Waking Up In Vegas
Disclaimer: I do not own any parts of South of Nowhere or properties of The N, or Thomas Lynch.
Long –time lurker, here. When I first fell in love with Palex and Spashley, I was a "straight girl," in a relationship with a guy for two years in high school and fresh into college. I always had conflicting feelings, but never knew why I felt such a connection to couples like Spashley in shows. Then, I realized, "Hot damn, I'm a little bit of a lesbian. And by a little bit, I mean I'm a raging, lady-loving homosexual; a fruit tree on fire, if you will." It sounds corny, but SoN really, truly helped me realize and be comfortable with who I am, and since then, I've been with an awesome girl I love for almost two years, and decided to write a story I've had on my mind since about 2009. So, here it is! Be gentle, and review.
Summary: A songfic without the actual song. A little Hangover-ish, and based on lovely Ms. Katy Perry's song, Waking Up In Vegas. Takes place after Spencer's graduation. (If I decide to write more or if people are receptive to this story, you'll find I like stories that are pretty canon.) Enjoy!
Blue eyes slowly opened and quickly closed again, offended by the bright light of the sun seeping in through the thin curtains over an unfamiliar window. Head pounding, nauseated stomach, and vision blurry, a blonde head slowly lifted off fluffy pillows and looked around.
Spencer Carlin winced at the light once again as it poured into the room and assaulted her sensitive, bloodshot eyes, and worsened her headache.
She squinted her eyes to focus better on her surroundings and realized she was not in her bedroom. In fact, she didn't know where she was at all. She was splayed out on a California king-sized bed with extremely soft and expensive sheets, and a luxurious duvet. The room she was in was quite luxurious in itself, as well. As she looked around and tried to focus more, she noticed intricate, gold-laid designs in the woodworking of the tables next to the bed, expensive, colorful curtains, designer furniture complementing the bed, and a large flat-screen television mounted to the wall in front of her.
Spencer thought she was dreaming, until the soft moans and gentle shifting of blankets next to her alerted her to a second presence in the lavish bed. She looked over to find a tangled mess of brunette curls on a sleeping head that belonged to her girlfriend, Ashley Davies.
Still confused, Spencer scooted closer to the slumbering girl and reached out to shake her shoulder, further upsetting her already nauseous stomach in the process of moving.
"Ashley," Spencer whispered so quietly because even exerting a whisper made her head pound more.
Ashley merely squeaked a little in her sleep, and snuggled into Spencer.
The blonde tried rousing the brunette again by shaking her shoulder gently, and whispering her name again, this time a little louder.
"Ashley, you have to get up," Spencer prodded with her hand still shaking her girlfriend's shoulder.
The curly-haired teenager rolled away from Spencer and groaned, before pulling a pillow over her head and pouting.
"Hmmpf narf grffng grup," Ashley groaned into her pillow grumpily.
Getting frustrated now at her girlfriend's refusal to get up and her own discomfort from her headache and nausea, Spencer whispered a little more forcefully.
"Ashley. Get up. Now!"
Before Ashley could growl her annoyance again, she felt a pillow thwack her on the head, making her splitting headache feel like her skull was actually going to explode or implode.
"Fuck, Spencer! What do you want?!" Ashley's head whipped up and she barked at the blonde with a tired, raspy voice and looked at her with bloodshot eyes that mirrored her girlfriend's.
"I don't remember anything at all from last night after graduating. Everything is a blur. Where are we? What are we doing here? What happened? And why do I feel like I got hit by a truck?" Spencer asked with panic in her voice but also holding her head because of the pain.
Ashley stopped and looked around the room herself, realizing she wasn't sure of the answers, either. She took in the luxurious decorum around the room and relaxed back into the pillows from her elbows which she had been leaning up on.
"I don't know, exactly, but these blankets are wonderfully comfortable and I'm guessing you and I had a good time," she lasciviously grinned at her girlfriend, despite her pounding head after noticing the state of undress they were in.
Spencer looked at her for a moment, confused, and then looked down at herself, realizing she was naked, and her face furiously blushed before she pulled the duvet up to cover her chest.
"Ashley!" Spencer scolded.
"What's the problem? It's not like I haven't seen you naked before, or done all kinds of sexy things that y-" Ashley was cut off.
"I know that! But that's what you're concerned about?! Neither of us know what happened last night or where we are and you're going to start talking about the sex we don't remember having?!" Spencer's voice raised exponentially as the redness of her cheeks simultaneously moved its way up to her ears.
