Jessica
Jessica woke up, spluttering on Ava's hair in her mouth. Why did she always sleep with an open mouth when she was drunk? Sitting up, she tried to orientate herself. She was in Ava's bedroom: that much she knew, but why had she woken up?
Oh, yeah. Right. Voices. In the living room.
Jessica slowly untangled her legs from Ava's and then the sheets before she swung them over the side of the bed. She reached the living room, only to find Sebastian still passed out on the couch while Carter leaned against the backrest, snapping a picture, while one of Ava's coworkers searched the room.
"What the fuck is going on here?" The sound of her own voice made Jessica wince. She squeezed her eyes shut and massaged her temples, where the mother of all headaches was starting to form.
Carter glanced up from his phone for only a second before he went back to fiddling with his cell. "Oh, Carol here is just searching for the vest Ava borrowed from her after a kid puked on hers."
Jessica just nodded a little. "Okay. Sure. Have fun. I'm gonna make myself some coffee."
"Yeah, you do that," Carter mumbled without looking up from his phone.
Jessica was resting her forehead against the fridge's door while the coffee machine worked its magic when Carter joined her in the kitchen.
"Carol just left," he informed her. "And she asked if we'd all like to go see that movie about the demonic child in the theater with her this evening, but I already forgot the name of it."
Jessica nodded. "I'll talk with Ava about it when she wakes up." She continued to lean her weight against the fridge, but she turned so the contact point was now her shoulder, allowing her to face Carter. "So? How come you're here? And since when do you have a key to this apartment?"
Carter seemed a little flustered, which lessened her headache and made her smirk a little. "I crashed at Zyan's," he mumbled.
Jessica raised her eyebrows, feigning surprise. "Oh, really?"
Carter shrugged. "Nothing happened. We talked about…stuff, and then I slept on the couch. He went back to sleep after we sorted out the thing with Carol."
Jessica wiggled her eyebrows despite the headache. "Still, this is progress, my friend. You guys will be smooching again in no time."
Carter rolled his eyes. "I'm not just doing this for…that. I want us to get back on the same page again."
"You'll get there," Jessica reassured him. "Just don't forget: communication is key. And don't let him get away with any type of shitty behavior."
"Yeah, yeah. I'll leave all of you guys to your hangovers while I get this key back to Zyan."
"Of course," Jessica said. She watched Carter until he opened the front door. "Kiss Zyan good morning for me!"
"Ew!"
"That's not what I meant and you know it!" Jessica winced at the stabbing pain in her skull. "Don't forget to eat something."
Jessica felt the bile rise in her throat at the mere thought. In the adjoining room, the front door fell shut.
*~*~*
When Ava and Zyan arrived at the movie theater that evening, Jessica, Carter, and Carol were already there, waiting in front of the building for them. They'd asked Sebastian to come as well, but he had plans with some of his old friends from college.
When Jessica spotted Ava's car being eased into the parking spot across the road, she walked over to greet her. But before she could speak up, she was met with Zyan's voice through the rolled-down car windows.
"Can I wait in the car?" he asked, still facing Ava, which meant he hadn't spotted Jessica yet.
Ava laughed, which had Jessica smiling too There was something inherently funny about seeing a two-centuries-old man slide down in his seat and ask such a childish question.
"No," Ava replied, her eyes still sparkling with amusement. "Now, move your butt, and be glad that you're not still half-hungover like me."
"That's your own fault. You should know your limits by now—especially after the incident with that bicycle guy."
"You mean Marty?"
"Do I look like I would bother to remember his name?" Zyan asked.
"I'm surprised you even bother to remember mine."
"That's because I care about what happens to you."
"I'm touched," Ava replied. "Now get out of the car."
Zyan sighed and grumbled to himself as he opened the door and stepped out into the heat, coming face-to-face with Jessica, who'd stopped a foot away from the car. He looked startled for a second before he walked around her.
"Don't take too long, or we'll miss the scintillating commercials," he said in passing before crossing the road.
Jessica looked after him for a second before turning to face Ava, who was looking up at her with a wide smile. "Hey, you."
"Hey," Jessica replied.
Ava smiled again as she pushed onto her toes and pressed their lips together.
"Do you think he's gonna be grumpy all day?" Jessica asked, once Ava had lowered herself back down.
"He'll probably be singing to himself about his hatred for the world and humanity for a while," Ava replied. "You know, he tends to do that sometimes, but I think it'll be fine. Carter's here, which I'm sure will lift his spirits."
"Okay, then," Jessica said while Ava locked her car.
They crossed the road, fingers entwined, and approached the small group gathered by the theater entrance. Carter was currently nudging Zyan with his elbow repeatedly, despite Zyan telling him to stop, while Carol watched them with a confused expression.
"We should get our tickets now," she said, once everyone was within earshot. "The movie starts in twenty minutes."