Her Eyes

Twenty Four

"Oh come on, Nikolaos!" whined Noah drunkenly, clinging onto the sleeve of Nikolaos' pristine, white sweater.

Nikolaos rolled his eyes and shook his arm to get rid of Noah's grip. The British man stumbled back dramatically, gasping loudly in front of the college in the middle of the night. The small group of friends that came along chuckled at his act, a few tipsy while others drunk, their bodies swaying back and forth as they tried to stand straight.

Esmae stood close to Nikolaos, never leaving his side, but backed away when Noah began begging Nikolaos for a ride to the diner.

The group decided to hang out at a local diner before ending the long night. It was a tradition they did at the end of each party and Noah was determined to keep it alive.

"You won't have to drive us back... just to the diner," Noah said, trying to compromise.

Nikolaos sighed heavily and looked away from his drunk friend. "It's your last year, Nik." Josie clung to a sober man's arm, smiling lazily; she, too, was drunk. Her boyfriend came to pick her up, the more professional-looking man smiling softly at the woman holding onto him.

Her words struck Nikolaos' heart and he glanced at his friends, sighing for the nth time that night. "Don't throw up in my car," he grumbled, turning to his car and dragging Esmae with him.

She trailed along, holding Nikolaos' hand and looking back at his friends, hearing them cheer happily. "Why are they acting like that?" she asked, unaware of the side effects that came with drinking certain amounts of alcohol.

"They're drunk." Nikolaos' voice softened as he spoke to Esmae, his slight annoyance dying down as he heard her light voice.

She hadn't talked much the entire night, only staying by Nikolaos the entire time and observing his friends. They talked to her at times, their lingo and slang were far too casual for her to understand fully, so she answered weakly to them and hoped they didn't poke and prod when it was clear that she was confused. Nikolaos took over a majority of the talking between them, hugging her close to him and making sure she didn't touch a single drink that wasn't given to her by him. He trusted his friends and he knew they would never try to hurt Esmae intentionally, but he knew their acts of kindness could hurt her because she was unaware.

"Drunk?" Esmae repeated, getting into Nikolaos' car after he opened the door for her. He nodded, ready to explain the concept when he heard Jamero yelling his name from behind, his voice loud and coming closer.

"I'll explain it later, okay?" Esmae nodded, noticing the slight stress on Nikolaos' face.

She reached forward to his face, rubbing out the wrinkles on his forehead which were formed by his furrowed brows with her thumb. Nikolaos relaxed into her touch and closed his eyes, letting his brain rest for a moment.

He never told them because he cared about their safety before anything else, but the wild attitude of his friends, when they were drunk, forced him to stay focused and aware of everything surrounding them in case they somehow injured themselves. The only time he let himself relax on nights like the one now was when he was at home and received a text from each one of them confirming they reached their homes or dorms safely.

Nikolaos took Esmae's hand, kissing her thumb and then moving to her forehead, planting one of his soft kisses there as well. "Thank you, glykiá mou," he whispered, his touch lingering on her forehead for a moment longer before he leaned away and smiled lightly.

He closed the door after seeing her seatbelt on and started loading in three of his friends. The rest went with Josie and her boyfriend in his car. Nadia left quietly after the party in a taxi, claiming she wanted to stay with her parents for the night.