Trouble // hs

4

I walk calmly downstairs and enter the living room where my parents sit reading the day's news. I lean against the wooden door frame, and survey the room as I wait for them to acknowledge my presence. The walls, curtains and furniture are all cream, set off by the rich, wooden floor boards, and I realise that the room is just as bland and traditional as the people who are sat in it.

"Tara, where in the world do you think you are going dressed like that?"

The anger is evident in my Dad's voice, as my Mum stares on in shock. I guess I finally got their attention.

"I am going to a party. I won't be home until late."

My Dad barks out a disbelieving laugh, folding up his newspaper and setting it to the side, focusing his full attention on his rebellious daughter.

"Oh no you are not young lady, I suggest you go back to your room, get changed  and come back down stairs when you're thinking straight."

Despite his apparent calm demeanour, I can see the rage building in his eyes, as he spits the words out from behind clenched teeth.

"I've kept this act up long enough Dad, and I'm done. Bye now." I call as I walk out of the room. His irate protests are silenced with the slam of the front door behind me.

I can deal with the consequences of that encounter later, but to be honest, I really don't care what my supposed 'punishment' will be, as I make my way to the party. The real me is back and she can handle anything.

I round the corner onto yet another well kept street. The pavement or 'sidewalk' is lined with the occasional cherry blossom tree, their petals blowing across my path with every gust of the late Summer breeze. This is a really nice area, the gardens are kept neat and tidy, and it seems to be fairly quiet, and I begin to wonder whether or not I've got the right street. Although as I progress further , the number of parked cars increases dramatically, and I hear the faint pounding of dance music emitting from an ordinary looking house at the end of the road, and I know I'm in the right place.

As I approach the house, the music gets progressively louder, as well as the number of excited teenagers, hurriedly scurrying into the house to begin their night of drunken mistakes as they attempt to drown out their everyday troubles.

As much as Kesha annoys me, she got one thing right; the party really doesn't start until I walk in.

I embrace the musty smell that always accompanies a packed house party as I enter, and suddenly all eyes are on me. Jaws drop, eyes bulge, and the whispering begins. I revel in their surprise as I make my way towards the kitchen where I suspect the alcohol will be, waving at the occasional awe struck passerby for my own amusement. This is all just too funny.

The kitchen is buzzing with activity as everyone attempts to get their hands on a can of cheap beer or cider, although upon my arrival, that all dies down pretty quickly and soon I am left alone in the kitchen. I decide to make the most of the situation and go straight to the vodka that everyone else had seemed to ignore. I fill a red plastic cup about half way, this should do me for a while, and fill the rest of the cup with a random can of energy drink that I'd found lying around. The best mix.

"Woah, woah, woah. Calm down there." I am interrupted as I begin to swig from my dangerously strong cocktail. Word really does spread fast. I've only just arrived and yet, here I find myself face to face with Zayn Malik himself, for the second time today. He is dressed in a casual black t-shirt, and tight skinny jeans, his hair pushed back to accentuate his beautifully angled face. His hazel eyes drag up and down my body appreciatively as he licks his pierced lip, before continuing the conversation.

"Well, who would've thought that little Miss Tara would clean up so well?" He questions condescendingly.

I roll my eyes at his tone, but decide to banter back a bit, "You're not so bad yourself." I smile, and he laughs.

His attention then returns back to my drink, "You can seriously drink that?" He questions disbelievingly, "I mean, I can handle my liquor  but that shit is strong."

I laugh, "Hand me absolutely anything and I'll drink it. We're all heading towards the same end result, I just decide to take the fast lane."

He laughs in return, and it is a beautiful sound to hear. My smile widens even further as I decide that I like Zayn Malik.

"Well aren't you just full of surprises." He shakes his head. "Let's go meet the other boys, they need to see this." He says while gesturing to my body.I take a bow and we both laugh, before he takes my hand and drags me through the mass of writhing bodies, to the opposite side of the house where there is a mysterious closed door. He opens it to reveal a set of creaky wooden stairs that lead into what looks to be the basement.

My assumptions are proved correct, as we enter the underground room. All of the walls and the floor are concrete, and the only light is coming from a number of bare light bulbs hanging from the ceiling, giving the whole room an eerie atmosphere. There are less people down here and it is decidedly less noisy, with  the only sound being from the few people laughing and talking around the room, and the muted music coming from upstairs.

Zayn leads me over to a group of boys standing off to the side of the room.

"Hey guys, look who decided to show up."

They all turn to look at me, and just like the others, their faces drop, as was expected.

"Is that Tara Carter? Little miss goody two shoes? The school prude?" Harry questions, green eyes shining with amusement, which is apparently shared amongst the boys as the others begin to laugh. "Didn't think you'd actually show up." He admits, before drinking from his own cup.

I really don't know who he thinks he is, or what he has against me. but by this point, some of the alcohol that I had been sipping on has gone to my head, and I am met with a new wave of confidence, which causes me to laugh along with  them.

Their laughter is slowly replaced with confusion, as I stroll over to Harry and stand directly in front of him. The height difference is sizeable, which means I am required to tilt my head back to look Harry in the eye, before admitting. "Oh Harry, there's so much more that you don't know about me." I wink suggestively, leaving Harry looking absolutely dumbfounded, while I turn to the other boys who are now hollering like idiots.

"Well I like her." The blonde boy, Niall suddenly speaks up, smiling, as he walks over and gives me a high five. I laugh at his friendly gesture, while Harry glares at Niall, apparently angered by the exchange.

"Well if there's so much we don't know about you, why don't you we all get to know you some more." Louis smirks, looking around at the other boys, who nod in agreement. Even Liam, who has been pretty quiet since my arrival, just watching the whole exchange, agrees. As does Harry, whose anger seems to have dissipated to a mixture of curiosity and amusement.

"Let's go." He says simply, holding my eye contact.

There is an unspoken rivalry between the two of us, and he has no idea what he's in for.

A/N: Hey guys! Longer chapter! Yay! Hopefully you got the sense of the party, it's all about to kick off... And I've got some things planned for the next chapter that should be interesting ;) ILY ALL!