She fell back onto the pillows holding her pounding head and groaned.
"Okay, before anything else happens, I need something to cure this horrendous hangover," Spencer complained.
Ashley knew exactly what would help with that, and got up to make her way out of the bedroom.
"Uhm, Ash? Want to put clothes on?" Spencer asked her like she was surprised her girlfriend would go cavorting around naked. She knew Ashley had no body shame and flaunted it whenever she could. However, her concern wasn't about modesty.
"Why? You've seen ME naked before, too, remember?" Ashley teased using words from earlier, and as she opened the door to walk out, she immediately retreated and slammed the door behind her, effectively worsening her and Spencer's headaches some more.
"Shit! Guess I do remember having Glen and Chelsea with us…" Ashley admitted, after seeing them sleeping on a couch in the living room, also in a state of disrobe but blankets covering their more intimate areas, thankfully.
"Yep. Now that part I do remember. How about your sister and Aiden? Anywhere in sight?" Spencer asked, remembering the other Davies sister and her friend had been with them the night previous.
Ashley poked her head out the door again and shortly after came back in and over to the bed, picking up her clothing that she didn't remember throwing around the room the night before.
"I guess they're in the bedroom across the living room. Door's shut," Ashley shrugged as she put on a bra and pulled a pretty badly torn and dirty top on that still smelled of perfume, alcohol, and sweat.
"What the hell? Did we get into a fight or a threesome with Kesha last night? There's fucking glitter on everything," Ashley asked, shaking off her shorts and noticing Spencer's forgotten clothing on the floor was covered in shiny speckles as well.
After fully dressing, both Spencer and Ashley painfully crept out of the bedroom they were in and into the living area, which was really more of a den between two bedrooms. Everything looked normal with a clearly post-coitus sleeping Glen and Chelsea, which was kind of gross and kind of cute in Spencer's opinion, until they rounded a hallway corner and saw the destruction in the main area and kitchen.
Spencer's already awful headache worsened when she took in the damage, and some memories of the very beginning of the night flashed back to her.
"Congratulations, Spencer!" read the banner hanging over the entrance to Ashley and Kyla's apartment.
Spencer smiled at the gesture and looked up at her parents and Glen before they walked through the door.
Spencer was nearly plowed to the ground when her girlfriend tackled her into a hug yelling about how proud she was of her graduating. Spencer laughed and kissed Ashley chastely on the lips, to avoid any scolding from her mother, and thanked her for having the get-together to celebrate.
"Mr. C, Mrs. C., aren't you guys so proud of her? I know I am," Ashley beamed with pride.
Arthur Carlin in his endearing fatherly way looked back and forth from the two girls to his wife and smiled.
"Of course we are. Thank you for hosting this, Ashley, it's very sweet of you," Mr. Carlin beamed as well with pride at his daughter.
"It's good to see you, Ashley," and Paula Carlin pulled Ashley in for a genuine hug, happy that they had reconciled and began having a relationship which didn't include hair-pulling or screaming.
Ashley ushered the Carlins in and made sure everyone was comfortable before the real celebrating began.
Several hours later, nine very chatty, slightly (some more than others) inebriated adults and young adults sat around Ashley and Kyla's apartment, chatting and laughing about memories, current celebrations, and futures.
"Okay, okay, okay, so I know we're all celebrating and we loved your documentary, Spence," Ashley looked over lovingly and slightly tipsy and awful smiley at her girlfriend, "I have a surprise for ALL of us, because I'm just feeling so generous these days," Ashley said proudly.
"And so modest, too," teased a certain Latina with a rollercoaster history with Ashley of friendship to enemies and back to friends again.
"Can it, Madison," smiled Ashley sardonically, yet also genuine and playfully. To celebrate this amazing milestone in Spencer's life, and to blow off a lot of steam I know we've all been feeling over the past year," everyone was thoughtfully quiet, thinking of the tragedies and hardships the year had been wrought with; violence, heartbreak, grieving, loss, and struggle, "Kyla and I have pooled our money to send us all on a vacation this weekend! Mr. and Mrs. C, you guys will be going on a romantic getaway together to wine country, and me, Spencer, Aiden, Chelsea, Glen, Kyla, and yes, even you, Madison are going to have one big party; in VEGAS."
"What. Did. We. Do." Spencer stared stunned at the immense damage done to the previously gorgeous and expensive suite.
