I'm Better Than Liquor

@ castle.

For a moment, Monica was quiet before she nodded and grabbed onto Alex for help. "Okay..." In truth, the woman was not quite ready to leave, however she had grown attached to Alex through her drinking process and would prefer to stick with him. Plus, he was promising to keep her away from her boyfriend. "Thank you." Monica said softly as she let Alex lead her, stumbling all the way.

Alex was sure to keep his arm around Monica's waist, knowing full well that she didn't have the ability to walk on her own. She could barely hold her head up, let alone put one foot in front of the other. He guided her outside and over to his car where he was careful to help her into the passenger seat.

Getting to his apartment was quick, he lived less than ten minutes away from the bar that he worked at. "Come on. Let's get you inside," Alex murmured as he helped her out of the car, guiding her toward the entrance of the building. Once they'd made it up to his apartment, Alex grinned as he turned toward her. "You can take the bedroom... but you'll need to change so you can be comfortable," he said, pausing as his face scrunched. "Do you think you can get dressed by yourself?" He wasn't so sure that he should even trust her judgment but he didn't want to be seen as taking advantage of her.

@ castle.

"I don't need help. I can change myself, thank you very much." Monica slurred as she slowly pulled away from Alex. Once out of his arms, Monica grabbed onto the wall next to them before slowly making her way down the hallway to where the bedroom was. Though, halfway there, the woman stopped and took a breath. "Everything is spinning." She mumbled before closing her eyes for a moment. Monica then grabbed onto the bottom of her shirt, pulling it off before grabbing onto her jeans and getting them off too - with some struggle. The girl then looked back at Alex after kicking her shoes off.

"Can I sleep in this?" Monica motioned to herself before continuing on her journey to the bedroom. She was only wearing a bra and panties, though it was sure to be more comfortable than what she originally had on.

Alexander raised an eyebrow when Monica declared that she didn't need any of his help. He held his hands out in a peace offering, his attention focused on her. His eyes narrowed slightly as she started forward, his muscles tensing as he fought against the urge to follow after her. He didn't want to take advantage of her, no, but he could tell she was barely able to keep herself upright. How was she going to be able to make it to his bed safely?

He took a small step forward, toward the girl as she continued to undress. "No. You can't sleep in your underwear. But I'll get you one of my old shirts to sleep in. Okay?" Alex followed her into the bedroom where he was quick to grab her a shirt before he tossed it at her. "Just take your bra off and put that on. That way you're in something comfortable," he told her before he grabbed a pair of sweatpants for himself. Alex left the room, figuring that Monica would be more comfortable if they got dressed separately.

@ castle.
Monica gave the man a nod as he handed her one of his t-shirts. She managed to slide the rest of her items off before pulling on his shirt to cover herself. The woman looked down at it with a bit of a giggle before she started to spin a little, the large shirt flowing back and forth as she did so. Though, once she tried to stop, Monica quickly lost her balance and fell on her ass. She let out a large gasp before the loud 'thud' of her hitting the ground. Once on the floor, Monica let out a small groan as she rubbed her back. "That huurrt,"

Crawling over to the bed, Monica grabbed onto the side of it and slowly pulled herself back up onto her feet. She looked down at the mattress before falling into it with another giggle. The wasted girl then proceeded to spin in the bed until all the blankets were wrapped around her body tightly, giggling more and more as she did so. Once she was sufficiently wrapped up, Monica looked down at herself, a stupid smile on her lips before she started to yell out into the hallway to where Alex was. "Hey! Hey! Come look at me! I'm a burrito!" 

Alexander looked up from the floor, his face scrunching a bit as he watched Monica fall onto her ass. He took a step forward, as if he wanted to help her up before he realized that it wasn't the best idea. She was obviously drunk out of her mind, he didn't want to even have the chance to take advantage of her. She was in a vulnerable spot in her life, with having just learned her boyfriend had been cheating on her. The thought was enough to make him angry because he never understood betraying someone like that. If you weren't interested in someone anymore for whatever the reason, then it was easier for everyone to break off the relationship then and there.

He let out a sigh at the thought, shaking his head as he smiled weakly in Monica's direction. "You look like a comfy burrito," he agreed as he tilted his head to the side. "Why don't you get some rest? I'll take the couch," he said, tossing his head back in the direction of the living room. "I'll get you a glass of water, I want you to drink it before you go to bed. It'll help your hangover in the morning if you get hydrated now."

