Drowning

Eleanor grabbed her wine glass from the table and began to drink it. Her eyes darted from Niall, and then to Zayn. The table was currently an uncomfortable place to be sitting at, and all four of them there knew it. A hand squeezed at her thigh suddenly, and once she realized it was her boyfriend, she gave him a soft smile, seeing that he was trying to comfort her.

Zayn sat back in his seat with a huff. His fingers twirled his glass in a full circle before he decided to look at Niall. The Irishman didn’t seem fazed by the look Zayn gave him, but he was rubbing his palms together underneath the table, a sign of nervousness. The atmosphere was so awkward not even Louis could think of a subject to lift everyone’s spirits.

“So, that’s the girl you flagged down?” Zayn spoke up. Everybody’s eyes traveled to his figure.

“Yeh,”

“She’s got quite an attitude, mate.”

Niall rolled his eyes. “I know that. You were asking all the wrong questions.” There was a slight edge
to his voice.

“I was trying to get to know her.”

“By prying too far in! If she doesn’t want to tell ya, then let it be.”

He was defensive, way too defensive, and he knew that. His voice rose quite a bit at his advice, gripping at the end of the table. Louis and Eleanor must have sensed his frustration since they did not speak a word.

Zayn leaned forward across the table to only be inches away from his friend’s face. His posture was almost a replica of Niall’s.

“She’s so rude, man.” Zayn explained calmly. “She’s even rude to you. Is she always like this?”

Niall gave a tight nod.

“Why put up with her, man?” At his question, Niall gave his friend a disgusted expression.

Right from the start, Eleanor could see the tension ride between Zayn and Hannah. The more questions he asked, the vaguer she became. She sipped her wine more often than before; her body language expressed how much she did not want to be here anymore. Their greetings were probably the only positive exchange between the two. Otherwise, it was just sarcastic comments to intrusive questions.

She eyed the boys in apprehension before turning to Louis to grip his hand.

“I might as well use the restroom.”

“Okay, love.” Louis smiled, answering in the same tone she did.

Eleanor rose from her seat, tossing the napkin on the table. She fixed her dress before trotting past tables. The boys didn’t acknowledge her absence, but she heard Zayn’s voice before she was too far away.

“She’s no good for you, Niall.”


A woman excused herself when she opened the swinging door, missing Eleanor by a few inches. She smiled genuinely before entering.

The walls were too white. The lighting wasn’t needed to show it off. Many stalls were unoccupied, but it sounded like Eleanor and Hannah were the only two in the room. The room echoed, so her heels clicked loudly on the tile and deep breaths could be heard just a few feet away. She found the blonde leaning here hands on the sink, her eyes staring at the reflection in the mirror.

Eleanor made the excuse to use the restroom as an effort to talk with Hannah in the most subtle of ways. And it was clear Hannah caught on.

“Did they send you in here to check on me?” The blonde suddenly inquired, not breaking her gaze from the mirror.

“No,” Eleanor delicately answered. “Louis told me something was stuck in my teeth. It’s terrible lighting in the restaurant.”

The lie flew from her mouth faster than she thought of it. To play it off, she stepped in front of the sink next to Hannah, smiling to view all of her teeth. She picked in between her teeth with her pinky finger until she sighed, confirming that she found the source of her mini and phony dilemma.
Hannah looked at her for a few moments before drifting back to her original position.

“I’m such a bitch.” She said. Eleanor thought she was talking to herself until she turned again. “Aren’t I?”

The brunette shrugged and fixed her wavy hair.

“I suppose if you had a reason to be.” She stated. “But I don’t think you are. You just don’t know Zayn like we do.”

Eleanor felt bad for the girl. It was enough for her to be caught off-guard by half of One Direction members; the brunette watched her expression change at the sight of her guests when she, Louis, and Zayn all strode in together. Universally-known pop-stars asking questions to a fan would’ve automatically made their dreams come true, but Eleanor could see that something was off about Hannah. Although she didn’t invite her to go shopping out of pity, she just thought the girl could use some friends.

“I say that Zayn just over-does it when it comes to getting to know someone.”

“He’s usually not like that.” She chuckled. “He was very quiet when I met him, just loosened up over the years. But, he likes to get to know someone very thoroughly. I hope you don’t take it too personally.”

Hannah cracked a smile. “Now I am really a bitch.”

Eleanor took a step forward and placed her hand on Hannah’s shoulder. The blonde raised her head, and both girls talked while looking at their reflections in the mirror.

