#odff

chapter one:

If you asked me ten years ago where I would be living when I was twenty one years old, I probably would have sighed and said I would still be stuck on Long Island. Or maybe, if you caught me on a good day, I would have smiled at you and told you I belong in New York City, and that’s where I’ll be. Never in my wildest dreams could I have ever imagined myself packing my bags and moving to London. I mean, it was always a dream of mine, move to another country, get away from it all, but I never thought that it could be a viable reality. But here I was, twenty one years old and about to finish putting the dishes away in my brand new apartment.

It’s not like I just decided to move here on a whim. My best friend, Laila Walker, was accepted to the London Contemporary Dance School, and when Laila asked me to move here with her, I had thought about it for all of three seconds before saying yes. I was more than thrilled. Laila had been working toward this her entire life and now she had finally been recognized by one of her dream schools. It was just as thrilling and amazing for me as it was for her.  

I moved into the kitchen, grabbing the box of dishes we had yet to unpack. Since we got here two months ago, we had just been eating takeout on paper plates, unwilling to shell out the cash for actual glassware. As I started unwrapping our new plates, I looked around the apartment. It wasn’t anything special, really. The space was small and cramped, but it was much bigger than any shoe box apartment I could have rented in Manhattan, and half the price as well. The walls were already lined with posters and photos from back home. We wanted to claim the space as ours, an independent place finally escaping our parents.

I had made sure that the apartment, or flat, as they call them here, (I would have to get used to calling it that), was furnished, so we wouldn’t have to buy much when we move in. It came with standard things, two beds, a couch, and the necessary kitchen appliances; which was more than enough for two college kids from America. Of course we had to go out and buy the essentials; towels, soap, laundry detergent, and finally the plates that I was unpacking.

I heard Laila come into the room chatting away with her mom, Stacy. “Okay, Mom, I know,” Laila rolled her eyes as she walked around the living room. “Yeah, Sadie’s here. Yeah, she’s unpacking the plates we just bought.” Our moms have called us at least six times a day every day since we moved here. “Yeah Mom, I know we’ve been here two months…”  I laughed. Stacy probably thinks we haven’t been eating since we haven’t had dishes. My thoughts were confirmed at the next words out of Lai’s mouth. “It’s called eating take out and throwing out the containers.”  She threw her hand up in defeat, rolling her eyes as she walked over to me. She glanced down at the dish in my hand, and I could see that she was formulating a plan. Before I knew what she was doing, Laila took the plate from my hand and threw it to the ground. It shattered to pieces, and with a smirk, Laila quickly rushed her mother off the phone. “Oh, shit, Mom, Sadie broke a plate, oh god, her hand’s bleeding, gotta go, bye!”

I rolled her eyes at Laila’s dramatics. “I hope that was worth the plate, Lai.” I chuckled, kicking the pieces of the plate away from my feet. “I swear if your mother is now calling mine to tell her I cut my hand open, you get to deal with Kathy when she calls telling me I’m not allowed to live away from her anymore.”

We had been best friends since birth. Our mothers were in the same lamaze class and bonded over how their husbands made fun of their strange cravings. Ever since then, their mothers had been inseparable and of course, when they both delivered, it only made sense that their children would be best friends as well. We grew up a town away from each other, but Laila and I never seemed to mind. I would go to all of Laila’s dance recitals and she would sleep over my house every other weekend. Of course we saw each other every time our mom’s got together, so it was easy for us to stay friends. We never fought or argued with each other like other best friends seemed to, we were just Laila and Sadie, and nothing ever really changed that.  

We got to go to high school together because our towns shared the same building for grades nine through twelve. Laila decided to be a cheerleader. She liked the whole design of it; being popular, the cute boys, having everyone know who she was - that was her zone. Me, on the other hand, hated that whole scene. I disliked the cheerleaders because most of them were dumber than rocks, and had chronic bitch face. Instead I was the girl that helped with the Homecoming floats, and ran for student council every year. I never actually won anything, but doing things for the school felt better than cheering for it. Despite the different social circles, we stayed friends. We actually got closer because we could see each other every day, which is how we were here today.

