GREEN (RL Harry Styles fanfic)

66. Bruised

"Have I mentioned I'm excited?" Claire squealed from behind the wheel.

"Only like every three minutes," Rhiannon groaned from the backseat.

"Oh stop trying to be so cool Rhi. You just sang along to their last song," Jessie said and I saw her roll her eyes when Rhiannon crossed her arms in front of herself and scowled.

"It's a fucking free ticket and backstage to see arguably the biggest band in the world. Be grateful or I'll make Claire drop your ass off on the side of the road and we'll take some superfan in your place," Becca yelled from the other side.

The five of us were all squeezed into Claire's Mini Cooper driving down to San Diego for the show tonight. She insisted on driving, not trusting anyone else with what was going to be the greatest moment of her life, so she said. We were all headed down early enough to hear soundcheck and so I could spend some time with Harry. Of course, I wanted to introduce the girls to Harry as well, and make sure Claire got to meet Niall. I honestly feared for my life if I didn't make that happen.

I had stayed quiet as the backseat argued and I was relieved that the others spoke up to defend the guys. Still, the fact that Rhiannon had been... well a bitch ever since I had mentioned Harry and One Direction was starting to get to me.

"Did you not want to come Rhi?," I asked. I was impressed with how well I played it off as cool and unaffected.

"No, I do. I just don't see what the big deal is, honestly," she said rolling her eyes.

"The big deal is that I wanted you guys to meet Harry because he's someone who's really special to me and he was kind enough to get you all VIP tickets." My annoyance was not hidden at all this time. I turned back to stare out the windshield with my arms crossed in front of my chest. I swear I heard Rhiannon mumble "whatever" under her breath.

Claire just simply diffused the situation the best way she knew how, with One Direction music. She put on Clouds and turned up the volume, cutting the tension and replacing it with the rock anthem. The move was intentional; Claire never wanted anyone to fight. I felt my mood shift from a bubbling rage to excitement. I had loved this song ever since I binged on the entire One Direction catalog on my flight to England. Claire's efforts to lighten things up worked, and the rest of the car ride was without incident.

"Is there booze for the VIPs?," Becca asked as we neared the freeway exit to the stadium.

"I'm not sure. There isn't an after party tonight. The buses are heading back up to LA because Santa Clara is up next," I answered.

"Shoot, I knew I should've brought a flask of Jäger," Becca said smacking her thigh in disappointment. "I could use another surfer on acid."

"A surfer on what? What are you talking about Becs?," Jessie asked, but we were all just as confused as she was.

"The shots I bought you guys. They're called surfers on acid, it's Jäger, pineapple juice, and coconut rum," she explained; filling the missing piece of the puzzle from after that night.

"Fuck Becca! I was so sick the next morning. You know I can't do Jäger!" I was actually pissed because she had seen me get sick off the stuff a few times.

"Sorry Liv! I forgot. I was kind of drunk at that point."

"Understatement," Rhiannon chimed in.

"We were all pretty wasted," Jessie laughed.

"Yeah, let's all vow not to get that wasted tonight, even if there is free booze," I added.

"Promise," Claire said removing her right hand from the steering wheel and holding it up as if taking an oath. "I want to be sober enough to remember every curl of Niall's chest hair."