Breathe

After Niall texted Liv about helping set up, the two of us got dressed, (although most frat parties have themes, they decided to keep this first mixer without one) and walked to their flat. It was a ten-story building and each floor had four flats. Theirs was directly across from each other.

“Which one do we knock?” I asked Liv, looking between the doors. One read 13 while the other was 12.

Liv shrugged and knocked the one on her side. The door flew open a few seconds later with Louis behind it. “Well, hello,” he said, grinning. He moved aside to let us through. “Boys. Our little helpers are here!”

“But the party is in the other flat,” Liam said, walking out of the kitchen, which was directly in front of the doorway. He grinned when he saw us. “No worries, though. We can chill here for a few. Niall and Harry are getting dressed across the hall.”

He walked over to give us both hugs and I took a moment to look around. The flat was spacious and looked pretty pricey. However, split it between three people, I’m sure they were well off. There was a little dining area through the kitchen area and on my left was the living room. It had two three seater couches with a flat screen telly plugged to it. I could spot several video game consoles facing them. Typical boys.

Beyond the living room was a hall leading to three different doors. On my right was another hall with several more doors behind it.

Zayn popped out of one of them, dressed and ready for the party, I assumed. “Hey guys,” he grinned, walking over and greeting us with hugs. “When’d you get here?”

“Just now,” Liv answered. “You guys have a really nice place.” I wasn’t the only one checking it out then.

“Would you like a tour?” Liam asked.

“Yes,” Liv answered.

“C’mon then. We’ll start through the kitchen and work our way around.” Liam led us through their kitchen, which was full of cereal boxes and a couple of bowls spread out on the counters. They had a small dining room table surrounded by five chairs with the living room right next to it.

“It’s great when we want to watch music videos and have our breakfast in the morning,” Louis told us as we walked through to the hall. The doors led to a bathroom and a closet as well as Louis’s bedroom. It was disgustingly messy, so we quickly walked out and to the other end of the flat. There was a closet and bathroom adjacent to each other with two bedrooms right across from it. Liam got the smaller bedroom while Zayn got the bigger one, only because he wanted a walk in closet.

“I like organizing my clothes, shoes, and hair equipment and I can’t have a small closet,” he had said.

“Zayn’s a fucking diva,” Louis said, leading us out of the hall and towards the living room.

“Just because you like to sleep and live in your filth, doesn’t mean the rest of us do,” Zayn argued.

“I don’t have time to clean my room,” Louis fought back, slumping down on the couch. We all took a seat with him and laughed as they argued. “I’m a busy man. I have more things to do than take care of my hair.”

“You spend like a half hour in the bathroom doing your hair, though,” Liam said.

“Zayn spends, like, three hours.”

“I do not spend three hours in the bathroom.”

“Right, you keep saying that and next time I’ll fucking time you.”

Just then, the front door flew open and Niall burst through. “Where the hell have you two been?” he asked, looking at Liv and I.

“We got lost?” I answered warily.

The boys minus Niall and Liv laughed. Niall only sighed and opened the door wider. “We are across the hall and Harry’s taking the time of his life in his room. Will you lot come help before this party turns into a shit show?”

We all grumbled and got up, following him down the hall. Niall and Harry’s flat was designed a bit differently than the other boys’. They had spotlights that were dimmed, making the room look a bit eerie. Niall led us through a door on our right and we walked through to be led into the living room, dining room, and kitchen. It was spacious and open. The place looked about ready, but some things, like cups, were still unopened.

“I’m going to be giving you tasks,” Niall said, standing in front of us. “Zayn, get the music started and make sure the speakers are plugged up. Test it out. Louis, get the drinks ready and put them on that table I set up. Blair, Liv. Which one of you are good with drinks?”

“I’m pretty good,” I said. “Can make a mean margarita.”

“Alright, help Louis.”

“Liv, you can help me take out some snacks and set out disposable cup and plates. Sound good?”

“Yessir,” we all chanted, throwing Niall mock salutes. We each headed off in different directions to get everything set up. I was standing with Louis in the kitchen, mixing some drinks, when Harry stepped out through these doors next to the living room.

“Hey,” he grinned, spotting us. “How are you?”

“Good,” Liv answered before getting back to placing red cups on the table.

“I’m alright,” I replied. “You?”

“Doing alright. Just showered and got dressed. I was studying all day and that pissed off Niall cause he had to go shopping alone.”

“Studying already?” Louis asked, wrinkling his nose. “Lectures have only just started. What the fuck have you been studying?”

