Soren Arden POV
Sunlight streamed directly onto Soren's face, bright enough that it felt personal.
"Ugh… someone close the blinds…" he muttered, voice thick and scratchy.
He tried to roll over.
His body didn't budge.
'Why is it so heavy?'
Soren blinked slowly, head throbbing in dull pulses.
His thoughts came in pieces, fuzzy flashes of shouting, laughter, warmth, then darkness.
He cracked his eyes open.
And froze.
"...What the hell is this?"
Lilliana and Amelia were sprawled across him.
Not near him.
Not beside him.
Across him.
Lilliana was pressed to his side with her face tucked against his chest, one leg half draped over his thigh.
Her hair was a mess, her cheeks faintly pink even in sleep, and she was breathing softly like she had decided his chest was the safest place in the world.
Amelia was worse.
Amelia had him pinned.
An arm over his torso.
A knee heavy across his waist.
Her head tucked close enough that Soren could feel her breath against his collarbone.
He couldn't even sit up.
He couldn't even breathe properly.
"Grrawrr…"
The moment he shifted even slightly, Amelia growled.
Not awake.
Not conscious.
Just… instinctively territorial.
Soren went completely still.
'She's going to kill me in her sleep.'
His stomach rolled.
Hard.
The hangover hit like a delayed punch.
"Shit— I'm gonna hurl!"
Soren panicked, muscles screaming as he shoved both girls off him with a burst of frantic strength.
Lilliana let out a small, startled noise and rolled onto the floor.
Amelia let out a low, offended growl and flopped onto her side like an angry cat being evicted from a warm bed.
Soren didn't have time to care.
He barely made it to the sink before his body betrayed him.
"Blerrgghhhh–!"
The sound echoed embarrassingly loud in the small ensuite.
Soren gripped the edge of the counter like it was the only thing keeping him from collapsing entirely, coughing between waves, eyes watering.
'…I'm never drinking with them ever again.'
He swallowed hard, gagged once more, then finally slumped forward, breathing through his nose.
'I'm lucky there's an ensuite connected.'
If there hadn't been a bathroom attached to the private room, he would have been dead.
Not metaphorically.
He would have been the guy vomiting down a hallway in an expensive bar while strangers stared.
But fortunately, the place was extra bougie, a private room, ensuite, the whole package.
'I should thank Essy later…'
Pshhhh…
Soren turned on the faucet, rinsing his mouth thoroughly, then splashed cold water on his face until the nausea eased into something manageable.
He dabbed his face with a towel, staring at his reflection for a second.
He looked awful.
Puffy eyes.
Slightly red cheeks.
Hair sticking up in places it had no business sticking up.
He groaned softly, then staggered back into the main room.
And immediately stopped.
"Holy shit…"
The table was covered entirely in empty bottles and mugs, to the point that it was impossible to see the tabletop beneath them.
Glasses lay tipped over.
A few napkins had been sacrificed to spills.
Someone had even managed to knock a menu onto the floor and leave it there like a corpse.
It looked like a party had happened, and then an explosion.
Besides the mess, the group's conditions were… worse.
Esper and Felix were face down on the table, completely out cold.
Esper's hair was flattened awkwardly against the wood.
Felix's hand was still half curled around a bottle like he refused to let it go, even in sleep.
Amelia and Lilliana were now sleeping on the floor where Soren had shoved them, both wearing expressions of discomfort, like they were annoyed that their comfortable pillow had escaped.
Soren winced.
"Sorry…"
Then his gaze shifted toward the far side of the room.
And he froze again.
"...Wow, when did that happen?"
Alex and Olivia were lying on the floor, tangled together.
Olivia was curled into Alex's chest, her arms wrapped around him.
Alex's head was tilted slightly toward her, one arm loosely around her back like his body had decided to protect her even in sleep.
It was… intimate.
Not romantic, at least, not overtly.
But close.
Close enough that Soren's heart did a weird, stupid little twist.
"I wish I could take pictures…"
If he could, he would have already taken hundreds.
He was the number one Alivia shipper.
It was practically his moral duty.
'I'm jealous.'
The thought popped into his mind before he could stop it.
