Memories

LXX

ALL THE PRETTY GIRLS

'Cigarette stuck to the bottom of your lip
Saw you standing on the corner of the street
You got your own style with the way that you're moving'

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Thalia didn't want to get up the next morning. She was wrapped in Kevin's arms, who was still asleep when she woke again - not from nightmares, but the sunlight streaming in through the window - and she still had a headache, though it was less throbbing and more annoying. 

"Mmm, morning," Kevin said, his voice hoarse from sleep. Thalia smiled and leaned in to kiss him. "When did this happen?" he asked. Thalia chuckled lightly and kissed him again, not answering his question. Kevin wrapped his arm carefully around her and hoisted Thalia on top of him. She sat, straddling Kevin's waist, while he lay and watched Thalia with a sleepy smile. 

"I bet that headache's not going to be kind to you today," Thalia said, leaning down slowly to kiss Kevin's forehead, then his nose, and his lips. She moved down more, to his neck and pushing his shirt out of the way to get to Kevin's collarbone. He'd been keeping her upright with his hands on Thalia's hips, and now Kevin gripped them tightly. She smiled onto his skin.

"You're not going to be kind to me today," Kevin whined when Thalia sat up again and rolled off him. She laughed.

"Come on, we're going horseriding today." Kevin groaned and a smack sounded from behind Thalia, where she could guess Kevin was putting a pillow over his face.

Almost the whole team had three aspirins that morning after breakfast. Thalia had one, since her hangover wasn't too bad after the one she'd had earlier. She looked around for Aaron, who was sitting on one of the sofas, reading. She headed over to him, splitting from the rest of the group. She kicked his shin and Aaron looked up.

"What?" he asked. 

"You okay?" Thalia asked quietly. Aaron side-eyed the rest of the team - Andrew specifically, Thalia guessed - and then turned back to Thalia with a sigh and a half-hearted nod. "Alright, but don't be in a mood for the rest of the week. I told you already, you asked for it, and I told you. If you can't handle it, that's not my problem." Then Thalia headed back to Kevin's side, who was just finishing a glass of cold water. He put his hand around her waist and put his head in the crook of Thalia's neck. She smiled. 

"I don't want to go horseriding, Thalia." he muttered. Thalia rolled her eyes at it and looked to the rest of the group. Most of them were looking at the two, raising an eyebrow at Kevin's behaviour.

"Well that's too bad. Me and Neil are doing it, and we're very injured. So get over yourself." Thalia said.

"I told you you weren't going to be kind to me today," he muttered so only Thalia could hear. Shivers went up and down her spine. "Can we just stay here?"

"No Kevin," Thalia said, pushing him off her lightly. "We can't stay here. We're here on a team holiday. We're going to do things with the rest of the team. And that means horseriding." Kevin wasn't the only one objecting. Aaron refused to go until Thalia and Nicky dragged him off the sofa and Dan threatened to put his book in the fire as kindling.

Everything hurt as Thalia got on the horses' back, and she she almost forgot about the pain by the time dismounting came around. She and Neil both headed straight for their antibiotics as soon as they got back to the cabin. Kevin helped Thalia with hers, while Renee aided Neil with his. The four of them sat in the living room as Kevin and Renee worked on the siblings' bandages. Everyone else was outside talking at the moment, so it was just them and Andrew in the cabin.

"Are you going to let them air?" Renee asked. 

"We should," Thalia said, looking at Neil. He hummed. 

"But I don't really want these on display."

"I can ask the others not to say anything." Renee said.  Neil and Thalia thanked her and she left once she was done with Neil and talked to the others. Thalia could hear everything she said to them outside. 

Andrew dragged Neil out when Renee was done talking.

"I shouldn't worry, should I?" Thalia asked Kevin as he finished up. He looked up at her with slight concern in his eyes. Thalia tugged down her shirt carefully and looked Kevin in the eye. "I mean, I showed them all of the old ones yesterday. I don't know why I'm worrying about these ones."

"Probably because they're new." Kevin said. "you don't want them to worry about you. Don't want me to worry about you." Thalia sighed, knowing he was right. "But newsflash -  I do worry about you. All the time. Because I care about you, Thalia. And so do the others." Thalia smiled in thanks and kissed him as he helped her up.

Thalia followed Kevin outside and the others made slightly sickening reactions to her injuries. They'd already seen Neil's fresh ones, but clearly weren't expecting a second round worse than his. Thalia had marks on her neck from where Lola had dug her knife into it, and burns all up her arms. Not that Neil didn't but his were mostly concentrated on his hands. Knuckles. Thalia's were all over the place. At least she didn't have one on her face. She didn't have any marks on her face, except for the bump that was going down by now where they'd knocked her out in the first place.

"I can play," Neil said when the silence seemed to stretch on. Dan turned to him with a deep frown on her face. "It's going to hurt, and if the Bearcats get too rough next week it'll hurt, but I still have my grip." Neil clenched his fingers to show his evidence. Thalia shook her head at his idiocy, but Dan beat her to saying something.

"Absolutely not," she said. "You're not playing. And neither is Thalia. You think coach will let either of you play looking like you were run over by a dumpster truck? I'll sub in as striker, and Renee can help Allison out one more time, right?" Renee nodded from Allison's side. "Trust us to hold the line. You two focus on healing up so we can use you in semifinals."

"Assuming I'm even allowed back on the team officially," Thalia added, getting everyone's attention. "Well, since it's so close to the end of the season, and the Moriyamas probably think I'm dead by now, I doubt I'd be let back on."

"We'll find a way," Dan said, looking at Thalia and nodding short and sharp. Thalia nodded, thanking her.

"I trust you," Neil said. "Thank you." Thalia smiled at his understanding.

"Wow, who's humanising who in this relationship?" Nicky said jokingly. Nobody missed how Andrew reached for some knives and Renee pushed them out of his reach. Thalia snorted at the action. Nicky came over to Thalia and Kevin and hid behind Kevin's tall body. Aaron and Andrew shared a look Thalia didn't fully understand. She guessed Aaron was seeing his brother in a new light, considering what she'd told him last night, but Neil clenched his fist and looked like he wanted to knock Aaron out.

"Speaking of," Allison cut in. "I'm still waiting on an explanation, Neil. When are we going to talk about this?" she waggled her finger between Neil and Andrew.

"Apparently never," Nicky said sadly. Thalia poked him and had a smirk on her face. He looked down at her and then his eyes widened and he jumped away, hand smacked over his mouth and finger pointed at Thalia. "You knew?!"

"Knew what?" Thalia said, schooling her features and looking at Nicky with fake confusion. She found it hilarious.

"Don't be obtuse," he said, looking around at the others. They all seemed confused as to what Nicky was talking about. They usually were. "You knew about Neil and Andrew, didn't you?" Thalia looked between the two boys in question and then back to Nicky.

"Well, if you're asking me if I knew about their not-relationship, then no. I didn't." Thalia said. "I found out about that at the same time as the rest of you. But I did know about Andrew being gay, and about him liking Neil, yes." Nicky seemed unbelieving.

"And you didn't tell me?!" he exclaimed. Thalia shrugged with a frown on her face.

"It was none of your business, and I didn't know you that well back then." Thalia said. Nicky sighed and sulked away, muttering about how Thalia didn't tell him. She rolled her eyes and turned to the rest of the group. "What?" she said to their stares. "Renee knew too, don't look at me."

"Renee knew?!"