A Shot in the Dark

Becca was thrilled when she got out of work. Her four hour morning shift was shitty, as she’d dealt with sick, foul-tempered young mothers with whining children and the grim elderly. She cursed the day she’d be working longer and more frequent shifts.

Stepping into the flat, she immediately heard the sound of a large amount of water being poured into a larger amount of water. She sighed and dropped her bag, shutting the door and creeping into the living room to investigate.

She found Kelly pouring a steaming bucket of water into an already-full kiddie pool. Becca raised an eyebrow at her best friend, who was wearing a bathing suit and humming. Kelly turned and stopped, standing up straight and putting her hands on her hips.

“Looks like you’ve had a shitty morning too,” she observed dryly.

“That’s an understatement,” Becca agreed, shrugging her shoulders.

“Put your bathing suit on, we’ll swap stories.”

The Australian complied and dug through her bedroom drawers for a bathing suit. She picked a simple navy blue two piece and tied up her long hair. She walked down the hallway and saw her best friend sitting in the pool, music playing and a bottle of vodka in her hand.
“It’s noon. Is the vodka necessary?” Becca asked, stepping into the hot water and sitting Indian style. Kelly gave her a skeptical look and nodded.

“Of course it’s necessary! Besides, we should know about time zones and how fucked they are. It’s an adequate time for drinking somewhere in the wide world,” she said, taking a long sip from the bottle and then chasing it with a tiny sip of cranberry juice. She shuddered at the burn and passed the bottle to Becca, who copied her friend.

“So,” Kelly started, her voice raw from the alcohol, “Why has your day sucked so far?”

“Fuckin’ sick people can be nasty and I hate standing for hours at a time and scanning shit is such a monotonous job,” she complained, pinching the bridge of her nose and passing the bottle back to Kelly. She nodded in agreement and drank more vodka. “What about you? Why has your day sucked so far?”

“Fucking Lee! He came over here at 8:30, woke me up, and all because he wanted to tell me about this fantastically hot girl he hooked up with last night. It’s not like I like him or anything but honestly, he could have dropped me a text to let me know,” she explained.

Becca smirked and grabbed the alcohol from her best friend. She’d known Lee and Kelly liked each other since last week, when they streaked in the park together. They were practically inseparable except for when Kelly was with Becca.

If anything, she was jealous of how close Lee and Kelly had gotten in such a short amount of time. Matt called her every night and texted her throughout the day but they never hung out unless the group got together. She bit her lip.

“Let me get this straight: you're mad that he came to the flat early this morning to tell you he hooked up with some slut not that he hooked up with her?”

“I didn’t finish my story but basically yes. He had the nerve then to see if I wanted to go get breakfast since she was still sleeping at his place. What the fuck? Am I just good for entertaining you while you’re hookers still in bed? I don’t think so,” she said, her Brooklyn accent flying through in her anger. She took the longest drink from the bottle yet, not bothering with a chaser.

“That’s really, really shitty though,” Becca said, astounded that Lee would even pull shit like that. It was uncharacteristic for him. “What did you do when he said that?”

“I kicked him the fuck out. Fucking asshole is an asshole, y’know?”

“Assholes are usually assholes, yes.”

Kelly groaned, drinking more vodka and mumbling under her breath. Becca frowned and opened her mouth to console her when her phone rang. Misery Business by Paramore played throughout the flat and Becca pulled a towel from the floor next to her, running to her bag and answering without looking at the ID.

“Yo,” she answered, the word falling from her lips. Her tipsy best friend barked out a laugh at the habit she’d picked up. Becca showcased her middle finger.

“Maybe yeh could explain why I walked in Lee’s flat and found him mopin’ around drinkin’ Captain before noon,” Matt’s voice came through the line. Becca’s heart beat unevenly and she grinned.

“Maybe the same reason I walked in my flat and found Kelly sitting in a kiddie pool and drinking Absolut before noon,” she retorted. He chuckled.

“They’re hopeless on their own, honestly,” he said and she laughed, taking the vodka bottle from her friend. She felt a little tipsy herself and wanted to prolong the moment. She handed it back and walked into the adjoining kitchen as Kelly started to sing obnoxiously.

“Why don’t you bring Lee over then? They’re not gonna be able to last another hour without speaking to each other.”

