Cold Water

Chapter 4

Rey’s POV

I wake up the next morning with a pounding head and a dry mouth. The first thing I see is an unfamiliar ceiling, which means I’m not at a friend’s house.

I vaguely remember attending Niall’s eighteenth birthday party at Liam’s house, and after my eighth shot, everything is blurry. The only flashbacks I have are accompanied by an Irish accent.

The next thing I notice, is the fact that someone is softly snoring next to me, and when I turn my head, I scream.

Niall mumbles something before he opens his eyes, just a few inches away from me.

I sit up and look at myself, and then loudly sigh in relief when I see that I’m dressed, and so is he.

“Do you always scream when you wake up?” he asks, obviously deranged by my outburst.

“Why the f**k am I in bed with you? Where is everyone? What happened?”

He sits up as well, and then moves further away from me. “Well, you were so pissed last night you passed out.”

“And you just magically happened to be here?” I question.

“No, I helped you up the stairs and you wouldn’t let go of the railing. You also wanted to throw up but didn’t.”

“Oh s**t. Did I say anything I shouldn’t have?”

He shakes his head, and then runs a hand through his hair. “Just the fact that Sophia wants to f**k Liam, but you made me pinky promise not to say anything.”

I get out of bed and gather my shoes from the floor. God knows how those got there.

“And you better not say anything.” I warn him as I walk to the door once I make sure I have my phone.

“I always keep my pinky promises.” He sarcastically says, but something tells me he won’t say anything to Liam.

“Well, I’m going to find my friends now. Take care.” I awkwardly say before I unlock the door and step out of the room. I immediately hear Jake’s familiar’s voice from downstairs, so I walk towards it while trying not to die from the hangover.

Jake, Sophia, Jason, and Jed are all in the living room drinking coffee and having a cigarette, together with Zayn and Liam.

“Rise and shine your drunkenness.” Jake says, which makes everyone laugh.

“Ha ha. Not funny.” I say and sit down next to my boyfriend. “I just woke up next to Niall Horan, image that.”

“Yeah, you two were pretty drunk last night.” Jed laughs and I punch him in the arm.

“I thought Niall went home with Raylynn. His sister did, at least.” Liam tells me.

“His sister went home with Raylynn?” I ask, confused.

“No, she just went home with her mom.” Liam clarifies, and I shrug.

“Well, we better get home as well. As soon as I eat something otherwise my head will literally explode and I will be cranky all day.”

As Liam and Sophia starts making breakfast, I go through my phone. Thank God for the man who invented phones, otherwise I wouldn’t know what went down the night before. My phone is always the best source for post-party information, right after my friends of course.

I find a photo of Niall and I, so I show it to Jake. “What the f**k is this?”

“You were both laughing about something I don’t know and you asked me to take a picture of the two of you.” He tells me.

“I’ve never seen you interact with him so much as you did last night.” Jed adds, and pulls me in to give me a kiss on the cheek.

A few seconds later, we hear someone coming down the stairs, before Niall appears. He looks sleepy, and at the same time distraught, probably because he woke up next to me this morning.

“Why is everyone looking at me like that?” he asks when he sees that everyone is staring at me.

“Because you two actually got along last night.” Jed answers, and he rolls his eyes just like I did as he sits down on the sofa.

Sophia and Liam come into the living room with breakfast after that, which saves us from a lot of unneeded conversation, thank God.

***

“So what did you do last night?” I ask my brother when we got home later that day after I drove everyone home.

“Uh…nothing important.” He answers, which means that he actually did something he doesn’t want me to know about.

“So you did something.” I tell him and sit down on his bed as I watch him going towards his walk-in closet.

“Well…I actually sort of made out with someone.”

My jaw hits the floor. “What? You made out with a senior? Holy s**t!”

“Not really.”

Jason looks at the floor and I try to think about someone who wasn’t a senior but still attended the party.

“But the only-no. Please no.”

“Yeah. I made out with Niall’s sister. But it was just like…a drunken mistake.”

I get flashbacks from my tenth grade make out session with Niall, and it feels like history is repeating itself…in a weird way.

“And?” I push. First Perrie, now my own brother. What is it with the Horans that makes people do stupid s**t?

“And what?”

“And how was it? Do you like her?”

“Jesus Rey. It was just a kiss, nothing serious.”

I nod. “A kiss with tongue and everything. And I’m not sure if you’re the type of guy who likes the girls he kisses.”

“I’m not.” He sighs, obviously over the subject.

