Aaron and Brendan made it back to the apartment in one piece. This was to be expected since they weren’t really that drunk. Although, after Katie put Harry Potter in on Brendan’s request, he passed out and started snoring with his head in Aaron’s lap; Aaron pushed him gently onto the floor and placed a pillow under his head because he felt he should be a good friend. Halfway though Harry, Aaron fell asleep leaving Katie sitting on the edge of the couch, staring at the TV and thinking.

Which was not such a good thing.

She started thinking about how Aaron would be leaving in a couple of days; he had to go to Australia and she would be staying in New York, of course, because she had class. It wasn’t the distance that worried her, because they’d been away from each other for months at a time but she started worrying about what would happen when he got back.

As the clock struck three, she had at least established that she was irrevocably in love with him, and that, at least, was comforting. She had been slightly unsure when she’d made the grand gesture, but she now knew that had just been nerves. For some reason, she’d been worried he’d reject her.

She watched him sleep for a good twenty minutes, smiling to herself because she started realizing that he was all she ever wanted. Ever since he’d pushed her into the mud when they were ten, she’d loved him. Every boyfriend she’d ever had (not that there had been many) had been measured up to him, her best friend.

When the sun started rising and Katie’s eyelids started drooping, she cursed herself for being stupid and thinking it was a mistake to get together with Aaron. She’d been afraid they would break up and it would completely ruin their friendship. But, really, you can’t have something so great unless you take the chance.

Katie realized taking the chance with Aaron wasn’t a mistake at all, but possibly the smartest thing she’d ever done.

At least Brendan was too drunk to remember she’d said anything.

*

“Hangover pancake breakfast!” Katie announced at the top of her voice several hours later; she’d had a total of four hours of sleep but she was used to staying up to study so it wasn’t difficult for her to be awake and cooking already.

She was carrying a plate of pancakes to the coffee table (which was already set and had a pitcher of orange juice in the center) when Brendan rolled over and reached up to poke Aaron in the stomach.

“AP.”

Aaron yawned, his eyes closed tightly. “What.”

“I hate your girlfriend.”

Katie was standing over the two of them laughing quietly; Brendan was sprawled out under the coffee table and Aaron was on the couch, his legs hanging over one side. His hair was hanging over the other side, since it was huge and messier than usual because of how he slept.

“I hate her too, man,” Aaron replied soothingly, patting Brendan absently on the arm.

“I can’t believe you both hate me after I made you a nutritious and wonderful breakfast,” Katie grumbled, grabbing a pillow out from under Aaron’s head and dropping it on the floor so she could sit at the coffee table across from them.

She kicked Brendan gently in the ribs. “Okay, well, if you two are going to sleep, I’ll just enjoy these chocolate chip pancakes allllllll by myself.”

“Do you remember back in sixth grade?” Aaron questioned, his eyes still closed. “Remember how we had that project where we had to cook a meal for our entire family?”

Katie scowled at him, but it didn’t do any good since he wasn’t looking. “Yes,” she stated firmly.

Aaron turned over so he was facing her, and he finally opened his eyes. “Didn’t you burn the kitchen down?”

Brendan started laughing hysterically, hitting his head on the table as he tried to sit up; Katie glared at her boyfriend.

“I didn’t burn the kitchen down,” Katie said haughtily. “There was a small---” Brendan was rubbing his head as he sat up against the couch, but he was still laughing like a madman. “---SMALL grease fire, but I got it under control before there was any damage done.”

Aaron sat up and slid down to the floor beside Brendan. “Her house smelled like burnt toast for weeks.”

“You made TOAST?” Brendan asked incredulously.

“She made some weird concoction she made up herself. I think it had beef and pudding in it, right?”

Katie frowned at him. “No. It did not.” She turned to a still laughing Brendan. “It was spaghetti. I burned the meatballs. And it wasn’t my fault; those things are hard to cook.”

Brendan dipped his head and peered at the stack of pancakes in front of him; he lifted each one up in turn and examined them.

“They’re safe,” Katie stated in annoyed tones, eyeing Aaron angrily. “I go to all this trouble and you make fun of me.” She shook her head, shook out a paper napkin and put it in her lap. “I’ve lost my appetite.”

Aaron reached across the table and took her hand in his. “You make the best pancakes in the world. And I was only joking.”

Katie smiled brightly at him. “I know.”

Brendan started choking on his pancake and Aaron shoved a glass of orange juice at him.

“I swear I didn’t put anything bad in there.”

“Of course you didn’t,” Aaron replied in placating tones.

“Just nails,” Brendan said cheerfully, taking a huge bite of pancake and shoving it in his mouth.

Aaron started eating then, but Katie watched them with a smirk on her face. “He’s only choking because he eats like an ANIMAL.”

Brendan growled loudly, which resulted in Aaron and Katie falling over with laughter.

*

“So I was really drunk last night.”

Katie looked up from where she was cleaning the coffee table of the breakfast dishes. “I remember,” she replied wryly, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear and ducking down to retrieve a napkin from the floor.

“I wasn’t so drunk that I don’t remember what was said, however,” Brendan said slowly, sidling up behind her and placing a hand gently on her back.

Katie glanced at him and then straightened up. “Okay….?”

“What the hell’s up with you saying you think it was a mistake?” Brendan was never the type to just skirt around the issue; he preferred to be straightforward. Things were over quicker that way.

She set the plates down and looked at the bathroom door, which was closed tightly; she could still hear the water running in the shower, so she prodded Brendan in the shoulder and he dropped down onto the couch.

“Could we not repeat that, please?”

Brendan folded his arms across his chest and waited.

Katie sighed and leaned against the back of the couch, rubbing her temples with the tips of her fingers. “I don’t know what I was saying. You know what happens to me after one glass of wine.”

Brendan raised an eyebrow. “Don’t bullshit me. I just want to know what you were thinking. I feel invested in this relationship for some reason.”

Katie snorted. “Gee, I wonder why.”

Brendan shifted on the couch so he was facing her. “Are you going to break his heart?” He asked pointedly.

There was five seconds of silence before Katie shook her head. “No,” she said softly.

“Okay, then, we’re cool.”

“I can’t promise that we’ll live happily ever after, Bren…but…I really do love him. I don’t want to hurt him, and that’s why I have reservations. Because he’s my best friend in the entire world and I don’t know what I’d do without him. I can’t lose him if this all goes wrong.”

One side of his lips curled into a half-smirk. “So, make it go right.”

“Hey, what’s with the serious faces?” Aaron asked, coming out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist. “It’s too early for you two to be talking like normal human beings.”

Brendan laughed, and Katie smiled softly up at him.

Even if all hell broke loose and their relationship didn’t work out, at least she would go through life without regrets; she wouldn’t have any what if’s haunting her, and because of that, she knew she had made the right decision.

After all, Aaron was so worth the risk.

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