2 A friendly favor

"Can you take me out of here asap?" She sent a message to Luke.

He was surprised. It was still early, barely after dinner, so the party hadn't even started in earnest.

"Of course. I'll be there in 25 minutes." She got a reply almost immediately.

She was really confused. On the one hand, she had voluntarily agreed to go with Patrick's friend to that Christmas party. It was her volitional and unforced decision! Well, almost unforced, but hers nonetheless.

It was supposed to be a friendly favor, but why did she have a damn moral hangover?

'No more dates, tea dates, coffee dates, lunch dates, dinner dates, or blind dates! No damn favors like going with someone I didn't want to be with, even for a minute.' She decided categorically.

She was sitting at the front desk of the five-star hotel, not even wanting to go back to the party.

Once again, she was scrolling on her phone through the photos of the place she was obsessed with. This mountain was more than just a place.

She remembered the feeling she had felt up there in the dark, cold monastery. There was a smell of dampness in the air, a peculiar, old one that didn't bother her at all back then. When she was sitting on a wooden chair under one of the columns, she felt calm and an amazing feeling of relief had washed over her.

"What happened?" Luke's voice snapped her out of her memories.

"Nothing. Take me out of here."

"Where's your coat?"

"There." She pointed to the opposite chair.

Luke took her coat, helped her put it on, took her purse and they headed towards the parking lot. They walked slowly in complete silence. Jo walked in the front and Luke followed her.

Like it or not, Luke admired her long legs, which were visible from under her coat. Her dress was partially transparent as it was made of lace.

"Your legs are fucking gorgeous in those high heels, badass." He commented loudly. "But you know it anyway."

"Hmm…"

"I love the way you don't care about your appearance. It's so normal for you that you look good, if you want, of course…"

"Life is not about appearances, Luke! It's about who you really are and what you have in your heart."

"Yes." He didn't feel like discussing with her that matter now. It was pointless.

"Why do guys only see me through my long legs and my curvy body?" She interrupted him.

"Guys are visual creatures. First they see the body, then they appreciate the other qualities. You know it yourself."

"It's all fucked up…"

"It is. We are different." He said as he opened the car door for her. "Can you get in on your own or do you need help?"

"I can handle it. I am not drunk."

"Not at all…" Luke mumbled under his breath. He saw her dull eyes. He wondered what had happened, but he didn't want to ask directly. She never really drank at parties like that.

"Should I drive you home, or do you have any other requests?" He asked as he got behind the wheel.

She was silent. She struggled with her seat belts. After a few minutes of strenuous battle with it, she finally managed to fasten it.

"Do you remember that restaurant near the National Concert Hall we used to go to ten years ago?"

"Yes. They won't let me in like this, I'm wearing tracksuits if you haven't noticed."

"Hmm…"

"Do you have any other wishes I could fulfill?"

"Big Mac, double fries, chocolate chip cookies, and a coke without ice."

'And then throwing up the later half of the night with a head in the toilet bowl!' He added mentally. So be it, if it makes her feel any better.

There was no McDrive anywhere around, so they had to find somewhere to park and get in. After about fifteen minutes of driving in complete silence, they arrived at their destination.

"Are you coming with me or will you wait in the car?" Luke asked, concerned.

"I'm going with you." She said opening the door.

When they entered the fast food restaurant, it seemed like everyone was looking only at her. She didn't seem to notice all the strange looks. She knew perfectly well that she had made a kind of mistake as she didn't fit the interior at all.

She was wearing a short beige woolen stylish coat, its length to her knees, that showed through her elegant navy blue dress, which was only thick lace from the middle of the thighs, with a huge crack on the left leg. In her high heels, she was taller than everyone else in line.

"Maybe you should sit down somewhere for a while, badass?" Luke pointed to an empty table in the corner.

"Good idea!" She said slowly moving towards the corner. She walked with the grace of a model.

The eyes of all the guys, regardless of age, followed her every movement.

'Fuck! Badass, you like spectacles and you're fucking awesome at it!' Luke concluded internally, looking at the people waiting in line who were looking in her direction.

"What a chick! Who is she?" Even the girls standing right in front of him commented with delight. "Look at her gorgeous dress. Why did she come here?"

"She looks like a model or an actress!" Giggled the other girl standing in front of him.

His dear friend, instead of sitting down politely, as befits such a place, continued her performance.

She pulled off her coat, revealing a dapper lace dress and tossed it casually on the chair opposite. She sat down, crossing her left leg over her right, exposing her entire long leg.

She casually tossed her hair down over her eyes and then pulled out her phone and completely lost herself in whatever she was scrolling through.

'Damn! Patrick, what have you done?" He wondered as he looked at her. He was truly terrified.

"Here's your order, badass!" He placed a tray full of junk food that she didn't usually eat in front of her.

Luke sat opposite her. Instead of consuming his coffee and cake, he chose to stare at her. She was nothing like his best friend.

Her hair was elegantly arranged, her delicate curls perfectly falling in place like in a painting. Even after an evening out, her makeup was still flawless with wild smokey eyes, and blood-red lips, which contrasted with her teeth. She looked really stunning, but completely alien to him.

He stared in horror at her completely absent eyes, which he could see well from this perspective. He wondered what she was reading or watching at that moment.

"Are you going to eat or are you just here to read?"

"Excuse me?" She was snapped out of her lethargy by the voice of her perplexed friend.

"Are you going to eat?"

"Yes." She answered but she still just stared at the food.

Luke pulled out antibacterial wipes from his jacket pocket and wordlessly handed them to her. He knew her OCD behaviors well.

She cleaned her hands carefully, then dried her hands thoroughly, and started eating. She ate the fries slowly.

"You are no longer at the party, you can eat normally." He commented on her manners.

"What do you want Luke? Say it!"

"Nothing, badass." He said, sipping his black coffee slowly. He watched her every move, every gesture, every involuntary muscle twitch on her face.

"Are you feeling better?" Luke asked her after an hour or so when she finally finished her late night meal.

"I'd have more coffee, but I prefer the one from my espresso machine at home."

They walked back to the car in silence. He drove up to her house in complete silence. As she got out, he noticed that her left ankle was already an unnatural size.

"I'll sit with you for a while, Ann is in the hospital on duty today."

"If you want." She said opening the front door. She was the first to enter, leaving her heels almost on the threshold, and threw her coat on the armchair standing in the corridor.

"Can you make me a coffee?" She asked, disappearing up the stairs leading up to the bedroom.

"Of course." Moments later, he was in the kitchen turning on the espresso machine.

In the meantime, he sent a message to Patrick: "What the fuck happened at that party that our gem is drunk?"