“Well. Just make sure Niall doesn’t find out, otherwise you might get your ass kicked.”

“She won’t tell him, or at least that’s what she told me before she left.”

“So what’s next? You’re going to have s*x?” I ask.

“Yeah, and get married and have children.” He sarcastically says, but then sees my worried, horrified expression. “I’m joking! Christ.”

I shake my head in disbelief and stand up from the bed. “Well, I’m going to take a nap. Just…do your homework or something.”

As I walk to my room, I ask myself what would happen if I also would have made out with Niall last night, but then I feel vomit coming up so I run to the bathroom, where I empty my stomach.

Whether it was from the alcohol, or from the idea of exchanging saliva with Niall…well, I may never know.

***

It’s Monday, and as I walk down the hallway towards my locker, I tell myself that there are only eight months to go, and then I’ll be out of this shithole.

Rey:

I get through the first few periods with success, but then, during lunch, it suddenly downs on me that I have P.E., and the rest of my good mood goes away. I hate physical education not only because we sweat like pigs for no reason, but also because I am sometimes teamed up with Niall and I hate having to work with him.

And since it’s raining outside at the moment, we’ll do it indoors, which means that our P.E. teacher will force us into a game of dodge ball that no girl likes to play because if the ball hits us in the face, it will ruin our make up.

I grab my small bag from my locker containing a Nike bustier and jacket, my favorite leggings, and my trainers.

Jake, Sophia, and I walk towards the changing rooms that are located on the other side of the school, which is another reason to hate P.E. The only good thing about taking the ‘class’ is that it’s an easy A.

“Rey, you’re a cheerleader and a dancer, how can you hate sports?” Sophia asks when she’s finally fed up with my mumbling.

I stand up from the bench and pull up my leggings, before I put on my jacket. “Because I don’t like sweating for nothing.”

Rey:

“Then you should’ve picked chemistry or some shit.” She says, knowing very well that chemistry is the last class I would ever take.

We gather up in the gym, all twenty-five of us. The football coach tells us to do a lap and then warm up before we get started on a game of dodge ball, because there’s nothing else to do really. In the twelfth grade, we get marks basically on doing nothing, but if we did P.E. outside, the guys could at least play football while the girls either talked in the bleachers or rehearsed some cheerleading routines.

Jake and Niall get picked to be captains, and after the teams are done, we settle on each side of the playing field. I just want to get kicked out as fast as possible to be honest, because I’m not in the mood at all.

Sophia and Jake are the first ones out as per usual, and for some reason, I can’t seem to get kicked out. Niall probably hates me so much that he wants to keep me in the game for as long as he can.

That, however, changes, when I see a ball flying right at my face and hitting me in the chest, nearly knocking me over. I see a smirking Niall waving at me as a gesture of saying goodbye, so I flip him off and walk over to Sophia and Jake, who are already sitting down.

“Thank God I have small boobs right?” I say and they both laugh, which makes my day a little better.

The day ends up getting worse after the last period, when Perrie approaches me with a hesitant smile.

“Hi Rey, you coming to dance class tonight right?”

I nod as I open the door to my car and throw my purse in the backseat. But I know her too well to know that this is not why she approached me.

“So what’s up?” I ask, leaning against the door as Jason, Jake, and Sophia climb inside.

“Well, here’s the thing. You know about Niall and I…” she trails off.

“Unfortunately, yes. Why?”

“Because I really want to go on a date with him so he can see me as more than a…you know, fuckbuddy, and asking him to go out, just the two of us, would be weird and he’d never say yes.”

I frown, not liking where this is going. “And what does it have to do with me?”

“Well, I was wondering if you could ask Jed to talk to him.”

“To ask you out?” I ask, hopefully.

“No, to go on a double date.”

I inhale deeply. “Seriously? I think you have better chances of going on a proper date with him than going on a double date with me.”

“Please? Can you at least try?” she asks, and I nod, giving up.

She leaves me alone, so I climb into my car and shut the door way too loud than I usually do.

“Why are you angry?” Jake asks, but I wave it off as I start the car.

***

To say I’m excited for my dance rehearsals would be an understatement. I can barely contain by happiness as I walk into the room after changing into my dancing clothes.

Sophia, Perrie, and my cousin Katherine, who arrived last night from her holiday, are already inside doing their warm-ups and idly chatting about something.

