Chapter Text
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t my favourite redhead!” Matt exclaimed when he locked his eyes on Marilou as she walked out of the terminal at the airport. The sound of his voice caused the redhead to look up in his direction, a huge smile appearing on her face before she started making her way towards him. The two best friends shared a much needed embrace, not having seen each other since early July, almost four months ago.
“I missed you too much M,” Marilou mumbled in his shoulder, not planning on letting go of him anytime soon.
“I missed you too M,” Matt replied, also planning on not letting go of their hug anytime soon. “Never again am I spending that much time without seeing you.”
This caused Marilou to pull away slightly to give him a funny look, her eyebrows arched in amusement. “You do know one of the most important parts of your job is to tour around the world months at a time, right?”
“That’s why you don’t have any other choice than to become our tour photographer for the rest of your life,” Matt answered, remembering the conversation they had on the way back to his flat after going to the karaoke bar a few months ago. “We’ll kidnap you if we have to, you can’t say no.” He added, tightening his hold on Marilou as he started dragging her with him towards the exit.
The redhead laughed at his antics, patting his bicep with her hand that wasn’t holding her luggage as a sign to let her go. “Alright, alright, no need to drag me out of the airport Matt!” She said through her giggles.
Matt reluctantly let go of her but not completely, wrapping his right arm around her shoulders and bringing Marilou to his side, stealing her luggage with his left hand at the same time. “Don’t think for a moment that we’re joking about the tour photographer thing,” he said as the duo walked out of the airport, the New York City wind whirling around the two of them. “You might not remember but we’ve had this conversation before when we went to the karaoke after your breakup with Ben and Jamie was as serious as he was that time when we wanted you to come on tour with us and ended up getting our star tattoos.”
Marilou burst out laughing. “I don’t remember having this conversation at all but that doesn’t surprise me from Cookie,” she answered as the friends waited for a cab.
After a few minutes of catching up on what they each were up to during the months they spent apart, Matt came to a realization. “Wasn’t Imogen supposed to come with you?” He asked and the change of mood that surged in his best friend was unmissable.
Averting her eyes to the ground, Marilou started playing with the rings on her fingers to prevent the tears from rolling down her cheeks. “She got a new job at this studio in London about two weeks ago,” the redhead replied, “thankfully she doesn’t need to be there all the time so she can stay in Sheffield and travel down when they need her at the studio, but she had to be in London this week to finalize paperwork or whatnot and it extended for another week.” She finished explaining, biting her lip as she remembered the huge argument this caused between the couple. She refrained from mentioning that part to Matt, he would only get worried that the past was repeating itself but the redhead knew that wasn’t the case. It’s normal for couples to have arguments, it wouldn’t be healthy if they didn’t, right?
Although Matt and the rest of the boys weren’t thrilled to be seeing Marilou with Imogen and that the news that the blonde now wouldn’t be tagging along made him feel more than relieved, the drummer couldn’t help but feel sorry for his best friend. He brought her in a hug, this one more soothing than the desperate one they shared earlier, and rubbed his right hand up and down her back. He didn’t say anything, he knew Marilou didn’t want pity, and instead did what he does best: be there to comfort his best friend.
They didn’t wait much longer before being seated in a cab, on their way to Alex and Alexa’s apartment. The two friends went back to casual conversation, Marilou updating Matt on what her siblings had been doing lately. Floriane was thrilled to start college and focus her studies on art, Romain didn’t have any problem getting back in the flow of university life and Hugo’s work with the Sheffield Wednesday was everything he had dreamed of.
“Can you believe it? Little Flo O’Shea in college? Man this makes me feels old,” Matt said in disbelief.
“How do you think I feel?” Marilou asked with a laugh. “She is my baby sister after all!”
“Oi she’s as much my sister as she is yours!” Matt argued jokingly. “Alex, you and I were already friends and spending most of our time together before she was born, her growing up is also affecting me, thank you very much.”
Marilou laughed some more. “You’re more distressed about it than Hugo and Romain!”
