Always, Alice

Christmas Eve

'But you are quite possibly the worst singer I have ever heard,' Niall laughed as he finished the pint he had in his hand and placed the empty glass down on the table with such unintentional force Alice winced slightly. She was watching her two friends from the opposite side of the table, amused at their conversation as she sipped on her own drink.

'Hey! I'm just as good as Beyoncé and you know it,' Hayley smirked as Niall wrapped his arm around her and pulled her into a squeeze, kissing the top of her head. Alice laughed at them, the busy bar loud behind her as she finished her own glass of wine and placing it down much more gently than Niall had.

'Shall we have another?' she said as she reached into her bag and pulled out her purse.

'Absolutely!' announced Hayley. The three of them had met at lunchtime, Alice coming straight here after saying goodbye to Harry that afternoon. She knew she would miss him terribly and had asked Hayley and Niall if they fancied a boozy Christmas eve lunch to take her mind off Harry being so far away for the holiday season.

However, that lunch had now turned into a few more drinks at the pub where people were celebrating the festive by getting drunk and indulging in seasonal Karaoke - it was perfect. Outside the sky had grown dark quickly, the sun setting at around half four on these wintery Scottish nights and the cold outside becoming too much for everyone's noses - most deciding to retreat to their houses or like everyone in here, to a cozy bar where all the fun was happening.

As Alice approached the bar she pulled out her phone, not admitting to herself what she was doing but once again checking if Harry had been in touch. It was later in the evening now, his plane had been due to take off at three and she remembered he said he probably wouldn't get to his mums until around seven between the snow and the busy holiday traffic.

Pulling up a new message she typed; Hope you're okay, Miss you being here with us. Niall & Hayley say hi x

Once it had sent she pushed her phone back into the pocket of her jeans and tried to catch the attention of the lady behind the bar. Another wine would help her relax, her heart a little sad at the thought of Harry being so far away for the holidays and maybe a little worried that he hadn't yet been in touch.

'What can I get you Alice?' the kind woman behind the bar asked her, she looked a little frazzled at how busy the bar was.

'Two glasses of rose and a pint of this one please,' she said, pointing at the beer Niall had been drinking tonight.

'Small or large rose?' she then asked Alice. Alice thought for a second, knowing she wanted to fog her mind a little of the worry she felt silly for having.

'Large please, and maybe a couple of those shots.'

*

'Feed the world!' the two of them screamed into the microphones as Alice held on to Hayley's waist, swaying in time to the music. Several wine's and shots down they had decided to join in the Karaoke night, even Niall had joined in on a few numbers - surprising both Alice and Hayley at how good a singer he was. His Summer of 69 rendition had many of the older ladies in the pub swooning over him, much to Hayley's dismay. Niall was the loveliest and chatted away to the group unaware of how much they wanted to devour him. Alice and Hayley had to save him at one point as they noticed a much more mature lady trying to write her number on his arm.

Alice was having the best time, spending time with some of her favorite people was just what she needed to take her mind off missing Harry. Although it was her favourite holiday, Christmas did come with its tough parts for her. She didn't enjoy spending it at her Dads house anymore and usually preferred to spend it with Hayley. Hayley's family were scattered in different parts of Scotland now so spending Christmas with Alice was their thing now and as a tradition, Christmas Eve was always a hoot at the local pub - she so wished Harry was here though.