Status: In Progress
Indigo Sky
Chasing Cars
Chapter Four: Chasing Cars
*Nikki’s POV
Lauren, our assistant manager, took us back down the elevator on our way out that night. It was early evening, we had spent the entire day recording but we had got some good stuff. “I heard you guys are going to a party tonight with One Direction.” She said as the lighted numbers on the elevator slowly ticked down.
“We might.” Lex said nonchalantly, as if it was no big deal. I saw her glance down at the screen of her phone again. Looks like Harry hadn’t texted her yet.
Lauren surveyed her. “Well, Mark made it sound like you’re going. I think he’s going to go. He’s pretty good friends with their manager, his name is Paul. I’ll text the address to Callie in case you need it.”
The elevator dinged to a stop and we all stepped out. “Thanks again for everything, Lauren.” Callie said politely.
“Girls, just a word of advice.” Lauren said, pursing her lips for a minute. “Be careful if you go to the party. And not just the be careful about partying, but be careful about the boys. Harry, in particular, has a bit of a reputation of being a player.”
I think we all looked down at Lex, who just reached in her purse and slid big, dark glasses onto her face. “Noted.” She said calmly. Lex is a pro at playing it cool. “I don’t think that will be a problem, anyway.”
“See you tomorrow!” Callie called and we walked out into the hot California evening. We trekked through the milling crowd of people that seems to be everywhere in LA towards the parking garage.
“He still hasn’t texted you then?” Bree asked as we headed towards our car. I pulled the keys out of my purse. For some reason, the other girls were not comfortable driving in LA yet. Well, Bree was, but none of us were comfortable with her driving.
Lex shook her head. “I didn’t really think he would.” She said sliding into the backseat of the car. “It’s no big deal. It was a cool story, anyway.”
We had all just gotten in the car when her phone chirped. Callie, who was in the passenger seat, and I turned around and we all stared at her. “Check your phone!” I demanded. “That’s probably him!”
Bree’s mouth twitched in a smile. “I didn’t know you wanted to go to the party so bad, Nik.”
“Shut up.” I rolled my eyes. Who wouldn’t want to go to a party with One Direction? They were all super adorable. “Is it from him?”
“You know, even if he doesn’t text you, we could still go to the party.” Callie said rationally. “We were invited and we have the address. Mark is going, we could always talk to him.”
We all were still staring at Lex. “Okay, okay, I’m checking it.”
She pulled out her phone and opened it, a smile crossing her face as she read whatever the text was. “It’s totally him.” I guessed.
“Let me see that.” Bree said, reaching over and taking the phone out of her hand. “’Hey beautiful girl, hope to see you and your friends tonight. Come anytime after 9, 1442 W Wildwood Lane.’”
“We’re going to a party!” I cheered.
“How come you never are this excited when Bree and I want to take you to a party?” Lex asked, snagging her phone back from Bree.
“Because you never take me to parties with famous, British boy bands.” I teased, turning the car on. “Oh God, what do you think we should wear?”
*************
I had somehow managed to grab the shower first that night. But now I was sitting in the explosion that Lex and Bree call a room, looking for something to wear tonight. How was it possible to have a closet full of clothes but I didn’t want to wear any of it? This was One Direction, I couldn’t just wear some stupid t shirt I bought at Target back in Illinois.
My hair was wet and dripping down my neck. Bree was standing in her small walk in closet, throwing things around and muttering to herself. Bree is probably the fashionista of our group, and if she didn’t know what to wear, then God help us.
“What are you going to wear, Bree?” I asked, walking into the closet and tightening my towel around myself.
“Not a clue.” Bree said, flipping through the clothes on her side of the closet. She looked over at me. “Why, what are you planning on wearing?”
“I don’t know, none of my clothes seem right. I feel like all my clothes are still Chicago and not LA enough yet.” I admitted.
Bree rolled her eyes. “Is this about your knockoff sunglasses again? You have lots of cute clothes. But you can borrow something of mine if you want.”
I wiggled into my favorite pair of tight jeans and wrapped the towel around my wet hair. Then I just stood there in the closet with Bree staring at clothes, hands on our hips, like the answer of what to wear would suddenly jump out as us. “Maybe Callie was right about unpacking.” Bree admitted, looking around at the unpacked boxes in the room.
Alexa walked out of the bathroom in a cloud of steam and perfume. Bree dashed out of the closet and into the bathroom, jumping in right before Callie. Callie banged on the door. “God Damnit, Bree! I called it next!”
I looked at Lex and snickered. Bree was about the only person in the world that could piss mellow Callie off.
Alexa walked into the closet and stood next to me. Unlike me and Bree, she reached immediately for a little black dress with a camisole looking top and shimmied into it. Alexa has curves to die for, and she immediately looked sexy without looking too slutty.
“I hate you.” I groaned.
She just grinned. “What are you going to wear, Nik?” She asked, digging around in the bottom of the closet for shoes.
“Not a clue.” I said, sighing. “These jeans, but that’s all I got so far.”
“Well, I guess you could just go like that. That would definitely make an impression.” She teased, and then started pulling things out of the closet. She pulled out this tiny white tank top that I bought on some stupid whim and never worn and then a bright yellow scarf out of Bree’s side of the closet.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” I said, looking down at the clothes she had just handed me.
“Just put it on.” She ordered.
I put on the tiny top and wound the scarf around my neck. “This shows like three inches of my stomach.” I pointed out.
“I think that’s kind of the point, Nik.” Alexa said, reaching over to adjust the way I had tied the scarf. “You look hot.” She commented before turning to go plug in her blow dryer.
I turned towards the mirror, inspecting my new look. Interesting, it actually did look good together, though I never would have picked it out for myself. My stomach looked pretty good and the scarf was long enough that it didn’t totally show all the time.
I was a little nervous as we headed out of the lobby of our building to grab the Surburban. We typed the address into the built in GPS (really, the thing was a godsend, we would have been totally lost in LA without it). I mean, I would know the other girls there but no one else at this party. Who was I going to talk to? Plus, I was wearing this ridiculous outfit that I still couldn’t decide if it was genius or crazy.
“Don’t worry, Nik.” Alexa said, as if reading my mind. “We’ll stick together. None of us know anyone here.”
“Do we know how many people are going to be here?” Callie asked, chewing her thumbnail nervously. “Is there going to be alcohol?”
“I hope so.” Bree muttered from the back and Lex laughed.
“You might want to be careful drinking in front of Mark.” I warned. “I’m not sure how much he approves of that.”
“We’re 20 years old! I think we’re allowed to have a little fun. He’s got to expect that.” Bree reasoned.
“Note that you said 20, and not 21. We’re not technically legal and that could get us into trouble.” I reminded. “I mean, I know he seems pretty cool about everything, but he might not be. And Lex and I are only 19.”
“Aw, you’re little babies.” Bree cooed, giggling. “But message heard, Nik. I shall try and behave. But only if you promise to try and have fun.”
I rolled my eyes, which she probably couldn’t see, and followed the directions on the GPS towards a gated community in a super nice area of LA. We passed through another gate, where the guard kind of looked into our car and then waved us through. We had a guard in the lobby of our building but nothing like this. Maybe when we were as famous as One Direction, we would have guards at our gate.
“Did you text him that we were here?” Callie asked as we parked the car and hopped out. I adjusted my scarf carefully, still worried about my bare stomach.
Lex shook her head. “I texted him back earlier that we were most likely coming, but I haven’t texted him since.”
“Most likely?” Callie repeated. “Why didn’t you just tell him we would be here?”
“Gotta play a little bit hard to get.” Lex responded, winking at me.
I just rolled my eyes, smiling. I’ve never really experienced single Alexa before. She’s dated this guy Tyler and off since high school. They are currently off, he hadn’t been exactly supportive of her moving to LA. But it was interesting to see how she acted around other guys now that she was single. I’d never really thought about it before.
We walked through the front door, and were met with a mass of people. “Guess it’s more than just a small get together.” Callie remarked as we looked around.
“We’ll be fine.” Lex promised. “Let’s just stay together.”
There were people milling everywhere through the lower level of the house (which was easily the nicest house I’d ever been in) and they all seemed to know each other, except us that is. I took a step closer to Bree.
We milled through the house, looking around at everyone. I didn’t see any of the One Direction boys, but they could be anywhere. There seemed to be a good amount of drinking going on. But I think in the UK, the drinking age is like 16 or 18, so it probably wasn’t weird for them to drink.
We spotted Mark hanging out with another man around his age near the French doors that led outside. “Here comes trouble now.” Mark commented when he saw us, getting up to shake our hands again. “Girls, this is Paul, he’s One Direction’s managers and a good friend of mine. I’ve been telling him how talented you all are.”
I reached out to shake Paul’s hand, smiling. We got really lucky with Mark as a manager.
“He hasn’t stopped talking about you since he got here, pretty much.” Paul admitted, and I smiled at his British accent.
“This one,” Mark said, pointing at Bree, “is going to give me gray hair, though.”
“I don’t know where you got this misconception that I am some sort of troublemaker, Mark.” Bree said innocently and I snorted. “Honestly,” She said to Paul in a stage whisper. “I’m not that bad, and I think he already has grey hair.”
Mark told the story of how less than an hour after we landed in LA, Bree had gotten pulled over and gotten a speeding ticket. We were all laughing as he told it, even Bree.
“Give him hell, Bree.” Paul encouraged. “It’s good for him.”
“Of course, sir.” Bree teased. “I’ll do my very best.”
“God help us.” Mark muttered, but he was grinning. “I know I shouldn’t even tell you guys this, but there’s drinks in the kitchen.”
I swear I could see Lex and Bree’s eyes light up at the mention of drinks.
“We love you, Mark.” Lex said laughing.
“Just promise me that you will be smart. Who’s driving?” Mark asked, looking around us.
I was about to volunteer because I do most of the driving anyway, not to mention I’m not much of a drinker, when Callie beat me to it. “I am. Nikki promised Lex and Bree that she would be fun if they behaved.”
I turned to Callie in surprise and her eyes sparkled with amusement. “Sometimes, I don’t know whose side you’re on.” I muttered and she laughed.
“Thank God for the responsible ones.” Mark said, grinning at Callie.
“Hey!” I protested. “Don’t throw me in with the troublemakers.”
Lex laughed and Mark just grinned at me. “I haven’t quite figured you out yet, Nikki.” He admitted. “Okay, drinks are in the kitchen. Have fun.”
“We will.” Bree promised, pushing me towards the kitchen.
“The lads are around here somewhere. I know they’re looking forward to seeing you.” Paul commented, and I swear that his eyes paused on Lex for a second. Did that mean that Harry had mentioned her or that Mark had told her that Harry had been flirting with her?
“Nice to meet you.” Callie chirped as we headed off to the kitchen.
Niall was waiting in the kitchen when we stepped in there. “Hey!” He greeted. “I know you!”
I smiled. Niall is absolutely adorable. He sort of looks like Mr. All American, even though I know he’s from Ireland. He had blonde hair and big blue eyes and he sort of always looks flushed.
“This is my mate Louis, I don’t think he was with us earlier when we barged in on you in the studio.” Niall said laughing.
Louis is another member of the band. I reached out to shake his hand. “Nikki.” I introduced.
Niall glanced at Louis for a second before turning to Lex. “Someone’s been looking for you.” He told her.
“Oh yeah?” Lex asked, like it was no big deal.
“He probably wants to stare at you some more.” Niall went on, laughing.
“Anywho!” Louis broke in, “what can I get you ladies to drink?”
“I’m okay,” Callie said quickly. “I’m driving.”
“Very responsible, Callie. Glad to hear it.” Louis smiled at her. “Can I get you a soda at least?”
“Of course, that’d be great.” She smiled happily at him.
He reached behind him and grabbed her a coke. “And for the rest of you that aren’t driving? I’m pretty good at making drinks. Miss Nikki?”
“Uh,” I really wish he hadn’t asked me first. I was just going to chime in with whatever Bree and Lex were having (Which I know is probably a bad idea). I’m not an expert at drinks or what I should ask for. “I’ll have whatever you’re having.” I said instead of having to choose.
“Ah, I’m not sure you’ll like it, but I’ll for sure make you one.” He told me. Lex and Bree rattled off a drink order like a pro, which I suppose they probably are.
Niall stepped away for a second to talk to someone he knew, and I saw that he had his phone out, texting. He glanced back at us and saw me looking. I looked away quickly, turning to Lex and Bree. “I wonder what drink I ordered.”
“Yeah, that could either be very good or very bad.” Bree agreed.
Louis reappeared with our drinks and I watched as I took a sip of whatever concoction he had made for me. It didn’t taste bad, but it was strong. “What’s in this?” I asked him curiously.
“It’s probably better if you don’t know.” Louis teased.
He stood there talking with us for a few minutes, and I saw that Callie was laughing a lot. She was even somewhat flirting, which Louis didn’t seem to mind. All of a sudden, he spotted someone over my head and waved at them. “Harry! Came to join the fun group?”
I turned and saw Harry had entered the kitchen from outside and was heading straight for us. “So this is the fun group, huh?” His eyes beelined for Lex, who smiled at him. “Hi again, beautiful girl.”
“Hey Harry.” She greeted.
“You made it.” He seemed happy to see her.
Niall wandered back over to our group, thumping Harry on the back. “There you are, mate.”
I sipped at my drink while we chatted. It wasn’t so bad the more of it I had. When Louis went to refill his glass, he took mine with him. The second cup went down even easier. Now I was starting to laugh and joke with the group. Bree and Niall were hilarious together, they sort of egged each other on. And Harry and Lex were looking at each other when they thought the other one wasn’t looking. It was sort of comical.
Louis stepped away to talk to some guys he knew and then Lex and Bree went with Niall and Harry to make shots and I stayed behind with Callie.
I’m not really much of a drinker. Like, I drank a little bit in high school, but since I never did go off to college, I never really got exposed to drinking. So after two cups of the mixed drink that Louis had brought me, I was starting to feel a little fuzzy in my head.
A random guy came up to us and was talking to Callie but I tuned them out. Lex and Bree were standing at the far end of the kitchen, laughing at something Niall was saying. I didn’t want to interrupt them, so I waved at them, trying to get their attention to come get me. I was starting to feel really dizzy.
Lex saw me and frowned, looking concerned. She nudged Bree and they pulled themselves away from the boys and walked over to me. I stood up from next to Callie and tried not to stumble as I met them halfway.
“Is everything okay?” Lex asked, I could see that Harry and Niall were watching us from the other end of the kitchen. Ugh, I hope everyone doesn’t think I’m a big baby. At least they didn’t follow the girls over here.
“I think I had too much to drink.” I said quietly. “I really don’t feel good.”
“Oh, Nik.” Bree said softly. “You poor thing, I forgot that you’re a lightweight.”
“What are you drinking?” Lex asked, taking my cup and taking a sip. “Jesus, no wonder you’re drunk. This is like pure alcohol. Louis made you this?”
“I didn’t want to tell him it was too strong. I didn’t want him to think I’m a baby and I couldn’t handle it.” I said quietly, my voice wavering. Oh God, I hope I don’t cry.
“Let’s get you some water or something.” Bree said. “We’ll put it in a cup so it looks like you’re still drinking like the wild party animal you are.” She said, winking at me.
I tried to smile, tears starting to fill my eyes, God, maybe I can’t handle it in Hollywood, I can’t even drink at a house party.
*Nikki’s POV
Lauren, our assistant manager, took us back down the elevator on our way out that night. It was early evening, we had spent the entire day recording but we had got some good stuff. “I heard you guys are going to a party tonight with One Direction.” She said as the lighted numbers on the elevator slowly ticked down.
“We might.” Lex said nonchalantly, as if it was no big deal. I saw her glance down at the screen of her phone again. Looks like Harry hadn’t texted her yet.
Lauren surveyed her. “Well, Mark made it sound like you’re going. I think he’s going to go. He’s pretty good friends with their manager, his name is Paul. I’ll text the address to Callie in case you need it.”
The elevator dinged to a stop and we all stepped out. “Thanks again for everything, Lauren.” Callie said politely.
“Girls, just a word of advice.” Lauren said, pursing her lips for a minute. “Be careful if you go to the party. And not just the be careful about partying, but be careful about the boys. Harry, in particular, has a bit of a reputation of being a player.”
I think we all looked down at Lex, who just reached in her purse and slid big, dark glasses onto her face. “Noted.” She said calmly. Lex is a pro at playing it cool. “I don’t think that will be a problem, anyway.”
“See you tomorrow!” Callie called and we walked out into the hot California evening. We trekked through the milling crowd of people that seems to be everywhere in LA towards the parking garage.
“He still hasn’t texted you then?” Bree asked as we headed towards our car. I pulled the keys out of my purse. For some reason, the other girls were not comfortable driving in LA yet. Well, Bree was, but none of us were comfortable with her driving.
Lex shook her head. “I didn’t really think he would.” She said sliding into the backseat of the car. “It’s no big deal. It was a cool story, anyway.”
We had all just gotten in the car when her phone chirped. Callie, who was in the passenger seat, and I turned around and we all stared at her. “Check your phone!” I demanded. “That’s probably him!”
Bree’s mouth twitched in a smile. “I didn’t know you wanted to go to the party so bad, Nik.”
“Shut up.” I rolled my eyes. Who wouldn’t want to go to a party with One Direction? They were all super adorable. “Is it from him?”
“You know, even if he doesn’t text you, we could still go to the party.” Callie said rationally. “We were invited and we have the address. Mark is going, we could always talk to him.”
We all were still staring at Lex. “Okay, okay, I’m checking it.”
She pulled out her phone and opened it, a smile crossing her face as she read whatever the text was. “It’s totally him.” I guessed.
“Let me see that.” Bree said, reaching over and taking the phone out of her hand. “’Hey beautiful girl, hope to see you and your friends tonight. Come anytime after 9, 1442 W Wildwood Lane.’”
“We’re going to a party!” I cheered.
“How come you never are this excited when Bree and I want to take you to a party?” Lex asked, snagging her phone back from Bree.
“Because you never take me to parties with famous, British boy bands.” I teased, turning the car on. “Oh God, what do you think we should wear?”
*************
I had somehow managed to grab the shower first that night. But now I was sitting in the explosion that Lex and Bree call a room, looking for something to wear tonight. How was it possible to have a closet full of clothes but I didn’t want to wear any of it? This was One Direction, I couldn’t just wear some stupid t shirt I bought at Target back in Illinois.
My hair was wet and dripping down my neck. Bree was standing in her small walk in closet, throwing things around and muttering to herself. Bree is probably the fashionista of our group, and if she didn’t know what to wear, then God help us.
“What are you going to wear, Bree?” I asked, walking into the closet and tightening my towel around myself.
“Not a clue.” Bree said, flipping through the clothes on her side of the closet. She looked over at me. “Why, what are you planning on wearing?”
“I don’t know, none of my clothes seem right. I feel like all my clothes are still Chicago and not LA enough yet.” I admitted.
Bree rolled her eyes. “Is this about your knockoff sunglasses again? You have lots of cute clothes. But you can borrow something of mine if you want.”
I wiggled into my favorite pair of tight jeans and wrapped the towel around my wet hair. Then I just stood there in the closet with Bree staring at clothes, hands on our hips, like the answer of what to wear would suddenly jump out as us. “Maybe Callie was right about unpacking.” Bree admitted, looking around at the unpacked boxes in the room.
Alexa walked out of the bathroom in a cloud of steam and perfume. Bree dashed out of the closet and into the bathroom, jumping in right before Callie. Callie banged on the door. “God Damnit, Bree! I called it next!”
I looked at Lex and snickered. Bree was about the only person in the world that could piss mellow Callie off.
Alexa walked into the closet and stood next to me. Unlike me and Bree, she reached immediately for a little black dress with a camisole looking top and shimmied into it. Alexa has curves to die for, and she immediately looked sexy without looking too slutty.
“I hate you.” I groaned.
She just grinned. “What are you going to wear, Nik?” She asked, digging around in the bottom of the closet for shoes.
“Not a clue.” I said, sighing. “These jeans, but that’s all I got so far.”
“Well, I guess you could just go like that. That would definitely make an impression.” She teased, and then started pulling things out of the closet. She pulled out this tiny white tank top that I bought on some stupid whim and never worn and then a bright yellow scarf out of Bree’s side of the closet.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” I said, looking down at the clothes she had just handed me.
“Just put it on.” She ordered.
I put on the tiny top and wound the scarf around my neck. “This shows like three inches of my stomach.” I pointed out.
“I think that’s kind of the point, Nik.” Alexa said, reaching over to adjust the way I had tied the scarf. “You look hot.” She commented before turning to go plug in her blow dryer.
I turned towards the mirror, inspecting my new look. Interesting, it actually did look good together, though I never would have picked it out for myself. My stomach looked pretty good and the scarf was long enough that it didn’t totally show all the time.
I was a little nervous as we headed out of the lobby of our building to grab the Surburban. We typed the address into the built in GPS (really, the thing was a godsend, we would have been totally lost in LA without it). I mean, I would know the other girls there but no one else at this party. Who was I going to talk to? Plus, I was wearing this ridiculous outfit that I still couldn’t decide if it was genius or crazy.
“Don’t worry, Nik.” Alexa said, as if reading my mind. “We’ll stick together. None of us know anyone here.”
“Do we know how many people are going to be here?” Callie asked, chewing her thumbnail nervously. “Is there going to be alcohol?”
“I hope so.” Bree muttered from the back and Lex laughed.
“You might want to be careful drinking in front of Mark.” I warned. “I’m not sure how much he approves of that.”
“We’re 20 years old! I think we’re allowed to have a little fun. He’s got to expect that.” Bree reasoned.
“Note that you said 20, and not 21. We’re not technically legal and that could get us into trouble.” I reminded. “I mean, I know he seems pretty cool about everything, but he might not be. And Lex and I are only 19.”
“Aw, you’re little babies.” Bree cooed, giggling. “But message heard, Nik. I shall try and behave. But only if you promise to try and have fun.”
I rolled my eyes, which she probably couldn’t see, and followed the directions on the GPS towards a gated community in a super nice area of LA. We passed through another gate, where the guard kind of looked into our car and then waved us through. We had a guard in the lobby of our building but nothing like this. Maybe when we were as famous as One Direction, we would have guards at our gate.
“Did you text him that we were here?” Callie asked as we parked the car and hopped out. I adjusted my scarf carefully, still worried about my bare stomach.
Lex shook her head. “I texted him back earlier that we were most likely coming, but I haven’t texted him since.”
“Most likely?” Callie repeated. “Why didn’t you just tell him we would be here?”
“Gotta play a little bit hard to get.” Lex responded, winking at me.
I just rolled my eyes, smiling. I’ve never really experienced single Alexa before. She’s dated this guy Tyler and off since high school. They are currently off, he hadn’t been exactly supportive of her moving to LA. But it was interesting to see how she acted around other guys now that she was single. I’d never really thought about it before.