“I don’t like getting behind on my work. I’ve started all the reading and I just wrote some notes,” Harry shrugged, standing beside us.

Louis made another sour expression, making me laugh. Harry smiled at me. “How are you, then? Classes treating you well? Has it been a big adjustment?”

I shrugged. “It’s pretty much the same in every uni, I think. But I think I like this one more than Kings.”

“It’s because I’m here,” Liv yelled, grinning at us.

“That too,” I added, laughing. “But all in all, the professors are nice so far and the work load has been alright.”

“That’s good,” Harry nodded. “I’m glad you like it. Must be hard switching unis so late in the game.”

“I never really felt at home at King’s to be honest, so I’m kind of relieved to be out of there,” I told him. “What about you? How are your classes going?”

“So far, so good,” he answered. “I’ve only had a few lectures, but they’ve been interesting.”

“Will you two shut up about school?” Louis snapped. “We’re about to have a party, the first one of the year nonetheless, and you lot are fucking gobbing about fucking school. It’s really killing my buzz.”

“You’ll be buzzed enough after you’ve got a couple of these in you, Lou,” Harry said, gesturing towards the drinks we were making. We were pouring different sorts of alcohol into different bowls with food coloring in them. Niall’s idea of “punch”.

“I think I want to make jello shots,” Louis said. “Think we’ve got time?”

“Already in the fridge,” Niall said.

“Niall, you left all the boring work for us,” Louis whined.

Suddenly, the flat was booming music from every corner. I startled and looked up to notice that there were speakers wired in every room of the flat. Shit. They did not play around. I wondered how many noise complaints they were going to be getting tonight.

“Leave it to Zayn to start off with Drake,” Louis muttered, rolling his eyes.

“Drake is amazing, alright?” Zayn said, walking back into the room. “When are the other boys getting here?”

“In a half hour. The sorority is getting here in another hour,” Niall replied.

“A mixer is where you party with another sorority, right?” Liv asked. “Are you allowed to invite outsiders like Blair and me?”

“Yeah,” Zayn shrugged. “I invited Zoe to come as well, but she’s busy tonight with some of her friends. Plus, I’m sure whoever is coming told their friends as well. This place will be packed.”

“Shit,” Niall said, dropping what he was doing and charging out of the room. We all looked up at him in surprise. “I forgot to lock my bedroom. I will not make that mistake again.”

Liv and I looked at the others in amusement and confusion. “We had a party once and Niall walked into a threesome happening right on his bed,” Harry grinned, cheekily.

As predicted, it didn’t take long for the party to get crazy.

Theta Chi, which was the frat the boys were in, had about eighty nine guys in it. Only three fourths of them showed up and I only got around to meeting half of the lot that were able to come. The sorority that came for the mixer (Sigma something; I couldn’t remember) and there were only twenty girls in it. The amount of people that were just outside guests were about somewhere in between those numbers.

Basically, the place was packed, and it was hard to maneuver around.

I somehow managed, but had lost sight of Liv a long time ago, despite the two of us promising to stick together.

Instead I made my way around the flat, occasionally stopping when I saw someone I knew. The Weeknd was blaring through the speakers and people were grinding up on each other in the living room. There were people playing ten different drinking games in every corner of the flat and there were two keg stand contests going on.

After about two hours, I found myself with Liam and a few of his frat brothers, playing flip cup. The boys on our team were Andy Samuels, Josh Devine, and Ed Sheeran. So far we’d won three games out of five.

“I’m surprised you’re not falling over,” Josh remarked, watching as I downed another cup. “You’re so small, but you hold your liquor well.”

“I’ve great tolerance,” I boasted, grinning giddily.

“You’re on my team forever,” Liam said, drinking his cup. I laughed and felt myself swaying a bit as I moved to the song, which had switched to a dubstep remix of a Zedd song. “I haven’t won this many rounds before.”

“It’s team work, guys,” I said, admonishing the compliments. I found it a bit weird that just because I’m a girl, most guys wouldn’t take me as a good teammate for a simple game of flip cup. My best friend since primary school, Layla Brown, who is a complete feminism activist, would have lost her shit in this conversation.

We watched as the other team went through their turn, but one of the guys could barely lift a finger and his cup didn’t flip, declaring us the winner for the fourth time. The boys and I cheered, jumping up in the air and doing a group hug. When we pulled apart, I noticed Liv walking over with her nose wrinkled.

“What’s going on?” I asked, looking at her.

“A boy just tried to kiss me,” she said. Liam and I burst out laughing, along with the other boys and she gave us a withering look. “Not funny.”

