Nobody Like You

Her Straight Best Friend

Yeju

There is nothing better at snapping me awake than a scream. Especially a woman's frightened, non-sex-induced scream.

I jolt up, blinking. I am on the floor, and from the way my lower back and legs are hurting, I must have been sitting here all night. What the hell?

I blink more as the drowsiness clears from my head. My hands are leaning against a purple, grid-patterned bed. Fairy lights snake around the bedpost. The floor is smooth and clean, not a single coffee stain in sight. This is not my room.

What the hell?

Lia's adorable face pops into view, and I let out a strangled yelp.

What the h—

Oh.

Oh.

I remember now. Lia was drunk, and I was watching over her. I must have fallen asleep like that...

I clear my throat. "G- Good morning?" I am not sure why I raise my pitch at the end there.

Lia pulls on her blanket as if trying to hide her body under it. Her face is as red as it was last night, while her wide eyes dart from me to her shirt and back to me again.

"Y- Yeju... Did we... Did you..."

It takes me a moment to realize what she meant.

My body shoots up. "No, no—"

I cut myself off when my back slams against the wall. Every part of me screams out in pain, and I collapse onto the floor again.

"We didn't do anything, I swear!" I exclaim as I bite back my groans. "Yuna and gang brought you home last night, something about them wanting to go to a bar but you can't go with them. I assumed it was because of how drunk you are? Anyway, I tried to get you to drink water, but you puked all over your clothes and then blacked out, so I changed out your shirt and put you to bed and sat here to watch over you because I didn't want you to choke or something, and then I must have fallen asleep while sitting here."

I take in a deep breath; my head is spinning both from standing up too fast and from saying all those words in one breath.

"A- Anyway, that's why I'm here," I mumble. "I didn't... well, whatever it is you think I did..."

There is a short, awkward pause before Lia lets go of the blanket and sits up. Her hands are still trembling.

"You... put this on me?" she asks with a whisper, staring at the baggy shirt she is wearing. Compared to the rest of her chic blouses, this shirt was the closest I could find in her wardrobe that resembled sleepwear. It also looked the easiest to put on someone.

"Yeah, I mean," I say exasperatedly, "do you want to sleep in your puke?"

"No..." Her voice lowers even more. "But..."

A sour taste forms in my mouth. I terrify her. I am such a giant asshole that I terrify her.

Averting my eyes, I mutter, "I'm sorry. I promise I only changed your shirt, nothing else. Just... tell me who to contact next time this happens. Whoever you're more comfortable with, I'll get them to help instead."

"No, no, Yeju, it's not that..." She sighs. "Never mind. Where's the shirt I puked on?"

"Soaking in water in the bathroom."

Lia nods. As she gets out of bed, she groans and rubs her temples. "Argh, my head hurts."

"How much did you even drink last night?"