We Could Have Fallen in Love

“So, you wanna watch a movie or something?” SJ asked Tosh, leading him into her dorm room.

“I’d rather just watch you, really,” Tosh said, smirking, as they came into the living room.

“Funny.” SJ threw him an exasperated look. Why were boys always so horny? She rolled her eyes as she sat down on a couch. “Fine. So what are you doing this Christmas?”

“Nothing much, going up north to visit some family,” Tosh replied in a bored voice. He sat down very close to her.

“Wow, er, fun,” SJ couldn’t really think of anything to say.

“I can think of a couple of other things that would be even funner,” he whispered in her ear.

“That’s not even a word, you know,” SJ said back to him. But she leaned into him, giving him what he wanted. Her lips met his and she pushed him down on the couch, deepening the kiss.

Tosh was a great kisser. But no matter who it was she was kissing, there was always that one boy who kept popping up in her brain. He was never far from her thoughts. SJ pressed herself against Tosh, trying to kick him out of her brain. Tosh pulled her on top of him and, in one swift movement, pulled off her shirt, leaving her in her bra. SJ’s hands drifted down to unbuckle his belt, desperate to do anything to clear her mind from whatever it was she was feeling. Until…

“Er, SJ…” a voice said nervously.

SJ instantly fell off the couch. She scrambled to her feet as Tosh swung his legs over the couch to sit up. Standing in front of them was Harry, SJ’s cousin, along with his bandmates Tom, Danny and…Dougie.

And yes—SJ was just standing there in her purple bra. And they were all staring at her.

SJ felt like she was going to be sick. “Pardon me,” she said faintly, her head spinning, before walking out of the room and straight to the bathroom down the hall.

Vomit pushing up in her throat automatically, her knees hit the ground as she puked into the toilet. It had completely slipped her mind that Harry was coming to visit her tonight. But why had he brought…him? SJ straightened up and grabbed a toothbrush, brushing her teeth vigorously as she gave herself a dirty look in the mirror. Two times a day was more than she usually did. But seeing Dougie had brought back that feeling of disgust with herself.

She spat out the last of her toothpaste and rinsed. Then she flushed the toilet and left to her room to put a shirt on.

“Who the hell are you?” the bloke in front of them demanded in a thick Northern accent. Dougie immediately didn’t like him. He had an arrogant face.

“Er, I’m Harry, SJ’s cousin. Who are you?” Harry shot back at him.

“Oh!” He scrambled to put his shirt on and buckle his belt. “McFly, right? Yeah, mate, that’s cool. Er, I’m SJ’s friend. I’m Tosh.” He stood up and stuck out his hand to shake. Harry warily shook it. What kind of stupid name was Tosh? Dougie scowled at him.

“I thought SJ knew I was coming tonight,” Harry commented as he sat down on a couch. Danny, Tom and Dougie all sat down as well.

Tosh shrugged, pushing his dark brown hair out of his face. “She didn’t say anything to me.”

As they waited for SJ to return, Dougie let his eyes wander around. It was a small flat. From where he was sitting in the living room he could look into the kitchen. To the left was the hallway SJ had disappeared down, which presumably led to a bedroom and bathroom. There wasn’t much else.

“Hey.” SJ had reappeared, wearing purple tights with a short black skirt and a white tank top. “Nice of you to pop in, Harry.”

Harry groaned as he stood up to hug her. “Sorry, SJ,” he apologized. “I thought you knew I was coming. I used the key under your mat.”

“Yeah, well…I didn’t realize you were going to be bringing the whole crew along with you,” SJ said dryly. Her eyes drifted down to Danny and Tom, and then rested on Dougie for a millisecond. “Hey Danny, Tom.”

Dougie waited a second, but she didn’t even acknowledge him as she turned to sit down next to Tosh. Still a bitch, then. He dared a glance at her as he pretended to be indifferent by her snub. She looked a little thinner than she had when he had last seen her in the summer. But she was still beautiful, especially with her new auburn hair. Dougie turned his head away from her.

To save the slightly awkward moment, Danny asked, “So, how’s it been going, SJ?”

“Not bad. It’s been pretty good, actually,” SJ responded. She spoke a little too quickly, the only sign that gave away to Dougie that she was a slightly uncomfortable. “I’m working on a double degree in Graphic Design and Painting so I’ve been busy. But my classes are all really good, so it’s been going well.”

“Hey, that looks amazing.” Tom pointed behind SJ.

She turned to see what he was looking at. It was a still life of an assortment of fruit. “Yeah, well, I’m not finished with that yet,” she said dismissively.

Immediately what came to Dougie’s mind was the portrait of him she had left under his pillow before she had left, the one she hadn’t yet gotten to finish. The one with I’m sorry scribbled on the back. He still had it. Dougie shook his head slightly, trying to push that memory out of his brain. Tom gave him an odd look.

Tosh stood up. “I’m going to get a beer, anyone want?” he offered.

Dougie stood up hastily. “I’ll come get one with you.”

“Get me an iced tea, Tosh,” SJ ordered. “Kelsey got some the other day, just pour it in a cup. Thanks.”

