Chapter Text
Thus far, Nyssa would say she wasn’t having the best time of her life. Well, not entirely true, as if she were actually asked by someone she would smile and nod vigorously. But no-one’s asking anyways. The party is cramped, loud, and smells mostly of sweat with a little mix of weed. Lovely.
She’s stood with her back to the wall, nursing a plastic cup of something vodka-y that realistically she has absolutely no intention of drinking. Everyone around her is drunk, dancing, making out, or a combination of all three.
And it’s not even that Nyssa doesn’t like parties, because she does. She thinks they must be fun, if you have the right people to spend them with. But she’s already a full term into her first year of university, and has yet to find “her people” (as her father had remarked she would). It’s not that she hasn’t tried exactly, just that she’s a little different to other people. And she’s met people, sure, and talks to lots of people. But she hasn’t found any sort of real closeness.
Still, she has Adric. Adric, her insanely sharp brother, who is on a scholarship for maths, despite being nearly two years younger than her. He was, in fact, supposed to be accompanying her to this hellfest, before a last-minute assignment waylaid him. Adric could be a little acerbic at times, but the two siblings genuinely cared for each other, and as such he had made her promise to find a way to get home safely. Which was really the main reason why she had yet to leave this houseparty.
Nyssa’s phone is dead (from staring at it to pass the time), and she’s ruminating on her options when someone falls directly onto her. Hard. Knocking the breath from her lungs.
“Ouch, watch yourself!” Nyssa snaps, pushing herself up onto her knees. Her tone then changes completely as she notices the state the other person is in. “Hey, are you okay?”
The other woman mutters something unintelligible, curled up on the floor. Nyssa deliberates for a second, then grabs the undersides of the other woman’s arms as she stands, hauling her up with her.
From here Nyssa is able to fully take stock of her assailant. She’s wearing a shiny white strappy top, with flowing black trousers and black pumps. She’s got a short pixie cut with short, jaggedy bangs. She would be quite pretty, were it not for the fact that she looks fit to collapse. Nyssa can feel that she’s taking the brunt of the other woman’s weight, and she can feel nails digging into her skin through her shirt as the other woman clings on for dear life. She quickly glances ‘round her. No-one seems to have noticed their collision at all. Or maybe they have and they just don’t care. In anycase Nyssa cannot, in good faith, leave this woman alone, so she pulls her by the hand and leads her from the room.
It takes forever to weave through the crowds of people who seem to pick the most inconvenient places to stand, but eventually Nyssa finds a bathroom (thanking the stars that it’s empty). She gets the girl sat on the floor against a large white bathtub, and then turns to lock the door behind them. The other girl still hasn’t said anything, which is incredibly worrying, but Nyssa focuses on immediate aid. She goes to the sink to wash out her cup (now empty from her fall) and fills it about half-way with water from the tap. She finds a flannel in a cupboard and wets it, bringing her haul down with her as she sits at the other woman’s side.
“You should drink this, it’ll help.” She pushed the cup into her hands.
“thanksss” mutters the other woman. She takes a clumsy gulp and nearly spills the entire thing, Nyssa’s hand shooting out to stabilise her.
There is a moment's silence. Then…
“‘think I mighta had a bit too muchh.” slurs the other woman, and Nyssa can’t help but laugh at that, her first laugh in hours.
“I would say so, yes. My name’s Nyssa, by the way. What’s yours?”
“Tegan.” It’s here that Nyssa picks up on the accent, a strong Australian twang coming through with the word.
“Nice to meet you, Tegan. Although, I admit the circumstances could be better.”
She gets a soft chuckle at that, before Tegan pulls a face and makes a noise in the back of her throat. Immediately Nyssa jumps back into action, helping her over to the toilet just in time.
She’s not emetophobic, but she’s definitely not a fan either. Thankfully Tegan’s hair is short so there’s no frantic pulling it away from her face. Still, Nyssa does smooth her bangs off her sweaty forehead when she’s done. Tegan smiles softly at that, leaning into the touch for just a second before she groans and lowers her head to rest on her arm against the toilet seat.
Nyssa feels a pang of some emotion she can’t quite name there, but brushes it off. She’s not really sure what to do with herself. She can count on one hand the number of parties she’s been to in her life, and most of them didn’t involve alcohol. But she wants to find a way to comfort the Australian, and settles for rubbing gentle circles on her back, a gesture designed to soothe.
And at first it does. But then she hears a quiet “Don’t” pass from the other woman’s lips, and drops her hand immediately.
“I’m sorry.”
“No, don’t be. S’just I feel all spinny and sick and I don’t think I can bear it.”
“Do you… want me to go?”
“No, please. Just… don’t touch me for a bit?”
“Okay.”
They sit in silence again, broken ever so often by pained little sounds from Tegan. Then she speaks again, in a voice so soft Nyssa nearly misses it altogether.
“Would you, I don’no… talk to me? I feel so sshit right now.”
“Sure. What about?”
“‘Nything.”
And so Nyssa does. She tells Tegan little random facts and anecdotes about her family, mostly about Adric but also her father and stepmother. Tegan doesn’t say much, but she’s clearly listening because her posture straightens and her little noises become more infrequent. Well, until she throws up again.
Nyssa doesn’t know how long they stay in the bathroom, but it must be at least an hour. The walls are strangely soundproof, the noises of the party so muffled you would have to strain to hear them. It’s an interesting way to experience a party, for sure. Tegan has thrown up once more, but she could tell (ewww) from the sound of it that it was largely bile. They wait a little while longer, bodies slowly numbing against the hard tile floor, before Nyssa broaches the idea of leaving.
“I haven’t got a way to get home, I came with my friend but she went home ages ago. ‘S why I got so sloshed, I think.”
“She went without you??”
