Fireproof // H.S.

10. Escape

I was nervous about meeting this friend of theirs. I knew there was nothing to worry about but I couldn't stop thinking about how he killed Niall's cousin. I glanced at Niall and could see that he was nervous as well. He was unusually quiet and his jaw was clenched as he looked out the window. We were currently on the way to their friend's apartment.

Harry and I made our way back to the bakery after our encounter earlier in the day. It didn't take too long for 7 PM to come. We passed the time eating and talking.

We all met up at the bakery at 7 PM and Harry picked the four of us up. He drove on the freeway and took an exit I never took before which peaked my interest. I loved going to places I've never been to before. I looked around. This part of town was surprisingly not as developed as I thought it would be. There were more trees than there were buildings. It was a lovely place. An escape from the hustle and bustle of the city.

The ride ended when we pulled up to Avalon Heights, an apartment complex that looked like a recent construction. The lawn, trees, and shrubs were neatly maintained. We got out of the car and made our way to apartment 1D (I'm sorry, I had to! xP). Harry knocked on the door and we waited. Moments later, the door opened to reveal a handsome young man who looked exotic. I tried to figure out his ethnicity but failed miserably.

"Hey," he greeted, smiling at us. "Come on in." He gestured for us to follow him. We walked into the living room which was small but cozy, just like Harry and Bridget's apartment. On the couch were two young men watching TV. They turned to look at us and waved when we entered.

"This is Louis and that's Liam," the young man who greeted us said. "I don't think you guys met before."

"No we haven't," Harry said, walking up to shake their hands. "I'm Harry. This is Bridget. And this is Violet and Niall." I felt so out of place. It felt weird not knowing any of these people.

"I'm Zayn," the young man who greeted us said. "It's nice to meet the both of you." He shook Niall's hand first. It was obvious Niall wasn't too thrilled to meet him but Zayn didn't let that bother him. He then turned to me and shook my hand. He gave me a smile. For some reason, his smile wasn't warm. It was cold and looked forced. I shook it off thinking that I was over analyzing things. "Please sit down. I'll make some tea."

The four of us squeezed onto a couch made for two. Even though it was a tight squeeze, none of us dared to sit next to Louis and Liam. Niall was basically sitting on me but I tried to not let it bother me. Zayn came back with tea and biscuits. I reluctantly took a biscuit and started chomping on it.

"So what brings you all here?" Zayn asked, sitting next to Louis on the couch.

Harry nervously itched his arm and looked at Bridget. It seemed like there was an intense staring competition between the two of them as they silently fought over who would speak first even though neither or them wanted to. After a long, awkward silence, Harry spoke up.

"We wanted to ask you something," he said slowly and carefully.

"Ask me what?" Zayn asked innocently.

"About Niall's cousin. We want to know what happened that night." It was obvious Harry was nervous about asking Zayn this question. Zayn put his tea cup down on the table.

"A 'how are you?' would've been nice. Why are you so interested about what happened that night? I already told you it was a misunderstanding that ended tragically," Zayn replied with a slight edge to his voice. It was obvious this was a touchy subject.

"How are you?" Harry asked. Bridget hit him on the shoulder. "I mean-yeah, I know, but can you give us more details? Like what happened exactly?" Harry pressed. It was hard for Harry to meet Zayn's smoldering glare.