Two Weeks… That's how long Wren's been ignoring me. Lunch times were even more awkward since the table had to pick sides.
I got Alex and Jenna, a general surgeon.
Wren got Kate and Laurel, an oncologist.
Jess and Sam stayed neutral throughout all of this. Wren was as much a part of their lives as I was. Sam and Wren hung out and talked about sports as much as Jess and I went shopping together and talked about art.
The first few days my schedule was completely off morning traffic was hell. On the plus side I got my carbo-loaded breakfasts back. They didn't taste as good as I remembered.
"Nora, are you listening?" Jenna asked.
"Uh, sorry zoned out." I said.
"We're going out for drinks later, want to come with?" Alex asked.
"Sounds fun but I can't, not twenty one yet." I said.
"Oh right. I keep forgetting." Jenna said.
"That's alright, we can go out for dinner or something." Alex offered.
"Thanks but I think I'm going to just go home. Haven't been sleeping great." I said and at that moment my pager started beeping.
"Got to go." I said grabbing my plate and going to throw it out. I saw Wren also stand up. I got out of there as fast as I could.
I walked over to the ER and noticed that Wren still wasn't there. I put on a gown and waited in the ambulance bay.
The patient had head trauma and internal bleeding. I called in for a neuro consult and you'd never guess who they sent.
"You asked for neuro consult." Kate said.
"Yeah, six car pile up, he has a nicked aorta I have to get in there and fix but I need to make sure that laceration isn't anything more serious." I said.
She got out her light and checked his pupillary responses. "Uneven pupils, I need a CT" Just before the machines started beeping rapidly.
"We don't have time, I have to get in there now." I said.
"H could hemorrhage." Kate argued.
"Then you better head up there, we operate at the same time." I said moving him out.
Two Hours Into Surgery Later-
"The tear's worse than I thought. It's a miracle he's still alive." I said.
"Guess he'll think twice before texting and driving." Kate said.
"Uhuh." I said stitching the heart.
"I wanted to thank you for giving us space." Kate started.
"Kate I'm in the middle of stitching a guys heart back together can you talk later." I said shutting her up. All the nurses and the anesthesiologist just looked at us shocked. I placed another stitch before she started talking again.
"We're really happy and Wren's really enjoying the space you're giving us." She said.
"Good for him," I said putting in another stitch.
"We're actually looking for a new place…" She said.
"Kate, unless you need to difribulate the guy I'd really appreciate it if you didn't talk, I need to focus." I said politely, giving her a stern look.
That shut everyone in the room up. I placed the last stitch and I was done.
"You can take him off bypass. I'm done. Just need to restart his heart." I said. The machine was turned off and I gently massaged the heart until it started beating on its own.
"You did it Doctor Martell." Ben the anesthesiologist said.
"He's not out of the woods yet. Ames did you scrub in?" I asked the resident working with me today.
"Yes, Doctor Martell." He answered.
"Good, can you close up?" I asked.
"Yeah, I mean yes ma'am." He said taking a step forward.
"You're letting a resident close up?" Kate asked.
"Yeah, he's done it before and I'm here to help if he needs it." I said reassuring him.
"The patient's in critical condition." Kate argued.
"Part of our job is to teach. How else will he learn? That's how Wren taught me." I said before I handed the forceps to Ames.
Ames was a bit shaky but after he got into it he closed perfectly. His stitches were neatly done and evenly apart.
"Nicely done, can you go get me his file?" I asked.
"Yes ma'am." He said before leaving.
"I'm done closing." Kate said. Ames came back with the file I read through his personal information before going to notify the family.
After we told them the good news and we got hugged I left to look over the patient's lab and to do my rounds. I was in the cafeteria getting some coffee when I over heard Kate talking to Laurel.
"How was surgery?" Laurel asked.
"I got stuck working with her…" She said with distain.
"Oh, how bad was it."
"I tried talking to her to see how she'd react and she just ignored me. And when she finally did talk she made me look unprofessional." Kate complained.
"I told you to send someone else down there." Laurel told her.
"UH, I was here first, the brat should be the one to leave." Kate complained. I had had enough I walked in and grabbed a cup of coffee before heading upstairs to the lounge room.
I pulled my phone out and texted Jess.
I just got out of a ten-hour surgery with Kate.
Jess texted back:
I'm sorry. Are you heading home?
I sighed:
No still have to finish a few post op notes and update the charts.