“Your brothers aren’t known for being sentimental like I am.” Matt retorted in defense. “Maybe one day Flo will get to do the cover art for one of Arctic Monkeys’ albums.” He added, changing the subject.
“I know she’d love nothing more,” Marilou answered with a smile. “Except maybe to work for One Direction.”
“Who??” The drummer asked, clueless as ever.
“They’re this boyband on X Factor that she’s obsessed with.”
Matt groaned in disgust, causing Marilou to erupt in laughter once again.
__________
The second Marilou walked through the front door of Alex and Alexa’s apartment, she was immediately engulfed in a hug, her vision obstructed by a flock of brown hair. Thankfully Matt had insisted on bringing her luggage and bag for her, meaning her arms were free to hug back her friend, whoever it was. It didn’t help that Alex and Alexa were almost of the same height and stature, it made it hard to differentiate the two in situations like this one.
“Lou babes, it has been way too long! I’ve missed you so much,” Alexa said as she squeezed the redhead tighter.
Marilou reciprocated the gesture, swaying their bodies from left to right. “It has indeed been way too long ma chère (my dear) , we have so much to catch up on!” The girl replied before letting go of her friend who moved over to greet Matt at the door and help him with the luggages.
The redhead walked further in the apartment, taking in her surroundings since the last time she visited her friends in New York was almost two years ago. As she heard the sound of the front door closing once Matt had finally entered the flat, her eyes locked with Alex’s big brown orbs, his giddiness and impatience to hold his best friends in his arms shining clearly through them.
“Come ‘ere Red,” Alex invited Marilou in a hug and soon the smell of her coconut hair curling butter took over his senses when her curls tickled his cheek, causing a smile to imprint on his face. The redhead latched her arms around his waist, giggling when she felt her best friend plant kisses in her hair.
“How’ve you been Turner? Is that album finally done?” Marilou asked as she tried to pull away from the embrace to properly talk, but Alex was having none of it, instead tightening his hold on her and causing the redhead to giggle some more.
“Oh no, not yet!” The singer jokingly warned as he relished in the hug. Marilou didn’t object, Alex’s cuddles were her favourites. “And to answer your question, the album is almost done mostly thanks to you, ma muse pour toujours (my forever muse) .”
“Glad I could be of help Al,” the redhead said, patting his left shoulder with her right hand. “As long as the album isn’t all about me and my shitty life.”
Alex chuckled as he pulled away from their embrace, keeping his left arm draped around her shoulders. “Nah, I didn’t write much about you, but the shite high Marilou talked about was really inspiring.”
Marilou burst out laughing, her already rosy cheeks reddening some more. “Oh God, I cannot wait to listen to it!”
Alexa quickly appeared by the pair’s side to steal Marilou away and guide her to the guest bedroom where she could unpack her stuff. It was once the two girls had left the common area that Alex noticed someone was missing.
“Did you forget Imogen at the airport?” He jokingly asked Matt who was now standing next to him.
Matt chuckled lightly before answering. “Nah, she didn’t make the trip. Lou said she got a new job in London and had to stay to fill out paperwork.”
“Well, I can’t say I’m sad about this,” Alex said truthfully, knowing the sentiment was shared. “How was she when you picked her up at the airport?”
“She looked tired but she was happy, a bit downhearted when she told me about Imogen though.” Matt replied, crossing his arms in front of his chest before he lowered his voice. “Her body language told me there was more behind why the demon didn’t come with but I didn’t ask her.”
The two boys didn’t say more, both of their heads clouded with worry over their redheaded best friend and her relationship but they were quickly pulled out of their thoughts when Alexa and Marilou came back from the guest room and called for a night out in town.
__________
Two days later, Marilou and Alexa were getting ready in the bathroom adjacent to the main bedroom of the apartment as Alex, Matt, Nick and Jamie did some final decoration touch ups before the party the couple were hosting for Halloween started. Katie had flown to New York the day after Marilou and was currently in the kitchen making drinks for herself and the two other girls.
