MATT

Matt stood at the kitchen counter wearing a flowery apron, staring at the recipe for fried chicken.

His family had gone for a vacation to Las Vegas, leaving him behind because of the upcoming basketball season. The Harriers had their work cut out of for them. And everybody expected him to lead them to victory.

He started thinking about the game strategies he had discussed with Coach that evening. But he still thought that because of Chad's shooting skills, he should be made the shooting guard instead of Stan. That idiot Stan hardly ever attended practices, partied before game nights, then sometimes showed up hungover at practice.

But the loud banging on the door diverted his attention.

He frowned and looked at the clock. Who could show up at his door at 10:30?

He walked to the front door and opened it to find Penny standing there. 

He sucked in a breath. She looked terrible. Her hair and clothes were disheveled, her eyes looked wild, she was holding a bottle of beer in each hand, and she reeked.

Oh God, she was drunk again.

"What took you so long to open the door?", she drawled, pushing him behind as she entered.

"What are you doing here?", he asked,"And more importantly, why are you drunk?"

Penny smiled and put her hand on his shoulder, "Let me share my wisdom with you. Man drinks for two reasons-", she began, but Matt cut her off.

"I know the reasons. What were doing at me threshold?"

"Oh, I was counting the stars", she said and giggled.

"Counting the stars?"

"Yes. And I saw...", Penny frowned and rubbed her thumb over her cheek, as if pretending she was scratching an imaginary beard," huh, I don't remember now. Wait let me go out and count again", she said and turned around.

Matt put his hands on her waist and pulled her back,"No, its okay. No need. How long were you there anyway?"

Penny giggled,"I dunno. An hour maybe?"

"An hour?!"

"I was drinking and I knew my mother won't let me in. Emma was not there at her house, that's why I came here. But then you had said you hated me, that's why I sat and counted the stars. My butler and I used to do that when we couldn't sleep. I started feeling cold and thought I should come inside", Penny said slowly, dragging each syllable.

Matt felt terrible. Penny was in such a state because of what Matt had told her.

He quickly grabbed his Letterman jacket and gave it to Penny. She smiled and shrugged it on.

"Where are your parents? Are they playing Hide-And-Seek?", Penny said, then walked to the kitchen and peered inside,"Matt's parents!", she called out,"Hello!"

Matt ran up to her and made her sit at the dining table,"My parents are out, Penny. God, have some dinner, then I'll drop you home."

But Penny gripped his arm, and with tears welling up in her eyes, she said,"No no, not home. If my mother gets very mad. Just drop me at the park or somewhere, I-I'll sleep on the bench."

Matt's chest ached, as if somebody had grabbed and twisted his heart inside. Penny looked so miserable, so lonely, it broke his heart. She had come here for his help, and he couldn't let her sleep on the bench.

"Okay, fine. You can sleep in Hannah's bedroom if you want", he said.

Penny grinned, got up shakily and gave him a hug. His heart thundered as she pulled away and looked at him sleepily. Then all of a sudden, she pressed her lips to his cheek, "Thank you Matt", she said and sat down again.

Matt could feel his cheeks burning as he gave her some antacids and a bottle of water.  He then served her dinner and after finishing his own, he half carried her to Hannah's bedroom.

"Will you find yourself something to wear?", he asked Penny as she sat down on Hannah's bed.

"Sure", she said, dragging the word for as long as she could. Matt couldn't help but smile. She looked so innocent, so childish.

He led Penny to Hannah's closet and then went outside and texted Hannah.

Matt: Hey, Hannah, is it okay if Penny wears some of your clothes tonight.

Hannah's reply came instantly. Matt sighed. His sister spent more time chatting than she did sleeping.

Hannah: Is she staying over?! OH MY GOD! You had sex with her?

Matt: No!

Hannah: You're not a virgin anymore! My little Matty has grown up!

Matt: I'm your older brother, you freak.

Hannah: Whatever Matty, use protection.

And with that, she signed off. Matt sighed. What wouldn't he give to have a normal conversation with his sister. Or any of his other siblings for that matter.

Penny came out, wearing a loose t-shirt and shorts and climbed into Hannah's bed.

Matt turned to leave but Penny called out,"Matt, please don't go."

Matt looked at her sadly,"I'm sorry Penny, I have to."

Penny looked at him with pleading eyes,"Please, Matt."

Matt sighed yet again,"Fine", he said and climbed into the bed next to her. Their shoulders brushed, sending shivers down his spine. Penny turned and curled into him and he couldn't help but put his arm around her when he felt her shiver next to him. 

"Goodnight", she said, then closed her eyes.

MATT

"Hey, basketball guy! Over here!", Matt heard a person call out, when he was on his way to the court.