“Don’t go off and say that. I’m sure if you apologize…who am I kidding? He’ll be the one to apologize first.”

After what she heard him say to Niall, Eleanor wasn’t too sure if her prediction was going to be correct. Zayn typically doesn’t change his mind about something too often, so his thoughts on Hannah would probably stick unless Niall and Louis could do a thing to change it.

Sometimes, boys didn’t know where their boundaries were, and tonight was exactly one of those moments. Some people aren’t as open as others, and maybe that’s what made Hannah so interesting. She worked at her own pace, and Eleanor wouldn’t mind learning about her new friend one day at a time.

The girls walked back to the table side by side, gaining Niall’s attention since he was the only once facing this direction. His gaze caused the other boys to turn in their chairs for a second before going back to their original position. Even with each one of them eating, it was still way too uncomfortable to be sitting at this table. Everybody was quiet, only the sound of utensils and people chewing kept it from being completely silent. It was clear that Zayn wasn’t about to speak up anytime soon, so Hannah stepped up to the plate.

“I just-” She stopped short when all of their heads rose. This almost made her as nervous as if she were presenting a project in front of an entire class. “I want to apologize for lashing out. Before you ask, I don’t have an anger management problem. It was just too much for me to take at one time. I hope I didn’t scare any of you off.”

“Not at all,” Louis smiled. Eleanor was grateful for how her boyfriend was acting. She could see Hannah relaxed as he reassured her. “I know exactly where you’re coming from.”

Hannah turned to Zayn, who looked to be struggling for something to say. He picked at his food lazily before looking up at Hannah.

“It’s alright, babe.” He shrugged, shifting his gaze from Hannah to Niall. His expression was serious, lips pressed to a thin line until they lifted into a small smile back at Hannah. “I’m sorry too. I didn’t mean to offend you.”

Hannah looked to the boy sitting next to her, a soft smile resting on her lips as well. She caught him still staring at Zayn intensely before he smiled at Hannah. She was a bit curious about the way he was looking at Zayn, but decided to let the thought slide. The last thing she needed was to make the night more awkward than it already was. And she was happy that she didn’t say anything because the words flying out of Louis’s mouth was enough to throw the whole table into a fit of laughter.


It was hard to show Eleanor gift ideas for her boyfriend considering the fact that she had no idea what his interests were. She had only met the boy once, and from that experience, all she knew was he loved to make people laugh and had this mad fascination with tattoos.

Eleanor had been browsing every single store she knew Louis loved. Hannah’s feet were on the brink of falling off of her body due to the amount of walking she had done. They were now onto the sixth store, and so far, the brunette had one bag that held two new shirts.

“One of the most difficult things about shopping for Louis is that I’ll buy him something that he’ll get for himself two days later. All my hard work goes straight down the drain.”

To be quite honest, as Hannah pondered Eleanor’s statement, she realized how true that must be. Louis had more than enough money to pocket that waiting around for Christmas presents didn’t have to happen anymore. She was sure that there were certain things he kept reserved for Eleanor to get him, but Eleanor had to be knowledgeable of the other things that he liked.

“And this is where you step in again.” She said suddenly, breaking Hannah out of her thoughts. “What do you think? I’m all out of ideas.”

“I’m no expert, but we did go through six stores filled with either clothes or CDs. Does the poor boy drink alcohol?”

It was what Hannah wished she had right now, which was the reason why she said it.

The surprise on Eleanor’s face made the blonde draw back a couple of steps. It was the giddy, happy expression most girls wore when they were excited. That piece of innocence was long gone from Hannah’s personality; it was so rare to see it these days. Nowadays, she had no idea how to deal with other people like this because she couldn’t remember the last time she hung out with one. Marisa was the only friend who really stuck by her side, but always kept it casual.

“You’re a genius!” She exclaimed. “All this time…I can’t believe it flew passed me.”

Instantly, the girls were heading back to Eleanor’s vehicle to find the first fine wine and spirits store they saw. The ride was only about fifteen minutes or so, and the time they spend in the building wasn’t long either. Eleanor knew exactly the type of liquor the boy liked. On the other hand, it was Hannah she had to worry about getting lost.

