#ALSO you will ignore the fact that everyone is in their normal clothes except Andy who gets the jester outfit. don't think about it too hard

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Hehehehe little guys :] (WIP)

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Somebody To You: 13

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Word Count: 3,028

Warning: ANGST!!!!!!

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CHAPTER THIRTEEN:

Something about Friday nights at the bar always seemed to put Zoey in an energetic mood. As hectic as it got, there was always something new and exciting happening on the weekends. Groups of newly legal drinkers, bachelorette parties, rowdy swingers, there was always something. And the group of people she worked with on weekends only improved the fun. Andy was at his prime tonight, mixing and mingling with everyone that approached the bar while Brett flirted with all of the girls, Zoey was making everyone laugh, and a few other servers bounced around, as well. 

They had busy weekends down to a science by now, knowing where everyone was, what everyone would be doing, and reading the signs on when they might be able to take a quick break. This was, by far, the most organized bar she’d ever worked at. Zoey stepped out of the storage closet, carrying a box full of napkins when she bumped right into Brett.

“Whoa, if you wanted me to get on the floor for ya, all you needed to do was ask,” Brett grabbed his arm where the box had hit him as he stumbled backward, smirking. 

She could bet that he was so used to flirting for tips that it just came as second nature to him. Still, the idea of getting plowed by him in the closet right now seemed almost too good to pass up. Especially considering how Australian he sounded tonight. It’s been a minute. She smirked back, looking at him through her eyelashes, “Well, the closet’s free now if you want to meet me in there in five minutes?”

His eyes widened slightly before standing up straighter and stammering, “Oh, uh. Probably not a good idea right now, actually. It’s super busy out there. We can’t leave the others alone.”

“Oh, yeah. I was kidding,” Zoey laughed, blowing it off and countering, “I’m still out of a bedroom right now, otherwise I would invite you to spend the night.”

A week and a half ago after Zoey had gotten home from her date there was a pretty bad storm in LA. While she was on the phone with Harry, lightning had struck the top of their building and hit an electrical box that shut the power off on the top dozen floors of her building, including her unit. The electrical current that ran through her apartment had also caused their water heater to build too much pressure which made it burst, spilling water out of the utility closet and leaking into the hallways and the room closest to it, which happened to be Zoey’s room.

Luckily they were able to get the electricity back up rather quickly, but the damage had already been done. Water damaged the carpets, the underlayment, and the bottom of the walls. It even caused water damage to the ceiling in the unit below them. Thankfully the furniture was salvageable, and the building maintenance and property manager were very helpful in trying to get everything fixed and sorted for them, but it did take some time. They had to move all of Zoey’s furniture out of the room and into the living room to rip up all of the carpets, put holes at the bottom of the walls to get air circulation inside of the walls, and install dehumidifiers and drying fans around the back half of their apartment. It looked like a bomb had gone off in there, and because of this, they hadn’t had visitors over since.

He nodded, hesitantly admitting, “It’s okay. I have plans tonight, anyway.”

“Oh, nice. Another date?”

He paused, “Yeah, kind of.”

“Ooo,” she sang, teasingly, “Good luck. Hope they’re not as crazy as the last. How were her parents, by the way?”

He laughed, pushing her lightly, and walking away saying, “From now on I’ll have to mention it upfront. No parents on the first date.”

She continued on her way and began filling up the containers underneath the counter with napkins when Andy came over, smiling and lightly kicking her shoes as she crouched. Zoey looked up and grinned at her friend, pushing the box to the side and standing up, picking a piece of lint off of his shirt.

“I think Brett’s dating someone,” she told him.

Andy faked a frown and teased, “Awe. Are you sad ‘cuz your fuck buddy can’t fuck you anymore?”

She rolled her eyes, hip-checking him, “A little. He’s just being so sketchy about it. I don’t get why he can’t just be honest and tell me we can’t fuck anymore because he either doesn’t want to or because he’s seeing someone. Boys are annoying.”

Andy nodded, pursing his lip, “Girl, I get it. I don’t want to like boys, either. Shit sucks.”

When 1 AM rolled around, Zoey was exhausted. She made out pretty good tips, but she felt like she could have fallen asleep on the drive home. To her surprise, the living room lights were still on. Usually, Nancy and Aurora were in bed by now. They could have accidentally left it on. But just as the thought crossed her mind, a soft door closing and heels clicking caught her attention and she turned to see Rory stumbling in, gasping a little at the sight of Zoey.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you,” Zoey giggled, setting her bag down on the island.

Rory shook her head, her cute little mixed French and British accent squeaking, “It’s okay. I lost track of time. I should have known you’d be home soon.”

“Are you heading out?” Zoey noticed her roommate still fully dressed. Her eyes widened in realization, “Ohhhhh, are you going to Harry’s? I know he said he was thinking of coming home early, but I haven’t talked to him today, so I didn’t realize he did.”

Rory hesitated for a moment before stuttering, “Yeah, but it’s a quick visit. I’ll be back in the morning.”