Heart of Glass by Blondie was coming out of the speaker that Marilou had plugged her cellphone to, the redhead mouthing along to the lyrics as she applied silver eyeshadow on her eyelids. Imogen and her had planned to do a couple’s costume, the blonde as a goddess of the sun and the latter as a goddess of the moon, and although she was still upset about her girlfriend not coming to New York with her it was definitely not going to stop her from putting in the effort to be the best dressed tonight. Marilou had spent way too much time scouring thrift stores for it all to go to waste and it would be a crime not to give the dress she had found the spotlight it deserved. The long, sparkly light purple almost silver looking piece of clothing might be her best thrift find so far, it looked straight out of a fairytale. The way the skirt pooled at her feet made it seem like she was floating on air and she loved the deep V cut that went almost all the way down to her belly button. Since the dress was held on her shoulders by spaghetti straps, the redhead had made elbow length gloves out of some glittery silver transparent fabric with the help of her friend Julia who was an aspiring fashion designer.
Alexa and Alex also were doing a couple’s costume but decided to keep it simple and not too extravagant unlike their friend. The two had fabricated their costumes earlier that week on one of the rare occasions where they were both free at the same time. They were going as skeletons and had stitched silver bones made of cardboard to some black clothes they weren’t using anymore, the whole thing was really cute.
“Are you two almost ready?” Katie asked as she walked back in the bathroom, closing the door with her hip since her hands were busy with the three girls’ cups. “People are gonna start arriving soon.”
Alexa thanked her for the drink before answering. “I need to put a little bit of eyeshadow then I should be ready, I don’t know about Lou though.”
“I’m almost done with my makeup!” The redhead replied as she brushed her eyebrows in place. “I still have to put me shoes on and all my jewelry.”
“You’re not the host so take all the time you need babes,” Alexa reassured her. “Was everything alright?” She turned to Katie and asked. “The boys didn’t end up creating more problems?”
The blonde model chuckled. “Don’t worry, Alex made sure they didn’t,” she said as she fixed her hair in the mirror. Katie and Jamie’s couple costume was of Austin Powers and a Fembot, the girl’s pink dress sure to make it hard for her boyfriend to keep it together at the party. “Lou, I can stay with you if you need help,” she added once she was done with her hair.
“Thank you bubs, I should be fine but you can stay if you want,” Marilou replied, although she was really hoping her friend wouldn’t leave so she wouldn’t have to be alone until she was ready.
“Alright, I’m gonna go out there and make sure everything really is ready, you two come join us whenever you’re done,” Alexa said as she stored her makeup away and walked out of the bathroom to go join the boys in the common area of the apartment where the party was held. Marilou and Katie easily fell into conversation over Blur’s Girls & Boys playing from the speaker, complimenting each other’s costumes as the former was now putting on her silver jewelry which matched with her silver septum piercing. Her friend helped her attach the three necklaces behind her neck after she had put on her earrings and a belt right above her hips, both consisting of moon crescents.
Lady (Hear Me Tonight) by Modjo was now sounding through the small room, the volume up to the max on the redhead’s phone, Katie and Marilou swaying their hips close together to the beat as they started getting in the party mood once they downed their drinks and the alcohol slowly brought them to the first stage of tipsiness. It was at that moment that Jamie and Matt walked in the bathroom, coming to annoy Marilou to get ready faster.
“You girls know there’s also a party going on outside of the bathroom?” Matt asked loudly over the music, pointing with his thumb behind him to where the common area was.
“After this song!” Marilou dismissed them.
The two boys couldn’t help but laugh at the girls before each being dragged to dance with them, Katie and Jamie getting cozy while Marilou held Matt’s hands and swung them around. Once the song was done, the drummer quickly grabbed the phone to pause the music and urge everyone to get out to where the real party was happening.
“Wait! I still need my crown!” Marilou exclaimed in realization, turning around and dodging around her friend to grab the item that was still on the bathroom counter.
