That Summer

Chapter Eighteen

I apologize for the long wait...I've got too many extracurricular activites going on in the afternoon. But here's the new chapter! Enjoy!

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Consciousness slowly comes crawling back to me. All that I can feel is a massive, pounding headache and a tug at my stomach. It literally takes all my energy to pry open the stitches over my eyes.

And the light hurts.

I think it's safe to say I'm hungover.

Forcing myself to sit up, I gaze around at my surroundings. There's a pile of clothes on the little dresser (not mine; I'm fully clothed). A glass of water and a bottle of aspirin sit on the bedside table. And then I realize I'm not in my bed at Uncle Paul's.

I'm in Niall's guest bedroom.

"Oh, shit," I mutter. I glance over to the nightstand again and find my phone. Surprisingly, there's not a single angry text from my uncle. I slowly text my parents good morning, then I swallow half the aspirin in the bottle before stumbling out of bed. I'm about to walk out of the room when it hits me.

Those are Niall's clothes on the dresser.

As fast as a hungover girl can go, I run out of the room and find Niall in the kitchen, mixing a red drink. He notices me and smiles.

"Good morning, love," he greets.

I don't say a thing.

"Something wrong?" Niall asks.

I blink a couple times, my head swirling as I try to process my jumbled thoughts. "Did...did anything happen between us last night? You know, while we were drunk?"

Niall stares at me for a second before laughing. "Nope, nothing happened."

"Oh, thank God," I say, slumping into a barstool.

He gives me a look. "Hey! I take offense to that!" I wince at his playful shouting. "Oh right, you're hungover."

"Yeah, thanks for remembering," I complain. He smiles, leaning over and kissing my cheek. "What are you making? It smells strangely of tomatoes."

Niall opens up a cabinent in the kitchen and pulls out two glasses. Then, he pours the red liquid into the two glasses and hands one to me. I sniff it questioningly. "Is this a Bloody Mary?"

He nods. "A virgin one, yes. They help to take away the headache in a hungover." He holds his glass up towards mine. "Cheers, love." We clink glasses and I sip the drink.

"You know, you really don't seem like you're hungover at all," I say.

He shrugs. "I am. I really am. But I'm used to hangovers, so they really don't bother me that much."

"If only I was like that," I respond. He laughs. I take another drink. "So do you remember anything that happened last night at all?"

Niall's eyebrows furrow together in thought. After a few minutes, he says, "I remember that after your fifth or sixth shot, you were very drunk. I know that you and me did some drunk dancing, and I think that Louis and Zayn might've drunk-dialled Liam's friend, Andy. I also remember when you finally passed out. On the billiards table."

My jaw drops. "That's so embarrassing. I don't remember a single thing," I add, a laugh escaping my lips. "Does my uncle know I'm here?"

"Yeah. Liam didn't drink, so he was our designated driver and made sure to tell your uncle."

"Good. Though he's probably going to give me a lecture when I get back there."

Niall scoffs. "Why would he? You can legally drink."