Zoey nodded, yawning and dragging her feet over to the couch, “Have fun, you crazy kids!” she joked, plopping onto the sectional and muttering under her breath, “Can’t wait to have my bed back.”

“You can sleep in my bed tonight if you want. Since I won’t be here,” Aurora offered.

“Really? Thank you! Might actually be able to get a good night’s sleep tonight,” she grinned standing up.

Aurora paused for a moment before smiling back, putting her head down with a nod goodbye, and walking out the door. With another yawn, Zoey grabbed an oversized tee and a pair of sweatpants from the pile of her clothes in the corner of the living room, quickly changing, and headed towards Rory’s tidy white bedroom. 

Her roommate’s mattress had to be the most comfortable mattress she’d ever been on, by far. As soon as she hit the pillow, there was no stopping it. Not even her most nagging thoughts could keep her awake.

Zoey dreamed of life before all of this. Back to her boring Pennsylvania town with all of her boring adventureless memories. But not all of her memories were boring. She had a good life. It might not have been a fantasy life, but it was stable. She dreamt back to days with Jess, swimming in the pool, and nights with her ex-boyfriend, settling down after a long night’s shift at the bar. She’d be so exhausted that she’d practically crawl through the pitch dark apartment to find Michael already asleep in bed. She dreamt about how she’d climb into the bed beside him and he’d instinctively reach out and pull her closer to him, nuzzling his face into her shoulder to fall back asleep. She remembered that feeling of warmth and security encasing her as she drifted off to sleep.

Except that warmth and security wasn’t just a dream. As Zoey’s consciousness grew, she became more aware of the fact that there was someone in the bed with her, their arms wrapped around her stomach. Automatically her first thought was that Brett’s date must not have gone as well as he’d hoped. But she started to realize more and more that not only was she not in her bed, but the faint red glow on the inside of her eyelids told her that it was morning now, and the way this person’s arm rested across her side so comfortably, and the sweet, yet spicy scent of the person’s breath on the back of her neck was something she never encountered with Brett, who normally smelled of beer and stale peanuts. Zoey suddenly came-to, gasping and pushing herself away from the figure behind her, which caused them to sit up in a panic and gasp as well. 

“Harry? What the fuck are you doing here?” her vision barely came into focus.

“What am I doing here? What are you doing here? I thought you were Rory!” Harry’s eyes widened.

“Why the fuck would I be Rory?! Rory’s with you!” she shot back, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

Comprehension of what she just said smacked her in the face and she slowly took her hands from her face to get a good look at Harry’s face. She saw his expression range the emotions in a matter of seconds from confusion to realization, hurt, annoyance, and anger. Zoey sat up, eyes wider, holding her hands out and motioning for him to calm down. 

“Hang on a minute,” Zoey pleaded as he stood up, “I didn’t mean to say that, I was half asleep when I came home and you scared the shit out of me. I think I just misunderstood her last night.”

“I fucking knew it,” Harry ignored her, pacing the room, “I knew she was cheating.”

“Alright, now that’s a bit dramatic,” Zoey rolled her eyes, getting out of the bed, “You’re not dating yet, so let’s just relax. You don’t know where she is.”

“Where else would she be?” he shot back.

“Hello? She has other friends besides me and Nancy. Let’s not jump to conclusions. She said she would be back in the morning, let’s just make a cup of coffee. I’m sure she can straighten this out when she gets here and she’ll be so excited to see you.”

Under different circumstances, Zoey would have been excited to see Harry. But her head was pounding from the abrupt wake-up call that she honestly couldn’t figure out her sentiments just yet. She had to physically drag Harry out of the room and keep a hand on him at all times in an attempt to keep him grounded and from running off, whether it was her squeezing his arm, holding his hand, or grabbing his shoulders. He was so full of tension that it just barely worked.

They sipped their coffee at the kitchen island and Zoey did her best to distract him by asking about his final show and trying to talk about what he was going to do when he got back home to England, but it was no use. Harry’s eyes bore holes into the countertop gripped onto his mug so tightly that she was certain it would shatter any minute now when they heard the front door open. Harry instantly got to his feet, darting into view with Zoey at his heels, pulling him back by his wrists when Aurora walked in, her grin fading at the sight of them.

“Harry,” Rory breathed, taking a step back.

“Where were you?” He demanded, yanking his arm from Zoey.

Both girls recoiled, surprised by his tone and actions. Neither of them had ever seen Harry so angry before. It was completely out of character that it sent them both into a temporary loss for words. 

Zoey was the first to bounce back, giving Rory the biggest apologetic eyes she could muster, “I’m so sorry, Rory. I think there was just a misunderstanding. I thought you said you were going to Harry’s last night and I spoke before thinking. He’s just had a long flight, that’s all. I told him you were probably just with a friend and I misheard you.”

“I-” Rory stuttered, looking between the two, unsure of what to say.

