𝙏𝙀𝙈𝙋𝙏𝘼𝙏𝙄𝙊𝙉 • 𝙇𝙍𝙃

27. pretty girl

PRETTY GIRL

ashton led the group into his hotel room, turning on the lights and showcasing his table full of alcohol. "now i know you've already had a bachelorette party, but i figured we could do a round two"

emma drops her bag on the bed by the window, falling backwards on to the mattress as she sighs.

"uh, hello," maya gestures to her stomach. "did you forget that i can't drink?"

ashton smiles. "course not, you can chaperone while the three of us get trashed"

"joy" maya says with an eye roll, joining her friend on the bed.

"i'm really not in the mood to drink tonight" emma sits up, catching luke's eye as he looks away instantly.

things are a bit tense between emma and luke, unable to have a conversation without someone interrupting or eavesdropping. a lot of things have gone unsaid despite their feelings becoming more and more apparent.

emma was also a little upset with luke for telling maya and ashton about the kiss. she wanted to talk about it with him first before involving other people.

"too bad. the emma i knew was never one to turn down a drink — or a drinking game" ashton flashed her a smile, taking a bottle in his hands and raising it up.

"tequila, really?" luke finally speaks, snatching the bottle from ashton's fingers. "we aren't twenty-one anymore, a few shots of this and we'll be hungover for a week"

"that, my friend," ashton slings an arm around the blonde, patting his back. "is because your tolerance has gone to shit"

ashton wasn't wrong. there was a long period of time where luke wouldn't even go near the stuff, thus meaning he was prone to getting wasted off a few shots.

"whatever," luke mumbles under his breath. "what game did you have in mind?"

ashton takes a seat at the small table in the corner of the room, placing the tequila in the center and pulling out a black box. "it's called do or drink. or, in maya's case, just do"

"we are not playing that, ash" emma shoots the idea down instantly.

the dark-haired boy pouts. "it's been years since we've all hung out like this," he points out. "i just want a fun night where i can get drunk and play a game with my friends. please?"

the sad expression on ashton's face, mixed with the fact that he was right, ropes luke and emma in. both felt guilty that they were partly to blame for ashton leaving the group.

luke's goal for coming here was to talk to emma, finally sort their feelings out and figure out where to go from here. he realizes they wouldn't be able to do that if one or both of them ends up drunk, but he gives in anyways, knowing he and emma still have plenty of time to talk.

"fine," luke joins ashton at the table. "i'll play if emma plays"

"wonderful," ashton speaks, removing the cards from the box and neatly placing them next to the tequila. "what do you say, emma?"

with three sets of eyes resting on her, she groans and stands up. she didn't want to kill the mood, allowing herself to be pulled under the influence by her friends.

"i'm in" emma speaks with a less than enthusiastic tone.

maya claps her hands together, pulling a chair out for emma. "what are the rules?"

"well, you read the card. and you either do what it says, or drink— pretty self-explanatory" luke answers maya's question, his eyes not leaving emma as he watches her slump down in her seat and rest her elbows on the table.