Overnight Sensation

Most people just throw an engagement party, but for Bryan Maple, a simple family gathering just wouldn’t do it. So instead she opted for bar-hopping in London, and she could have sworn it started out with a group of her bridesmaids, but it seemed she had lost them somewhere along the way. Bryan was never one to drink excessively - she knew exactly when to stop. If there was anything that bothered her, it was feeling as though she wasn’t in proper control of her body.

But this was a special occasion.

Only weeks before did her older-by-seven-years boyfriend propose to her. It was a lovely scene, really. It was cut and pasted straight from those romance movies. Nicholas Sparks couldn’t even have written it better. It was surely enough to make any girl swoon - and that was exactly what her closest friend had done when Bryan awkwardly recounted her the story after being questioned repeatedly.

It’s not that Bryan wasn’t happy that someone had loved her that much. It wasn't even as though she didn’t love William. But, they had only been together for a year, and if she was completely honest, the publicity of his engagement may have swayed her decision. She was never a mean person, and how cruel would it have been of her to turn him down or said she would have to think about it in front of a group of strangers and waiters?

As the bride-to-be stumbled herself down the streets of London, she huffed as she brought her left hand up to inspect the ring. Grumbling various obscenities, she tried yanking it off, but it seemed to throw off her centre of gravity completely, making her ankle give out before she toppled to the ground. She had started to laugh at herself before she even hit the cold cement, and barely even saw the on-lookers as her eyes began to fog. In the next instant, she was crying.

What a bloody mess I am, she thought, blubbering all over the streets.

She couldn’t help it, though! She had just turned twenty-one a few months back and had already signed the rest of her twenties away. What could she have been thinking?

She felt she would have stayed right there, on the ground, weeping in the middle of passing crowds had she not heard the most boisterous laugh that had ever ricocheted off her ear drums.

She quickly scrambled to her feet at the thought of the laughter being directed at her and wiped viciously at her wet cheeks before searching for the source of the noise. Bryan didn’t have to look very far, as the boy stuck out like a sore thumb. He was doubled over in laughter, sunglasses barely hanging onto his head. She quirked a brow at him, watching as a large crowd moved around him and she swore he looked rather familiar, but in her inebriated state she couldn’t place him. But the most pressing thought on her mind was why he was wearing glasses in the dark of the night.

Furrowing her brows, she stomped herself right over to said boy. She was just going to tell him to stop laughing at her - that she was having a mid-life crisis and he just wouldn’t understand it, but it was a perfectly logical reason. She didn’t fail to realize that she would have never done such a thing sober, but she was many drinks passed that.

Her heals clicked and clacked on the sidewalk as she made her beeline toward him. She saw as he was nudged by what looked to be a friend with another familiar face. When she was close enough to speak, she opened her mouth only to have a large body step in front of her. She blinked in surprised and jumped a foot away from the man, giving him a strange look.

“What are you doing,” She hissed, “I’ve got to tell that boy to stop laughing at me, it’s very rude.” She tried her absolute best to keep her voice from wavering, and to keep her words coming out straight, but it just wouldn’t do.

“It’s okay,” a disembodied voice said from behind the large man. She crossed her arms over her chest and nodded.

“You hear that? It’s okay,” She copied, “now if you’ll excuse me…” With that, she sauntered around the security guard to come face to face with this blond boy and his dark-haired friend.

“Sheesh,” she huffed, “What a buzz kill that man is, am I right?” The two boys only laughed, which in turn made her angry all over again, just as she was beginning to forget why she had the urgency to speak to the blond one.

“Can we help you with something?” The brown haired man spoke, an amused smile still tugging on both of the boys’ lips.

Bryan narrowed her eyes at the two, “Yeah, why do keep laughing at me? Can’t you see I’m in complete despair?” She then quirked a brow, and the blond one turned to his friend, slightly confused. Bryan rolled her eyes, “Don’t think I didn’t hear you laughing over here, buddy. You’ve got the loudest, most distinct laugh I’ll ever hear.”

Bryan poked the boys chest quite hard, making him groan and bring a hand up to cover where her sharp-nailed finger was. Now he was thoroughly confused, but it only took a moment of concentration for him to understand what she was talking about.

“Oh god,” he said, “No, you’ve got it completely wrong. My mate and I” - he pointed to the brown haired boy - “We were having a laugh at something that happened earlier today.”

Though his eyes were very honest, Bryan didn’t really want to believe him. If she had, then her hostile approach would have been completely unwarranted, which would have made her look like quite the idiot. She blushed slightly, clenching one of her fists at her side.

“Is that true?” She asked the brown haired boy, who nodded.

“Of course, love,” he told her, “Why would we be having a laugh at you?”

Well, she thought, lets see. Im getting married at twenty-one. TWENTY-ONE. I’ve lost my bridesmaids, I’m the most drunk I’ve ever been and I was just weeping in the heart of London. Did I mention I’m getting married? At twenty-fucing-one? Yeah.

She shook her head instead and closed her eyes for a quick breather before she simply said, “I’m sorry. It’s been a strange night.”

Bryan began to walk off, prying her phone from her pocket, only to have it drop to the ground. She realised it a moment too late, however, because she brought a heavy foot down on the delicate screen, completely smashing it. And as she groaned she heard that bloody laugh again. She snapped her eyes back to the stranger, a scowl set on her face.

“Sorry,” he chuckled, “that time it was kind of funny. I’ll make it up to you?”

Had she been sober, she might have told him off, or just turned him down. But she kept thinking about her upcoming wedding, and her future in her mind was spinning out of control. So, she remembered walking off with the two boys, but everything else happened to be a blur. She had learned their names at some point through the night (Louis and Niall) but didn’t care to really take them into account. If she had, the camera lights would have made a lot more sense.

She didn’t realize what had gone on until the next morning.

Niall had woken up before her, his eyes were still heavy and he had to rub them. It took him not even a full minute to process the night he had. When he looked next to him, he couldn’t say he was incredibly surprised to find Bryan laying there.

However, he was surprised when he noticed the shiny diamond ring on her finger.