#alternisopen

“Oh for fuck’s sake!” Lily dropped her bag heavily on the ground and kneeled down to pick up the stack of papers that had slipped out of her hands. Her entire day seemed to have been shit--in fact it probably had been her entire week. With a low growl she began to shove the papers in as neat a pile as she could manage to patience. 

Her brain was all but gone with the late hour--though one could consider it being an early morning. Either way the party was still going and she hadn’t had anything non-alcoholic to drink in a while. Stumbling passed a couple who was making out in the entrance of the kitchen, Marly tossed back her hair with a huff. Her dancing had caused her to sweat, not that she was the worst looking one there, and there was body paint on herself that wasn’t her own. Pouring out her drink into the sink she turned the tap and filled it with water. There was a reflection in the window above the sink that caught her attention. It was herself and for some reason--she hadn’t realized yet why--but her reflection triggered something in her. A fear. One that she couldn’t decide if she was suddenly going to be sick or if it really had gotten that cold in her flat. 

His attention to where he was going was completely lost to him. There was so much going through his mind, mainly on his day and all the studying he now had to do. His panic on his way home turned straight into pure terror as he realized how soon his first exam would be. There was such little time to him. Why had he decided to become a doctor again? He couldn’t fucking remember. Oh. Right. He wanted to help people.

Right.

Even through all his stress, Fabian still couldn’t stop himself from sighing in resolution. There was still a few hours left until he actually had to fall asleep again for an early morning. With some quick food, hopefully the guys left something for him in the fridge, he’d be able to get some studying in. He was doing well in the module part of his schedule, not his best but it was still early and he usually did find that it took a little bit to settle back into the studious mindset that he adopted during the term.

He pulled his bag around to his side, hand digging for keys, when he caught a whiff of food. His stomach clenched in agony. When had he eaten last? Instead of heading the left to his street, Fabian trudged across the street and entered the small restaurant, tucking his keys into his hoodie pocket. He debated a moment on whether or not he wanted to grab and go, ultimately deciding that he needed food as soon as possible and walking home before eating would just be too long.

“What the bloody— Sorry, Mr Hale.” A flush of scarlet invaded Doe’s cheeks in a wave of warmth and embarrassment. It would be one thing if her manager heard her swearing like a sailor, and a completely different thing if it was her favourite elderly gentleman. Mr Hale was a regular customer at the Bluebird and she always made sure to save a caramel biscuit to go with his coffee. He was the kindest old soul, really. Made her day.

But today his magic didn’t seem to be working. Things kept going from bad to worse for the girl, with the latest installment in her series of misfortunes being a splash of boiling coffee on her wrist. It had hurt so much that she had hardly bitten back the profanities, even for Mr Hale.

Eyes watering, she finished the few things she’d started before approaching her manager with an apologetic smile. Some bullshit excuse how she wasn’t feeling well and a promise to take the extra shitty shift on Monday morning had her out of the shop and on the way home within five minutes. Finally Doe was allowed a breath. She inhaled deeply, but instantly regretted it when the ashy taste of smog filled her lungs.

“What is happening today?!” she exclaimed under her breath just as the wind blew a tendril of brown hair into her mouth. While she was trying to get hold of the last few hairs stuck on her tongue, she tripped on an uneven bit of paving. That’s it. I give up. Not doing life today.

She knew she was too annoyed and annoying to go home and inflict herself on her dearest friends, which left her with few options. In the end, she headed for the one place where she knew she could find understanding and freedom from judgement: the pub. There was one on her way home, a couple of streets down from the flat, that she could conceivably remove herself from in any state of drunkenness, which made it a safe bet.

Had to be careful with day drinking, she’d learnt that much in the past two years. Though it was fairly late in the afternoon, nearing on 5pm, so it was pretty much an acceptable time to go on a binge. She kept repeating this to herself as she walked through the door of The Butterfly & the Pig, a warmly lit and comfortably furnished little watering hole that she frequented on her bad days.

She picked up a pint of cheap beer from the bar and settled down into one of the corner tables, letting out a deep sigh as she sank into the leather chesterfield.