@ castle.
"Ooooookay!" Monica giggled back to him as she shifted in the blanket burrito she had created. Slowly, she moved so she was laying on her side, all curled up in his bed, her head on his pillows. Though before Alex was able to come back with a glass of water, the young woman was already fast asleep. The comfiness of the room and the exhaustion of her body had made it too hard for her to resist it. 

As the sun started to fill the room, Monica let out a small groan and buried her face deep into the blankets to shield herself. It was not until long after that did Monica start to shift around in the bed, beginning to wake up after her long night of drinking. Though as she started to - or tried to - move about, she felt restricted. After a few whimpers, Monica started to open up her eyes, trying to figure out why her arms, legs and quite frankly the rest of her body was stuck. 

Once her eyes were open and she realized that she didn't recognize the room, pure dread started to run through her. The girl tensed up and started to fight against her captor, the blanket. She didn't know where she was, what had happened or why the Hell she was stuck in this goddamn blanket!

Alex had let out a sigh, deciding to deposit a pair of Advil by the glass of water that he set out for Monica. He knew that she would have one helluva headache in the morning, there was no doubt in his mind. He wanted to make it a bit easier on her, at least the best that he could. He eyed her for a moment before retreating to the couch, staying up for a little while longer before he managed to fall asleep.

In the morning, his alarm went off right at 9am. He never allowed himself to sleep any later in the day than that because he felt like his day was completely gone if he didn’t get up and at least have breakfast around that time, maybe shower before he started getting ready for his day. When your day mostly consisted of working through the late hours of the night, Alex had realized that he needed to keep some sort of schedule or he was going to end up losing his mind.

Alex rose from the couch and made his way to his bedroom, deciding that it was best to at least check on her. She was still fast asleep, her water untouched. He turned, shutting the door behind himself as quietly as he could before he set off to the kitchen, intent on making breakfast for the two of them. If Monica wasn’t awake by the time the food was ready, he would just have to wake her as gently as he could.

@ castle.
Once Monica had finally wrestled herself free from the blanket, she laid still in the bed, panting. Her head was pounding hard and she had to close her eyes to avoid the light that was coming in. After she had caught her breath, Monica moved a hand over her eyes and looked around the room again, deciding to take it much slower now since a simple blanket almost got the better of her. 

It was definitely a room that she didn't know. Though, she wasn't sure much had happened the night before. After all, her underwear was still on... but she was wearing a shirt she had never seen either. Slowly, she sat herself up and noticed the water and Advil on the bed next to her. Well, whoever it was, wasn't a murderer at least. Though that didn't make things much better yet. 

After drinking the water up, and taking the pills, Monica slowly made her way onto her feet. As she headed out of the room, she found the trial of her clothes from the night before. Her bra had made it to the bedroom, most of her clothes were in the hallway... that was worrisome. Slowly, she made her way down the hallway until she came upon the scene of a man cooking. Confusion moved over her face. He looked familiar but Monica couldn't put her finger on it. "Hi?" She mumbled. 

Knowing just how hungover Monica was likely to be, Alex set about making a stack of pancakes with a side of greasy potatoes and some bacon. There was no better hangover meal than something that was greasy and weighed a bit heavier than it should on your stomach. He smirked at the thought, tilting his head to the side as he continued on cooking. Alex was convinced that Monica would be asleep for awhile longer and he'd been so focused on cooking so when she came out, Alex jumped slightly. He cursed under his breathe before turning to her, a hand pressed to his chest as he whirled around to face her.

"Jesus, you scared me," Alex breathed, eyeing her a bit warily. "You're awake a lot earlier than I thought you'd be," he commented, tilting his head to the side. "How are you feeling? Did you see the advil I left out for you?" He asked as he turned back to the stove. The bacon was done and the hashbrowns nearly were, he was working on the last pancake.

"Pancakes, bacon, and hashbrowns are on the menu. You can have whatever you want to drink. I think all I have it water and orange juice... there's a bit of milk but not much after I made the pancakes," he said with a lopsided shrug. "Hope that's alright."

@ castle.

"I feel like I've been hit by a truck and run over several times afterwards." Monica said as she rubbed her face a bit. Gingerly, the woman made her way to the table and sat down. She was still wracking her brain for who the man was, but she knew his face was familiar. She had seen him before, before last night, that much she was sure of but where? Well, whoever the man was, he seemed friendly enough and at this point, she wasn't going to pass up on whatever delicious smelling food he was making.

