AN: Sorry everybody for the immense delay in getting the next chapter up. Things have been kinda hectic recently but hopefully I should get the rest of the fic up promptly! Thank you all so much for your reviews and as always more are welcome! So here we are then with chapter 8...

Chapter 8:

Neela could have sworn the walls of the apartment were actually shaking as loud rock music came blaring through into her bedroom from the living room. She sighed, she had a shift later in the day and had hoped to get a few hours sleep but that didn't seem very likely once Ray's band had showed up for practise.

If only I had some ear plugs, she thought. She looked around her room in hope that she might actually have some that she had forgotten about. She randomly pulled open a couple of draws and found some fluffy pink ear muffs in one of them. Morris had been her secret Santa last Christmas and had gotten them for her. Branding them as useless she had put them in her draw and hadn't looked at them since. I wonder if these will work. Maybe they're not completely useless after all.

She put them on experimentally and found that she could still hear the noise although admittedly it was somewhat 'muffled'. She sighed again, well I guess something is better than nothing.

She went into the kitchen to make herself a sandwich. There might be some chocolate spread left for a banana and chocolate combo.

As Neela passed through the living room the guys were taking a break. Nick called to her as she walked by.

"Huh?", she said taking of the ear muffs.

"I said, nice ear muffs", he repeated grinning.

"Thanks", she said slightly coldly.

"Why exactly are you wearing them", Ray asked looking amused.

"To block out the racket", she said bluntly.

"Ouch!", Nick said, "Are we really that bad? Maybe we should practise more".

Ray laughed at the look on Neela's face as Nick said this. "No actually you're fine the way you are", she said quickly.

She went into the kitchen keeping the ear muffs around her neck and Ray followed her.

"Hey, sorry about all the noise" Ray said.

Neela ignored him.

He carried on, "I know you're tired and you've been really good putting up with it".

She was rummaging through the cupboards and didn't say anything.

He sighed, "Neela please I'm really sorry, I'll promise not to have anymore practises when you're in".

Neela snorted, "Yeah right", she said finally turning around holding the jar of chocolate spread.

"I will! Or at least I'll try not to", he conceded giving a small smile.

Neela felt her anger dissolving. Damn it I shouldn't have looked at him, she thought annoyed with herself. "Ok fine you're forgiven. For now".

"Good. I hate you being mad at me". he said grinning.

"Do you know if we have any banana's left?" She said looking around the kitchen.

Ray groaned, "Why? Your not making one of your god awful sandwiches again are you?", he said eyeing the jar of chocolate spread in her hands suspiciously.

"I'll have you know they're a culinary masterpiece. But there aren't any bananas", she said looking disappointed.

She looked through the fruit bowl on the kitchen table and held up an apple thoughtfully.

"Don't do it", Ray said warningly, "you'll regret it".

"Yeah you're right", she said sighing and put it back in the bowl.

Brett put his head around the kitchen door, "hey Steph, Melanie and Jessica phoned and I told them to come round"

Ray looked worriedly at Neela.

"Oh for god sake", She muttered.

"Brett maybe you should phone them back and tell them not to come", Ray said. It wasn't really fair on Neela and he didn't want to make her mad again.

"Oh just forget it", she said defeated, "I've got to go to work in a few hours anyway."

"Are you sure?", Ray said looking at her, "Coz I can tell Brett to call them back".

"No it's fine", she said wearily. What does it matter what I want anyway, I only live here! she thought to herself.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The girls had arrived soon afterwards and the guys were soon into their flirting/showing off mode. Ray would have normally have joined them but after the whole Melissa debacle he felt less inclined to. Despite Neela telling him contrary he knew their was an element of truth in what Melissa had said. And whilst he wasn't about to get married and have kids anytime soon, he had begun to wonder whether he wouldn't be happier in a proper relationship rather than a string of meaningless encounters.

Maybe I'm just being stupid. This could just be post rejection talk, he thought. I mean I'm young and single, I'm entitled to a bit of fun aren't I? Ray decided to put all of these thoughts out his mind for the time being. Jessica had been flirting with him since she got here and maybe she was just the thing to distract him…

"Hey lets play spin the bottle!", she had suggested, giggling and batting her eyelashes at him. Whilst this was the perfect way to get starting a little fun and frolicking off, Ray found himself restraining rolling his eyes when she had proposed it. What are we fifteen? he had thought but everyone else was up for it and so there he was ten minutes later getting a bottle from the kitchen.

"Ask Neela to play otherwise we have less girls than guys", Brett called to him.

"Yeah ok", he replied.

When he entered the kitchen he found Neela sitting at the counter eating a sandwich (he didn't ask what was in it) and flipping through a magazine, fluffy ear muffs on head.

"Hey", he said.

She looked up and removed the ear muffs, "hey".

"So do you fancy joining us for a game of spin of the bottle?", Ray asked.

"Spin the bottle? What are you fifteen?", She said raising an eyebrow.

Ray laughed at her words. Wow I'm even beginning to think like her.

"Hey, it wasn't my idea, plus there are less girls than guys at the moment and if I end up having to kiss Nick I think I will cry", he said pulling a face.

Neela laughed, "that's more of a reason for me not to play to see that!".

"Please Neela", Ray said pouting.

She looked at him exasperatedly but was smiling and he knew he'd won, "seriously Ray, you could charm a brick wall with that pout!"

"So you'll play?", he said slyly.

"Yes ok", she said rolling her eyes. She stood up and followed him out of the kitchen.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What possessed me to agree to this, Neela thought as she sat cross legged on the floor in a circle. I mean seriously spin the bottle? Ray must have caught me when my senses had taken leave of me!

So far she had been lucky that the bottle had yet to land on her but she was dreading the moment that it would.

Maybe I can stay for another ten minutes and then make my excuses and not have to kiss anyone at all! she thought. Unfortunately for her the bottle landed on her just that moment with Brett as the spinner. She groaned inwardly, Great, so much for my escape.

Ray had been watching Neela's face closely and grinned when she caught his eye. He knew that she would be throwing daggers at him in her mind right now for making her do this.

"Looks like its you and me Neela", Brett said looking delighted.

"Looks like it", she said bracingly.

Brett obviously noticed her reluctance, "Hey its not exactly the first time me and you have locked lips is it?", Brett said smirking as he leant forward.

There was a little splutter from Ray's direction as he chocked on the swig of beer he was taking.

Neela didn't notice though and rolled her eyes at Brett, he always has a great way of putting things. she thought closing the gap between themselves.

There were the general hoots and cheers as they pulled away and Neela could feel herself going red.

"Ok your turn now Doc!", Nick said handing her the bottle. "Maybe I'll be lucky this time", he said winking at her.

By some small miracle Neela's phone went of at exactly that moment. "I'd better get that" she said jumping up to answer it.

Ray watched her go into the kitchen with a little frown on his face. When had Neela and Brett 'locked lips' before? For some reason he didn't really like the idea of his best mate and his roommate being intimate. He knew that he had tried to set them up at one point on Brett's request but he had actually been glad Neela hadn't been keen on it. He had always thought that it was because he didn't want to have to find a new place for band rehearsal if things had gotten awkward between them but now he wondered if there wasn't another reason for it…

Neela came back in the room, "Sorry guys that was the hospital, I have to go in early coz they're backed up so I'll see you all later!"

Ray thought she sounded pretty relieved and frankly he was too. He didn't think he was really up for seeing her kiss anymore of his friends. Before he could contemplate why this was, the game was resumed and he pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind.