Orange Juice
Morgana woke up in the middle of the night, her head still ringing from the previous night alcohol over-consumption and her blanket fallen on the floor beside her. This was Draco's fault. He had insisted that she drink, he had brought at their home a bunch of his freaky friends and he had made her experience one of the most uncomfortable moments in her life. They had spend something close to 3 hours chatting about girls and she could only fill her cup again and again to ease her boredom. Draco honestly wasn't much of a worthy boyfriend, she thought. He was never at home, and when he was he would always shout or, even worse throw things on her. She was getting tired of this relationship but she definitely had no way to get out of it in mind. She stared blankly at the ceiling until she decided she had to get everything out of her mind and prepare for school. She was a 21 year-old Arts university student, currently studying sketching.
She lazily got out of bed and headed for the wardrobe. She took out a pair of jeans and a dark blue, plain shirt and got dressed in a hurry. She made herself a cup of coffee, gulped it down and looked around. Her home, the apartment she was sharing with Draco Malfoy was in a complete mess. On the floor were his clothes, some poker cards and a broken glass with red wine all around it. She would have the time to clear it up when she was back from college as Draco usually came home at night. She combed her hair, took her bag, put on a pair of white All Stars and leaved the flat.
At the same time Merlin, had just woken up by his parrot, Gaius who was squeaking "Fresh Fish" which he obviously had heard from a man on the road, from his cage on the wall. He threw his pillow on the bird, missed him and got up, swearing. He reached the kitchen, and put a mug of milk on the table. It was a habit he had gained from an early age, that he wished his friends, especially Gwaine and Arthur would never learn about. He drank it slowly, while thinking of the day ahead. He was 23, with a degree in History and currently unemployed and had sooner find a job, as his money was steadily decreasing. He put on an Evanescence T-Shirt, jeans and Stan Smiths and quit his apartment, whistling a song. His friends would always say, he was an impossible optimist. Perhaps they were right, we thought cheerfully and made his way to the exit of the building.
7 o'clock in the evening
Merlin was literally above the clouds. He had just managed to get a job as an assistant in his best friend's father's company. He would sell cds in the "Pendragon's" record shop. It had nothing to do with his degree but he didn't mind. He loved music and especially vintage music players, gramophones, vinyls etc so working there seemed like paradise to him. He and his friend Gwaine had decided to go celebrate about it in a pub. Merlin entered his flat performing a victory dance, in front of a confused neighbour who he obviously hadn't noticed and jumped over the sofa in an attempt to reach more quickly the phone. He pressed some keys and was connected with Gwaine to arrange time and place. Then he decided he could afford to get himself some pizza as he had two hours left. He left his flat, got a pizza and on his way he decided he would also like a bottle of orange juice. He bought it and started drinking instantly.
As he was turning the corner that lead to his house he stumpled upon a young woman, who came out of nowhere, soaking her with the orange juice he was carrying. He took a look at her and despite the fact that she was all covered in orange juice, she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, with long raven black hair and bright jade eyes. He blushed and started mumbling sorrys to her.
"Don't worry, it's just orange juice"
Morgana tried to make the young man stop. Usually she would start swearing or walk away but there was something inside her that told her not to.
" I'm just going to call a taxi home"
She cursed herself that moment as she remembered she didn't have enough money to get one, but she was too proud to admit it. The young man got her out of the uncomfortable moment.
"If you want, my house is just across the road. You could come and we could clean your clothes"
Generally Morgana would never say yes to such an offer. Even if it was suggested by the one who ruined her clothes, it was too extreme to think it worth the risk. She looked at him. He was tall and skinny, he had high cheekbones, black messy hair and a goofy smile. But what caught her attention was his eyes. They were dark blue and she found herself staring at them. She blushed and decided she didn't have something to lose.
" Ok I'm coming. By the way, I'm Morgana"
"Merlin, pleased to meet you"
Merlin couldn't believe it. Had she just agreed to come to his flat and change? Maybe today was his lucky day after all. They entered the flat in silence. He got her a black T-shirt and some jeans of his.
" They are going to be a little large for you, but I don't think you will be going anywhere"
She smiled at him. He left her to change and put her wet clothes in the drywasher. Then he came down, made her and himself a cup of coffee and looked as his watch. 20:45. He was already late.
"I'm sorry Morgana, I need to go somewhere. You can stay here, watch some TV, eat something. Make yourself at home. In half an hour your clothes will be ready so you can go home, right?"
Morgana nodded ok. It was strange. She had known Merlin for about 15 minutes, yet she felt more comfortable at his flat that in the apartment she was sharing with Draco. She could sense Merlin's kindness radiate from him. Draco was never like this. Usually drunk, he rarely had time for her and when he had he made her feel even worse than ignored. She opened her bag and took out the " Life of Van Gogh" and her reading glasses. She started reading and making notes but after a while, without even knowing it, she feel asleep on the sofa, with the glasses still on and the book on her lap.