“There she is.” Perrie smiles and comes over. I’m in no mood to talk to her, because I know she’ll ask me whether I’ve talked to Jed, and to be honest, that’s the last thing I want to be thinking about right now. A double date with Niall? No thank you.

I look at her as she comes closer, until she stops a few feet away from me, and smiles.

“So…I don’t want to be annoying, but have you talked to Jed?”

I roll my eyes. “No I haven’t, but I will.”

“I’m sorry to be annoying-“

Thank God our instructor, Danielle, walks in with a smile on her face, otherwise I would’ve probably ripped my hair out.

I know that at some point during the week, I’ll have to ask Jed, because I wouldn’t get Perrie off my back otherwise, but until then, the only thing I could do was pray he’d say no.

For the next two hours, while Danielle talks about the upcoming shows and competitions, my mind trails off to an alternate universe where Niall and I actually get along.

I wonder how that would be…no fights, no stress, and definitely a lot less nose scrunches. Oh, how wonderful that life must be…

***

I finally ask Jed about the double date on Thursday after school, because I’m hoping he has plans with his friends or something, so he won’t be able to attend.

“Hi babe.” He greets me by my car, because I texted him to wait for me so we could talk. “What’s up?”

“Okay, so there’s this thing I have to ask you, but don’t feel at all obligated to say yes.”

He nods, frowning. “What is it?”

“Perrie asked me if we’d go on a double date with her and Niall tomorrow, because she’s afraid of asking him if he wants to go out…you know, just the two of them.” I say, just to get it over with. “But if you have any other plans, then I understand and we don’t-“

“Sure, let’s do it.” he says.

I smile. “Aww, I knew you wouldn’t-wait what?”

“Why not? I mean, Perrie will get what she wants because she likes him, and maybe you’ll start getting along with Niall.”

I snort. “Okay…the chances of that happening are like…the chances of Jake turning straight.”

I hear Jake laugh from inside the car, but I don’t bother with him. I look at my boyfriend with puppy eyes.

“Babe pleaseeee…don’t do this. If you truly love me, make up something-“

“Rey. Come on, that’s not fair. Perrie is your friend, I think you can manage two hours. Plus, I’ll be there to keep Niall and you occupied.” He laughs, and I end up agreeing with him.

“Fineee.” I sigh and he pulls me into him.

“It’ll be fine, you’ll see.”

“Well, we’ll see about that. Because Niall has yet to find out, and I think he’ll be as excited about it as I am.”

***

Turns out, Niall actually agreed to the date, so those news were enough to ruin the entire Friday for me. Which is something really big since I love Fridays. I even have underwear that spell “TGIF” on the back.

I hate everything and everyone for the rest of the day, until I get home and finally throw myself on the bed, defeated by life.

I’m supposed to meet Jed, Niall and Perrie at a restaurant in the city centre at seven, so I have three more hours to get ready. Which means, I have two hours to watch my show, and then an hour to get ready.

As I stare at the screen, trying to understand something from the show, I can’t help but trail off to a dark place in my head, where I actually get along with Niall.

And it’s the fifth time in three days that I do that, which isn’t like me at all. When I usually think about Niall, the first instinct is to throw up, so something is definitely wrong. The only solution to this problem is to get tipsy on wine, but in order to do that, I have to get dressed and actually get moving.

I get out of bed and hop into the shower, before I get started on my makeup while Rosa irons my black Moschino dress. My phone is already buzzing, which means it’s either Perrie to ask what I’m wearing, or Jed to ask if I’ve started my makeup, because he knows how long I usually take. I don’t check it though, because I’m in the middle of applying my eyeliner, which needs exact precision and maximum concentration.

Once I’m done, I come out of the bathroom to see that Rosa has already laid my dress up on the bed for me, along with the Louboutin’s I told her I’d wear. I smile as I dress up, trying not to smear my makeup, and then check myself out in the mirror.

Rey:

I walk back to the closet and take out a golden blazer to complete the outfit. It’s a quarter before seven, so I’m going to be right on time.

After I call an Uber, I send a message to Perrie, asking why she called me.

“I’M LEAVING!” I yell as I walk down the stairs.

“BYE!” Jason answers back right before I fix my hair in the mirror by the door and exit the house.

I get to the restaurant ten minutes late because the Uber driver apparently didn’t know the route, and now I’ve definitely pissed off Perrie, and probably Jed.

They’re already at a table of four, looking at their menus when I walk up to them. Now that I look around, it seems that I’m way too dressed up for the place, and for the occasion. Perrie is dressed in a nice lace dress, Jed is wearing a white button-up, and Niall has a simple grey t-shirt on. I’m way too overdressed, and judging by the way Niall is looking at me, I’m also a pathetic rich girl.

