all friends - a one direction story

13

*Eve's POV*

It was Monday morning. The miserable side of the autumnal weather was making an appearance, and outside was cold and grey.

Nine of our group - with the exception of Saffron - were sat at the table in the canteen, scrolling on our phones and making minimal conversation.
I looked around as everyone barely looked up.

"Well, we're all lively today, aren't we?" I sarcastically commented.
Marley shrugged, "well, it's a miserable day."

Marley was being slightly awkward and off and it was my guess that she was unsure of how to face Saffron after she'd also kissed Niall on the same night. He was also keeping his head down, barely looking up from his phone as he quickly ate his chips.

Just in time, Ruby asked, "does anyone know where Saffy is?"
"Uh, she went to the toilet after our English lesson," Marley replied.
"That was ten minutes ago," Ruby pushed further, but Marley simply responded with a shrug.

"She's there. Coming in now," Harry looked up from the wrap he was eating and pointed towards the canteen entrance.

I looked over Ruby who was opposite me, saw her, and sighed.
Saffron was done up to the nines. Her face was heavy with make-up, including red lipstick and blusher, and she walked with a confident strut towards us.
She hadn't looked like this this morning so she'd been doing herself up in the toilets for the past ten minutes, and it was obvious who the effort was intended for.

Considering the fact that everyone else had been apprehensive about her reaction to Niall and Marley's kiss, knowing that she'd be emotional and potentially angry, it was confusing and slightly weird when she shoved herself in next to Liam beside Niall and shot everyone an extremely cheery smile.

"Hey guys!" She greeted, leaning close to Niall, who looked like he didn't know what to do with himself.
"Uh, hey," Harry was the only to answer.

"How's everyone feeling?" She asked, casually, "my hangover is killing."

I watched her so confused, as did everyone else.
Ruby had told me the hour before that Saffron had spent the weekend completely distraught and torn up over what had happened, so I couldn't figure out what was going through her mind right now.

"Uh, mine's alright," I answered, skeptically, "but I didn't really drink much."
"Mine is awful," she complained, before making everyone watch intently when she surprisingly asked, "what about you, Marley?"

Marley looked visibly uncomfortable and unsure of what to expect.
She slowly looked up from the chips that she'd coated with ketchup and suspiciously asked, "uh, what about me?"
"How was your hangover over the weekend?" Saffron clarified, still as casual as before.
"Uh, I was sick a bit. I feel fine now," Marley answered, still looking like she was expecting Saffron to pounce on her or shout at her.

"And what about you?" Saffron turned to Niall, who was still looking tense while eating his chips as he sat beside her, a little cramped for space after she'd squished herself in.
Everyone continued to watch on apprehensively.

"Uh, it was awful, yeah, really bad," he stumbled over his words.
"Oh well," she shrugged before turning to the rest of us and proposing, "more drinking this weekend?"

There was an awkward silence before Ruby answered, "I'm down."
"Yeah, me too," Zayn added.
"And we can go to my house this weekend," Lana offered, "my parents are going camping for the weekend with my sister."

"Are you not invited or something?" Ruby asked her.
"Yeah. I just don't want to be stranded in a camper-van with my sister," Lana justified.
"That's understandable," I inputted.

Lana's sister was an emotional, erratic wreck prone to meltdowns, tantrums and tears.
Lana and her weren't alike at all, and Lana had little tolerance for her hysteria and breakdowns.

"I'm really excited!" Saffron beamed, before turning to Niall and muttering, although still loud enough for everyone around the table to hear, "and we can pick up where we left off."
She unsubtly winked at him before standing up and announcing, "anyway, I'm going to grab a doughnut before they all go."

As she walked off, Ruby and I exchanged a glance that told me that she was as confused as me.
"We're going to go too," she said, and I stood up with her.
"See you in class!" I called to the rest of the table and the pair of us walked off side-by-side.

"So what is Saffron doing?" I immediately asked, before we'd even managed to exit the canteen. "I thought that she was completely heartbroken?"
"That's how I left her," Ruby shrugged, "she was crying. She wanted to get away from my house and Niall and Marley as fast as she could; she was really upset. She didn't answer any of my calls over of the weekend, I just assumed that she was moping."

"Well, she's clearly still going after him," I stated, "did you see her make-up?"
"Yeah," Ruby sighed, "I wish she didn't think she had to try this hard to get someone's attention. The right boy will fall for her."
"I agree. And I think it's pointless, because I do think he likes Marley more," I gave my opinion.

Ruby groaned. "Everyone can see he likes Marley."
"So are you going to say something to Saff?" I wondered.
Ruby sighed, "I always do, but when Saffron has something in her head, it's hard to talk her out of it."
"So you're going to-"

My sentence was interrupted by footsteps jogging behind us and the call of my name.

We spun around to see Liam, who stopped promptly in front of us. "Hey. Can I speak to you a second?" He asked me.
Ruby was staring at me and gave a small snigger at my clearly uncomfortable expression with my lack of words. "Sure, Liam," she answered for me, before walking slowly away.

"What's up?" I asked him.
"Uh, well, I don't know if you've noticed, uh, but I kind of like you." His cheeks were blushing as he spoke and his eyes made more contact with the floor than with me, which I was glad about, as I felt just as shifty.

"I mean, I don't know," I stuttered, completely unsure of how to respond.

"Well, I do," he told me, "and I just wondered, do you want to go on a date with me?"

"A date?" I raised my eyebrows. I'd never had a formal invitation like this, or expected to be asked like this. I'd never been on a date or anything even remotely like a date, and I had no idea what to say or feel.

"Yeah. It doesn't have to be awkwardly formal or anything, just food and a conversation... whatever food you want."
"Uh, okay. Yeah, sure," I answered and he beamed.
"Yeah?"
"Yeah," I confirmed.
"Great. Thursday night? After college? You don't have to worry, I'll plan the whole thing!"
"Yeah, sure," I repeated.

Liam gave me another huge smile and a small wave before walking off, his smile reaching from ear to ear, leaving me stood a little bewildered, feeling unsure of how to feel.