Jess sent me a frowning face before she replied.
Girls' night out tomorrow? My treat.
That made me smile I had the next two days off.
Sure what do I wear?
Jess replied right away:
Whatever you feel comfortable getting drunk in.
The Next Day-
I got dressed in a flowy satin dark olive tank top with black skinny jeans and mauve ankle boots. I wore my arc reactor necklace and my pocket watch necklace. I wore stud diamond earrings along with it.
I grabbed my clutch and drove to Jess and Sam's house. We were taking a cab to the bar so I parked the Audi in the driveway and got out of the car.
I used my key and walked in.
"Hello?" I greeted.
"I'm almost out Nora." Jess called out.
"Okay." I said sitting down and checking my phone. No messages and no emails.
Jess came out a minute later in a tight fitting red peplum top with black jeans and knee high leather books. He blonde hair was parted to the side and let down.
"I'm ready." She said.
"I'll call an uber." I said.
Twenty minutes later we were at a bar. We met up with some other friends and the drinks started coming. I had brought my fake ID but either way Jess was paying for all my drinks. I told her she didn't need to and she said it was time I let her spoil me for once.
Six shots of tequila later I got talkative.
"You want to know what the worst part of Wren ignoring me is?" I said slurring a bit.
"You and Wren aren't talking?" Allison, a girl from my up and coming app developers club asked. "But you two are couple goals." She whined.
"We're not dating, we're just friends, or were until that bitch got jealous and him being a jackass decided to ignore me. I though we were family." I said starting to get teary eyed. Jess saw and handed me another shot.
Then my phone started ringing it was Dad.
"OOOOhhh my Daddy's on the phone!" I exclaimed. "SHHHH!"
"Dadsters." I greeted.
"Uh hey, you busy?" Dad asked.
"For you? Never…" I said elongating that last vowel.
"So I know we've been having a tough time keeping our promise of staying in touch and I know you were upset I had to leave early…" Dad started.
"It's okay Dad, I'm used to every guy in my life not sticking around. Dean didn't stay, You can't stay longer than two days, Wren cant stick around… Hey Jess when's Sam leaving me?" I called out.
"Nora…." Jess getting a bit emotional and grabbing more shots.
"Kid please." Dad started.
"It's okay Dad I still love you. Oh shots, bye bye."
"Nora do…" I heard Dad say before I hung up.
I drank a bit of water and sobered up a bit.
"Why does this keep happening to me?" I ask Jess.
"Sweetie it's not you, It's Wren. He's a moron that's only thinking with his dick." Jess said.
"What did Sam say?" I asked. "How is he? Is he sleeping enough?" No matter how much of a tough front Wren puts on his time in Afghanistan did mess with his mind. There were times I would go downstairs for a glass of water in the middle of the night and I'd find him staring at his tags.
"Nora, I don't know." Jess answered
"You know I never realized how big a part of my day he was until he started ignoring me? Carbo-loaded breakfasts don't taste good anymore" I said frowning.
"Nora it's okay you miss him. You guys were best friends." Jess said.
"No he wasn't you're my best friend." I said.
"You can have more than one best friend." Jess said.
"Okay but you're the OG best friend." I compromised.
"Of course." Jess said smiling.
"Excuse me ladies but the gentleman at the bar asked me to bring you these over." Our waitress said putting the drinks in front of us.
We looked over at the bar and saw a man dressed in a black suit with a white dress shirt. He was what every girl would define as tall dark and handsome.
"Wow he's hot." Melissa, one of Jess' coworkers said.
"Bucky was hotter and Steve definitely still is." I muttered which only Jess heard making her laugh.
"He's looking right at you Nora." Jess said.
"What? No he's not." I said.
"Really?" Jess said. "Look at him and raise your glass in his direction."
"What? Why?" I asked.
"Just do it." Jess said. I sighed but did as she said anyways.
The stranger smiled and lifted his glass in my direction.
"Oh." I said.
"Yeah that happened." Jess said with a giant smile. I looked over and the guy decided to walk over to us.
"Jess he's coming over here." I said patting her arm. "He's coming over here right now."
"Oh wow, he's into you." Jess said.
"What? Why? How do I make him not into me" I whispered harshly but she didn't answer.
"Hello Ladies" He said in a British accent. Oh great, now I was thinking about Wren again.
"Hi." I said awkwardly.
