"Hey…hey, Edward?" Leonardo kept his voice down. "Edward? Edward wake up…come on you need to eat." Leonardo had a huge plate of food for both Edward and Mia. They absolutely had to eat because of how much they had drunk the night before. "Edward come on…" Leonardo shook him very lightly. Of course Mia was wrapped around Edward so if Edward woke up she would too. Edward groaned a little. "Come on…" Leonardo encouraged him. Edward took a deep breath and squirmed around a little. He moaned louder this time.
"Oooooooh…hey. I have…the headache from hell right now." Edward said weakly.
"Here, you have to eat this. Come on, wake Mia up. I can't stay much longer." Leonardo still held his voice down. Edward's bedroom was still sheltered from the light of day as no one had opened up the curtains that covered it. Mia had started to stir also.
"Ooooooooh god…." Mia groaned opening her eyes slowly.
"I don't think I can sit up right now." Edward mumbled.
"That's fine but you have to eat Edward. So does Mia." Leonardo pushed Edward over far enough to where he could put the plate beside him. "I brought you a big glass of water because orange juice is the last thing you need right now. Now come on, you two eat so I can leave." Leonardo said trying to hurry them along. It was true Leonardo was anxious to get away from everyone. It was now 11:00 and Noelle would likely be home soon. There was so much left over breakfast that Laura was packing up a sack to take to Noelle's, even though she wouldn't need it to recover from the night before…she would likely be just plain hungry. Mia stared at the plate of food. She blinked slowly a couple of times.
"Edward…" she said weakly. "I think there's a pineapple underneath you."
"Look. I really don't mean to rush you but I am exhausted beyond belief. All I want to do is have what's left of our breakfast with Noelle. I need to see her like you wouldn't believe. We have grand plans of taking a nap and believe me…I can't wait. Now if you two would please, please just take a few bites so I know you will have something in your stomach I would greatly appreciate it. Oh and um…could I get that pineapple?" Leonardo was desperate now. Edward slowly reached for the fork and scooped up some of the scrambled eggs. Mia noticed the fork coming toward her so she had no option really but to take a bite. She tasted the eggs slowly.
"I think I like eggs…yeah…yeah I like eggs." Mia said weakly. Edward had managed to eat a little bit. Mia just forgot about the fork and drug a piece of pancake through syrup with her fingers. Leonardo had finally gotten them to eat…slowly.
"Edward?" Mia said.
"Mmm hmmm?" Edward answered her drinking some of the water.
"I'm really happy I'm having breakfast in bed with you." Mia said.
"Me too…I just wish I wasn't this sick right now." Edward said groggily.
"Okay, now that you two are actually eating I'm just going to pull this pineapple out from under you…and be on my way." Leonardo said yanking the pineapple out from under Edward.
"Leonardo....thanks…" Edward said softly.
"For what?" Leonardo asked.
"Everything." Edward said sincerely. Leonardo smiled.
"Uh…okay. You're welcome. Listen, you probably won't see me until tomorrow. You two rest today, okay? That's what you need. You have to eat this food and rest. Mia, if you want some of your clothes that are at Noelle's…I ask you in the kindest way possible please don't come get them. Laura lives like three streets over. I'm sure she'll let you borrow something." Leonardo said.
"Mmm hmmm..." Mia said but Leonardo wasn't completely convinced that she had heard or understood him.
"Is everyone still here?" Edward asked still not convincing enough to be considered fully awake.
"Yes, everyone's still here. Sothe and Nolan just woke up like thirty minute ago. Laura is finishing up cleaning your kitchen. Okay, I'm leaving now." Leonardo said getting off his knees from the floor.
"Wait, wait, wait…will you get me some headache medicine? Ask Laura…" Edward said miserably.
"Yes…headache…a lot." Mia mumbled, her face buried in Edward's side. Leonardo sighed.
"Hold on." He left the room and returned to the kitchen to find that Laura had everything spotless.
"Laura, what can those two take for a massive headache?" Leonardo asked pointing towards Edward's room and conveniently sitting that pineapple on the counter. Laura thought for a moment.
"Hey, you found the pineapple! I have an herbal remedy at home. I'll go get it for them. Oh here, I packed everything up for you to take it with you. It's all still hot. I'll be back; it won't take long." Laura said.
"Excellent. Do you mind? I'll go tell them but then I am so leaving." Leonardo said disappearing again.
"Don't go out there without an umbrella its pouring!" Micaiah cautioned her looking out the window.
"It's okay. I brought an umbrella with me last night in case this happened." Laura said putting on her coat.
"There! They know the medicine is on the way." Leonardo said taking the umbrella out of Edward's closet. It was going to be a wet walk this morning.
"I'll see you all later, it was fun as usual." Leonardo said opening the door.
"Bye! We'll see you again sooner than later." Micaiah said. Sothe was pointing a finger at Leonardo but truthfully, he didn't really have the energy to say anything.
"Bye. I had fun chopping things and keeping you safe from knife injuries." Nolan said.
"That's why I keep you around, Nolan." Leonardo told him.
"Don't worry. I'll take care of Edward and Mia. They will be fine by this evening." Laura said.
"You're right. Thanks for packing what was left of breakfast." Leonardo said before parting ways with Laura.
"There is so much there and you haven't eaten yet!" Laura scolded.
"I figured I'd wait and eat with Noelle. Be careful going home, Laura. I'll see you soon." Leonardo said taking off in the opposite direction.