“What exactly are you supposed to be?” Matt asked, a look of confusion on his face.
“I’m the goddess of the moon nitwit, what are you supposed to be?” She retorted back as she adjusted her silver crown adorned with stars on her head.
“I’m Clark Kent,” he answered as if it was obvious.
Marilou and Katie booed him as the group walked out of the bedroom and to the hallway. “That’s such a lazy costume,” the blonde said, linking her arm with her boyfriend’s. The redhead felt a pang of sadness in her chest at the sight of her friends acting all couple-y, wishing her girlfriend could’ve been here with her. A small frown appeared on her face as she remembered the fight they had before Imogen left for London, her insecurities about her relationship resurfacing for a moment before Matt interrupted her thoughts and brought her back to the present.
“And what about it? I’m a proud lazy costume wearer!”
“You’re no fun!” Marilou retorted, softly tapping his arm with the back of her hand.
“No fun eh? Would someone who’s no fun do ten consecutive shots?” Matt argued back, causing the three others to laugh.
“You’re gonna regret it mate,” Jamie warned as they arrived at the kitchen island where the drink station was.
“What’s he gonna regret?” Nick barged in the conversation. Marilou and Katie laughed as they took in his costume. “What? What are yous laughing at?” The poor lad was so confused.
“You doing a couple’s costume with Matt?” The redhead asked between chuckles.
Her question caused Matt to slap Nick on the chest where Batman’s logo rested. “I told you people were gonna say that!”
“Oi I had my costume picked before you! Not my fault you waited ‘til the last minute and went with a lazy costume!” Nick retorted back as Marilou and Katie laughed some more, Jamie joining them.
“Alright, alright,” Matt gave up, understanding there was no way out of this argument where he would be the winner. “Anyways, who’s doing shots with me?”
“Pass me the vodka Helders, I’m in,” Marilou said, grabbing a shot glass and tapping it on the counter of the kitchen island so her friend could hurry up. Although she was happy to be partying with her best friends, she knew she was going to need more to completely forget about Imogen for the night. She wasn’t about to ruin everybody’s fun because she felt like her girlfriend wasn’t making enough efforts in their relationship while she went out of her way to get along with all of Imogen’s friends, even if some of them were too posh for her liking.
“Someone’s impatient,” Matt teased as he handed her the bottle of alcohol. He then took the bottle of tequila to pour himself a shot.
“Tonight’s the night I’m outdrinking ya M,” the redhead announced before downing her glass of vodka. No one would question how much she will drink tonight if she’s pretending to try to beat Matt. Plus, she was in the mood for a competition with her best friend, they don’t get to have them as often as they used to now that the boys are traveling around the world almost every year or two. “You’re already one shot behind.”
“Mar you’ve never been able to outdrink Matt before…” Nick tried to reason with her but was unsuccessful as Matt interrupted him.
“It’s on O’Shea! Can’t wait to see you lose and puke your guts out!” The drummer declared before he too downed his shot. “Don’t worry, I’ll still be a good friend and hold your hair while your head’s deep in the toilet.”
“Hush hush, you still got nine more shots to go,” Marilou told him, grabbing a few more shot glasses. “We should make it a race. Whoever finishes the nine shots first wins. Katie, will you fill up my glasses for me please ma chérie (my dear)?”
“Ooh I’m loving this!” The blonde girl exclaimed before leaving Jamie’s side to stand next to her friend who handed her the bottle of vodka.
“What does the winner get?” Matt asked while filling up his glasses of tequila. “Cookie will ya do me the honours?”
The concerned young man grumbled under his breath, moving to Matt’s right side.
“Winner gets to boast about winning. Nick you’ll be the judge,” Marilou told the bassist who nodded in agreement. “Alright M, let’s do this shite!”
The two shook hands before taking position on each side of the kitchen island.
Nick looked at the two, seeing they were ready, and counted down. “Three, two, one, GO!”