“I can’t believe you broke a fucking plate.” I sighed, walking towards the closet. I pulled out the broom and dust pan, leaning it on the counter. “You’re cleaning it up.”

“Fine, but she wouldn’t shut up.” Laila mumbled, grabbing the broom and starting to clean. “I swear, that woman is going to be the death of me. I mean if you combine our ages, we’re a forty year old woman, we can take care of ourselves.”

“Lai, you say that, but yesterday you called her screaming because there was a spider on the ceiling and I wasn’t home to kill it.” Laila looked up and glared at her. “I’m just saying, the only reason your mom actually let you move here, was because she knew I would keep an eye on you.” I took this opportunity to sit on the couch and read a magazine. Propping my feet on the table I opened up the new issue of Cosmo.

“That’s not entirely true. I mean, my mom knows you watch me, but your mom’s scared you’re going to sleep with half of London. That’s why she was so scared to let you come here in the beginning.”

I dropped the magazine onto my chest.  “WHAT?”

“Uh, yeah, she’s super worried about that.” Laila laughed.

“I’m not that bad. I mean, I’ve had two boyfriends my entire life, why would she be so worried.” I rolled my eyes. It was true. I had two serious boyfriends, and sure I had lost my virginity at fifteen, but she didn’t know that.

“Maybe because of the other two boys who weren’t your boyfriend?” Laila snickered, putting the broom away and walking over to join me on the couch.

“You know that’s not true!” I shook my head. “Sleeping with your ex does not count as another person, and the other, well he was just a big drunken mistake.” I didn’t even want to think about that night.

“Yeah, yeah, and what about all of the boys that you meet at Amber’s parties? They always seem to take a liking to you, at least that’s what I’ve overheard Amber telling people.”

“Laila, you hate Amber, why would you ever listen to anything that she says?” I asked. She was about to answer me with a few choice words about how she hated Amber because she was a ‘no good slut’ until I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. “I swear, Lai, if that is my mother calling me asking about my hand…” I threatened, but instead of it being Kathy, it was ironically Amber’s name that flashed on my screen. “Speak of the devil and she shall call!” I joked, pressing ‘answer’. “Hey Amber.”

Amber Frankel had been my first new friend in London. I had met her on my journey to find a job. Even though we were lucky enough to have our parents were pay our rent, I knew that we would need the extra income coming in. Laila was always going to be busy with rehearsals and classes, and a job would just add more stress to her, so I decided it was a good idea to go looking. I had found a few places, but not really anything that I could really see myself doing. I knew I shouldn’t be so picky, considering the circumstances we were in, but I couldn’t help it.

But when I noticed a record store with a “Help Wanted” sign in the window, I decided to take a chance there. As soon as I walked into the store, I knew this is where I wanted to work. It reminded me of this shop back home that I used to go to. Posters of my favorite bands lined the walls, as well as some bands I never heard of. There were actual records in the shelves, as well as CD’s and I saw some cassettes mixed in there as well. I met with a clerk first, who had to get his manager to get me an application. That manager happened to be Amber. We chatted for a bit about what made me move to London, and about my availability, but I knew I had the job when we both realized we had the same favorite band. We’ve talked almost every day since.

I found out a lot about her whenever we worked together. Amber was a party girl, which you could tell by just looking at her. She was pretty and covered in tattoos, which was super badass. She had her lip pierced as well as other parts of her body that I couldn’t see - but she made sure to tell me about them. She had a crazy personality that I could tell that you would either like or hate. I liked her personality, Laila hated it. But despite what anyone thought, Amber was a good friend and made sure I felt welcome in this big new city I called home. Laila’s distaste for Amber somehow grew over the course of knowing her. I knew it was partially because she was jealous I had another friend besides her here, but it was also because Amber seemed to draw more attention at parties then Laila did - something the attention seeking side of Laila wasn’t used to.

“You up for a party this weekend, Sade?” Amber asked.

“I’m always up for a party.” I laughed, playing with the ties of my pants. “When is it?”

“It’s Friday night, some lads I went to primary school are dropping in, and I know there’s one in particular that you would find fit.”