I don’t mind him as I kiss my boyfriend on the lips, Perrie on the cheek, and then sit down. Jed hands me the menu before he continues talking to Niall about football or whatever they were talking about.

Perrie looks at me from behind her own menu, and mouths “thank you” to me. I smile and nod. So far so good, so there’s no reason for me to be annoyed at her.

That, however, changes one hour later, when we’re eating our main course and idly chatting about the affair between a teacher and a student we think is going on at school. I can’t help but notice the way Niall looks at me as I eat, like he’s judging me or something. It all gets too much when he literally snorts as I put another bite into my mouth.

“What’s your problem?” I snap at him, and he shrugs.

“It’s just that you eat in a very annoying way.”

I frown, and literally refrain myself from jumping him.

“First of all, how can someone eat in an annoying way? Second of all, mind your own f*****g business. And third, I wasn’t complaining when I saw the inside of your mouth while you were chewing on that pizza, okay?”

Niall points to my hands. “Your pinky is out.”

“So what? Mind your own business. At least I don’t eat like a fuckin’ caveman.”

“Okay, you’re making a scene.” Jed tells me and places his hand over mine, like it’s supposed to calm me down or something. It does quite the opposite though, so I stand up.

“I have to take a bit of fresh air, otherwise I’ll flip the table and slap this bitch.”

Jed looks at me with a very serious expression on his face. “Babe, just calm down okay? Let’s just finish our dinner.”

“I don’t even know why I agreed to this thing in the first place. Knew my appetite would be ruined if I saw your face.” Niall mumbles, and Perrie looks at me with a pleading expression, as if she were begging me not to tell him why we were actually here.

“Well, my appetite is ruined every single day at school when I see that mug of yours.” I retort, even though it’s a really weak comeback.

“Oh, good. Preschool comebacks. You’re cool!” Niall says in a mocking tone, and I decide to drink my wine in one gulp instead of bothering with him anymore. He’s unreal, and I can’t deal with that, so I ask for another glass of wine, before I get back to eating.

The awkward silence is quickly broken because Jed starts up a conversation with Perrie, which gives me the opportunity to eat in peace.

It’s half past nine when we finish everything and ask for the bill, thank God. I can’t believe I actually managed to survive two and a half hours so close to Niall Horan without ripping my hair off. Although I’m pretty tipsy right now, I manage to find my wallet in my small purse.

“Hey babe? Can you pay for me? I forgot my wallet at home.” Jed says, and smiles at me.

“Why do you forget your wallet so often?” I ask, shaking my head, but pull out enough bills to pay for his part as well anyway.

I see Niall looking at us in a weird way, that doesn’t express disgust, but something else I’ve never seen in him.

The waitress takes the bill so I down the last drops of my third glass, before I stand up along with the rest of them to put our coats on.

“So…how are we splitting up into the cabs?” Jed asks as we walk towards the exit. It’s a bit chilly outside, but I can endure it even though my legs are bare. We walk into the small alley next to the restaurant so we wouldn’t bother the people walking by. We light up a cigarette while Jed looks for an Uber, and so we wait. It’s a bit awkward, but I can’t be bothered, so I focus on my cigarette.

“Can you drop me off on your way home?” Perrie asks Jed, because coming with me would be a detour.

Jed nods and kisses me goodbye, and I smile at Perrie as she gets in the car, before they’re off.

One thing I didn’t really think about was that I’d end up alone with Niall in an alley next to a restaurant we just had dinner in.

To my surprise, he doesn’t turn around to walk away, no. He just continues smoking, sneaking a glance at me every once in a while.

“What?” I ask as I try to find an Uber for the third time.

He slips his hands into his pockets. “What what?”

“Why do you keep looking at me?”

“Am I not allowed to?”

I look up at him this time, to see if he’s high or something.

“You are but…I was expecting an answer along the lines of “I don’t have Animal Planet on TV at home” or some s**t like that.”

And Niall actually laughs at that, but then turns serious once more. “No… I was just wondering.”

“Wondering what?”

He shrugs, and looks towards the crowded street. I roll my eyes.

“Come on, say it now. I’m curious to see what you come up with this time.” I say and give up on finding an Uber right now.

“Curiosity killed the cat Renee.”