The chandelier over the dining room table was hanging by one wire and had condoms and silly string hanging from it. The counters and floors were scorched by something and a fire extinguisher lay upside-down in the kitchen sink.
Champagne and other expensive liquor bottles, some empty, some partially empty; lay around everywhere broken or intact, including in a lampshade where the light bulb should be.
Furniture was overturned, pillows ripped and feathers thrown everywhere, unimaginable destruction throughout the expensive hotel room they were in.
"Wow. What a night, huh?" came a raspy, tired voice from behind them. Spencer's brother, Glen was standing there taking in the damage as well in nothing but his boxers, a bedazzled lei he fell asleep in, and several hickeys all up and down his neck.
"Nice necklace, man-whore," Ashley teased Glen, nodding toward his neck and collar.
Glen blushed and bit back "I'm not a man whore if it's with the same girl every time," he barked groggily.
"Yeah, well, not that I enjoy seeing you in your underwear, but at least you aren't naked and on the couch anymore. That was a sight I would love to burn from my memory forever," Ashley mentioned.
"Jealous you can't have me?" Glen rotated his hips in a way that he thought was conveying sexiness.
Ashley gestured like she was going to vomit, "Don't make my hangover worse. I might have to use your cavernous brain as a bucket if I need to hurl. Plus, ew. I have the hottest Carlin, thank you," Ashley said proudly and looked to her girlfriend who was still staring slack-jawed at the destroyed kitchen and dining area.
"Spence?" Ashley gently nudged her girlfriend on the shoulder. "You okay?"
Spencer just stared at the wrecked rooms before her, and turned to her girlfriend and brother.
"What happened last night. Seriously. Everything hurts, I feel sick, and I don't remember much after we got on the plane. Also, there's a duck under the kitchen table over there," Spencer pointed and then became dazed and matter-of-fact and seemingly unaffected by the damage, too tired and hung over to remember or care.
Sure enough, there was in fact a duck waddling around the kitchen.
"Ashley, I seriously cannot believe you did this without telling me!" Spencer scolded, yet smiled as they and their friends rushed through the airport to catch their flight.
"You deserve the best, baby. And I guess I like these weird people we hang out with, too, and it isn't like I don't have the money," Ashley delivered honestly and rather proud of herself. "I wanted a way to celebrate your achievement with all of our friends and us, and just…give a really big gesture as a final apology for everything," Ashley became more quiet and honest.
Spencer stopped rushing and halted. She smiled at how shy and earnest her normally cocky and confident girlfriend looked, and couldn't help but pull her in for a tiny kiss and a 'thank you, I love you,' before they kept making their way to the boarding gate.
Settled in the plane, Spencer nuzzled into Ashley's shoulder as they got comfortable for the flight.
"So, why did you also send my parents away on a romantic getaway?" Spencer was genuinely curious, and was shocked after all the fighting and animosity between her mother and girlfriend that they would ever get to this kind of place where Ashley would lavish her mom with expensive trips and gifts. Funny how things change.
"I thought your mom was going to rip my head off. I never thought she'd accept the trip from me!" Ashley laughed. It was true, on civil terms or not, it's not like they Carlin's couldn't afford to take trips on their own, either. It's true, it had taken a lot of convincing after the announcement to get the elder Carlin's to go on a romantic trip on the 18-year-old's dime, but eventually they relented and accepted the offer, not wanting to cancel it in such short notice and waste the money that had been spent.
"Honestly, I really truly wanted to do something nice for them. Even when your mom and I didn't get along, she at least welcomed me in, was concerned about me when my dad died and all that, and your dad never seemed to have a problem, so, just a thanks I guess," the brunette admitted honestly.
The blonde stared at her incredulously. Their break-up and time apart and struggles had really caused a lot of growing up on Ashley's part. It was a nice change of pace for her to be so generous.
"And of course, while they're away after our night in Vegas, we'll have the house to ourselves, of course," Ashley winked seductively at her girlfriend.
"Ah, and here I thought you were being completely generous with no ulterior motive. Too good to be true, huh?" Spencer teased and shoulder-checked the brunette in her seat.
"You know me, baby. Too generous for my own good," Ashley smiled and settled into her seat, wrapping an arm around the blonde and looking out the window as the plane began taxiing down the runway.