It was true, almost every boy that Amber would invite to her parties were very attractive. And for some reason, they thought I was attractive also, something I was not used to. In high school, boys never seemed to notice me. I was really quiet and I liked to keep to myself a lot of the time. I never thought I wasn’t pretty, I’m tall and blonde, and I’m as my mom says “well blessed in the chest department”. I even won “Best Smile” in my senior year superlatives. Still, it was weird when I got a male’s attention.

Laila however was the one with all the luck. Boys had always seemed to flock to her, something that I was always jealous of. There was no denying that Laila was probably one of the most beautiful girls in their school, and being a cheerleader certainly helped getting the football player’s attention. But now we were in London, and things started looking up. Laila was usually too busy with school or at dance and would thoughtfully decline Amber’s offer to go, something I liked because then boys wouldn’t look at her so much.

When it came down to it, I enjoyed going to parties without her. Not that it wasn’t fun when Laila was there, it was just easier for me to meet boys without her gorgeous friend at her side. Most of the times when they would be at parties together, Laila would unknowingly take the attention of the boys I liked. It wasn’t like she did it on purpose; Laila had her own special charm about her - something the boys loved. But when Laila was away, I loved to play. I figured that most of the attention came from the fact that I’m from America, but I really didn’t mind. Here, in London, boys thought that I was fit, and it was a nice confidence boost.

“Amber, you always have attractive males at your parties.” I pointed out, as Laila moved closer to me on the couch to listen in.

“I know, but maybe we can find one that likes Little Laila as well. You know, she’s always got her knickers in a bunch, she could use a good shag.” I felt Laila roll her eyes next to me.

“I don’t actually know if Laila’s free on Friday.” I glanced in her direction to see what her answer was.

“Yeah, I am.” Laila said loudly. “I’ll be there, she shouldn’t worry her pretty little bad dye job head about it.”

“Apparently, she’s free.” I sighed, I hoped they could have behaved for at least one phone call. apparently I was wrong.

“Alright, tell the twat I can’t wait to see her, you too, Love, it should be a blast. I’ll see you Friday, then.” Amber laughed.

“Yeah, see you then.” I agreed, hanging up the phone. I turned to face Laila. “Was that really necessary? You couldn’t be nice for the three seconds I had left of that phone call?” I sighed in frustration.

“She was clearly being a bitch and I will not stand for it.” Laila growled. “I’ll show her. I’m gonna look so hot she won’t even know what’s coming to her. And neither will her little school friends.” She got up from the couch. “...got her knickers in a bunch, could use a good shag” Laila mimicked. “Who does she think she is?

“I think she thinks she’s the person who throws awesome parties with really hot guys at them.” I smirked. I knew it pissed her off when I defended Amber’s actions, but hey, I was going to meet cute boys on Friday, and if it weren’t for Amber, I wouldn’t have a job.

“Sure, defend her, whatever. But I’m gonna show up there and I’m gonna make out with every single guy she makes eye contact with!” Laila spat as she walked to her room.

“Oh okay, and my mom’s worried about me with boys. As long as we know…” I called after her. I chuckled to myself as I opened my magazine again.

I could still hear Laila cursing under her breath. It was always funny to see Laila get jealous about boys. She would always jump from boyfriend to boyfriend, so she never had the chance to really get jealous. But Amber brought out her competitive side, something very entertaining for me to watch.

Laila popped her head back into the room. “Wait, Sade, what are you gonna wear?”

“Um, probably that dress that I wore to Shane’s party in senior year.” I shrugged. I didn’t really ever plan out what I was going to wear, I just usually pulled a dress out of my closet and went.

“No you’re not. That thing is hideous!” Laila argued. I closed my magazine again, preparing for an unwanted argument. “If you’re gonna look good for the ‘lads’.” Laila used air quotes as she spoke, “You need to look incredible, not just mediocre.”

“Well thanks, friend, that’s a very comforting sentiment.” I rolled my eyes desperately wanting to keep reading the “10 Ways to Get Rid of Tummy Fat Fast” article in Cosmo. I was just about to open the magazine one more time when a bunch of fabric landed on my face. I grabbed it and looked at it. I gasped. It was my favorite dress that she owned. I had asked her to borrow it countless times before but she had always said no. Of course I had always put it on whenever I would go to her house and she would threaten me bodily harm unless I took it off, but the three minutes I spent wearing it were pure bliss. “I’m not wearing this dress, Laila.”

“Yes you are, you have loved that dress since I bought it, and now you’re gonna wear it. You know what shoes to wear with it right, the gold ones with those strappy things?” I knew exactly what shoes she was talking about, but I was still blown away that she was letting her borrow this dress.

“You said you would never let me borrow a piece of your clothing ever again after the great spaghetti incident of 2011, Lai.” I still remember that day as if it were yesterday. I had borrowed one of Laila’s skirts for a date, and the waiter had dropped his dinner right onto my lap. I had claimed it really wasn’t my fault, but Laila wouldn’t have it. She didn’t talk to me for a week.

“Yeah, I know, that skirt was ruined forever because of your clumsy ass, but this is different, you getting laid is on the line this time.” I rolled my eyes at her. “But it’s a risk I’m willing to take.”

“It wasn’t my fault, and you know it!” She shot me a death glare. “Well thanks for being so chivalrous, Lai.” I smirked as she held up the dress. It was a little black long sleeved dress with lace going down either side. The front had a straight cut, not showing much at all. The back however, was cut super low. So low that the actual back of the dress started right above my butt. It was a tad bit racy, but it fit the type of party that Amber usually threw.

“I swear to God Sadie, if you so much as spill a drop of any substance on that dress, I don’t care if it’s water, I will kill you in your sleep. Do we have a deal?”

“Deal.” I smirked. This was why we were best friends.

& & & &

Friday came faster then I had expected, which was great considering I just wanted the week to be over. I still had school work to do, and finish the last fifteen minutes of my shift, but none of that mattered because the party was tonight. To pass the time, I counted out the register, making sure that all the sales I had made that day were accounted for. When I was sure that they were, I went and I straightened some of the records in the “Soft Rock” session to kill the remaining time. I did that for a few minutes until one of my coworkers came in, telling me I could leave and then booked it out of the store.

One of the best parts about my job was that it was within walking distance from the apartment. It was pretty chilly, so I made a mental note to make sure Laila picked a dress that she could wear a jacket with. I knew that that would be a task in itself, because as she’s explained to me a million times, “Every dress that I have is already and outfit, Sadie. I can’t just change jackets, it’s like a science.” So I crossed my fingers she would have a dress with the appropriate outerwear. I arrived at our building within ten minutes of leaving work, knowing Laila would probably already be getting ready; even though the party didn’t start for another two hours. I climbed the stairs to the third floor, and walked to our door.

I had the door halfway open before I heard Laila call me. “Took you long enough!” She called from her room. I walked into the apartment, putting my keys in my bag and my bag down on the kitchen table. I made my way over to her room, leaning on the doorway when I arrived. “I was starting to think I was gonna have to go there without you.” She was standing in the kitchen in one of her other little black dresses, with hot pink glittery stilettos on her feet.

I rolled my eyes and glanced at my watch. Like I had noted before, we had about two hours before we needed to be there. “Calm down, Ms. Drama Queen, we still have two hours.” I pointed out, walking towards my room. “You do have a jacket for that dress, right? I don’t want to hear you complain when you’re drunk later that you’re cold.” Like you do all the other times she’s been drunk in London, I added mentally.

“Yeah, I have my black coat don’t worry. But, hurry up! I don’t want to be late, I want to make sure I have enough time to scope out boys before Amber sees them.” She whined.

I groaned. “Amber invited all of those boys, I’m sure that she knows what all of them look like and who she wants to hook up with.” I stripped out of my work clothes quickly, eager to put on my (Laila’s) little black dress. “I’m sure you’ll be fine.” I called to her, grabbing my gold shoes and slipping them on as well. I walked to my mirror checking myself out, making sure everything looked alright. When I was satisfied, I called for for her to come into my room. “Hey Lai, I look hot as fuck.”

She into my room, taking a seat on my bed as she put on her earrings. “Hell yeah, you do! But what are you gonna do with your hair? Please don’t say you’re just gonna leave it like that, it looks dumb with that dress.” I stuck my tongue out at her and turned back to the mirror. I hadn’t thought about it.

“Hmm, I’m not sure, I know I don’t have enough time to straighten it.” I actually did have enough time, I just didn’t want to keep her in the apartment much longer. I heard Laila ‘tsk’ in disappointment behind me. “Maybe I’ll just put it up?” Grabbing my hair, I quickly twisted it, and piled it on top of my head. I secured it with a hair tie and several pins, spraying it quickly with hairspray. I turned to Laila for approval.

She glanced at me before muttering a quick yes, and telling me to hurry up. I rolled my eyes for the fifteenth time that evening and walked to my vanity. Laila was getting super antsy. “It’s not like the party is first come first serve.” I offered, trying to get her to calm down a bit. I looked down at my makeup, unable to decide what color to use.

“I know but usually all the cute boys are always around Amber by the time we get there.” She pouted, pulling at the fringe on one of my throw pillows.

I decided to do a smokey eye. “Yes, Laila, they are, because they’re her friends, of course they’re going to talk to her.” I picked up my eyeshadow brush and started doing my makeup.

“Yeah but she’s ratchet, and I’m hot.” I looked at her in my mirror shaking my head. “I just want a cute British boy!” Laila cried.

“I know, Lai, and you’ll find yourself one. In those shoes you can have anyone you want!” I mused. I found over the years of knowing Laila that when you compliment her, she usually tends to stop complaining about things.

“Yeah, you’re right. Thanks, Sade.” She smirked, getting up from my bed. “I’m gonna go get my coat, let’s go get some food before we go to her place.”

“You’re welcome, crazy pants.” I smiled, before getting back to work on my eyes.

& & & &

We could hear the blast of the music the second the elevator opened its doors. Amber’s flat was about three blocks away from our school, so it was a notorious party area. It reminded me of the fraternity/sorority streets they had at schools back home, where every place you went to usually had parties on the weekends. We walked down the hallway, stopping at Amber’s door. Laila went to knock, but before she could, I opened the door and walked inside.

Amber’s flat was huge. The first time that I ever came here, I figured you could fit my apartment in it at least four times, and still have room for more. Amber shared the flat with her brother, Peter, who was some major business mogul in the city, which was the reason for the massive apartment. The floors were hardwood, and the walls were covered in a tan paint. Like the record store and my own apartment, the walls had posters of bands and pictures of Amber and Peter from when they were little.

Like usual, there were about a hundred people at the party. I grabbed Laila’s hand and weaved us through the crowd towards the sitting area where I figured Amber would be. When we finally hit an opening in the room, I spotted Amber, Peter, and his girlfriend, Hannah sitting on the couch, surrounded by some people I didn’t know.

“Sadieeeeee!” Amber slurred when she saw me, clearly already drunk. “How are youuuu?” She jumped from the couch and straight into my arms.

“I’m good,” I laughed, as I caught her from falling. “I see you hit the bottle pretty early, didn’t you?” I looked toward Peter who nodded at me. Peter was very handsome. He was tall with dark brown curly hair and you probably could never tell he was related to Amber.

“As soon as we finished setting up she wanted to do shots,” He smiled. “She’s been drinking ever since.” He stood from the couch as well, leaning over to kiss me on the cheek. “It’s good to see you!” Peter turned to Laila, “And you must be Laila.”

“Yes I am, it’s nice to meet you.” Laila stuck her hand out and Peter shook it. I had forgotten they had never met.

“You as well, this is my girlfriend, Hannah.” Peter pointed to Hannah, a slender girl with long dirty-blonde hair. She was speaking adamantly to the girl sitting next to her. “You can meet her later.” He laughed.

“Soooo you wanna meet the lads, yeah?” Amber said, plopping herself back on the couch. “I know one of them is right over here. LOUIS!” She called. She waved a tall, thin, boy with messy brown hair to come over to us. He was wearing jeans with a white shirt with a blazer over it that revealed his tattooed forearms. He was also very cute. I heard Laila gulp next to me; apparently she thought he was cute too.