"But I did see the Advil, thank you for that." Reaching up, the woman pushed some of her hair out of her face. Once the food was on the table, Monica started to fill up her plate before setting it down in front of her. "This smells really really good. Thank you again." With that, Monica took a bite, which immediately after she let out a satisfied groan. She took a few more bites of the food before looking back at her host, giving him a bit of an awkward smile.

"So, um, can you tell me what happened last night? To be honest I don't remember most of it." Some worry started sinking into her eyes again. She hoped it wasn't anything too bad. Monica was still flipping back and forth on whether or not they had sex. Some signs pointed to yes and others pointed to no.

Alex couldn't help but let out a small chuckle when Monica mentioned how she felt. He wasn't the least bit surprised by her statement. She had been drinking to the point of barely being able to stand on her own two feet. He had no damn clue how she had even managed to dress herself the night before. He looked up to her, flashing a light smile at the mention of the advil. "Of course. I don't think you got to drink the water I tried to get you last night but at least it should help your head in a bit. Once it starts working," he said, giving a nod of his head.

Taking a step toward the table, Alex took a seat opposite of Monica. It was starting to become clear to him that she wasn't really remembering anything from the night before. He couldn't help but wonder if she even remembered who he was. He was left feeling oddly thankful that he had brought her home and she hadn't gone home with someone else, someone who was more likely to take advantage of a drunk woman.

"Uh, you came into my bar.." he trailed off, shrugging his shoulders. "You were pretty upset because of what you'd found out about your boyfriend. By the time my shift was over, you were pretty out of it. I can't say I blame you because being betrayed like that by someone you're supposed to trust..." he shook his head, running a hand through his hair. "I decided to bring you back here, just to make sure that you were safe. I didn't know if you'd be able to get home safe because you were so out of it. Didn't want someone... hurting you," he muttered, looking away from her after a moment.

@ castle.

Monica's head dropped as the man mentioned the issues with her boyfriend. For a few minutes there, she had been too focused on the present to really be thinking about all of that. Though now that it was in the forefront of her mind again, her heart and stomach dropped. She had thought she couldn't feel any worse with her hangover but it was clear the woman was wrong about that. "Yeah... well he's the worst." She mumbled.

Monica pushed her food around a bit before setting her fork down. No longer sure that she was all that interested in eating anymore. She forced herself to lift her eyes back up though, to look at the man across the table. Now that he mentioned working at the bar, Monica was able to remember who he was, the bartender. She saw him quite a bit but they never really talked much.... but what was his name? Oh, she was pretty sure it was Alex but the woman wasn't positive on that.

"Thank you for being so kinda and for taking care of me. I don't think I would have made it home last night. So I am really grateful for your help. But I am sorry if I caused you any issues or if I ruined your night." Monica's frown took over her face. She knew she wouldn't have gone home last night but she also wasn't sure where she would have gone. In reality, Monica was extremely lucky to have run into that particular bartender. "If there is anything I can do for you, please let me know. I am sure it wasn't easy taking care of me."

Alexander gave a quick nod of his head as he tilted his head to the side. "Of course. I didn't want you to to get taken advantage of or something. You were pretty..." he trailed off, his face scrunching. He didn't want to say just how out of it was because he didn't want her to feel any worse about the situation than she already did. Alex sighed as he took a bite of his food, eyeing the woman in front of him. "Don't worry about it, Monica. I just did it to help," he explained, shrugging his shoulders.

He tilted his head to t he side after a moment, his face scrunching. "I have today off so why don't we do something to help take your mind off of it?" He asked quietly. Alex hardly knew anything about Monica, all he knew was her name and her relationship troubles but he felt like he needed to be there for her. To be her shoulder to cry on while she needed.

"There's a hike that I like to do whenever I can, it's about an hour away. If you're up for it," Alex offered quietly, deciding that a hike in nature might help Monica more than expected. It had always helped calm him down hwen he needed to center himself again.

@ castle.
Her eyes lifted up as Alexader offered to spend some time with her. She was a little surprised by the offer, but she did find it rather kind of him. Monica wasn't quite ready to face her boyfriend or anyone she knew about what was going on. It wasn't something she could keep to herself for long but it didn't feel like something she had to take care of right that instant... A day out wouldn't change her situation or what he did, but maybe it would help get her ready for the shitstorm that was sure to take place. 

"I would really like that," Monica said softly, pushing her hair back behind her ear. "And a hike sounds good to me but we might have to stop at a store on the way there. I am not sure my heels are going to cut it." She gave him a hint of a smile before glancing back down at her food. 

