Heart of Ice

4. Hungover

Let me fill you in on a few very important gaps.

Last night, everyone decided to play drinking games, which ended up with each and every one of them getting extremely drunk, and now, the next morning, they're all extremely hungover. That is, apart from Hollie, who opted out of the little party so she could work on some new music, and because all the cameras were out filming and she didn't want to get into trouble for drinking under age. She'd drunk alcohol before of course, but never in view of anyone or anything that might get her in trouble.

And with that little recap, we're brought to right now, eleven o'clock in the morning, when Hollie is wandering into Dylan's room with a tray in her hand. "Come on Dylan," she starts hesitantly, knowing he won't want to be bothered right now. "you've gotta eat something."

"Go away." He groans, pulling his duvet up over his head, burying his head into the darkness. "Let me suffer in peace."

"You brought this upon your self, you deserve to suffer." She jokes playfully, sitting on the edge of his bed. Because no matter how many times he tells her to go away, she won't; she knows that he needs her there to help him.

"Yeah?" He questions, bringing the duvet cover down ever so slightly so he can look at her. "Well when's the last time you suffered?"

If anyone else said this she'd probably get upset, but because it was Dylan it didn't seem to matter. Because when she's around him she somehow forgets about her past completely, she just lives for right now, in the present, which is something she'd never managed to do until she met him. And it's also why she replied as quick as a flash, without missing a beat, "ten seconds ago when I walked into this room." This causes Dylan to laugh a little, and seeing a smile on his face, she decides to talk to him properly. "I've brought you some hangover cure." She tells him, gesturing to the tray in her hands.

"Sleep is also a cure." He says in a croaky voice, then lifts his head off of his pillow to take a look at what's on the tray. "But what have you brought me?"

Hollie laughs at this for some reason, not actually knowing what it was that was actually funny about it, but it was funny to her nevertheless. "Tea, banana, marmite on toast and alker-seltzer."

"I'll take the banana and alka-seltzer." He tells her, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes before taking it off of her. "You can have the rest you English freak."

"Excuse me." She replies instantly, a playfulness laced in her voice and a smile painted on her face. "This English freak is trying to help you out here. A thank you would be nice."

"Thank you, Hollie." He tells her, becoming serious all of a sudden, which is something that rarely happens. "For everything."

She smiles gratefully at him in return, looking into his ocean blue eyes. "You're very welcome." She then stands up and goes to walk out, but stops at the door and turns around to look at him before leaving. "Now eat up and get some rest. I'll come back and check on you in a bit."

And as she leaves, she nearly collides with Kayla as she's heading to her room. "Woah, sorry Hollie, didn't see you there." She then narrows her eyes, realising where Hollie had just come from. "Wait a second, were you just in Dylan's room?"

"Yeah, I was just bringing him some stuff to help with his hangover, we all know how much of a baby he is when he's ill." Hollie explains casually because in her eyes she hadn't done anything sketchy, but Kayla read into this whole thing very differently.

Kayla walks into her own room, expecting Hollie to follow, so she does. "I thought you stayed in there last night for a second."

"Oh no, definitely not." Hollie laughs, sitting opposite Kayla on her bed, the two of them cross legged.

"If I tell you something, will you promise you won't tell anyone I told you?" Kayla asks, and Hollie nods her head, silently telling her friend that she won't tell a soul. "Okay, well, obviously Dylan is in a relationship with Demi."

"Obviously." Hollie remarks, not having a clue where Kayla is going with this.

"Well something tells me he's not too happy with her." She starts to explain, and Hollie doesn't realise it herself but she's leaning in closer, desperately wanting to hear more, and not wanting to miss a single word. "I've known Dylan since I was two, our mom's were best friends. So I know everything about him, including when he's not happy." She takes a breath before carrying on. "And he's been a whole lot more reluctant to spend time with Demi since you got here a couple weeks ago. I'm pretty sure he has feelings for you Hollie. He's changed since you got here."

Hollie takes a moment to process this information, but it can't be true. It can never be true. "Dylan and I are just friends, it's ridiculous to think we'd be anything more than that."

"I knew you'd deny it." Kayla starts with a sigh, "and I get why. I probably wouldn't believe it either if I were you. But you have to trust me, I'm your best friend in this place."

"I know, and I do trust you." She tells her, "I trust that you truly believe this, but I also think that I could never assume what a person's feelings are unless they tell me themself."

And Kayla can't help but smile. "That's good enough for me." She comments, "and I hope you don't mind me prying, but it kinda sounds like your speaking from experience."

Hollie looks down at her hands in her lap, wondering if she should tell her about what happened. She's her best friend, and she feels so close to her despite having only known her for just two weeks. That's how she knows she can trust her with this information, words that she hasn't uttered in a very long time. "You know that ex-boyfriend I was telling you about a few weeks ago when I first got here?" She asks, and Kayla nods her head. "Let's just say that he was an absolute dick who was never honest with me about how he truly felt. Then one day he told me every single thing that I was dreading hearing. I always assumed he loved me, but he didn't. He just didn't feel that way."

"You're right. He does sound like a dick." Kayla replies in a solemn voice, feeling upset on Hollie's behalf. "And I'm glad he's not in your life anymore."

"You can say that again." Hollie remarks, knowing she hasn't told Kayla the whole story, but she's told her as much as she can handle telling today. She knows that one day Kayla will be the one to hear what truly happened, but today just isn't that day.