Drowning

“Oh, come on, you’ve got to show up.”

Marisa leaned in the doorway of Hannah’s bedroom holding on to a pair of pants she planned on wearing tonight. Hannah pushed away from her desk, rolling away in the chair farther than she intended to. Her eyes locked on her friend as she clasped her hands together.

“I could always say something came up.” She suddenly burst into laughter. “If I ever see him again,”

The brunette rolled her eyes with a grin. “Chances are that you will. My God, if he cannot take his eyes off you the first two weekends in a row, why would tonight be any different?”

Hannah sighed. They were talking about a worldwide superstar who happened to have interest in her. It wasn’t that big of a deal. Sometime this week, the four other band members could have coaxed him to visiting a different pub in London or somewhere else around the world. Another blonde with grey eyes would appear before his sight and the name Hannah would disappear from his mind. She wasn’t bitter about it; she knew the intentions of men like the back of her hand.

Marisa always gave a positive outlook on life like Hannah a few years ago. She saw the good in everyone, which led Hannah to believe she had terrible character judgment. Hannah didn’t have to give the men two glances before she gave her proper opinion on them. So, it wasn’t a surprise when she was eager to get Hannah out of the flat to meet her supposed Prince Charming.

The laptop dimmed from its lack of being used, and the blonde tapped a button on the keyboard to bring it to life. A word document displayed on her screen, being only paragraphs into her five page research paper. Her textbook was out and opened to some page in the three hundreds. Truthfully, she’d already begun rambling in the beginnings of her paper about the development of language and deserved a well-needed break. The pub was an obvious choice, but there was already one obvious reason not to go.

“I have a lot of work ahead of me.”

Her friend shrugged and walked away. “Let me know if you change your mind!” Her voice lingered down the hallway.

Hannah scooted back to her desk in an attempt to at least get halfway through the paper. Everything about this assignment was absolutely tedious. Learning about it in the lecture had been a little bit more interesting because all the facts have been given to her. This was the boring part of her major. So far, her second year at school had been a bore. It’s all about the development of the human brain, language, thinking, and grammar. It’s all the basics, and she couldn’t wait to get to the good stuff.

How she felt about the subjects reflected on how she wrote. Before skimming for more information in her textbook, she reread the first page of the research paper, realizing how off topic this was. Hannah let out an exasperated sigh at her piece of work, knowing all the revisions she’ll have to make if she continues this horrendous paper. She won’t have enough willpower do it by the time her class rolls around again.

Hannah gave her closet a glance. The door was wide open, showing some articles of clothing practically falling off the hangers as they were all smashed together. Her shopping addiction had become quite unhealthy is the past few years, and she could never find the heart to get rid of the items she didn’t wear. Most of it would be hand-me-downs for Marisa, but always find a way back to her closet.

Just by looking at the storage space for her clothes, she began to ponder what outfits would look good together. The black jeans she just bought would surely be a good match for the tribal tank top she owned. The black jacket could fit perfectly over it. Her tan colored heels coordinated with the top, and before she knew it, she was ripping the clothing from the hangers and trying them on. After everything fit, she applied extra lip gloss and straightened her hair. The rest of her daily routine had been performed earlier, so all she had to do was grab her purse and walk out the door.

She stopped dead in her tracks, admiring her figure once more. Her head tilted to the side when her gaze reached her own in the mirror. She’d completely forgotten all about her homework in a matter of minutes, getting all caught up in thinking about impressing the young lad at the pub. Her boredom drove her to do this, which was completely out of the ordinary.

It was usual for her to act on impulse. That’s why it was so easy to reject men. There was no need to think about what she was going to say if her opinion on men were summed up as complete assholes. It stumped her though that she was dressing up for somebody who probably wasn’t going to be there. Marisa’s positivity must have rubbed off on her, which was something she did not appreciate. Once she studied herself for a couple minutes more, the purse was roughly taken from off her desk, and she trotted to the living room.

Marisa had her elbow resting on the couch, head in her hand. Her free hand held the remote, switching the television stations every few seconds. The sound of Hannah’s loud footsteps caused the brunette to turn her head and flash a wicked smile.

“Are we going or what?” The blonde huffed.

The television was immediately turned off.

“I knew you’d come around.”


The pub was not as crowded tonight. It wasn’t due to the lack of celebrities, but maybe it was bitterly cold for a late November day. More stools were available at the bar, and Hannah could not resist putting a simple smile on her face when she saw Josh working.

