table next to him. "Be right back," she mumbled and ran into the bathroom to throw up as well.

"Just drink the damn potion once you're done puking!" She managed to call out.

Alec felt a waterbottle hit his head and fall to the ground, landing in his puke, a small bit of wtaer left in there. The sight and smell of the whole thing made him want to throw up all over again after he was done, but he really felt much better. After puking a bit more, he sighed and wiped his mouth on the back of his hand, then choosing to get up and clean himself in the bathroom.

Closing his eyes, he let the water fall through his hands and splashed some of it on his face. All he wanted to do was stay there forever. Though his head was still killing him, he felt better. When he opened his eyes, though, he nearly had a heart attack. His face - Merlin, he looked terrible! After taking a quick shower, he went back to the bedroom and sat on the bed. . . where was he, again? That wasn't his room. Right- guest room.

The Prideux only looked up when Iris walked in, two glasses in hand, and went to the bathroom to throw up. He quickly grabbed his wand and muttered a cleaning spell to get rid of the vomit in front of him so he wouldn't throw up again, and took one of the glasses.

"Hey, flower," he called, now realizing that the cauldron was not in the kitchen, "Are you sure you did this right. . .?"

Iris barely heard the Prideux call her out as she continued to puke. She groaned and held her stomach, feeling tired and frustrated. Finally having her stomach settled, she leaned against the wall, removing her shirt and wiping her mouth, before throwing it on the floor. She knew she'd be wreaking of alcohol and decided to take a shower.

The water felt cool against her skin and she welcomed the pleasure. After a few minutes, she looked around the bathroom and found a couple of towels. Using two of them, she tied them around and made her way back to the bedroom, her crumpled clothes in hand.

"Hey, do you have a shirt and maybe some shorts I can borrow?" She asked Alec as she saw him in the bed. Seeing him looking at the glass hesitantly, she realized that making the potion in the blender might not have been a good idea.

"Oh wait, don't drink that, I'll get us something else," she said and the Gryffindor took both the glasses and went to the kitchen.

Soon, she came back holding two glasses of red liquid. "And here's Bloody Mary drink for you pretty boy, the Muggle way to get rid of a hangover," she grinned and handed one to her best friend. "It's easier to make then the potion, actually."

Alec looked up when she walked out of the bathroom and shrugged. "I don't think anything will fit you - certainly not my dad's or Mel's clothes. If only mom still lived here. . ." he muttered and got up when she took the glasses, making his way to his bedroom carefully, so he wouldn't wake anybody up. And by anybody, he meant his father - it wasn't like Amélie really minded. Or maybe she did, he didn't know anything at the moment. Not even that it was a weekday and his father had already left for work.

Grabbing a shirt and his old jeans, those would probably fit, he walked back to the guest room, right as Iris came back from the kitchen, holding two new glasses. He took one and raised an eyebrow, "Bloody Mary? Well, that's interesting."

"Here," he said, throwing the clothes at her, and took a sip of the drink.

Iris took the clothes and went to the bathroom once more to change. After a few seconds, she came out, the jeans fitting just fine, though the shirt seemed a little baggy. "Thanks," she muttered and sat down next to the Priduex again.

She drank some of it in one go, eager for the headache to get lost. She wasn't exactly a fan of tomatoes, but the drink felt kind of soothing.

"Well, how is it?" She asked Alec, turning to look at him. "Now if only we could remember some of the shit that happened last night..." she trailed off, shaking her head.

Alec took another sip of the drink, then a big gulp. It wasn't exactly the best drink ever, but it was helping. "It's okay, I guess," he said with a shrug and finished his cup, putting it back on the table and turning to look at Iris.

"I don't remember a lot," he told her and laid down on the bed, "But I'm sure there was some kissing involved."

"There was what involved?!" Iris exclaimed, the empty glass falling from her hand. "Oh my god, please tell me you are fucking kidding me, pretty boy." She ran her hand through her hair and turned to look at her best friend.

