The next morning, I woke up with the hangover from hell. I didn't even attempt to open my eyes for a while, I couldn't even work out whether I was really awake or not. I was surprised when I realised I was naked, but even more surprised that I wasn't alone.

Someone's warm body was pressed against my back, their arm was draped over my body, and a hand was loosely cupping one of my breasts. I finally forced my eyes open.

The room I was in was unfamiliar. It was painted lime green, and the colour was too bright for my eyes while I was in this state. I sighed heavily, and tried to sneak out from under the girl's arm, but woke her up in the process.

"Morning, sweetie."

I turned to see the barmaid from last night, she was still half asleep.

"Hey," I said, trying to sound like I wasn't full of regret and looking for an escape. "I'm really sorry, but I'm late for work."

"You don't need to lie to me," she laughed. "You told me you don't have work today."

I sighed, and looked at her apologetically. She sat up in bed. My eyes wandered down and saw that the lip and tongue piercings weren't the only ones she had. There was a small silver ring in her left nipple, and as much as I tried to ignore it, it was pretty hot.

"I'm not looking for a girlfriend, sweetie. Don't waste your time thinking of excuses. Take my number, and call me if you want to fuck again," she smiled, and got out of bed to get her phone from the other side of the room. I stared at her body as she walked, and I was proud of drunk Ivy.

"Sorry I lied," I smiled. "And I'm sorry for not having a clue what your name is."

"Amber," she giggled. "Last night was fun. I doubt you remember much, so let me know if you want to do it again."

I nodded, and got myself dressed. Amber wrote her phone number down, then handed me the piece of paper. She was still stood naked in front of me, and I couldn't help checking her out.

"Are there more piercings?" I asked, not being able to contain my curiosity.

"Wow, no memory at all?" She asked, biting her lip. "Guess you'll have to come back for round two."

Amber walked me to the door, and I kissed her on the cheek before I left.

"See you next time, then."

"Bye, Ivy," she said, and shut the door behind me.

I walked down the street a little bit, trying to work out where I was. As I turned the corner, I saw the bar, and started to walk home. I took my cigarette packet out again, and smoked the last cigarette while I walked.

When I got near the coffee shop, I started to walk quicker. I just wanted to have a shower, and stay in my pyjamas all day. I walked in to the apartment, and found Rob sitting in the armchair, grinning at me.

"What is that on your neck?"

I frowned, then walked to a mirror and saw a hickey.

"Ew, no," I said. I hated hickeys, they looked disgusting. They were only fun when you were young and wanted everybody to know you were getting some.

"So I guess I did you a favour, leaving you and Larissa alone?" He laughed.

"Rob, let me explain to you what happened after you left," I said, lying on the sofa, and glaring at him.

"Okay, but I don't need too much detail," he replied.

"Well, about thirty seconds after you left, I elbowed Larissa in the face and gave her a nosebleed, then-"

"What?"

"I'm not finished," I hissed, and he shut up. "Then, she gave me wine. I called her boyfriend an asshole, and then I tried to kiss her."

Rob's eyes widened, and I couldn't tell if he wanted to smile or frown. I'm not sure he knew either.

"I was not successful in kissing her, so I bolted right outta there, and went to that bar where you picked me up from after the Becky disaster. And then there was jaeger bombs."

"Oh dear," Rob said at the mention of jaeger bombs. He knew how badly they messed me up every time we went drinking.

"Yes, Rob, oh dear. So that's kind of where I left off. But where I picked up from this morning was... in bed with the hot barmaid, who has her nipple pierced and wants to fuck again, no strings attached."

Rob sat in silence for a few seconds, trying to get his head around everything.

"Which nipple?" He asked.

"Is that important?"

"I suppose not," he laughed. "Have you spoke to Larissa?"

"Dude, I literally rolled out of the barmaid's bed ten minutes ago."

"You should probably talk to her."

I ran both my hands through my hair, and sighed heavily. I knew he was right, but I didn't want to speak to Larissa. At least, not yet.

"What if she hates me?"

"Then you've got the nipple chick to help you get over her," he said.

"Did you fuck Alice?" I asked, remembering why Rob left me at Larissa's in the first place.

"Nah, she stayed here, but we were just talking all night."

"Pussy," I muttered, rolling my eyes. I stood up and went to take a shower.

When I got out of the shower, I inspected my neck properly in the mirror. The hickey was very dark in colour, and it would take a lot of make up to cover it. I didn't want anyone to see it. I got dressed quickly into some sweatpants and a t-shirt, then covered my hickey with some concealer and foundation. I hoped that would suffice, as I didn't know what else would cover it.

"I'm going downstairs for breakfast," Rob said, when I walked back out to the living room. "You wanna join me?"

I nodded, and walked downstairs with Rob.

"Bacon sandwich, and a toffee latte," Tom said, as he put my usual order in front of me. I guessed that Rob told him we were coming down for breakfast, because we had only just sat down. He gave Rob a bacon and egg sandwich, and a cappuccino.

"Thanks, Tom," I smiled.

"No worries, Ivy. Did Larissa get hold of you?" He asked.

"What?" I frowned.

"She came in this morning, looking for you. She said she would call you."

"I left my phone upstairs, I'll call her back later," I lied. He smiled, and went to serve some customers.

"You actually going to call her?" Rob asked.

"No. Not today, at least. I just want to curl up in bed and pretend nothing else exists."

Rob sighed, and ate his breakfast. I finished my food quickly, went back upstairs, and got into bed.

I wasn't tired, so I just lay under the cover, thinking about what happened with Larissa. Maybe I would be able to pass it off as being drunk, and we would go back to how things were before. I wasn't sure that was what I wanted, though.

"Ivy?" Rob said quietly, pushing the door open slightly.

I tried to smile, but I knew it wasn't going to convince my best friend. He sat down on the bed, next to me, and sighed.

"You need to talk to her."

"I fucked up, Rob," I said, sitting up.

"Larissa's cool, Ivy. I don't think she's gonna hate you. If she did, she wouldn't have come looking for you this morning, would she?" He said and I knew he was right.

"I'll call her later. Just let me wallow in self pity for a while."

Rob laughed, and left me alone. I closed my eyes, hoping to fall asleep, even for an hour. I wasn't particularly tired, but my eyes felt so heavy, and I just wanted to rest. Unfortunately, my brain wouldn't turn off, and just kept reminding me of all the stupid stuff I had done on the past.

I remembered when I first got caught smoking out of my bedroom window, by my dad. Getting caught making out with my cousin's girlfriend. Jumping off a bridge into a river to impress a girl, and breaking my arm in the process. And of course, last night's highlights made several appearances in tonight's episode of Ivy's fuck-ups.

"Ivy?"

My little self-hatred session was interrupted by an angelic voice that I wasn't expecting. I sat up in bed to look at her, trying to get an idea of what she was thinking. She wasn't so easy to read, which really annoyed me, as I couldn't prepare.

"Can we talk?"