Us.

Chapter 32: But Now It Is

Claire's P.O.V. (The next day)

"Claire!" I hear Braden moan. "Claire! Claire!" He moans. I shoot up because he sounds like he's in pain. After I sit up my head is directly next to him.

"What? What's wrong?" I ask, pushing hair out of my face.

"What happened last night?" He asks while rubbing his head.

"We went to Jesse and Aaron's party and you got really drunk." I say while rubbing his leg.

"My head hurts like hell." He says.

"I bet. You were really drunk, and were acting really weird." I say.

"Did I do anything stupid?" He asks.

"Just about everything you did and said last night was stupid." I say with a smile.

"Like what?" He asks.

"Well, you thought you lost me when I was right in front of you, and then when I asked for your keys, you told me to go get them. And they were in our back pocket, and you were quite adamant about me going to get them." I say. Braden blushes. "You want to be really embarrassed?" I ask.

"No." Braden says.

"Too bad. You asked me if we were gonna have sex." I say.

"Did I really?" He asks as he blushes.

"Yes. You were pretty stubborn with the idea too. I think you said 'I'm pretty magical with setting the mood. If you know what I mean.'" I say. He blushes even more.

"Did we?" He asks.

"No!" I say.

"Why not?" He asks.

"I'm not gonna do it for the first time when you don't know what's going on." I say. He laughs, but then winces. "Are you okay?" I ask.

"No. My everything hurts." He says.

"I'll go get you some Advil, and some other stuff, but then you need to rest." I say, standing up.

"How-How do you know what you're doing?" He asks.

"Eric would always come home drunk, he would make me help him during his hangovers that were very frequent. So I have picked up on what a hungover person needs. It's surprising how quickly you learn when the teacher threatens to beat you." I say. A lump forms in my throat when I say Eric's name.

"I'm sorry. You can leave if since brings back bad memories. I don't want you scared or anything." He says, grabbing my hand.

"I'm wouldn't leave even if you wanted me to. I didn't care about Eric, but I care about you. You look horrible." I say. He has bags under his eyes, he smells like beer, and his hair is messed up.

"Thanks." He says. I stand up, and he kisses the top of my hand. I walk into the kitchen, and see a basket with medicine. I grab the bottle of Advil and a bottle of water out of the fridge. I go to the sink and wet a towel with cold water that was next to the sink.

I walk back over to Braden and hand him the bottle of water. I open the bottle of Advil and hand him two. He opens the bottle of water and takes the medicine.

"Lay down." I say. I support his back as he lays down. I grab the pillow off the floor and set it under his head. "You feel okay?" I ask.

"No, but better." He says. I place the towel on his head and he closes his eyes. "Thank you." He says.

"You just get some rest." I say. There's a silence that falls between us, but he breaks it.

"Will you run your fingers through my hair? It helps me fall asleep." He says.