"lola!" bella cheered once the front door was open. she held aloft two huge bottles of wine and a huge grin covering her face. "i bought wine!"
"i see that." lola giggled, letting her excitable friend in. "i have a small bottle of vodka that i didn't drink at the boys from the other week, and orange juice for mixer."
"we're set then!" bella's excitement was unrelenting, and she had barely kicked her vans off before she was pouring a deadly amount of wine into two wine glasses.
"jesus bella, are you trying to get me drunk before it's even nine in the evening?" lola laughed, watching as her friend took a quick mouthful straight from the bottle as well.
"today is a celebration!" bella sang, pulling a punnet of strawberries out of the fridge and putting one each on the rim of the glasses, before presenting lola hers with a flourish.
lola took the glass with an eyebrow raised, taking a small sip before she asked, "a celebration of what?"
"a week ago today, michael clifford - the michael clifford - asked me to be his girlfriend!" bella grinned excitedly, before biting into her strawberry. lola's eyes grew about three times wider, and a cheek-ache inducing smile took over her face.
"bub that's amazing, i'm so happy for you!" she put her glass down quickly before wrapping bella in a hug and feeling herself getting squeezed back.
"i'm so happy i could cry! it was so so cute, i've been waiting to tell you about it!"
"yes, actually may i ask why you waited so long?" lola laughed, leading her friend over to her couch where they both curled up.
"michael and i wanted you guys all to know at the same time, and he wanted to tell the guys because guy time, you know? and i wanted to tell you so i could go on for ages with no one stopping me." bella's wine glass was already almost empty, and lola braced herself for a night of a very drunk, very loved-up bella.
"so spill it then!" she couldn't contain her excitement for her two friends - her two best friends - and their adorable new romance.
"okay so." bella sat up straighter and leaned forward; clearly readying herself for an official story-telling. "he'd stayed at mine the night before, and we'd obviously done the deed - or quite a few deeds actually - and oh my god lola it's so good!" she laughed as lola cringed jokingly, and continued to tell her the story.
"and we'd slept for a while, and woke up kind of late, and we just stayed in bed watching friends, and he was holding me so tight lola, it felt amazing." she sighed happily, leaning more into the couch as she remembered. "and we were in the middle of an episode when he paused it - and i rolled over to look at him and his cheeks were all pink and it was so adorable! and he asked me to be his girlfriend, and lola i swear i could've cried!" bella's cheeks were coloured bright pink, and lola leaned over to give her another excited hug.
"i'm so happy for you guys! this has been needing to happen for so long, it was so obvious that you two are basically in love." lola laughed, pulling back and finishing her glass of wine. "i bet the boys will be going mad with him right now."
"i just hope they're all happy, you know?" bella said, a hint of nervousness obvious in her voice. "i don't want them to feel like we're going to mess up the friendship dynamic or anything."
lola shook her head quickly, eager to reassure her friend. "no, bella not at all. the boys will be so happy for you guys, they love you both."
bella modded, visibly relaxing and finishing her wine, before pouring both of them another glass.
"i'm just so excited for it, you know? like, i still get all the perks of him being my best friend, but with the added perks of him being my boyfriend." she smiled lovingly, and lola grinned happily at her.
"but anyway, what's going on in the world of lil lola?" lola felt her cheeks flush deep red and cursed herself for being so easily red. bella perked up and smirked at her friend, sensing that there was something waiting to be said.
"tell me right now." she demanded, taking a mouthful of her wine.
lola squirmed slightly, feeling butterflies emerge in her stomach, and feeling slightly ridiculous that bella's couple talk had made her think of luke.
"it feels so stupid - i've known him for only like, a few weeks and -"
"oh my god it's luke!" bella screamed, almost spilling her drink on the floor in her excitement.
lola groaned, putting her glass on the coffee table and hiding her face on her hands.
"i feel like i'm thirteen and have a crush on the older, mysterious guy in the year above me! but i just think he's really really attractive, and i know he doesn't talk much, but when he spends time with me and talks to me it makes me feel really - special?"
"i completely understand." bella nodded. "he's friends with the guys so surely he's a nice person - and he's definitely easy on the eyes. it's been so long for you, you're allowed to have a crush."
lola stayed quiet for a moment, considering her friend's words. truthfully, she was glad how on board bella was. part of her had been subconsciously scared that bella wouldn't see luke as a good match for her, and that would mean she wouldn't ever go for it. bella's approval meant the world to her, and she trusted her friend's judge of character.
