Three's A Crowd

Kat left Lauren with Cassie and then went in search of Stacey. It wasn't hard, she found her in the first bedroom she looked in. Stacey was topless and straddling some older guy who was, even Kat would admit, pretty good looking.

"Out." Kat said stonily, her voice cutting through the obviously fake moans issuing from her friend. The guy, whose eyes were unfocused, stood up, did up his pants, and then stumbled from the room with a word. "Well that was easy..." Kat commented, throwing Stacey's cerise pink bra to her.

"What's up?"

"Lauren. She want's to go home, I think Jack being here is really getting to her."

"Oh." Kat looked up, and was shocked to see tears streaming down Stacey's flushed face.

"What's wrong? That guy didn't hurt you, did he?"

"Why am I such a whore, Kat? I j-just want them to like me. I never wanted this, never. And now I've hurt Lauren. I can't stand this."

"Sssshhh. Lauren never has to know, but you can't say anything tonight, okay? No matter how good an idea it seems at the time. It'll break her heart, just stop crying, alright?" Lauren suddenly appeared at the door, and Kat got the feeling she'd been outside for some time. But she said nothing, and Stacey sniffed loudly, and wiped away tears until she almost looked her normal self.

"Whassat about?" Lauren asked, helping to manouver their drunken friend, though she wasn't much help since she was almost falling over her own feet.

"Just some jerk trying to take advantage. One of Scarlett's brother's mates, I think, no worries."

***

In the taxi, Lauren took the front seat, whilst Kat sat in the back between the other two. Cassie was snoring softly with her head on Kat's shoulder whilst Stacey had her forehead pressed up against the glass of the door window. She was watching as the houses passed her by swiftly, and street lights illuminated little circles of pavement, leaving the rest in shadow.

They hadn't been able to extract an address from Cassie, and were too scared to call her parents from her mobile. Instead, Stacey had conceded one of her many guest bedrooms, leaving three of them with a double bed each, and Kat already having opted for the single in the study. This wasn't for purely selfless reasons, however; it was the furthest bedroom from the bathroom, and she was praying that this way, she wouldn't be forced to hear the other three retching into the toilet throughout the night.

Aside from Cassie who was unconscious in bed the second they got her there, the other three lay awake and thought about the nights events. Stacey angsted over her reputation; she had been so desperate to not have Jack being the last person she'd had sex with, she'd been prepared to fuck somebody she'd only just met. She'd been pretty sure his name was Mike. Or maybe Ian. She needed to leave this behind her now, she needed to reassure herself that however deep the betrayal, Lauren need never find out. Her secret was safe with Kat, all she had to do was spend the rest of her life making it up to Lauren and maybe, some day, her conscience would be clear.

Lauren was still embarrassed at her her earlier behaviour; she was slowly remembering the looks she'd recieved when she'd suddenly burst into violent tears, the disgusted, or pitying, or irritated looks. She'd have to profusely appologise to Scarlett on Monday, and hope that it wouldn't be brought up too often, and also that it wouldn't get back to Jack. She was also replaying a conversation in her head, one she'd heard just before they'd left the party.

And Kat? Kat was thinking that, had Cassie not gotten so drunk tonight, she might have had the balls to kiss her.