There wasn’t a specific time she was supposed to meet the Irishman, but a part of her wished he’d arrive first. It’s been three Fridays in a row where he’s found her seated in the same stool. The last thing Hannah needed was to be read into, and she knew with the looks he gave her, he was already trying to figure her out. Hannah checked the time on her watch, and then glanced at the clock on the wall. It was only seven thirty, an unusual time for her to be at the pub already.

She was early, which was alright with her. A couple drinks were going to be needed anyway in order to converse with the blonde boy.

“Any special requests?” Josh appeared in front of her, his smile hinting about the fruity drink from last weekend.

Hannah shook her head. “A beer is good for me.”

A beer turned into two, than three, and then five. She was offered an assortment of drinks, even one being brought to her, but the man never showed. Josh told her that the man wouldn’t bother her after he had a talk with him. She thanked him, and he let her be. He and Marisa made eye contact each other, but all she could do was shrug. The brunette may have mentioned a thing or two to Josh about the band member while Hannah was busy scrolling through her social media accounts. The employee seemed a little upset that he hadn’t showed, yet was completely surprised.

Nearly two hours had passed, and it was reaching ten o’clock at night. Hannah continued to down the alcohol at a normal pace, finishing two bottles per hour. Her eyes searched the room, but when they found that back table, it was taken by some older lads who had hearty and deep laughs. A pitcher of beer tipped over, which had a domino effect on two of the men’s glasses. They’re slurred voices told Hannah they were way past drunk and weren’t members of the famous boy band.

“Say-” Hannah began and turned to her left to face her best friend. She stopped short since Marisa had her head turned as well, chatting with a man who had five o’clock shadow. He was the type of man who could pull off the stubble. He flashed a smile at Marisa, showing all of his perfectly white teeth. That’s when Marisa faced Hannah and grabbed her forearm with both of her hands.

“I’m going to dance, okay?”

The blonde nodded with a soft smile.

Marisa hopped down from the stool, smiling at her new beau, and then back at Hannah.

“This is Connor. Connor, this is my best friend, Hannah.”

The dark haired man reached his hand out for her to shake.

“Pleasure to meet you,”

Hannah grinned with her mouth closed and took his hand. Once they left, she rolled her eyes. It was like he was taunting her with that perfect smile. The dark haired couple actually looked like a good match, and he was at least a foot taller than Marisa. He was pretty handsome, but no greeting of his was going to make her believe that quickly that he was good for her. Marisa will learn her lesson, yet a small piece of her heart hoped that things would work out.

To say the least, the pub was pretty boring. Normally, Marisa left her to vent for herself to have a dance or two with somebody, but always came back in the end. Four songs had passed, and that’s when Hannah realized she’d actually been listening to the music playing in the pub. People talked so loud that it was hard to hear, but she’d gotten so bored to death that she paid attention to her surroundings. It was easier to do that when a man wasn’t itching to talk to her. And it was amazing that she’d been left alone practically all night.

Hannah knew she had to give up hours ago. It was past eleven, and nobody generally comes to the pub this late unless it is a group of people down for a good time. Her eighth beer was just about empty when she slammed the glass bottle on the table out of frustration.

He had never shown up.

She waited for hours to hear everybody’s voices raise a couple notches. She almost had the desire to be blinded by the flashes of the camera because that would signify their presence. The aura in the building seemed a bit off when she first stepped in, and she wondered why she couldn’t have known that sooner. A buzz settled in after her sixth beer, which led her to express her feelings more openly, but always guarded.

“Another bottle?” Josh questioned.

Hannah grunted under her breath and ran a hand through her hair.

“No.” She spoke lowly, keeping her eyes on the wooden countertop.

Had she really had an optimistic view about seeing him tonight? Did she really have honest thoughts about wanting to see him again? If she had chosen to stay at the flat, which she should’ve, Marisa could have told her about the night. Instead, she chose to waste her time sitting on a stool for hours when she could be working. It was the stupid guilt trip Marisa tried pulling on her to get her out of the flat. Hannah started her research at the wrong time, the brunette finding her at the perfect time. She’d been longing for a drink ever since the day started, but did everything in her power to stay in her room until most of the paper was completed. The last thing she needed was a distraction, and Niall and the pub were ideal distractions.

All week, Hannah thought of excuses if she saw Niall on the street as to why she hadn’t shown up to the pub. Sometimes, she liked to imagine what his excuse was if the roles were switched. And right now, she didn’t think she wanted to hear it anymore. She’d been so dumb to coming in the first place, falling for Marisa’s trap. This boy wasn’t worth her time. No boy was.

The blonde spun on the stool to step on to the wood floor, making her way through the small crowd of people. Marisa’s long brown locks came into view. Hannah immediately made her way over to the couple, tapping her friend on the shoulder to grab her attention. Marisa’s eyes lit up at the sight of Hannah on the dance floor.