“It’s generally what happens at parties, innit?” Ed asked. “Everyone’s looking to pull.”

“I guess I’ve just never surrounded myself with such people,” Liv shrugged.

“Are you not having a good time?” Liam asked, a bit concerned.

“No, I am,” Liv said quickly. “Let’s dance. I’ve had a few drinks and I love this song.” She grinned and the boys cheered as we walked towards the dance floor in the living room. Liv put her back to me as I leaned into Josh and we danced to the music. It should have been disgusting, what with so many sweaty bodies swaying along with you, but it felt liberating and so much fun.

A few minutes in, Liv seemed to have started letting loose and I noticed her make her way over to Ed and Liam, grinding with them, but laughing too hard for it to look sexy. I started to laugh and felt Josh’s arm slip around my waist to pull me more prominently against his front. I turned to face him and pushed them even closer, smirking as he grinded back against him.  

Three songs and several more minutes of grinding later, I walked out of the room and towards the kitchen to grab myself another drink. It wasn’t any less quiet in there, in fact, louder due to all the different conversation going around. I saw Louis and Zayn smoking from a bowl with a few other people, their cheeks pink and grins wide.

I grabbed my drink and walked around the house, deciding to explore a bit more, watching as Niall chatted with a few girls. I had no doubt that he’d be hooking up with one of them tonight. As I made my way back into the living room, I noticed Harry standing around, seemingly removed from the festivities with a strange look on his face. I watched as he dodged a blonde sister in a short dress and slipped into his bedroom, closing the door behind him. I cocked my head to the side in confusion Now, if I were sober, I’d probably let him be. However, I was quite far from it and I ended up following him and knocking on his door before walking right in.

I hadn’t gotten a tour of their flat, so it was my first time in his bedroom. The first thing I noticed was that it was dark.  The lights were off and it took a minute for my eyes to get adjusted. It was quite big, with a spacious bed in the middle. What caught my eye was the bay window seat, overlooking the city below and shedding some light into the room and I was instantly drawn. It wasn’t until I was standing in front of the bay window and looking down, that I noticed Harry wasn’t even in the bedroom. He walked out of the adjacent bathroom and cleared his throat.

I quickly turned around and he grinned. “Oh, it’s you,” he said. “I thought it was one of those sorority girls that’s been pestering me all night.”

I laughed. “Nope, just me. I saw you come in and I don’t know...I just followed.”

“It’s alright,” he said. “I didn’t mean to walk out, but there have been these three girls from the sorority who have been coaxing me to hook up with them.”

“And you don’t want to?”

“I have a girlfriend.”

Well, that was news. Kind of. Liv did mention she suspected he was with someone, but we hadn’t talked about it or asked. “Tell me about your girlfriend,” I said, smiling as I sat down on the seat. It had some cushions to lean back against and I made myself comfortable. Harry smiled and walked over, sitting beside me.

“I see you like my bay window,” he said, ignoring the question.

“It’s nice,” I told him. “I’d kill for one. We have a balcony at our place, though. That’s nice.”

“I had to fight Niall for this room,” Harry chuckled. “He finally gave in and said he’d rather get the privacy of his room being away from all the other rooms in the house.”

“His loss,” I said, shrugging. “Now, tell me about the girlfriend.” I smirked at him.

“Met her in my last year of sixth form. We hit it off, I guess. We’ve been dating since.”

“That’s a long time. Years,” I remarked. “Why isn’t she here tonight?”

“She’s busy,” Harry told me. “Her name is Darcy, by the way.”

I nodded, smiling. “Pretty name. I bet she’s really pretty.”

“She is,” Harry smiled. “What about you? Anyone in your life?”

I shook my head. “I had someone back in my first year in uni and that ended in a disaster. Since then, I’ll occasionally make out with someone here and there, but other than that...nothing.”

“Well, there’s nothing wrong with that,” Harry said.

“No, I know,” I said. “I’m actually happier being single than I was when I was in a relationship.  It’s only every once in awhile that I’ll find myself wanting to be in one, because it has its perks. But right now, I’m focused on myself, you know?”

“I get it,” he said. “I’m guessing your focus is school stuff.”

“Yeah,” I said. “I want to graduate and I want to do well. I also want a kick ass job and a nice place in the city. That’s what I’ve always envisioned for myself.”

“I hope you get everything you want, Blair.” Harry smiled at me sincerely and I giggled.

“What are your dreams or, like, plans for the future?”

“Law school after I graduate and then hopefully working. It’ll take me years,” he grumbled.

