***
Holly's POV
***I wake up to the smell of salty hashbrows and greasy bacon and sit up in bed, rubbing the sleepy dust from my eyes. The blurriness disappears, and my room looks normal again, the mess of dirty clothes and last nights makeup wipes discarded on my desk. I need to take those clothes to the washing machine today at some point, or I'll have Ella nagging me about it all day.
I lie back down and mush my face into the pillow as my phone pings with notifications. Last night was amazing, and kind of exciting. Everyone who played in the match was at the afterparty, which ended up being the most fun I've had in a while. We all went to Filly's grandmothers house and she and her friends prepared a barbecue with drinks. I've never met Filly's grandmother before last night, and I'm glad we got a chance to speak last night. She asked me about uni, but for once, it didn't stress me out. She told me to take it a day at a time, and even put her soft palm on my cheek, comforting me in my thoughts. She's a lovely woman. I got photos with Mr. Beast, Georgenotfound, Karl Jacobs, and Noah Beck, just for the culture. They were lovely when we spoke, and quite different to what I imagined them to be like.
I ended up hanging out with Harry, Tobi, Deji, and JME for most of the night. Speed dropped by a few times to say something dumb or give me a gentle annoying poke in the back, but I could feel him smiling at me all night which was a weird feeling. Weirdly nice.
The party was long, but short at the same time. JJ, Ella, and I decided to leave early seeing as he was tired and Ella and I were getting a bit anxious at the increase in volume and drinks throughout the night. Talia, Deji and Simon felt the same, and JJ invited them to crash at our place too, seeing as Deji and Simon were too drunk to drive home themselves. We got back at midnight and all flopped into bed cause we were all so drained.
The smell of the hashbrowns and bacon, signs of a greasy fry up, manage to get me out of bed quicker than anything else, and I pocket my phone before making my way downstairs. I'm still in my plaid navy blue and grey pajama bottoms and hoodie, but it's only family downstairs, so I don't really care.
As I enter the kitchen, I twist my hair around and into a bun, securing it into place with a strong hair band. Deji and JJ are drinking coffee and chatting at the table while Talia and Ella are flipping bacon and buttering toast, both of them bare faced and smiling, their soft jewlery glittering in the morning sun. Everyone is in their pajamas.
"Morning," I smile, giving JJ and Deji side hugs.
"Good morning," they reply, both all smiles and positive energy.
I walk to the fridge and take out a carton of orange juice. I shake it up a bit, chuck some ice cubes into a glass, and pour the juice over the cubes. I then take a sip and feel more awake at the chill trickling into my body. The gentle morning breeze floats in through the open windows and I look to the door as Simon enters, dressed in black cargos and a white tshirt.
"God, last night was rough," he comments, rubbing his face.
I chuckle. "Too much to drink?"
"Yep," Talia nods, laughing a second later. "Definitely"
"Oh, please stop being so loud," Simon grimaces, covering his ears.
"Sit down and have some coffee," Talia says, pointing the spatula in her hand to a free seat next to Deji. "Breakfast is almost ready"
I sit next to JJ on the cushioned bench at the table and lean against his shoulder, suddenly overcome with a random wave of tiredness.
"Tired?" JJ chuckles, gently nudging me.
I nod.
A ping from my phone makes me look down and I smile when I see Speed's Instagram name pop up.