“I’m calling for a cab.” Hannah told her.

The brunette had a pout on her lips, knowing her idea of Hannah dancing was too good to be true. The boy from One Direction came to her thoughts, and she started feeling sorry for her blonde friend. She brought her out tonight only to set her up for disappointment.

All Marisa could do was nod; Hannah didn’t need her pity. It was her fault for dragging her out.

The air was cold as she stepped out of the pub. She saw her own breath, a cloud of smoke evaporating after a few seconds. She held out her finger in the air for any cab driver to see, hoping to beat out the other pedestrians flagging down a cab. A black car soon pulled over, and Hannah made her move into the vehicle, giving the man directions to the flat.


“Here it is: Don’t Forget Where You Belong.”

A snippet of the next track off the album began to play in the studio. It was the third hour into 1D Day, more than halfway through it to be more precise. Within this hour, Niall had dyed his hair to a lilac color – something the fans have been requesting for a while. Niall and Louis both attempted another world record: the amount of coins one had stacked on his or her face. The record originally was fifty seven. Louis had screwed up within the minute him and Niall were supposed to stack, so it was all on the lilac boy. In the end, he was off by thirty six coins. A ridiculous VT of the boys while on tour played, which many viewers probably got a kick out of. Then, the two band members were very unsuccessful at trying to hook up connections with Doctor Who in England. The boys seemed to have the most malfunctions so far into the live stream, but somehow were still able to manage. They did a couple “Google+ hangouts”, which led to them playing one of new songs co-written by Niall.

As the song played, Niall and Louis were in the middle of merging into the next thing they were going to do that hour. They had to cross over the studio and make their way to two new girls to place them in a telephone booth for a while at a chance to listen to their newest album, Midnight Memories. Before they could make it all the way over, Louis grabbed Niall’s hand, and the two began to slow dance their way across. Niall gave Louis a twirl, and then they were off doing their own thing. Lilac boy got more into it than his best mate, doing a couple of twirls by himself. His lips mouthed the words to the song, staring into the camera for more of an effect.

The song was coming to a close, and the girls appeared form around the corner. Louis was handed the microphone, and the members of One Direction gave the girls a hug before proceeding.

“Hello girls!” Niall greeted. “What are your names?”

“Hannah,” The girl in blue replied.

“Ella,” The blonde girl said.

“Hannah and Ella,” Niall repeated, trying his best not to choke over the sound of her name. “Well, it’s your turn to go into the phone box where you can exclusively listen to our album for the first time. A few people have been in there. Good reviews so far from the people who’ve come out, so…”

Niall went over to the telephone booth and opened the door for the ladies to step inside. Both of the boys joked about how they’d lock the door, telling the girls how they won’t ever get out before moving on to play another VT. And as always, media malfunctions where present, so the boys kept begging for it to work.

“VT in three, two, one…please?!” Louis pleaded. “Oh, this is terrible.”

Finally, their wish was granted and it started showing Zayn and his art work.

Louis went off to talk with one of the cameramen, asking why everything is going wrong in their hour. Niall stayed back and laughed at the comments, but the brown haired girl named Hannah that went into the phone booth haunted his thoughts.

Today was a Saturday, the twenty-third of November. His heart sank when he remembered yesterday was Friday – the day he promised to meet back at the pub in London. The week leading up to 1D day was busy, so by the time it was Friday, Niall’s only thoughts were getting on that plane to L.A. and what was planned for the seven hour live stream.

He would be lying if he said he hadn’t thought of Hannah in the past seven days. What went through his mind the most was if she’d actually show up to the pub on that Friday. For as rude as she was to him that evening, a part of him felt like she would come to the bar. And he didn’t know whether he not being there or knowing she’d be upset hurt him the most.

Being upset…was he crazy? Without a doubt, she threw a party in the building, dancing on the tables at his absence.

To be honest with himself, however, he really wanted to see her again. The insults thrown at his face would be considered compliments because it meant she acknowledged his presence. He owed the girl an apology for completely ditching her yesterday, so at least he had a reason to see her.

“Niall,” Louis’s voice appeared in his left ear. “Are you ready?”

The VT was almost finished, which meant it was time for another activity. Niall hadn’t responded to Louis, but was dragged over to the stage area where an opera singer was standing. The producers were giving the signal that they were about to go live, and Louis began to clap his hands. It wasn’t hard for Niall to sport a smile since smiling was a special quality he possessed. Soon enough, they were back on air. Four more hours before Niall could think seriously again.


