End of the Day [h.s]

ten

The air smelt strongly of dampness, the weather taking what felt like an overdue breather from torrential rain. The sky was pitch black and amber streetlights illuminated the nearby atmosphere. I readjusted my over-the-knee boots, smoothing over my black and white striped shirt and took a deep breath. It was only Halloween night, what could possibly go wrong?

Aside from literally, anything.

Carly was dressed in a fern, sequin-covered dress that was fairly short with a pair of silver heels. She wore translucent wings that stuck out gracefully with her curled blonde hair trailing down over her shoulders - she looked beautiful. Meanwhile, my costume was ridiculously last minute. I was lucky to find a few bits and pieces to complete my look; course it didn't compare to the flawless Tinkerbell beside me.

We both entered Niall's house like we had done many times before. The crimson lights were bright, the music just has loud and intrusive as ever, but this time there was evidently fewer people inside, which Carly had promised would be the case. The strong stench of weed wasn't ignorable, with it wafting from the direction of Louis and Liam, I squinted my eyes enough to make out their bodies, which were planted on the sofa I had first seen them on. Louis' eyes met mine in an instant and I panicked.

He sent me a small wave and I returned it, widening my eyes as my cheeks warmed up and I took hold of Carly's wrist, dragging her into the living room out of sight. She groaned and loosened her arm from my tight grasp. "You're so awkward" she complained, tugging down on her dress.

I pouted my lips as I exhaled, feeling ridiculously nervous. "I need a drink" I announced, looking at her with hope. "Can you stay with me for a while? Just before you run off with Niall?" My eyes conveyed a needy expression, fortunately for me, it worked as she nodded. So I scurried away to grab a drink.

Minutes later I returned with a red cup in my hand, filled with some concoction of a fruity drink and some vodka; I didn't care what the measurements were. When I walked over to Carly she wasn't alone.

Louis was stood laughing with her, he was dressed in a black tank top which was unusual for mid-autumn weather. He also didn't seem to be in a costume at all.

Carly turned to face me once she had picked up on my presence, causing Louis to glare at me with an overly confident smile and a furrow appeared in between my eyebrows suspiciously. "Hey babe" she said radiantly, "this is Louis." She gestured and I awkwardly smiled, nodding to him and whispering a faint "hello."

She rolled her eyes excessively, wrapping her arm around my neck and pulling me in closer. "He's good mates with Harry, your studdy-buddy."

I scoffed defensively, pushing her off me and shaking my head, correcting her. "I'm his tutor. And yes, I know who you are. The best friend since primary school?"

He grinned, "yep. That's me."

"Lou said he wanted to have a quick chat with you-" I pursed my lips, "is it alright if I go and find Niall now?"

"Sure, I'll see you later" I sighed, but she'd already made her way over to the kitchen. I faintly smiled and looked back at Louis. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, just wanted to meet the girl Harry has been hanging out with." His deep blue eyes traced over me quickly and I gulped. "He doesn't often hang out with anybody, even me sometimes, that's all."

"Oh" I shrugged innocently, "I met him at Niall's party back at the start of September, he's also in my geography class. That's why we study together. We really don't hang out that much" I let him know with caution because I didn't know this guy. I couldn't trust him just yet, regardless of him being friends with Harry.