"Who the fuck did I kiss? Any idea? Damn, how the hell am I supposed to explain this to Hades?!" She groaned and buried her head in a pillow next to the Priduex. Then the pictures came into her head. There was drinking, dancing and...

"WE KISSED?!" The Gryffindor shouted in shock. "Damn it, did we?!"

Alec caught the cup before it could fall to the ground and placed it in the table, next to his. As his head wasn't pounding as much as before, he started to remember a few details of what had happened the previous night.

He couldn't help but laugh at what he remembered, it was actually pretty funny, the whole thing. He opened is mouth to say something, unsure if Grayson knew what they had done, when she started shouting. Yup, she knew.

"We did," he said with a small grin. He wasn't grinning at the idea of kissing her, though now that he rememebered, it didn't seem to have been too bad, but more at how she was reacting. "Calm down, flower, what's the big deal?"

"Easy for you to say pretty boy, you're not the one who's engaged to a significant other," Iris muttered, figuring that yelling would make her headache worse. She threw the pillow at Alec's head and glared at him. "Will you for fucking sake stop grinning like an idiot?!"

The Gryffindor wasn't surprised by the boy's reaction; of course he was enjoying this. Though the night had been immensely fun, she couldn't help but feel guilty at her act.

"So you are obviously happy because you realized that you got the best kiss of your life last night," told the blonde, her voice laced with mild amusement. "Don't even try and deny it, pretty boy. I was a thousand times better than those pathetic chicks you snog everyday. But if we're being truthful, how was it?" She asked, the curiosity getting the best of her.

Alec's eyes widened and he couldn't help his jaw from dropping. Grayson was- she was- "YOU'RE ENGAGED?" he managed to cry out, ignoring the pain that came back in his head when he did that. "What the fuck? Since when? Why didn't you tell me? ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?"

"Best kiss of my life?" he echoed with an amused grin and a raised eyebrow. He grabbed the pillow she threw at him and laid his head on her lap, shrugging. "It was good, yeah, but I wouldn't go that far."

"Okay, I think I liked you a whole lot better when you were grinning and not yelling," Iris growled as Alec's voice made her head hurt more. Once again, she was expecting the bashing from him. Honestly, she didn't know why she hadn't mentioned it. But that was not the thing to be upset about right now.

"It's just been a few weeks actually," she muttered and shrugged her shoulders. "Calm down, alright? I'm sorry I didn't tell you, I had other stuff to worry about. But no worries, I won't be engaged for long once I tell him about last night."

"Good? That's it?" The blonde asked with a raised eyebrow as well. "Come on, you've got to admit that I was better than those bimbos you usually go for," she stated and laughed lightly, running her hands through his hair distractedly. "Glad that I didn't end up in some stranger's bed," she commented, feeling relieved about that fact.

Alec huffed and rolled his eyes, "You don't get it, do you? I'm not mad because you didn't tell me - well, yeah, I am, but not that much. You're just - you're crazy, Iris. No one gets engaged at age fifteen. That's insane!"

"You're going to tell him?" he raised an eyebrow, his voice unbelieving as he looked at his friend, "Look, it wasn't that big of a deal, Gray. It was just kissing, we were drunk. Now, I see it as something small - but I'm not your boyfriend. Hell - I don't even know your boyfriend. What if he overreacts? You gotta think about this, flower. You don't need to tell him, let's just forget this ever happened."

"But," he added, "If you don't want to be engaged anymore, which I completely approve, go ahead."

Alec chuckled and rolled his eyes, " 'Those bimbos that I usually go for' aren't all the same, you know. Most of them aren't even bimbos, mind you. You were better than some, yeah." He played with the end of her hair and asked, "Would it have been the first time?"

“I know it’s crazy, but you also know that I’m more of a ‘act first, think later’ sort of person,” Iris stated. “And besides, it’s not as if I’m going to get married right after school or something. Plus, I won’t be dating anyone else anyway, so it just made sense for me. Not that I actually thought of those things when I said yes, of course,” she grinned lightly and shrugged.

