The Hangover

[Sloane Taylor]

She was late. The green digital numbers on the clock by her bedside told her that. Her mother screaming from outside the door told her that. Her brain was telling her that she was late but her body didn’t want to move. Her head felt like it was about to explode and her eyes felt like someone stuck half a golf ball in it. The socky taste in her mouth didn’t do anything to get her out of the bed either.

Sloane groaned as she tried to get out of bed. Last night had been a blast, as always. Babes, booze, boys...memorable night. With the hangover she was nursing right now, it was unlikely for her to forget it anytime soon.

When she finally managed to get up, Sloane dragged her feet to the door, swinging it open to get to the bathroom. Ignoring her mother’s babbling, she made her way to the bathroom in one piece, coming out of it less hazy and with more mobility in her body.

The drive to school was a silent one. Lochlyn didn’t even ask what she did last night like he always did.

“I’ll be waiting by the entrance when school ends. Don’t be late.” He said once they arrived. Sloane nodded silently and walked into school. Flipping her hair over her shoulders, she made her way to her locker, her eyes roaming the halls to see the new Silver students hanging around. Every day seemed to bring in new fresh faces and some caught her eye while some caught more than her eye.

Smirking, she let a Gould senior run his eyes hungrily over her outfit of choice for the day – a form-fitting white collared shirt tucked into a blue and red chequered pleat skirt, complimented by her black knee high socks and Mary Jane boots. Her thick auburn hair hung loose over her shoulders, framing her face softly. She knew she looked good and his nod of approval told her the same.

Getting her books for the day, she wondered if she was sharing a locker with anyone and whether that person had come by already.

[Nolan Ahlstrom]

Buzzing filled the air as Nolan's alarm rang through the morning air. The night had been peaceful, restful, and Nolan felt refreshed and ready to tackle not just another day at school, but a return to his rival school. Nolan felt a brief sense of relief that he wasn't more prominent on the football team, merely a back up. It wasn't likely that too many Gould students would recognize him as the enemy. That momentary peace was immediately followed by the nagging sense that he shouldn't be happy about being second best. He needed to get used to having the mindset of a winner.

A quick shower helped Nolan wake up, and after donning a pair of jeans and a Kansas City Chiefs t-shirt, Nolan was ready for breakfast. Martina wasn't around this morning, so Nolan sat himself down next to his father for a delicious bowl of Cheerios. Idle chit chat followed, speculation on this year's draft and where some of Nils' hopeful young rookies might end up. Nils even mentioned that Nolan seemed to be in a particularly good mood, but didn't press the issue. Nolan thought about it, and decided he was in a good mood. His Cheerios quickly vanished, and Nolan grabbed his backpack and left the house, shouting a cheerful good bye to his father as he grabbed his sunglasses and headed out the back door.

Nolan threw his bag in the car. The Camaro still held the scent of the shy older girl Nolan had driven around Santa Monica. It had been a somewhat awkward night, as neither Nolan nor Maggy seemed comfortable being quite so impulsive, but Nolan enjoyed it nonetheless. If anything, he felt proud that he was able to talk to a random girl like that, especially one that was older than him.

The parking lot of Gould High was packed. Nolan was lucky enough to find a spot, though it was one of the last few. He hurried into the building, vaguely remembering from the last time where to go. Though he was sharing a different locker this time around, Nolan was still able to find where he was going fairly quickly. The locker was unoccupied at the time, so Nolan was able to take his time arranging his books. He hoped that his locker mate was cool and that he wasn't infringing on the other kid's space too much.

Nolan glanced around, and happened to spot a gorgeous girl walk by. She had to have gone to Gould, because Nolan was pretty sure he would have noticed a girl like that before. He quickly looked away, his impulses making him fear being caught staring. Curiosity got the better of him, however, and he managed a peek towards her. She stopped at a locker not too far from Nolan, and was momentarily alone. Making the decision to have more confidence, Nolan shut his locker and walked over to her.

“Excuse me,” he began with a smile, “but I'm from Silver and I could use some help finding my way around.”

[Sloane Taylor]

After what seemed to be forever waiting for her locker partner to materialise, Sloane pushed the locker shut and was just about to leave when someone came up beside her, talking to her. She was very tempted to make like a tree and leave, make him eat her dust so to speak, when she turned and eyed his physique. Not too bad. He was taller than her by miles but if she wanted, he could be on his knees as soon as he could say college basketball.

Him being from Silver obviously did not stop her from turning on her flirting mode. It was, after all, on autopilot almost every time. "Do you now?" She asked with a slight raise of her eyebrow. What was he, a junior? He couldn't be younger than that. He was far too buff and far too tall to be a sophomore. But then again, Lochlyn had been taller than this delicious looking creature when he was a frosh. He was a freak of nature, that boy so she didn't have any business comparing this normal human being to her brother.