This truly was a miserable New Year's Day. It was pouring, it was cold, and the sky was a wretched shade of gray. Leonardo made his way toward the end of Edward's street. It was a lonesome afternoon. There wasn't a soul to be seen on the streets; most likely because everyone was dead tired from partying the night before. It was funny, normally a day like today would have anyone in a most depressed mood…but Leonardo couldn't be happier. As he came closer to the center of town he noticed the streets became messier and messier from the night before. Someone would have a job on their hands cleaning up after last night's wild capers. Most of the stores were closed today except for a few scattered bars that were actually still open. Yes, Leonardo was one of the only ones out in this mess of a day. The cobblestone streets were running rapid with water, it was safe to stick to the sidewalk even though Leonardo thought he was losing time this way. He hoped that this food wouldn't cool off too much. The rain wasn't blowing toward him which kept the bag dry. The sight of the markets in the center of town closed down was a definite reminder that the biggest holiday of the year had kept everyone in their homes by now. Leonardo wondered how busy and noisy it must have been last night while Noelle tried to work in the wee hours of the morning. Between dodging the trash in the streets, the pools of water on the sidewalks and the mud, the sight of her house in view was like a beacon of light. His pace quickened the closer he got to her door.
The curtains in her windows were drawn, hiding this dismal day from view. Leonardo closed the umbrella up and knocked softly. She didn't come to the door. He knocked again a little louder; still no response. He tried the door. It was unlocked. He opened it slowly and just a little. Her living room was quiet. He opened the door farther, enough so that he could slide his way inside. He closed the door behind him. When he turned around Leonardo could feel himself loose his breath a little bit.
There she was, asleep on the couch and wearing the gray sweater Leonardo had left there the night before. He leaned back against the door feeling weak in the knees. Leonardo closed his eyes. "Oh my god…" he mouthed the words to himself. There was no way she could ever look any more beautiful than she did right now. There was the wine bottle on the table from last night. Cabernet Sauvignon would never again be the same. The image of Noelle putting that bottle to her lips and polishing it off was engraved in his mind…he never told anyone that Noelle never bothered getting her wine glasses out. Of course it wasn't the most appropriate way to drink wine…but it was perfectly appropriate when you were being French kissed and you didn't care what the hell you were drinking out of.
Leonardo opened his eyes at the sound of the kitten meowing at him. He put his finger to his lips. "Ssshh…Max!" he whispered to the kitten not expecting Max to understand. Noelle was a light sleeper. She yawned and squirmed around on the couch catching sight of her kitten greeting Leonardo.
"Hey…oh my….oh geez how long have I been asleep? Have you been here long?" Noelle asked rubbing her eyes and sitting up on the couch. Long black curls cascaded over her shoulders. She must have curled her hair sometime last night for the wedding.
"I just got here. How was your morning? Did everything go okay?" Leonardo asked her.
"Yeah, yeah things were great this morning. Come here." Noelle motioned for him to come join her but Leonardo had to shed a wet coat and wet shoes before going any further.
"So, how did you manage to get all those stitches straight?" Leonardo asked. Noelle laughed.
"I could sew blindfolded, half a bottle of wine isn't a challenge." She said.
"How long have you been asleep? I'm sorry I woke you up. I hope you're hungry. I brought the breakfast me and Laura made this morning. I know it's 12:30 and not really the time for pancakes but it's still warm." Leonardo said taking the bag over to the table in front of the couch.
"I've only been asleep thirty minutes. I had to give father a bath when I got back from the wedding even though I was exhausted. His needs come before mine." Noelle said. Leonardo sat the bag down but kissed her before going any further. Noelle sighed.
"I've missed you…is that stupid?" Noelle asked laughing.
"No, it's not stupid. I've missed you too…I had to deal with drunk Sothe. I would have rather stayed here with you and petted Max while you sewed." Leonardo said unpacking the bag.
"I can't believe you brought all this…I'm starving. Do you like cranberry juice? I have some." Noelle asked getting up to retrieve butter and silverware and the juice.
"Sure, I'll have some. By the way you um…you're…you look completely irresistible right now." Leonardo said opening everything up. Noelle smiled as she returned with her hands full.
"Your sweater smelled like you…I'd think of a better excuse as to why I'm wearing your clothes but I can't come up with any." Noelle admitted.
"You can wear my clothes any time you want." Leonardo said.
"I'll keep that in mind." Noelle said smiling as she noticed they would need some pancake syrup. Thank you for bringing this food over. I was starving. I only fixed enough oatmeal for my father today so this was really nice of you. So how was everyone this morning?"
"Laura was fine because she only had like two drinks last night. Micaiah was alright, just really tired when she woke up. Nolan and Sothe….well they always drink a lot but it never hurts them too much. Edward and Mia…well they are a mess, a total mess." Leonardo said. Noelle smiled as she hungrily dug in to the breakfast before her.
"It's all about pacing. They probably would have been okay had they just paced themselves a little better. You can't drink it all at once…gotta space it out. I knew Mia would stay there last night…" Noelle said.
"Really? How did you know?" Leonardo asked putting some bacon on her plate. Noelle smiled. Black waves of hair fell forward around her face. The look in her eyes indicated she knew more than Mia had ever let on the night before. "Well…Edward asked her to stay with him on New Year's Eve the weekend before when she was in town and she told him she would think about it. So, when she came into town yesterday she asked me if I thought it was horribly inappropriate for her to stay with him."
"Oh my god…I can't believe he actually went through with that. He told me he was thinking about asking her to stay with him…but I honestly didn't think he would actually do it since he was freaking out about whether or not to ask her. Wait…this morning Edward was in a half-drunken stupor and he said thanks and at the time I was thinking…what for? I'm thinking it was because I let him freak out for a good twenty minutes. So…what did you tell Mia? What did you think she should do?" Leonardo asked her.
The look on Noelle's face was brilliant. "I told her if it were you asking me…" She paused. "I'd do it." Among the words that described Noelle, sweet, kind, soft spoken, selfless, and gorgeous…innocent never quite made the list.