We Could Have Fallen in Love

“Okay. Dress and shoes—check,” SJ muttered to herself as she examined herself in the mirror. She smoothened out her satin turquoise short H&M dress, which she had paired with black over the knee socks and Kelsey’s black Betsey Johnson heels, and turned around to look at her reflection from the back. “Makeup—” SJ faced the mirror again to inspect her makeup. Her skin was flawless, with just the perfect amount of bronzer on, and her long eyelashes framed her gold-flecked green eyes, which stood out with just a touch of gold shimmer on her eyelids. “Check. Hair—” She touched her long auburn hair, making sure it had stayed in its loose curls and hadn’t gone limp. “Check. Perfume—” SJ grabbed her bottle of L’Occitane and sprayed on the pulse points at her wrist, behind her neck, and even behind her knees—SJ’s French mother had once told SJ that those were the vital places to put perfume to attract any man. It was one of the few pieces of advice SJ had ever heeded from her mother. “Check.” SJ finally stopped analyzing herself and stepped back. She looked perfect. Or, she would have looked perfect, if she didn’t look so stressed out.

She didn’t know why she was freaking out. It wasn’t like she was trying to impress anyone tonight—and especially not a certain blond bassist. She didn’t even know if he would show up tonight, seeing as he completely and obviously hated her now. And likewise, she didn’t care about him either. Right? Uh, maybe.

“Shut up,” SJ groaned to herself, burying her head in her hands.

“Talking to yourself, huh?” a sly voice said. SJ looked up to see Kelsey enter her bedroom.

“It’s nothing,” SJ said quickly. She scanned Kelsey’s outfit, a black mini dress paired with an awesome pair of gold heels, and said to distract her, “You look hot, Kel.”

“Why thank you, darling.” Kelsey smiled. “Same to you, love. Now get your arse out here and help me set up the vodka. People are gonna be here any minute.”

SJ nodded and followed her friend out the door to the kitchen, mentally shaking herself. As soon as she got enough alcohol in her, she would be fine.

Tonight was the last night before the London Institute of Art closed for winter break and all students had to leave campus. So of course, SJ and Kelsey had decided to throw the biggest and best party before everyone got kicked out. Leave with a bang, as Kelsey had said. Everyone they knew, and probably a lot of people they didn’t know, was coming tonight. SJ had also invited Harry and the rest of them, figuring that there were no crazy fan girls and everyone would be too drunk to notice anyway.

In the kitchen, SJ grabbed the bottles of Smirnoff from the fridge and arranged them in the almost-full cooler already set up. Just as she finished the doorbell rang. “Party time, mon cherie,” Kelsey said cheerfully and left to open the door. SJ took a deep breath, put a smile on her face, and followed her.

An hour later, the party was in full swing. Everywhere SJ looked, there were guys and girls drinking, smoking, dancing, and making out. The music, currently a Justice remix of Electric Feel by MGMT, was pounding through the speakers. The living room was crammed with sweaty bodies pressing against each other, and some girls had even taken their tops off and were dancing on the coffee tables.

A pair of arms snaked around her. SJ turned around. “Tosh!”

“Hey, SJ.” He grinned at her. SJ found herself smiling back. “Come dance with me, baby.”

SJ gently pushed his arms off her. “Not yet.” She was still looking for someone, someone she still had no clue if he was even showing up at all.

“Aw, babe.” Tosh almost pouted. “You need to lighten up. Let’s get you a drink.”

SJ let him lead her through the crowd as he shouted, “Out of the way, hostess coming through!” She did need to lighten up. She was stressing out too much. “What would you like?” Tosh asked her once they reached inside the busy kitchen to the plentiful cooler.

“Er…vodka tonic, please,” SJ told him, looking around her to try and catch one glimpse, even if just for a second, of the person she was looking for. Nope. SJ sighed and accepted the drink from Tosh.

“To you,” Tosh said, his eyes twinkling devilishly as he tilted his beer at her.

SJ raised her glass before downing the vodka tonic in two gulps.