Sloane brought a smile to her face, not entirely fake but she was still doing it to get what she wanted. Holding out her hand, she waited for him to take it so she could lightly shake it. "Why don't you stick by me, I'd love to help you get acquainted with the school." She simpered.

[Nolan Ahlstrom]

Is that all it took?

Nolan struggled to hide the surprise he felt within. He had figured that this extremely pretty girl would have just blown him off! The focus for him had been so much on just getting the balls to talk to her that Nolan didn't think at all about what he'd do when she responded, let alone what he might say. He quickly looked her up and down in an attempt to seem in control. She had an incredible smile and it entirely disarmed him. She raised her hand to him, and for a moment Nolan didn't know what to do before his good sense regained control.

His hand extended and grasped hers gently. “Consider me attached to your hip,” he replied, hoping that he was being as cool as possible. He wanted more than anything to say something extremely witty, and what came out was not necessarily what he considered up to par. Attached at the hip? Nolan hoped she didn't think he was some creepy stalker. He leaned back against the locker next to hers, again in an attempt to seem cool and casual. “I'm headed to science first, how about you?” Nolan wasn't sure if classes were being combined or if they'd remain separated by school, he only knew which room he was headed to. What were the chances this girl might share it?

[Sloane Taylor]

Sloane had to admit, the boy was adorable trying to be all cool and suave. It almost made her want to let him go, not wanting to leave him hanging. 'Almost' being the operative word. At the back of her mind, she was already undressing him and pushing him up a wall. Oh Sloane, save some for later.

The grip he had on her hand gave away what she was afraid of. The boy was definitely either going to be clingy or he was the type to want more than anything casual. Although Sloane didn't care much for commitment, she understood that for some people, it was extremely important. And she had a feeling that with Nolan, it was important to some degree.

His response to her invitation made her laugh albeit condescendingly. It was really cute that he was trying to impress her so fast into the acquaintance although it wasn't surprising to the redhead. She was pretty used to guys falling on top of each other to get her attention. Still, something about him called on to a different side of her. And she didn't like it.

Shaking her head slightly to remove those stupid thoughts from her head, she extracted her hand from his grip and went through her mental file for today's schedule, coming up with a blank for a second only to remember that she had English first period. "Ooh...tough luck, slugger. I'm not heading that way. But we could continue this during break? Or lunch maybe." She offered.

[Nolan Ahlstrom]

Of course, hoping to share a class with this girl was hoping for too much. Nolan wasn't disappointed, though. He was just glad that he hadn't yet put his foot in his mouth. A girl this pretty was certain to tie his tongue up eventually. Nolan could only proceed on his chosen course and hope for the best. His brothers both had success with the fairer sex, perhaps it ran in the family.

“Asking me out to a lunch date already? That's pretty forward of you,” Nolan joked, forcing a chuckle. It didn't sound like the most casual laugh in the world, but for Nolan it wasn't too bad. He clearly needed more practice being aloof. “You don't even know my name.” And he didn't know hers, yet. At the very least he was confident he could get that much out of her, a name, and maybe even a phone number.

Nolan reached into his pocket and glanced at his cell phone. Class would be starting in a bit, but he still had some time to chat. Nolan wanted every possible second talking to this girl. He was already in uncharted territory for himself, as both the girls he dated were friends first. He was a good guy, girls liked him, but he was never good at approaching ladies that he didn't know. Until just recently, he never even really tried. Just Maggy last night, and now this one.

[Sloane Taylor]

Sloane checked her watch and found that she was in no hurry to get anywhere, especially not class. It was class, why should she get in early. The most she would get was a tardy and even though she won't get any prizes with the accumulation of her tardies, she could always be notorious for getting the most tardies. It was every girl's dream.

Snapping back to the now, she heard the boy in front of her start talking about dates and names. Were they talking about a History homework she wasn't aware of? Scrambling to get back her footing in the conversation she finally got his humor. Giving him a straight face, Sloane tossed her head back slightly before regarding him once more under a controlled look. "Was I the one who came up to me and oh so innocently told me that he was new and he would like to be shown around the school?"

She placed a hand on her hip and raised an eyebrow at him. Was she really doing this right now? Flirting because she actually -liked- flirting with him? Where was the agenda? Where was her notorious arm touches and hair flips? Oh shut up, conscience.

Moving forward so there was hardly any space between the two teens, Sloane placed her hands on his very well defined 'could-bounce-a-quarter-off-him' chest. "Then again...is it wrong for me to be forward?" She looked at her hands as she spoke before slowly raising her gaze so she was looking up into his eyes under lidded eyes. "I've never had anyone complain about my approach." She deliberately said anyone instead of any guy, wondering whether this boy was smart enough to realise she was irresistible to both genders.

