Damaged

11 | Manhattan

My head is pounding profusely and I groan as I become conscious. I reach my arm to the right and feel Ava beside me. I open my eyes painstakingly slow and groan at the harsh light entering through the blinds which I forgot to close last night.

I rotate my head to the right and see that Ava's still passed out on the bed and I get up slowly while trying not to wake her up. I tiptoe out of the bedroom and walk on the corridor which leads to the joined kitchen and living room area. I sit down on the table besides the gourmet kitchen and place my hands on my head and feel the full effects of the hangover, a feeling that I know all too well.

"Luna!" My head springs up as I hear my name being called. I smile as I see Poppy entering the living room from the door, bags on her hands.

"Hey Pops. I've missed you," I get up too quickly and I suddenly feel nauseous and the room starts to spin. I grab the back of the chair to steady myself and wait for the feeling to pass, and then look at Poppy again.

"Hungover?" She raises an eyebrow and smiles at me knowingly.

"You know me too well," I let go of the chair and stand up straight.

"When mom called me to say that you would spend the night I assumed you would go out." She places the paper bags on the counter and then starts taking various pastries and foods out, "So I ran to Sarabeth's and brought us some breakfast."

I feel my mouth watering with the smell of fresh croissants, jam and the assortment of fresh fruit and yogurt.

"God, I love you," I say and she laughs at my famished state, "I'm going to wake my friend up and i'll be right back."

I walk back towards my room and I feel slightly less sick. I watch Ava's unconscious figure on the bed, a mass of red curls framing her milky skin. Sitting next to her on the bed I try to wake her up.

"A-va" I singsong her name and she doesn't move from her position, then i proceed to gently shake her shoulder.

"Hmmm" Is the only answer that she gives me and I laugh at her state. She places her hand over her eyes, "I'm dying."

I giggle at her and then try to convince her to wake up, "Me too. My sister bought us some breakfast and It looks really delicious. You better eat something to soak up everything you drank. I swear you'll get better."

"Are there pastries?" She asks without moving her hand from her eyes.

"Warm Croissants with butter and a shitload of other foods," I say and she lifts her hand from her eyes and slowly opens them, flinching with the harsh light.

"I'm always game for croissants," Ava gets up from the bed and we go to the kitchen.

I introduce Poppy and Ava and then we all sit down for breakfast. I sigh in contentment when Poppy places a steaming mug of coffee in front of me and continue eating my food. The warm pastries melt in my mouth and the butter and jam assortment are perfect for my rumbling stomach. My mouth feels less parched and I feel better as the remaining alcohol is being absorbed by the food.

Poppy hands each of us a aspirin and I silently thank her. I take the aspirin with the rest of my meds and then sit back on the chair, comfortably satisfied with the breakfast.

"What do you girls want to do today?" Poppy asks us and then wipes her lips with a napkin.

"We haven't thought about it actually," I take a sip of my coffee.

"We should go shopping in 5th. It's your last year in school, you guys should spend it in style." Ava smiles at Poppy's suggestion and I agree with her Idea.

We get up from the table and excuse ourselves to get changed. I open my overnight bag and grab a pair of leather shorts, a vintage Metallica t-shirt and a pair of black converses. I grab a baby blue bag and complete my look with round ray ban sunglasses.

I see my red dress from yesterday thrown on the corner of the room along with the stilettos and my other handbag and I grab them. As I lift the dress I see the leather jacket underneath it and I thank god that Ava's in the bathroom and didn't see me grabbing it. Better not to risk it again.

We're finally ready and the three of us leave the apartment and decide to walk towards 5th avenue instead of taking a cab or a driver. The weather is warm and sunny instead of the characteristic cold of October. We spend the rest of the day shopping in the city and I basically have a new wardrobe.

I couldn't help thinking about him when i tried on different clothes, wondering if he would like them. I tried to focus on something else, focus on the atmosphere of New York, focus on the couture clothes and stores, but my mind always went back to him. By the end of the day I made myself become mentally exhausted from arguing from myself and trying to prevent my own thoughts.

We returned to the apartment nearly at sunset, the tree of us full of bags from different stores across the city. We say goodbye to Poppy and she promises that she'll go to Winchester soon and I really think that Ava and her got along well, making my happy. As we're placing the bags on the car Poppy pushes me aside to talk to me.

"Hey Luna, are you okay?" She asks me, concern in her blue eyes.

"I'm fine, why would you ask that?" My eyebrows pull together with confusion.

"You've just returned to school and we all know how much of a pain in those ass those kids are," She rolls her eyes and continues, "and you seemed a bit distracted today, i don't know..."

"I swear I'm fine Pops. It's just the hangover, I can't function properly when I'm like this," I laugh and she smiles at me, convinced with my answer. I'm happy that she cares about me but I can't help being uncomfortable when people ask me about how i'm doing after everything that happened. I hate when people act like they're walking on eggshells around me.

I say goodbye to Poppy and Ava and I drive away, leaving my apartment and the city behind. Poppy was right about me. I wasn't distracted because of my hangover, I was distracted by him, the way he acted yesterday night, the way he defended me. He didn't need to do anything to protect me but he insisted on helping me, and the thought made my heart pump faster.

The way he was looking at me dancing wasn't something my teacher should do. I smirk as I remember the hungry look in his eyes and the visible bulge in his pants. I feel my cheeks heating up and I smile at the dark road.

"Okay, you're scaring me," Ava says and we both giggle as I realize that I was smiling like a psycho at nothing.

We arrive at my house and I invite Ava to spend the weekend over. She says yes and I feel happy that we're becoming closer friends. I've never really had a friend like her and It's refreshing. We go to my room and change into our pajamas and order some Pizza.

We spend the rest of the night eating, watching netflix and talking about Charlie, which she seemed to like and I'm truly happy for them. Charlie and I were really close before he left and he seems perfect for her. We talk until the late hours of the night and then we both nod into sleep with the TV still on.