She nodded her head slowly in agreement to Alec’s comment. “But in case he hears it from somewhere else? I don’t want that, I’d rather tell him myself,” the blonde said.

“Waking up in bed next to a stranger definitely would have been the first time,” she muttered. “I do carry a dagger with me everytime, so I’m good."

Alec rolled his eyes, "Whatever." He didn't agree with the whole engagement thing, he was sure she knew that, but his headache was starting to come back with all the yelling, and he found it better not to argue. He'd yell at her more later.

"So," he said as he got up from the bed, feeling better after the drink, "Do you want anything to eat?"

"Look, don't worry about it, alright? I'm almost sure I won't be engaged that long anyway," Iris muttered as she got up from the bed as well, still feeling tired to think about her actions.

"Sure, I'll grab something to eat and I'll leave you to your peace," she said with a light grin and followed Alec to the kitchen. Sitting on one of the stools, she asked, "So what were you and dad fighting about last night?" as she remembered the reason he was at the pub.

Alec shrugged as he started to look for something to eat. He wasn't very good at making food, so something ready would have to be. "I don't even remember," he stopped and frowned, "Ah, right! His new female friend. He says they are 'co-workers', but what person brings his co-worker home for some butterbeer?" He rolled his eyes, "Honestly, does he think I'm an idiot? I'm his son. There was no way that was just a friend - I got someone's DNA, didn't I?"

"Okay - cookies, toast or cornflakes?" he asked, putting the stuff he found on the counter and sitting next to her. "What annoys me is," he continued about his father, "he didn't bother to be a man and tell me the truth. That and the fact that he is still not divorced and that, technically, counts as cheating."

He grabbed a cookie and took a bite, "What about you, though? What was up with your folks?"

"Can I please say that this time, your dad really is lame and kind of stupid, without you yelling at me?" Iris remarked with a raise of her eyebrow. "I know you'll get all defensive, but Alec, it's not right what he's doing." She couldn't help the fact that the more she heard about the man, the less she was liking him; one of the only reasons being that this was clearly bothering her best friend a lot. "So why can't your parents just get the divorce, if that's what they want?"

The blonde stiffled a yawn and laid her head on his shoulder tiredly. After listening to Alec talk about his problem, she didn't feel like sharing hers as she didn't want him to worry. "It's nothing, something really stupid. Just fought with my brother again...and maybe with Kait, as well," she said and ate a cookie and took some of the cornflakes.

"Yes, you can. I'm not getting defensive, trust me," Alec replied and shrugged, "I know I did, that day at the lake, but now. . . I don't know, things are different between us. Plus, that was a long time ago, I had already sort-of forgiven him for that."

He took another bite of the cookie and messed up her hair, sighing, "My grandparents. . . they don't see divorce as a very good thing. They think it'll ruin everything. Their status, their relationship, but, most of all, they think it'll ruin us. Us as in, me and Amélie."

The boy raised an eyebrow, "If it had been really that stupid, you wouldn't have gone to a bar to get drunk. Tell me."

"Sorry to hear that, pretty boy," Iris muttered and held Alec's hand tightly. "I think your dad is being selfish. I mean, the least he can do is talk to you about it, but if he'd rather fight with his own son, then he's a coward," she stated.

"So they'd rather have your parents stay 'married', even if it means they're sleeping around with other people?" The blonde asked with a raised eyebrow, but then sighed. "Though I suppose they have a point..."

"Well, Kait had wanted our brother, Game, to train us in weapon defence. Anyway, when we all met up at the location, he said he refused to train me till I apologized to him for the yelling I did when we first met. Now, you know I won't apologize to people for nothing," she scoffed. "And then, he threw me a can of pepper spray, saying that was my weapon. Naturally, I got offended and mad, and yelled at him again, and that pissed off Kait but I knew she was mad at me, since she got pretty defensive of him," Iris said quietly. "I left and haven't seen them since."

"Told you it was really stupid," she looked at him and shrugged.