Guess who's back!
Hey guys :) Sorry I didn't upload on Wednesday - I only got back on Monday and I was just tired and caught up with post-trip family/friends meetings, but I'm back now! :D Thank you all so much for reading this story, and for being so amazing to Lu when she was uploading for me. I know that a few of you said you were going to miss her, so I may get her to make an appearance in a later chapter or two :)
Anyway, thank you all so much for the reviews and the favourites, and I hope you enjoy the rest of the story :)
Deb left my apartment later that evening. Being better than the best friend that I could ever ask for, she had decided to spend her Sunday looking after me, cheering me up, and generally distracting me from my heartache. She listened to me pour my heart out over my coffee and refilled my mug when my first one went cold; I was too busy talking to drink it, and so Deb made sure I drank the second one before the same thing happened again. And then, after we'd discussed everything in detail and Deb had given me her tough-but-still-heartfelt advice ("Kurt sounds like a bit of a jerk for leaving you again, but I know how much you two loved each other… And quite frankly he's missing out if he doesn't come back to you"), she let me cuddle up to her as we watched daytime TV in the afternoon, the two of us shouting at episodes of Jerry Springer. We pigged out on takeaway pizza together until we swore that neither of us would ever need to eat again, and washed it all down with a glass of wine or two each.
By the time ten pm rolled around, I'd fallen asleep across Deb's lap part-way through watching Four Weddings and a Funeral and she woke me up with a nudge.
"I'm going to head home now, sweetie," she told me softly, patting my hair affectionately as I woke up, "It's getting late and I have work tomorrow." I sat up slowly as I woke up and turned to see Deb smiling affectionately at me. "You're so cute when you're sleepy," she teased as I rubbed my eyes with the back of my hand and yawned.
"Sh'up, Deb," I mumbled with a grin. She laughed and stood from the sofa, pulling me up with her. I watched sleepily as her gaze rose to my curls, and with an amused 'tut' she smoothed them out with her hand. I dodged out from under her touch like a child, crossing my arms over my head to protect my hair with a pout.
"Sorry, sorry; I know you hate me touching your hair," Deb teased, giggling at my childish behaviour, and I struggled to hide my own grin, "I won't do it again, I promise." She extended her arms to me, beckoning me with a wiggle of her fingers. "Come on, give me a hug; I gotta go." With a playfully wary inspection of her, I finally took a step forward and allowed her to wrap her arms around my shoulders, my own hands finding their place on her back to return the hug. "Are you feeling better?" she asked into my hair, squeezing my shoulders affectionately at the same time. I nodded against her shoulder.
"Yeah, a bit," I told her honestly, because even though my chest was still aching with missing Kurt, the ache wasn't as strong anymore, "Thanks, Deb."
"No problem, hun," her hold on me tightened for a few seconds before she pulled away, holding me at arm's length and looking me straight in the eye, "If you need me at any point, you call me, okay? Even if it's slap bang in the middle of my work shift, I don't care; I'll drop anything and everything for you, B." I nodded in acknowledgement as Deb became blurry in front of me. I roughly wiped my eyes on the back of my sleeve, and when I looked up I couldn't help the embarrassed titter of laughter that escaped me when I saw Deb's bottom lip threatening to tremble, her eyes glistening. We both laughed then at the state we'd gotten ourselves into and shared another hug before I walked Deb to the door, promising that if I needed her I would call her as soon as possible.
Shutting the door behind me once Deb had disappeared down the corridor I turned back into my apartment with a sigh. My eyes drifted to the pizza boxes and wine glasses still on the coffee table and I begrudgingly dragged my feet over to them to tidy up. All I wanted to do was go to bed and continue my sleep, a vague idea forming in my head that I would go back to work the next day. I was just putting the wine glasses away after washing them when there was a knocking at the door. I started wondering what Deb could possibly have left behind, my eyes scanning my apartment as I made my way to the door.
When my hand closed around the metal of the handle, I was only expecting to find my best friend stood there, probably panting from running back up the stairs after realising she had left whatever it was she'd come back for. What I wasn't expecting, however, was what met my eyes when I pulled open the door.
Kurt.