"Oh, by the way, Ash? I know that whole 'oh, there's plenty to do in Vegas if you're under 21 Mr. and Mrs. C.,' act was really smooth and all, but really, I know you better than that, what exactly are we planning to do once we get there," Spencer eyed her girlfriend with a skeptical smile, knowing she had some trick up her sleeve somewhere.
"Why, I don't know what you're talking about, Spencer. I wouldn't dream of having a group of nine underage adults running around Vegas getting drunk and partying. I'm more responsible than that," Ashley teased, before going into her carry-on backpack and pulling out a wallet. Opening it, she pulled out six ID's all issued with ages of 21 to 23, with actual photos of each person traveling with them; Spencer, Ashley, Chelsea, Aiden, Kyla, and Madison. Glen was not included because he was over 21 already.
Spencer slapped Ashley's shoulder and scolded her before she quickly shoved them back into her bag as a stewardess walked by.
"Come on, Spencer, you really didn't expect to go to Las Vegas without drinking a little bit, did you?" Ashley asked with playful sarcasm.
And the plane took off.
Ashley and Glen couldn't help but giggle at the poor duck that had somehow met the drunken group during the night and ended up back at the hotel with them.
Spencer went back into the den and sat down on the loveseat opposite a slowly-waking Chelsea and just zoned out, trying to remember any detail she could about the night before and also trying to rid herself of her stupid hang over and horrendous headache.
Chelsea awoke and looked at Spencer, also with bloodshot, wincing eyes, clearly hung over as the rest of them were thus far. She went to sit up when she realized she was naked under the blanket and pulled the sheets and covered up before apologizing to Spencer for her state.
"Sorry I'm…totally naked and hung over on the couch when we're supposed to be here celebrating you. I didn't exactly want you to find out this way…" Chelsea apologized to Spencer, clearly embarrassed that she'd fallen asleep drunk and naked with the blonde's brother in an open room for anyone to see the next morning.
Spencer smiled at her. She loved Chelsea. She was such a good person, and she knew if she had made Clay happy when he was here, then she could definitely make Glen happy and probably set him straight a little bit.
"Hey, you've got a thing for the Carlin men. That's alright by me. Glen could definitely use your ass-kicking skills to get him to grow up some," Spencer smiled, alleviating Chelsea of her nerves that she would think she was simply replacing Clay in her heart with the next best thing, his brother. "Clay would have wanted you to be happy. So be happy," Spencer assured her.
Chelsea smiled at Spencer, and then squinted her eyes to look around.
"I guess he and I were too drunk and…busy to actually open up the several thousand-dollar expensive couch bed. Whoops," Chelsea admitted, blushing.
"So, what happened last night? The last thing I remember was coming up to the room and all of us having a toast before we went out, and that's it," Chelsea asked Spencer.
"Yeah, I don't know. You're better off than me, though. I don't remember much after the plane took off," the blonde admitted, frustrated trying to remember the details of the night before.
"Well, Ashley gave you a little bit of alcohol on the plane because the turbulence was bad and you were scared, but I think you drank a little more than she was intending," Chelsea told Spencer, whose cheeks grew red with embarrassment.
"Great…" Spencer hung her head, ashamed of her lightweight tolerance to alcohol.
"Spencer, don't worry about it. It's cute that you have no tolerance and get giddy so quick," Ashley cooed as she walked out of the kitchen with a plate of grilled cheese and a bottle of Gatorade to hand to Spencer. She gave a smaller bottle to Chelsea who smiled appreciatively for the electrolyte-restoring drink.
"Yeah, you didn't say that the first time I got drunk around you and left your gig to make out with Aiden. And where did you get the grilled cheese stuff?"
Ashley knew Spencer's favorite hangover cure was a grilled cheese and a bottle of Gatorade, and had thought ahead to request that the room be stocked properly for such hang over situations that occur so often in Vegas.
"Told the hotel when I booked it I wanted it in the room. Also, you puked on his shoes later that night; I won," Ashley shrugged and then smiled victoriously at the memory.
"How are you not holding your head or stomach in agony?" Chelsea asked Ashley who seemed to be completely fine compared to the rest of them.
"Oh, trust me, I feel really shitty, too. I've just done this a lot more than you guys have, so I can fake it or just get over it, I suppose. My memory is really fucked though. I can't remember anything after we got a cab and left the hotel to go to dinner," Ashley commented.