Marilou and Matt quickly gulped down the first shot, Katie and Jamie moving fast to fill in the empty glass as their friends continued downing the other shots.
“C’mon Lou you can do it!” Nick encouraged the redhead, causing Matt to pause to shout about the judge not being impartial. Obviously this caused Marilou to take the lead, Katie cheering for her friend as she was down to her last three shots.
“DONE!” Marilou yelled once she swallowed her ninth shot of vodka, dramatically slamming her glass on the counter. Katie latched her arms around the redhead, both girls jumping around and shouting “Olé, olé, olé!” in triumph.
“What’s going on here?” Alex asked as he appeared next to his friends, he had been busy greeting guests with Alexa. Marilou wrapped an arm around his neck and brought him closer as she tried to get him to join in her and Katie’s celebration, but the singer instead stood still and laughed at the two girls’ energy.
“Matt said he’d do ten consecutive shots and Lou turned it into a shot race between them. Obviously she won,” Nick informed the newcomer.
“I demand a rematch!” Matt yelled over the girls’ voices. “Nick was being impartial!”
“No I was not!” Nick argued. “I encouraged Lou, that’s different.”
“You’re just pissed she kicked your arse!” Katie said, rubbing her friend’s victory in his face.
Marilou took the opportunity to stop jumping around, the effects of the alcohol making themselves known in her body. “I’m not doing a rematch, I need to drink water if I wanna outdrink Matt tonight.”
“You’re outdrinking Matt tonight?” Alex asked his best friend, making sure he had heard her right. “I’d like to see you try,” he said, a teasing tone to his voice.
“Tonight’s the night it finally happens!” The redhead declared, unwrapping her right arm from Alex to shake her fist in the air in victory. “But first, water.” She thanked Nick as he handed her a water bottle from the fridge and once she had gulped down three big sips, she asked her friends with a tipsy smile, “Now who wants to dance?”
__________
It was close to midnight when Marilou and Alexa found themselves sitting alone on the little outdoor couch that occupied the balcony, ready to share a joint together. The redhead had a blanket wrapped around her shoulders like a cape, the wind raising goosebumps on her exposed skin due to the cold. The party was going strong inside, Marilou was surprised by the amount of friends Alex and Alexa had in the city.
Taking the first puff of the spliff, the redhead exhaled the smoke in delight, her eyes closing as she appreciated the calming feeling that took over her body. “Oh this feels good after all the alcohol I’ve had,” she confessed to her friend, causing Alexa to laugh.
“I bet it does,” the brunette said, reaching for the joint and taking a puff herself. “How’s outdrinking Matt going for you? Are you winning?”
Marilou chuckled. “I’m still holding up, that’s all that matters.”
For a while, the two didn’t say anything, simply smoking and enjoying the distant noise from the city as a contrast to the overwhelmingly loud sounds inside the flat.
“I don’t think I’ve told you yet but your costume is the hottest one tonight,” Alexa broke the silence.
Marilou looked over to her friend, offering her a small smile as she thanked her. “Thank you, I was supposed to be matching with Imogen, she was the goddess of the sun and I of the moon.”
“Well it still works as a stand alone, I love the dress and how you’ve accessorized it. Might include it on my blog if I ever write a post for Halloween costume ideas,” Alexa said. “I’m sorry Imogen couldn’t make it,” she added after a short pause.
“Oh it’s nothing,” Marilou was quick to dismiss it. “You know how it is, she had work that she couldn’t miss, especially since she just started working there, it’s not the end of the world.”
“Yeah but it must still suck, seeing everyone doing couple’s costumes with their partner,” Alexa countered.
“Eh, it is what it is I guess,” Marilou gave a short reply, thinking of a way to change the topic of conversation before she became upset over Imogen not being here again. “Can I ask you something… period related? You’re like one of the only girl friends I have and one of the closest ones too.”
Alexa was a bit surprised by the completely different direction their conversation was taking but didn’t let it show. “Yeah of course.”
