Drowning || niall horan au

one

That smell of alcohol travelled through her nose before she even got to open the door halfway. It became one of her favorite scents when her days got progressively worse overtime. It dulled her mind for the remainder of the night, and nothing felt better than having the burn in the back of her throat. It made her forget everything almost instantly.

The pub was packed with the regulars and party-goers as it typically was on the weekend. Not that she minded anyways, her focus was more on the liquid than the men. If there was a stool empty at the counter, that was hers for the next few hours. The seat to the left of her was automatically taken by her friend Marisa, who seemed to enjoy the company of the men more.

"A cocktail for you, Miss Hannah?" Joshua spoke from behind the counter, wiping a glass dry.

She displayed a smile that others would believe she was being cynical, but it was her way of being genuine.

"I might need a shot of whiskey or two beforehand." Hannah mentioned to him. He gave an affirmed nod and headed over to the liquor.

Now that Hannah had found her seat, sixth stool to the right, she had pulled out her phone from the small purse she carried with her everywhere. The person next to her friend had already dove into a conversation with her, and Hannah couldn't help but straighten her posture at the thought of the other men already taken notice of her. A pair of eyes locked on her from what she could see from her peripheral vision, but it was better not to make contact because the guy had a receding hairline and was probably in his mid-forties. She unlocked her phone and began to dive in to the social media world.

Four shot glasses were placed in between Hannah and Marisa. Hannah divided the liquor up evenly, downing the drink in a matter of seconds to feel the burn she's been yearning for ever since the beginning of the day. After the second glass was emptied, she pushed it away from her and texted back a friend. She barely noticed Joshua take away the glasses, replacing it with the cocktail she got every time she came to the pub.

The whole world seemed to block out when she had a drink in her hand and her phone in the other. The only people she gave the light of day on the weekends were Marisa and Joshua. Marisa had stuck with her through the best and the most horrendous times in her life, but nothing got better than somebody handing her drinks out with no questions asked. Josh pried into her life as far as she let him go, but never pressed for more. She enjoyed his company because he cared in a way that wasn't intrusive, which was the reason why she kept coming back to this bar. Josh also blocked away any man stepping a foot in her direction. He knew her mood swings just by the first words she's spoken to him, so nobody was allowed to go near her most of the time.

Her drink was almost half way done when the bells rung on the door, causing quite a disturbance. Hannah gave the door a glance, but not worrying about it. People stood from their seats automatically. Flashes from cameras on their phones blinded Hannah. The commotion moved slowly as the new customers tried to push past them to a booth in the corner of the room. They weren't coming anywhere near her, so Hannah took another swig of her alcohol and forgot about them almost instantly.

_____

The five boys slid into the booth in an orderly fashion. The first three in line took the side facing the front entrance and the other two took the other side. Two pitchers of beer were placed in the center of table right away followed by five glasses that were set in front of them. The oldest of the bunch grabbed the pitcher first and poured a reasonable amount in each of his mates' cups before they could protest.

"Drink up, lads!"

It was a Friday that they finally had off in months. They loved touring as much as any other band, but nothing was better than returning to their homeland.  Tonight was celebratory to coming home and not seeing each other every day besides those weekend trips to America for certain TV shows. They made nights like these last as long as possible.