Amber tried to stand up to walk over to him, but tripped over her own feet. I heard Laila laugh at her quietly beside me. I slapped her lightly. Luckily, the boy caught her. “Whoa there, Amber, don’t want you to fall down and hurt that pretty little face of yours.” He said.  

“It wouldn’t be a pretty face that she’d be hurting.” I heard Laila mumble under her breath. This time, I elbowed her in the ribs.

“Girls, this is Louis.” Amber smiled, gesturing to Laila and I. “He’s a very good friend of mine from school, just moved back here, actually.” He walked closer to us and reached out his hand.

I grabbed it and shook it. “It’s nice to meet you, Louis. I’m Sadie Clark.”

“You as well, Sadie.” He grinned. “An American girl. And where did we meet her, Amber?” Louis looked amused.

“I actually went into the record store looking for a job.” I smiled at Amber. “We bonded over Fall Out Boy”

“Yeah, she’s sick as hell, got tattoos all over her little arse just like me. Cheeky little thing as well. Knew we’d get on well.” Amber returned my smile.  

“That’s real swell girls, a real and true love story.” Louis joked, he glanced at Laila. “Well, well, well, who do we have here?”

“I’m Laila,” she said stepping forward. I could tell she was nervous.“I’m Sadie’s roommate and best friend.”

“Two American girls? I must have died and gone to heaven; tonight’s my lucky night to be surrounded with such charm and beauty.” He winked at Laila, a blush rose in her cheeks.

Amber rolled her eyes at them. “Alright Lou, where’s Harry?” She asked, looking around the room.

“I think he went to the loo.” A voice said. We looked to see Peter’s girlfriend, Hannah. We didn’t realize she had finished her conversation and was now listening to ours. “Hey, Sadie, how are you, love?” she asked, she grabbed my hand as I bent down to kiss her on the cheek.

“I’m good.” I answered. “You’re looking beautiful like always.” Hannah blushed, she was a sweetheart.

“Oh hush, you look amazing as well.” I smiled at her.

“Thank you.nThis is my best friend, Laila" I said, pointing towards Laila, who was now in a conversation with Louis. I poked her to get her attention.

"It's nice to meet you, Laila, Sadie talks about you all the time." Hannah smiled. I always liked Hannah. She was sweet and funny and always laughed at my jokes, even if they weren't funny. It was something I was very grateful for.

"All good things, I hope." Laila said, clearly nervous an embarrassing story would arise at that moment.  

"Of course." I lied. "I would never tell them any stories about you doing dumb thing or making a fool out of yourself." She glared at me.

“Well that’s all good, but the real question is, Laila, can I get you something to drink?” Louis interrupted. I noticed her blush again. This was perfect, Louis is just what I needed to get Laila out of my hair for the night.

“Yes you can, thank you, Louis.” Laila gushed.

“Come along, love, we can talk as I pour.” Louis charmed, and Laila followed Louis towards the kitchen.

“Well now that that slag is gone.” Amber sighed, leaning back into the couch.

“Be nice, Amber, that’s Sadie’s friend!” Hannah said, tapping her gently on the arm.

“It’s fine, I’m used to them hating each other.” I chuckled. “Now where can a girl go to get herself a drink?” I needed one if I had to deal with the two of them bickering all night.

“Well, there’s liquor just about everywhere in this place, so find a clean cup and pour!” Peter laughed.

“Easy enough.” I glanced around the room. I figured it would just be easier to go into the kitchen. I made my way through the crowd again, finding an empty cup and filling it up with beer. I took a sip and looked around. I spotted Louis and Laila across the kitchen. He was talking and she had a huge grin plastered on her face. I was happy, as much as Laila was here for school, she needed something to take her mind off the stress it gave her. Hopefully Louis would be perfect for that. I took another sip of my beer and made my way out of the kitchen.

I made it halfway back to Amber, when somebody walked straight into me, their cup splashing whatever liquid it contained all over me. I froze in place, mentally preparing myself for being murdered by Laila later.

“Hey, why don’t you watch where the fuck you’re going?” I looked up to see a guy looking down at me, annoyance plastered all over his face. That pissed me off.

