I. L'instant [H.S]

XXXVII

Eric's an early bird, a too-early bird, for my taste.

"What are you doing, Eric?!" I shout when I open the door to the small hall.

More noises follow through "I swear to God I'm gonna kill you!" Florence growls lowly from the living room.

Florence seems even more irritated than I am and she should be, we had too many drinks last night but she had the most impressive amount of rum shots I've ever seen anyone ingest. I had to practically drag her out of the pub, thank God Eric got our call and picked us up in time before she got too woozy to walk. We were supposed to have some drinks and talk about what's been going on in our lives lately but she ended up drinking at least twice what I did.

"You.." Florence call the moment I walk out of my bedroom. "You're my hero. I'm sorry for being such a bad friend last night. I shouldn't have drank so much."

She gives me a hug before taking her hair up in a bun. "It's okay, it was fun."

"Oh yeah, fun." Eric says with sarcasm, poking his head from the kitchen. "It was fun dragging you both out of that pub, for sure."

Florence rolls her eyes at him as we join him. "Just tell Steve I'm sorry for taking you away. It won't happen again." she rubs her temples over and over.

"Why are you back so early? I mean, not that I mind.." I say looking at the ridiculous amount of paper bags scattered around the counter. "Thank you for the food."

"I know, I know. Dig in." he says with a wave of his hand. "I'll see you guys later, alright?"

"You're not having breakfast with us? What were all those bloody noises you were making if you brought take out?" Florence asks, looking around.

"I was looking for this one's french press." he says referring to me. "You're welcome." he tilts his head to the side where the coffee's already been made.

"Oi!" Florence chides, looking not as hungover as I thought she'd be.

I laugh, looking as she's quick to take a mug and pour herself a cup. "You're busy today?" I ask to Eric as we make our way to the front door.

"Just for a bit." he nods. "I was wondering.. are you going to Harry's party? Martin told me about it two nights ago but I didn't know if you are coming or not."

"Oh, yeah. I think I'll go.. just for a bit." I nod, trying not to elaborate more.

Florence rushes out of the kitchen with coffee in one hand and a sausage roll in the other. "I love you, mate." she gushes out, giving Eric a peck on the cheek.

"Okay, I'll leave you girls to it. I'll call you later, maybe we can ride together there, ye?" Eric offers before leaving.

It's been a week since Harry called me in the middle of the night, out of nowhere. I haven't actually let myself think too much about what he said, how he told me he missed me and then how insecure he sounded when he asked me if I was with Joe. God. It's too much and I know that if I let that conversation linger enough in my head, I will drive myself crazy with a thousand reasons as to why he said the things that he did.

What I'm relying on is that we're still friends and things are supposed to be okay between us, so there's no reason for me not to go to his birthday party. So I decide to forget about it and focus on the hungry and more-than-well woman sitting on my sofa, inhaling Gregg's take out as she watches an episode of Peaky Blinders.

"You're not even hungover, are you?" I ask once I've grabbed the bag marked with the vegan sausage rolls and some tea.

"A bit, yeah." she says with a shrug.