through the dark ➳ malik a.u

three - invitations

My foot tapped impatiently as I listened to the ringing on the other end of the line. After the eleventh ring, she finally picked up.

"Hello?" My Moms voice came through my phone and I smiled. It was really good to hear her voice.

"Hey, Mom. It's me." 

"Georgia, sweetie! Oh my gosh, you have no idea how good it is to hear your voice. How's the school? Did you settle in okay? Is your room mate nice? How cute are the boys? How was cla-" 

"Mom, Mom! I'm fine." I cut her off with a laugh at her excited nature. "My roommate's lovely, she helped me unpack and stuff then introduced me to her friends. They're all great too! My first day was pretty interesting - " my mind drifted to Art class with Zayn, "- and the boys are pretty cute." A childish giggle escaped my mouth at the last part.

"That great, sweetie. I've got an interview on Wednesday, for a hospital." she said and I could hear her chewing something. 

A grin appeared on my face. "That's really great that you've found a nursing job!" Mom had been a nurse ever since I could remember; she loved working in the hospital almost as much as she loved her children - maybe even equal. While we were leaving, she'd expressed some worry about not being able to find a decent nursing job in London. However, I was confident she would. "Where are you staying?"

"The past few days I've been staying in some cheap hotel, but I think I might have found an apartment." she said and I could hear the smile in her voice. We were both happy for each other, we were both starting to get a little touch of happiness for the first time in God knows how long. 

"That's awesome Mom! Look, Lauren's going to be coming home soon and we'll both be tired so I need to go! I love you and miss you so much." Mom returned her love and we ended the phone call. It was good to finally speak to her after a rather hectic weekend and first day. I couldn't help but be happy that Mom and I were happy. Especially for Mom. She never deserved any of the pain my father has caused us ever since they'd been married. We had finally caught a break. My mood began to evaporate when I imagined what would happen if he found her. We were separated, and there was more chance of him finding her than me. That was the reason I'd never wanted to go to this school in the first place, I didn't want her to be on her own. Yet, she insisted that it would keep her mind at rest so I eventually gave in and agreed. 

I threw my phone next to where I was sitting on the bed before glancing at the clock on our desk. It was only ten o'clock, and Lauren usually spent time in the game room until curfew. I'd already did the homework that I needed to do, so I made the decision to go find Lauren and the rest of my friends. 

As I'd expected, they were in the rec room as they were every night. There were quite a few other students lounging around or doing homework when I entered. Niall and Harry were having another pretty intense game of table tennis when I entered the room. An evil grin spread across my face as I realised Niall had his back to me. So when Harry caught my eye, I held a finger to my lips silently warning him not to let on anyone was here. He quickly turned his attention back to the game, smirking. I patiently waited until Harry was about to hit the ball back to Niall before I grabbed Nialls sides, forcing him to miss the shot.

"Fucking shit!" He yelled nearly jumping about a foot of the ground. Harry and I almost couldn't contain out laughter as Niall glared at us, and a few people who had noticed were snickering at his reaction. Harry was leaning onto the table for support and I was gripping onto my sides, doubled over. 

"Oh, that's funny is it?" Niall challenged and when I glanced up he was advancing towards me. I looked at him confused and a wicked grin appeared on his face. 

"Oh my God! Niall - " I laughed as he tickled my sides. He continued to tickle me and I continued to try and get him off me between my laughter. Eventually he pulled away, his hands still lingering on my waist as my laughter calmed down. He looked at me for a few seconds smiling at me. Noticing that he was a little distracted, seized the moment by reaching up to ruffle his hair. 

"Hey!" He protested and his hands shot up to fix his hair. I stuck my tongue out at him before walking over to sit next to Jessica and Niamh on one of the sofas. 

My eyes landed on Niamh to my right who was raising an eyebrow at me. "What?" I questioned, giving her a confused look.

"Nothing." She said mysteriously, her lips twitching with the urge to smile. She turned away and I muttered a dragged out 'okay' to myself. 

We all stayed in the room for the remaining twenty five minutes until curfew, chatting about nothing and joking around. Once we were all leaving, Niall called out my name before I could step out of the door. He strode towards me, his blue eyes glistening with whatever he was going to tell me.

"Harry's having a party on Friday night, it's at his parents place since they've went away for the weekend. They live near campus. I - um, Harry, was wondering if you wanted to go?" Niall took a deep breath after he finished.

"Sure! That sounds awesome, I'll definitely be there." I said with a smile and Niall's eyes lit up. 

He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into a tight hug. "I can't wait! The whole year is invited - it's going be fucking awesome!" He gushed as I hugged him back, not being able to help noticing that he smelled really good. When we parted from the hug, an uneasy feeling washed over me. Not because of the party, I was genuinely excited about going. I felt like I was being watched. 

"Are you okay?" Niall questioned, pushing a stray piece of hair from my face. 

"Uh, yeah. I'm - I'm just tired. I'll see you tomorrow yeah?" I'd only just heard his reply before I turned around, a blush creeping onto my face, and quickly walked towards the staircase.

I caught up to Lauren just as she was unlocking our dorm room. She turned and smiled at me when she saw me coming. 

"What took you so long?" She questioned as we walked into the room. 

"Niall was talking to me about Harry's party, are you going?" 

Lauren nudged my arm and moved her eyebrows suggestively. "You and Niall have been getting pretty close." 

Ignoring her comment, I just sat on the edge of my bed. "Just answer the question." I stated leaning back on my elbows. 

"Touchy... But yeah, I'm going to Harry's party." 

I nodded in response. "Why is he having a party anyway?" 

"I don't know. Something to do with surviving the first week of school. I'm not complaining, I love parties, I get to wear cute outfits." I laughed before kicking off my shoes and lying back onto the bed. Honestly, I was excited for the party; I rarely got to go to any parties back in New York.