Pretty Please Don't Pinch Me

97. Taxi Rides & Hotel Rooms

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"Ava," she repeats, looking smug in his lap. "Over here!" she ushers.

I force a fake smile as I say hello to Calum, Luke and Michael sitting in their booth. They are all alone besides a blonde with horrid regrowth planted in Luke's knee.

Wrong boys Scarlett...

Despite this not being Harry and his friends, we're very close, and I feel a spark of hope igniting inside me – however small it may be.

"So this is Ava!" Calum drunkenly proclaims.

"This is Ava!" Scarlett repeats.

Michael moves over in his seat so that I can squeeze in beside him.

I look over at Luke, who hasn't even looked up at me from the blonde that he has entertaining him on his knee.

"Sorry, my dear friend Ava isn't really up to date with your music, so I'm sorry if she doesn't recoginise you."

"I do so know who they are," I defend. "She Looks So Perfect, Good Girls... Amnesia."

Scarlett gives me a look.

Is she impressed? I can't really tell.

"Well two out of three ain't bad," Luke laughs, shaking his head.

Apparently not as consumed in his date as I had originally thought.

"Yeah, I don't know about Amnesia. I can't really see a song about a disease being a hit, but whatever floats your boat," Calum adds.

Ugh, this is so frustrating!

I politely laugh, only I just want to cry in defeat of the situation.

It's so difficult keeping track of my life, and which reality I should take note of.

"Where did you end up going? I couldn't find you," I ask Scarlett, changing the subject, only she's too enthralled in whatever Calum is whispering into her ear.

She continues giggling while I repeat her name, "Scarlett...?"

"What? Oh, right. I ended up getting lost. Some random knocked me over by accident and Calum here was lovely enough to help patch me up," she explains, pointing to the beige coloured band-aid now plastered to her knee.

"Yeah, I'm kind of like her hero now," he drunkenly slurs, kissing into her neck, while she absolutely glows with pride.

Yes I am happy for her. Yes I want her to be happy, but it's only a larger reminder of the fact that I haven't found Harry. That part of what is meant to happen is currently happening, but not in the right order. I almost wish that I could control everyone as if they were characters portrayed in a poorly written novel and force everyone into the relationships that I know they should have, rather than seeing everything all muddled.

"Hey, what did I miss?" I hear, and Ashton approaches the table with a bottle of Absolut vodka and shot glasses. He confidently strides over and squishes himself onto the chair that was probably already too small for Michael and myself. I find myself squished in between Michael and Ashton, struggling to breathe. Ashton moves his arm from beside himself to around the back of my chair, touching my shoulder quite loosely.