“Yeah, alrigh’. Mind if I stay and hang out with yeh?”

“Yeah sure, we can make fun of the drunk idiots.”

“Alrigh’ we’ll be right over.”

Becca sat back in the pool even though the water was rapidly cooling. She watched as her drunken best friend stood and danced seductively to a You Me At Six song. Becca usually drank with Kelly but watching her lose control was just as fun.

There was a knock on the door and Becca looked at it, eyebrows knit together in confusion. She shrugged and got up, not bothering with the towel to open the door. Matt stood there with Lee, who was swaying on his feet. He barged into the apartment without saying anything.

“We might have already been in the parkin’ lot when I called,” Matt offered as an explanation with a sheepish grin, “Nice bikini.”

Becca blushed as he shamelessly looked up and down her body and let out a low whistle. He stepped into the flat and she shut the door. Self-conscious, she tugged her long hair into the front of her body and then turned. Before she could even say a word there was an indignant squeal of anger.

“Rebekah, what is this trash doing here?” Kelly yelled, then, “What the fuck are you doing here?”

“She’s really drunk,” Becca offered to the drummer, following the sounds of her best friend’s splashing and yelling. It was certainly a sight to see when she and Matt finally saw them.
They both burst out into laughter and nearly fell on top of each other.

Kelly was still standing in the pool while Lee kissed her passionately on the mouth. One of her hands clutched the vodka bottle and the other beat his chest in an attempt to get him off. Becca leaned on Matt so she wouldn’t fall. The two were hilarious.

“I need more alcohol in order to deal with this,” Kelly mumbled when Lee stopped. She practically chugged the vodka before offering some to him. When Lee was done, Matt intervened and took the bottle.

“Save some for the rest of us, yeh bloody alcoholics. Why don’t yeh go find a more private place to shag then?”

“I would never, ever fuck him!” Kelly shrieked, stepping out of the pool. Her wet feet made her slide and she fell into Lee, who looked delighted. “You’re disgusting!”

“I am not!” he retorted, a pout on his lips. She giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck. His arms made their way around her waist and Matt and Becca grinned at each other.

“No, I guess you’re not but I still hate you!”

“Why do yeh hate me?” he asked, an incredulous look on his face.

“Um, because you woke me up this morning to tell me you fucked some slut and that she was still asleep at your flat!” Kelly said, annoyance on her face. She stumbled a little bit but her caught her.

“She wasn’t really at my flat. I didn’t even fuck her, I just said that,” he countered and she rolled her eyes.

“I’m too drunk for this let’s just go make out in my room,” she said, grabbing his hand. As she passed an astounded Becca and Matt, she grinned and saluted. The last thing they could hear was a giggle and the door being shut.

“What now?” Becca asked, looking at the shut door. She would normally be concerned for her friend but she knew Lee and she also knew that Kelly had it bad for him. Matt shrugged and turned from the door.

“We could follow their example and make our way to your bedroom…?”

“Or, we could clean up this mess,” Becca suggested, pointing at the kiddie pool and the puddles of water around it. Her heart slammed against her chest at his suggestion though, half wishing she was drunk and/or brave enough to follow it. He scrunched up his face.
“We could do that I s’pose.”

“Good to see you’re on ship. Get me that bucket and paper towels I guess,” she said and he stepped around her into the kitchen. She took the moment to check him out. As usual she liked what she saw, his tight skinny jeans and loose tank top making his body look god-like.
He caught her staring and handed her the items she asked for, watching as she knelt down to take the water out of the pool. She scooped some out and then stood, handing it to him to dump in the sink. It was a slow process but they were getting the job done.

“So how was your morning?” she asked conversationally.

“It was alrigh’. I woke up late, ate somethin’ real quick, and went over to Lee’s. He was mumblin’ somethin’ about Kelly so I figured we would just come over. Sorry about ‘im. I don’t think he’s ever properly liked a girl.”

“Sorry about her. I don’t think her parents ever told her it wasn’t socially acceptable to drink vodka in a kiddie pool at noon,” Becca said, shrugging. She handed him the last bucketful of water and wiped up the wet spots around the pool. “I don’t even know where she got this from.”

“It’s okay. We all do crazy shit. How was your mornin’ then babe?”

