Tavastia was a bit of a half-curse. She enjoyed getting to spend time with Ville even if she didn't remember any specific details, yet she hated the scene that unraveled before her eyes. With her hands on her hips, she surveyed the living area, slowly shaking her head in disapproval. The boys were sprawled all over. Novak lay spread-eagled on the dining table, Dunn was curled up into a ball on the living room floor, Burton and Gas lay side by side on the couch. She looked around and noticed something was out of place. If his cronies were here where was the King Jackass? As soon as she stepped into the kitchen her question was answered.

Bam laid on the kitchen counter with one leg dangling off the edge lifelessly, mouth emitting ear-splitting snores. He grunted in his sleep and turned over on his side. Keeping to the truce, she simply scoffed and ignored him, fighting her primal instincts that told her to push him off or worse. Scratching her head and with a big yawn, she turned on the coffee maker tapping her fingers on the counter as she waited. The air was soon filled with the strong, delicious scent. Warming her hands with the mug, she slowly made her way back to the only part of the flat not filled with drunken idiots; minus Burton and Gas. She had grown fond of the boys. They were gentlemen and relaxing to be around from the little time she'd been around them.

With a renewed sense of vigor, she set down her cup and began making her bed and laid out the day's clothes before hopping in the shower. The steaming hot shower further relaxed her making her forget about the clowns sprawled out downstairs. They'd leave sooner or later. It wasn't worth getting riled up over.

He yawned and stretched his arms, losing his balance and landing on the cold ceramic floor with a resounding thud. Bam groaned in pain and muttered a few curses. He slowly got up from the floor, rubbing his back when his whereabouts dawned on him. He smiled inwardly, surprised that she hadn't yelled at the sight of them. Pushing her buttons was going to be harder than originally thought. Passing the dining table he pushed Novak off, feeling he deserved the same unpleasant wake up.

"You're such a dick," Novak grumbled.

"I know," Bam said as he did his infamous air wave.

Novak perked up at the sound of the running shower upstairs. Bam smiled mischievously. He put a finger to his lips and motioned Novak to stay put as he bounded up the stairs. Without missing a step he turned the knob and swaggered into the bathroom undoing his fly. She shrieked at the intrusion and peeked her head out of the shower door. He smiled as he looked over his shoulder his aim closely missing the bowl. She glared at him, at a loss for words.

"Good morning, woman."

"Mornin'," she strained to remain in the shower. "Care to tell me why you're relieving yourself while I shower?"

"You prefer me to take a piss in your sink?"

She scoffed and shut the shower door. He finished his business, not bothering to flush or wash his hands. Without a second thought he commandeered the towels as he stepped out and shut the door. He called out to Novak from upstairs, leaning over the railing and twirling the towel. Novak's eyes lit up.

"This is your chance to see nipple," Bam half-laughed as he handed him the towel. "Don't fuck it up."

She stepped out of the shower and instinctively grabbed for the towel that, to her dismay, had mysteriously disappeared. She rolled her eyes and growled in frustration. So the games were still on. She remembered his pathetic attempts to make her lose her cool when a scheme flourished in her head. He wanted to play games so that's exactly what she'd give him.

To Novak's satisfaction the bathroom door flew open, revealing a very naked and very wet figure. She flashed a brilliant smile as she stepped towards him, taking the towel from his limp hand. At her warm touch he was suddenly aware of the restrictions of his pants. He tried to open his mouth, but found himself incapable. She towel-dried her hair and instead of wrapping it around her slender frame she let it fall to the floor. She smiled again as she descended the stairs finding herself in front of four males.

Not letting her sudden awareness of her lack of clothing perturb her and send running back up the stairs, she made her way to the kitchen and nonchalantly opened the refrigerator door. Bam had followed her like a zombie. She looked back over her shoulder and smiled. His expression was indecipherable.

"Want breakfast?"

Silence.

"Hello?" she waved a hand in front of his face.

He slowly snapped out of it.

"Want some breakfast?"

He nodded his head dumbly.

"Grab whatever you want. Mi casa es su casa," she shivered at the coldness of the fridge. "I gotta get dressed. Stay as long as you like."

She left the kitchen, leaving Bam to sort out his thoughts. Burton and Gas covered their eyes as she came into view the second time around while Dunn stared at her unabashedly. She smiled and repeated the same hospitable words to him.

"Thanks for the apology once again," she pressed against him as she hugged him. "I really appreciate it. No harm, no foul."

There was a loud crash from behind her. She turned around, horrified as she registered what was taking place. Ville stood only a few paces away from her, cigarette loosely held in his mouth, the contents of the grocery bags scattered all around him. She let out an involuntary shriek and tried to cover herself up as best she could. Ville's cheeks went red and he hurriedly took off his jacket and wrapped it around her.

He silently ushered her up the stairs and ordered Novak to join Bam downstairs. As soon as he was out of sight Ella crashed down on the bed and yelled into her pillow. Ville rubbed his temple as he shook his head. He still hadn't completely processed what had just taken place. There must be an explanation. He took out his lighter with an unsteady hand and lit his cigarette calmly sitting beside her on the bed. She slowly revealed her now flushed face and smiled nervously.

"Was that as bad as it looked?"

He laughed uneasily, taking a drag.

"I take that as a 'yes'."

He unconsciously patted her thigh in assurance only to remove it immediately once he registered the inappropriateness of the gesture.

"Get dressed," he muttered softly.

He got up from the bed and ran a hand through his hair. She only nodded, not daring to meet his eyes. He went down the stairs, shaking his head and was met with a rare sight: a dumbstruck Bam.

"Don't ask, BamBam," he brushed him off. "Don't ask. Will you guys please go up to my flat? I'll meet you later. Ella and I have business to attend to."

Novak took a sharp breath in, indicating Ella was in trouble when Bam pulled him by the collar out of the flat followed by a silent Dunn. Burton and Gas quietly said their good-byes and shut the door on their way out. The silence was excruciating. He was now left to his own thoughts and could not escape them. What was going through her head that made her do such a thing, he did not want to know. He put out his cigarette in the nearby ashtray. What bothered him the most was how much the incident was affecting him.

They were all his friends. Obviously, nothing was going on between [i]any[/i] of them and Ella, but the thought of them seeing her made him want to tear his hair out. Jealousy wasn't a feeling he wanted to deal with, much less admit, but there it was, beginning to fester inside of him. She was her own person and could do as she pleased, he tried telling himself, but it fell on deaf ears. The self-doubt and anger won out as he felt his heart swell in his chest, on the verge of bursting. He took a deep breath in as he heard her approach from behind stopping short of the couch. He regained his composure as quickly as he could before turning around to face her. Ville forced a smile as he met her gaze.

"Iiivari called," he said brightly. "Seems you have an unfinished degree you need to attend to and I'm here to make sure that it is taken care of."

She began to protest, but he cut her off.

"There's no use arguing. A taxi's waiting outside," he grabbed her wrist and pulled her along. "Let's go. We don't have all day."

She began to protest once again, but instead of giving her his usual sympathetic warm smile he walked on, not bothering to utter one comforting word afraid if he opened his mouth once more he might lose his self-imposed control.