So many name brands caught Hannah’s eye that she could pinpoint exactly what she did the day she consumed the alcohol. Each time her finger touched a new bottle, a new set of memories would flood her brain, and it was as if she entered a whole new world. She could see herself picking up the bottle, showing it to Bradley for his opinion. She could see the way he scrunched his nose in disgust, picking up the bottle next to the one she chose because that one tasted better. She could remember riding in the passenger seat with the paper bag sitting in her lap, sometimes glancing at the beautiful boy driving them back to his flat. They had planned on doing nothing for the rest of the day, and drinking the afternoon and evening away while sprawling out on his bed sounded ideal. Days like those she could have sworn she would love him forever, spend every waking moment with him. She remembered that was the night they had sex for the second time and how she knew she was officially falling for him. Waking up next to him after a night like that was so worth it. She craved more, and today, she still questioned herself why.

“Hannah?” Eleanor’s figure appeared at the end of the aisle with a paper bag in her hand.

Hannah lifted her head to look at the brunette, blinking a few times to return back to reality. Afterwards, she glanced back at the selection of wine and wondered how long she had been daydreaming of her worst nightmare.

“Sorry,” The blonde chuckled and began to make her way to Eleanor.

“Were you planning on buying something?” She asked. “I mean, you are kind of seeing an Irish lad, and it is Christmas after all…”

“Oh,” She interjected, turning back to the shelves. All of this Christmas shopping for Louis, it didn’t even cross her mind to buy Niall anything.

“I don’t know how he is about hard liquor, but I do know he has a soft spot for Guinness.”

Five minutes later, Hannah was on her way back to her flat with a case of beer sitting on the floor in the passenger seat. Eleanor didn’t do much convincing to buy the beer considering the fact that Hannah was already sold just by being in the store. The positive of this gift was to hopefully have Niall be generous enough to share with Hannah.

She couldn’t even begin to describe how uncomfortable she was when Eleanor gave her a hug in the car when they reached Hannah’s flat. The brunette repeated over and over how much fun she had, how grateful she was for Hannah’s opinions, and how she hoped they would see each other soon. Since the boys were best friends, the future was promising for Eleanor and Hannah. The girl wasn’t so bad to be around, but Hannah knew it was going to be a lot to get used to.

Marisa came out of her bedroom the instant she heard the front door open and shut. The case of beer was set on the table, and she couldn’t help but ask.

“Is that beer?”

Hannah nodded. “And would you be surprised that it’s not for me?”

“I would be lying if I said no.” The brunette scoped out the popular brand of beer, wondering what the occasion must be. Her head rose rapidly. “It’s for Niall, isn’t it?”

“I mean, I didn’t know what else to get him.” She shrugged. “Irish people like beer, don’t they?”

Marisa laughed at her assumption. “That’s very true. Where’s your case?”

“I only had enough for a four pack. And why not spend it on him? It is Christmas, and he just took me out to dinner. Again.”

“The words that come out of your mouth sometimes amaze me.” Marisa shook her head with soft laughter while Hannah shrugged her shoulders again. “Speaking of Christmas…”

The brunette left the room to grab the telephone off its holder from the end table and walked back towards Hannah.

“Here,” Marisa held the phone out to Hannah, who looked at her skeptically. “Call your mother. Tell her you’re going over there for Christmas.”

Hannah ogled the telephone with a blank expression. She, without a doubt, wanted to go back home for Christmas because she knew Marisa was doing the same thing. The last thing she needed was to be trapped in a lonely flat for a couple of days, but it was just terrible knowing that Corey would probably be back in Winchester. Her mom was the type of person to forgive and forget easily, excluding the time it came with her father.

After several times of Marisa antagonizing her to call, there were no more excuses for Hannah to give. She had put off calling her mother for so long over a simple invitation that there was no use in ignoring anymore. She had to face the fact, and her brother, whether she liked it or not.
She eyed her friend for a moment with reluctance and took the phone back to her bedroom where she shut the door and leaned against it. It only took seconds for her to dial the house phone and three rings for her mother to pick up on the other line.

“Hello?”

Hannah lifted her head to look at the wall and window in front of her.

“Hi, mum. It’s Hannah.”

“Hannah, dear, I’m so glad you’ve finally called.” Evelyn sounded too enthusiastic, making the blonde cringe. “How are you, darling?”

“Alright.” She told her. “I was just letting you know I’ll be coming home for Christmas.”

The two talked for an hour straight with how much they had to catch up on. The best part out of that was the fact her mother never mentioned Corey once. They probably came close to talking about him, but Hannah always did her best to sidetrack the conversation. And for as excited as she was with talking to her mum and relieved for avoiding any topic about Corey, worry still struck her because everything about Corey now had to be told in person. There was nothing she could do to avoid that.