And a Bottle of Bailey's (Niall Horan/One Direction fanfic)

Ch. 4

Ch. 4: A Whole Lot to Swallow

After I ordered, which took me some time to do, I looked around the room. It had polished cherrywood flooring, red table cloths on every table, tall silvery vases with white and red roses in them, abstract art hanging on the walls, mini-chandeliers dangling above, and candles EVERYWHERE.

It was quiet, almost silent, except for the noises from the kitchen, and the servers talking, and some voices drifting out from the private-party room.

After I finished my food (a delicious carbonara), I decided I'd hit the bathroom and then head out. I wondered what European nightlife was like.

To get to the bathroom, I had to walk by the private-party room. I walked by quickly, keeping my eyes straight ahead of me.

"Dayyyuumm!" Some male voice whispered. I ignored it and went to the restroom.

When I came walking out, someone from the private room called to me.

"Hey! Wanna join us?" I had been prepared to turn and give a firm 'no', but I was shocked to see who had yelled out to me.

In the private room, around a food cluttered table, sat One Direction. One- freaking -Direction.

"I- uh- I should probably-" I stuttered, feeling suddenly childlike and stupid.

"Come on, please? We need some company besides each other!" Harry said, patting an open chair beside him. Instinct told me to turn and run, but both Lily and Reilly screamed 'go for it!' in my head. I took a deep breath, and strode confidently into the room, taking a seat.

"So, you aren't a Londoner, are you?" Liam asked, leaning back in his chair. He tossed a grape in the air and caught it in his mouth.

"No, I'm American. I'm from Michigan." I replied, wondering what they thought of my accent. Theirs were adorable, of course.

"Are you here with family?" Louis questioned, smiling.

"No, I'm alone. I'm going to be traveling Europe for the next eight months."

"Where are you staying?" Zayn had this cocky smirk on his face, even while he asked this. I decided to stop being boring, and be a little playful.

"I think that that's for me to know, and you to wonder about. Where are YOU staying?"

"At the Hoxton." Niall said flatly. He'd been quiet up until then, sulking in the corner.

The boys all gave him a look that said 'what the heck, bro?!' and he just shrugged. He probably wasn't supposed to release their location for, like, security purposes.

"She's staying there too, guys, I saw her check in." He went on. They all looked at me. I smiled awkwardly.

"Yeah, I am. But what do you mean you saw me check in?" I raised my brows, confused.

"I was at the pool and I saw you check in. No big thing." I nodded.

"Oh, well, yeah. I better get going, actually. It was nice meeting you guys." I got up and started to leave, trying to escape quickly.

"Wait, what was your name, again?" Liam asked, setting down his handful of grapes.

"Rachel." I responded quietly.

"See you 'round, Rachel." Harry said, waving. I turned and practically ran off, calling a car the moment I was out of earshot. I got in, and tried to comprehend what'd just happened, while staring at the cityscape outside my window as it sped by.