Dougie followed Tosh to the kitchen. “She doesn’t look too happy, does she?” Tosh muttered to Dougie.

Dougie shrugged. He didn’t disagree with him, but he didn’t really want to explain everything with this guy.

“Seriously, mate,” Tosh added for emphasis. He swung the fridge door open and grabbed a couple of beers. He handed a few to Dougie to hold. He shut the fridge and was about to leave when Dougie stopped him.

“SJ asked for an iced tea,” Dougie reminded him.

“Oh yeah, my bad.” Tosh laughed and Dougie rolled his eyes. “Here, hold these for a second.” He shoved the rest of the beers in Dougie’s arms and turned back to the fridge. He pulled out a carton of iced tea and made his way over to one of the cupboards to get a cup. Dougie placed the beers on the counter and shoved his hands in his pockets as he waited. What…? Dougie frowned as he pulled something from his pocket. Oh. It was the perfume tester he had taken in Sephora earlier with his sister. He instinctively brought the tester up to his nose to smell, and the scent of SJ’s perfume seeped into his brain. Stop it, Dougie chided himself. He crumbled up the tester and tossed it in the bin. Turning around, he saw Tosh adding a considerable amount of vodka to SJ’s iced tea.

“You’re spiking her drink,” Dougie said. It was less of a question than it was a statement.

Tosh shrugged. “Yeah, well, I dunno, I think she could use some loosening up.”

Dougie didn’t say anything. He could have protested, saying that SJ had only asked for an iced tea and probably wouldn’t like what Tosh was doing, but he didn’t. Instead, he picked up the beers and walked back into the living room.

“…And then he was like, are you talking to me? And I was like, issues much?” SJ exclaimed as everyone doubled over laughing. It was funny, she hadn’t been drinking anything except iced tea, which she kept asking Tosh to refill, but she seemed almost as drunk as the rest of them, who were all drinking beers. Well, except Dougie. He didn’t seem to be doing any drinking. Whatever. “Screw you,” SJ muttered under her breath.

“What?” Danny asked her, the only one who had caught her words.

“Nothing!” SJ’s head was almost spinning. Tosh came back with another iced tea, and she grabbed it and took a long sip. Tosh sat down next to her and pulled her onto his lap. SJ leaned into his chest, feeling Dougie’s eyes on her. Why was he watching her? It made her a little dizzy. She met his eyes momentarily and he quickly looked down. Good, that was more like it.

“So, Harry, what’re you doing for Christmas?” SJ managed to ask.

“We’re all heading to Essex, we’re gonna have Christmas at Dougie’s parent’s house this year,” Harry responded.

“Sounds like a fucking blast,” SJ drawled. Then she wished she could take it back. It made her sound like an uber-bitch. And she knew without looking that Dougie was glaring at her.

“Harry told us you’re staying with Kelsey and her family,” Tom mentioned.

“Yeah, I am. We’re staying here in London,” SJ said, slurring only slightly. They all froze when they heard the front door open and the jangling of keys. “Who the fuck is that?” she muttered.

They all waited until a tall pretty blond girl walked into the living room, texting with her phone. She looked up and seemed confused to see the people gathered. “Oh, hello,” she said, surprised but still friendly.

“Kelsey.” Tosh raised his beer at her. Harry, Danny, Tom and Dougie all duly added their greetings.

Kelsey waved at the boys. She turned to SJ, who downed the rest of her drink. “Hey, SJ.”

“Kel, I thought you were staying the night in Brighton with your sister,” SJ replied, puzzled.

“Yeah, er, something came up.” Kelsey took off her winter coat and threw it on the couch along with her purse. “Speaking of which, I need to talk to you? Just for a second?”

“Sure.” SJ stood up. Or rather, tried to. In a second she wobbled back and fell into Tosh’ lap again. She burst into drunken giggles.

Kelsey was immediately by her side, helping her up. “Whoa, looks like someone had a lot to drink,” she commented.

“No I didn’t,” SJ protested as Kelsey led her down the hall to her room. “I only had iced tea.”

“Yeah, sure.” Kelsey seated SJ on the bed. “Okay. Concentrate for me. I’ve got some bad news.”

“What?”

“Okay, well—” Kelsey bit her lip anxiously. “You’re not gonna like this.”

“What?” SJ repeated.

“Okay. Er. Well. My grandma broke her leg, so instead of having our big Christmas dinner here in London, we all have to go down to Paris to visit her because she can’t take a plane,” Kelsey said in a rush. “And—er—my parents don’t think you can come with us if we’re going to France.”

SJ stared at her in silence.

“I’m sorry.” Kelsey looked upset. “I tried begging them, but my grandma’s house is really small and she doesn’t want extra people. Are you mad at me?”

“You’re fucking kidding me,” SJ muttered. She put her head in her hands, suddenly sobered up. This meant that once again, SJ had nowhere to go. And so once again, SJ was going to have to ask Harry for his help.

And she remembered pretty damn well what had happened the last time she had asked for his help.