"I wanted to come over and introduce myself properly. I'm Aidan Mathis." He said putting his hand out for a handshake.
"Jessica Moore." My best friend said running interference. This is why we're friends. He politely greeted her but his attention was mostly focused on me.
"Nora Martell." I said.
"Pleasure." He said. I couldn't lie he was hot but I wasn't available.
"So what are you ladies celebrating?" Aiden asked.
"The end of a very long and stressful week." Jess answered.
"What would you two have to be stressed about?" He said.
"Work." I said.
"Work and kid." Jess said taking a sip of her drink.
"Working with my former best friend that's ignoring me because the girl I set him up with is insecure." I answered.
"My best mate slept with my fiancé." Aiden said.
"ooooh" Jess and I said at the same time.
"Sorry." I said.
"It's better this way. Imagine she had cheated on me ten years down the line when we had kids." He said taking a drink.
"Do we know how to pick em or what?" I said.
"Well fuck em, to new friends." Aidan toasted.
"To new friends" we all toasted. After that the night got really fuzzy. I remember we drank some more but then nothing.
I woke up in the guest room of Jess and Sam's house. Jess was lying next to me passed out. I tried to sit up but I was really dizzy. When I finally managed to sit up I saw a glass of water and some aspirin on the bedside table. I took them and finished the glass. I got up and walked over to the living room. Sam was on the floor all of his notes spread out.
"Morning sunshine." Sam greeted.
"Uh too loud." I groaned rubbing my temples. "Any reason I woke up with your wife hugging onto me like her life depended on it?"
"You're her cuddle monkey. At least you were last night." Sam said.
I looked at the couch and saw my clutch. I walked over and grabbed it. I opened it and looked for my phone but it wasn't there.
"Sam have you seen my phone?" I asked.
"It's not in there?"
"No"
"You didn't have it with you last night." Sam said
"Shit." I groaned.
"Relax I'll call it and see if someone found it." Sam said. He took out his phone and dialed it.
"Hello…Oh yes my friend was at the bar last night and she must've forgotten it. Uhuh.. okay thank you." Sam said before hanging up. "A waitress at the bar found it. You can pick it up later."
"Great, that's one less thing to worry about. I have no idea what happened last night. We had drinks. Some guy, Alex or Adam, I think, bought us all a round. We talked about best friends back stabbing us then the night got fuzzy." I said.
"Nora…" Sam started.
"I was drunk and I'm wounded. I think I might have implied to my Dad I have abandonment issues. Man I fucked up. Least I didn't call Wren." I said.
"Yeah that's a plus." Sam said.
"I should get going. I have amends to make and it might take a while." I said.
"Are you sure you're okay to drive?" He asked.
"I'm fine. Just going to pick up my phone then go home." I said.
"Okay but call me when you get there please."
"Course. Bye Sammy." I said hugging him.
I got in my car and drove to the bar first. I couldn't shake the feeling that I was being watched.
Third Person's POV-
Ever since Wren had moved out of the ranch his nightmares had come back full force. It's not to say that before he left the dreams were nonexistent. No he had nightmares the only difference, he was at home and he recognized where he was.
The first time it happened Kate was woken up by him tossing and turning. When she tried to wake him up Wren pushed her off the bed. He was startled. He didn't remember the last time it had been that bad.
Now he waited until she fell asleep and then snick out of the room to sleep on the couch except he couldn't sleep.
It was during one of these sleepless nights that his phone started ringing.
The number was unknown and he was temped to send it to voice mail but for some reason he felt the need to answer it.
"Hello?" Wren greeted.
"Miss me?" A familiar voice said.
"Who is this? How did you get this number?" Wren said.
"I have my ways."
"What do you want?" Wren asked angrily.
"I want a lot of things Wren but the thing I want the most is to watch this life you've made for yourself crumble."
"This is between you and me." Wren answered.
"It was until you killed her. I'll see you around." And the call cut off.
This was bad. Everything Wren had run away from was coming back to bite him in the ass.
Third Person's POV- Sam and Jess' House
Jess woke up to the smell of coffee. She got up with a groan and padded softly to the kitchen.
"Morning sleepyhead." Sam greeted.
"Morning, Where's Nora?"
"You mean your cuddle monkey?" Sam asked with a smirk. "She went home. Said she had to make amends."
"Yeah she does. Last night while we were at the bar her dad called and she kind of went off on him" Jess said.
