number neighbor / mileven texting au.

twenty-four.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR;
I KNOW YOU.

her lashes fluttered against her cheeks as she was woken from her drunken slumber. her eyes focused in on the soft yellow rug her face was squished against before her brows furrowed in confusion. el tried to weakly push herself up but ultimately gave up when her muscles quivered.

she first noticed the pounding ache on the sides of her head, eliciting a soft groan before she glimpsed at her blurry surroundings. her blurry haze landed on her ginger friend sat beside her head, staring down at her worriedly.

"dude, i thought you were dead," she spoke with a light laugh, causing el to whimper and bring her hands to cover her ears. yes, she was hungover. "feel like getting off the ground?" she suggested, rushing a lock of honey-colored hair from el's eyes.

she gave a slight nod, unsure of her ability to pry herself from the ground. "please," she rasped, suddenly aware of how painfully dry her throat was. as max reached out to help begin to pull her up, el squinted past her to see the door handle laying on the floor. "what-what happened?"

the redhead glanced behind her. "oh, well, you locked yourself in the bathroom. we were scared you would swallow your tongue or something so, i had to break the lock," she casually explained.

the brunette nodded once again before her mind zeroed in on one word in particular, "we?"

she then watched as max's icy orbs trailed up to focus on something else -- or, more accurately, someone else.

el suddenly became unbearably aware of the other presence in the average-sized bathroom. she didn't have to turn around to know that there was a tall, freckle-faced boy with raven curls lingering right behind her. as if the familiar flutter of her heart wasn't proof enough, she heard his deep inhale disrupt the unsettling silence.

at last, she heard the gentle rasp her ears had longed for since their final phonecall, "el?"

yes, she still loved how that syllable sounded from his pillowy, pink-tinted lips. it made her insides melt and her cheeks burn, even in her post-drunken state.

max's eyes tore from him back to her friend, and el silently pleaded. she wasn't exactly sure what she was pleading for. an escape route? for her to smack her back over the head to prolong the sure-to-come conversation?

el recalled various text messages she'd drunkenly typed out and sent only an hour prior -- though, she was uncertain exactly how much time had passed since she slipped out of consciousness on the cold tile floor.

her breath caught in her desert-like throat when a hand, not belonging to max, grasped her shoulder gently. she finally, with much reluctance, tore her stubborn gaze away from her blue-eyed friend and turned to meet his awaiting stare.

and that's when it hit her.

no. it wasn't a flock of butterflies in her tummy or the belief that love-at-first-sight is real. instead, it was an urge -- an urge to empty out every ounce of alcohol she had previously consumed from her stomach.

"i think i'm going to be sick," the less-than-poetic words left her chapped lips, becoming the first words she ever spoke to the possesser of her ruthless heart. she felt her stomach churn and she lurched forward, instantly grabbing the toilet bowl that was luckily close by.