“Whoa, thirsty, huh?” Tosh murmured, taking her glass and replenishing it. His eyes gleamed. “Here you go, darling…”

By her fourth drink, SJ was starting to feel a little drunk. Just a little. She grabbed the bottle of Smirnoff and poured a generous amount in her glass. Tosh had disappeared, probably gone to hit on some other poor defenseless girl while SJ got sufficiently hammered. SJ peered through the kitchen door to the outside crowd and spotted a tall, familiar figure with an almost-mohawk. SJ lunged through the doorway, clutching her drink. She pushed people out of the way to get to him. “Harry!” she exclaimed once she had neared him.

He turned to her, grinning. “Hey, cuz. Some house party!”

She hugged him, saying a little absentmindedly, “Oh, this is nothing.” She let go of him and got a good look at who he was standing with. Tom, Danny, and him. SJ didn’t dare make eye contact as she checked him out discreetly. Dougie was wearing dark jeans and a green plaid shirt, with a patterned headband around his perfectly tousled blond hair. SJ looked away quickly. “Hey, guys. Want drinks?”

“Nah,” Harry said. SJ shot him a dubious glance. He explained, “We’re heading out early tomorrow, so we probably shouldn’t drink.”

Right. SJ was going too, leaving to spend Christmas at Dougie’s family house. SJ swallowed against the sudden lump in her throat, and said, “Come on. One beer?”

Harry reconsidered. “Yeah, alright.”

SJ led them through the crowded living room as the song changed to some pounding Kanye West. She finally made it in the kitchen and headed straight to the cooler, pulling out three beers and handing them to Harry, Danny and Tom. Harry cleared his throat. SJ rolled her eyes and pulled out a beer for Dougie.

“Oh here you go Poynter, I guess you can handle it now that you’re old enough to drink in the US,” she told him obnoxiously as she tossed him the beer.

He caught it and glared at her. SJ inwardly groaned. Why did she always revert to being a bitch when Dougie was around? She grabbed someone’s shot glass off the counter and downed it.

Out of nowhere Kelsey appeared. “SJ,” she screeched, swooping down on her. She wobbled and clung to SJ for support.

SJ couldn’t help but laugh. “Kel, you’re completely wasted!!”

“And you’re not drinking enough. I’m going to make you a drink,” Kelsey announced to her.

SJ giggled. “Go for it.” Kelsey made incredible drinks. A couple of minutes later, she handed SJ a cup filled to the top.

“What’s this?” SJ asked her.

Kelsey waved the question away as though it wasn’t important. “Just drink up, sweetheart. You look depressed.”

SJ smiled and obliged. Harry and the rest of them had disappeared, probably off to the living room. Kelsey wandered off as well, leaving SJ alone in the kitchen as she sipped her drink. It tasted vaguely fruity. It wasn’t sweet and it wasn’t sour, but it was just the way she liked it. And in a couple more sips, she began feeling looser.

Screw Dougie Poynter. Who the hell did he think he was, just showing up to her party? He was messing with her head. And SJ refused to him get to her. She was just going to forget about him and have some fun.

“Hey, babe, why are you in here by yourself? I’ve been looking for you,” a voice called out to her.

SJ turned around to see Tosh. Perfect. “Hey.” She stumbled toward him. Shit, was she drunk? Oh well.

He caught her. “You alright?” he asked her, smirking a little.

“Yes. Let’s go dance.” SJ grabbed his hand and pulled him to the living room.

A remix of D.A.N.C.E. by Justice was playing as they reached the crowded area. SJ just let go and danced, forgetting about Dougie, forgetting about the awkward Christmas she was about to experience in a couple of days, forgetting about the fact that she didn’t even like Tosh that much, anyway. She danced close to him, not yet close enough for him to put his hands all over her but close enough to taunt him nevertheless. He watched her with sleazy eyes.

“Remember a couple of nights ago when we were interrupted by my cousin and his friends?” SJ whispered in his ear, finally wrapping her arms around his neck.

His eyes flickered. “Hmm, I think I might remember that night.” He gave her a slow smile. “And I think you need to make that up for me.”

SJ shimmied close to him and breathed two words: “Let’s go.”

Tosh grabbed her hand and pulled her away. SJ could barely see where she was going; everything was starting to spin. She managed to follow him out of the living room and down the hall to the bedroom. SJ kicked the door closed with her feet and slipped out of her shoes. In one swift movement, she quickly undid her side zipper and slipped the dress off, so she was standing in her black bra and underwear and black over-the-knee socks.