"Why don’t you watch where you’re going?” He snapped at me, and I got a good look at his face. I was taken aback by how attractive he was. Mystery boy was a bit taller than her, something which was impressive considering she was five foot ten inches, plus heels. He had long brown curly hair and gorgeous green eyes. He was wearing black boots, dark grey skinny jeans, and a black v-neck tee. My eyes wandered at the part of chest that was showing, tattoos of birds showed clearly. His arms were also covered in ink, something that was very attractive to me. I shook my head to clear my thoughts.

As attractive as he was, he was still plain rude. “I was watching, and then you just plowed into me and spilled all your drink on me. You idiot, this isn’t even my dress!” I growled at him, wiping at the wet spot on my dress. “Fucking, Laila’s gonna kill me.”

“You Americans, always thinking nothing’s their fault.” Mystery boy growled at me. I glared back at him

“Oh, get over the Revolutionary War, would you? It was like two hundred years ago.” I spat. I was satisfied with my comeback until he opened his mouth again.

“It was 239 years ago, actually.” He stated. I didn’t care to know how he knew the exact amount of years so quickly because I was even more pissed off.

“Oh, whatever, like it matters.” Sadie yelled, backing away from him. “And by the way, I’m glad we threw all that tea into the harbor, because it’s not even that good!” It was a shitty answer to his, but she still thought she saw a smile play on his lips before she stormed off towards the bathroom. I had to wait on a brief line before I could actually check out the dress, but when I looked at the dress in the mirror I was more than relieved to realize that Luckily Mr. Tall, Dark, and Rude was only drinking water. I grabbed a towel from next to the sink and tried to dry the dress as best I could before someone knocked on the door. “Come in!” I called, and Amber stumbled in, clearly drunker than how I had left her fifteen minutes ago.

“THERE YOU ARE!” She screamed. “I found Harry, you just have to meet him, you guys are perfect for each other, I swear it!”

For Amber, I quickly brushed off my anger, now excited to meet this boy named Harry. It was annoying that I now had a huge wet spot on my dress, but it wasn’t really that noticeable. I rubbed the towel on the spot a few more times before I followed Amber back out of the bathroom towards the couches. She ran ahead of me, and I assumed she wanted to tell this Harry that I was coming. When I got back to the couch, I noticed who she had her arm around and I frowned. “Sadie, darling, this is Harry Styles, he’s the boy that I’ve been dying for you to meet!”

I scowled. “He’s the one that you wanted me to meet? You’re joking, right?” I sighed, glancing at Harry who was wearing an amused smirk on his face. “He’s really rude.”

“Wait, you two met?” Amber asked, glancing at Harry, then back at me.

“Yeah, he spilled his drink on me.” I spat, throwing Harry another dirty look.

“He. Did. What????” Laila screeched from behind me. Shit, I didn’t know she was there.

I spun around to face her. If looks could kill I would have been dead on the spot. “It was water, I swear!” I defended, holding my arms out to prevent her from coming closer to me.

“I will kill you, Clark. Kill you.” Laila glared, she started walking towards me, but thankfully Louis got in between us.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, no need for a cat fight, girls, not unless there’s jello involved.” Louis

joked, and Laila tried to reach around him to slap me.

“I’m sure he didn’t mean to.” Amber suggested, attempting to break up the fight that Laila was trying to start. “Harry’s actually really sweet!”

“He didn’t come off that way to me.” I blanched, still hiding behind Louis.

“Who, Harry?” Louis asked, looking down at me. “He’s a sweetheart, isn’t that right, Haz?” Of course they were friends.

I begged to differ, he was not a sweetheart. “That is right Lou, I am a sweetheart.” Harry smirked. I wanted to gag in response, but I stopped myself.

“If there is one stain on that dress, I will kill you.” Laila said, walking over to Harry. “I don’t know who you are, and frankly right now I don’t give a damn.” She said, wagging her finger in his face, “That is my favorite dress and I will castrate you if it’s damaged.”

I couldn’t hold back her laughter. If Laila was acting like that, she must be drunk. “Laila, how much did you have to drink?” I asked. When she didn’t answer because she was too busy staring down Harry, Louis answered for her.

