i still do || n.h au

seven

the hangover

Niall opens his eyes to his dimly lit room.

The clock on his nightstand tells him that it's already afternoon but thanks to his curtains, he's not being blinded by the light from outside. Which is a good thing because having to cope with the daylight whilst also dealing with a pounding head is not the way Niall would prefer to wake up to. He's lucky that he didn't forget to drink lots of water before he went to bed last night because he would have to suffer from dry mouth and throat too.

As of now, his throat is still dry but it doesn't feel like sandpaper.

Niall wants to curl up under his duvet but he needs water and painkillers more than he needs another hour of sleep so he drags his heavy limbs to his kitchen. It takes him a while to get there because he keeps bumping into something -- he's fortunate that he doesn't knock anything down.

"Morning," Matt greets Niall when he finally reaches the kitchen. He forgot that his friends stayed the night. Niall immediately takes a seat on one of the stools and puts his head in his hands. Matt chuckles as he slides a glass of water and some pills towards his friend. "This is why you shouldn't listen to Oscar."

Niall lets out a grunt as he accepts the water and pills. He pops some into his mouth and finishes the water within seconds. His throat feels better afterwards but his head is still pounding. At least he doesn't feel like curling up into a ball and hiding out from everyone else anymore. He's definitely not going to listen to Oscar for another few months. Football season is starting soon anyway so there's no way they'll be throwing another party anytime soon, especially one that involves shots. Lots of them.

"Smoothies?" Matt asks as he holds up a glass of green concoction in his hand.

Niall eyes it, there's probably a lot of vegetables and little fruits in it, wondering if he could stomach it. When he doesn't feel like hurling at the mere sight of the drink, he nods. "Sure."

Matt gives Niall the glass he's holding and takes out another glass to pour smoothie for himself. He takes a seat next to Niall and they drink the smoothies in silence.

When he has finished his smoothie, Niall rubs his brows and then turns to Matt, and asks, "Last night... I didn't do anything stupid or embarrassing, did I?"

Lips curling into a smile, Matt shakes his head. "Except for agreeing to do shots with everyone. That was stupid."

Niall lets out a relieved sigh. Okay, he could live with that. That doesn't sound so bad, does it? At least that's how he sees it since his memory is still blurry at the moment.

But Niall does remember that after the talk he had with Adriana, Oscar found him and dragged him to the kitchen where he was persuaded to do shots with his teammates. He didn't see Adriana after that, he thinks, and he wonders if she left soon after their talk or if she caught a glimpse of his drunken self. God, he hopes it's the former.

"Did you see Adriana last night?" Niall asks.

"I think she left after Oscar found you."

Worry and guilt nag at Niall. He shouldn't have left Adriana's side last night considering that she didn't really know anyone at the party except for him, Oscar and Matt.

Getting up from the stool, Niall takes his glasses to the sink and leaves them there -- he'll wash them later. He makes his way out of the kitchen and almost bumps into Oscar who's rubbing his eyes with the pad of his hand.

"Smoothie?" Matt asks when Oscar walks into the kitchen.

"No way. That shit's disgusting," Niall hears Oscar reply as he reaches the stairs that lead him to the second floor of his place.