It was better to go grocery shopping alone because Marisa hounded every aisle in the store for all the best deals and her favorite snacks. She could spend hours browsing anywhere and never get bored. Hannah found what she needed and left. There was no point in scoping every item on the shelf.

The girls were in need of food and beverages being that the cabinets and fridge were practically empty. Hannah offered to go after her class on a Wednesday night to save time because God only knew when Marisa would arrive home. Texts kept flying in anyway, so the saving time idea wasn’t really going to work out as planned.

-Oh, and pretty please pick up those minty ice cream bars! Xx

Hannah rolled her eyes at the text message although she had a smile on her face. Over half of the things in the basket were of Marisa’s choice. The blonde hadn’t even gotten the chance to treat herself with her favorite goodies.

On her way to the frozen aisle, she decided it was best to pick her things out on the way. She might as well before she’s stuck in the store until it closes. A jug of orange juice made it into her hand when laughter erupted from a few feet away. She gulped and eavesdropped on the rest of the conversation.

“Oh my God, thank you so much.” A girl oozed in happiness.

“No problem! Where are ya girls from?”

“We’re both from London.” They giggled simultaneously.

It cannot be. It simply cannot be. This place is way too ordinary for him or any of the boys for that matter to be spotted. Doesn’t security do their shopping for them? Can’t they call stores to get their groceries delivered at their doorstep now? The last thing she wanted was another confrontation with the Irishman, especially after what happened Friday. She lived for the quiet evenings that made her forget his accent.

Her footsteps lingered to the next aisle over, misjudging the location of the conversation. Two teenagers stood before Niall bundled up in their winter coats with all intentions of following him into the store for an autograph. He looked like a completely different person compared to how he looked at the pub. His hair was covered up with a grey beanie and wore a heavier jacket that was almost a black. It was unzipped as well as the light grey jacket underneath. The hood of it peeked over the coat, probably was resting on his head before he entered the store. His sweats completed his comfy look, tucking into his white shoes.

They were at opposite ends of the aisle, but she felt so much closer to him than that. It is most likely his loud voice and booming laughter. She wasn’t even trying to eavesdrop anymore, yet they were making it nearly impossible for her to ignore them. She heard them saying their goodbyes, and Hannah lost track of how many ice cream flavors she read.

The freezer door opened, shutting only moments later. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him walking in her direction.

“Shit,” She cursed under her breath.

Maybe he wasn’t going to talk to her. After all, the check-out line was more towards her. He could simply be passing her. It’s been five days since the night at the pub, twelve days since she actually saw his face. It may not have been that long, but she was probably forgotten from his brain by now.

“Hannah, right?”

The dreadful sound of her name escaped his lips. She closed her eyes in frustration, letting out a quiet sigh before fixing her posture. There was that same damn smile again, getting the satisfaction that he was correct. She was as bitter as a child being found in a game of hide-and-seek.

“Hi.” She muttered.

“It’s a small world, ain’t it?” He said, adjusting the frozen pizza he held in his hand.

“Too small,” She said mostly too herself, but loud enough for him to hear.

Hannah fixed her gaze on the ice cream tubs again, trying to find the flavor Marisa asked for. The words on the cartons were like a foreign language to her for she could only concentrate on blocking Niall from her vision. A finger poked at the freezer door next to the one she was looking at. This boy didn’t grasp her idea about personal space.

“I’d go for the rocky road any day. That stuff is addicting.”

It was when he made his comment she found the minty bars. Hannah grabbed the last box and put it in the basket. Niall took the flavor he liked and held it in his other hand. His eyes followed to what she grabbed and moaned in pleasure. The sudden noise caused Hannah to raise an eyebrow at him.

“Those are the best, definitely in my top five favorite ice cream bars. It’s so hard to choose a favorite desert, you know?”

She dodged the question and instead, turned to glare at him with impatience and curiosity.

“What brings you here anyway? Shouldn’t you have some servant to do your grocery shopping?”

Niall glanced around at the empty frozen aisle, searching for anybody at all to witness the crazy woman in front of him. He was confused, beyond confused. In the midst of his perplexed state, he noticed Hannah walking away from him. It took a few steps to match up with hers.

“I got two arms and legs. Besides, they would buy the wrong brand even if I wrote it down for them.”

“I’m just saying,” She began, surprising herself that she was still talking to him. “You’re a pretty busy lad. I didn’t think you had time for these kinds of activities… let alone show up Friday.”

