Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended.

Thanks to my betas, araeo and duskwatcher2153.


Last Friday Night


Saturday May 7, 2011
12:00pm

We're still sitting on the couch, unable to stop staring at the images that mock us from my laptop and the small picture screens of our phones, when Alice's phone rings. She picks it up and frowns at the display.

"It's the hospital," she states before answering. "Hello?"

"Oh, hey, Edward."

She rolls her eyes in response to whatever he says.

"I'm answering the phone, aren't I? Yes, we're up."

She laughs ruefully.

"Yeah… a bit hung over." She pauses and shrugs. "Okay, more than just a bit."

Her eyes shift to me.

"Yeah, she's here."

A frown crinkles her forehead.

"Okay."

Taking the phone from her ear, she holds it out in my direction.

"It's for you."

"Hello?" My voice is tentative.

Why does Edward want to talk to me?

Hell… if I'm honest, it's not the why that's making me feel a bit light-headed. It's that he wants to talk to me, period.

I've been crushing on Alice's older brother for more than three years, ever since the first time I met him when I went home with Alice for a weekend during our freshman year. He's six years older than us, and he's currently an ER intern at UW hospital. Oh, did I mention that he's totally swoon-worthy? Well, he is. He's tall and lanky, yet somehow still solid—the stars from ER have nothing on Edward Cullen in a set of scrubs. He's got amazing dark red hair that's always perfectly mussed; every time I've seen him, it looks like he's been running his hands through it. Or like he just got out of bed. Yeah, he's definitely got the sex hair thing going on. The smattering of freckles across his cheeks and nose serve the dual purpose of making him look boyishly sexy as well as accenting his grass-green eyes. All in all, he's the perfect package. Needless to say, if I was one of the editors at People, he'd top the Most Beautiful list every year.

I tend to get tongue-tied whenever we run into Edward, so I hope I can pull off this conversation. Wait… Who the hell am I kidding here? I just hope that I can manage to get a few words out without sounding like a love-sick moron.

"How are you feeling this morning?" he asks. His voice is soft, full of concern.

"Um… okay, I guess, considering that I think I'm still drunk."

He doesn't pull any punches. "Bella, I'm at work, going over your chart. Your blood work just came back. You were more than drunk last night; you tested positive for methylenedioxymethamphetamine."

"Huh?"

"Amphetamines."

Wait… what?

"What?"

"You know, drugs?"

I roll my eyes even though he can't see it. "Yes, Edward, I'm aware of what amphetamines are. But I don't understand how I tested positive—I didn't take anything last night. I don't do that. Ever."

"Um, Bella…" Angela interrupts.

"Hang on a sec, Edward."

Covering the mouthpiece, I turn in her direction, noting that her face has paled. "Yes?"

"What did you drink last night?" she asks.

"I already told you, I don't remember anything beyond those first two glasses of punch. I didn't even remember shooting shitty Jäger, but Alice assures me that I did."

Alice nods enthusiastically.

"Where did you get the punch?" Angela asks.

"From the makeshift bar in Ben's kitchen. There was a punch bowl."

"Who was serving?"

"I wasn't really paying attention at that point. James, maybe? Laurent was with him, I think."

"He gave me a glass, too," Alice chimes in.

"Shit," Angela mumbles under her breath.

"What?"

"After you left, Ben found James sharing some pills with a girl. James wouldn't tell him what it was, but Ben suspected it was ecstasy."

"What!"

"Ben was so pissed. He kicked them both out. James claimed that he hadn't given it to anyone else, but obviously he lied. I'm so sorry, Bella. Damn. I can't believe I didn't put this together sooner. I'm gonna kill him!"

Anger begins to bubble up within me like a geyser. I feel like I'm about to explode, so I take a deep breath to calm myself before I speak.

"It's okay, Angela. Well, no, it's not okay." I squeeze my eyes shut for a moment, in an attempt to maintain my composure. "But it's not your fault."

Returning my attention to the phone, I resume my conversation with Edward.

"Well, Edward, I don't know if you heard any of that, but it appears that someone might have slipped me and Alice some ecstasy last night at a party."

"That would cause you to test positive for MDMA," he agrees. I imagine him nodding.

"So, what do I do about it?"

"Do?"

"What do I do to get over this? Hell, I don't even know what I'm asking." I pause and huff in exasperation. "I've never done drugs before. Can I do anything to get it out of my system quicker?"

"How do you feel now?"

"Alright, I guess. Like I have a really bad hangover."

"Do you want to press charges?" he asks.

"What do you mean?"

"Well… in situations where drugs are involved, the authorities are usually notified."

Great.

"I don't really know for sure what happened, Edward. I drank some punch at a party, but I could have gotten it from one of several people." I pause and huff dramatically. "To be honest, I don't remember anything at all from last night after arriving at that party. So, I guess not."

"Mmkay," he hums. "I just thought I'd check in. Let you know about your blood work and make sure that you were okay. You were pretty out of it last night."

You can say that again.

I sigh and nod, although I know he can't see it. What more can I say? He said it pretty succinctly. So, I hum in agreement, but after that, silence descends. And after an additional moment, it becomes a bit awkward. I don't really know what more to say. I mean, what do you say when the guy you've had a crush on for three years calls to let you know you were drugged the night before? Luckily, he breaks our silent impasse.

"Do you really not remember anything from last night?" he asks. His voice sounds strange, pinched almost, and maybe just a little bit disappointed.

"Nope," I answer resignedly. "Unfortunately—or hell, considering the information we've discovered this morning, maybe it's actually fortunate—last night is a complete and total blank."

There's a pause, and I think I hear him sigh.

"I'll check back in with you when my shift is over," he says.

His voice has softened to the gentle, concerned tone that I heard so briefly earlier before he got down to business. The sound of that silken, honeyed tone caresses me in a very intimate way; it sounds as if he's talking to a lover, and I have to admit that I like the results. A shiver of awareness runs down my spine, heat tinges my cheeks, and awareness pools in the pit of my stomach at the images that my brain is quick to project in my mind.

Of course, I don't want him to know any of that.

"Okay? Thanks." I mumble disconcertedly as I hang up the phone.

I turn to Alice and Angela with a frown.

"Well, at least we've now figured out why we have no memory of last night."

"And we've figured out most of what happened, I think," Alice adds.

"Let's hope so," I grumble. "I'm not sure that I can take any more surprises today."

Unfortunately, the uncertainty that has tied my insides into uncomfortable knots lets me know that that is a likely futile hope. And damn it! I just missed a prime opportunity to figure at least some of it out.

Edward was obviously involved in the treatment of my broken hand last night.

I should have asked him if he knew how it happened.


A/N: Hopefully you guys are getting as much of a kick from HangoverBella as I'm getting from your tales of drunken debauchery! I snorted quite a lot reading reviews last night and this morning.

At least now you know it wasn't all Bella's fault. And I'll agree with Bella… I have a feeling that there will be a few more surprises still in store for her.

HeeHee. Or maybe more appropriately, HintHint.

:)

KL