Sooner or Later (Feat. 1D and 5SOS)

19. The Bonfire

"Party time!" shouted Shane Owens as he and a friend hauled a giant red cooler down the beach. In his free hand he clutched a blue beer can, and every two steps, he would take a swig from it until his strides gradually turned into stumbles. "Who wants a drink? Hmm? Who wants one? What about you?" He flashed Emma a crooked smile. "You wanna drink?"

Emma's eyes widened. "Uh ... No, thank you."

Shane shrugged. "Suit yourself," and then he started carelessly tossing cans around the fire. One nearly smacked Zayn on the forehead, but he managed to duck just in time. Another clipped Louis's fingers when he tried to catch it.

"Thanks a lot, Shane," Louis said as he shook off the pain.

"Gotta be quick, Tomlinson. Gotta be quick. Hey, Horan, heads up!" He tossed the can to Niall, but his aim was way off, and it instead exploded on the rocks, spraying everyone in the impact zone. All the girls jumped up, squealing like pigs, and started slapping Shane while he laughed at them.

Zayn glared at the obnoxious teen. "Why did you invite him?" he asked Louis.

"I didn't. He invited himself."

Zayn let out an annoyed huff. "I thought this was supposed to be a small party. There's like fifty people here! You know it's only a matter of time before the cops show up, and when that happens, I'm out of here. Shane's gotten me into enough trouble as it is, with all the shit he pulls."

"Relax," Louis said, and then he grabbed a bag of marshmallows and offered it to his frustrated friend. "Have a marshmallow. It'll make you feel better."

Zayn smacked the bag into the sand.

"Well that wasn't very nice," Louis said as he gathered his lips into a small pout. "Those were Liam's too. He's gonna be pissed."

"Why'd he bring marshmallows to a bonfire?"

"Because Liam's a dork who brings marshmallows to a bonfire."

Zayn nodded. "Makes sense."

Across the fire, Emma was sitting next to Eleanor and her friends as they gabbed, gossiped, and giggled. They seemed nice enough, Eleanor's friends, but Emma quickly discovered that she had very little in common with the high school girls. They were talking about upcoming tests and teachers they couldn't stand, and all Emma could do was smile and nod. She'd never seen Mrs. Hannigan and her nasty wort. She didn't know Cassie or her boyfriend, and she certainly didn't know what they were doing in the bathroom during third period (apparently, it was quite the scandal). She didn't know anything. So unless somebody brought up Pokémon or the latest Disney movie, Emma would remain silent for the rest of the night, and everybody would think she was one of those shy, awkward girls who sat around and creeped on everyone's conversations. Actually, people already thought that. She could hear them whispering about her behind her back. Eleanor tried to get them to stop, but she could only do so much.

"Hey, Emma," Niall said as he approached her. "Guard these for me." Without warning, he dropped a bag of chips in her lap.

"Again, Niall?" Emma said. "Why do I always have to guard your food?"

"Well, you're not doing anything," he explained, and that made Emma frown. "Please? You're the best girl for a job."

If not for that cheerful smile and those bright blue eyes, Emma would have thrown the chips right back at him and told him to find some other chump to guard his food, but, instead, she said, "Yeah, okay, Niall. I'll guard your chips. No problem."

"Awesome! Thanks, Emma!" Then he ran off, and Emma was alone once again.

Why does this seem so familiar? Emma thought as she crumpled the plastic bag in her hands and then stole a chip for herself. Once again, I'm guarding Niall's chips and Harry's surrounded by girls. She didn't even want to look over at him. The last time she did, she saw Alana practically sitting on his lap. Emma shoved another chip into her mouth and chomped it into mush. Heidi was right. She said Harry would be ignoring me all night, and he is. This wasn't a date at all. Harry was just taking pity on me. God, I'm so stupid.