“Not much, I gave her like a glass, maybe glass and a half of wine.” Louis said, making his way in between Harry and Laila. I laughed again. The sight of Louis obviously concerned for his friend’s safety from the five foot, two inch girl that is Laila Walker was really funny to me.

“Yeah, she’s drunk.” Sadie pointed out, walking towards Laila and grabbing her hand. She shot Harry one more dirty look before she followed me to the couch. “Here, you sit and I’ll get you water.” I sat her down, making sure she didn’t fall over. I looked at Louis, and mouthed ‘lightweight’ to him.

He nodded in response. “I’ll get the water for her.” Louis said.

"Thanks, Louis." I shot him an appreciative smile. When he passed me, he whispered, “Make sure she doesn’t attack Harry, would you?”

“I wouldn’t be worried about her attacking him Louis.” I replied softly, now glaring at Harry.

“It’s not my fault you weren’t looking where you were walking, love.” Harry smirked. I normally was against violence, but right now, I wanted to punch him in the mouth.

“And it’s not my fault you’re a prick, but look where we are.” I replied, sitting on the arm of the couch.

“Sadie, breathe for a second.” Peter interjected. “It’s not like he meant to walk into you, or spill his drink on you. It was an accident, these things happen.”

I knew Peter was right, it was an accident. And it’s not like the dress was going to be ruined, my beer hit the floor, not my dress and he was only drinking water. Plus, Laila was already too drunk to remember anything spilled on the dress anyway. But something about this Harry got under my skin.

“Yeah, darling, these things happen.” Harry said, winking at me. I cringed.

“You’re kidding, right?” I scoffed. “Do not wink at me, I do not like you.”

“Nah, you do. I can tell.” He said, walking over to me. “You think I’m good looking don’t you?” I felt my cheeks redden.

“No I do not, you look like a tall, British ape.” I snapped. Of course I didn’t really think that. I thought he was very attractive.

“Sure you do,” Harry rolled his eyes. “But you’re quite a fit bird yourself, love, you shouldn’t be getting mad.”  He stood next to me, grabbing my hand from my lap. “Amber was right, we would be a good match.”

I pulled my hand back from his, the desire to slap him growing. “Put your dick back in your knickers, Styles.” I laughed, pushing him away from me. “I would touch you with a ten foot pole.”

“Maybe not tonight, you won’t. But I know you will.” He raised his eyebrows at me.

“Right, I’m sure.” I rolled my eyes. “Amber, why did you think we were a match?” I turned towars her, only to find her passed out on the couch. Of course. “I think it’s time we get going, Laila.” I said, standing from the couch.

“Yeah, I think you’re right.” Laila agreed, trying to stand. “I’m drunk.”

Sadie smiled, and helped her friend up. “I know you are, dummy.” I wrapped her arm around my neck as she got her footing.

“Where are you guys going?” Louis asked, walking back towards us, a cup of water in his hand.

“I’m sorry, Lou, but we gotta get going. She’s drunk.” He frowned, I could tell he was having a good time with Laila. “Do you have paper?” I asked, reaching into my bag and pulling out a pen.

“No, this is a party, love, we don’t carry around notebooks.” Louis smirked.

I smiled at him, grabbing his hand. “Here’s her number.” I told him, writing out Laila’s digits on his palm. “Call her in the afternoon, she won’t be up in the morning.” Louis shot her a grateful smile.

“Cheers! It was lovely meeting you, Sadie. I hope to see you soon.” Louis said, helping me navigate the couches with Laila, who was suddenly very heavy.

“You too! Peter, I’ll see you soon, say bye too Hannah for me.” I called back towards the couch. Luckily, the path to the door was clear, a lot of people had left for the evening.

“I will! See you soon.” Peter replied, waving at me.

“Bye, love, I’m sure I’ll be seeing you around!” Harry called after me as I reached the door. I had to admit, part of me was happy that a boy was interested in me, especially because Harry was so good looking. The other part of me however, still wanted to punch him in the face for being so rude to me all night. To satisfy both parts of me, I flipped him off before shutting the door behind me.