“I said she could! In anycase, I was gonna crash in her dorm, but I honestly don’t think I could tell you the route right now. I live with my aunt, you see.”
“Oh okay. Well in that case you had better come home with me. I have a roommate, but it’s only my brother, and he’s definitely asleep by now.”
“No, I couldn’t ask that of you. I’ll… figure something out.”
“Don’t be ridiculous Tegan, you’re in no state to do anything of the sort! And in anycase, you’re not asking, I’m offering. In fact I’m insisting.” Nyssa finished with a mock forcefulness to her tone.
Tegan turned her head to look at Nyssa, a minute twinkle in her eye. “Ah well, I guess I have no choice in the matter.”
“No choice at all.” Nyssa reinforced, a soft smile playing on her lips.
Nyssa has a bit of a struggle to get the door to her accommodation open. Partly because her hands are so cold from the walk back, partly because she has Tegan tucked into her side. The ridiculous woman had brought no coat, only a small handbag that Nyssa had retrieved from a pile of belongings, along with her own coat. Her coat that is now tucked around the nearly comatose woman leaning on her. It just felt more important to keep her warm.
The upshot of this is that Nyssa feels like an ice block. It hadn’t helped that they had had to stop once along the way for Tegan to retch into a bush. She seemed better for it though, looking less grey and more just exhausted.
Finally Nyssa manages the key, and gets them both into the flat. From there, she gets Tegan settled in her bed, curled up on her side. She’s knocked right out before Nyssa can even finish pulling the covers over her.
She closes the door softly, before making her way quietly to the kitchenette. In the dim light, she prepares a glass of water to bring back, and then remembers about her phone, plugging it in to charge. This gives her the idea to look for Tegan’s phone, and she’s glad she does, as when she retrieves it from the tiny handbag the screen flashes with multiple missed calls and texts from several people. The phone has a password, but it turns out to literally be “1234”, (Seriously, Tegan?). Nyssa wonders briefly about the ethics of reading someone else’s texts, but decides it’s justified, given the situation.
Sarah <3 (18:38): What time are u getting here btws?
Sarah <3 (18:39): lol nvm
Sarah <3 (22:31): Hope ur having fun, sorry for ditching u, this headache’s honestly a bitch. Lmk how ur getting home and text me when u get there yh? xx
Sarah <3 (00:15): hey tegan just wanna check ur okay with getting home? text me ur plans, not to mother but I’m a lottle worried. I can wake harry or ace and ask them to com het you?
Harry S. (00:26): Hey Tegan, Sarah says you aren’t responding to her messages and you know how the old girl gets lol. Seriously, tho, even if you’re made at her or smt, can you let her ur safe pls?
Sarah <3 (00:45): Tegan seriously are you okay???
Aceeee (00:59): TEEGS ANSWER UR FKING MESSAHES COS TELL ME WHU IM GETTING WOKEN UP IN THE MIGDLE OF THE NIGHT BY SARASH JANE BLOODY SMITH? ARE YOU ALIVE???
Sarah <3 (01:12): you promised you’d leave before midnight and the radio silence is honestly scary, please call me back xx
Sarah <3 (02:38): tegan?
Nyssa’s frowning by the time she reaches the end of the thread of messages, and she’s not sure what to do. Thankfully, the choice is taken out of her hands as the phone lights up, quietly vibrating against her palm with the incoming call. She swipes up to answer it, but does not manage to get a single syllable out before the person on the other end of the line is yelling in her ear.
“TEGAN WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK UR PLAYING AT? Sarah’s been going out her MIND, you said you’d be home before midnight and it’s way past that! Are you okay?? She thinks you’re mad at her, honestly I think she’s half convinced herself you’re dead in a ditch somewhere and it’s all her fault! Well…?”
“Um, hi.” Nyssa speaks softly, her voice crackling a little from disuse.
“You’re not Tegan.”
“No, I’m not. My name is Nyssa-”
“Where’s Tegan? Has something happened??”
“She’s okay, honestly! Well, she’s drunk as a skunk and quite sick because of it. I’m so sorry, I honestly didn’t think to check for a phone until now, otherwise I’d have let you guys know. She was pretty out of it, she couldn’t remember how to get back to you and so I took her home with me. I promise I’m not a creep or anything, I study Computer Science and Molecular Biology at our uni, and I just wanted to make sure she was safe. She’s currently passed out in my room.”
“Jeesus. Okay. Thank you, for that. And I’m sorry if I was harsh earlier. It’s just, it’s not like her at all to go no contact, especially because… well. Doesn’t matter. And to drink like that…But she’s okay then? Thank fuck. Sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it. I think it’s really sweet, how much you guys all care. I’d rather not wake her at the moment, but I promise you I’ll have her come see you guys tomorrow, so you know she really is fine.”
“Thank you. Thanks so much for this. I’ll let the others know, and I won’t keep you any longer.”
“Okay, bye.”
“Bye.”
Nyssa waits until the woman she assumed was Ace hangs up, and then takes her own phone off charge to plug in Tegan’s, as it was getting low.
She then slinks back into her own room to deposit the glass of water and briefly check on Tegan, who is sleeping peacefully. It feels weird to share the room, and as their flat is equipped with neither a living room nor a sofa, she makes her way across the hall and into Adric’s room. Her brother is asleep on the right side of the bed, and so she tiptoes around to the other side and curls up there.
In any other family this might have been a strange thing to do, but Nyssa and Adric had often shared beds throughout childhood and adolescence, as both had suffered with nightmares at different times in their lives, and had found this to be a sticking plaster for the issue. She knows that he will not be perturbed to find her there upon waking.
As she lets her tiredness overtake her, she muses a little on how odd the situation she had found herself in tonight was. I just spent nearly the entire night taking care of some girl I don’t even know. And I don’t even mind.