"i do think i like him a little." she said softly, looking down at her half full glass. "i think i just needed to feel like - like i was allowed to? he's the first person i've really liked since nate."
"you're allowed to feel any way about anyone you want lola." bella responded in an equally soft tone, but with an underlying strength to her voice. "it's been forever, and he didn't treat you right at the end. you don't owe him a life of abstinence, or anything else for that matter."
lola nodded, contemplating her friend's words.
she missed having a boyfriend. she missed having that special type of closeness, that special type of love. she missed waking up with someone and having someone to come home to.
and sure, maybe luke wouldn't want all of that. but he'd never said he didn't, so it couldn't hurt to hope?
"i do - like him. i gave him a lift home a few weeks ago, and since then he let me watch him train while he was boxing, and he - he came over and watched x-men with me, and when he drove me home he came in and i put plasters on his hands, and all of it made me feel so warm inside." she could feel her entire face going red as she spoke, barely meeting bella's eyes.
"wait he watched a film with you? lola when did this happen? and watching him box i'm - lola i'm in shock i truly am." bella said in dead seriousness, filling both their glasses higher and taking a large mouthful of hers.
"well - when i watched him box i guess i pissed him off or something, and he kind of snapped at me?" lola didn't miss the frown that fell over bella's face, but continued on anyway. "and the next day, he came and apologised and it was really - sweet? he was so genuine. and i invited him in and made him tea and we watched a film together."
"jesus christ lola, these are vital details i need to know about!" bella screamed, her eyes wide with excitement. "that's such a sure sign!"
"i hoped it was, i just wasn't sure? it feels scary to think about making a move on him." lola admitted, pushing a stray strand of hair away from her face and quickly downing most of her wine.
"there's no need to worry my love. i'll go full spy mode and infiltrate the boy camp, and find out what his head is up to. but i can almost guarantee he likes you." bella said confidently, finishing her wine and grinning at the thought of helping to wing-woman her friend.
lola sat back, a blush still covering her cheeks at the thought of luke, and she finished her drink; unable to ignore the butterflies in her stomach.
***
neither lola nor bella even stirred before 12:30 the next day.
alongside the bottle of wine they'd managed to get through talking about boys, they had also consumed a monumental amount of vodka and orange juice to the point where they had all but crawled into lola's double bed - bella was still half wrapped in the blanket she'd cocooned herself in on the sofa.
at 12:43 lola had woken up fully - if fully was with the intense desire to not move from her comfortable bed at all.
she winced at the throbbing ache in her head, and covered her eyes with her hands, staying completely still for a few minutes until she was sure she wouldn't projectile vomit everywhere if she moved.
neither of them were quite sure how they'd managed to consume so much alcohol, or how a simple girl's night had morphed into the worlds greatest hangover.
she prodded bella, who let out a deadly groan and rolled over to face her.
"oh my god." she whined, her hair fluffed up and almost entirely covering her face. "i feel like dying."
"i second that." lola laughed dryly, shuffling more under the duvet.
"i need water, but i think if i stand up i'm going to fall through the floor."
"i would be a good host and get you some but my legs have never felt more like jelly." lola mumbled, moving her hands from over her eyes.
"what's the time?" bella made a half-hearted attempt to brush her hair away from her face, before giving up and leaving it be.
with a sigh, lola rolled over and picked her phone up, squinting at how bright her screen was.
"pretty much one in the afternoon." she responded tiredly.
bella groaned again, rolling into her back and staring at the ceiling frustratedly.
"why won't my body comply with me and get out of bed?" lola laughed at her friend's complaint, and opened the snapchat calum had sent her.
bella noticed the familiar faces flashing onto lola's screen and rolled closer, leaning her head on lola's shoulder to gain a better view.
got tickets for everyone! was the caption positioned at the bottom of the photo.
all four boys held their tickets up towards the camera - michael holding two, his and bella's. they were all smiling happily, nowhere near as disheveled as the two girls still in bed.
four.
luke stood in the back of the photo, his smile much smaller, more awkward than the rest of the boys.
but to lola he had never looked so adorable. his eyes were a little droopy and tired, but they were still the prettiest shade of blue she'd ever seen, and his hair was falling across his forehead in soft waves - the same way it had been when she made him tea.
his large hand made the ticket look tiny and lola suddenly noticed his knuckles - they had plasters on them.
they weren't pink or cute like hers, but he was taking care of himself. and lola couldn't quite believe how big that made her heart feel.
and he was coming to see her dance.
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