Soren's expression blanked.
"…Huh?"
He shook his head hard, like he could physically shake the thought out.
'No. Not like that.'
It wasn't romantic jealousy.
It was…
It was the simple, ugly envy of someone who had once been close to someone and lost it, watching other people have something soft and safe right in front of him.
He swallowed, then forced himself back into practical mode.
"What do I even do…?"
Wake everyone up?
Let them sleep?
Panic?
He looked at the bottles again.
How long could they even stay here?
This wasn't the dorms.
This was an expensive bar with private rooms that probably cost more per hour than his monthly allowance used to.
"Should I wake everyone up…?" he murmured.
It felt rude after how hard they had gone last night, but also…
They couldn't stay forever.
'I should go ask the staff.'
Soren carefully stepped over Felix's arm and slid the door open.
The hallway outside felt too bright, too clean, too quiet compared to the disaster behind him.
He made his way to the counter, blinking as he took in the bar properly this time.
Marble accents.
Gold trim.
Soft carpets.
Decor that screamed money.
He hadn't noticed any of it last night.
Last night he had been too busy trying not to think.
"Hello?" he called out softly.
A staff member immediately turned toward him with a polite smile.
"Good morning, sir. How may I help you?"
Soren cleared his throat.
Being called "sir" still felt oddly satisfying after everything.
"I was just wondering, how long are we allowed to stay for?" he asked, scratching his cheek. "It's just that my friends are still asleep."
The staff member's smile turned knowingly amused.
"I see you had quite the night."
His tone was smooth, professional.
"Don't worry. You may stay as long as you wish. It will simply be added to the bill."
"That makes sense."
Soren nodded, then hesitated.
"By any chance, could I ask someone to come by and clean up the drinks soon?"
"Of course." The man inclined his head. "I shall send someone through shortly. Is there anything else?"
Soren thought about the seven hungover disasters in that room and felt his stomach flip again.
"Could I have some water?" he asked quickly. "Enough for seven people."
"Of course, sir."
Soren exhaled in relief and returned to the private room.
The moment he stepped back inside, the smell of alcohol hit him like a reminder.
He grimaced, then couldn't help chuckling as he took in the scene again.
'Seriously… how did it end up like this?'
He had expected people to get wasted.
They had been excited, after all.
Amelia and Felix had practically sprinted into the bar.
But even he hadn't expected everyone to completely black out.
Soren lowered himself carefully to the floor, sitting between Lilliana and Amelia like a tired parent guarding two unruly children.
He leaned back against the couch, letting his head rest for a moment.
"Well… at least it was fun," he murmured.
And the moment he said it, he realised it was true.
For the first time in ages, drinking hadn't felt empty.
It hadn't been him alone with a bottle, trying to drown out a memory.
It had been noise.
Laughter.
Warmth.
People he cared about being stupid together.
'I'm glad I told them.'
The confession last night had been slightly embarrassing.
He had spilt his heart, had said things he hadn't planned to say.
But he didn't regret it.
He felt… lighter.
Ever since Aria's death, he had closed himself off completely.
No talking.
No opening up.
No friends.
Just survival, guilt, and self-deprivation.
Because of that, he had never shared anything.
Not really.
But last night he told them, and not a single one blamed him.
Sure, the room had been awkward for a moment.
Felix had been Felix.
Esper had been Esper.
Amelia had growled at Felix.
Lilliana had been gentle.
Olivia had looked like she wanted to cry for him.
Alex had stayed quiet.
And yet…
They had cared.
That had been obvious.
Soren's gaze drifted across the sleeping bodies.
'Seriously… what am I gonna do?'
Every time he tried to fix the story, something happened.
Every time he promised himself things would get better, the world reminded him that it didn't care about promises.
It was an endless cycle, and lately it felt like the more he struggled, the worse it got.
'But I can't give up…'
He couldn't.
Not with these people now.
Not when they had accepted him so easily, like it was normal.
He stared at them, the ones who had somehow become his friends.
He couldn't let them suffer.
Not because of him.
"Ren…?"
A small voice, soft and sleepy, broke through the quiet.
————「❤︎」————