"Oh, that's bad."
"She cut him off by saying 'Ooooh shots'" Jess said. "How's Wren?"
"He says he's okay but he looks like he hasn't been sleeping. He started gaining weight. Apparently Kate can't cook to save her life and he's been living off take out." Sam said.
"They're both so damn stubborn." Jess said.
"Mhm."
"And oblivious" Jess said.
"They are." Sam said as he worked on his essay.
"They're miserable." Jess stated.
"I've noticed" Sam said.
"We need to get them back together don't we?" Jess said.
"Looks that way." Sam said looking at her.
Nora's POV-
After I got home from the bar I left my phone charging and crashed on the couch. I woke up to Axl barking and licking my face trying to get me to wake up and my phone ringing.
I groaned but picked it up.
"Hello..." I groaned.
"About time you answered." Dad said.
"Dad not really a good time." I said starting to feel queasy.
"What the hell is going on with you?" dad said.
"My best friend's ignoring me because apparently I'm in the way of his happiness. I've had a long week, Jess decided it was time for a girls night out we got hammered and I passed out at Jess and Sam's place." I said.
"You and Wren broke up?" Dad said.
"We weren't dating!" I said angrily.
"Okay okay, sheesh. Need me to come down there?" Dad offered.
"It's okay. I have the graveyard shift tomorrow so I'll be okay." I said.
"You don't sound okay?" Dad said.
"That would be the alcohol punishing me." I said starting to feel my stomach churn. "I gotta go," I said hanging up and running to the bathroom
Three hours later I finally managed to eat a bit and the hangover was starting to die down. I was on the couch watching reruns of How I Met Your Mother when Axl stood up suddenly on alert.
"Buddy?" I said Axl jumped off the couch and ran to the front door.
I stood up and followed him to the door. The door opened and Dad walked in.
"Hey kid," Dad said walking in.
"Hi Dad." I said.
"What no hug for your old man?" He said.
"Uh yeah sorry just wasn't expecting you show up." I said walking over to hug him.
"I wasn't but last minute things came up and I figure while I was in the area I'd stop by." He said.
"Well come in." I said. We walked into the living room and sat down.
"How're you feeling?" dad asked.
"Better. I managed to eat something, showered. It's good."
"That's good. So Wren…"
"No." I said.
"What no?"
"No we're not talking about it" I said.
"You sure cuz.."
"Not talking about it." I said ending the conversation.
"Okay, how's work?" dad asked.
"Work's good. I literally put a guys heart back together two days ago." I said smiling.
"Wow… And here I was about to brag about Jarvis' new upgrade." Dad said.
"I got the beta results back from Harvard and MIT." I said. "It did good. A couple of glitches to fix but it's pretty much done."
"What now?" dad asked.
"I don't know, sell it?" I asked.
"I could scout around see if I could get you any potential buyers?" dad offered.
"You mean wait two weeks come up with some unknown mystery buyer and it turns out to be you and Stark Industries?" I asked.
"Would that be so bad? It's your company too, my legacy for you." Dad said.
"Dad it just doesn't feel right. It feels like I'm taking the easy way out," I said.
"It's a business deal, it's all about who you know and you just happen to know me." Dad said.
"I'm not even done perfecting it. You don't even know if its worth investing in." I said.
"I've hacked your system I know what it is and what it can do." Dad said. "And I also know what you're capable of. So just think about it. The first step towards you taking on the family legacy."
"What's with you and the word legacy?" I asked.
"Pepper and I have been talking and she asked what happens if I were to um… kick the bucket. And I've been thinking that there's only one person I would trust to take up the mantle." Dad said.
"What mantle?" I said I said nervous as two where this was going.
"CEO of Stark Industries and all of its subsidiaries" dad said casually.
"Oh wow that's um wow." I said shocked.
"It's just a contingency. And I'm not saying that I want you to drop everything and take over, I'm just saying that if I die you'd inherit a couple billion and a fortune five hundred company." Dad said.
"Um, why did Pepper mention this?" I asked.
"I'm Iron Man, I've had a lot of near death experiences in the past couple of years and she reminded me it was time to update my will." Dad said giving me the chills.
"This conversation just got really morbid." I said.
"Yeah you didn't want to talk about…" I gave him a glare. "Voldemort so I went with the first thing that popped into my head."
"That's not what I was expecting." I said.