“Do you get like, really intense pain to the point where you can’t get out of bed? When you’re bleeding that is,” the redhead asked, toying with her belt.
“Yeah actually, I do,” the brunette answered, sitting up straighter on the couch. “You’re the first person I’ve talked about periods with to experience the same thing as me, everyone else tells me “oh don’t be a pussy, it’s normal” but I’m pretty sure the pain I go through isn’t normal, at least it shouldn’t be normal.”
“Exactly!!’ Marilou agreed, the smoke from the puff of the spliff she inhaled while her friend was speaking coming out of her nostrils. “I remember when I was younger, my Ma was very strict about my siblings and I not missing school, like dentist appointments and everything were during the summer, and so when I started having my period we’d fight every fucking month because I physically couldn’t get out of bed and she’d say I was overexagerating, that I simply needed to pop some ibrupofen and I’d be good to go, because there was no way I was going to miss a day of school. Alex and Matt probably remember how terrible it was, I couldn’t pay attention in class because my only focus was to survive through the pain until I was back in my bed and teachers would reprimand me all the time , it was fucking hell.”
“Your mum never let you skip school for your period?” Alexa asked, in disbelief of the information the redhead was sharing with her. She knew her friend’s mother was… special to say the least, but she wasn’t expecting her to let her child suffer for entire days because school was more important than her health.
“Nope,” Marilou answered, as if it was a normal thing. “Except for one time,” she remembered, grabbing the almost done spliff that her friend handed back to her, “but technically she didn’t let me skip, I don’t even know if she knows about it to this day. I must’ve been sixteen, it was right before college, and for some reason the pain that morning was much worse than usual. When I got to school I immediately went for the toilets, the nausea had gone exponentially worse in the bus, and I spent the first class of the day sitting on the floor in agony in a stall, alternating between dry heaving in the toilet and crying of pain while clutching my stomach. Alex snuck in about fifteen minutes before the end of the class, I think he was already worried by the look on my face in the bus and it only got worse when I wasn’t at my desk, and he called us a cab, brought me home and took care of me until my Da was back from the factory. He got an earful from his parents when they found out he hadn’t been at school for most of the day but Penny was mostly proud of him for being a good friend. Then she told him everything there was to know about the more unknown menstruating facts and the day after, Alex came to me and was all like “I can’t believe you have to go through this every month just because you’re not pregnant” and making a big deal out of it, as if I was getting shot in the heart every month or summat like that.” The redhead finished retelling the anecdote with a small giggle, causing Alexa to laugh when she imitated Alex’s voice.
“Yeah that sounds like Al,” the brunette said once they had both calmed down.
It was at this moment Alex decided to come check on the girls. “What sounds like me?” He asked, closing the balcony door behind him.
“I was telling Alexa about that time when Penny told you the less known menstruating symptoms and you made a big deal out of it,” Marilou replied, a smile on her lips.
“Oh yeah,” Alex said, giggling as he replayed the memory in his mind. “In my defense, you looked like you were on your deathbed when I had to force ya to go back home. I was so worried that I asked Mum if you could die from menstruations.”
Marilou and Alexa burst out laughing at the revelation, the former unaware of that part of the conversation he had with his mother. “I cannot believe you kept this bit from me all this time!” The redhead exclaimed in between sniggers.
“Well I knew you were gonna take the piss at me!” The singer defended himself. “Anyways, I came to tell yous we’re about to start the karaoke.”
“Count me in!” Marilou said as she got up from the couch, discarding her blanket on the piece of furniture, Alexa following in her steps. “I’m in a Billy Idol mood tonight.”
“Thank God he ain’t here to hear you murder his songs,” Alex teased his best friend as he opened the door for the girls.
“Ha ha Turner, very funny,” she retorted back, giving him a pointed look when she walked past him.
“Lou! Lou Lou Lou you have to sing with me babes!” A clearly intoxicated Katie came running at her friend when she saw the redhead was back inside.
“O’Shea you’re three drinks behind!” Matt yelled from the kitchen island. “You’re never outdrinking me!”