Wearing heeled boots didn't even up her chances in being the same height as the good looking teen so she rose herself up to the tips of her toes, hoping against all hope that her Loboutin Mary Jane boots wouldn't spoil under the heavy strain. Sliding her arms around his neck for support, she moved her face so close to his that their lips looked ready to touch before she moved her mouth to his ear. "I'm Sloane by the way. Is this...forward enough for you?" She smiled before standing to her own height again.

Smirking, she threw a sideways glance at the nameless boy to gauge his reaction.

[Nolan Ahlstrom]

Nolan's eyes followed the girl's as she glanced at her watch. He smirked just a little, thinking of something his brother Freddy once told him. Freddy was always good at approaching girls, and he always said an easy way to tell if a girl is checking you out is if she looks at her watch when you do. Apparently it's some subconscious thing people do, check the time if they notice someone else doing it. Nolan didn't necessarily know if it meant anything in this situation; he already had the girl's attention. She seemed to be a little distracted for a moment, though, so maybe she wasn't as interested as Nolan first thought. Maybe she even had a boyfriend. Nolan didn't want to step on another guy's toes, and he also didn't want to get in a fight over some random girl.

Those thoughts quickly vanished as the girl turned back towards him and got closer. A lot closer. It didn't necessarily make Nolan uncomfortable, but he definitely was not expecting what seemed like a very quick turn. As she continued to inch closer, Nolan began to realize that maybe he was in over his head with this girl. Sloane. She had turned something on, and she seemed to know exactly what she was doing. Though Nolan knew he would struggle to keep up with her, there was no way he was going to back down and admit defeat. He thought for a moment she was actually going to kiss him before she very seductively whispered in his ear. Her auburn hair brushed against his face, wafting her girl-smell straight into his nose. Nolan smiled. Sloane smelled incredible, and it caused his mind to wander a little.

Sloane lowered herself back down, and Nolan had to take a second to recover. His face was a bit flushed, just a light shade of red. He figured any guy would be sweating after that. “You're good,” he smiled, “Really good.” There was little point in trying to act cool. Nolan was sure his body completely gave away any attempt at acting like that didn't affect him. But he still had some leverage. He now knew her name. “Sloane. That's a very pretty name, it suits you.” Okay, a little cliché, but it was a compliment. And at least he didn't say something completely idiotic. “It's nice to meet you.”

[Sloane Taylor]

So he's trying to play the cool card. Suit himself. Sloane wasn't about to waste her time on someone who wouldn't bite at the first bait. He didn't give away his name, something she thought he would have given up first so that meant he knew what he was doing even though his means were a little less conventional than others. Then again, his whole 'innocent' approach was something she never got from any guy she'd ever come across with...something she wasn't sure she liked. Not one bit. She always knew how to play these guys around her little finger. This boy might be all sugar and spice, not knowing the game of 'love' on the surface but she knew he was going to do a quick 180 if she didn't crush him the first chance she got.

"I'm sure I'm going to be the highlight of your day, stranger." She said, her voice giving away what little annoyance she wanted to muster. Straightening herself up, she looked around and decided she should probably get to class before her tardy was issued. Be the good girl for once. Maybe that will scare her teacher more than her being absent.

"Better get to class, slugger." She said, running her fingers through her hair. "Don't wanna be late on your first day do you?" She asked, a bit bored. If the boy had some sense in him, he would be the one chasing her and not the other way around. "Well, Mr No Name. Have a good day." She said with a curt nod before turning on her heels to go to her class. "Your class is straight down the hall to the left." She called out over her shoulders.

[Nolan Ahlstrom]

“Uhh... thanks.” Nolan was entirely confused. What the hell just happened? Sloane had seemed interested, had talked about meeting up later, and had gotten about as close to kissing him as Nolan could imagine. Then she just turns around and leaves? There were a lot of signals, or “Indicators of Interest” as Freddy called them. She introduced herself, she touched him a couple times, chest and hair. And the whisper...

No wonder Nolan didn't chase after a lot of girls.

No, he couldn't get discouraged. He wouldn't. All the girls he'd ever known that he wanted to ask out, or kiss. One thing would go wrong and he'd stop trying, not go after them. You can't just quit when something goes wrong, you have to keep your head in the game. Have confidence, Nolan Viktor Ahlstrom! You can do this, just go after her. You'll never figure out women, no one will. But you sure won't get anywhere standing here.

Nolan began walking after Sloane, quickly enough to start to gain on her. “You know,” he called, hoping she'd stop, “I could probably use a hand getting to my classroom. I don't want to get lost. And if I'm late, well, I'm from Silver. I don't know my way around and it might take me a while to find class.” Nolan gave her a big smile. He's always been told he had a very nice smile. “I'm sure your teachers would understand if you were a little late, you know, since you were so kind as too help a student from Silver find his way...”