"I shouldn't have said anything."
"Yeah really shouldn't have. That's a conversation you have over drinks." I said.
"Speaking of How did you get drinks at a bar if you aren't twenty one yet?" Dad said. Oh shit busted.
"Jess ordered and payed for them. Plus I look older than my actual age." I said.
"You didn't wear a low cut top did you?" He said. This man knows every trick in the book.
"Not really?" I said. It had a low cut back…
"Uhuh, just be careful and don't do anything I wouldn't do." He said. "Actually scratch that don't do anything I would do… There's that tiny grey area and that's where you need to stay."
I couldn't help but laugh at that. "I'll try." I said.
"You been driving the Audi?" Dad asked. I knew he had seen it when he came in.
"Yeah, I even got a speeding ticket last week." I said.
"I don't think I've ever been prouder," he said joking around.
"So when's you're business meeting?" I said remembering his excuse.
"Oh it just ended." He said.
"Seriously?" I said.
"What I was worried?" He said.
"I'm sorry." I said.
"What are you apologizing for?" Dad asked.
"Last night" I said.
"I thought you said you didn't remember last night?"
"I remember everything up until some guy bought the entire table a round of drinks." I clarified.
"A stranger bought you guys drinks and you don't remember anything?" Dad said.
"Yeah, tequila is insane." I said.
"You mixed drinks didn't you?" Dad said.
"Kind of…" I said.
"Did you at least drink a bit of water?"
"I had a glass at some point."
"Even when you're drunk you're responsible." Dad said.
"Yeah, just can't seem to turn my brain off."
"I can tell when was the last time you got a good night's sleep?"
"Around the same time you did." I said giving him a look.
"Touché. You up for some lab time?" dad asked.
"Have to get at least six hours of sleep so I got a couple of hours to kill." I said.
An almost all nighter later I had finished the updates to the app and had helped dad with the operating system updates for the Iron Legion. By four am I crashed on the futon.
I woke up to the smell of coffee and a mug being placed in front of me.
"Morning." Dad said.
"Morning" I said yawning. "Did you sleep at all?"
"I can sleep on the plane ride back. Let's go out for breakfast." He said
"You have time?"
"I'll make time." Dad said with a smirk.
Dad and I had breakfast at a diner we went to when we didn't feel like driving all the way into town. No one ever looked our way because they all had places to be. It was run by an elderly couple who lived behind the building. We ordered our usuals and then we were quiet.
"So you said last night you remembered our call…" Dad started.
"I do and I'm sorry, I was drunk and…
"Kid it's okay, you were right." Dad said.
"Dad I didn't mean any of it."
"Yeah you did." Dad said "It's okay. I haven't really been around."
"I haven't exactly made it easy for you." I said sadly.
"You're the kid, it's not you're job to make it easy on me." Dad said. "Plus you're a surgeon. You're schedule's all over the place."
"That's not what I meant." I said giving him a sad smile.
"We had good run didn't we? One month where we saw each other everyday." He said.
"Never got any work done though." I retorted.
"Did we? I saw your score, one hundred percent correct." Dad said.
"Would have been a waste of tuition if I hadn't." I answered.
"Point is we bit off more than we could chew." Dad said.
"Daily text messages, bi weekly video calls and bi monthly visits." I said.
"We text once a week and when we call one of us is always busy." Dad said.
"Visits are a nightmare to plan. How the hell did you even manage this?" I asked.
"Like I told you. I had a business meeting." Dad said.
"You're not even CEO anymore."
"Side project, not the point." Dad said. "Point is we can't just negotiate terms to how we're going to get along?"
"Then what do we do? Wing it?" I said.
"I think that's our only choice its that or going back to the Christmas-birthday schedule."
"That schedule sucked." I said.
"It does, missed all the big milestones."
"You missed everything and you turned into someone I hated." I said.
"You hated me?"
"You were an inconsiderate self centered narcissist that showed up drunk and left after he got bored." I said.
"Right, the good old days."
"The days before the flying suit of armor." I said thinking back to how different things could be.
"You ever wonder what our lives would be like if I never became Iron Man?" dad asked.
"We probably wouldn't talk to each other." I said.
"What why not?"
"You really think we would have made up if it wasn't for the fact you saw the error of your ways and rethought your life?"
"Yeah, we'd still be fighting."
We were quiet until I sighed.
"I don't want to back to that." I said.
