𝑓𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑠, 𝑛𝑖𝑐𝑘 𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑟

chapter one, good girl

Heartbreak was something that Luna Lupin had never really felt before, once a boy told her he didn't like her in the third grade, and she just shrugged it off. She thought that was how she would handle all heartbreak, but she has severely disappointed herself because ever since Ben dumped her, she hasn't been able to get out of bed. "If I come in there and you're still in bed, eating marshmallow fluff, we're gonna have some problems." Taylor paced through the hallways of their tiny apartment, trying to find their jackets because they were going out tonight. 

Their friend Mace had been invited to a party to celebrate some guy's penis and he thought he could use the party to get Luna out of bed. Although her friends knew her breakup was hard on her, she had been with Ben for the better part of three years, they also didn't want her to miss out on life because she was too heartbroken. She was twenty years old; she still had her whole life ahead of her. "I'm not in bed," When Taylor walked through the door, Luna was out of bed. She had showered and gotten dressed, but she was still eating her marshmallow fluff.

"Close enough; we're meeting Kayla and Mac at the bar." Taylor held out the jacket to her roommate who throw it over her arm, showing no sign of putting the fluff away anytime soon. "Why do you hate me?" Luna asked when she walked out of her apartment, handing the jar to her best friend as she pulled on her red leather jacket. "I'm doing this because I don't hate you," Taylor took the spoon out, having some of the sweet treat for herself before her friend yanked it back from her. "I feel hated right now." It was hard for Taylor to see her best friend in a slump like this. Usually, Luna would be the one dragging her to a party, not the other way around but Ben had crushed her. "You're gonna have so much fun, Luna Lovegood." Taylor smiled, watching as Luna brushed her bangs out of her face, a small smile on her lips after she heard that nickname. "I'll try but I'm not making any promises." Five minutes at the party and her friend Mace had to throw up because he had too many shots. 

"Why do you always drink so much when you know you can't handle it?" Luna's voice was slightly hoarse because of the drinks which only made her English accent smoother. Mace on the other hand couldn't say anything because his breakfast was coming back for round two while Luna held his hair back, rethinking all her decisions when it got worse somehow because she heard his voice. "Of course I hooked up with her, have you seen Kelly?" It was Ben, he was at this party too and in the same bathroom as her, talking about sleeping with Kelly. 

Luna knew Kelly, they were high school friends, and he was Ben's best friend which was something that never sat right with her and every time she brought it up, he would call her crazy. He was in the bathroom for about two minutes after that when he left and Mace raised his head from the toilet, flushing it in the process. "Was that...?" He didn't finish his sentence, but she nodded, "Go rinse your mouth," She tried not to sound harsh when she said it, but he knew she wanted to be alone, so he left. 

Luna thought she had already hit rock bottom but crying on the floor of a men's bathroom was definitely rock bottom. To make things worse, the bathroom door just opened. "Is someone in here?" She didn't recognize the man's voice, it was rough and gravelly, like he had smoked way too many cigarettes when he was younger. "No," She croaked out, "Are you crying?" The man asked and she saw his boots in front of the stall she was in. "No," 

"Can I open the door?" She nodded but he didn't see, "Yes." When the door opened, she looked up at the man in front of her. It was the bartender who had served them their shots. "Are you gonna kill me?" She asked and he shook his head, laughing slightly, "Are you gonna kill me?" He climbed over her legs, sitting down on top of the toilet seat. She shrugged, "Probably not." 

 "Okay." The man rested the palms of his hands on his knees as he looked down at Luna, "Why are you hiding in here?" She asked, running her fingers through her ink black hair as she leaned back against the stall. The man sitting with her was probably no less than a decade older than she was, he had the same black hair as her, with a scruffy beard, a strong jaw and a slightly crooked nose which Luna found endearing for some odd reason. "My friend wants me to make him girly drinks for his party," He could feel her examine his face, so he felt a little less guilty for doing the same. Her nose caught his attention, it was small almost like a mushroom and the tip of it was slightly red along with her cheeks. He liked her freckles that covered the bridge of her nose and her dark brown almond shaped eyes that were framed by thick black eyelashes. 

"With the cute straws?" A soft smile tugged on her full lips, and he could make out a dimple in her right cheek. He nodded, a smile trying to force itself on his face. "I love those drinks." Her voice was airy when she spoke, soft and almost felt cartoonish but it was warm and soothing. "I'm still not gonna make them," He pretended to scold her, and she mumbled a yes sir under her breath.  "Okay, what's wrong with you?" He asked, trying not to come across as too hard. 

"My ex is here," She said, pulling up her leg as she rests her head on her knee when he let out a groan. "My problem seems so dumb now," He mumbled, and she just shrugs. "It would make me feel better if you made me a really girly drink," Her smile grows as he gets up and holds his hand out to her. 

"If it will make you feel better," He looks down at her hand in his, it was smaller than his and when he closed her fingers around it, he could barely see her hand. "I'm Nick Miller," He breathed out as he helped her onto her feet. 

"Luna Lupin."

They head out and he makes her a really girly drink before there's a guy on the table playing with odd fire swords which her friends can't stop looking at. "So, she gets a girly drink, and I don't," A guy scoffs at Nick, watching as Luna sipped on her pink drink. "Yes, Winston, she just had a rough breakup, and she deserves it," He scolds, and his friend Winston nods to himself, giving her that look of pity that her friends gave her when they found out about her breakup. 

"You can have some of mine," She offers him the drink and he shakes his head.

"It's fine," He says giving her a pity smile, her least favorite kind of smile. "God no," She mumbled looking away, she had been wallowing at home for so long and now she was about to wallow in a bar. "She's right." Nick started, starting to fix up a drink for his friend, "This isn't a pity party," He slides the drink over to Winston. "Yeah, it's a penis party," She laughed and downs her girly drink, taking out the straw. 

"To his penis!" She pointed at the strange man who seems to be losing control of his fiery swords. "No! No, doll," Nick's face lit up with a smile when she looked away from his friend at him. 

"Doll? Did you just escape the 50s?" She watched as he refilled her drink which she was glad for, "No but I was born in the eighties, 81' actually." 

"No, you weren't." She shakes her head, leaning over and taking a sip of her drink, "Wait, when were you born?" He was slightly yelling now, the music growing louder as he leaned over the bar to talk to her.

"92'." She answered and his mouth fell open.

"No, you weren't." 

"Yes, I was." She answered boldly when he grabbed ahold of her glass, slowly pulling it away from her. She stared up at him, confusion splattered across her face. 

"What year were you born again?" He raised an eyebrow as she nodded in realization, "91'." She lied through her teeth, and he slid the glass back to her, "Good girl." He watched as her cheeks flushed a soft shade of pink before she got up, "I should find my friends." She mumbled and he cleared his throat, "How much do I owe you for the drinks?" She reached her hand into her jacket pocket, but he shook his head, "It's on the house." He smiled and she nearly fell over her chair to walk away from him. This night was not as bad as she thought it would be.