“Isn’t this something you wanted to do?” I asked.

Harry looked up thoughtfully at that. “Can I trust you?”

I nodded my head.

Harry bit his lip, looking down at his feet. “Truthfully, no. I’m doing this for my parents. They’ve always wanted me to do this and I thought, why not? Good money, right?”

I nodded, feeling myself get a bit sober. “Well, what do you want to do?”

“I dunno,” he laughed, running a hand through his hair. “I like singing. I also really like golf. But I think it’s safe to say that neither will get me anywhere.”

But as you can see, both won’t get me anywhere.”I laughed, leaning my head back against the window. “So, even though you don’t want to do law, you wouldn’t know what else to do if you had the choice.”

“I wouldn’t,” he agreed. “Well, what about you? Computer science and business. Is that what you want?”

I shrugged. “Not really. I enjoy doing a lot of things, but none of them would have gotten me anywhere either. Plus, the demand for jobs in that field is very high.”

“I’ve heard,” Harry said. He sat back and thought to himself for a few seconds. “It’s weird, isn’t it?”

“What?”

“You grow up and you’ve got all these hobbies, right? Passions. And when time for you to pursue your dreams, you realize it’s not always possible. You have to choose something that will get you by in life. And your dreams just change entirely and you don’t even realize.”

“Never thought of it that way,” I said. I was getting more and more sober with every passing second in this conversation. It was nice.

“It’s just strange,” Harry added. “I remember being a little kid and I used to sing all the time. Growing up I was in bands with my friends and before I knew it, my dreams changed. I didn’t want to be a rock star anymore because just the idea of it seemed so silly, you know? It’s become one of those childhood dreams.”

“What do you dream of now?” I asked.

“Similar to yours. Finish school and move out to the city and have a nice place, be with friends and loved ones. I grew up in Holmes Chapel down in Cheshire. It was the smallest town and growing up there was nice. However, I can’t see myself living there my whole life. I also want to travel.”

“Me too!” I told him, getting excited and grinning. “I want to go all over Europe and Australia. America too, if I can manage.”

“Same here,” Harry smiled back. “A lot of people laugh at that. Say we won’t have time and what not, but I just don’t agree. If you want something hard enough, you’ll get it.”

I nodded, agreeing with him. Then I chuckled to myself and turned to him. "Well, I can definitely cross off having a deep, drunk conversation about life with someone for tonight."

Harry let out a loud, barking laugh. “We should probably head back, anyway."

“Yeah,” I said. “They’re probably wondering where we are. Good talk, though.”

“Yeah,” Harry said. “I enjoyed it.” He gave me a warm smile before getting up and leading me out the room.

It wasn’t for another few hours that people started to slowly trickle out and it had taken a great deal of effort from all of us to help the people that passed out get home safely in cabs. I had spent the remaining time hanging out with Harry, watching all our friends go crazy. Zayn and Louis were high as fuck and they were trying to dance with Liam and Liv. Niall did end up hooking up with one of the girls he was chatting with, but sent her on her way as the party died down.

It was early morning when Liv and I were getting ready to leave, but decided on helping the boys clean instead. They gave us some joggers and clean t-shirts to wear before we set about throwing empty, used cups in trash bags.

It was Liam that suggested we play 20 questions.

“Good way to get to know each other,” Liam reasoned.

“But we do know each other, Liam,” Zayn said, somberly from where he was lying down on the couch.

“I meant the girls and us,” Liam retorted. “I’ll go first. When you see someone of the opposite sex, what’s the first thing you notice?” He was grinning cheekily as he finished asking and Liv and I laughed.

“Obviously his wang,” Louis joked. “Am I right, ladies?”

Liv flipped him the bird before turning to Liam. “Smile! If he’s got a cute smile, I’m in. Or a baby face. I love baby faced boys.”

“Does that make her a pedophile?” I heard Niall ask Harry who dropped the cups in his hand and laughed hysterically.

“I think hair for me,” I said. “I like a man with a good head of hair, but he has to have, like, style. I can’t have a guy with his hair parted in the middle. That’s disgusting.”

“Interesting,” Louis said. “I’ve always figured it would be body, you know?”

“Body is pretty far down the list,” I said.

“We don’t really look to see if he’s built up,” Liv added. Somehow we ended up going through with the game, but lost count of how many questions were asked because each answer diverted us to another conversation, and we ended up losing track of time. It was early morning by the time we all crashed on the floor (which was now clean, thanks to all of us and our half-drunken efforts) and fell asleep.