Picking up her fork again, Monica went back to eating her food. She was in a weird mix of not wanting to eat because of her emotions but feeling starved due to her drunken escapades the night before. It seemed like a better idea to go ahead and eat. Maybe, if she was lucky, she could stuff her emotions down. 

Alex didn't know exactly what was running through Monica's mind but he imagined it was something about her not wanting to go home and confront her boyfriend. She was trying to just get over the fact that she had been cheated on. She had to be able to figure out where she was going to go from here, before she confronted her boyfriend. It wasn't going to be easy and Alex didn't know the man so he didn't know if he would try to reason with Monica to keep the relationship alive or not. As far as Alex was concerned though, if you cheated on someone, you didn't genuinely care for them.

He laughed as she mentioned stopping at a store. Alex was quick to nod his head. "We can stop at Walmart that way you can get a cheap pair... unless you want something a bit more highend. I don't know how much hiking you do," Alex said, relaxing in his seat. He eyed Monica, raising an eyebrow.

"If you want to shower before we head out, you can," Alex offered with a nod of his head. "I can get you some of my older clothes that are a bit smaller that way you're comfortable when we're hiking. Don't want to be in dirty clothes while we're hiking. Otherwise there's no way you'll be able to enjoy your time," he teased quietly.

@ castle.

"I really don't hike so a cheap pair will be fine for me, thank you." Monica responded. For the most part, hiking wasn't really her thing. Though, it seemed like a good opportunity today to go ahead and do so. it was nice and she was pretty sure that Alex wouldn't bring her on a particularly dangerous or exhausting hike...at least she hoped that was not the case.

"Thank you for breakfast again. A shower would probably be good and if I could borrow some of your clothes, that would also be great." After getting some of Alex's clothes, Monica headed into the bathroom. She took a shorter shower than usual before getting dressed in his old t-shirt and shorts. They were a little loose, but Monica was able to tie everything up enough so it wouldn't drown her.

Once done, she made her way back to Alex. "I am ready to go!" She told him before pulling her shoes on.

Alex's favourite hike, the one that he was taking Monica on, wasn't particularly hard to do. It was a bit challenging at times just so that it was enough to distract from whatever worries you had at the moment. It was just enough that by the time you finished, you were left feeling a bit fatigued and ready to relax for the rest of the day. Just what he thought that Monica needed. After finding out about her boyfriend, she needed the chance to relax and clear her head.

Deciding that it was better just to toss on clothes and that he would shower after the hike, Alex sat in his living room while he waited for Monica to finish getting ready. When she reappeared, Alex looked up with a bright smile. He was quick to stand, nodding toward the door.

"Alright, I filled up two bottles of water. So that we can each have one for the hike," he explained as he led the way out to his car. Alex was quick to pull open Monica's door, flashing a grin at her. "Just tryin' to be a gentleman."

@ castle.

"Well, you are quite the gentleman." Monica told him with a warm smile on her face. She slid into the car and leaned back against the passenger seat. It was a little odd, getting into the car of someone she barely knew, spending the day with him as well. Though, Monica truly believed that Alex was a good guy. There was no reason for her to think otherwise at this point.

Once they arrived at the store, Monica headed inside and bought a pair of hiking boots as well as getting a few snacks for the trip. As she got back to the car, Monica lifted up the bag for Alex to see. "I hope you like trail mix!" She said before sliding into the car.

Kicking off her heels from the night before, Monica slid the socks and the hiking boots onto her feet. She wiggled her toes a bit before giving herself a nod. They would do nicely for their hike.

Alex certainly wasn't trying to pull any moves on Monica but he knew how precarious of a position that she was in. It would never be easy for someone to walk away from a relationship after they were cheated on. Not only were they going to walk away from someone they cared about but they were also going to be struggling with whether they had deserved what had happened or not. It wasn't ever going to be something easy to deal with.

Flashing a bright smile as the appearance of Trail Mix, he gave a nod of his head. "Good thinking!" He exclaimed as he started for the trail that they would be hiking. "There's this small restaurant like twenty minutes further down the road that I usually go to after I hike. It adds more to the trip, I know, but the food is so worth it. Best food you'll ever eat and god, it's cheap, too. It's run by this Italian family that uses their family recipes and..." he trailed off, tilting his head back as he groaned.

"But we'll see how you're feeling after we get back down," Alex said, nodding in her direction. "If that works for you."