Hero » l.p. au

Chapter 23

"Sally?"

"Hm?" I mumbled absentmindedly as I picked at my nails. I noticed Liam's hand wince toward my leg, but he kept it on the wheel. Good decision.

"You alright? You've been quiet the entire ride."

I shook my head to get my hair out of my face and looked outside the windshield, not really knowing what to say. My ignorance toward him was becoming obvious by now.

"Just... thinking." About how you kissed me in front of Dominick to prove a point. That's not exactly something I want to have a light chat about.

"Well," He started again; by now I didn't even mind that he couldn't keep his mouth shut. It's like whenever I didn't want to speak, he'd speak for both of us. "You've been like this since Monday. What did I do now?"

My lips curved into a smile against my will; I loved how he knew he'd done something. "Oh, nothing," I said, a little sarcastically so he'd know something was up, but would stop talking about it.

"Right," He replied through a small sigh, and I nodded to myself. Here comes the awkward silence again. "Well, we're here, so if you could be a little less of a mood killer than you usually are, it would be greatly appreciated."

I rolled my eyes as Liam pulled up the car and turned off the engine. As soon as I stepped out of the car I immediately clutched my coat closer to my face, though it wasn't helping at all; if only I knew what the hell made me wear a dress as long as my coat in the middle of December. It's like I wanted to be sick for Christmas in a week.

"So what's the guy's name again?" I asked with a frown as I approached Liam, who was waiting for me on the other side of the car, and we started walking toward the house that seemed to be already packed with people.

"Hugo, he's turning eighteen," He said, in a rather bored tone. "And he has an older brother, Zayn."

I nodded, "How old is Zayn?"

"He'll be 21 in a month."

I nodded again, "Damn," I said to myself in my normal tone as he opened the door of the house, but I bet it came out as a whisper to everyone else, even Liam who was right next to me. The crowd was creepy; if this Hugo kid wasn't turning 18 and becoming an adult, it surely wouldn't have been this sick of a party.

"This is brilliant," I heard Liam laugh next to me as I clutched his jacket, looking around myself, trying not to bump into anyone. But after stepping on someone's foot for the seventh time, I came to the conclusion that it was downright impossible.

"Yeah, brilliant," I mumbled and kept looking around with my eyebrows furrowed. My faith in God was restored when we entered another room, presumably the living room, and the air suddenly became breathable again.

"There's Hugo, come on," Liam shouted and gripped my forearm, pulling me in the same direction as him. I couldn't help but raise my eyebrows when I laid eyes on Hugo, supposedly; if the rest of his family was as good looking as him, then may I say. That's a very handsome family.

I couldn't exactly hear what he and Liam were saying while hugging, but I did notice him give the birthday boy an envelope. However they broke the hug when someone started tapping Hugo's shoulder; I could feel my eyebrows going even higher on my forehead when I saw the person behind him. Well this must be a joke, no one is that good looking. Except Liam.

"Where'd you put the fucking fruit juice?" The guy - whom I was guessing was Zayn, his brother - asked loudly, and then glanced at Liam and I. I gave him a smile as he observed my face, before approaching us with one on his face as well. I don't think he even heard what his brother told him.