What have I done?

My forsaken son

What did I do

So that I lost you?

Perhaps it was me

But I'm down on one knee

So that maybe one day I'll be free

Please look at my hands

Do you see how they're clasped?

Maybe one day I'll fast

But do you see how I'm bound

Barely making a sound

I'm sorry for whatever I've done

--the song Questions, lyrics by Orion Bauwens

I open my eyes. I have zero idea where I am. I'm bobbing though, so I know I'm in water. Very cautiously so I don't fall, I look around.

I'm in a pool, floating on a clear yellow floaty bed. I'm in...someone's backyard. I'm fully clothed, though they're damp. My head is killing me, which explains a lot. The bobbing isn't making my stomach feel too good, so I decided getting out of the pool sooner than later is probably a good idea.

As I row myself with my arms to the edge of the pool, I try to think of the last thing I remember. Trying to remember anything makes my head pound though. As I carefully get out of the pool, the last thing I can recall is being in Orion's back yard as Ben stood over a campfire, laughing maniacally as Orion screamed at him to not burn the place down. (It was a pretty big fire Ben had made.)

Orion's house. That's right. I look around and I see that I'm in his neighbor's pool, the one directly behind his house.

"Shit..."

I pull out my phone, but it's not working. I really, really hope it just needs to be charged, although I have a sneaking suspicion it's broken after being submerged in this pool. As I start to walk towards the gate to go around front, I realize my knee hurts. I pause, lifting up my pant leg. There's a large bruise. I sigh heavily and continue to limp along back to Orion's house.

I go to the front of his house--which is wide open. Sighing heavily again, I shut the door behind myself. There's some random people passed out in various places. I find Ben curled up with some girl on the couch, half-naked. I make a face and continue on my way.

I finally find Orion in the backyard. He's asleep on a pool chair that he evidently dragged into the yard from the pool area. Next to him is a cooler filled with melted ice water and the fire pit, which is still flickering.

For the third time I sigh. Then I pick up the cooler filled with water and dump it on him.

He gasps loudly, jumping to his feet. I set the cooler down, fold my arms, and frown at him. He's gasping, eyes so large they're the size of the moon.

"WHAT THE FUCK?"

"Good morning!"

He gapes a moment. "F-FUCK YOU! THAT WATER IS F-FREEZING! ARE YOU TRYING TO G-GIVE ME A H-HEART ATTACK?!"

After a minute though he's not angry. He's laughing. He rings out his shirt and sits down, holding his head in both his hands. "Ohhhhhh fuck it hurts to laugh."

"What the fuck happened last night?" I ask, sitting next to him, also holding my head.

"A wonderful party?" He grins at me.

"No, seriously. And why did I end up in the Furguson's pool?"

Orion cracks up. "I was wondering where you went!"

"It's a good thing I didn't drown..."

"It's also a good thing they didn't catch you. They would've had your ass."

"I know, right? They're not the friendliest of people, yeah?"

"Guys."

We turn around. Ben has come out to join us. He has a blanket around himself. He's barefoot, clearly still just in his boxers.

Ben looks behind himself before speaking quietly. "I think I had sex last night!"

Orion grins at him. "Good for you."

"Welcome to the club," I say, before thinking that through. Oh well.

"Wait," Orion says, "think? Or did."

"I...don't remember."

Orion snorts and takes out his cigarettes. He then swears and throws them because they're soaked.

"Sorry," I say, "didn't think of that..."

"It's okay," he tells me with a shrug.

"Well, I did see you in a rather interesting position this morning..." I tell Ben, grinning.

Orion looks at Ben seriously then. "Please tell me you wore a condom."

Ben pales. Wordlessly he turns around and rushes back in the house. As we wait, Orion continues to hold his head, but I start picking up all the beer bottles, cans, and garbage that's strewn about everywhere.

"Yup!"

We both turn. Ben is back, holding a used condom and grinning.

"DUDE," I say, making a disgusted face, sticking out my tongue. "I don't wanna see that."

"Good for you," Orion says, "now go throw that thing away, idiot."

Ben grins and walks off to the side of the house where the dumpster is. 

I can't help but laugh, shaking my head. "He's such a dork..."

"Hey, you befriended him first."

"Yeah, I know. Some days I question that decision."

"I heard that!" Ben calls, causing us to laugh.

"Ohhhhh fuck," Orion says suddenly, looking panicked.

I look at him confused.

He grabs his hair. "We had a meeting today with Gloria."

"Oh fuck me! BEN!"

The next twenty minutes are spent in a mad rush. It's a blur of putting on clothes (in Ben's case, anyway), cleaning up, and trying to wake up people and get them out of the house. Once all that's done we call a limo (only because none of us were in any shape to drive). 

Before we go to the meeting, we stop for some much needed coffee. None of us brushed our teeth, so Orion hands us mints (they managed to stay dry). Frantically we brushed out respective hair out with our fingers, hoping we didn't look too jacked up. Who the hell were we kidding, though?

We walk in and I can imagine what we must look like. It doesn't help that Orion has decided to keep his sunglasses on. We all sit down in our seats quietly, avoiding Gloria's stare. Well, glare, with her lips in a thin line.

For a while she doesn't say anything. It's very uncomfortable. Orion has gone to gnawing on his thumbnail. Me personally, I'm bouncing my knee up and down. Ben is just staring at the wall, occasionally glancing around.

Finally, Gloria decides to speak. "The meeting was to start an hour ago."

None of us say anything. She shakes her head slowly at us. "I am very disappointed in you all."

Suddenly we're all talking at once. Orion is trying to make up ludicrous excuses. I'm apologizing for the tardiness. Ben is going on about how he got laid but how sorry he is for being unprofessional by bringing it up but how he had to because it was such a big deal. I'm happy when it seems like Gloria can't understand any of us. Her face becomes more confused until finally she holds up her hand. We all shut up at once.

"Just don't do it again, alright?"

We all agree.

A small smile plays on her lips, although she's clearly trying to remain strict. "Well, this meeting was supposed to start with a bit of happy news..."

"We're really sorry," Orion tells her honestly.

Gloria breaks out into a grin she can't contain anymore. "So...guess who's up for a Grammy for Best Rock Song of the year?"

I blink. The room has gone quiet. Like, completely quiet. I then break out into a grin and look at Orion, who looks stunned. He's taken off his sunglasses and looks just as hung over as I feel, with his smudged eyeliner and dark circles under his eyes.

"W-what?"

"You guys are up for a Grammy!" Gloria shouts, jumping to her feet and jumping up and down.

We lose our shit. There's hugs, there's crying (guess who), there's screaming, jumping around. By the end of it we're all up on the wooden conference table, dancing. Even Gloria.

It's one of the best memories in my entire life. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined my future holding a day that started out by waking up in a pool after a raucous party, and having that same day end with being part of a Grammy-nominated band. The surreal had become reality, and it was wonderful.