@feverishlust (I finished it finally, and it feels great)
Shayfer had woke early, a terrible headache wrapped around her like a painful fog. Her eyes couldn't handle the sunlight, which peeked in gently through the windows as a soft orange glow. The morning rising sun cast a glow across the blonde at the other end of her couch, catching her skin just right to cause Shay's attention to stay there for a moment. Sleeping she looked so much more at ease, softened where she normally appeared hard. That was a fair sight to miss, as she had seen it often when they were younger. It was a blessing to have fond memories of growing up, but where would they go from here? College had taken her away and now she was back, like nothing had happened. Eleanor made all the apologies, worked through things with her, but Shay felt torn between being hurt and being happy for her return. It was difficult, handing out her feelings to the other for scrutiny, so she simply didn't. There was a lapse the night before, her tears flowing with the honesty that fell into the air, but it was due to the wine. So was the headache for certain.
Shay simply sat there, admiring the other now that there was better lighting for such. She was older, more distinguished but somehow she still saw the young girl hidden away. Her face had matured, and so had the rest of the woman from what she could recall after the night before. Being enveloped in hugs by the blonde, it felt oddly different from what she remembered years ago. Shayfer thought of waking her friend, but pressed the idea aside. She deserved to sleep, it had been a long night filled with alcohol and feelings, it had to have drained the woman. The night had drained her as well, all the questions and difficult answers, but it had been clarifying. She had missed the other's voice, something so important to feeling like home. It hadn't been easy, living her life these past few years without Eleanor. It had been hard in fact, with nobody to call when she had a bad day or when she wanted to find comfort in company. No, she had been alone and isolated, something that she had relished in when she was younger but became difficult as she found herself without the option. Shay wasn't commonly talkative, but in fact quite reclusive, and the other had been in her life to bring out the better side of her. She blamed herself, dragging their friendship down without meaning to, and that was something she couldn't forgive.
Sliding off the couch, the brunette stretched her arms above her head as she headed to the kitchen. Something for breakfast sounded fascinating, as she had been battling a growling stomach since her eyes had snapped open. Her kitchen, the one her nana and her father had used before her, it was neatly organized and clean, much to hee taste. Black cabinets and granite countertops, remodeled obviously in the older home. Her father had been afraid she would burn the house down with the gas stove, and replacing it with an electric model turned into replacing the entire kitchen. She preferred it before, the wood cabinets and vintage pressed board tops, the way her nana preferred it as well. Thinking about the kitchen made her miss her grandmother, and how her grandmother missed Eleanor.
Eleanor. The woman was brought back to her mind, she wasn't alone in her home for the first time since she had taken it over. Shayfer had to make breakfast for the both of them, and coffee to soothe their pained heads. Eggs were soon after coffee began, scrambled because they were the easiest to make and she was in no shape for putting more than minimal effort into an early morning meal. Bacon followed, and filled the house with it's intoxicating aroma. If it weren't for the hangover she would have made something more than eggs and bacon, but that was all she could muster.
After downing a cup of coffee and finishing up her own plate she decided it was due time to wake the other, even if it felt like a crime. Shay had poured a mug full of coffee, grabbed a plate of food, and walked back to the couch carefully. It was only after she placed the mug and plate down on the coffee table that she leaned over the blonde still sleeping peacefully, her fingers gently sliding blonde hair away from her face and behind her ear instead. "Elle, wake up. I've got you some breakfast, and some coffee too." Being so tender with the other hadn't been commonplace since she left, and all softness had left her life. The only person who saw a version of Shay that knew how to be gentle was her nana, and she hardly saw her anymore. Shay's legs carried her towards the windows, the sun more abrasive now than before, and she drew them shut to keep the other from experiencing the blinding rays. Instead, she turned on the lamp beside the couch, which had a much more muted light suited for a headache.
The other was stirring, and at that she smiled. A small, unintentional smile that seemed to grow simply because she knew those blue eyes would pop open any minute and join her life again. How she had missed those bright orbs staring back at her, beckoning her to never stray her own green eyes away from them. Shay took a seat at the other end of the couch again, though a hand wandered towards the other's legs. Softly, as if she was afraid to touch her, because she might be her imagination and disappear within a blink of her eyes. She wasn't sure what she was doing, testing the reality perhaps. Was she truly there? Sleeping on her couch, as if she had never left? Shayfer's fingers danced along the blonde's ankle, a sigh of relief coming from down deep when she found her digits were met with something real. It wasn't a dream, she was awake and in the company of the other. Withdrawing her hand finally, afraid to be found admiring the realness of her friend, Shay's eyes drifted toward George. He was laid on the floor beneath where the blonde slept, sprawled out and in what seemed to be a peace of sorts.
She wished for such peace, finding the other's presence to bring anxiety instead. Maybe she would regret coming over, falling asleep on her couch a mistake she wished she could take back. Maybe she didn't want breakfast but to rush away instead, bringing absence to her life once more. That would be unbearable, knowing she drove her away with too much too quickly. It was overwhelming, coning back home and facing the one who missed her the most.