I roll my eyes, but keep looking at him insistently. He eventually sighs, meaning that he’ll tell me what he keeps wondering about, although I’m a bit surprised that I actually care.

“Okay, well. I just think that it’s funny how you don’t even notice that your boyfriend is taking advantage of you.”

I’m taken aback. Of all the things I thought would come out of his mouth, this was definitely not it.

“What? Are you serious?”

Niall nods, and I lean back against the brick wall because my feet are starting to hurt from the heels, and his words actually hit a soft spot. I’ve always had this fear in the back of my head, but I’ve never paid attention to it.

“And why do you care?” I ask, trying to defend myself, and Jed as well.

“I don’t. You just asked me what I was thinking about.”

I roll my eyes and cross my arms, before I prop one leg on the wall behind me. “Well, I now know not to do that ever again.”

“Say whatever you want, but I saw the look on your face just now. You’ve had your doubts.”

“You have no right-“ I try to argue, but he interrupts me.

“You said it yourself, that he often forgets his wallet and so on. Not to mention that he never even defends you when I insult you.” He adds.

“Oh, and that’s his fault?” I sarcastically ask, trying to hide the fact that I am actually shocked by the truth he’s currently speaking.

Niall purses his lips, taking a step closer. “Just saying, that’s all. I mean, you are the ‘golden couple’, so I just said what I observed tonight.”

“Why don’t you just mind your own business?” I ask, my voice getting shakier, from the wind, as well as from the fact that what he’s saying is actually kind of true.

“Hey, I’m just trying to help.”

I let out a laugh. “Oh right, Niall Horan trying to help me. Am I dreaming?”

“Believe whatever you want. But if I were your boyfriend, or anyone else’s for that matter, I wouldn’t treat you like that. Or let someone else treat you badly.”

“Are you drunk? I think those beers might have gotten to your head.” I say, not looking him in the eye. “You’re not even my friend and yet you still like to insult me on a daily basis.”

“That’s because I can’t help it.”

“Why not though?” I ask, biting my lip. “What did I ever do to make you hate me so much?”

He shrugs. “I don’t know. Maybe just from the way you treated me over the past couple of years.”

“The way I treated you? Are you insane? I’ve never done anything besides maybe spill water on you! But that’s it!”

After a few moments of silence, I speak up again, filled up with adrenaline:

“And you have no right to judge my relationship when you haven’t been committed to someone, ever!” I yell, pushing him away from me, because I just noticed how close he is.

He catches my hands, but it’s not a harsh gesture, it’s actually kind of gentle.

“Open your eyes Renee. Even though I don’t like you as a person, that doesn’t mean you deserve to be taken advantage of. No one does.”

I free myself from his grip. “Yeah, and you know that.”

“You have no idea what I’ve been through, so get that snobby head out of your ass. No one has a perfect life like you do, okay?”

“Fine, I’m sorry. And for the sake of our sanity, I’m apologizing for the past few years. Let’s just…get over it, okay? I’m tired of this.”

Niall’s expression changes, and he comes closer without saying anything, so I feel the need to add one more thing.

“And…about that girlfriend thing. You should really get with Perrie, she’s a nice girl.”

He scrunches his nose. “She’s a good f**k, but she’s not my type.”

“What do you mean she’s not your type? If you f**k her, then she’s your type.”

“She’s not the type I’d stay loyal to.”

I look at him confused. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

“It does. I don’t like someone who already wants me.” I can smell the alcohol on his breath, and now it’s clear why we’re having a seemingly normal conversation.

“That’s stupid. You don’t like to feel wanted?” I ask, exhaling, and the white steam coming out of my mouth hits his face.

“I wouldn’t know what that feels like in the first place.”

I roll my eyes. “Because you don’t like nice girls who like you, apparently.”

“No, I like nice girls. But I like the chase more.” He says. “And if we’d met under any other circumstances, you’d fit the description.”

I feel something igniting in my stomach, so I gulp and try to pull further away from him, but my back is already against the brick wall.

“You’re drunk.” I say, barely audible, and he places a hand on my naked thigh.

“And honest. Honestly, you’re a girl with so much wasted potential.”

Before I can ask him what he means by that, my phone buzzes, and I pull it out. I can still feel his eyes on me and his hand on my leg as I see a notification from Uber that a driver is coming my way.

“What did you mean by that?” I ask when he pulls back to let me go.

“What did I mean by what?”

“That I’ve got so much wasted potential?”

He steps away, putting his hands in his pockets, ready to walk away.

“I guess we’ll never know.”