"Okay so I can remember up til being on the plane, Chelsea remembers toasting in the room, and you remember leaving. We need to piece everything together with everyone so we can figure out why the room is such a wreck and fix it before we get in trouble," said the blonde slowly eating the sandwich her girlfriend made her and sipping on the sport's drink.
"Should we wake everyone else up and try to figure this out or let everyone sleep and go get something to eat?" asked Glen, walking back into the room and giving Chelsea a quick peck on the lips before sitting down next to her.
Chelsea noticed Glen's neck and began to blush profusely and covered her face.
"Aww Chels, come on, if I have to hear Spencer and Ashley having sex in the room across the hall then they can see some hickeys on me," Glen jabbed at the couple on the opposite couch.
"Glen! You cannot hear us!" Spencer commanded, half telling herself he didn't when she knew he could and half hoping he really couldn't as her ears and face turned the color of a firetruck.
"Spence, you may think you guys are quiet, but you aren't," Glen rebutted, partly entertained by embarrassing his sister and partly really grossed out thinking about it.
Spencer hid her face in Ashley's neck and groaned her embarrassment at the thought that her brother (and other family members) could hear when she and Ashley were being intimate. She thought they were quiet, but she did know that she herself could get loud when her girlfriend did something particularly amazing. She just prayed he was teasing her.
"It's okay Spence, Glen's just jealous he can't make a girl feel like you and I make each other feel," Ashley stuck her tongue out at Glen and rubbed Spencer's arm.
"Actually…I'm good. Have a girlfriend of my own," and he put his arms on Chelsea's shoulders and smiled down at her.
Ashley had a feeling something was going on between them before what she thought had just been a drunken Vegas tryst, so she wasn't surprised, and was actually happy for them.
"While all this is sweet and all, I really would like to get dressed if you guys wouldn't mind, and Glen, you should put some real clothes on that aren't just boxers," Chelsea said, embarrassed after she remembered she was sitting there in nothing but a sheet on the couch.
As Chelsea went to stand up, they all heard high-pitched screaming coming from the room across from the one Spencer and Ashley had slept in. They all rushed to the door and opened it to find Kyla standing to one side of the bed, Aiden in the middle of the bed, and Madison standing on the other side of the bed; all three covering up with sheets, all three naked.
Kyla looked back from the group at the door, to Aiden, to Madison, to Aiden, to Madison, and then back at the four who were already awake and dressed (save for Chelsea, also in a sheet).
"Well. A lot of sex happened in THIS villa last night," Ashley stated, shocked, humored, and grossed out by the sight before her.
"Jeez, Aiden, you really do turn all girls you date gay," Glen joked, before Chelsea elbowed his stomach, effectively and wordlessly telling him to shut up.
The silence was thick and heavy.
The seven young adults sat around the den, now all reasonably clothed (except Aiden, who was in his relatively dirty and ripped jeans and shirtless because he always is) and unsure of what to say about what they walked in on or woke up in.
"Can I just say…I really don't remember anything from last night and don't know how we got into that situation, so I'm sorry that that was weird for everyone, and I'm sorry that this is going to be weird for you two and take time to…sort out or get over, I guess," Aiden gestured to Kyla and Madison, who could not be any further from each other in the room, and refused to look at each other.
Surprised by his sincerity, Kyla looked at her boyfriend and saw the genuine upset in his face and told him it was okay. She truly did not remember anything, either.
Spencer was in shock, Chelsea was quiet and trying not to get involved, Aiden sat dumbstruck and confused about what he'd woken up to, Kyla looked like she was about to cry, Madison was fuming and ready to snap necks, which left Ashley and Glen, grinning like morons and trying to keep their mouths shut.
"WHAT ARE YOU SMILING ABOUT?!" growled Madison, after getting tired of hearing hushed snickers from the brunette and male Carlin.
"Nothing, nothing, I just… Wow, you know I thought all those digs at me for being gay were just the homophobe in you but I guess it was really the jealous inner-lesbian," Ashley couldn't help but start laughing.
"ASHLEY!" Spencer yelled at her for her insensitive comment.
Madison stomped off and Kyla, also fuming, shut herself back in their bedroom.
"I just wish she'd been into that when WE were dating!"
"SHUT UP, GLEN!"
What do you think so far?
Should I keep going? Was it terrible? I've had the idea in my head for a while but need some help executing it. Things have been quiet on the Spashley front of FF and I don't want to see them die, so I figured I'd come out of lurking and reignite our Spashley fire!
Any feedback is awesome. Thanks!