when love lasts || original story

6. introductions

dinner for the four tourists was like their usual vibe, loud, fun and enjoyable. jenny barely ate, claiming seafood wasn't her thing while liam and ilyas finished the seafood platter and bailey ate her crab fettuccini peacefully - well, as peacefully as she could with liam constantly daring her to try sushi ; she hated salmon.

jenny had told them about a bonfire happening that night; she'd known due to fliers posted around town while they were walking back from the coffee shop. they'd unpacked their bags and gotten dinner, so technically it shouldn't interfere with bailey's schedule and just be a fun time as jenny had put it, which made sense to the guys so bailey shrugged it off and agreed they could go.

ilyas was waiting on the couch, leaning back while he scrolled through his phone aimlessly and liam rushed down the stairs, grabbing his backpack and shuffling through his pockets

"i'm too big to fit in there, dude," ilyas said as he glanced up from his screen

liam shook his head "have you seen my golf marker?"

ilyas furrowed his brows "why'd you bring a golf marker with you, there's no golf course here - or on bails' schedule."

"dude, seriously, have you seen it?" the boy asked distressed

ilyas shook his head "no, why?"

liam sighed heavily and clenched his jaw "whatever. it's nothing."

before ilyas could ask, his gaze shifted to bailey who was coming down the stairs. his mouth parted and heart raced when he saw her ready for the bonfire, she was wearing a short red floral dress and her braids had been done into a half up half down; she looked beautiful.

"woah," liam exhaled the words that had been caught in ilyas' chest. "you look—"

"hot?" jenny asked as she appeared, all prepped and ready with a grin "why thank you, liam."

liam rolled his eyes and bailey shook her head with a light blush. ilyas swallowed hard and stood up, clearing his throat "right, we ready to do this thing?"

"yup, got the keys," liam grabbed them from the counter and the four headed to the door

"i saw that," jenny whispered, winking at bailey who just laughed quietly

they all drove their way to the address where the bonfire was and were surprised at how many people showed - turns out this was an annual thing that locals threw as an end of the year party to kick off the summer.

"now this is a party," jenny smirked when noticing there was beer "okay, who's up for one?"

"nah, i'm driving." liam shook his head

"i'll go for one," ilyas said, needing to release some thoughts that had been buzzing in his brain

jenny looked at bailey expectantly, and the girl shook her head "you know i don't drink, jen."

the blonde girl sighed "alright, fine, let's go ilyas."

ilyas was hesitant, glancing between liam and bailey who had turned to face each other shyly but he forced himself to follow jenny to the keg stand

bailey folded her arms "so..."

liam looked at her "so..."

"dinner was good!" bailey exclaimed, cringing at the weird way she thought when she was alone with him. it's like she couldn't even think straight. her mind went blank and conversation was no longer her strong suit.

liam smiled amused "yeah, it was. good food,"

bailey rolled her eyes playfully "oh shut up."

"i didn't say anything bad!" he laughed