Part 7: things look beautiful when they're so new

                                    

                                          
CW: content warning for implied medical trauma (hydra suuucks).

Alice doesn't get a response from the 32557038 account. She finally manages to fall asleep around 4:00am and wakes up at 2:00 to the sound of Sapphire crashing through the apartment. The girl is the loudest person on earth. Alice hears the fridge door slam and then a glass break, followed by swearing. It's amazing there's a single dish in the entire apartment with the rate that girl drops shit. Alice's mom jokingly bought them a family-sized pack of paper plates for Christmas last year. Sapphire was only mildly offended.
"Why doesn't she just get us plastic forks, too?"
"Because regular forks don't shatter when you drop them on the ground."
"Fuck you, Ali," she bites.
She sighs as she rolls onto her back and grabs her phone.
There's a message from Billy, bright and flaming as the red flags that she's been ignoring since high school.
[billthek1dd]: thanks again for last night, beautiful. let's hang more often? 
She groans. 
"I'll answer that later."
Alice showers, wincing slightly at the tenderness between her legs. Billy can be a little rough sometimes. In the moment, it's amazing. She gets swept up in the animalistic brutality of it all, but she always regrets it the next day. She climbs out of the shower and wraps a towel around her body, sitting on her bed as she combs her hair. The bedroom door slams open and Sapphire stands in the doorway in one of Jeff's t-shirts and a pair of jeans. 
"Was Billy Murphy here last night?"
"Why?"
Sapphire glares.
"Because my fucking takeout is gone."
Alice winces.
"I'm sorry?"
"Dammit, Ali! He's a fucking leech! Why do you keep sleeping with him?!"
"Because he's the only guy I see on the regular who can actually, you know... work my equipment."
Sapphire raises a brow and crosses her arms over her chest.
"Ali, you're 27 years old. You can say 'make me come.' Okay? We're not kids."
She laughs and fiddles with the popsocket on her phone. 
"Okay, fine. Yeah. The rest of them just do a shit job at it."
Sapphire laughs.
"Okay, well, I forgive him this time, but if he does it again, I'm going to cut off each of his balls and feed them to him in teeny, tiny little sections after I've tied him to the kitchen chair. Capeesh?" 
Sapphire Quinn. Queen of over reactions. 
"Jesus, Sapphire."
"I get serious about my leftovers!" She exclaims, shrugging.
"Well, I can order you some more food to replace what he took."
She sighs.
"Sure."
Sapphire lingers in the doorway, looking around Alice's room and biting her bottom lip. She does this whenever she wants information. Alice watches her, smiling.
"Did you want to ask me about Buchanan?"
"You know, I did, and then the leftover fiasco just happened, so I was reeling from it--"