“Hot,” Tosh, who was now shirtless, breathed. SJ closed her eyes as his hands began roaming her body. She kissed him hard and pushed him to the bed.

“Let’s just get this fucking over with,” she mumbled. Tosh’s hands slipped down and pulled off her socks and threw them over the side of the bed. SJ pulled off his belt buckle and undid his pants. Her bra was getting looser and Tosh was pressing harder against her when suddenly the door burst open and—

“Oh. Er, I’m sorry.”

SJ’s back was to the door, so she couldn’t see who it was. But the voice was incredibly familiar…Dougie.

“What the fuck, mate?” Tosh demanded, sitting up, not bothered at all by the fact that he was naked.

“Er—sorry,” Dougie mumbled. “I was looking for the bathroom. And…yeah. Erm. Yeah. Sorry. Didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“It’s the next door down the hall, mate,” Tosh directed him.

SJ didn’t dare make eye contact with Dougie as he turned and left, closing the door carefully behind him. She closed her eyes as feelings of regret washed over her. Her stomach churned and she felt close to vomiting.

“Looks like we’re cursed, huh babe,” Tosh murmured to her, resting back down on the bed. When she didn’t respond, he said quizzically, “Babe…?”

“Don’t call me that.” SJ felt something inside her suddenly snap.

“What?” Tosh looked genuinely puzzled.

“And get out,” SJ ordered. She may have been confused as hell about Dougie, but she was positive about one thing—she was not in the mood to have meaningless sex with Tosh.

“What?” Tosh repeated, his expression even more baffled.

“Just get the fuck out of my room!” SJ shouted at him.

Tosh didn’t move. But when SJ pushed him off her bed, he realized she was serious. “Are you fucking kidding me?” he muttered to himself as he grabbed his boxers and pulled them on.

“No, I’m not fucking kidding you,” SJ retorted. “Just get out.”

Tosh gracelessly yanked on his shirt and buckled his belt. Unable to leave without having the last word, he muttered to her, “Bipolar bitch,” before wrenching the door open and storming out.

SJ curled up in her sheets and pressed her face against the pillow. She couldn’t help herself, but tears began leaking out. She was just so confused. Just hearing Dougie’s voice did that to her.

“SJ…you alright?” a concerned voice asked. She turned around to see Danny enter the room cautiously. “I just saw Tosh storming away and he didn’t look too happy…”

SJ burst into tears. Danny moved in closer to her. “SJ, what’s wrong?” He took her into his arms, not caring that she was barely dressed. “Did that arsehole do something to you?” He pulled away to stare at her, his eyes wide.

“No…He didn’t…no…” SJ shook her head, pressing her face into his shoulder. “I just…I don’t know…”

“Is this about Dougie?” Danny ventured a guess.

“Yes,” SJ whispered. She didn’t bother denying it. Danny was like her brother, and she knew he wouldn’t say anything. “Yeah, it is.”

Danny didn’t ask any more questions as he pulled her into a comforting hug. They stayed like that for a while. “Don’t worry about it, SJ,” he whispered in her ear. “I can fix it. It’ll be okay. I promise.”

Dougie walked back down the hall after taking a leak in the bathroom. He was bored. Not that the party wasn’t good—by his standards, any party with flowing alcohol and good-looking girls was great—but he just didn’t feel in the partying mood.

As he neared SJ’s room again, he almost blushed remembering how he had walked in on her and Tosh—but he still couldn’t help himself from peeking in. The door was open a crack, that was like just asking for it. Right?

The sight he saw made Dougie freeze in his place. There was Danny, holding SJ’s barely covered up body close to him. He leaned close to her and whispered something in her ear, pushing her hair away from her face.

Before he knew it, Dougie tore his eyes away. He leaned against the wall, breathing heavily. First Tosh, now Danny? In the span of a mere five minutes? What a whore. Why not just put a sign on her fucking forehead saying, Easy Shag Here while she was at it?

And Danny? How dare he? Danny felt furious over the betrayal of his bandmate. Wasn’t there some man law out there that forbade a guy from getting together with his friend’s ex? Sometimes Dougie just felt like hitting Danny’s thick head against the wall. There was seriously something wrong with him.

Suddenly, Dougie felt like he was suffocating. He had to get out. Without a word to anyone, he walked through the living room, grabbed his coat, and got the hell out of there as fast as he could.