𝐕𝐈𝐑𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘 || 𝐁𝐀𝐃 𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐒

05 - Team Building Exercises

CW: alcohol, vomiting, weed
18+

NICHOLAS

Morning light shocks me from my sleep and I instantly shield my eyes with my forearm. "Fuck." I mumble, rubbing my eyes with my rough palms. My body goes rigid once I realize that I'm not home, and when I feel another person resting on me, I'm completely frozen.

I blink as my eyes adjust to the light while I look around not recognizing where I am. For a brief moment, I try to remember if we had gone out last night and if I went home with someone. My suspicions are confirmed when I precariously peer down at the brunette nestled into my side with an arm around me.

My memory is a fuzzy blur of rain, snacks and fear. It comes back to me in flashes: running inside from the storm, soaked clothes, cheese doodles and... Vallie. Then it all pours in at once. The first thing I remember clearly is talking on her couch for what seemed like hours before the movie. It feels like it's the first real conversation I've had with anyone in so long. It's refreshing. I never really talk much, mainly because people don't tend to listen. But Vallie didn't make me feel like that, she was fully present and engaged in anything I said. It's not much but letting me finish my sentences or asking genuine questions is more space that most allow me to take.

My eyes go wide when I process the reality of what happened – or at least what the guys would think happened.

Both relief and terror flood my chest – I'm relieved I hadn't gone home with anyone else, but there's an alarm that comes with that exact relief. Yesterday didn't go at all how I imagined. My body felt like lightning bolts were shooting through my bones – it was a freezing, paralyzing heat. Last night I could've sworn my fingertips burned any time I was near her. I shake the paranoia from my head; it must've just been the stormy ambiance that fueled the buzzing across my skin any time she looked at me.

With extreme stealth, I slide out from under her, even rolling the extra blanket into a makeshift replica of my body. "Fuck." I mutter under my breath again as I sleepily searched for my phone, I haven't checked it at all since we escaped the rain. When I find it face down on the glass coffee table, I hesitate to pick it up, already knowing what I would find. The fear feels oddly similar to when you miss a call from a parent. Anxiety courses through me as I briefly scroll through my stacked messages.

Group chat:

Jolly: Are you stuck in traffic?

Jolly: Did you drop her off yet ?

Folio: Dude where the fuck are you

Jolly: Are you okay? It's pouring

Folio: Are you alive lol

Folio: No seriously where are you

Jolly: Why does your location say you're at some house in Beverly Hills?

Jolly: Are you still with her?

Folio: We're gonna come get you if you don't answer lmao

Folio: jk

Folio: Nick for real

Jolly – Separate:

Tell me you're not dead
But more importantly
Please tell me you did not sleep with our new manager

Not a single one from Noah

I glance over at Vallie to check if she's still asleep. She lets out small sleeping noises with long brunette strands shading over her face and nuzzles further onto the blanket. She looks so peaceful, and it makes me maybe it had been a while since she's slept next to someone too. Truthfully last night was the best sleep I'd gotten in a long time, especially between touring and traveling. I barely sleep and the only time I do sleep is in the rarities of getting hotels with plush beds. The best sleep I ever get is always next to someone else. When we were younger, Noah and I would sleep next to each other often. Especially after Noah's difficult breakup, he'd always ask me to sleep next to him, even just to ward off night terrors. Since we've been friends for so long, that sort of intimacy feels normal. We only had each other for so long. You really let yourself be vulnerable with someone when they're all you got.