boys don't cry. [h.s]

thirteen

April

"Isabel!" Niall screeched, running over and throwing his arms around her, his white rabbit ears nearly toppling from his scruffy blonde hair in his enthusiasm.

"Hello," Isabel said with a laugh.

"Haven't seen you in ages!" he bellowed, already hideously drunk. Isabel glanced at Liv, who was rolling her eyes at Niall and ruffling his hair affectionately.

Isabel dragged her gaze over to the rest of them and laughed at how surreal they looked. Zayn was leaning against the wall with a cigarette dangling from his lips wearing a hat and ratty blazer, Caitlin was stood next to him in a low cut red dress, and Harry was staring at Isabel with wide eyes, cat whiskers drawn sloppily onto his face.

When Liv had excitedly texted Isabel last night about the party she had told her firmly that, under her autocratic instruction, the whole group – including Isabel – were dressing up as characters from the same story. That's how Isabel ended up in a short blue dress and a black ribbon in her hair as Alice in Wonderland, Niall the White Rabbit, Zayn the Mad Hatter, Liv the March Hare, Caitlin the Queen of Hearts and Harry the Cheshire Cat – the hilarity of which was lost on no one.

He had made the least effort out of everyone, wearing his black jeans with the gaping hole on the knee and a red check shirt, and without the stripes or the smile he was in no way reminiscent of the Cheshire Cat. Isabel would have put money on the fact that he'd been physically forced to allow the cat whiskers and nose to be drawn in shaky eyeliner strokes onto his face, but it looked sickeningly cute on him anyway. She couldn't help but notice how tall he looked too, towering over everyone else with his hands shoved in his pockets, a tight knot in his jaw as his eyes scanned her and he swallowed, looking down at the floor so that the dim light accentuated the dark rings beneath his bright green eyes.

"Hello babe," Zayn greeted, wrapping one arm around her and kissing her cheek. "You proper look like Alice."

"Thanks to Liv," Isabel smiled. "She lent me the dress, did my hair and everything."

"You look nice," Zayn approved.

"You too," she grinned, suppressing a laugh when he grimaced, clearly uncomfortable with his costume.

"Yes, yes, we all look fantastic," Caitlin snapped. "Shall we just go in?"

The party was at a girl from the art uni called Ashley's house, and as soon as someone opened the door for them they found it was packed with bodies, coloured lights flashing incessantly and illuminating their faces in alternating primary colours, blaring out music so loud that Isabel could barely hear anyone speak.

"This is sick!" Niall shouted. "Fucking trippy!"

Isabel frowned. It was true; with the lights and the music and the dancing bodies dressed in fancy dress costumes, she felt like she was high.

"Is this a – a drug thing?" she asked Zayn, but he shook his head, unable to hear her. He put a hand on her lower back and leaned into her, asking her to repeat herself.

When she did, shouting over the music, he smiled and bit his lip. "Of course not. But Liv and I are doing stuff. You can too if you want?"

When she didn't answer immediately, Zayn leaned in closer to her ear. "You don't have to do anything if you don't want to. Harry doesn't."

He nodded towards Harry, and when Isabel looked over she found Harry glaring furiously at the pair of them, his eyebrows furrowed and his teeth gnawing into his lower lip. He looked away when she caught his eye, knocking a fist against his thigh in pent up tension.