Ava's POV
July 5th.
4:38 A.M.
I hadn't had enough to drink. It was already starting to wear off and everyone around me was dropping like flies. I was sitting by the pool with my feet in the water talking to Oli about my top 10 favorite Louis In One Direction moments, when he suddenly started snoring beside me. I was the last one standing, and embarrassingly sober. Then for some reason, all alone in this beautiful backyard in front of this beautiful, incredible house, I started to cry. Nothing says loneliness quite like being the last one awake at a house party. Even Louis had had too much to drink and put himself to bed hours ago. Stella threw up all over Peter and he sent Justin Bieber to look after me while he got cleaned up but even Justin ditched me after a while once I had calmed down. Do you know how pathetic it is get ditched by a guy you don't even like in the first place? I'm just glad Peter hadn't enlisted Pete Davidson to keep track of me, because I had been ditched by Pete Davidson it would've been a whole new low for me.
I had spent all day working up to this party. Buying the supplies, picking the music, helping Stella decorate. I thought maybe it'd distract me from this empty feeling that had been gnawing on me for a while now, but it seemed like it only made it worse. Stella was a wreck. Peter was covered in vomit. Louis was sleeping in our bed alone. Leo had been making Stella feel like shit and for not the first time in my life, I just simply didn't care. Stella had so many people rooting for her, making sure she was okay, trying to protect her and... and she didn't need me anymore. If I wasn't here on tour, Stella would be fine. Louis would be fine. No one needed me anymore, and now that no one needed me I had nothing. Well, almost nothing.
"Peter." I whined, crawling into the bed next to him. He was still awake, one hand scrolling on his phone, the other playing with Stella's hair as she slept. You could tell how much he loved her just by the way he cared for her. I'll tell you one thing, if that girl ever threw up on me, our friendship would end right then and there.
"Go to sleep, Ava." Peter whispered. I didn't touch him, because that would be weird, but I did lay beside him.
"Peter... can you take me home?" I asked. And then I broke down crying. He shifted so he was no longer holding Stella and turned to face me instead. I had my hands over my face and he pulled them off.
"Hey, why are you crying?" He whispered.
"I just wanna go home." I sobbed.
"To LA?" He wondered.
"No." I answered. "To New York. I... I miss Aunt May and I miss my bedroom and I miss my brothers..." I had never once in my life missed my brothers, and now the one time I did, there was only one brother to go home to.
"You never miss home." He said.
"I just... no matter what I do I don't really belong here and..."
"Hey, you belong with me and Stella. That's where you always belong."
"And you don't see the problem with that?" I cried. "I don't know who I am besides Peter and Stella's bodyguard and... and you don't need me anymore because you're a superhero and Stella didn't need me anymore because she has Louis and I... I'm so dependent on Louis and Stella that I just don't know who I am anymore." Peter didn't know what to say to that.
"Peter, I need you to take me home." As much as I hated being dependent on people, I didn't know if I could get myself on a plane by myself, especially being off my meds and half hungover.
"Okay. I'll take you home." He whispered. "Give me a minute."
"Thank you." I said. Then I went to go pack.
