You and only you

9.

........everyone leaves the house and we all start the 5 minute walk to the nearest bar. We decide to go to the bar for some quiet drinks before going to the club. On the walk everyone is laughing and joking and it's clear that everyone is looking forwards to having a good night. Me and Leah are at the very back of the group. I look to my right and see her walking with her hands in her jeans pockets and looking at the ground deep in thought.

"You sure your ok" I ask pulling her out of her trance

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine" she says quickly which makes me think she's lying

"You looking forward to the night" I asks awkwardly not knowing what else to say

"As much as I can be when I'm not drinking" she says chuckling

"Leah I don't want you to feel like you can't drink because of me, I can always get a taxi or something" I say not wanting her to feel like she has to stay sober to drop me home

"No, I hadn't planned on drinking anyway, I've got an interview in the morning so I have to be up early" she says smiling at me

"Ok, as long as your sure" I ask her and she nods

We walk in a comfortable silence for the next few minutes until we get to the bar. When we get in it's already quite busy so we squeeze past the crowd to see if there is a corner that we can sit in. Luckily there is a big round seat in the back corner of the pub with a table in front of it so we all pile in and give our drinks order to three of the girls who decided it's best for just them to go to the bar so we don't loose our seat. Once everyone is finished the girls go to the drinks and the chattering of individual conversations around the bar is almost consuming.

When we pilled into the seat I ended up sitting in between Leah and Lotte. I look around and see all the girls having their own individual conversations and clearly enjoying themselves. I'm suddenly pulled out of my trance when I hear Leah's phone ringing beside me. I turn to look at her and see her pulling it out of her pocked to answer it.

"Hello" she says questioningly as she answers clearly not recognising the phone number. She stays silent for a few seconds while the person on the other end of the phone speaks.

"Ok no problem thanks for letting me know" she says sweetly before hanging up.

"Everything ok" I ask as she looks at me and smiles

"Yeah, my interview in the morning has been cancelled" she says

"Oh, maybe you can have a drink and relax now" I say leaning in and nudging her shoulder playfully and she laughs lightly

"I don't know, I mean I told you I'd drop you home" she says a bit hesitant

"You don't need to Lee, honestly I can text Alex now and ask her to stay the night I'm sure she won't mind" I say reassuring her

"I know but it's just very last minute I don't want to put you both in an awkward situation" she says awkwardly. I don't know why but she seems really on edge.

"Honestly Lee it's no problem, I'll text her now and see what she says" I say taking out my phone

Abi🤍
Hey Al how's everything going xx

Alex💓
Yeah everything good we're just watching a film but Arthur's already asleep xx

Abi🤍
Awh bless him, Leah's interview has been cancelled in the morning but she doesn't want to drink because she has to drop me home so I'm just wondering is there any chance you'll stay the night so she can have a drink but feel free to say no please don't be under any pressure xx

Alex💓
Of course I will that's no problem, go and enjoy your night and relax, and tell Leah I said that she's to have a drink and if she doesn't she going to get a talking to from me 😂😂 xx

Abi🤍
Thanks Al, your a lifesaver I owe you one xx

I lean over and show Leah Alex's text and she just laughs and looks at the ground. I put my phone back in my pocket. When I look back over at Leah she has no expression on her face while she's looking at the ground picking her nails. I lean over and grab her hand and drag her to stand up.

"What, where we going" she asks in her thick London accent

"To the bar" I say as I drag her through the dance floor to the bar

She sighs deeply "Abs really, I don't want to drink" she says as we get to the bar. I turn around and face her and see an almost disappointed look on her face

"Come on Lee, you read Alex's message, just relax, let loose" I say almost pleading with her

"Ok fine" she says giving in as she flags the bar tender over

"Alright what can I get for you" he asks her

"Erm I'll have a vodka coke and" she pauses looking at me asking what I want

"I'll have a gin and tonic please" I say and he nods and goes to get our drinks

I look over and Leah and see her picking her nails yet again. I can't help but think that this is something that she does when she feels awkward or doesn't want to talk. I really don't want to make her uncomfortable but I want to make sure she's ok.

"Are you ok Lee" I ask as I put my hand on her shoulder and this causes her to look up at me and smile shyly

"Yeah, yeah I'm good"

"Are you sure, you just seem a bit down" I ask but she doesn't respond. I wait for a few seconds thinking maybe she was trying to think of something to say but she stays silent

"Look Lee I don't really know your situation like we barely know each other but if this is about what Lauren asked earlier then you shouldn't let it get to you, it was just a game I'm sure she didn't mean anything by it" I say trying to gauge what was wrong

"No, no it's not I'm just really tired and just kind of want to go home" she says looking back down to her hands. I can't help but think that she's lying but I really don't want her to leave and not just because I want to spend time with her but because I know she was so excited to come out tonight

"How about I make a deal with you" I say sarcastically earning a chuckle from her

"I'm listening"

"Ok you have to have at least three drinks and then if you still want to go home we can make up an excuse and ring a taxi for us both to go home BUT if your enjoying yourself then we stay" I say almost asking her instead of telling. She stays silent for a few seconds and before she has a chance to answer the bartender bring us over our drinks. Leah grabs her card out of her wallet and pays for the drinks. She then picks up her glass and points it towards me

"Deal" she says chuckling and we both clink our glasses agreeing to the deal.

A.N

Hey guys, hope you enjoyed this chapter I know it's been a long time coming.

I'm really struggling to come up with ideas at the minute so if any of you have any I would really appreciate the help.🫶🏼