'Hmm, hmmmm, hmmmm.' I sang to myself somewhat tunelessly. I was sitting in the bathtub, shaving my legs after having arranged a fancy sort of halo of bubbles on my head. The light coming through the windows was bright and harsh. It was Saturday morning and I had the radio playing softly next to me, so as to not wake up Oliver. Just then, a loud banging sounded from the door.
'Speak of the devil…' I muttered to myself. It counted, even if it was only in my head. I ignored him for the moment and continued shaving.
'Katie!' He said, hitting the door for emphasis again. I sang louder. I knew that my (sometimes in tune) singing drove him mad. He said I needed to, what was it? Oh yes, 'shut up, or sod off'. Ah, such a charming young man he is…
H hit the door again.
'Poor door…' I muttered.
'Katie, I can hear you talking to yourself in there. Let me in.' He sounded tired. I wasn't surprised. We had gone out with a group of our mates last night. I came home with some of the other girls around midnight. My feet hurt from dancing; some git decided that I needed to wear heels. If memory serves, that git was Oliver.
'Fine,' I sighed, loud enough for him to hear. 'Come in then, its unlocked.' I said rearranging the bubbles so I completely covered apart from my face. I let myself slide down in the tub so the water reached just under my nose. I was almost camouflaged with my bubble hat.
He opened the door and I laughed. So did he. I looked at him questioningly.
'Bubble… thing.' He said, motioning around his own head. 'You?'
'Hangover… thing.' I said, mimicking him as I gestured around my own face. He sighed and sat down, using the toilet lid as a seat. He looked like hell.
His face was drawn and paler than usual and his dark hair hung limply down over parts of his face. Just as I thought this, he used one hand to scrape back some of the hair so he could see clearer. His eyes were slightly red and heavy, but his lips were quirked up in a smile. The same warmth form the smile was in his eyes.
I had seen this before, and I knew to expect it this morning. Using only my eyes, I pointed to the bench near the sink. I had laid out a morning paper and a plate. The paper was for Oliver and the plate had held my toast. Next to the plate were a glass of orange, fizzing liquid and a mug of still hot coffee.
'Thanks.' He said standing and then taking both, orange one first. I laughed silently at the face he pulled when he drank the potion in one.
'If I can remember correctly, you got about as smashed as a twenty year old Londoner can last night.' I said, smiling through my bubbles up at him. 'What time did you get back in? I think it was somewhere around two or three? But you wouldn't remember, would you?' He shook his head and then looked a little green. He sat down and held his head. I giggled.
I left the radio playing and started to sing along with the song without really knowing the words. Oliver caught me off guard by singing along with me. He knew just about every line. I was smiling when he looked up and met my eyes. Until then, he had been leaning back against the opposite wall with his eyes closed.
'Feeling better?' I asked only half mockingly.
'Yeah. Loads. Thanks for doing that.'
'Well, as a sign of your gratitude, and because you love me in general, can you pass me my towel?' I asked pointing with an arm covered in bubbles. I heard him sigh and reach for my towel. He held it out for me as I submerged myself in the rapidly cooling water.
'Turn.' I said making sure there were no more bubbles on me. Oliver obeyed and I stepped out of the tub and wrapped the towel around me securely. To anyone else, our relationship might be found a bit wired. To people who knew us, it was even weirder. Oliver and I weren't together, weren't a couple and we were certainly not in love. I'm fairly sure. We never talk about that, just joke about each other's failed relationships, mainly. We were just best friends. So close, it was honestly scary sometimes. You know that thing that twins do? Where they are so in sync that its like they share a mind? Well, Oliver and I weren't like that. But sometimes it got pretty close. Completely at ease, I sat down on the tiles with Oliver and looked expectantly at him.
'What?' He asked when he could no longer ignore me.
'What are we doing today?' I asked like it was the most obvious thing in the world. I was creating a bit of a puddle on the ground, water still streaming from my hair. Oliver stood up and admired the patch of water that had spread down the side of his boxers and the hem of his shirt from sitting next to me.
'Go get decent,' he said, smirking and looking over me in a mock 'interested' way. 'And then we can talk more.' I knew he was joking because he never actually looked at me. When we were talking, his eyes were either looking straight at mine or were looking pointedly at anything else in the room, apart from me.
'Oh Oliver. What are we going to do with you? A near naked girl sitting millimetres away from you and you don't show the slightest indication of whether you are interested.' I said making sure he caught my mock seriousness. 'Some one might think you're on the turn, you know?' I stood up and walked in an over exaggerated model strut to the door. Just as I was leaving the room, I heard Oliver reply.
'Oh I do care. So. So much.' He said.
'Oh?'
'Oh yes… if only that girl sitting millimetres away from me weren't you, Katie…' He trailed off implying things better left unsaid. I laughed, so he continued. 'Come on, lets go! Put some clothes on woman! …Its truly remarkable how often I have to say that'