"Neither do I." He said.
"So winging it, we call and text, we answer when we can and visit when we have a chance." I said.
"Christmas and your Birthday and still guaranteed."
"Sounds like we don't really have much of a choice."
"There's still the nuclear option." Dad offered.
'Don't even think about it!' Aya's voice echoed in my head.
"Still not ready for that." I answered.
"Okay then." Dad said. He looked down at his watch and grimaced. "I have to head back."
"I have to get ready for work." I said.
"I'll drop you off at the house."
September 2013-
It was my first night off since girls' night and Jess wanted to go out for dinner. I got dressed in a white peplum top with studs along the sleeves and the scoop neckline. I wore black faux leather pants and I paired it with short-heeled black boots.
I got to Jess and Sam's house and walked inside.
"I'm here." I called out.
"Be out in a sec." Jess called out. Jess came out a minute later wearing dark wash jeans and an orange halter-top. "Let's go," She said.
We got to the bar and apparently Jess had made reservations. The bar was packed. We walked around the tables until we got to a booth where Sam and Wren were sitting.
"What the hell Sam?" I heard Wren say.
"Seriously Jess?" I asked.
"Both of you sit the hell down." Jess said sternly.
Wren and I just looked at her.
"Now!" She said.
"You heard her." Sam said.
I rolled my eyes but sat down anyway.
"This is an intervention." Sam said.
"Really?" Wren said.
"Yes, we've had enough. You're both friends and despite the way you're acting we know you both still care about each other." Jess said.
"That doesn't matter." I said. "Wren made his choice."
"And I stand by it. I was doing fine until you came along." Wren said.
"So was I."
"No you weren't" Sam said. "Nora you essentially lived in front of a computer. The only connection to the outside world was us and half the time we had to force you to meet us."
"Wren you never gave anyone a chance and scared everyone away by being angry or just a grade a douche. If it wasn't for the fact that Nora talk you out of it you would have signed up for another two years in Afghanistan where you would have stayed until they wouldn't take you back any more or worse." Jess cried out.
"We don't care what you to think but from we could see you two need each other and we're not going anywhere until you both work it out." Sam said.
"We're tired of being the middle man and we're tired of separate visitation schedules. So get off your damn high horses and work it out." Jess said giving us each a pointed look.
"How are you all doing?" The waitress said just as Jess and Sam finished their scolding. "What can I get you all started with?"
"An order of wings, some Nachos and two Irish car bombs." Jess said.
"You're drinking?" I said.
"No those are for you two. You're both incapable of talking about the way you truly feel unless you're drunk so drink away and don't even think about saying you have work because you both said you had tomorrow off." Sam said the waitress came back and put the food in front of us and handed us our drinks.
I took the shot in my hand and was about to drunk it but stopped when Wren talked to me for the first time in over a month.
"You're going along with this?" He said.
"No I'm going to drink until I either pass out or stop caring you're here." I said before dunking the shot and chugging the drink.
"Good idea, If I'm lucky you'll pass out so I can actually enjoy the game." Wren said.
That did not work out in his favor.
"Hello everyone I wanted to welcome you to American Junkie's monthly karaoke night" one of the waitresses said.
"Oh shit." Wren said.
"First up is Kyle singing a classic…" And that's when journey's Don't Stop Believing started playing.
"Fuck." I said.
"The faster you guys talk it out the faster we can get out of here." Sam bribed.
"I have nothing to say." Wren said then our waitress came back.
"Are you all ready to order?" She asked.
"Long Island Iced tea and keep them coming." I said. "And a bacon avocado cheeseburger with onion rings" I said just to spite Wren.
"I'll have the same minus the alcohol." Sam said.
"Bacon mac and cheese with a sprite." Jess ordered.
"I'll have an order of half rack of ribs with some chips." Wren asked. I was going to correct him but didn't.
"Nachos?" the waitress asked.
"He means fries." I corrected.
"All right your drinks'll be right out."
Two long Island iced teas later we were still getting nowhere.
"Come on guys there's got to be something you want to say to each other?" Jess said.
"There's one thing I want to know? Why are you so against me being with Kate? What's your problem?" Wren asked.
"What are you talking about? I was the one who told you to ask her out in the first place?" I said. "You're the one who turned you're back on me."
"I asked you what you thought about it and you said you didn't give a rat's ass." Wren said.