“Nick, pass me the bottle,” Marilou ordered her friend as she made her way towards the drink station then turned to the blonde model who was following behind. “Let me chug this and then we’ll go sing some Billy Idol babes,” she told Katie with a playful wink.
“You’re not gonna drink all of it?” Jamie, who was the less intoxicated of their friend group, asked incredulously once he eyed the almost half full bottle of vodka.
“Maybe,” the redhead playfully answered before bringing up the alcohol in the air. “Sláinte les amis!” she cheered and started gulping down the liquid, the group around her eyeing her in amusement. (“cheers” in irish and “my friends” in french)
Katie and Nick started encouraging her, clapping their hands as they shouted “Chug! Chug! Chug!” repeatedly and getting other people to join in their chant.
When there was about less than a fifth of the vodka left to drink, Marilou pulled the bottle away and slammed it on the counter, a sour look on her face. “Someone give me pineapple juice right now,” she ordered, trying to go through the wave of intoxication and nausea that washed through her body due to the amount of alcohol she drank in so little time.
Katie was fast to get the container from the fridge, unscrewing the cap before handing the juice to Marilou who didn’t waste a second to gulp down a third of the bottle. Once she felt better, the redhead raised her hands in the air, the big smile that she always sported whenever she reached a certain level of drunkenness plastered on her lips as she yelled, “I SURVIVED BITCHEEEEESSS!!’
The group that had gathered around her and the kitchen island cheered along, Matt shaking his head in amusement at his best friend’s antics.
Suddenly the music that played loudly through the apartment paused, Alexa gaining everybody’s attention to where she stood next to the telly in the sitting area. “Alright everyone, the karaoke’s set up-”
“Lou and I are going first!” Katie interrupted, making sure everybody heard her loud and clear and wouldn’t try to steal their spot.
“So whoever wants to join in the fun, come to the living room and those who’d rather do something else continue doing whatever you were doing,” Alexa finished before everybody started talking again. “What are you singing babes?” The brunette asked the blonde and redheaded girls who had made their way next to her while she was still talking.
“Get us Rebel Yell by Billy Idol please ma biquette (my lamb) ,” Marilou asked as she and Katie exchanged excited smiles, ready to karaoke like they’ve never done before.
__________
Marilou, Katie, Jamie, Alex, Nick and Matt were drunkenly walking through the streets of New York around two thirty in the morning in search of a pizza place. The party had just ended when they left the flat, the group of friends had made sure all the other guests had already gone back to their homes or were on their way to so it wouldn’t be rude to abandon Alexa to take care of everything on her own. The brunette had declined the invite for the late night snack, ready to pass out in her bed as soon as the last invitee walked out of the front door.
“Next time I wanna go get pizza in the middle of the night in New York City at the end of October, please force me to bring a coat with me,” Marilou said as she rubbed her arms in search of a sliver of warmth.
“You thought about grabbing your phone and wallet but not a coat?” Matt asked, mockingly judging her.
“Well yeah, my wallet to buy food and my phone to listen to music,” the redhead answered as if her way of thinking was obvious, Somebody Told Me by The Killers playing from her phone which made the girl and Katie bop their heads along to the beat.
Alex laughed at the expense of his best friend, bringing her in his arms to give her a little bit of the warmth his coat provided. “Don’t be too harsh on her Matt,” he chastised his other best friend, “at this level of intoxication, she’s not really good at rational thinking.”
His comment caused everyone except Marilou to laugh, knowing the singer was right. The redhead decided to ignore him and changed the subject instead. “I still outdrank ya Helders! I’m still standing and not puking my guts out, so I fucking won,” she teased her sore loser of a best friend.
“That’s right!” Nick exclaimed in realisation, he had completely forgotten about Marilou’s plan to outdrink Matt tonight. “I’m proud of ya Red.”
“If I had to bet on anyone outdrinking Matt it would’ve been you babes,” Katie said from where she was wrapped in Jamie’s side.