He frowned. He thought he would be the only person in the school at that time. It was 6:30 in the morning after all. 

Those three words had made it very hard for him to sleep at night. Every time he slept, he dreamed of Penny. And every time he got up at night, he walked over to Hannah's bedroom to make sure Penny was comfortable. 

He turned around to see Mrs. Hughes beckoning to him.

"Can you open this door for me. I think it's stuck", she said pointing towards a set of large double doors.

"Uh, sure", Matt said. He grabbed the handle with one hand and pulled with all his might. God, the door was heavy.

He put his gym bag down and grabbed the handle with both of his hands and yanked on it as hard as he could.

The door flew open to reveal the theatre in front of them. And on the stage, two people were fast asleep.

"Who the heck is that!", exclaimed Mrs. Hughes when she saw the two figures. Maybe they were not supposed to be there.

Mrs. Hughes walked up to the stage, Matt in tow and then frowned at the two people sleeping on the stage. When Matt saw them, he stumbled backwards with shock. Emma lay asleep over there, her head resting on her hand, her face looking blissfully angelic as she snored softly.

But what really shocked him was that Will lay next to Emma, a hand over her abdomen, his back rising and falling with each breath that he took.

Why were they together in the theatre, sleeping like this, in yesterday's clothes, that too 6:30 in the morning? And why was his hand over her? Moreover, how did she let him place his hand over her?

There were energy bar wrappers scattered on the floor.

And was that beer?!

Matt was really confused. What had happened over here? Had they camped here at night?

He remembered seeing some missed calls from Emma last night, but when he called her back, her mobile was switched off.

Matt rubbed his forehead.

"Will! Emma! Get up!", Mrs. Hughes yelled.

Will almost immediately sat up straight and looked around, dazed. He did not seem to seem to notice Matt as he shook Emma awake.

Emma stared at Mrs. Hughes for a minute, then threw her arms around Will,"We're saved!", she cried.

Matt's heart dropped. He had expected Emma to be angry with Will for touching her. Then why was Emma hugging him all of a sudden. Had she forgotten what had happened that night? Had she forgotten the kiss?

Emma pulled away and noticed Matt for the first time

Her smile dropped. She stood up straight,"H-Hi Matt."

"Uh, hey, Emma",he replied, trying to hide the sadness and shock from his face.

"You can say your greetings later. What the heck are you doing in the theatre at this time? And why do I see my beer on the floor? Wait till the principal comes, I will see that you are suspended!"

Will got up and eyed Mrs. Hughes with a sly expression on his face," Ma'am, with all due respect, we found some other stuff in the backpack which could get you arrested..."

Emma chimed in,"So why don't we keep this a secret among ourselves?", she then looked at Matt,"Matt?"

Matt looked down,"Sure."

PENNY

Penny did not know where she was, when she got up and looked around. Well, the room was spinning, so she lied back down.

When the room had finally stopped spinning, she sat up and looked at herself and almost jumped. Those were not her clothes. She looked around. 

It was a girl's bedroom alright, but not her bedroom. She rubbed her temple, where the heck was she? 

Then she noticed a post-it stuck to the lamp next to the bed. She plucked it off and read

Penny,

I'm going to school, to practice a little. Will be in time for breakfast. Please feel free to use Hannah's shower and clothes. She even recommended some options for you to choose from. They are in the closet. There are antacids in the bathroom cupboard, if you are still hungover.

-Matt

Penny sat up straight. So she was in Matt's house, that too in his sister's room. He had mentioned she was still hungover.

Oh Gods, she had gotten drunk again. She sure did smell like it. Maybe a shower was the best option. She racked her brain, trying to remember what had happened the previous night. How did she end up in Matt's sister's bed? Why was she even in Matt's house? Had she embarrassed herself? Of course she had embarrassed herself!

She groaned and got up with a lot of effort and dragged her hungover self to the bathroom.

When she came back out, she could hear Ed Sheeran music coming from the kitchen, with another voice singing the song very badly.

She went into the kitchen to see Matt standing at the stove, flipping pancakes, badly singing Castle On The Hill.

She went and sat at the dining table. Then she called out,"What's for breakfast?"

Matt jumped at the sound of her voice and whirled around.

"You scared me!"

"What happened last night?", she asked him, as she put her head down on the table to make it feel less heavy.

"You don't remember anything?", he asked, looking nervous.

"No, nothing. That's why I want you to tell me."

"Nothing at all?"

"Nothing at all."

"What do you remember last?"

"I remember going to the bar with a fake ID."

And with that, Matt told her what happened the previous night. But she did get the feeling that he was hiding something. Something important.