She nearly froze as she wiped up the water. Silently, Becca thanked every god ever worshipped that he couldn’t see the huge grin on her face right now. She took a moment to compose herself and then stood up to throw out the used towels.

“It was shitty. I had work and lots of people are cranky when they’re sick,” she said. He pouted and pulled her into a hug. She leaned her forehead on his shoulder and sighed contentedly. She lived for these moments.

“I’m sorry yeh had a shit day.”

“It’s okay. Shit happens.”

“Now what?”

“I need to put on clothes.”

“No, yeh really don’t.”

She pulled away and raised an eyebrow, giving him a stern looked. He grinned and she shook her head, leaving the kitchen. He followed her and walked into her room after her, instantly mesmerized by the posters and pictures littering her walls.

“I’ll, um, be right back,” she said. She went to the bathroom and changed into a pair of shorts and a Mayday Parade t-shirt. For good measure she also brushed her teeth and gently squirted a small amount of Kelly’s perfume onto her neck. One could never be too sure.

When she returned to her room, Matt was looking through her CD’s and movies which were in alphabetical order thanks to her organized best friend. She threw her bathing suit in the hamper instead of the floor and put her hands on her hips. Matt gazed at her intently.

“Let’s watch a movie,” she suggested, “But I already know which one we’re watching and you’re not allowed to say no.”

“Yeh’re a demandin’ bird aren’t yeh? Alrigh’ then, what movie is it?” he asked, moving away from her collection slightly.

She crossed the room and went to the ‘A’ section of her DVD’s. It didn’t take her long to find her favorite movie. It was fortunate that Kelly liked it too, since the movie was playing all the time.

“Almost Famous?” Matt questioned, taking the case from her hand. She pulled it back and pranced over to her TV happily. It was only seconds before she got the DVD up and running and she chuckled happily at herself. She flopped back onto her bed as the opening credits rolled.

“It’s my favorite movie,” she said, smiling sweetly up at Matt. He lay down casually on her bed and she crawled up to him, leaning into his side and letting his arm wrap around her. She cuddled into him and then focused on the screen.

“Yeh’re my favorite person,” he said quietly. She looked up at him and smiled playfully.

“You’re my favorite male person. My favorite person is in the next room over doing God knows what,” Becca said loudly. There was the sound of a shoe hitting the wall and the two chuckled. They settled down to watch the movie.

Halfway through it, they both fell asleep. It was cute how their arms and legs tangled, Becca’s head against his chest, and Matt’s head lightly resting on hers. Most people would have taken a picture. Lee and Kelly weren’t most people.

“Rise and shine bitches!” Kelly screamed from the doorway. The pair woke with a start to see the DVD menu playing and their friends standing with smirks in the hallway. Kelly entered the room and threw herself onto the bed, gazing at the two. “You’re both adorable.”

“Looks like someone is done making a drunken ass of herself,” Becca observed dryly. Kelly gave her the middle finger.

“Lee and I are going to a late lunch, just so you know. We didn’t get much talking done and now that I’m finished being a drunken ass talking is necessary,” she said, bouncing off the bed as quickly as she bounced onto it.

“Oh, mate, Oli says he needs yeh at the meetin’ with him after all. Jona can’t make it or somethin’ like that,” Lee said. Matt grumbled as the two said enthusiastic goodbyes. He stood up and stretched, revealing a small strip of his skin.

“Looks like I’ve got to go. Oli’s a pain in the arse.”

“It’s fine,” Becca said, standing and stretching too, “I’m probably going to be boring and sleep more anyway.”

They walked to the door and he stopped, biting his lip. Becca suddenly felt nervous.

“Listen, I’d really like to take yeh out on a real date sometime. What are yeh doin’ on Friday?” he asked and she nearly had a heart attack in front of him.

“Oh, um, I’m not doing anything.”

“There’s another show, y’know? I thought we could grab some dinner and go see it. I wanted to talk to the kids in the band after it and I thought yeh might like to come,” he said.

“Yeah, I would love to!” she said enthusiastically. He grinned and pulled her into a hug.

“Brilliant. I’ll text yeh later alrigh’?”

“I’ll text you back,” she said, opening the door. Before he left, he swooped down and left a gentle peck on her cheek. He smiled and strolled down the hallway. When he was out of sight, Becca shut the door and let out an extremely girlish squeal of excitement.

She had a date with Matt Nicholls.