"I did because it wasn't my choice." I said "You're the one who said you're tired of me talking about my issues. You were the one that pushed me to talk about them in the first place then you just through me to the side like I was nothing."
"You said I meant nothing to you, that if I was gone the only thing that would change would be your training and your bloody breakfasts."
"Yes because either way we'd still be friends! At least I thought we were." I said finishing my drink.
Our food was brought over and Jess ordered us another round of drinks.
"Why the fuck did you cut me out of you life?" I said.
"Kate pointed out that I kind of forgot about her when we hung out and that if I really wanted us to have a future we needed you to be away from us. Then we got in a fight and well…"
"That was a real dick move." I said biting an onion ring.
"You've been rude to Kate."
"I was putting a guys heart back together for the second time ever and she was distracting me." I said just as our waitress came over with another round of Irish carbombs.
Another two rounds of drinks we were very drunk.
"Kate can't cook…" Wren started.
"Carbs don't taste good anymore." I said slurring a bit.
"I can't sleep,"
"I only sleep four hours a night… I miss you." I whined.
"I miss you too." He said with a sad smile.
"We can't fix this can we?" I said.
"Yes we can. Come on." Wren said moving Sam over. He pulled me onto the stage.
"Wren what are we doing…" And then music started playing.
"I fucked up like royally fucked up and you know how much I hate karaoke but I'm doing this for us."
"What?" I said confused.
"You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
When the road looks rough ahead
And you're miles and miles
From your nice warm bed
You just remember what your old pal said
Boy, you've got a friend in me
Yeah, you've got a friend in me" Wren sang. He was a really bad singer but it was the gesture that counted. I wasn't going to let him be embarrassed on his own.
"You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
You've got troubles, and I've got 'em too
There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you
We stick together and can see it through '
Cause you've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me" I sang.
"Some other folks might be
A little bit smarter than I am
Bigger and stronger too, maybe" Wren sang
"But none of them will ever love you
The way I do, it's me and you, boy" I sang smiling and barely containing my laughter.
"And as the years go by" Wren sang looking at me.
"Our friendship will never die" I sang looking at him
"You're gonna see it's our destiny" He said softly
"You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me" We both sang finishing the song
"I'm sorry." I said tearing up.
"I'm sorry too," He said before hugging me. Wait did he just initiate the hug?
We stood there for a while until we remembered where we were.
"We should probably…" I said
"Yeah." He said. I walked right behind him and I tripped as we were walking off the stage. We both fell down and the night gets fuzzy.
I woke up the next morning on Jess and Sam's couch. I looked down and saw Wren knocked out on the floor.
"Uh." I groaned.
"Morning." Jess said.
"Uh, Morning." I groaned.
"How you feeling?" Jess asked as she cooked bacon.
"Light headed with a huge headache." I said.
"After last night, I wouldn't expect anything else." Jess said laughing.
"Not so loud." Wren groaned.
"That's not going to work much longer." Jess said before Connor came running into the living room and jumped onto Wren.
"Hi bugger." Wren said picking him up and bringing him over to the kitchen.
"So how much of last night do you two remember?" Jess asked.
"Uh not sure, it's a bit fuzzy." I said.
"This might help." Jess said pulling her phone out and playing a video.
"You-you gotta in me…" Wren drunkenly slurred.
"Our f-frienshi ill neva die.." I drunkenly sang.
"Oh fu-fiddlesticks." I said.
"There's more." She said fast forwarding to the part where we fell off the stage and then started laughing uncontrollably.
"That's bad." Wren said.
"Jess delete it." I said
"Nope, next time you two fight I'm bringing this out." She said. "See if you spend a month avoiding each other then."
"You're evil." Wren said.
"Part of my charm." She said.
"Speaking of, did you tell Kate you weren't coming home?" I asked.
"She was working." Wren said.
"Oh good. Before I forget." I got my keys and pulled off Wren's key. "Here."
"You're giving me a key?" He said confused.
"It's the key to the house. It's your home as much as its mine." I said.
"Thanks but I'm staying with Kate."
"I know it's just in case you need anything or you want to raid the fridge for left overs." I said.
"Oh, like that stir fry from last time…" he said.
"I'll leave you some in Tupperware." I said.
"Thanks, I'll be at the house at five am for training. You've probably been slacking."
"Actually I've stayed on schedule." I said with a smirk.
"We'll see." He said with a grin.