“I know I can always count on you Downes,” the redhead replied as she glanced at her friend, the two exchanging a playful look full of love and mischief and blowing kisses to each other.
“Does anyone know where we’re going?” Matt interrupted the moment, steering the topic of conversation away from the fact that Marilou beat him.
“Yeah, there should be one of those a dollar a slice places two blocks down,” Alex informed, pointing with his right hand in the direction where the pizzeria was.
Marilou gasped in delight, she hadn’t had the chance to grab a dollar pizza slice since she arrived. “Alex, you are godsent !” She exclaimed before planting a kiss to his cheek, causing her best friend to giggle as the two snuggled closer to each other. To any stranger passing by, the pair could have easily been mistaken as a couple but to anyone who personally knew them, it was blatant all their displays of affection were platonic.
Less than ten minutes later, the group arrived at the pizza place, Marilou hurrying inside to warm herself up while the others took their time and waited for the four other people who were already inside to leave so it wouldn’t be too crowded.
As Marilou stared at the menu on display and thought about which pizza toppings she was in the mood for, one of the guys who waited in line in front of her turned around to take a good look at her, his eyes lingering down her exposed chest. Nick and Katie being stood in the entryway of the pizzeria noticed right away, resulting in the former to walk in the restaurant and drape an arm around the redhead who had been oblivious to the whole thing.
“What toppings are you getting, love?” The bassist asked near his friend’s ear, trying his best to make it seem like they were a couple. He had voiced his question loud enough for the guy who was still checking out the redhead to hear him, hopefully the use of the petname enough to make him understand she wasn’t available. It helped that Marilou was a cuddly drunk, immediately wrapping her arms around his middle and snuggling deeper in his side once she recognized who the person next to her was. The stranger turned back around as his friend moved up to the counter to order their food.
“Hmm… I think I’ll get pepperoni and green peppers, what about you?” Marilou shot back the question to Nick, relishing in the warmth that emanated off of his body.
“Can’t ever go wrong with pepperoni and cheese,” he replied with a playful smile, Katie and Jamie joining them in line at the same time.
“You’re so boring,” Jamie teased his friend. “Pepperoni and cheese, really?”
Nick pivoted himself and Marilou so they could face the couple while talking to them. “And what are you getting then?” He asked Jamie, a confrontational tone in his voice.
“I’m getting everything.”
“Like the whole restaurant?” Marilou interrupted the friendly quarrel, too drunk to remember “everything” is a pizza topping option, her comment causing Katie to burst out in laughter.
“No you nitwit! I’m getting the pizza with all the toppings,” Jamie answered, chuckling at his friend’s interruption and at how drunk she was.
The two strangers who had been waiting in line in front of them finally left the pizzeria with their slices, the guy who had been checking out Marilou taking one final good look at her as he approached them. “Nice costume,” he nodded to her once he walked by, sending her a wink as he pushed open the door with his back.
“That was nice of him,” the redhead commented once he had left and Alex and Matt walked in right after.
“What did that bloke want?” Matt asked the group, pointing behind his back towards where the guy had gone. Although he couldn’t hear what was said he was able to see through the windows that the stranger talked to them.
“He complimented my costume,” Marilou answered him, her drunken smile plastered all across her face.
“More like he wanted to shag you,” Katie bluntly said. “He was looking at you in all the wrong ways before Nick got in.”
But the redhead wasn’t as phased by what her friend said as she usually would have been. Since her girlfriend wasn’t there and she had spent the night with her friends who would never dare imagine having sex with her, it felt good to know she looked desirable in her costume. “Well that’s nice to know,” she replied before moving up to the counter and ordering her food.
The four boys exchanged somewhat worried glances, their friend usually was repulsed and uncomfortable when receiving that kind of attention from strangers, especially when going out, which was why they were all beginning to think the reason why she reacted that way wasn’t just because she was very fucking drunk.
“Well at least she won’t remember it happening when she wakes up later today,” Katie reasoned.