We walked through the front door, and were met with a mass of people. “Guess it’s more than just a small get together.” Callie remarked as we looked around.
“We’ll be fine.” Lex promised. “Let’s just stay together.”
There were people milling everywhere through the lower level of the house (which was easily the nicest house I’d ever been in) and they all seemed to know each other, except us that is. I took a step closer to Bree.
We milled through the house, looking around at everyone. I didn’t see any of the One Direction boys, but they could be anywhere. There seemed to be a good amount of drinking going on. But I think in the UK, the drinking age is like 16 or 18, so it probably wasn’t weird for them to drink.
We spotted Mark hanging out with another man around his age near the French doors that led outside. “Here comes trouble now.” Mark commented when he saw us, getting up to shake our hands again. “Girls, this is Paul, he’s One Direction’s managers and a good friend of mine. I’ve been telling him how talented you all are.”
I reached out to shake Paul’s hand, smiling. We got really lucky with Mark as a manager.
“He hasn’t stopped talking about you since he got here, pretty much.” Paul admitted, and I smiled at his British accent.
“This one,” Mark said, pointing at Bree, “is going to give me gray hair, though.”
“I don’t know where you got this misconception that I am some sort of troublemaker, Mark.” Bree said innocently and I snorted. “Honestly,” She said to Paul in a stage whisper. “I’m not that bad, and I think he already has grey hair.”
Mark told the story of how less than an hour after we landed in LA, Bree had gotten pulled over and gotten a speeding ticket. We were all laughing as he told it, even Bree.
“Give him hell, Bree.” Paul encouraged. “It’s good for him.”
“Of course, sir.” Bree teased. “I’ll do my very best.”
“God help us.” Mark muttered, but he was grinning. “I know I shouldn’t even tell you guys this, but there’s drinks in the kitchen.”
I swear I could see Lex and Bree’s eyes light up at the mention of drinks.
“We love you, Mark.” Lex said laughing.
“Just promise me that you will be smart. Who’s driving?” Mark asked, looking around us.
I was about to volunteer because I do most of the driving anyway, not to mention I’m not much of a drinker, when Callie beat me to it. “I am. Nikki promised Lex and Bree that she would be fun if they behaved.”
I turned to Callie in surprise and her eyes sparkled with amusement. “Sometimes, I don’t know whose side you’re on.” I muttered and she laughed.
“Thank God for the responsible ones.” Mark said, grinning at Callie.
“Hey!” I protested. “Don’t throw me in with the troublemakers.”
Lex laughed and Mark just grinned at me. “I haven’t quite figured you out yet, Nikki.” He admitted. “Okay, drinks are in the kitchen. Have fun.”
“We will.” Bree promised, pushing me towards the kitchen.
“The lads are around here somewhere. I know they’re looking forward to seeing you.” Paul commented, and I swear that his eyes paused on Lex for a second. Did that mean that Harry had mentioned her or that Mark had told her that Harry had been flirting with her?
“Nice to meet you.” Callie chirped as we headed off to the kitchen.
Niall was waiting in the kitchen when we stepped in there. “Hey!” He greeted. “I know you!”
I smiled. Niall is absolutely adorable. He sort of looks like Mr. All American, even though I know he’s from Ireland. He had blonde hair and big blue eyes and he sort of always looks flushed.
“This is my mate Louis, I don’t think he was with us earlier when we barged in on you in the studio.” Niall said laughing.
Louis is another member of the band. I reached out to shake his hand. “Nikki.” I introduced.
Niall glanced at Louis for a second before turning to Lex. “Someone’s been looking for you.” He told her.
“Oh yeah?” Lex asked, like it was no big deal.
“He probably wants to stare at you some more.” Niall went on, laughing.
“Anywho!” Louis broke in, “what can I get you ladies to drink?”
“I’m okay,” Callie said quickly. “I’m driving.”
