Stephanie's POV
7
The Cure
I had the mother of all hangovers. I've always been a light drinker, but I'd never known two Painkillers could make me so drunk I'd literally be falling on my ass. On top of that, Ana, Wolf, and Frost didn't do much to discourage me, I vaguely remembered, having only the feeling of a memory, and the phrase, "Damn, girl, you need to lighten up. This is Vegas; if you wanna have some fun, no one will hold it against you - or even remember it in the morning!" stuck in my head. But I was definitely going to remember last night. Or, at least, the parts of last night I could remember, I always would. And glancing over at my company, I figured so would the coyote ugly man in my bed, as well.
Getting out of bed was one of the hardest things I'd ever done, and I cussed the entire time. Or, I would have, if it wasn't so painful.
I stumbled out of the bedroom I'd placed all my things in the day before, and padded into the kitchen, moaning. I dropped my head down onto the counter, ignoring the awkward position, and wishing the dwarf that had taken up residence in my head would go mine for jewels elsewhere. Disney didn't have much a place in my life at the moment. Ana groaned from where she was curled up in a fetal position, face down on a pillow, one arm wrapped around her stomach, the other thrown over the back of her head. We both lifted our heads meagerly when the door eased open, but dropped them back when we were assured it was just Superman, and not some psycho. Frost chuckled from where he stood in the doorway.
"Don't worry, I don't have a mega-phone this time," He said, far too fucking cheerful for god knows what hour, and I still felt like shit.
Ana hoisted a gun at him, and even though her aim was terribly off, I still hoped she'd shoot him. Then he added, "I brought The Cure!" and I liked him again.
When I first met Alexander Frost, my very first superhero, in my third quarter of my second year of college, I was sitting in the center of an area in the back of the college campus that usually had a very Zen feel, cussing myself out and worrying about quarter's end exams. He had been in the Navy Seals for three years, and directed me through the projects like a dream, without really doing a thing. He was ripped, extremely intelligent, and while he reminded me more of Kryptonite for all his dog-like happiness, I immediately began calling him Superman. The Cure was something he had given to me early on in our friendship, an intangible gift of sorts that made me realized he would be one of those people I always returned to. I can still remember the exact conversation we had, jewel digging elf in my brain aside.
We had been snuggled up in my warm bed, sharing our thoughts on the world, and being pretty damn philosophical for so early in the morning, and especially with such terribly headaches. We hadn't done anything, just slept side by side, but it created a comrade that I quickly chucked out the window when he finally threw the off blankets and pulled me out the door. "Why?" I shrieked, not wanting to do anything but swallow a whole container of Tylenol and sleep for a week.
"Relax, Princess. I'm taking you to get The Cure."
"The what, now?" I gasped.
"You know, The Cure. All us superheroes grab it when we spend too long partying with you mere mortals." He explained, and then, laughing, added, "It was something one of my friends in the navy showed me when we'd gotten drunk off our asses one night and were way too royally hammered to make role call the next morning. Trust me, Princess, you definitely don't want to know what it's like to have your CO yelling at you at five in the morning with a raging hangover. So, we came up with The Cure. Well, my buddy did. Works like a charm in a few hours."
"Ok. . . ." I moaned, wanted nothing more than for him to shut the hell up. "So what is this 'Cure?'"
He grinned. "Watch and wait, Princess. I know it's not your strong suit, but watch and wait."
He went to McDonalds, of all places. Ordered two fries, and two cokes, and we sat on the hood of his car in silence, just two people becoming friends without really needing to get to know each other, because we already did, on some level. If he didn't remind me so much of a puppy dog, or a big brother, I would have married him at that moment, sitting on the hood of his car, drinking soda and eating fries, and watching the way the leaves made weird shadows on the ground.
After eating the fries and slurping down the soda, and getting all philosophical again about the trees, Alex stood, and held his hand out to me"That wasn't the entire Cure, Princess!" He laughed. "We're only getting started!"
It turned out, he'd hired his cousin Amana, who would quickly become another of my closest friends, to drive beside us at 20 miles per hour. Why? Because we would be running at that pace. For ten miles. And Ana was going to blow her whistle at me every time I fell behind; playing merry hell on my hangover. I didn't like him anymore.
Sometime between when we'd gotten to my apartment to change, and when we got outside, the sky had turned a pale green color, and the wind was whipping at my hair so hard I could feel it pounding at my back like a rude visitor at my door. "Oh, well! Looks like we can't run today!" I started, and began to bounce backwards into my door, when Alex reached behind himself, and caught me by my elbow.
"Frankly, Princess, I don't give a damn what the weathers like. Run." And so we did. We ran for ten miles, and the entire time he chattered beside me, eventually even getting me to wheeze out a few answers to all the questions he was asking. And then I realized that for all the talking, I could run easier, since it distracted me from the pain in my legs, and my head. And by the time we had gotten back to my apartment building, ten miles and 35 minutes later, I had more energy than ever before, even if sweat was pouring down my back, and dripping between my breasts. Alex seemed to enjoy that last part. Plucking my tee shirt away from my chest, he managed to sneak a quick glance before I pushed him away gently. "You know, you're much better company on a run than my buddies. . ." he started, and I burst into laughter.
"Nice try, Superman. But no cigar."
As I was walking up the steps, I heard Alex, now Superman, mutter under his breath, "It wasn't a cigar I was after, Princess."
