Hangover

The overwhelming urge to vomit was the first thing to hit me as consciousness returned. My plans of rushing to the bathroom were immediately countered by the splitting headache when I tried to move. All that left me with was groaning pitifully as I curled up in bed. It took several minutes for the pain to subside and brain functions to return to somewhat normal levels. That was when I realized I was alone. When I fell asleep, there had most definitely been two women here with me.

I pushed myself up into a sitting position, testing my stomach as it sloshed around unhappily. My hand rubbed at my jaw as I processed the jumble of memories from last night. The club had been a new experience in misery. The noise, both physical and emotional, hammered away at me all night. The **** helped some, numbing me as it ate away at my reason. Dancing had been fun, though it was hard to enjoy myself when I had difficulty picking out Chloe’s Noise from the crowd. It got worse as Alexis and Chloe gleefully shoved more drinks at me. By the end of the night, all the Noise tended to... blur. The loss of fine motor control didn’t help.

Of course the end of the night was the hardest to recall. I don’t know if it was the **** or the situation, but everything was a disjointed and fuzzy. What I thought I saw didn’t make much sense. The beauty of Chloe’s Noise mingling with Alexis’. It started slow, almost shyly. Then, like two dancers finding their rhythm, their Noise sang. Words simply didn’t do justice to the sight of their Noises blending. It was enough to make me wonder if I imagined the whole thing. It didn’t make much sense at some of the things I saw, like their individual Noise vanishing for a fraction of a second, becoming one, unified song.

Then there was the sex. I did my best to keep up with it all, but it was hard to read the situation. Alexis was feeding Chloe everything she wanted before she even realized what she wanted. Again, was it the **** that made me a half-step behind, or something else? Worrisome as that could be, Chloe seemed to be focused on keeping a balance. She never let herself get too lost in what Alexis was giving her, even though it was easy to see how much she wanted to.

Her actions last night were surprising, but not unexpected. I’d known for some time she was attracted to Alexis on some level. It was impossible to hide the feelings in her Noise whenever she was around. She had always been determined to keep things platonic though, so what changed? A spur of the moment thing fueled by lower inhibitions, or something she had been working towards?

Thinking about it was pointless. Alexis and Chloe were up. Their Noise swirled from the other side of the door, a mixture of emotions that was difficult to read. Trying to focus on it made my head hurt, and they were both still riding high with Chloe’s Gift to make a casual glance useless. Instead, I focused on myself. I felt grimy, and hoped a shower would clear my head. Plus, if my stomach finally did go through with its plans, it would make clean up easier.

The shower helped, if only marginally. At least I no longer felt the pressing urge to vomit. Dressed, I shuffled out of my room. Hushed conversation stopped at my presence. Both girls were sitting at the table, pot of coffee empty as they sat with equally empty mugs. Noise burst from them as they looked my way. I winced, my headache roaring to life as their Noise overwhelmed me. It was like they were shouting raw, unfiltered emotions at me. My reaction only made things worse. Chloe was the worse, panic setting in.

“Please think quieter,” I croaked, rubbing at my temples. Sure, I couldn’t read thoughts, but thoughts caused emotional responses. Powerful thoughts caused powerful emotions. Confusion peaked through the euphoric remnants. “Your emotions are too loud.”

“Huh. So you suffer hangovers like everyone else.”

“Pain isn’t an emotion. I am quite capable of feeling physical stimulation.” I trudged over to the fridge and grabbed the milk. I didn’t bother pouring out a cup. That got a huge surge of disapproval from Chloe, but she didn’t say anything. The swell of anxiety told me what was coming before she said anything.

“About last night—”

“No,” I said firmly.

“N-no?” Her voice broke and my mind was once more beaten raw by the emotional out pour. Why did I do this to myself? I should have been clear.

“We aren’t talking about that right now. I need food and... time to recover. We can discuss things when we are all capable of thinking clearly.”

She let out a breath. “Okay. Right. Yeah. That’s smart.”

Alexis shifted, looking awkward. From the way she kept eyeing the door, it was clear what her intentions were. As her mouth opened to say something, I cut her off. “You’re coming too, Alexis.” Her mouth snapped shut, briefly looking like a trapped animal. She nodded though, pulling some determination from inside her. I rubbed at my temples again. It wasn’t helping. “Wonder if we should invite Natalie—”

“No!”

“Absolutely not!”

Their voices were united, volume reminding me physical sounds were just as painful as emotional ones. I was never going to drink again.

Alexis’ face was flushed, and I was in no mood to read her Noise. “Please don’t make this anymore awkward than it already is.” Even Chloe was starting to turn red. I blinked, not knowing what the problem was. “We, uh...” She looked to Chloe.

“We weren’t exactly quiet.”

“This is hardly the first time you—”

“Jake.” Chloe’s tone was unmistakable. I shut up. No Natalie then. Got it.

I sipped at some water, trying to calm my throbbing head as the girls got ready. Alexis borrowed a mix of clothes from Chloe and I, refusing to go home once I confirmed Natalie was awake. The shirt was too big for her, and the sweats too tight. She didn’t complain though, and my girlfriend had some very conflicting emotions about it. Desire and guilt for having that desire I supposed.

Head throbbing, I pulled my attention from her Noise. I really hoped food would help settle things.

After locking up, I turned to find the girls didn’t wait for me. I followed after them, pointedly ignoring their Noise as they spoke in hushed tones. I met them at the elevator. The door opened and Alexis stepped inside. She gave a shaky smile as Chloe stopped me from following. The doors closed, leaving us alone. I slowly turned to face Chloe as she avoided my gaze.

“Are we... okay?”

I pinched the bridge of my nose, a flash of pain coming from trying to read her Noise. Of all the times... And of course, she misread the situation. The panic wasn’t doing my head any favors.

“Chloe, Chloe calm down. This hangover is not playing well with my Gift.”

“S-sorry.” She took deep, calming breaths. The roaring of her Noise faded with it.

“We are fine.” She nodded, still not looking at me. I stepped forward and gently pulled her into a kiss. It was chaste, but it had its intended effect, soothing her bubbling emotions and calming her Noise. When we separated, she was finally looking at me. “Did you enjoy it?”

“It was...” I felt the surge of her emotion, but didn’t pay it any attention, instead watching as it manifested on her face. “Amazing.”

I nodded and brushed some hair from her face. “Then all is well.”

The empty elevator arrived and we entered it. We were halfway down when she spoke again. “Sorry for springing that on you. It was, like, 80% a spur of the moment thing.”

“And getting me drunk.”

Her cheeks flushed and she cleared her throat. “Er, that too. Once she was in the room, the look on her face...” She sighed.

I rested my arm on her shoulder, pulling her against me. “Later.”

Alexis was waiting for us when the door opened. It looked like she was in the middle of pacing. Her eyes fell on Chloe, my arm on her. Her expression was... difficult to read, and I wasn’t going to tempt reading her Noise. Instead, I offered my other arm. The glance she gave Chloe seemed to be some silent question. Whatever the answer was, she hesitantly accepted my arm. It was awkward moving with the two, but we found a good pace to make it work.

“What are we feeling?” I asked, stomach growling.

Really hoped that was hunger and not ill tidings of what food would bring.