“Very responsible, Callie. Glad to hear it.” Louis smiled at her. “Can I get you a soda at least?”
“Of course, that’d be great.” She smiled happily at him.
He reached behind him and grabbed her a coke. “And for the rest of you that aren’t driving? I’m pretty good at making drinks. Miss Nikki?”
“Uh,” I really wish he hadn’t asked me first. I was just going to chime in with whatever Bree and Lex were having (Which I know is probably a bad idea). I’m not an expert at drinks or what I should ask for. “I’ll have whatever you’re having.” I said instead of having to choose.
“Ah, I’m not sure you’ll like it, but I’ll for sure make you one.” He told me. Lex and Bree rattled off a drink order like a pro, which I suppose they probably are.
Niall stepped away for a second to talk to someone he knew, and I saw that he had his phone out, texting. He glanced back at us and saw me looking. I looked away quickly, turning to Lex and Bree. “I wonder what drink I ordered.”
“Yeah, that could either be very good or very bad.” Bree agreed.
Louis reappeared with our drinks and I watched as I took a sip of whatever concoction he had made for me. It didn’t taste bad, but it was strong. “What’s in this?” I asked him curiously.
“It’s probably better if you don’t know.” Louis teased.
He stood there talking with us for a few minutes, and I saw that Callie was laughing a lot. She was even somewhat flirting, which Louis didn’t seem to mind. All of a sudden, he spotted someone over my head and waved at them. “Harry! Came to join the fun group?”
I turned and saw Harry had entered the kitchen from outside and was heading straight for us. “So this is the fun group, huh?” His eyes beelined for Lex, who smiled at him. “Hi again, beautiful girl.”
“Hey Harry.” She greeted.
“You made it.” He seemed happy to see her.
Niall wandered back over to our group, thumping Harry on the back. “There you are, mate.”
I sipped at my drink while we chatted. It wasn’t so bad the more of it I had. When Louis went to refill his glass, he took mine with him. The second cup went down even easier. Now I was starting to laugh and joke with the group. Bree and Niall were hilarious together, they sort of egged each other on. And Harry and Lex were looking at each other when they thought the other one wasn’t looking. It was sort of comical.
Louis stepped away to talk to some guys he knew and then Lex and Bree went with Niall and Harry to make shots and I stayed behind with Callie.
I’m not really much of a drinker. Like, I drank a little bit in high school, but since I never did go off to college, I never really got exposed to drinking. So after two cups of the mixed drink that Louis had brought me, I was starting to feel a little fuzzy in my head.
A random guy came up to us and was talking to Callie but I tuned them out. Lex and Bree were standing at the far end of the kitchen, laughing at something Niall was saying. I didn’t want to interrupt them, so I waved at them, trying to get their attention to come get me. I was starting to feel really dizzy.
Lex saw me and frowned, looking concerned. She nudged Bree and they pulled themselves away from the boys and walked over to me. I stood up from next to Callie and tried not to stumble as I met them halfway.
“Is everything okay?” Lex asked, I could see that Harry and Niall were watching us from the other end of the kitchen. Ugh, I hope everyone doesn’t think I’m a big baby. At least they didn’t follow the girls over here.
“I think I had too much to drink.” I said quietly. “I really don’t feel good.”
“Oh, Nik.” Bree said softly. “You poor thing, I forgot that you’re a lightweight.”
“What are you drinking?” Lex asked, taking my cup and taking a sip. “Jesus, no wonder you’re drunk. This is like pure alcohol. Louis made you this?”
“I didn’t want to tell him it was too strong. I didn’t want him to think I’m a baby and I couldn’t handle it.” I said quietly, my voice wavering. Oh God, I hope I don’t cry.
“Let’s get you some water or something.” Bree said. “We’ll put it in a cup so it looks like you’re still drinking like the wild party animal you are.” She said, winking at me.
I tried to smile, tears starting to fill my eyes, God, maybe I can’t handle it in Hollywood, I can’t even drink at a house party.