“You were with Brett, weren’t you?” Harry accused, eyes glaring.

Zoey shot her head at Harry and gritted her teeth, “Would you stop it with the Brett thing? She wasn’t with Brett! You know him and I have a thing going on. Stop accusing her!”

But when she turned her attention back to Aurora, the color had drained from her face and her eyes glassed over. Zoey furrowed her brows as Rory’s gaze turned to her, pleading as she shot her hands over her mouth and let out a sob, tears finally spilling from her eyes, “Zoey, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to lie to you. It just happened. I swear this is the only time. I didn’t mean for this to happen. We were only planning on hanging out but one thing led to another. I’m so sorry!” she begged.

Zoey’s heart dropped at the sight of her friend and roommates anguish and guilt, trying to take everything in. All she could muster to say was, “Okay.”

“Okay?” Harry spat, “I fucking told you this would happen!” He turned his attention back to Rory who was still crying, “I came back here for you! I was going to ask you to be my girlfriend today! Instead, I come here to surprise you, find my best friend in your bed, and find out that you were sleeping with her boyfriend? What kind of person does that?”

His voice boomed so deeply that Zoey felt the vibrate in her chest with every syllable he spoke. It was so loud that it managed to wake Nancy, the heaviest of sleepers, who pitter-pattered down the hallway to see what all of the commotion was about. Zoey managed to squeak out a quick, “He’s not my boyfriend!” but no one heard over the screaming match that pursued. 

“Don’t you fucking dare try to insinuate I’m a whore! I’m not your fucking girlfriend! You had nearly half a year to ask me out and you didn’t! I told you I wasn’t going to sit around and wait forever!” Rory scowled at Harry. His jaw tightened with each word she hurled, “What was I supposed to think? You talk to my roommate you’ve only known for three months more than you talk to me! You fly back here just to spend time with her, you barely spoke to me that weekend except when you wanted to fuck! And that was only after you spent all day in her bedroom! You tell me what the fuck I was supposed to think!? How would you feel if I did that?!” Nancy softly took hold of Aurora’s arm to try and soothe the tension.

“Rory, I didn’t mean-” Zoey started, suddenly feeling guilty, but was cut off by Harry. 

“I was just trying to be a good friend! I told you that you had nothing to worry about! You knew Zoey was going through something and wasn’t in a good place! You saw her! Zoey’s been nothing but a good friend to you, so what are you even trying to say? First, you sleep with her boyfriend and now you’re accusing her of cheating with ME? You’re deflecting!”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Zoey spoke louder this time, but again it fell upon deaf ears as Rory spoke.

“I’m not accusing Zoey of anything!” she turned her attention towards her roommate, her eyes softening, “Zoey, I’m so sorry, I know nothing happened between you and Harry. And I would never do anything to try and hurt you. I promise I didn’t mean for this to happen.”

“But it did happen, and I fucking said it would, didn’t I?” Harry, turned towards Zoey.

“Oh, you said it would happen?” Rory’s sarcasm dripped through her teeth like silk, “Congratulations! Once again, your instincts were correct! What do you want? A fucking medal? If you knew it would happen, why did you even come here?”

“Because I wanted to be with you!”

“If you wanted to be with me so fucking badly, why did it take you five months to figure it out?! You never really wanted me! I was just a convenience for you! That’s why you waited until the tour was over! You have nothing else to occupy your time with!”

“And that’s why you ran to fuck Zoey’s boyfriend, is it? Because he’s emotionally available for you?” Harry’s sarcasm intensifies.

“He’s not my fucking boyfriend!” Zoey screamed, standing in between them, causing the two to retreat, taking a step back. Zoey glowered back and forth between Harry and Aurora, frustrated at the disgusting display of animosity towards each other. She had half a mind to start screaming at them, but when she saw Nancy’s reassuring gaze, she took a breath and calmly reasoned, “Listen. Obviously, we all need to talk things out, but right now the tension is way too high and it’s way too early in the morning to think clearly. Let’s all just take some time to calm down.”

“How about I just go?” Harry retorted, pulling away from Zoey and storming towards the door.

Zoey watched him as he stomped to the door, shooting a glance at Nancy who mouthed, “Go.”

She quickly grabbed her phone and threw on the first pair of shoes she found before jogging towards the door. Rory grabbed her hand quickly, eyes still red and raw from crying. Her voice was so soft that it was barely a whisper, “Zoey. I’m so sorry.”

Zoey looked into the eyes of her roommate and it nearly broke her heart. She placed a hand over Rory’s and managed a sympathetic smile, “It’s okay,” she said, seeing the relief wash over Rory. “I’ll talk to him.”

Rory nodded and Zoey ran off, catching the elevator doors just before they closed and slipping in with a still fuming Harry. When the doors closed and the elevator began its descent, his arms jerked upwards, grabbing onto the back of his neck, doubling over as he shouted, “FUCK!” 

This should be fun.

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@thurhomish​ , @stilljosiegrossie​ , @odetostep​