A Week, A Lifetime

Dakota woke up feeling like she had the worst hangover in the world. Her head was pounding; her eyes were fighting to keep closed. She took a deep breath, but regretted it instantly, as her head was screaming. She quickly realised that she was lying next to Alex… Or rather, Alex was lying halfway on top of her. She tried moving him away, but he sleepily lay on top of her.
“Alex,” Dakota breathed, and Alex opened his eyes.
“Morning, babe!” he grinned, their faces extremely close, and she could smell the alcohol still on his breath.
“Get off me, Alex!” Dakota exclaimed, before giving him a hard shove on his chest, making him roll off of her. Alex started laughing, but stopped quickly when he realised that Dakota had not been joking.
“Are you all right, D?” Dakota simply shook her head, and rubbed her hands to her eyes to keep from crying.
“Hey, it’s going to be ok. We’ll figure this out, ok?”
“Did you say anything to Rian?” Dakota asked in a whisper, keeping her gaze away from Alex’s.
“No, not about what we talked about, but I did say that you had a headache, and that you needed to sleep. Of course, he asked why you hadn’t gone to his bunk.”
“And what did you reply?”
“I said you were probably dizzy from all the excitement, and got the bunks wrong.” He giggled at his own brilliance, and Dakota let a small giggle escape her lips.
“Nice save.”
“Yeah, I’m kinda awesome like that!” Dakota punched Alex on his chest, which made him cough, before she got out of the bunk, and practically fell over a sleeping Jack.

Jack grunted as Dakota stumbled over his long legs.
“What on earth are you doing down there?” Dakota asked surprisedly, and crouched down to have a closer look at him.
“I don’t know,” he simply replied, his face twisted from the way it was placed on the wooden floor.
“Were you that drunk?” Jack simply nodded, before getting up to support his head on his hand.
“I think I remember trying to get into my bunk, but then I thought: ‘Oh, the floor!’ and I guess that’s it.” Dakota grinned, and helped Jack to his feet. He could hardly stand on his feet, and Dakota helped him over to the couch.
“Better?” she asked, and found a glass of water to him. He thanked her, before chugging the water in one gulp.
“Wow, yesterday is a blur!” he exclaimed happily, and giggled. “I love it when I can’t remember anything!”
“You love having blackouts?” Dakota asked, shaking her head slightly.
“Yeah. It means I did a lot of stupid things, but when I can’t remember, it means I never did them.”
“Oh, you did them!” Kaylee had jumped out of Jack’s bunk, and was ruffling her hair. “You were absolutely shitfaced, Jack. The reason you never got into you bunk, was because I kicked you out.”
“Kicked me out? From my own bunk?” Jack looked offended, but a faint smile was plastered to his face.
“Let’s just say, you were getting touchy, and I kicked you out of bed.” Jack laughed out loud, clearly feeling very satisfied with what he had done.
“Good thing you kicked me out! I can get nasty when I’m drunk.”
“I noticed,” Kaylee stated, and she sat down next to Dakota, and put her arm around her shoulder.
“Are you ok?” she whispered in to her best friend’s ear, and Dakota shrugged.
“I don’t know.”

Kaylee took Dakota’s hand, and dragged her out of the bus. Dakota thought she heard someone saying her name, but Kaylee had dragged her straight past it. She placed Dakota on a bench that was outside, and sat down in front of her.
“Tell me. We have not had the chance to talk in days because of the guys, and I think I can tell when my best friend is having a hard time.” Dakota shrugged again, as if to shake it off, but the stern look Kaylee was giving her made her give in.
“I don’t even know where to begin!”
“Begin at the very start. How about, start with Rian and you.” Kaylee smiled slightly, a smug look on her face because she already knew about it.
“How did you…?”
“I am your best friend, Dakota! How could I not know?” Kaylee smiled gently, but the fact that Kaylee knew her so well made her emotional – and she started crying again. Kaylee quickly got to her feet, and sat down next to Dakota, bringing her head into her open arms.
“Oh, Dakota! You are in deep, aren’t you?” Dakota nodded, before a giant sob escaped her lips, and she shuddered.
“I don’t know what to think, Kay. I am so confused, and I hate it. You know how I get!”
“I do know how you get, but I don’t think I have ever seen you like this!” Kaylee was stroking Dakota’s arm, trying to calm her down. Dakota dried away her tears, and looked at Kaylee.
“It’s now been five days, and I think I have already fallen for him!”
“Oh, Dakota!” Kaylee said. “Do you know what he feels?” Dakota shook her head.
“I’m afraid I will just be some sort of fling, and that leaves me where? When the leave, where does that leave me? Broken, and in fucking Britain!” Kaylee laughed at Dakota’s sudden outburst of cursing. She never really did that – ever.
“You must be frustrated!” she stated, and Dakota laughed too.
“Correct.” Dakota and Kaylee laughed together, but were interrupted by a tired-looking Rian, who had just walked out of the bus.

“Can I talk to you for a minute, Dakota?” he asked carefully, not wanting to ruin anything. Kaylee stood up quickly, and nodded.
“She’s all yours,” she said, and when she walked past Rian, she whispered something in to his ear. He nodded in agreement, before walking carefully towards Dakota. He took out a white handkerchief out of his pocket, and waved it carefully in front of him.
“I come in peace,” he said, his voice clearly sounding amused. Dakota giggled, and patted the seat next to her. He sat down next to her, but kept his distance, as if he was afraid the touch of her skin would burn him.
“I’m just gonna jump right in there, and say it like it is!” Rian begun, and Dakota focused on his face. He gulped, as he was clearly nervous.
“I like you. A lot! A little too much, actually. And it scares the living daylight out of me. I have no idea what we can do, and what’s going to happen – all I know is that I want to get to know you better, and it kills me that this week is almost over.” Dakota shook from his words, and put her hand on top of his.
“I have been silly. I am a very emotional person, and I cry easily. I have no idea why I have reacted like this…” Rian shook his head.
“No, it’s ok. I think I’ve been feeling the same way; only I haven’t been as emotional. I don’t know what we can do; all I know is that I don’t want this to end! And I can assure you; I am not planning on ending anything. We’ll figure something out.” Rian was talking so fast, but Dakota caught every single word he had said.
“So this could actually… Be something?” she asked carefully, not wanting to sound needy.
“Yes, it could be. I think we already are… something.” Dakota giggled at the thought.
“So, we will figure something out?” she asked, tilting her head to the side.
“We will,” he said with finality, before Dakota threw her arms around his neck, and planted a kiss on his mouth.