Niall continued to follow her to where the fruits were located. He didn’t reply to her comment for he was too occupied by the smirk on his face. Hannah opened a plastic bag and began dumping red delicious apples one by one in it. She wasn’t fazed by receiving no reply and assumed he had left. By the time she finished filling the bag, she realized he was still here.

“So, you did notice.” He raised an eyebrow. “You missed me, didn’t you?”

“Where would you get a crazy idea like that?”

He shrugged. “You noticed by absence. Obviously, you were looking for me.”

“Just because I notice the littlest details does not mean I miss you. Those photographers are so fucking irritating.”

“Yeah…they’re weirdos.” He chuckled at his own statement. “I’m sorry about Friday though. We headed to L.A. for the whole weekend.”

Hannah nodded her head, buying the excuse because it was obviously true. If Marisa hadn’t had the sudden hype over the band, Hannah would suppose everything that he said were lies. So, the fact that they were doing a seven hour live stream wasn’t news to her. She just wanted to hear him say it. Hear him break the promise to see her.

When she didn’t respond, Niall kept talking.

“Since I know you missed me so much,” He emphasized, “let me make it up to you.”

Hannah’s eyes widened.

“No.”

Niall pretended to be wounded, bringing a hand over his heart and making a pained expression. His face contorted like her rejection was bringing him pure agony. Not a sign of humor came across her face. She crossed her arms in retort to his silly expression.

“Don’t you think I’ve been tortured enough?”

“Come on,” He groaned. “Let me take you out to dinner?”

“Do you have room in your tight schedule?” An eyebrow rose on her face.

He did not understand this girl’s problem at all. Of course, he expected a sour attitude after he ditched her, but it’s like she doubled her hatred for him. He’s gone for one weekend, a quick three days that most people would understand about. Holding this grudge, it was now such a crime for a boy with a lot of fame to buy his own groceries. He was surprised to find her here in the first place.

All he wanted to do was get to know her better. An attitude like hers would send anybody away in a heartbeat because who would want to try to figure this girl out? It would be a waste of time and certainly infuriating, but for some reason, Niall liked the challenge. She made herself different from the rest of the girls around the globe. Nobody grasped his attention quite like she did, and she wasn’t even trying.

“I always have room for you, babe.” He smiled despite the boorish expression he was receiving. “This Friday, what do you say?”

“You have a thing for Fridays, don’t you?”

“So do you.”

She glared at him. “Touché.”

“Let’s make it Saturday, then?”

Hannah rolled her eyes and began walking away again. The cereal aisle was only a short distance away, not enough time to get rid of Niall. Not even her pace could shoo him away.

“I’m not going.”

“Why?”

“Jesus…” She let out a harsh breath. “I don’t need to give you any reasons as to why I won’t go.”

They stopped short in front of the shelves of the endless supply of cereal. There was a great deal on the boxes, so Hannah took three. Cereal was the key to getting her out of bed.

“Could you at least tell me if it’s the paps or not?”

The blonde sighed, bringing her shoulders to a slump. She shook her head before replying.

“No, not for the most part.”

“So, I’m the problem then.” Niall searched for the answer, but her face was unreadable. The silence told him to continue. “Tell you what, if you go on this date with me and don’t enjoy it, I’ll lay off.”

That statement got her attention. Her left eyebrow rose, and she squint her eyes, taking the idea into consideration. She dragged her teeth across her bottom lip. It made it hard for Niall to look away. It confused him when she suddenly walked to another aisle.

This was the easiest cat and mouse game he’s ever played.

“Alright,” She finally said.

“What?”

She turned away from the seasonings on the shelf. “I said alright. This is your one shot.”

A smile rose to his face that was too difficult to hide.

“Don’t think I’m doing this because you’re Niall Horan.” She added. “Consider yourself lucky I’m giving you the time of day.”

It truly made him feel better that this date was no based off his popularity. Her attitude was not phony, so the way she treated him made him feel like a human being. He had to try to impress the girl, make her feel worthy. He had to make the night spectacular, something she won’t regret. And maybe he’ll get some answers out of her.

“Trust me; your mind is going to be blown.” Niall was over-exaggerating, but there was nothing wrong with a little confidence.

“So, we’re good then?”

Hannah gazed at Niall with neutral expression, her statement meaning, are you going to leave me the fuck alone for the rest of the night?

Niall nodded and watched her leave the aisle without another glance at him. It saddened him almost. He won’t be seeing this girl for another three days.

“Hannah!” He called suddenly.

The sound of her name made her jump from the other end of the aisle. She turned, and it was clear that she held her famous dull look. Niall could see it despite the distance between them.

“Wear your best dress, yeah?”

Hannah nodded, and then disappeared from his sight.