Cigarettes and Hickies [n.h]

trente-huite

Niall arrived pretty early on the day he came to pick Ocean up. He hardly slept that night in fact, and was up at the first sign of the sun rising. He was so excited that his body kept pumping up adrenaline just thinking about their trip. The day he came to get her, the skies were looking brighter and the sun had actually stayed in sight. It seemed as everything was aligning in his favour.

Ocean, on the other hand, hadn't woken up before the birds. She was actually still asleep when Niall rang the buzzer, and had awoken in a fright as he kept pressing the button determined to get inside. The girl with silvery-blue hair had hardly packed too, but it's not as though she hadn't packed at all. She had tried, even if it was only shoving a couple of jeans into a backpack along with some underwear. 

When Niall came in and saw her bag, he scratched his head in bewilderment. He couldn't comprehend how this girl was so messy, I mean, she hadn't even attempted to fold her clothes. Niall's faint OCD was kicking in and decided to take matters into his hands to ease his anxiety. He took her backpack and folded her jeans, as Ocean was throwing a couple of tops and a jumper his way. 

He was glad to see her underwear though. And like any teenage school boy, he sniggered silently as he eyed the lingerie she was packing in the bag. He rolled them up carefully, and slid them on the side of the bag for easy access. He then placed the few toiletry bottles Ocean was handing over to him at the top. 

"Perfect," he commented gladly, "all packed."

Ocean nodded as she looked around her room trying to find her pair of Ray-Bans which she was going to throw over her head. 

"Ah-hah!" She muttered as she picked up the glasses which were under the small pile of clothes next to her wardrobe. "Now, we're good to go."

It was still pretty early, but regardless of the time, Ocean banged on Scarlette's door and shouted her goodbyes.

"Have fun!" Scarlette groaned back, but soon came to open her bedroom door and see them out. She was still half-asleep and her eyes were slightly squinted and her red hair was a mess. Niall smiled at her and pattered her back.

"Sorry for waking you up," he said. "It's a beau'iful day out!"

Scarlette nodded absentmindedly as she looked at him as though he had lost his mind. She couldn't understand why this Irish lad was so cheerful all the time. Even though she wasn't always as moody as her blue-haired friend, Scarlette would still prefer to sleep than wake up early and seize the day. There was no joy in her actions this early in the morning, and it surprised her just how juxtaposed it was with Ocean's own character. But she liked it, it was different and a breath of fresh air. But one to only tolerate after 11am in the morning - at the earliest.

After shutting the door shut in the car, Ocean was left feeling apprehensive. She wasn't too sure why, as she didn't exactly want to back out but perhaps it was fear of the unknown. She had never really been away with a guy before, and thinking about it, she never really experienced that with Jasper. So, she wasn't exactly sure how to go about it. 

It's not going to be any different, she told herself. It's just bloody Manchester. I can come back if I don't like it. She, of course, would have to book a coach ticket but it wasn't exactly a flight back or anything drastic. Ocean sighed and turned to force a smile over to Niall.

Niall caught her smile and reached a hand over to rest it on hers. He squeezed her hand reassuringly, almost as though he had read her thoughts, and smiled back.

"Coffee?" He offered as his blue eyes turned back to the road.

"Most definitely," she agreed. "I definitely need caffeine if I want to put up with you."